Pantheon Online

Chapter 266  Rebel's Agenda

"Thanks for this Jay," Paul said as he took a unique training staff from him. "It'll work with the system?"

"Yeah, we had to contact the developers for it. They were happy to comply." Jay shrugged as he eyed the staff. "Is it really necessary for his training?"

"Definitely," Paul sighed. "His weapon is a big part of his strength. He needs to be able to train with the same powers out here."

"If it works, it works," Jay chuckled as he handed a box to Paul. "These are the robes you requested for him to get used to moving in them. Mind if I stay to watch the show?"

"Not at all," Paul chuckled. "You'll have to wait until he's ready."

"Of course," Jay grinned as he looked around. "I'll have someone bring me a seat."

Jay chuckled as he called down to reception. Minutes later, a chair, table, and holo recorder were brought in. As he thanked the man from the staff, Jay placed a small device on the table. When he activated the device, several holo screens appeared, showing several executives of Rebel Energy.

"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules." Jay began with a smile. "You are all aware of our ongoing partnership with Ragnarok. Our profits are up, and there are a lot of eyes on us and Ragnarok right now. Mr Anderson is currently one of the leading players in the game. However, through rigorous training, Mr Anderson is ready to shake off what everyone expects of him."

"What does that mean?" One of the women on the screens asked. "Our whole marketing strategy just now revolves around Mr Anderson and his reputation. Making a change now could hurt us."

"I'm glad you asked," Jay nodded. "Just now, when people see Exile, they still see Excalibur. But without the high reputation of other team members. So, it's still free marketing for Camelot. With his new style, I think you'll agree there's not a trace of Excalibur to be seen. People will see that Rebel Energy has helped to elevate Mr Anderson beyond what he was capable of. Which is exactly in line with our products. Higher performance and so on."

"Ok," The same woman from before said while nodding. "Colour me intrigued. If this works out, it'll be excellent promotional material. When can we see the results Mr Anderson has been working toward?" "In a few moments," Jay smirked. "Mr Anderson is currently preparing before a mock fight in Ragnarok's training hall. You should keep in mind that everything you are about to see is in real life. Which means Mr Anderson's top performance in-game will be higher."

"And, who will be his opponents?" "Friends of the head instructor. They've recently been hired as secondary instructors to help bring the entire team up to speed. They're all familiar with the setup, and I'm told they're extremely capable."

"Very well, we look forward to the demonstration."

"Thank you, and it looks like Mr Anderson is ready now." Jay smiled as he turned the camera function toward the mats.

Colt walked out from the changing rooms in loose-fitting black robes pulled tight at the waist. 'These sleeves are going to be annoying.' Colt sighed at how baggy they were, even though he knew they could be useful. He frowned as he stepped onto the mats where Paul was waiting to referee. With a smile, he handed Colt the custom-made Bo Staff. "You'll have to set the runes for each slot at the screen over there before the fight begins. You can change them out to test different strategies. Hope you appreciate it." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Thanks, Paul." Colt chuckled as he felt its weight. "How good are these guys I'm going up against?"

"They're good but not as good as me. Facing these five will be easier than taking me on." Paul grinned.

Five combatants already in gear walked into the training hall. 'Three women and two men.' Colt frowned as he studied their physiques. 'Paul wouldn't tell me a thing about their styles. This is to simulate five random attackers with various weapons and styles. This is going to be tough.'

Colt slowly walked to the screen and navigated its updated software that allowed him to select his rune slots and their spells. 'I should try this. It's still new but could be handy. I definitely need these two. Three slots left, but what do I pick? I need synergy between my attacks.'

Colt hummed as he went through the new personal runes he had created the past few days. 'Ok, this one is a definite.' Colt eyed his remaining choices before settling on his final two. 'This should be good.' Colt nodded as six circular slots lit up in the middle of the staff.

As Colt walked back to the mats, the five challengers spread out around him. 'Ok, one dual-wielding swords. Another has a two-handed axe. Are those gauntlets? Twin daggers and a... Wait, a Bo Staff?' Colt felt stunned when he saw that. However, when he glanced at Paul the latter grinned mischievously.

'Damn it!' Colt realised what was going on the moment he saw Paul's expression. 'He wants me to prove my hybrid style can beat someone who's already mastered the staff.' Colt shook his head as Paul stepped into the centre. "Ok, I want a clean fight. You all know the rules, and I expect you to give Colt a solid beating." Paul chuckled as he raised his left hand. "Begin!"

Everyone waited until Paul escaped the encirclement before they began. Colt saw the woman in front of him looking over his shoulder and activated his first rune. A golden turtle shell of barriers appeared behind him that gave feedback to his assailants' weapons. 'God, I love that the system even works with spells that can block physical attacks!'

Colt spun in a way that the shell spell caused their weapons to slide off to his side, leaving the two fighters exposed. Colt quickly snapped his staff to strike the woman on the jaw and the man on his left leg before spinning his staff to deflect their counterattacks while his spell prevented the others from closing in on him.

Jay nodded from the sidelines as he watched the fight unfold. 'He's moving in a way that nobody could associate with Excalibur.' He chuckled as he continued to watch. 'If he moved like this when he first joined Pantheon, I would've never guessed Exile was Colt Anderson.

Colt quickly pushed two attacks from two separate directions away from him with his staff before he activated the Firefly rune. His challengers cursed as they shot golden arrows to use up Colt's defensive spell, but that left them open to his next move.

Colt thrust the heel of his staff into the diaphragm of the man who tried to take him from behind before snapping it forward in a lunge to hit another attacker. 'Now!' Colt thought as he activated another Rune.

Black tendrils burst out of his body to slap at the three closest opponents. With each time they were hit, a stacking effect of damage over time appeared. His challengers cursed as health dropped from three of the fighters. "This is interesting." The woman who spoke on the holo screen before said. "This isn't rigged?"

"Not at all. This is Colt's new fighting style developed with Paul's guidance." Jay replied with a grin. "As you can see, it's completely different and dangerous to deal with. He's only going to show better results in-game. I'd say it's worth marketing his improvements alongside the in-game story of his character we developed."

"Point taken, Jay," The woman hummed as she continued to watch the fight. Suddenly a dinging noise sounded as one of the combatants lost the last of their health. "Let's hope he can continue to perform this way. If he does, the results will be excellent."

"I'm thinking of inviting some people to witness his progress. I'm hoping to get him a title in the near future." Jay said as he nodded.

"A titled player?" The woman hummed. "Do you think he's ready for that?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. But we can't be the judges of that. We can only arrange for the preliminaries to see if he's acceptable." Jay replied with a shrug as two more fighters were knocked out. "But I know what having a titled player will do for our profits."

"Well, we'll let you run with it, for now, Jay." The woman replied as another ding went off. "I hope he'll be as successful as you think he will be. Tell Mr Anderson we wish him all the best. I think we've seen enough."

Jay nodded as he turned off the device but continued to film the fight. 'We need to start thinking about a potential title. Something we can hint at and hope they go for it. I'll call marketing in the morning and hope they can come up with something quickly.'

Two more combatants were wiped out a minute later as Jay frowned. 'There's only the guy wielding the Bo Staff left to defeat.' His gaze wandered to the bars above Colt and his opponent's head. A wide grin spread on his face as he studied Colt's DP bar. 'Not a single point spent. I guess we already know how this will play out.'

Jay shook his head. 'The real test is going to be what comes next. Let's hope everything plays out the way we want it to.' Jay rubbed his hands together as he prepared to make an important call. 'I wonder who they'll send in the game to test him...'