Sam winced as Perseus tightened his grip, the confident smirk on his face fading into a grimace of pain. He quickly released Eris's hand, raising his other hand in a placating gesture."Alright, alright, no need to get violent," Sam said, trying to sound nonchalant despite the discomfort. "I was just joking around."Perseus didn’t let go immediately, his intense gaze boring into Sam’s eyes, making sure the message was clear. When he finally released Sam’s hand, Sam stumbled back, massaging his wrist.‘Why is his grip so strong?’ Sam thought to himself."Joking or not, don't touch her again," Perseus said coldly. "And if you have something to say to me, say it to my face."Sam rubbed his hand, glaring back at Perseus. "You got lucky last time," he muttered, referring to the last tournament they had together, where Perseus had intentionally flopped. "But luck runs out eventually.""Luck has nothing to do with it," Perseus replied, his tone calm but with an underlying threat. "If you wan
Perseus peered at Rex, recognizing him from the information he'd reviewed earlier. Rex was 23 years old, the assistant leader of his team, and the second-best player there.“It’s not like I needed it to be accepted,” Eris retorted. “We were late, and I take back our apology. What are you going to do about it anyway?”“You!!” Rex yelled. “How can you take back your apology? Who do you think you are?”“I should say the same to you,” Eris responded. “Do you want us to settle this with a duel?”At the mention of a duel, Rex flinched. There was no way he would accept. If the Top 1 challenges someone lower and wins, the loser must comply with any demand, including leaving the gaming industry forever.“Are you accepting the challenge or not?” Eris questioned. “You were bold enough to talk to us like that. What’s stopping you from agreeing to the duel? Afraid you might lose?”Rex looked like he wanted to argue, but he hesitated. He wasn’t even skilled enough to beat his leader, let alone acce
Perseus glanced at the rest of his team. Both of their gazes lingered on him, and they began to wonder how he had known about the prize the first group would receive.“How did you bring us here so fast?” Savi questioned. “How come I don’t remember coming here?” He checked the distance he had been sitting and how far it was from the place he was currently at.“I feel the same way too,” Cole added.“Me too,” Perseus lied, his gaze not leaving them, nor did it waver. “I just grabbed both of your hands, and we found ourselves here.”Perseus had noticed one thing: his speed had improved drastically, perhaps because he was still merged with Lint. And now, he could move people without actually carrying them.“Why do I feel like you are lying?” Cole asked, adjusting his glasses and peering at Perseus intently. “You know something.”Perseus held his gaze and shook his head. “I do not.”Savi frowned and folded his arms. “We don’t have time to waste,” he began. “Since we’ve taken the lead by bei
"How do you know about my allergies?" Savi demanded, his gaze fixed on Perseus. "I didn’t say anything about it."Perseus raised an eyebrow. "You did. I guess you forgot."Cole was about to say that he hadn’t heard Savi mention any allergies, but Liliana’s voice interrupted them."Now that you've answered the question, Perseus, can you tell me what he is allergic to?"Perseus' eyes darted to Savi, who was watching him closely. Savi wondered if Perseus had just guessed that he had an allergy.Savi grinned, confident that Perseus would never guess the specific allergy."He is allergic to seafood," Perseus answered. "Most especially fish."Savi’s eyes widened, and so did Cole’s."That’s correct!" Liliana chimed. "+2000 points for Perseus."Savi frowned. "I didn’t tell you that! I only said I liked fish.""You did say it," Perseus insisted. "You mentioned it when we were asking each other questions."Savi wanted to argue but was interrupted again."How old is Savi, Perseus?""22," Perseus
Perseus listened as the questions continued, noting the answers given by the others. It took about an hour for the game to finish, and the results were announced six minutes later.Perseus secured the highest score with 350,000 points, followed by Eris with 150,000 points, and Sam in third with 100,000 points. The other participants scored below 50,000, with Cole and Savi failing to earn any points, along with a few others. Only a handful managed to score above 20,000, far below the 50,000-point limit.As the results were called, everyone stared at Perseus with envy. He had more than double the points of the second place and far exceeded the perfect score."The perfect score should have been 200,000 points," Liliana announced. "That's all for the game today. The livestream will continue, but you can return to your rooms until further notice."Perseus liked the sound of that and proceeded to head to his room, but Savi and Cole intercepted him."You owe us an explanation," Cole demanded
Thud! Sam hit the floor unexpectedly, stunning everyone around him. They glanced at him as he hurriedly rose to his feet, wincing from the pain in his leg.“Damn it,” Sam cursed, shocked that he was the one who had fallen instead.“Are you alright?” Perseus asked, holding out his hand for Sam to take. “How could you fall?”Sam took the hand, a grin appearing on his face as he stared at Perseus. “I have no idea.”“Okay,” Perseus said, helping him up and walking away.[Host, you didn’t expect it. So, don’t feel bad when he falls. He deserves it.]Perseus stood next to Eris, who asked him what had happened, while Sam frowned, wondering how he had managed to lose his footing and embarrass himself like that. Dumb as he thought Perseus was, he hadn’t realized that Sam had tried to trip him. But then it hit Sam that the livestream had been on when he fell. His teeth gritted, but he calmed himself and smiled. There was a surprise waiting for Perseus anyway.“The next game will commence as usu
Sam stopped in his tracks, his grin faltering slightly as he looked at the necklace in his hand. "Cheap? You're calling me cheap?" His voice dripped with irritation.Perseus shrugged, feigning indifference. "I mean, look at it. Who would want to waste their points on something like that? Especially when there are better items around."Sam's grip tightened on the necklace. He glanced at it again, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. "Then why were you interested in it?"Perseus laughed lightly. "Interested? I was just curious why you'd waste your time with something so worthless. But hey, if you want to throw away your points on that, be my guest."Sam hesitated, his expression shifting between doubt and anger. The thought of Perseus mocking him for choosing something cheap gnawed at him. He turned the necklace over in his hand, now uncertain about his earlier decision."You know what?" Sam said, tossing the necklace back onto the display. "You're right. It's not worth it."Perseus ke
From the corner, Sam stared at them with a satisfied glint in his eyes. He had planned for this day to come to pass. He could tell that the team was still going to let Perseus in the game and that was going to make Perseus lose the fans he already said "Are you alright?" Eris asked, stepping closer to Perseus, her eyes flashing with anger. Her right hand clenched tightly, her restraint evident as she fought the urge to lash out at the attacker.She could have taken him down, but with the fans watching, she didn’t want to tarnish the team’s reputation.Perseus glanced at her, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I'm fine. It's just a cut anyway."Blood dripped steadily from his wounded hand, staining the floor beneath him."Drag him out of here and hand him over to the cops!" Ethan barked at the security guards. "Make sure he doesn’t get away, and find out who sent him."The man screamed and struggled as he was dragged out of the mall. The Risthans gathered around Perseus, worry etched