In his career as an announcer for major events, Sylvesto had been in a lot of situations where he had had to play nice with people he didn"t like because there was a need for him to do so.
Yet, so far, he had never met anyone as mind-numbingly annoying as the person in front of him,
It wasn"t even that the man was dumb and obnoxious; on the other hand, he was one of the kindest men he had ever met.
The problem was professional pride. When this man knew something, he was usually right, and he knew it. Hence, his head swelled so much that he couldn"t stop talking.
In this very announcer"s booth, Sylvesto had already had to shut his mouth and fume twice because he had been proven wrong.
The first time, it had been when he had made the prediction that Lanthanor would win in the wrestling compet.i.tion just like their miraculous victory in the Mage Archery Tournament.
They had done so well, and Sylvesto had just had a feeling after seeing the King was that this man was someone who could be trusted.
Of course, this man who was also supposed to be a retired commander of the Black Raven Kingdom had disagreed, and he had been right.
After that, his prediction had been regarding the elves- that they would win by a large degree.
Again, those mysterious black-robed men from Lanthanor had proven him wrong.
In fact, he was used to being wrong-it was what he did; he loved to make grand gestures, and laugh it off when he was proven wrong.
However, this man loved to rub to it in his face.
"If you listened to our smart announcer-"
"Sylvesto, how much did you lose-"
"Folks, if I still listened to Sylvesto after his botched predictions, I would-"
Each day so far, he had been ridiculed but he had had to take it all with a straight face.
He had even decided that he wouldn"t be doing any more predictions.
Hence, when he saw Axelor losing the first half of the handball game so badly, he had had the urge to say that this was in Lanthanor"s bag.
However, at the last moment, he had managed to control himself and avoid another disaster.
And when he saw the Axelorians turn the tide using their brutal methods, he felt that he had done right.
Even while commenting repeatedly both on the tenacity of the Axelorians and the endurance of the Lanthanorians, Sylvesto resisted.
"And with that, the strongest fighter in the Lanthanor Kingdom, Commander Luther, is taken out of the game. Commander Aaron is on the reserve team to replace him, but I don"t even think it would be a smart decision to use him now. It would be best to save both of them for the loser"s bracket. I must say, everyone, that it looks very bad for Lanthanor. What do you think, Stevens?"
"I must agree, Sylvesto. The Axelorians came swinging, and the Lanthanorians can"t take it. Of course, I really pale when I compare myself to the legendary prediction skills of the great Sylvesto. Can I have one now? Would you say that Axelor will definitely win, oh great seer? Or is there a chance for Lanthanor to recover?"
"Stevens-"
This kind of dialogue had already become an amusing fare for the spectators, so chuckles could be heard from those who weren"t busy screaming themselves hoa.r.s.e in support for their favorite kingdom.
Of course, this only irritated Sylvesto more, as he was used to people laughing WITH him, not AT him.
Just as he was finally about to blow a nerve and shout back, he saw someone walk to the spot where the replacement team member would be entering the court.
This man had some sort of magnetism to him, but it was veiled, subtle, as if it had been hidden on purpose.
All the partic.i.p.ants on all teams except a few special ones like those black-robed men had been thoroughly researched by the other Kingdoms so that they could know what to expect.
A copy of this report was also with both of them, as they had to know what to expect and what to talk about when commenting on a match.
Scrambling for this list, Sylvesto hastily tried to match the face and name he saw announced.
The background was normal, and the report said that he was just a farmer"s son who had entered the army.
However, Sylvesto knew that something was different.
This man had an inherent confidence to him that was mesmerizing to those who could see it. In fact, even he wouldn"t have been aware of it if it weren"t for a chance meeting he had had with a certain someone long ago.
That man apparently stood on the peak of this continent, but Sylvesto hadn"t known it at the time.
Yet, today, he saw that same confidence again.
This was someone who knew that they could do ANYTHING if they wished.
And this someone was entering the court on Lanthanor"s side.
"What"s the matter, Sylvesto? Cat got your tongue? It"s just a normal replacement. Lanthanor is finished! The power difference is too much! Or do you think otherwise?"
Stevens had noticed the special attention that Sylvesto had shown for this man, so he jested in this way, hoping to get him again.
It had already become a personal sport to rub this famous announcer"s failures in his face whenever he could, and it brought him great pleasure. At least, it a.s.suaged his jealousy for not being as famous.
"I-I do."
If anyone had noticed that a world-renowned announcer had stuttered for the first time right now since the event had started, they might have realized that something was wrong.
Of course, no one did, so when Stevens started ridiculing Sylvesto again, they laughed along.
"Do you hear this, everyone?! Sylvesto says that this normal soldier from Lanthanor is going to make a difference! This Eminent Human Fighter! What a joke! Maybe we need more experienced announcers! The whistle has sounded, so the teams are making their way back to the center. There goes the bell, and an excellent dive by both teams! Lanthanor gets it, and No. 12 pa.s.ses it to No. 15, the newcomer, whom our announcer trusts so much! Good zig-zag technique by No. 15 as he makes it past defender after defender, but he"s face to face against the same gauntlet that took out the Lanthanorian commander before! He"s out for sure! He-he-he-PAUSES AND PUNCHES?! Three quick jabs, and-and-ALL THREE COLLAPSE! BUT THERE"S THREE MORE NOW! But…he jabs again…and now he"s…waltzing to the other end?! THIS IS A SPORT OF BLOOD, G.o.dDAMMIT! Ok, now he"s running again, as the Exalted Human commander of Axelor is after him, BUT HE"S ALREADY AT THE FINISH LINE! 1 POINT TO LANTHANOR! 9-8! Those 6 are being checked by the medical professionals, AND THEY ARE OUT DUE TO LIFE-THREATENING INJURIES! WHO IS THIS MAN?! LANTHANOR HAS REVEALED A TRUMP CARD!"
Banging the table and getting up while keeping his eyes glued on the ground, Stevens couldn"t help but put a hand on his chest to calm down his beating heart.
With growing shock, he couldn"t help but look to the side, but he felt a little better on seeing Sylvesto as shocked as him.
Along with them, even the entire stadium had gone eerily silent with shock on seeing such a weird performance.
This man had treated the court as his playground, and no one had been able to do anything about it.
To the side of the ground, the Axelorian coach, who was apparently a minister of the Kingdom, could be seen literally pulling on his hair with his hands while staring disbelievingly at the ground.
Some people thought it was a fluke, but it happened again and again. No. 15 would run to the other end, sometimes casually, sometimes hurriedly, and almost all those who came in his path would be disabled. The pain on their faces was enough evidence that whatever that man did to them, it was excruciating.
The only situation where he would hurry would be if the commander tried to get him. Realizing this, the enemy commander took to shadowing him, but even this didn"t work as it allowed the rest of the team to obtain the victory.
In this way, as the crowd watched on with bewildered expressions, Lanthanor gained point after point.
As the bell sounded to signal the end of the match, the scoreboard that read 20-8 was like a slap in the face for Stevens.
Killing his pride for once, he asked Sylvesto the question that the crowd and even the rulers of the other Kingdoms were asking themselves in their minds.
"Who is he?!"
"I don"t know."
These words in response made him storm out, helpless, as it seemed to be destined that many would be spending a sleepless night while ruminating over what the answer might be.