Game World's Awakening

While they waited and talked about various things, the doorbell rang.

Knock*

Knock*

Knock*

"Mr. Steward, Mr. Ilsen is here."

'Ilsen?' Elliot frowned slightly.

"Let him in," Steward replied.

The door opened, and a well-dressed, elegant, and recognizable man entered.

'Ilsen Ann.' Elliot was surprised to see him.

He had seen him quite a bit on the local news. As one of the most influential men in local politics, he was well-liked in the city.

He is the last Secretary of Government before the current one.

Upon arriving, Ilsen stared at Elliot intently before continuing on.

"Mr. Steward, was the person you told me about him?" he asked.

"Don't underestimate him because of his age, Mr. Ilsen. He has more information than he appears to have."

Ilsen smiled. "I don't underestimate anyone because of their age, but because of their values," he replied, looking at Elliot again.

"The most famous young man of recent times. I didn't expect to meet you in such strange circumstances, so I won't be able to introduce you to my daughters," he said, joking slightly.

"Haha, I've heard about Mr. Ilsen for most of my life. I didn't expect to meet him right now. But, dare I ask, what is your plan?"

Ilsen smiled.

"To become Secretary of Government again. I have the support of the people, but that guy has political power because the king favors him. But he's making mistakes."

Elliot smiled. "Like allying himself to steal corpses, kidnap young people, and send all that to a malicious organization."

Ilsen's eyes flashed slightly.

"You've done your research well. I thought they were covering their tracks very well."

"Haha, there are no traces I can't follow with a few people and summons. Although, indeed, they are doing a great job. But they are biting off more than they can chew. That's what will ultimately take its toll on them."

Ilsen immediately became interested. "I know your power. If you have summons that I haven't seen yet and that are useful for espionage, then I think I have some good jobs for you."

"Conditions?"

"No conditions."

Elliot stared at him. "I don't think there's such a thing as free help. Especially when we don't know each other."

"Haha, I know very well the reasons that drive you to do what you want to do against them. And I also know that you won't fail. That's why I knew it was a good opportunity for me when I saw you here."

"So your condition is that I help you get the position you want, right?"

"Yes. It's not that I blindly trust you, anyway. If you do those jobs for me, you'll gain information and be able to move better. I'll help you, too. And I'll gain more political leverage. It's a win-win."

Elliot nodded and finally became thoughtful.

Everything was flowing very smoothly. Sometimes that could be bad, as it could mean that the other person simply knows his moves and might be a traitor who wants to lead him into a dead end.

But this time... It's not strange that he knows his moves. Political power is complicated to understand, even for the Awakened.

It is said that families involved in politics can sometimes awaken impressive powers that help them in that endeavor.

Often, these are just powers of leadership, persuasion, or something similar. On other occasions...

There are rumors that they could even be powers to see the future.

Some rumors suggest that they are Special Awakened Ones, as they have the powers of clairvoyance.

That's how it felt this time.

Elliot had the feeling that this man already knew something about him.

'No wonder he's a legend in local politics. I once heard that he had been offered the opportunity to go to the capital as a high-level minister, but out of love for his city, he stayed here,' he thought.

In fact, it is said that the king appointed a different secretary of government at that time to pressure Ilsen Ann to go to the capital.

If those rumors were true, then this man could be a true luminary in the world of politics.

While Elliot was deep in thought, Ilsen took the liberty of speaking again.

"Although I rarely got to know your father, I had a certain amount of power when his misfortune occurred. I may not know exactly what happened that time, but I think I'm one of the few who can give you all the clues you need to find out."

Elliot looked up and stared at him. "Do you know something?" he asked.

"I know a few things."

Elliot smiled. "My plan is to get that bastard out of the way anyway. So I can help you along the way. Let's talk about it."

"Haha, very well then, young sir."

Steward left the room at some point, as he did not want to get involved in those problems. He left them to exchange information alone.

A good while later, Elliot walked through the city.

He made several rounds and then approached the Ann house.

He did a few things and let his infiltration summon enter it. Then he left.

If he could send it after Ilsen, that would be ideal, as he needed to know if that guy was trustworthy. But for now, it was fine as it was.

Eventually, he would find a way to send it closer to him.

For now, he had learned new information, and thanks to it, he knew what he had to do.

He sent some messages to Black Leather and then to Jeff.

Thus, the second week of competitions began the following morning.

It was Monday, January 13.

Angelic Wave vs. Broken Leaf... they won overwhelmingly, although they could no longer match the 31 seconds from before.

The week passed relatively quickly, between battles during the day and movements in the dark at night.

The city slowly seemed to be entering a silent chaos from which it would be difficult to escape in the short term. Especially on the side of the Misfits and the Awakened, who noticed curious things moving on the surface.

There were powerful people in the city, so many could see that something big was coming.

Others...

Perhaps they were watching everything and enjoying it.

But between bold moves, controlled moves, and a lot of money spent, the second week of the Tournament ended...

In spectacular fashion.

In the last match.

Angelic Wave versus the Elemental Academy.

The match was much more overwhelming than the previous one, with Angelic Wave finishing the week undefeated again.

Angelic Wave led this group with a 10-0 record. They were undoubtedly the most dominant team in the entire tournament.

Behind them was the Elemental Academy... with a surprising 6-4 record. They had lost three times this week. They lost to Personifications, to Aquatic Longing, and finally to Angelic Wave.

Even so, they qualified for the next round on points.

The next two were tied in everything.

Personifications and the House of Fire. Both 4-6.

Considering that there are five groups and three teams from each group must qualify directly, a match would be played to determine the winner between the two tied teams that would advance to the next phase.

In the end, Broken Leaf and Aquatic Longing were still in contention, both with a 3-7 record. However, they were eliminated from the group stage based on points.

However, there are five groups, and three teams qualify from each group. That makes a total of 15 teams, out of the 16 needed for the round of 16.

Therefore, all those who are tied but eliminated from their group go on to play a final decisive match. It is a direct elimination.

In this case, there are four teams with a 3-7 record.

All four are in the two groups with one undefeated team. Two are in Angelic Wave's group, and the other two are in Academy Zargo's group.

Those four teams must play in a playoff for a final spot in the top 16 teams.

In part, these groups would also determine which of the two undefeated groups was the most powerful.

Which one would be able to put four members in the top 16?

With that, the Group Stage ended on Friday, January 17.

The next day, the final stretch toward the Round of 16 would be played.

And the Round of 16 would begin on Monday, January 20.

Time passes quite quickly between moves. The last matches were played on Saturday, January 18 to determine the top 16.

The first were the tied teams that would advance directly. The fight between Personifications and House of Fire was very close.

Both teams were very evenly matched in terms of overall strength. But in the end, House of Fire managed to beat them and qualified third in the group.

Subsequently, the final matches to determine the last of the 16...

Aquatic Longing won.

With the 16 teams decided, Group Clark finished first in their group with a convincing 9-1 record.

Thus, the round of 16 began...

But for the big teams, it was even easier than the group stage itself.

Many of the matches ended quickly; others not so much.

And as if time flew by, the top 8 were decided.