"There are only three days left until the tournament," Marcus spoke up, his voice high and steady, his eyes scanning across the room. "And I have gathered y'all so that we can vote for the ten Adventurers representing us. You all have worked very hard for the past year, some jumping to levels that shouldn't be possible, but now, we have to choose." His eyes darted towards the trio, whoever was in the front, a faint smile encroaching on his lips. "By vote, I want y'all to choose who should be the ten to take us to victory, so that we can hold onto our title as the world's strongest guild!"

Marcus had added some excitement at the end, making the others cheer for him, as everyone shifted and discussed. James Mahe was also there; he was going to be in the tournament regardless of whether anyone would have chosen him or not.

James Mahe stood on the stage where Marcus was located, coming towards him for some small talk, which visibly frustrated Marcus, who rolled his eyes and sighed at the mere presence of James.

"Who would you pick for your ten?" James asked Marcus, who didn't face him, though he acknowledged him in the very least.

"Probably..." he scanned across the room to see all the guild's members present. "Nova, Adam, Elesch, Zane, Trevor, Emma, Michael, probably you," James narrowed his eyes, Marcus smiling at his frustration. "Col, and Galileo.

"Interesting lineup, though I have to add, why those three weaklings. They are barely C-rank. I don't suppose you would want them to the frontline, since that would make us lose, so that's your angle here?"

"First of all," Marcus sounded frustrated, though he tried to hide it. "Nova is B-rank, just like Trevor, which you liked so much from that tournament, way back when. Secondly, those three work very well together and have a lot of chemistry with each other, so they know what teamwork is and how to utilize it in situations that may seem impossible. And finally: Shut the fuck up."

James Mahe grew angry at the last remark, with Marcus just grinning to his face. James wanted to kill Marcus, but he realized he couldn't be so bold as to do so in front of such a large crowd, especially since they all followed Marcus like moths to a flame.

James Mahe stepped back, returning to the shadows, though visible enough to gnaw fear among whoever dared to cross him. After another couple of minutes, the crowd put in their answers, and to no one's surprise, what Marcus had predicted about the ten came true.

"Very well, I want the selected fighters to be in my office tomorrow. So rest up as much as you can, because the tournament is only three days away. We will hold training tomorrow and the day after, then it'll be time for the main event."

With that remark, Marcus left, and the trio also left as their earlier training was done for today. So, they had time for themselves to do whatever they liked. Nova carried the litter box, with the kittens resting for now, which was a pleasant surprise since they were so active nowadays.

The trio left the guild hall, with the sun taking its final breath before disappearing, with the city lights illuminating the place with a warmth against the cold, and terraforming the beautiful place with beautifully placed lights that complemented and contrasted each other, to give an ethereal glow.

Nova walked alongside Elesch and Adam, feeling the cold air not affecting their bodies, though Adam was shivering, even though he was wearing three layers of clothing underneath his big puffer jacket.

"James is such a prick." Adam stated, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk. "Acting like he owns the guild." Then he corrected himself: "Okay, wait, I know he's the president of the guild, but like, he's such a bitch."

Elesch smirked, glancing at Adam. "Yeah, unfortunately, as the president, he can act however he wants with people. Plus, he's double-evolved, so he's insufferable, thinking he's the strongest, when he doesn't know what real power means. Plus, Marcus picking us over his whining, I'm all for it."

Nova nodded, his eyes on the kittens. "Marcus sees what we can do. James just sees ranks. That's his problem."

They wandered toward a small park near the guild, where a pop-up holiday market was set up. Stalls lined the paths, selling hot cocoa, handmade ornaments, and fried dough.

The trio grabbed a bench near a stall blasting cheery music, and Nova set the litter box down carefully. Luna poked her head out, sniffing the air, while Miro batted at a stray leaf.

"Finally, a break," Elesch said, stretching her arms. "I'm sore from head to toe. You guys wanna grab something to eat? My treat." By which he meant Nova's treat, since she had his card, not hers.

Adam's eyes lit up, then he said, "You're speaking my language. Fried dough or bust."

Elesch took Nova's card from her pocket, which didn't even surprise him, and got a lot of warm, sugary fried dough and three hot chocolate shakes.

Nova also grabbed a cooked fish from one of the stalls, recognizing that fried dough or any sugary food can be harmful to cats, and instead switched to what they liked the best. Just upon the smell of the fish lingering in Nova's hand, all five kittens woke up.

He grabbed the litter box, positioning it towards him, so that the kittens could be guarded if anything were to happen, since his eyes would be constantly on them, and opened the litter box to give them the fish.

Elesch and Adam lightly petted the kittens, but let them eat first before fully grabbing them and petting them, as they couldn't resist the urge to pet them.

As they ate, the conversation shifted to lighter things, slightly trivial. Elesch talked about her childhood and made up a version so that Adam could understand it, since he didn't know the bigger picture.

"During my childhood, in my house," Elesch started, imagining the Abyssal Realm as she continued, since that was her house. "I used to try to conjure the Void, but never got it." She lied to Adam to maintain her cover. "Then, I used to keep practicing over and over again, just to feel a spark of the Void resonating within me, but then I moved to sword martial arts."

Adam laughed, nearly choking on his cocoa, then told his story. "I was just a kid trying not to get beaten up at school. I used to hide, since I was too scared of the bullies hurting me over and over again. Though now I feel better. I feel more confident and stronger."

Nova stayed quiet at first, sipping his drink, then spoke up. "I didn't have a childhood like that. Actually, I don't even remember having a childhood. One day, I just woke up and yeah, I did fuck all. Then, eventually, after coming here, since I'm not from here, I grabbed the box of kittens and felt more complete."

Elesch nudged him. "You're a softie for those cats. It's cute."

Nova grinned, scratching Smudge's chin. "They're the best company one could have.

They continued to chat, cracking jokes, talking about trivial stuff to get to know each other on a deeper, more sophisticated level, since their teamwork would be brought to the test very soon.

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