Divine Celebrity 143 (Patreon)

“I see that someone’s quick to cheat, coach,” I said loudly. “Now that your starters proved pathetic, you’re quick to replace them. Are you going to pay back the bribes their families paid?” 

“That’s slander!” the coach declared. “I can sue you for that.” 

“Oh, please do. I would love to have a legal reason to dig into your bank statements,” I answered, radiating confidence. Of course, the argument was more about annoying him than anything else. I wanted to assess the potential of the newcomer before agreeing to let him play. 

Stopping to play at this moment wouldn’t help my reputation … but it was much better than being humiliated by a magically enhanced player. 

While I ‘argued’ with the coach, I extended my Intent senses carefully, trying to find the source of the magic I was feeling. I probed slowly, carefully, trying to decide how to delay the decision even more. 

“Arthur, is that you?” declared the new player, smugness oozing from his tone. 

“Paul, what a nice surprise,” Arthur said, though he probably sounded friendlier talking to someone who had just stabbed him. The coldness of his tone was surprising. Then, ignoring everyone, he went forward. 

I had my distraction, though a bit differently than I expected. 

“What are you doing here?” Arthur whispered as he dragged him toward the corner, thinking that it would prevent them from being heard. 

“Why, I decided to change colleges, of course. I didn’t know that you owned this one.” 

“Cut the crap, Paul. Tell me why are you here. I thought Ancient Brotherhood agreed not to spread to America.” 

Paul chuckled. “Come on, brother in arms, as a member of the Ancient Brotherhood, you know that nothing can stop us.” Then, he stopped, giving a bigger chuckle. “Sorry, ex-member. How does a little group of misfits that decided to take you in after your failure is treating you.” 

From the way Arthur’s fist tightened in anger, I could see that whatever the newcomer was referring to touched a nerve. I could have let Arthur attack him, and it would have solved the issue … but during their little argument, I managed to discover what I had been searching for. 

Paul had runes, similar to what Arthur had drawn to his pads for the game, though they were far more elegantly designed. Even a glimpse was enough to confirm that they wouldn’t harm the user as much as Arthurs. 

More importantly, I could sense that his body also contained magic. It didn’t feel like my Traits, which were far more pointed and conceptually stable. It felt more like a raw power source to fuel the runes further.  

Combined, I expected him to perform very well. As well as I could with several Traits between three to five. Add that to his skill, and a fight would have been an easy escape. 

But why not test my capabilities a bit more directly. I sincerely doubted that another magical organization was here because of Arthur. They clearly hear me, so it was only right for me to test them in turn. 

Just as Arthur was about to attack, I sent him a mental tug, which calmed him. He looked at me, and I shook my head, and gestured him to walk back. 

“We’ll talk later,” Arthur growled as he took a step back, retreating slightly and giving the others a chance to put some distance between them.  

“A coward as always. Now that another guardian has fallen, the promised day is not too far away. What do you think you can do once another guardian falls and the last one fails to hold the truth. Will you run again?” 

Arthur ignored it, which was a pity. The words that Paul was spilling were interesting, already revealing a lot. The fact that his organization was far bigger than Arthur’s, based in Europe, and the fact that they seemed to be aware of the upcoming so-called disaster as well — though seemingly welcoming it.

Like I needed another reason to hide the existence of the System. 

I would have loved to poke more, but I decided to act subtly until I understood whether Paul was here as a part of a bigger plan, or was using the chance to annoy a rival. 

“Since you don’t trust your players to defeat me, I’m okay with you adding another player, and acting like it’s not cheating,” I called, acting like it was an insult against the coach. 

Actually, it was a subtle Taunt toward his players, making sure they would treat the newcomer as a sign of their shame. The less coordinated they got, the better.  

“Let’s not waste much time,” Paul said as he asked for the ball. The coach nodded, and Paul rushed forward, delivering a reckless, one-man charge, catching the defenders flat-footed. Not too shocking. None of them expected a professional quality player. 

Well, except Arthur, but despite his best effort, he wasn’t as agile or strong. Without his runes, the physical difference was stark enough that he was left behind desperately as Paul dunked the ball loudly. 

27-16.

Arthur asked for the ball, but I gestured from the side, asking them to pass it to Marcus. Arthur looked dissatisfied, which echoed in my Command domain and weakened my hold slightly. 

Interesting. 

Arthur looked like he had a point to make, but I gestured for him to play. It seemed that he needed a slight lesson. He went forward, but was defended tightly by Paul, he was already frustrated. He even looked at me. 

Arthur asked for the ball, and this time I deliberately didn’t intervene, and Paul stole the ball faster than Arthur could adapt, scoring with another fast break. I let it repeat a couple of times more, until it turned to a suffocating streak. Fifteen unanswered points, twelve of them scored by Paul.  

27-29.

I called for a timeout. 

“Now, who the fuck wants to explain what’s going on there.” 

The answer was silence. I turned Arthur, who was responsible for the initial ball distribution as the point guard. I deliberately let him play a bit, just to remind him that it wasn’t as simple to rely on my help. “He … he’s too good,” one of the other players muttered.  

“No, he’s not!” Arthur growled, jealous, no doubt wanting to explain that he was cheating. 

“Enough, I let you sorry bunch plays like that to see if you’ll remember if this a team game, but no. It seems that you all forgot that the moment you face someone with the slightest amount of skill.” 

“But—“ one of them started, only to fall silent as my angry glare fall on him. He pulled back, shocked by my reaction. Admittedly, it was a touch unfair to push them, but it was the best way to make them listen.

“Tell me, do you want to win, or should we surrender.” 

“We want to win,” they answered, including Arthur. 

“Even if it means your personal score wouldn’t be as impressive,” I asked, and the others stayed silent, looking at Arthur, who was clearly the target of my words. 

“I …” he started, suddenly looking deflated. 

“I can bench you, and we can arrange a one-to-one match right after if you’re feeling confident,” I warned him sharply, which was a naked threat. There was no chance for him to win, which was clear. 

Yet, he looked reluctant to accept the idea as well. “Think about it this way, he put all that effort to surprise you, probably because he wanted to get your place in the football team. Today’s show is just a surprise. A defeat today would make him waste his plans…” I said, and left the next part unsaid. 

It would also probably harm the plans of the Ancient Brotherhood, the same organization that kicked him out. The vindictive expression on his face was beautiful. 

“Yes, coach,” he said with a renewed passion, and I felt the power of the domain getting stronger. 

“Good, now, about the tactics,” I said, drawing several of them quickly. It had passed the limits of a timeout slightly, but my opposing coach seemed satisfied to lord his superiority. 

Excellent.  

“Stay focused on the game, this is a team game,” I called them one last time, and gestured for them to go back to the field. 

The fun was just starting.