Chapter 24.5

—Jay sat silently in his waiting room, anticipating for the door next to him—which led straight to the playing field—to open and for his match to start.

Thought of all kinds and natures started filled his might mind and soul. Seeing how far he's come from two weeks ago was something else. Jay visited his mother at the hospital for her second anniversary in a coma. Now, he's taking steps to keep her safe.

'If Dad's forgot about you, then I'll have to step up instead...' Jay thinks to himself.

Having yet made up with his father and the rest of his extended family, including his step-mom, Jay would instead help out the one he loves most out of them all first. His mom might be incapacitated indefinitely, but she meant the world to him. This matchup quite literally decides her fate. If Jay didn't become a Slayer, then he would most likely never reach his end goal.

That goal, in particular, being his determination to become the number one player in the Nexus, having a high enough paycheck of gold coins (COIN) to support his mother financially. His dad has already opted in unplugging her, which means Jay has a year before his father's wish is taken into effect.

All of this pressure to succeed was weighing itself on Jay's shoulders as he spaced out, slumped over awaiting his matchup. The white noise of the air conditioning in his room was the only sound that was produced. A single drop of sweat falls from Jay's face to the floor, staining the near-perfect pattern on the gemstone floor.

Jay's bland mood is upset when he gets a notification in his game menu. Checking it out to pass the time and to keep his mind off of the stress of performing, Jay is relieved to see who all contacted him.

>Hey Maguire, don't choke!!

> :)

ˆˆsent just now

>Remember, just get into the top two! Then we can celebrate at my house! (Maybe my dad will even make tacos again)

> ;)

ˆˆsent just now

Jay's mood switches as he sees the uplifting words from his friends. They were always so supportive of him, even through his darkest times. They were the ones continuing to help him see his mom and were always there if things were too much to handle.

Josh always makes sure he wasn't down in the dumps.

Isabelle is his helping hand, making sure he has a place to stay.

Now it was his turn to prove to them he can step up to the plate. Their dream of joining a Guild—and not just any Guild, but the Slayer's Pack—was right in front of him. Jay hearkens back to the words Helmet shared with him before making his way to his waiting room.

"...Visualize and Execute..." Jay whispers under his breath.

If that's what he has to do to win, then that's what he's going to do.

As Jay is psyching himself up for his battle, a counter appears in front of the door he so eagerly tracked.

>30<

>29<

>28<

Jay stands up, picking up a sword from the weapon rack in front of him. As the counter continued to lower, he felt less and less anxious. There was still something itching at the back of him that made him undeniably uncomfortable, but he tried to keep it out of his head as he readied himself for battle.

'This is it! Give them a show!' Jay thinks.

>20<

>19<

>18<

Jay's heart was racing, but as he held his newly acquired weapon, all he could do was give it his all. Hopefully, he wouldn't run into Tide immediately and end up being the second player to pass, next to Tide.

>10<

>9<

>8<

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

Axel, Ivy, Dillan, and Kira sat down in the same row, waiting patiently before Jay's match started. There was a dark tone present among them, which was very strong and nerve-racking. The party continued to wish Jay luck, but in the end, they all feared he wouldn't make it.

Axel clanks his gauntlets together in nervousness. He knew how badly Jay wanted this, and Ivy knew that as well. Dillan continued to look at the arena anxiously. Jay was the one player that helped him up when he was down. It only took a couple of words, but Dillan saw it more than just advice. He still gets stares once in a while and the occasional 'it's the guy that was one-shot by a Guildmaster!' comment, but Jay helped him look past it all.

Kira kept things to herself, but she enjoyed tagging along with this party. She wasn't the fondest with the boys in it, but Jay was quite tolerable. On top of that, Ivy would be pretty sad if he didn't make it, which gave her a reason to root for him. She's also the only one in the party that knows about Jay's training, which she keeps to herself.

'If he pulls it off, it would be a miracle...' She thinks.

"I don't know about you guys, but I can't run off an empty stomach!!" Axel says, "Who wants to go get food with me?"

"I wasn't planning on eating since I feel nauseous, but I'll tag along," Ivy says.

Axel and Ivy branch off from Dillan and Kira for the time being as they make their way to a vendor in the arena. They attempt to find something tasty.

"So, were you scared before your match?" Ivy asks Axel, "I mean, you went in without any weapon!"

"Yeah, but I got over it pretty quickly," Axel says, "All I had to think about was Jay's handicap, and mine seemed pathetic at best!!"

"Huh, I guess I felt the same way when I fought this guy named Larx in my match. He was using a guitar as a weapon and made loads of clones," Ivy explains, "But if Jay were there, he would've made quick work of that guy, not letting him monologue!"

The two laugh as they gain more confidence in Jay. Axel eventually finds some food court and buys some cheap nachos. Ivy insists that she wasn't that hungry for junk food. They both send encouraging texts to Jay, hopefully bringing him into a better spirit.

Over at Dillan and Kira's area, the two shared very few words. Dillan continued to wish the best for Jay, and Kira did the same.

"Do you think he's going to do it? Like, win?" Dillan asks Kira, breaking the silence.

"...Depends honestly. I know what his training entailed, but I have no clue if he can put all the work to use," Kira says.

"You know his training?" Dillan asks, "What did he do?"

Before Kira denies Dillan's question, A voice starts to communicate over the intercom. Axel and Ivy also swing by and sit back down before the announcer starts his entire script.

"Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen!" Stan announces, "This is the final match of the day! Let's hope it's interesting!"

As Stan finishes his announcement, a counter that looks identical to the one in Jay's waiting room emits above the playing area. It starts to count down from thirty. The party sits at the edge of their seats, waiting to see their friend in his qualifier.

>30<

>29<

>28<

'You got this!!'

>20<

>19<

>18<

'Do it!'

>10<

>9<

>8<

'I know you can do it!'

Among the rest of her party, Kira continues to contemplate what she saw in Jay's mind. She learned of his training but can't even describe what it was.

'Hopefully, it was for a good reason...' She thinks.

>3<

>2<

>1<

>Fight!<