In the living room of Daniel’s apartment, Cristiano adjusted himself in the armchair before asking the two sitting on the sofa, “What time does Anika's interview start?”

  Daniel grabbed his cell phone from the coffee table and checked the time: it was 1:27 PM.

  “In about three minutes.”

  Júlia, sitting to his right, arched her eyebrows and asked, “What do you think she’s going to reveal?”

  “Maybe the team roster,” Cristiano said.

  “No,” Daniel replied. “The roster was announced just before you guys arrived.”

  “Then I have no idea. I want to be surprised.” The Red Crows captain sank back into the armchair.

  The three fell silent for a minute.

  Nothing could be heard except the commercial playing on the TV and when it ended, the program's intro theme aired.

  “This is it,” Júlia said, settling into the sofa.

  A man with bleached white hair smiled at his viewers. In the bottom-right corner of the screen, the word “LIVE” glowed.

  Moments later, the man introduced himself. “Good afternoon, Avalonian Nation! Welcome to another edition of After the Arena, the best program dedicated to New Avalon in all of Brazil.”

  His stage name flashed across his protruding belly: Kronos.

  “Today, I have the pleasure of bringing you an exclusive interview with the captain of Starfall.”

  He turned to the right. The camera pulled back, revealing the woman seated on a red velvet sofa.

  “What a beautiful dress,” Júlia sighed.

  Daniel noticed the guest's attire: a long navy-blue dress that flowed down to her shins. Her earrings, rings, bracelets, and anklets were all golden and gleaming. And amidst so many expensive items, a wooden crucifix hung from her neck.

  Daniel wondered how much those clothes and accessories must cost. He imagined the price had to be in the tens of thousands. However, in the end, he knew it all suited the woman flaunting them.

  Anika raised her right hand and smoothed the long strands of her lustrous golden hair. At that instant, her real name, nickname, position, and team appeared on the screen.

  Ana “Anika” Cardoso

  Captain of the Professional Team Starfall E-Sports

  Kronos approached her.

  “Anika, you have no idea how happy I was when you agreed to come to our studio for this interview. If I said I was honored, that would be the understatement of the century. So, my dear, how are you?”

  Anika displayed a serene expression as she replied, “I’m great. It’s an honor to be on the best New Avalon program in the world.”

  The words were spoken with a charming Northeastern accent.

  The camera swooped in close to Kronos, who shuddered at the guest's words.

  “Did you hear that? She’s the one who said it!”

  She smiled, and then her green eyes met the camera. The three spectators in front of the TV were perplexed, even Júlia. However, the guest had one more card to play; after the captivating smile, Anika gave a wink with her left eye.

  “There it is!” Cristiano began. “Her fan club just gained millions of new followers.”

  Cris leaned forward, stared at Daniel and asked, “You’re a good-looking guy; why did you never give an interview like that?”

  Daniel ignored the comment and continued paying attention to the interview. Kronos was seated in his armchair next to the sofa where the guest was.

  “Before we get to the spicy questions, how about telling us where the codename Anika came from?”

  “It came up when I was still little. My friends used to call me Aninha, so I combined that nickname with my surname, Cardoso, and changed it a bit to sound better.”

  “But tell me, what is the correct pronunciation: is it Ah-nika, A-nee-ka, or Anik-ah?”

  “You can call me whatever you want and I’ll understand, but I say Ah-nika.”

  Kronos nodded before moving on to the next question. “Starfall took second place this year in the nationals, and because of that, didn't qualify to represent Brazil in the Worlds. But what are your expectations for next year now that the strongest team in the country has been... dismantled.”

  Those words hit Daniel and Júlia hard.

  “I was already confident that our team was capable of winning, but if our biggest competitor is out of the way, things just got a lot easier.”

  “And regarding Red Crows, do they intimidate you as much as the old Dark Age?”

  “Between us three, D.A. was the strongest in practically every aspect. My team's strength lies in teamwork and my ability to formulate good strategies and make decisions in the heat of the moment. I know I’m not yet as strong as Crown in a direct battle. And I’m also aware that I can’t create strategies as efficient as the captain of the old Dark Age.”

  “I... beg your pardon, but you didn't answer the question.” Kronos looked like he was committing a sin as he spoke.

  “No, I don't think Red Crows is as scary as Dark Age used to be. And buying Dante’s account and hiring my best friend isn't how Mr. Cristiano is going to make me lose any sleep.”

  When she finished speaking, a confident smile and a piercing look formed on her face.

  “I... hate... that... witch,” grunted Cris, clenching his right fist as he scooted to the edge of the armchair.

  “Me, her best friend?” Júlia asked herself. “We got along really well, but I didn't know she considered me her best friend.”

  “Maybe it’s hard to find friends when you're that pretty,” Daniel teased.

  “Uh-huh... surely that’s the problem,” Júlia replied, dripping with sarcasm.

  They went back to paying attention to the program. Kronos was looking at the tablet screen in his hand.

  “Anika, isn't it time for you to reveal your big surprise?”

  The guest waved to someone out of camera view. A young boy approached, listened to what she had to say, pulled an item from his pocket, placed it in her hands, and walked away.

  The object was a cell phone. The guest fiddled with it for a while, which made Kronos uncomfortable for ruining the flow of the show.

  Upon finishing, Anika put the phone down, looked at the host and said, “I promise to reveal it when this stream hits ten million viewers.”

  “But, but our record is five, and... right now we're at nearly two,” Kronos stammered, blinking rapidly. “Don't you think you're asking too much?” he finished with a nervous smile.

  “Maybe,” she admitted. “But I trust the Starfall fanbase. I hope my dear fans spread this stream to the millions of players in our country.”

  Kronos was lost for words. Having just been dominated by his guest, he could only pass the ball.

  “Well... how about I read some questions from our viewers?”

  Anika agreed. The questions were asked, and she answered the relevant ones while ignoring the invasive ones.

  The program's team added a counter in the corner of the screen showing the number of viewers watching the program in real-time. To everyone's surprise, the counter increased at a frightening rate with every question answered by Anika.

  From two million, it had already climbed to over three and a half.

  The trio in front of the TV was dumbfounded.

  “I have to admit, that damn woman knows how to sell herself,” said Cristiano.

  “She is... incredible, isn't she?” Júlia admitted.

  There was no disagreeing with a truth like that, so he added, “This whole marketing ploy just made me more curious about this revelation.”

  It took twenty minutes for the viewer counter to hit the two-million mark, but it took twelve more to reach three, and less than six to hit five. Now it was hard to track the tens-of-thousands digit; the number was rising so fast.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Scary,” sighed Cris.

  “It’s the Anika effect,” said Daniel.

  A roar of applause echoed from the TV. The number 10,000,000 flashed in gold in the center of the screen.

  “UN-BELIEV-ABLE!” Kronos announced, standing up from his armchair. “I never imagined this was possible; more than ten million people are watching us.”

  As the presenter described how special that moment was, a man and a woman wearing Starfall’s blue and gold jersey approached Anika. The man was carrying something that looked like a VR headset.

  Seeing this, Kronos approached the guest. “Is this part of the big surprise?”

  “I’m a professional; of course my surprise is inside the game.”

  The presenter smiled from ear to ear and quickly returned to his armchair.

  “Connection established,” said the woman beside Anika.

  “Headset configured,” said the young man.

  Anika held both their hands before dismissing them with a solemn tone, “Thank you, my angels. Now it’s on me.”

  The two hurried away from the studio cameras.

  “Can I share the headset's view on that screen?” Anika asked, pointing to the large screen covering the entire wall behind them. At the moment, it was showing a highlight reel of her career.

  “But of course.” Kronos gestured for his team to give the 'OK' on the headset-to-screen connection.

  The clip of her avatar—a warrior in heavy armor wielding a spear—was replaced by a landscape amidst the clouds, where the peaks of distant mountains stretched across the horizon.

  The view of this landscape shifted as Anika moved her head.

  Now we’re seeing through her avatar's eyes. Come on, show us the surprise, Daniel pondered.

  “What is this wonderful place?” asked Kronos.

  In Daniel's apartment, the young man answered in unison with the interviewee, “The Valley of Tranquility.”

  At the same time, the words left his mouth, a falcon of epic proportions swooped down, missing Anika by inches.

  She turned around, looking in the direction the falcon was heading.

  A deep, unearthly, furious roar echoed through the mountains moments before a blast of red flames engulfed the falcon. A sharp shriek of pain followed immediately. A scaly column rose before Anika's eyes.

  Long brown wings unfurled in all their glory. The creature soared into the sky, then turned slowly, gliding toward Anika.

  Inside the studio, the interviewee looked down. The avatar on the big screen did the same.

  Daniel expected to see the warrior’s typical heavy, bluish, blocky armor, but what he saw left him speechless.

  On the chest, a black and gold cuirass, even thicker and wider than the old one, but filled with curved and sharp segments, very much resembling the aesthetic of the iron paws of his upgraded bear form. Along her legs, arms, feet, and hands, similar layers followed one another.

  And while she displayed her new armor to the millions of people watching, the dragon drew closer.

  Anika removed her face protection; until then, the piece of equipment hadn't been visible because the screen showed only what her eyes saw. In her hands, she now held a golden tiara, the back of which was decorated with a pair of dragon wings, similar to those of the approaching creature.

  Daniel stood up from the sofa, his heart racing. The wide eyes of Júlia and Cristiano followed his movement.

  “It can't be,” said Daniel. “She’s... a Dragon Slayer?”

  He uttered the title of the most venerated warriors of western New Avalon.

  Back in the game, Anika put her tiara back on and gripped her black spear—long, over two meters in length. And just like Ragnar’s Viper’s Ruin, the head of the weapon was decorated with the head of a creature: a golden dragon.

  “Impossible.” Cris leaned so far forward on the armchair that he was barely sitting on the cushion anymore. “That is... unfair.”

  The dragon was a few meters from the avatar. Anika brandished the spear to the heavens and whistled.

  The dragon's wings stopped beating. She flexed her knees, gathered energy, and leaped upward.

  The force and speed of that movement blurred the camera's vision; it was impossible to tell where she was or where she was going. But, seconds later, her hands touched the dragon's head.

  Anika looked to the sides; the beast's wings beat at a leisurely rhythm, and the mountain where she had been moments ago was shrinking on the horizon.

  Across the entire country, millions of spectators were stunned in their homes, in the streets, and wherever there was a screen connected to the broadcast.

  The viewer counter hit the 19 million mark.

  The studio screen went dark. The connection was severed, and Anika was now holding the VR headset in her hands.

  “I hope you liked it. Unfortunately, I have an organization to manage.”

  Kronos stood up, ran to her, and pleaded:

  “Incredible, but what was that? Did you acquire a Legendary Class? What is it called? How did you get it? Tell us!”

  “You will learn more during next year's championship, but until then...” She pressed her index finger to her lips and backed away, walking backward.

  The program's cameraman tried to follow her beyond the set but was stopped by Kronos.

  “Leave her in peace.”

  Meanwhile, in Daniel's apartment, the three looked at one another.

  ***

  The TV was now broadcasting a recording of the moment Anika revealed her big surprise to the world.

  Kronos, the host, was commenting in detail on every cloud, every stone, and every segment of the Starfall captain's new armor. His tone exuded the satisfaction coming from the number of simultaneous viewers, which since the guest's departure, had risen to the impressive mark of 21 million.

  In the living room of Daniel's apartment, Cristiano covered his face with his pale hands, obscured by the long black strands of his hair. Júlia, on the other hand, watched the reveal video for the fourth time with wide eyes.

  Daniel was still pondering it all.

  “It's like a meteor hit the Earth,” the girl said, stupefied.

  “Worse,” lamented Cristiano after taking his hands off his face.

  “You can say goodbye to a guaranteed qualification for next year's Worlds...” said Daniel. “You guys are going to need to work very hard to beat her now.”

  “But... will a Legendary Class in her hands make that much difference?” Júlia grasped at the last shreds of hope.

  “Anika was the third best in the country in terms of individual talent, but Starfall's power doesn't come from the individual strength of each of its members.”

  “I know that,” admitted Júlia. “Their teamwork was compared to ours.”

  “To yours last year...” Cris intervened. “But I heard that after the defeat in the nationals, they swapped the weak links of the main team for two stars who shined in the Challenger Tournament.”

  “But you guys did the same.” Daniel looked at Júlia.

  “Dani, you're forgetting that I'm still at level 33. It's a long way to go before I reach competitive level. I'll be lucky if I manage to level up in time to participate in the first phase.”

  He was shocked by the level difference between them; her new avatar was already double Ragnar’s level.

  “What class do you guys think she got?” Cris asked.

  “Something related to dragons, we can be sure of that,” suggested Daniel. “But it's too early to make assumptions; we have no idea of the new skills and mechanics this class is capable of.”

  “Since it's the legendary evolution of the Warrior class, we know it's going to deal a lot of damage and be very tough,” said Cristiano, but as he thought about what he had just said, he corrected himself: “No... I spouted bullshit. That jump to get onto the dragon was too high and too fast. She's going to be a lot of trouble.”

  The program came to an end, Kronos said goodbye to the audience, but the subject continued to be debated among the three. It took almost an hour for them to stop talking about the Starfall captain.

  Later, on the apartment balcony, the three reminisced about the days in the Dark Age. Each held a bottle of that terrible homebrew beer, yet, as time passed, Daniel felt his palate getting used to the taste.

  It didn't take long for night to fall, accompanied by cold gusts of wind.

  It was close to midnight when Cristiano finished the last bottle, placed it on the glass table in front of him, and announced, “It was a wonderful day, but I need to get back to the hotel. Unfortunately, the tour of the city will have to wait for another day, but it was great to see you again,” he finished, looking at Daniel.

  “I’m the one honored by your visit. But why don't you spend the night here? I have a super comfortable sofa for these situations.”

  Cristiano stood up from the chair at the same time a gust of wind pushed his long hair back.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I'll decline.”

  Daniel stood up as well.

  “I insist, sleep here.”

  “No.” Cristiano shot the host a withering look.

  Daniel understood that there was no point in pressuring his friend. Cristiano stopped to check his phone.

  “I need to go; the driver is arriving at any moment.”

  Júlia was the last of the three to stand up. She walked over to Daniel and said goodbye with a kiss on the cheek, “I'll take the ride. The hotel I recommended to Cris is close to my parents' house.”

  Daniel walked them to the door. But still in the hallway, they talked for a minute about the chance of setting up another meeting, though the possibility was left hanging in the air.

  Cris said goodbye for real with a firm handshake.

  The two visitors walked to the front of the elevator, turned one last time to the host, waved, and entered, disappearing from Daniel's view.

  In that moment, he felt a strange tightness in his chest, followed by a comforting warmth burning inside him.

  ***

  The car advanced into the night through the streets of Florianópolis. The facades of buildings appeared and disappeared under the gaze of the two in the back seat.

  Cris sat on the right, resting his face on his hand, his arm leaning on the half-open window.

  “He never loses his cool, does he?” he said, turning to Júlia.

  “No...” she replied, continuing to look at the people on the sidewalks, her hands resting in her lap.

  “He lost his avatar, was vilified by everyone, and still moves forward with his head up high. I honestly can't say if I would continue if something like that happened to me.”

  “And he still works a regular job...” Júlia took a deep breath.

  “It kind of irritates me.”

  She turned her face away from the car window to stare at the team captain.

  “Why?”

  “You joined Red a short while ago; I shouldn't dump my frustrations on you, I'm sorry.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “I like him a lot. We joined D.A. in the same year, so he's like a younger brother to me.”

  “I think I understand what you meant; he can be a bit much sometimes.”

  Cris gave a little chuckle.

  “I never imagined hearing you say something like that about your ex.”

  “Hey!” She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

  “What? I expected to hear you defending him, not throwing him into the fire.”

  “I feel the same as you. I like him too, but sometimes he ends up testing our patience.”

  Cris let out a long sigh.

  “Maybe that's what makes him a good captain. Until last year, no one expected to see a team from the third world reach the semifinals of the biggest sports championship in the world.” He turned his face and contemplated the nightlife passing before his tired eyes. “Maybe that's what is missing in me.”

  The car slowed down gradually, stopping a few meters from the hotel entrance.

  “Jú... thanks for inviting me. It was really good to see our friend after so long. Take care and... what we talked about just now, let's keep that just between us, okay?”

  “Of course. That’ll be our little secret. Bye and good night.”

  Cristiano got out of the car and walked away slowly, cautiously, but soon blended into the crowd.

  Júlia's mind was a whirlwind of ideas. She rubbed her forehead with her right hand.

  The driver looked back and asked:

  “Where to now?”

  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, pressed her hands on her thighs, and gave in to her instincts, “Can you take me back? I ended up forgetting some things.”

  The driver nodded, adjusted the rearview mirror, and spoke with enthusiasm, “You got it.”

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