Child of Destiny

...

"Our first team is-…" started David as he dug his hand into the glass bowl and stirred its contents before grabbing one of the spherical containers.

He played with it for a moment before pressing on it and shattering the container altogether. What was left was a little piece of paper, which he unrolled slowly while showing it to the camera.

Then the emblem of the team was revealed to everyone, which was the head of a serpent that was formed by multiple smaller serpent heads.

"Hydra Guild!" said David before proceeding to walk to the other bowl, which contained the teams that advanced from the previous round.

As he was taking a couple of steps, the virtual screen behind him showed some of the highlighted battles of the members representing the Hydra Guild in the tournament.

He repeated the process before picking another spherical container and showing its contents to everyone.

This time, the emblem was a knight's helmet with a beetle-like horn.

Seeing the emblem, Miss Bunny smiled as she told everyone the name of the team. "Knight's Order!"

Right after she said the name of the team, the virtual screen behind her also showed the highlights of the team.

Then the names of the teams appeared in the topmost boxes on the bracket along with their emblems, representing the first match-up.

Miss Bunny and David waited for a couple of moments, letting the information sink into the minds of the players before continuing.

The two repeated the process as they continued to name more matchups.

"Mythical Guild-… versus Overdrive Team!"

"Titan Guild-… against Slayers Adventurer Team!"

…

…

…

"Our defending Champion, the God's Paradise will be facing off against one of the dark horses of the tournament, the Red Falcons!"

"Next is the Purple Crows matching up against the Highlanders!"

"The Shadow Raves of the Assassin Union will be fighting the Young Mercenaries of Sky King Army!"

…

…

…

"Dragon Pavilion-… and Black Market!"

"Hand of Midas-… will be fighting the Cavaliers of Light!"

"Golden Feathers of the Wing's Alliance versus the Bloodthirsty Kings!"

"Earners Mercenary Group, a scary team, against the other dark horse of the United Cup, the Sacramento Giants!"

"The Radiant Guild-… will be fighting the mysterious Pandemonium Troupe!"

…

…

…

David paused for a moment as he looked at the next container in his hands. He then slowly opened it, taking a sneak peek inside before smiling.

He then showed it to everyone while shouting. "Empyrean Talons!"

…

Finally hearing the name of their team, Shin and the others could not help but feel a little excited.

"Let's see who will be our first opponent," mumbled Shin as fixated his eyes on the virtual screen before them.

"I don't know if I want to face a strong team early or just an average one," whispered Chaotic Luck, feeling a little conflicted. He was somewhat excited, but also a little nervous at the same time. After all, this was his first time participating in such a huge event.

"Of course, facing a strong opponent is the best! How else can we showcase our progress if we face a mediocre team?" said Owen, who was sitting beside him, with full confidence.

"Don't worry, even if you mess up somehow, we will take care of the rest for you," said Akailu with a chuckle.

"Regardless of our opponents, we will emerge victorious!" said Owen, boosting the confidence of their nervous members such as Samael and Huahua, who were a complete amateur for a professional tournament.

Shin thought for a moment, trying to recall the remaining teams that were not chosen yet, and looking for the strongest opponent that they could ask for.

…

Going back to the other side, David finally picked up the spherical container containing the opponent of the Empyrean Talons.

He skillfully played with the feeling of the views as he built up the suspense quite well. Even Miss Bunny, who was his partner could not help herself from urging him.

"Can you stop messing up with our feelings? Just show us their opponent already!"

Hearing that, David could not help but smile as he finally showed the emblem drawn on the piece of paper he was holding.

It was an emblem of a majestic Trident filled with glowing droplets on its surroundings. This was the emblem of one of the top guilds of the virtual world, which was previously a Powerhouse Guild in all the games that they had joined.

The reason why they were not included in the Powerhouse Guilds of this game was because of their late entry. They were unable to build a solid foundation as fast as the current Powerhouse Guilds due to this, making them lag a little behind.

But that did not mean that were a weaker guild. The number of their experts was quite huge, rivaling the top forces of the game.

They were not chosen as a seeded team in this season of the United Cup because of the limited fame that they had accumulated these couple of months of joining the game.

What was more worth noting was the new backer that this guild had gotten recently, which was financing all the operations of the guild.

This was also the reason why had to rebrand the team that was representing the guild in this tournament.

"Seven Seas Alliance!"

It was no longer just the representative of the guild as the other experts that were nurtured by the Seven Seas Group from the other guilds that they sponsored were also included in the team.

As David's voice reverberated in the air, the viewers also gave their respective reactions. After all, this team was one of the favorites in this tournament due to their background.

…

"I guess enemies do face each other in the end," Shin sighed as he smiled bitterly.

He had been clashing with the guilds sponsored by the Seven Seas Group in the game recently, so there was quite a grudge between them. Especially when the other side tried to use him for their little experiment concerning the artificial seed of hatred.

He also did not have a good impression of this group, especially with such an immoral experiment.

He then looked at the others as he said. "I guess we will spend some of our time studying these guys and their gameplay for the next couple of days."

Cloe, who was the most responsible of the group suddenly pulled out a virtual screen, tapping on it a few times before sending a file to everyone.

"Here is the collection of their battle clips as a team and individually. You can watch them later when you have time. Then we can have a team meeting later," she said, earning her admiring looks from the rest of the team.

"As expected of our Team Commander, you are always ready. Very reliable!" said Shin as he opened the file and skimmed through its contents.

Hearing that, Cloe could not help but roll her eyes at him before complaining. "I am quite busy as well. How about you help me with these jobs."

Shin dodged her gaze, acting as if he was seriously studying the battle videos. "Let me study these guys thoroughly and find their weaknesses."

Cloe burst out laughing after seeing him trying his best to act serious. She then paused as she remembered something. "If you have time, then come back to the Forgotten Temple. We are unable to break the seal of that Elemental Spirit, but we do have found a way to let you communicate with it."

"If it is successful, then we no longer have to break the seal for you to form a contract with it. So long as you have contracted it, that Ancient Sealing Formation will no longer be effective no matter how powerful it was."

Hearing that, Shin could not help but feel excited as he would be able to finally complete his Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship with the addition of this particular Elemental Spirit.

He could also perfect the cycle of five elements of his Four Symbol Scripture if he added this 'reincarnated' God of Primordial Waters in his contracted Reaper's Retainer.

"I'll return as soon as we log back in the game," he replied, completely ignoring the rest of the draw show.

Seeing Shin's reaction, Cloe could not help but smile bitterly, especially when this guy was acting as if he was a little kid who had found a new toy in the mall.

Well, she could not blame him either. After all, the sealed Elementals in that Forgotten Temple were not only powerful but also fitted what he was missing at the moment.

…

While the Empyrean Talons were talking with one another and voicing out their thoughts about their opponents, the draw show continued.

As David told everyone about the final matchup, the entire bracket was finally filled. It also displayed the schedule of the matches for the next couple of days.

Since the current age was in the stage of virtual reality, it was normal for a few matches to be held at the same time, especially given the number of teams.

But there would always be some featured matches, which would be broadcast on the official site of the game and the gaming company's partnered channels.

At this moment, the fan's favorite, voted to be broadcast live was the matchup between the Empyrean Talons and the Seven Seas Alliance.

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Given the current fame of the Empyrean Talons, especially their top combatants, the number of people who wanted to watch their match in the official broadcast was quite high.

Moreover, their opponent was among the strongest of those who had advanced from the previous round, which made it even more perfect.

According to the tournament schedule, this match will be held the day after tomorrow in real-world time.

...

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