Max was teleported outside the grand museum with his teammates. The thief role was pretty perfect for judging Puppeteer's skill.
Once everyone was teleported, he observed them calmly from the side. Puppeteer was wearing a Ski Mask and glide shoes. The mask's ability allowed the user to slide around as if they were on ice.
Combined with glide shoes, the effect would be doubled, increasing his speed further and allowing him to move anywhere. Whether it was a wall or ceiling, nothing could stop him.
'A pretty unique combination but hard to use due to the skill one needs to move around in a 3D area. I am confident I can use it, but it will be hard for other players. That's why this combination isn't preferred.'
Rather than that, the monkey mask + glide shoes or clown mask + glide shoes were more common. In fact, two of his current teammates wore the former, while the last one wore the latter.
"Ooh! We are on Puppeteer's team!"
"I am lucky! We will certainly win!"
"Hehe, let's win and advance to the final together!"
What happened in Max's last game also happened here. Moxy, UloTai, and Snikki all looked at Puppeteer and declared the team win immediately. However, their tone was more sure than that of his last teammates, who were now on the other team.
Listening to them, Puppeteer only nodded.
"I hope you all work hard too. This is a team game." He said before turning to Max. "And I believe this is our first meeting, Breeze. I have been looking forward to our meeting. Your skill has grown compared to the time when you played Knight Journey. I am looking forward to working together."
The ski-masked Puppeteer extended his hand. Max took it and nodded.
"Haha, me too. I've also been looking forward to meeting you since I heard your name. Let's compete fairly."
There was no weird tension whatsoever, but the three teammates stayed silent. They finally realized that Max was in the team and muttered.
"Not only Puppeteer but also Breeze?"
"Damn... Isn't this an easy win?"
"I bet both of them can steal the target even without us doing anything."
Their comments were heard by both Max and Puppeteer. Max released his hand and looked at his teammates.
"Good luck and have fun." He said his usual greeting with a natural voice.
Knowing Puppeteer had more experience, Max decided to ask him.
"So, what's the strategy to win this game? Ring of Fire is located on the second floor, which has the tightest security, considering the police can corner us from the first and third floor once the alarm rings."
Not only did he not want to appear arrogant by giving out instructions, but he also wanted to know how Puppeteer dealt with this kind of game. He wanted to learn from the pros.
'Isn't that exciting?'
They celebrated the victory. Moxy, UloTai, and Snikki thanked everyone for their work and hoped for the best against Group B in their third match later.
Max nodded and acknowledged his desire to work together until the final. Only then would they compete with each other. Puppeteer also agreed. He said some words before they got teleported back to the Lobby.
Sitting on the comfy sofa, Max noticed Group B's match was still ongoing. He decided to watch it to figure out the skill of his next enemies. Ranga was in the thief team, and he looked like he was struggling a lot.
'He's going to lose.' Max assessed.
True to his thought, Ranga's team was pushed and got apprehended one by one without being able to steal the target.
'A shame. I want to go against him at least once. He's been a good company for the day.' He thought.
The Group B winner team was teleported back to the Lobby. They began to search each other and grouped to talk.
Max glanced at Puppeteer, but the guy had just drunk alcohol again without even noticing him.
'I guess we don't need to do anything. Looking at their skill level, I think we will win the third game even with a rashly made plan.'
No matter how they cooked their plans, Max was confident his team would be able to win against them. However, the enemy team suddenly nodded at each other and walked to the party floor, where the elevated platform was located.
They had determined faces as if deciding on something. All the players looked at them and saw strange behavior. Instantly, they became the spotlight.
One of them, a guy with long black hair, stepped forward and declared in a loud voice.
"We'd like to concede."
Hearing the declaration, all players immediately fell into a ruckus. Many who bet on Group B's victory shouted at the team.
"COWARDS!"
"Just play and go against them! At least hold them off for 5 minutes!"
"Why did you concede? There is nothing wrong trying!"
"You guys are coward. Let the other team play!"
Most Tier 1 players were angry at them for surrendering before even trying. Looking at them, Max also blinked his eyes in disbelief.
"What the hell?"
As someone who liked to compete, Max loved to go against the others to test his skill. Tournament only made it interesting and exciting. And now... They just had to make this already bad tournament felt even worse in his mouth.
'Can it get any worse than this?'