Chapter 919 (1/2)

Randidly scratched his head, looking at the raw anticipation on Helen’s face. It seemed like the act of watching Randidly had really raised her anticipation into something resembling obsession. “Ah, by the way…”

“Hmm?” Some of the hesitance in his expression must have cut through her excitement because Helen blinked and looked at Randidly with a frown. “What is it? You already promised I could have the next one. I’m not fucking back down now.”

“No, it’s not that.” Randidly shook his head. “But there is an hour break between matches, not five minutes.”

“What? But when I attempted this, they kept the breaks short so my Stamina…” Helen trailed off.

Grinning, Randidly just shrugged. “The benefit of being the Ghosthound, I guess. Don’t wear yourself out getting excited too early.”

Helen ground her teeth so fiercely that Randidly heard the sound and winced.

*****

“So, what did we learn?” Alana said coolly, turning to look at Isabella and Pan. Both were inscrutable, but Alana understood the female Cortez sibling a little better.

Isabella’s face was split into a deep frown; likely she knew exactly how dangerous Randidly’s mobility was. In terms of tactics, she was head and shoulders above Pan. Although Alana felt somewhat bitter based upon how the siblings had used her for their fame, she couldn’t deny the other woman was damn good in a pinch.

For the future of Donnyton, polishing her was a good idea. Despite how smug she sometimes looked about their record.

Yet of the two of them, it was Pan who Alana studied most closely. His expression was mild, as though Randidly Ghosthound hadn’t flayed fifty people within an inch of their life within two seconds. He was looking out at the arena quietly, but Alana had no doubt that his mind was slowly rotating behind the scenes.

In terms of strategy, Pan was only below a single individual in Donnyton.

“...fast. Numbers don’t mean anything to that sort of speed.” Isabella finally said. “Most of the members from lower Squads will just be in the way. Even in our Squad, there might be a few who can’t follow his movements…”

“Well, it’s not true that the numbers mean nothing,” Mrs. Hamilton cut into the conversation with a smile. “Do you know why they end up being meaningless?”

“They can’t hit him, his defense is too powerful. If the mages were more powerful-” Isabella said bluntly.

Alana shook her head slightly, indicating that particular train of thought wasn’t the most fruitful. It wasn’t that Isabella was wrong; if they possessed someone with overwhelming power, they would be able to crack open Randidly’s shield.

But that wasn’t how someone in charge of a squad should think. Monsters were more powerful than people. That was just how it was. Strategizing to simply have more power than the opponent wasn’t worth a damn.

The silence stretched as Isabella frowned at her knuckles. Finally, Pan looked upward and opened his mouth.

“It’s that ash he has. It didn’t seem to be costing him anything. It seems like he could defend against the Skills without effort. Unless numbers are enough to overwhelm that, having more people is meaningless.” Pan looked up at Alana, his eyes bright.

“Much closer, but still wrong,” Glendel said. Alana glanced over at the gaunt man, surprised. Then again, it made sense that he would understand the main reason that Randidly Ghosthound was so fearsome; Glendel possessed the same natural advantage, after all.

“The reason that Randidly Ghosthound is powerful enough to make numbers meaningless,” Alana said. “Is his Perception. Whether it be by Skill or by Stats, he can see everything that is coming his way and react to it. He has the Intelligence, Focus, and Control to address everything in the surrounding area. Numbers are meaningless because we haven’t reached the point where he can’t account for everything.

“Strength is something we can account for,” Alana continued. “We can learn to deal with his huge variety of Skills. If we layer Skills, I have no doubt that we would be able to defend against his attacks. Yet he won’t let us; his Perception means he sees everything that is coming his way. Which is the most difficult sort of foe to defeat.”

Both Isabella and Pan stared at Alana, somewhat mesmerized. Alana cracked her knuckles as she watched the medics help up those that were most seriously injured. Truly, if the medics had been a little lax while moving to assist, there might have been fatalities. But it now looked like everyone would pull through.

Good. Alana thought grimly. It would have been our fault if someone died, arrayed against the Ghosthound when they clearly weren’t ready.

“...from the way you are saying it, you make it sound like Perception is a super power,” Isabella said with a frown. “But that’s just not true. We get shit on all the time because our Champion is always dreaming, and has no real combat power. That’s why the Nemesai have been able to run wild in Zone 32. They even were able to attack Donnyton-”

“Sorry girlie, but you are wrong.” A rumbling voice cut across Isabella. A tall man with a face covered in dark stubble walked up to their private box at the front of the stands, wearing an easy smile. At his hips, he wore two leather holsters for handguns that were worn smooth with use. “They need to attack here. Of all the Champion’s, Simon’s power is the one that can cross into other Zones. If they would strike heavily at another Zone, Simon could use his dreaming power to assist that other Champion, effectively doubling the resistance.”