The Secret Boss

"Everybody, heed my words, please!" Vincent dramatically stretched his arms. "I'd like to say a few words."

"Yo, what's up?" Lars asked. "You look all nervous and stuff, haha." 

"Indeed, I shan't deny it," Vince said. "A certain degree of nervousness might, in fact, be infecting me at the present moment. Nonetheless! I shall pull through with this crucial task!"

"Well, go ahead then." Kai shrugged. She knew better than to entertain this guy's usual nonsense.

"As I have previously stated," Vincent started. "VanishingFlower performed greatly in the previous game, as did the rest of you. You bested none other than the regional champions, it's a tremendous feat!" 

"Heck yeah!" Lars pumped a fist.

"However!" Vincent exclaimed. "Do not forget that the title our opponents possess is not just for show. They are the Leopards, trained by none other than the legendary Fernando Rodriguez!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know they're good," Kai said. "And?" 

"Strong opponents always adapt, such is survival of the fittest," Vincent claimed. "Therefore, while you're celebrating your current achievement, our opponents are no doubt using this time to prepare for the next and final game!" 

"Well, duh. Of course they are," Kai commented. "What's your point here, exactly?"

"My point is that we mustn't allow ourselves to forget our foes' superb skill," Vincent said. "In the next game, the Leopards will surely come at you all like never before! I'm certain they've learned from their mistakes and won't repeat them. As such, this will be the final boss battle!"

"Sick, yo!" Lars grinned.

"Scary..." Nia looked away.

"W-We have to do our best!" Ben said.

"Huh. Why does this feel like a roundabout version of something Yuel would say?" Kai glanced at the guy standing behind Vincent, who possibly masterminded this entire speech. That was probably his new way of throwing cold water at people.

[It would've been way funnier if Yuel tried to say all of this himself.] Kai chuckled as she imagined Yuel delivering the same kind of bombastic speech. It'd be a surreal scene. 

[I guess using Vince is not a terrible solution.] Kai admitted. [At least, this is better than being attacked with shit like "Don't let it get to your head."]

Vincent continued praising the Leopards, selling them as a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to this approach, the team managed to stay happy about the recent victory, while simultaneously registering the next game as a difficult challenge. None of them was fooling themselves that the next game would be easy.

"And," Vincent continued. "When I said that the next game will be like a final boss, it was more than just an analogy. There might indeed be a secret final boss present in the upcoming game!"

"Say what?" Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Yo, what secret boss?" Lars's eyes lit up. "They got a secret player they haven't shown yet!?"

"Indeed, they do, or so our intel suggests," Vincent said. "For more details, I'd like to call Chessmaster to the stage." Vincent bowed and presented Yuel to the crowd.

"Thanks." Yuel stepped forward. This was a nicely prepared stage. He had the entire audience's attention right off the bat without having to work for it.

[Vincent really did a good job, even better than I expected.] Yuel admitted.

The atmosphere in the room underwent a complete overhaul in just a few minutes. The team remained in high spirits, yet the sense of celebration had mostly faded away. Instead, they were now brimming with a strong desire to fight hard, as well as curious about this foreshadowed "secret final boss".

"As Lars guessed, the Leopards really have a 'secret' player, so to speak," Yuel said.

"Seriously?" Kai made a face. "That sounds like something straight out of a movie."

"Yes, I didn't believe it either," Yuel admitted. "That's why I thoroughly interrogated the informant, to make sure he wasn't making things up. By the end of it, I had the impression he was telling the truth."

"And, who is that 'informant', exactly?" 

"The one you know as Aegis, the captain of StormBlitz."

"Huh?" Kai's jaw dropped. "Is he even trustworthy? I know you used to be in the same club before, but now you're enemies."

"It's okay, we've always been 'enemies', even back in the club."

"Really? How so?" 

"That's a long story," Yuel said. "Let's just say he's one of the most annoying rivals I've ever faced." 

"Yep!" Lars nodded. "These dudes are like fire and water. They always clash, yo!" 

"It's quite the intriguing tale," Vincent commented. "I'd definitely like to hear more details on this topic. I can already imagine it - the ultimate clash between absolute offense and absolute defense!"

"Don't worry," Yuel reassured. " "I'll entertain you with many stories about StormBlitz when we hold a review meeting about them. But, for now, I'd like to talk about the Leopards' 'secret' player."

"Who may or may not exist," Kai added.

"The next game will answer that for us," Yuel said. "Meanwhile, I'd like to share what I know of the guy, so we're all on the same page."

And so, he gave them the gist of what Howard told him. How this secret player, Apprentece, was a Korean transfer student who played at a very high level back in his homeland.

"A Korean player?" Ben asked. "Um, I'm sorry, but that sounds a little sketchy..."

"Nah, it's not a little," Kai said. "It sounds like total bullshit, no way that's real! How did you even fall for this shit? I thought you were smarter than that."

"Yes, this was my first reaction as well," Yuel explained. "However, the more I interrogated him for details, the more convinced I became that he wasn't trying to deceive me."

The biggest tell was Howard mentioning how the Korean player almost went toe-to-toe with Ignis. Howard wasn't the type to belittle his sister's skill, so he wouldn't use a detail like that for a lie. Probably.

"Yo, so dude is a pro!?" Lars made noise. "I totally hope he's real then! I wanna fight a real pro!"

"Um, I rather not..." Ben lowered his head.

"Scary..." Nia did the same.

"Hmph." Kai crossed her arms. "Even if he IS real, who knows how exaggerated that story is? Maybe the pros just went easy on him."

"I doubt that's the case," Yuel said. "Maybe other pros would do that, but I've played Ignis before. She has a childish side to her, so she wouldn't pull any punches if she feels contested."

"Wait, you have faced a pro!?" Vincent jumped. "One by one, juicy episodes from Chessmaster's past are revealed! Is this a flashback episode!?"

"Definitely not," Yuel asserted. "We don't have time for a memory trip right now."

"But, it's interesting," Nia said. "How did the match go?"

"Um, yeah, I'm curious too..." Ben added shyly.

"We played Duel a few times and the final score was 8-4 in her favor." 

"Huh." Kai blinked. "You actually took a few rounds from a pro?"

"She was drunk and she underestimated me at first. But, once I started taking games from her, she stopped pulling any punches and ran all over me."

"That's one salty pro player."

"Right?" Yuel smiled wryly. "That's why I doubt she took Apprentece lightly. I wouldn't be surprised if she underestimated him at first, but if he gave her a hard time, then she surely went ham on him. That's the Ignis I know, at least.'

Yuel expanded on that point by explaining how the battle between Apprentece and Ignis supposedly played out. Howard shared more than enough key details to get the overall picture.

Supposedly, Ignis was caught off-guard by Apprentece's Korean Step Cancel. This made her perform poorly at first, but she soon adapted. However, even then, it was a close fight with some unexpected twists and turns. Though, of course, Howard insisted that his sister was "obviously stronger" overall.

"Welp," Lars said. "No wonder a KOREAN dude can use the KOREAN Step Cancel, haha."

"Actually, it's VERY impressive," Yuel argued. "KC is an advanced technique that requires a tremendous amount of practice. It demands so much investment that most pros in the West don't even bother learning it; they rather allocate that practice time to other things."

"Sounds like a challenge! I should totally learn it, yo!"

"We already talked about this." Yuel sighed. "You still need to develop your fundamentals and expand your roster, you don't have time to practice KC. Until you can play at least five Carry classes at the same level you play Trickshooter and Gunslinger, it'll be inefficient to waste your practice time on KC."

"Welp then, it sounds like I better get to work ASAP!" 

"You really should," Yuel said. "In fact, your Elf should have been ready for today..."

Perhaps it was finally time to address this topic. With the current flow of the conversation, it was a good opportunity to expose Lars's Elf for what it truly was...

"Your Elf should have been ready for today," Yuel repeated. "But, it isn't."

"What do ya mean not ready?" Lars asked. "My Elf was born ready, yo!" 

"Is it, really?" Yuel narrowed his eyes. "Somehow, I haven't felt the impact of your Elf on any of the games today. Have any of you felt it?" he asked the others. "Was Lars's Elf today anywhere as good as his Trickshooter or Gunslinger?"

"Honestly, can't say I thought too much about it," Kai admitted. "But yeah, now that you mention it, Lars's presence wasn't very prominent in any of the games, was it? That's pretty unusual."

"Hrmmmm." Vincent crossed his arms and knotted his brows. "If we must compare Gunz's Elf to his Trickshooter or Gunslinger, then I must admit it falls short. So far, it has not delivered the same kind of impact that previously earned Gunz the title of the Insane Beast of the Apocalypse."

"But, he has been playing so well," Ben argued. "He even went toe-to-toe with Winner and Challenger in Bot. They are very strong players."

"Yes, he was able to match them," Yuel admitted. "But, that's all he did. At no point today did Lars truly dominate the competition. I'm sure his Trickshooter and Gunslinger would've been able to do so, but not his Elf. I wonder why."

"Well..." Lars smiled awkwardly and averted his eyes. "Them Leo dudes are just that tough, ya know? They play this nasty defense across the board, so it's super hard to find any good opportunities today."

"Is that really all?" Yuel didn't buy it. "Anyway, there's no time to have this discussion right now, but rest assured that we'll return to this subject later, in full detail."

"Yay, haha..."

"Back on topic," Yuel said. "From what we know, Apprentece can use KC. And, it's going to be different from Winner's KC, which seems to work only about 50% of the time. From what I understand, his KC is flawless, so keep that in mind when you try to punish him." 

"Roger!" Lars saluted.

"I was given a few more details, but we don't have time to discuss the specifics right now."

"Indeed," Vincent agreed. "The next bout is already upon you. The final showdown awaits!" 

"In case we really face this Korean player, I'll fill you in on the rest of the details during the game," Yuel said. "For now, I just wanted to make sure you're mentally prepared for the possibility."

Everybody nodded in response with serious expressions. There was no hint of euphoria on their faces anymore.

Even Nia, who had been hailed as the messiah until a few moments ago, was now looking a little tense. After hearing about the existence of the Korean player, nobody was deluded about having an easy game anymore.

[I suppose I have Vincent to thank for this.] Yuel thought. [If he hadn't set up the stage so efficiently, then I'm sure they wouldn't have received this news nearly as well.]

And so, the final game of the day was upon them, It was right there, beyond the stairs leading to the stage

Who will they meet up there? Will Apprentece truly make an appearance? Or, was the Korean player just a boogeyman that Howard invented? It was time to uncover that once and for all, in this final decisive game!