Mission Triggered by the Tournament

"We duly invite the WEKAF board of directors to come up on stage." The announcer's voice echoed through the venue, beckoning the VIPs to the stage adorned with a decorated table and chairs. 

"Let's give a big hand to our guest and chairman of WEKAF, Senator Manuel Bonifacio!" The participants clapped mechanically, too engrossed in their own tasks to pay much attention to the politician's entrance.

At the entrance, Brix and Sage arrived at the sound of applause. Sage, in a playful mood, strutted toward her group, mimicking a pageant queen's wave and blowing kisses.

Brix stepped aside, joking, "Oh, I don't know that person," drawing laughter from the nearby maintenance staff.

Embarrassed, Sage stopped and faced Brix seriously. "I hope no one saw me." She regretted her impulsive act and hid behind the packages she was carrying.

"I'm impressed. Were you in pageants before?" Brix teased.

Sage quickly denied, "No." But the truth was, she had pageant experience from her childhood that she preferred to forget.

"Look, Clarke and Dylan are here," Brix noted, squinting. "And there's someone else I can't quite recognize."

Sage spotted a familiar face and hurried over, calling out, "Oi, stop acting like a noveau riche!"

The group fell silent at Sage and Brix's arrival.

Khal'el descended the stairs to meet her, offering a hand, but she avoided it, looking at him in surprise.

"Did you have breakfast? I didn't get you anything," Sage stated in a matter of fact.

"I already ate. I just want to help," Khal'el replied.

"Okay." Sage instructed, "Hold your hands up."

Khal'el complied mechanically.

Sage draped the packages over his hands, applauding. "It suits you."

She tried to take a photo with her new phone, but seeing Khal'el's displeased expression, she put it away and nudged him upstairs. "Do you hate pictures that much? Me, too."

"Did you know Senator Manuel was one of Master's father's students back in '81?" Clarke shared trivia with the club members.

"Really? When was that?" Shina inquired, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"During the war against the Japanese, Master's father was a local hero. He founded Manta Ray Club after the war," Clarke explained.

Dylan added, "There's even a book about Grandmaster Ray's achievements, a guide to EKA with Manta Ray techniques, and a list of the club's first members who took our style worldwide. We have the deepest EKA history here. Clarke even made friends with a BOD in WEKAF Netherlands."

Clarke nodded, but the others looked skeptical.

The Manta Ray Club wasn't well-known. They would join tournaments and similar events to kept training, but none of them brought glory to the name of their club. 

"That's true," Sage confirmed softly.

Khal'el looked at her with wonder. This seemingly ordinary club had a rich heritage.

He was surprised that Sage agreed with the men's claims, despite the others' disbelief.

"You knew about this too?" Khal'el whispered, leaning in too close at her.

Sage nodded and pushed him back slightly, his proximity distracting her.

"Win a gold medal for me, Sage," Khal'el mentioned half-jokingly.

"Get a gold medal yourself," Sage challenged.

"I was just kidding," Khal'el said.

Sage turned away, then called out to the Manta Ray Club members with a wide smile.

Khal'el muttered, "That's not fair."

They thanked Sage and began their breakfast.

"Throw your trash in here," Lyka said, holding up a plastic bag as she finished eating.

Sage continued to tease Khal'el but also took care of him, feeding him with one spoon while using another for herself. Khal'el watched her, not used to this kind of attention from her.

"Chew your food properly," Sage instructed after closing his mouth for him.

Khal'el chewed obediently and then joked, "Are you an imposter?"

Sage gave him a stern look. "I don't want to get in trouble with your mom if she finds out I didn't feed you properly."

"You don't even know my mom," Khal'el retorted.

"In my imagination, we're close. Now eat," Sage insisted.

Khal'el grabbed Sage's spoon and gave her a big bite of rice.

"Give me my spoon back," Sage demanded, looking impatient. Her cheeks were bloated due to the food Khal'el gave her.

Khal'el returned the spoon but then suggested, "Let's have a race to finish eating. If I win, you get me a gold medal. If you win, you can ask me for anything."

Sage's competitive spirit flared. "You're on!"

They both ate quickly, pausing only to drink water.

Observers behind them remarked, "Is this an eating contest?" and "I've never seen Sage like this."

The announcer's voice carried through the Jusdome. "Hello? Mic test."

He announced the tournament flow, how the participants were selected for the match, and the different categories. After that, he introduced Senator Manuel again for his inspiring speech.

"Good morning, everyone…" The senator began his speech. "Some of you might wonder why I'm here. Like you, I trained with Grandmaster Ray at the Manta Ray Club in the '80s."

He looked around, searching for familiar symbols from the banners. "Is the Manta Ray Club competing today?"

The crowd looked around for the club members.

The senator was about to continue when he saw a white cloth being waved from afar. Faint calls of "Here, Sir!" reached him.

He squinted, then laughed. "Ah, there they are!" He saluted Sage's group, and they returned the gesture.

"It's wonderful to see my master's legacy continue. I'm excited to see your performance today. Anyway, I'll end my speech with a quote my master said. An official match is also a training. Everyone, do your best and all luck!"

The participants had been waiting for him to finish his speech, obviously ignoring the quote he mentioned.

In this tournament, it was a take it or leave it situation. This unpopular tournament would lead them to Olympics. They were willing to even cheat just to win this. 

Sage watched the competitors impassively. A lot of disregarded cheating happened every tournament.

Their club had nothing to do and would speculate the presence of cheating when something obviously wrong happened at a match.

They sparred a lot and was aware of the pointing system of the tournament. They wondered sometimes why the judges would anonymously vote for the win of the losing side. 

[You have received a mission!]

[Description: Cheaters don't deserve the recognition of the world. Gather evidence and flatten out the biased opinion of the judges. 

1) St. Dominic College has bribed six judges. Collect the evidence and give it to the Senator. 

Rewards:

<80% 2 Completion: 75,000 Destiny Credits, $500,000, Proficiency Pill, 30% System Shop Discount Voucher < p>

>81% Completion: 100,000 Destiny Credits, $1,000,000, 5 Knowledge Proficiency Pill, 50% System Shop Discount Voucher

2) Catch the frauds and disqualify them from the tournament 

(1) Junhiel Herbert 

(2) Glenn Addison

(3) Isabel Ka-Anan

(4) Omar Rodrigo

Rewards: 25,000 Destiny Credits, 10 Days Timeless Pod Access each capture.

Bonus Reward: 1,000 Days Timeless Pod Access; 5 System Searches]

"What's a timeless pod?" Sage asked, intrigued by the item's existence.

"Participants, please come to the front of the stage and line up by your team."

"Let's go, Sage." Lyka tugged at Sage's wrist, leading her away.

"We'll be back in a bit, Khal'el." Clarke gave Khal'el's shoulder a friendly tap.

Khal'el answered with a grin, but as they disappeared from view, his smile dropped.

[A timeless pod is a system support equipment that allows anyone who has access to use it and spend time longer than in the real world. One day in the timeless pod is equivalent to 1 minute outside. Timeless pod allows your body to stay in constant state.]

Sage mulled over her mission while scanning the crowd. It was easier to spot cheaters than to prove bribery. She needed concrete evidence.

First, she considered tracking bank transactions, but cash was likely used here. Second, she thought about checking security cameras, but realized they hadn't been installed yet. Lastly, she could try to catch the people involved in the act.

If the transaction hadn't happened yet, she could follow the suspicious person from that college and record the exchange. She must ensure to get clear visuals of the people involved and intention of the trade. If it had already happened, she'd need several witnesses who saw the same thing, plus a police investigation and lab tests.

Sage didn't want to complicate things further. Her mind felt as noisy as the chatter around her.

She hadn't noticed her teammates had nudged her to the front line.

The system hadn't set a deadline or penalty, but Sage felt the pressure of time. The tournament was only two days long.

With performances and matches happening at once, judges wouldn't have time for bribes during the event.

The only opportunity would be now, on the first day…

Sage's gaze snapped to the stage.

The masters and grandmasters were spaced apart. Sage counted—there should be 18 judges for the match courts, three per court, but only nine were present.

Dizziness hit her, and she whispered, "I see stars."

Regaining her composure, she reassured her worried teammates with a smile. "I overused this rusty thing," she said, tapping her head.

Grace slapped her back, laughing. "You scared us!"

"Now I'm really scared; that slap could've broken my back," Sage retorted.

Her eyes roved to the boxes, searching for St. Dominic College's banner. Their colors were blue and white, so their uniforms must also be the same.

She spotted two people in blue and white polyester upstairs and another one near them.

"System, find me a lucky coin in the store."

The system displayed a Lucky Paradox Coin for 100 credits.

Sage mimed buying it in the air, which looked odd to onlookers. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the coin.

"Heads above and tail below," she murmured, flipping the coin.

It landed on an inverted V symbol, puzzling Sage. The other side showed a 'B'.

"System, is this lambda and beta?"

[Yes, it's from the civilization that created the system. It's the only coin that guarantees a correct choice every time.]

Sage checked the item's name again.

"The ceremony starts in 10 minutes."

If lambda was heads and beta was tails, then…

Sage stood up quickly. She saw the shadow of the suspect nearby slipped to the backstage.

"I've got a headache in my stomach. Need the restroom," she blurted and dashed off.

Her friends looked confused. A headache in the stomach?

"The restroom is the other way," someone called out.

Sage asked the system for an invisibility item. There was a talisman and a pill, but the pill was rather expensive than the talisman. 

She bought the talisman, stuck it to her clothes. The 10-minute invisibility started.

No judges or the man from before were there. She ran around but found no one in the backstage.

Glass doors on both ends led to stairs and exits.

Sage flipped the coin. "Left head, right tail."

It showed tails, and she slipped through the left door beside her.

Footsteps sounded above. She followed them, guessing they were heading to the general admission box for its darkness and privacy.

Sage avoided them and positioned to a convenient spot for recording. She pressed record and captured everyone's faces.

"What does coach Guang want?" someone asked.

"Not much, Master Jun. Just a small favor for my students," a voice replied.

"You mean you want us to…?"

Sage's hands shook. "Please let someone be dumb enough to say the details!"

Coach Guang nodded. He took out envelopes from the back pocket of his jeans. He separated six and put the rest back in his pocket. 

"This is my good will, Masters and Grandmasters." He bowed at them and handed the envelopes. 

The grandmaster tore the envelope open and counted the money. "Won't you lose for giving out too much?"

"Think of it as an investment," Coach Guang answered.

Master Jun laughed. "Your students will win in our courts."

"Thank you, Master Jun."

Suddenly, they looked towards Sage.

She ducked down, hitting her elbow and biting back a cry.

She stopped the recording and hid it.

"Check the seats. Someone might've seen us," Coach Guang ordered.

Sage heard footsteps approaching her and thought, "Did my invisibility wear off?"