After John Oni's astonishing display, no one dared doubt him anymore. Even Seira couldn't help but ask herself whether her boss could defeat such a slippery and vicious guy.
'Hmmph! The boss is invincible, what am I even thinking?'
On the other hand, the boss in question was deep in thought, thinking long and hard about two things: firstly, discerning what the audience desires in a showdown between a mage and an archer, and secondly, deliberating whether to unveil one of his common-tier warrior skills to easily defeat John Oni or to engage him in a battle of equals, thus enhancing the spectacle of the fight.
...The matches went on, and those who were expected to win, all won their matches. John Oni's slight mishap served as a fine warning to the top ten rookies that their promising positions would be jeopardized if they played around too much.
Hence, upon facing the top ten rookies who were in serious mode after the rude wake-up call from Pokyuu, the five other remaining rookies who somehow survived up to the fourth round were all eliminated.
They all fought valiantly, decisively revealing their shocking aces one after the other, utterly defiant and unconvinced of their current position in the rookie status quo.
Unfortunately, as the top ten rookies with deeper backgrounds than the talented challengers revealed their trump cards, the strongest skills of the five remaining underdogs were thwarted, ultimately leading to their defeat in the hands of the expected winners.
If only the Pokyuu Pine versus John Oni match hadn't been scheduled first, a few of them might've been successful in creating miraculous upsets.
Sadly, it seemed that even the Gods and Goddesses of victory favored those who were born with a silver spoon—some even gold—in their mouth.
Finally, after the last of the rebellious rookies outside of the top ten had been eliminated, it was time for the highlight of the fourth-round matches: Shye Crowley versus Payne Keller.
Two matches ago, Shye was asked by an arena staff to enter his designated preparation room inside the arena where he met Guild Master Corvus and a few other important personnel of their guild branch.
Members of his guild then offered him several pointers: firstly, to remain vigilant and not lower his defenses; secondly, to exercise patience when facing Payne, as he was known for his elusive nature; and thirdly, to have confidence in his own strength as the superior rookie.
Shye didn't need the reminders, however, since Corvus and his men only did so in goodwill, he gave them the appropriate respect they deserved and simply nodded in earnest agreement, demonstrating his sincerity in heeding their advice.
The members had to admit, after hearing of Shye's...arrogant tales, they prepared their hearts for an unpleasant conversation.
Shye didn't care though as what he cared about was...of course, system points!
Grasping two elemental staffs with his hands, Shye appreciated Payne's silence as he was rather...sick of delusional yapping.
If he had to engage in a verbal war, he would prefer it to be against John Oni or Arthur Vermillion since it would probably translate into actual system points.
Payne, although famous, just wasn't famous enough.
"Oh? Contestant Keller suddenly takes out a crossbow! What does he intend to do with it?! Is this one of his trump cards to take down the chantless mage?!" Corey's voice sounded, prompting the crowd to look at Keller's hands with a confused and excited expression.
Meanwhile, Shye couldn't help but narrow his eyes into slits.
Indeed. Wasn't Payne a shortbow user? Why was he using a crossbow now?
Well, Shye didn't feel intimidated in the slightest; in fact, he felt a surge of excitement. This unexpected turn meant that his strategy to entertain the audience would work even better.
Stepping back a little to maintain the optimal distance, Shye assumed his battle stance, prompting the way too-serious Payne to do the same.
Surprisingly, the audience cheered wildly even before the match began, bringing a smile to Shye's face.
Only, if he knew that most of the audience was eager to see if Payne could pull out an upset against him, he wouldn't feel as happy.
He was the newcomer in the rookie rankings.
In addition to this, he was younger than the other top ten rookies by an entire year; hence, in the minds of the audience, he was somewhat the invader, the villain.
Someone who doesn't belong.
Naturally, just like every other villain, the crowd wanted...to see him lose.