As the countdown to the tournament was launched, hunters went crazy about gathering crystals. There were a lot of people storming Will's office to book the hunting grounds. The man himself wasn't working though, he delegated the job to Brutus and focused on his own progress.
The registration to the tournament opened, and another bureau appeared in the gate hall. There was quite a bunch of people thinking they will be able to make the name for themselves if they participate, but for me, it was foolish thinking. They could only get themselves killed, that was all.
There was no way some weaklings could go far on the ladder, and risks were big. It was a harsh truth.
Martin, Hailwic, and to my surprise Nadzieja made a team and signed everything on the first day. Boris, Will, and Nobuo formed another and also registered themselves soon after. Blue didn't hesitate too and went with some of his stronger guys.
I took my time. Sudarshana kept asking me if I'm going to be participating, so eventually, we had to have this conversation, which ended with her being a bit angry with me, and my name on the papers confirming my participation in the event. Her main issue was me going alone.
She just couldn't understand why I don't want any teammates. I couldn't explain to her that I don't need them. She just wouldn't listen.
A day after Ki'rai, Nil, and Amit also signed the papers as a team. With them went Urho, Kagiso Mbeki, and Andy. Other samurais also declared their participation. Ryuu Otis and Hideaki Miyajima joined hands with Alice to form a strong team.
That was not the end. I left the most surprising team for the end, since Mihael, Marcalla, and Juan agreed to work together, and also represent Arc alongside others. I never expected that, but it happened.
We started to hear rumors from other countries with gates, about people famous out there. Names that were telling us nothing, only making the eager fighter excited about the upcoming clash.
I made sure to not contact my mom since I knew she would overreact, and I didn't need that in my life at all.
Tihana was also concerned, although she pretended not to. She was giving me the 'I don't care' attitude. This combined with the fact that our relationship was in a bit of a crisis already, only worsened the whole situation. We basically didn't speak to each other.
I still was waiting for the reports Wolf promised me and ended up having to chase him for them. Eventually, they got handled to me, so I could read a bit about the man called Edward Hill, nickname 'Skullcrasher' a former soldier the found himself behind the gate like in his own home, and quickly took over the city they called 'New America'.
The population was made out of people from different nations, but they had nothing much to say under Hill's rule.
Apparently, he was a fair person but didn't hesitate to use violence if he had to. I found out that his main strength was physical capabilities. Incredible stamina, strength, endurance, and agility. Combined with the extraordinary toughness of his body, was making him a bulletproof tank of a man.
He could use healing magic, earth magic, and lightning magic. To what point, the rapport wasn't specifying, which I found quite peculiar since Edward didn't seem like a man who would hide his strength from his own country.
I was expecting Wolf to try and hide as much as he possibly could, so I wasn't surprised.
I took the document and shared it with my friends, knowing that other participants are probably also getting the intel on us. Even if they weren't I would still do it anyway.
In the span of four weeks, my home was fully finished, but sadly I couldn't even take a proper look, since we all had to leave for a plane. A private jet that was supposed to take us to Egypt, where hotel rooms were already waiting for us and where, in seven days, the whole event was supposed to start.
I made sure Irina would take care of Tihana, and headed out to the gate hall, where Vikram Kaur, in a full suit, was already waiting for me, alongside many other assistants.
- Peter.
- Vikram.
- The car is ready.
- Good. Take me then. By the way, you are also coming to Egipt.
- Of course, I am - he said smiling. - Higherups were basically blackmailing me to go and have an eye on you. Not that they had to, but the rise felt great. I'm now earning decent money.
- Good for you.
- Oh, you have no idea. Now when I can actually speak to my wife's face to face, and she learned that... Oh, man! It was amazing. Sex I mean...
- Spare me the details.
- You sure? It was quite spicy.
- Yeah, sure. I've been only that sure about few things in my life. Where the hell is that car?
- This way - he said with a smirk on his face.
This was all a joke, and I knew it. He led me through the portal to the parking lot, next to the Indian government facility built next to the gate. It was filled with black sedans, prepared for the hunters. All of them had the engines on, and the drivers ready to go at any second. We went straight there.
Vikram opened a door to my designated vehicle for me, which was kinda annoying, but I still went inside without a word. Then he closed it, and went all the way around, to sit next to me so we could actually properly talk throughout all the way to the airport.
Each team had their own jet just for them and their assistants. Since I was alone, we could depart almost immediately after our long ride.
The flight wasn't long, and we landed in Cairo, where a government agent designated for just us took us to our hotel.
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