The Grand Duelist

"HAHAHAHA!"

A laugh erupted at the deepest room within the Headquarters of P.H Works. The laughter originated from the Head of the Development Team of Victory, Ray Gabriel.

He even repeatedly slapped the table as he laughed.

"It's so bad that you guys didn't make a bet with me. I would've been lucky!" He said in regret.

Meanwhile, his fellow scientists wore bitter smiles on their faces. Earlier, Ray Gabriel asked them to bet with him if Joseph could extract both Alice and the Legend Krid from the Central Square of the Capital City Reinhardt. 

At first, the scientists wanted to bet since there were a lot of powerful figures surrounding the area.

It would be incredibly difficult or close to impossible for Joseph to escape since he was surrounded by those powerful people.

But these scientists didn't expect that Joseph would use his Grand Challenge and banish himself and Alice towards the Arena of the Gods.

In turn...

Creating an illusion that he had escaped amidst everyone's gazes. 

But...

"Sir... Can he really escape? I mean, he only used the Grand Duelist's Grand Challenge to transport himself and Alice into the Colosseum. When they come out from that place, they would naturally appear at the exact location where they disappeared..."

"Yeah... In other words, what he is doing right now is just a stop-gap. It was never a cure in the first place. He's only delaying the inevitable."

"That's right..."

The scientists nodded one after another and Ray Gabriel chuckled.

He swept his gaze towards them and said: "Did you guys even pay attention to what happened before that guy disappeared along with that girl?" After reaching the end of his sentence, he reached out for a pizza and munched on it.

The scientists frowned: "What do you mean about that, sir?"

A gulping sound rang out as Ray Gabriel swallowed his pizza. Then, he made a sidelong glance to the scientists and said: "Didn't you guys hear what he shouted before he disappeared into the Arena of the Gods?"

The scientists frowned once again, and it was Elizabeth who stood beside Ray Gabriel that answered the burning question in their minds.

"He said: Let's see if you bastards follow us to the Forbidden Region!" Elizabeth even imitated Joseph's fierce expression when he said these words, eliciting laughter from the other scientists.

"Pfft! What is that face, Eli? A face like that really doesn't suit you..."

"Hahaha..."

"But now I understand. In other words, sir is thinking that Joseph and Alice can easily escape if they just waited until the attention of everyone is diverted towards the Forbidden Region?" One of the scientists asked.

"Yes." Ray Gabriel nodded, yet that particular scientist asked once again.

"But sir, I don't think that Joseph didn't know about the fact that the Legend Krid's safe house is located within the Forbidden Region. Isn't his actions of luring the troops of the Kingdom towards that place, tantamount to giving danger to Krid and Ezreal?"

Ray Gabriel lightly chuckled when he heard the words of that scientist: "Well, that certainly is common sense. But know that a Legend is incredibly powerful..."

"I'm the one that designed them, so I know how powerful they really are. In other words, Joseph placed his faith in the fortifications of Krid's safehouse and Ezreal's capabilities."

When Ray Gabriel finished his sentence, another scientist spoke up: "But sir, isn't what he did the same as recklessness? He needlessly endangered the safety of Krid and his comrade, Ezreal due to what he did!"

"After all, all of us here know about how strong the Kingdom is and those they are conspiring with..."

"So, even if Krid is a Legend, I don't think that his safe house can survive the continuous assault of the Kingdom and the Dark Knights of Truedawn." 

Ray Gabriel didn't deny what the scientist was saying. But he also didn't support his fellow brother's statement. He just lightly smiled before replying: "What you are saying makes sense, but do you really think that common sense applies to Joseph?"

"This guy managed on perfectly completing that quest last time which really greatly exceeded our expectations..."

The scientists speechlessly stared at Ray Gabriel. Not knowing what to say.

But after a few moments, one of them bravely said: "But sir, even though he managed on surpassing our expectations at that time. I don't think that he can keep on performing such miracles."

All other scientists simultaneously nodded their heads to what their fellow scientist was saying. It wasn't really logical that someone could consecutively perform shocking miracles.

But then...

Ray Gabriel raised his head and stared at the scientists. 

"Since you guys do not believe in Joseph's luck and capabilities."

A sly smile emerged on his lips.

"How about we do bet?"

"Errr..."

"Uh..."

"Ahahaha..."

The scientists bitterly smiled and some even awkwardly scratched their heads. Their reactions may be different, but all of them had something in common. Their cheeks were blushed red in apparent embarrassment as Ray Gabriel wildly laughed at them.

"See! You guys are always on the opposite of what I am saying, yet when I dare you guys to bet with me, all of you do not dare to do so! Tsk... Just believe in what I am saying, alright?" 

"If all of you don't want those paychecks of yours to disappear, next salary." Ray Gabriel even winked at them, eliciting laughter from Elizabeth.

"Hahaha... Sir... You really are too vicious..." Elizabeth poked fun at Ray Gabriel and the latter merely shrugged.

At the side, the scientists still wore bitter smiles on their faces. Logic told them that it was close to impossible for someone to do consecutive miracles. But Joseph really was someone that repeatedly exceeded their expectations from the start.

Could he really do another miracle this time? 

These scientists weren't so sure, but they were surely looking forward to Joseph's success or failure.

"Now that I think about it. How long do you guys think until Joseph's ascension as a true Mythical Class player? I mean, you guys still remember about the details of that Class-Specific Quest for the Grand Duelist, right?" Ray Gabriel asked them, and the scientists nodded their heads.

"From what I can recall, sir. The timeframe should be about a year or three years of Victory time." 

"Yeah, he's right sir. I actually looked into our data and that's what I also found."

The scientists promptly answered and a smile emerged on Ray Gabriel's lips: "Did you guys really looked into the data for that quest, or not?" His smile turned sly and his eyes radiated a teasing light that was all too familiar for Elizabeth who could do nothing but sigh.

She knew that this leader of her was playing with his fellow scientists, but she didn't do anything to stop him. After all, even though she felt pity for these scientists. It was also amusing for her to see these scientists renowned through the whole world being teased like children by her leader.

"Sir Ray really is the best." Elizabeth's cheeks flushed for a moment when she thought about Ray Gabriel. But she instantly hid her feelings behind a facade as she faced the scientist with a light smile on her face.

"Uh... I really did look into the data behind the Class-specific quest. Is there something wrong about it, sir?" The scientist who claimed that he looked into the data said in a hesitant manner. He felt an intense sense of premonition when he saw the teasing look on Ray Gabriel's face.

"Oh? Let's just say that you really did so. But you didn't carefully read it, right? You just skimmed through the data?"

That scientist nodded his head. After all, there was nothing really wrong about not wanting to read blocks of data that were irrelevant to his search.

"In that case, then you missed something great. You missed a huge turning point within that quest that Joseph beautifully executed. Haist... If that guy is here, then he would've scolded you guys!"  Ray Gabriel sighed.

The scientists revealed bitter smiles on their faces once again.

But could you really blame them? These scientists worked on so many things that it wasn't strange for them to forget a single detail or data.

The scientists faced Ray Gabriel with an expression that looked like they were almost pleading.

As scientists, they were innately curious about the unknown so, what Ray Gabriel was doing to them could be considered as incredibly annoying. Thankfully, Ray Gabriel didn't extend their pain any longer as he explained.

"That quest has two routes."

"Two... Two routes?"

The scientists were astonished. But before they could even ask.

Ray Gabriel explained.

"The first route would happen if Joseph believed Krid's statement and saved Alice using the Bead of Absolute Escape. If that really happened then Krid would be executed by the Kingdom and have his soul extracted and searched..."

"Fortunately, Joseph caught on the lie that Krid said back when he gave the Bead of Absolute Escape to Joseph. That time, Krid said that he had another Bead of Absolute Escape in an effort to reassure Joseph. But thankfully, Joseph noticed that Krid was lying so he made changes with the plan..."

"And in the end..."

"He saved Krid through the use of the Bead of Absolute Escape. To keep Alice's safety. He used the Grand Duelist's Grand Challenge in order to temporarily hide both he and Alice from everyone, and he also declared something earlier so he could lure everyone to the Forbidden Region."

"If Joseph didn't notice Krid's lie then this quest would've proceeded on the first route..."

"In other words, Krid will die and Alice's development as a Swordswoman will stop since she will devote all of her time into creating Joseph's Primary Weapon for the sake of his ascension as a true Mythical Class player..."

The scientists revealed expressions of shock. They clearly didn't expect that the Class-Specific Quest dedicated to the Grand Duelist had such a cruel twist to it. But before the scientists could even recover from their shock. Ray Gabriel dropped another bombshell.

"But actually..."

"That guy designed that particular quest so that it would scale depending on the average level of players within the world of Victory and their progression. In other words, if the Grand Duelist was given two years later."

"The duration of his class-specific quest before his ascension wouldn't be that long. I think it should only be about two years in Victory time..."

"But since it was given so early, the class-specific quest should last for about six years in Victory time. After all, even though we want a Sun that Overlooks Everything. We do not want a Sun that scorches everything that it overlooks into ashes..."

"In order to motivate people, the goal that is driving their motivation should be SMART."

"In other words, it should be..." Ray Gabriel paused and thought for a moment.

But Elizabeth answered for him.

"Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound."

Ray Gabriel made a sidelong glance at Elizabeth before he smiled at the scientists: "That's right!"

"But since Joseph is now on the second route designed by that guy. Everything has changed drastically. In fact, I don't even know anything about how long do we have to wait until Joseph's ascension as a true Mythical Class player..."

"But judging from the personality of that guy that designed this cruel, yet interesting quest..."

"I think it won't be too long from now on."

The scientists nodded their heads towards Ray Gabriel's explanation. The guy that Ray Gabriel was talking about was Mar, that eccentric scientist whose mind they couldn't read nor understand.

They now had a completely different attitude when they looked at Joseph.

But one of them couldn't help but speak up for he noticed something strange about what Ray Gabriel had said.

"Since sir cannot predict what will happen in the future? How about we let the Supercomputer Noah do the calculations for us?" He asked. 

Ray Gabriel froze for a moment before facepalming.

"...Sir?"

Elizabeth asked in shock.

"How..."

The scientists revealed astonished expressions.

"How the hell did I not think of that, holy shit!" Ray Gabriel exclaimed and the lips of Elizabeth and the scientists revealed awkward expressions on their faces as Ray Gabriel turned around and swiftly typed some words on the keyboard.

[Analyzing...]

[Completed!]

[Based on the data gathered and the predicted outcome of the quest. It has been concluded that due to a large number of factors involved that are necessary for the calculation...]

[The system cannot accurately estimate the answer to the given question. However, a thorough analysis could still be made in order to predict the outcome.]

[Do you want to do a thorough analysis?] 

Ray Gabriel frowned before he asked: "How long will the thorough analysis take?"

[Calculating...]

[The thorough analysis will be done after three days.]

"That's too long!" Ray Gabriel subconsciously cried out when he heard what the Supercomputer Noah said.

[I'm trying my best...] 

The Supercomputer Noah replied.

Ray Gabriel suddenly felt guilty out of nowhere and he had no other choice but to turn his back towards the Supercomputer and face the scientists. 

"Well, as you guys can see..." He bitterly said.

The scientists nodded their heads and they all had the same thought in their minds: 'Joseph... If only you know about how much of a monster we think you are...' They all shook their heads in regret before one of them cautiously asked.

"The Supercomputer Noah may not be able to predict what will happen in the future if Joseph managed on escaping from the Capital City Reinhardt..."

"But aren't we counting our chickens here before the eggs even hatch? I still don't think that Joseph could escape from Reinhardt along with Alice even though he managed on distracting the powerful figures of the Kingdom.

Elizabeth nodded her head in understanding: "You're right... The Grand Challenge of the Grand Duelist has an infinite duration once it's activated that lasts until the Grand Duelist or the challenged dies or loses so, they are quite safe inside the Arena of the Gods..."

"But Joseph is a player that needs to log-out eventually..."

The scientists who heard what she was saying suddenly exclaimed.

"Yes, that's right! I don't think that he can even stay that long within the Arena of the Gods!"

"Yeah... The system's physiological alarm will trigger after a few hours of playing and if a player didn't answer the physiological needs of his body. He would be forcefully logged out of the game..."

"You're right, and when that happens... The Grand Challenge will be turned off, Alice will once again appear in the Central Square of Reinhardt, and what's worse is that shockwave... That shockwave will become like a 'look here' sign which will definitely attract the eyes of everyone nearby."

A smile could be seen on Ray Gabriel's lips as he swept his gaze on the anxious faces of his fellow scientist. Even Elizabeth wasn't an exception as he stared at her until her cheeks flushed red.

Then, he raised his head and pointed at the monitor attached to the ceiling behind him.

"Just observe." He said, and when everyone's eyes followed his finger...

They were shocked to the core by what they saw.