When he woke up, he felt a deja vu as he quickly moved his body to check his condition and turned left and right, trying to find someone in this room.
He soon found Ellen sitting next to his bed while arranging the fruit she just bought.
Noticing Theo's movement, Ellen turned around and smiled. "You have woken up."
"If you are here… Doesn't this mean the match is already over?"
"Yeah." Ellen nodded with a calm expression.
However, this kind of action was already enough for the answer. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I guess we can only aim for third place."
"I am sorry." Ellen apologized, looking down with a sad expression.
"It's fine. This one was my fault. I should have given you the strategy instead of keeping it inside me the whole time."
"But you were just trying to force Nella to come up, leaving no time for you to explain."
"I could write it and pass it to Phyrill or I should have told you while watching the second battle. The plan was already formulated in my head when watching the second game."
"NO!" Ellen denied it, but she knew she couldn't convince Theo on this.
"Where are the others?"
"They need to do something." Ellen looked away.
"Okay… So, who cried?"
"You're not supposed to ask it, you know." Ellen sighed.
"It's my responsibility. I guess I should start babysitting them."
"Can I know… Your previous plan?"
"My plan?" Theo smiled. "I would have thrown your staff to the arena."
"Huh? That was your plan?"
"Yeah. It should confuse them for a moment because there was a high chance you would appear in the next one. They might think we are going to be stronger with Phyrill, Laust, and Alea together, but that's exactly what I wanted them to think. By throwing your staff, they would bring only either Luka or Zara, but since Zara's power can amplify her teammates, it's better for her to be the decisive match, the last one.
"Hence, I was planning to send Alea and Phyrill for the next match and win the match. Of course, you could also come out at that time. Depending on their answer, I can beat them in the fourth round." Theo sighed. "I guess you used the normal strategy."
Ellen looked at the ceiling and felt horrible. "I guess we are really useless without you."
"Not really." Theo shook his head. "The reason I dare to use something like this is due to my view toward all of you. To win, I will do whatever, even if it makes me or you look bad. That's why I can be this bold.
"Ahaha. Anyway, what we can do is to win the last one and get the bronze. I am not letting this slide anymore." Theo smiled while trying to take another look at his mission.
Trial: Get the first place to tell the world tricks are the best (Completed)
Reward: Upgraded Skill Eyes.
"Huh?" Theo couldn't help but utter his confusion out loud.
"Theo?"
Theo waved his hand and coughed to calm his heart down. "Nothing. Just thought about something."
Theo continued looking at the trial before pinching the bridge of his nose. He muttered, "Reality and Illusion…"
Sorting his thought, he took another look at the trial and noticed its change.
Trial: Get the first place (MVP) to tell the world tricks are the best (Completed)
Reward: Meeting
PS: Your team sucks. There's no way I'm leaving your and my fate in their hands.
'This is indeed the best trick…' Theo thought as he wanted to curse this sudden change because he was already feeling sad that he couldn't get the gold. 'After defeating Australia and Indonesia Teams, I have become a dark horse. Then, defeating Italy Team just proves the point even more. With my last battle against Nella, people will think I'm carrying the whole team since they can't do anything without me. Is this a blessing in a misfortune? Now that I take another look at this result… I want to feel happy, but I certainly can't. Whatever.'
Suddenly, the door opened as Radvils entered the room, checking on him. "How is your body?"
"I am fine. All the wounds have recovered. I don't feel any pain."
"I guess it's good since I asked the president to arrange a healing chamber for you as the top priority. Anyway, you still need to rest for another two days here to see if there's any side effects from your previous condition."
"I understand." Theo nodded and continued, "Where are the others? Are they not going to meet this sick me?"
"…" Radvils furrowed his eyebrows, feeling something had changed in Theo, but he couldn't see what it was. "I will ask them to come later, but all of them are blaming themselves because they suck."
"Ahaha." Theo chuckled. "I do too. Anyway, I shall perform my duty and whip them back into shape again. Our battle is not over yet. Besides, this is good…"
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me the enemies' conditions."
"…" Radvils couldn't understand what he wanted but told him the truth. "Nella is gonna be fine after a rest. Clark is hospitalized and can't participate anymore. He is in this hospital too if you want to meet him. Laura and Scarlet will be fine, but I don't think Scarlet can fight with her full strength later."
"See. I bet Nella thought she won the war, but the one who got the last laugh is us." Theo chuckled.
"Ho?"
"With their current condition, even if they are competing for gold or silver, the people will be disappointed because they can't perform to the best of their abilities. Then who will get the spotlight?" Theo smirked.
"Semifinals are usually an opening for the final. But with a final like this, they will already know who gets the gold, who gets the silver medal. Hence, the most exciting battle will be the semifinal, the opening act. The one who gets the spotlight will be…" Ellen drew a gasp, coming to a realization.
"That's right. We may not win, but we certainly get the spotlight. Seriously, for me, the spotlight is better than a gold medal because this will bring me a brighter future than an empty medal." Theo laughed. "So, who cried the most? Send that person to me right now. I'm going to force them to laugh."