THE BALL AT HEARTS MANOR
THE four dukes of Arcadia each occupied a large piece of land. And each one had a famous area within it. For example, in the Duke of Spades' territory, there was the Forrest of Darkness. In the territory of the Duke of Diamond, there was the Frozen Delves. In the Duke of Clover's land, there's the Lake of Stillness. And lastly, in the Duke of Hearts' territory, the Endless Maze could be found.
Of the four dukes, the most popular was definitely the Duke of Hearts. Mostly not because of anything good. He was known for his eccentricity and great arrogance. Also, the fact that he always gave ridiculously hard tasks. Even so, he was still very popular among the players.
Probably because many considered him as a very fun character. No matter how hard he was to deal with, players still liked him. It's a simple case of someone being charismatic, they didn't care much about his attitude.
At this time, the center of the Duke of Hearts' territory was very lively. In there stood the duke's abode – the Hearts Manor. And right now, a lively party was being held there.
The manor's huge ballroom was filled with food, music, and beautiful NPCs. Some were carrying trays of alcohol and bite-sized appetizers while others were playing on the orchestra or performing on a stage obviously prepared for those performances. Of course, most of the ordinary players who managed to get an invitation were already there and mingling with each other.
"Do you think those popular players from big teams will come?"
"Definitely. This is a good opportunity to recruit the top 16 to their teams. How could they miss it? Some would probably send lesser known members to represent their teams, but they would surely send someone."
"I wish they would send someone popular. Like Song Liuli."
"Don't dream about it. There's no Angels in the top 16. There's no way Celestials would recruit any of them. Besides, Song Liuli is probably too busy to attend this ball."
"Fine. Then, I wish at least Alucard would attend. I definitely needed some eye-candy."
"If you only wish for an eye-candy, then, just wait for team Yunyue. YUN is definitely enough to feast
"Oh yeah, Noctis and that young master are now part of Yunyue. Do you think the whole team would attend?"
"I saw them watching at the coliseum. If they're that supportive, they would definitely come."
"If that's the case, then, all that struggle to get an invitation is definitely worth it."
Soon, the top 16 of the game started to arrive and enter the ballroom. As if they were arriving based on their rank in the game, the first ones to arrive were those who lost during the first round of the tournament. They didn't attract that much attention but some teams still approached them to give them an offer to be a member of their team.
Ying Chen and Liang Sen, who just arrived, saw this scene of their fellow rookies being recruited by different teams.
"Are you planning to join any teams?" Liang Sen asked.
"No," Ying Chen answered without hesitation.
Those joining a team either wanted to play at the Arcadia Cup or simply liked the idea of playing in a group. Well, Ying Chen wasn't really interested in any of those things. He was only a casual player. The only reason he participated in the Rookie Carnival was because he heard that Noctis was also joining.
At that time, he was still pretty pissed at Luo Yan. So, Noctis being a look-alike of that brat made him want to beat the other up. It's a childish reason, yes. But what could he do? He couldn't help being unreasonable.
"If you want to play in the Arcadia Cup, I suggest you pick one of the bigger teams," he continued. Unlike him, Liang Sen was pretty serious gamer. So, he knew that the other would want to participate in the Cup. "Of course, with your performance during the Rookie Carnival, that might be a bit tough. But if you beg them real nice, maybe they'll let you in."
"Hey, that last part was totally uncalled for," Liang Sen said, jokingly knocking on the other's head. "I didn't expect Winged Tassel to be that good. Having also lost to him, you should be more understanding of my feelings."
Ying Chen only snorted and didn't comment. What could he say when it's true that he also lost to that creepy guy? He hoped he wouldn't bump into that Winged Tassel tonight. Actually, the only reason he attended this party was because he wanted to remind Noctis of their PvP fight. Just in case the other had already forgotten about it.
Right behind Ying Chen and Liang Sen, the next ones to enter were the Xia siblings.
Xia Lei had a very reluctant expression, as if he didn't want to be here. While Xia Li was looking around as if searching for something.
"Sister, can we just go back?" Xia Lei said. "I don't really want to be here."
Xia Li turned to her brother and pinched the other's cheek. "Hey, do you know how much hate you're getting online? If you don't attend this ball, those mindless people might say that you're a sore loser. So, just bear with it for half an hour, then you can leave."
"They can say whatever they want about me. I don't care," Xia Lei muttered.
"But I do. So, be a good boy and just try the food. I'm sure they taste good."
"Fine. I'll stay for half an hour," he said reluctantly.
Xia Li smiled in satisfaction after hearing that. She was about to say something when she heard a collective whisper along the lines of, 'Yunyue is here!'. Most of them seemed to be looking in the same direction.
She also turned to the direction they were all looking and her eyes immediately brightened when she saw the two people walking down the stairs.
It's YUN and Noctis!