With renewed determination, Satoshi walked towards the corridor to his waiting room. The second match of the semifinals was bound to start soon, and he had already resolved himself to win by a landslide.
Kim Jin Seok had the same sentiment as well. Currently, he was staying in his waiting room, sitting cross-legged on the couch while he tried to meditate. Until now, he still had no idea what kind of power Satoshi had. He had watched his youtube videos plenty of times in preparation for this match, but there was no sign of him integrating with his beasts anywhere. Adding to that, his performance throughout the Official Beast Tournament was exemplary.
And yet, even after all that, Kim Jin Seok could tell that Satoshi was still hiding most of his strength. After all, he didn't have any difficulties with his opponents, even when some of them could easily activate dual beast integration and more.
"For now, I should expect the worse. He's going to be a tough opponent, for sure. To think that I was the one who guided him when he picked his first tamed beast in the beast dimension... and now he's standing on the same stage as me, possibly stronger and more formidable than me. How the turns have tabled... er, I mean, how the tables have turned indeed." Kim Jin Seok said to himself, smiling.
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, he's still a Disciple with a strong Manager backing him up. Moreover, he has the guidance of a Representative. There was no way he could lose to someone who had just started beast taming. "He may have a Representative in his possession as well... but that doesn't mean he's got the one up on me. I'm going to win this match and go all the way to the semifinals and defeat Yun Zhe."
No one should tell Kim Jin Seok that Satoshi has three Representatives in his possession— namely, Dex, Stat (Statue of Captivity), and Amy (Copycat). And to top it all off, he's got the Queen of the Kraken Army in his possession, as well as the Ice Empress and the Beast Summoner Gabriel. If Satoshi called all of them into the grand stage and unleashed hell on his opponent, there was no way Kim Jin Seok would stand a chance at winning. It would be a thousand times more effective if Kim Jin Seok were to kowtow (dogeza) in front of Satoshi and beg him to give him the win. That probably has a higher chance of getting a victory.
A couple of minutes later, Midoriyama Satoshi and Kim Jin Seok started walking toward the grand stage. Their names were just announced, and the semifinals were bound to begin soon. The audience still had the same energy level as they were this morning, which added to the hype and the overall atmosphere of the American Dome.
"We're finally on the second match of the semifinals. How do you think this will turn out, Luke?" The commentator asked, handing the microphone to Luke Skyrunner. After the constant reminders that he should calm down while commentating, he finally found his groove, and he didn't spit on the microphone that much anymore.
"Before we start the semifinals, we've received a few heads up from the event organizers. I mean, it's already a given that I'm the head of the event organizer. Still, after talking about it during the short break, I think we have to put certain restrictions on the Official Beast Tournament from this point forward and add another rule." Luke cleared his throat after announcing something so shocking to the entire world.
"As you've witnessed during the first semifinal match, one of our contestants easily managed a Penta Beast Integration. It was truly an earth-shattering moment, and I couldn't be any prouder after witnessing such a historical event in this Official Beast Tournament. However, this has led to discussions regarding the Official Beast Tournaments moving forward."
"This year's Official Beast Tournament, we've witnessed major improvements in beast taming. With the appearance of Dual Beast Integration, Trinity Beast Integration, Quad Beast Integration... and now Penta Beast Integration. We've decided to change a couple of rules."
"First, the Official Beast Tournament will only handle up to the maximum of Trinity Beast Integration, except for the finals, where you can integrate with as many tamed beasts as you can."
"And second, there will be separate brackets for the Official Beast Tournament from now on. Of course, the standard Official Beast Tournament will still be present along with its new rules, but there will be tournaments for beast tamers who could only achieve a single Beast Integration and Dual Beast Integration."
"In that regard, you can expect the Official Beast Tournament to occur three or more times in a year. Also! Anyone can join the lower brackets if they stick to the rules of only integrating with one tamed beast for the Beast Integration bracket and two tamed beasts for the Dual Beast Integration Bracket."
At first, Luke Skyrunner had assumed that the people would take the decision negatively since it was such a drastic change. But then again, they really need to implement such changes since it would be unfair competition if they didn't. And what better time to announce such a change than now, just when the Official Beast Tournament is finally transitioning to the finals? There was no better time than now.
Silence filled the entire American Dome as soon as the lengthy announcement was said. Of course, the announcement was broadcasted live all across the globe as well, in case people missed the announcement in real time.
As if on cue, Kim Jin Seok and Satoshi entered the grand stage, waving their hands toward the audience while rigid smiles were glued to their faces. They weren't given the heads-up regarding the recent announcement, but they figured it was the best time to show themselves so the audience wouldn't think that much about the changes.
And they were right on the money. The moment they appeared on the grand stage, the audience started cheering for them, completely forgetting the announcement which had just been broadcasted. Well, not like the people could care either way. The majority of the spectators are avid fans of the Official Beast Tournament, and they wouldn't mind a change or two if that would mean a more balanced competition.
Besides, it would be better if Official Beast Tournaments didn't occur once a year. There will always be something to look forward to three times a year, and it didn't seem bad at all. In other words, the audience was okay with the changes. They were already knowledgeable enough to know that balance should be implemented when necessary.
"Thank you so much for your understanding. Now let's enjoy the second match of the semifinals together." Luke Skyrunner slightly bowed her head towards the camera drone floating right in front of him.
"Please step forward." The referee asked. "And please confirm the three tamed beasts you'll use." The referee continued.
Kim Jin Seok and Satoshi couldn't go by the new rules. With slight hesitation, they reached into their pockets (Satoshi was acting since his tamed beasts were stored in the Orb Oboros) to summon their tamed beasts. As mentioned, there will only be three tamed beasts for the semifinals, and if one uses more than three, they are immediately disqualified.
"Alpha Red Salamander, Kraken Queen, and Ice Empress. I'll be relying on the three of you." Satoshi said to himself as three tamed beasts appeared behind him.
"I'll be relying on you too, guys." Kim Jin Seok said, summoning three tamed beasts as well.
While the rules didn't state that the two of them should reveal which tamed beasts, they'll be using. They summoned them out anyway for transparency. It would've been more advantageous if the two of them kept their tamed beasts in their Grens and then showed the referee which tamed beasts they'll be using.
In a sense, the new rules regarding the Official Beast Tournament had given Kim Jin Seok an advantage— or so that's what he thought to himself. He was reasonably sure that Satoshi could activate Trinity Beast Integration or more. But now, with the fixed rule that they could only use three tamed beasts at once, Kim Jin Seok knew that he'd get an even greater chance at winning.
GASP!
"It's the Leader of the Kraken Army!'
"Whoa~ it's so big."
"That's what she sa— I'm kidding. I know, right? It's pretty big, right? Wow!"
"Yeah, wow. Just wow."
The audience started talking amongst themselves regarding the Leader of the Kraken Army. They were surprised that Satoshi was the one who captured her. The rumors were true, somebody did tame the Leader of the Kraken Army, and it was none other than Satoshi behind it.
"Um, Satoshi? Are you sure about this?" Kim Jin Seok asked out of nowhere just when the referee signaled for them to shake each other's hands.
"Wha are you talking about?'
"You're not going to use any Representatives... or legendary tamed beasts for that matter? Are you going to give me the win on purpose? Come on, Satoshi." Kim Jin Seok called out after noticing that Satoshi's choice of tamed beasts was pretty subpar.
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