The heavy sword slashed down. Blossom Chaos had no time to dodge, but still managed to raise the automatic pistol in his hand, barely firing off a shot.

　　Bang!

　　Blood spurted from Fallen Petals's body—he was hit, but it was nothing serious, just a normal attack, completely unable to stop the Collapsing Mountain Strike. The heavy sword fell, and the spray of blood became even more vivid. Blossom Chaos was struck down to the ground, and the outcome was decided.

　　But Big Smith did not let Fallen Petals continue attacking.

　　Was the match decided?

　　It was, but the reason for the outcome was simply that he had arrived a bit later, so he was in better condition, while the opponent had already exhausted his mana and energy earlier in the fight.

　　If that last shot had carried some kind of ammo skill, this battle might have continued.

　　The heavy sword was withdrawn and slung over his shoulder.

　　"Hey..." Big Smith chuckled, looking at the guy lying on the ground before him. Suddenly, he felt that the scene he had always imagined in his mind was gradually becoming complete. This scene should be enough to stand on that stage, to be part of the battle he had watched ten times over, right?

　　"Your skills look pretty good. Want to team up with me?"

　　"Hmm?" The one lying on the ground was clearly surprised.

　　"Who are you?" he asked.

　　"Robert Smith, Berserker, Fallen Petals. And you?"

　　"Michael Bolton, Ammo Specialist, Blossom Chaos."

　　"Then what about our team?" Robert Smith said.

　　"Team?" Michael Bolton glanced at the names of their characters, thought for a moment, "Double Blossom?"

　　"Double Blossom isn't enough—we need a Hundred Blossoms." Robert Smith said.

　　That year, in the western wilderness, a hundred flowers bloomed.

　　"Glory: When the Flowers Bloomed"

　　-END-

Chapter Five: "The Dual-Core Era"

　　"Fallen Petals is up! Blossom Chaos is following! Two versus one! Blue Rain is in a tough spot—how will their captain respond?!"

　　The TV screen flickered, the commentator's passionate shouts ringing out. This Glory League match had reached the decisive moment. The group of teenagers sitting in front of the TV all clenched their fists, so nervous they could barely breathe. Yet at this moment, one boy suddenly jumped up, waving his fist at the TV and shouting, "Go, Old Ghost! Don't lose to them! You're not that useless, are you?! It's just two rookies! Wasn't that what you said yesterday? Were you just bragging?"

　　The boy kept shouting, but the situation on the field did not change because of his cries.

　　"Blossoms Blood Scene, Blossoms Blood Scene!" the host yelled, as a flood of light and shadow filled the screen. The camera zoomed in, and in the midst of the light, a heavy sword slashed down fiercely.

　　Blood splattered, but was quickly covered by the dazzling effects, as if it had evaporated. The figure beneath the heavy sword looked so unwilling, but in the end, could not resist the loss of health, and with the fall of the sword, collapsed completely.

　　"They've won! Blossoms Blood Scene! This is another victory for the Hundred Blossoms team this season—they are the biggest discovery, the biggest dark horse of the season. Who can stop their winning streak? Not Sweeping Incense, not Socksal! Will it be Desert Lone? Or Autumn Leaf? Alright, that's it for today's broadcast. Glory Pro League, see you at the same time next week!!"

　　The commentator announced the victory, and the match came to an end. The screen replayed the final kill by the Hundred Blossoms duo against Socksal over and over. The boys sitting in front of the TV all looked gloomy, no one saying a word. The same boy as before stepped forward and angrily turned off the TV.

　　"Useless Old Ghost!" he muttered. But the others remained silent. In the entire club, he was the only one who dared to comment on and address Blue Rain's captain Henry Clark like that; the other boys simply couldn't follow suit.

　　"This was never something one person could do alone." At this moment, someone else stood up from the crowd in front of the TV and spoke.

　　Edward Harris looked at him, showing a look of disdain: "What great insight does the bottom-of-the-pack have?"

　　Bottom-of-the-pack... an awkward label, but ever since Thomas Reed joined the Blue Rain training camp, his performance had always been at the bottom. His truly unimpressive hand speed made everyone think he lacked the basic qualities of a pro player.

　　But he stayed. After round after round of selection and elimination at Blue Rain's training camp, everyone thought he would be out early, but he made it to the end, becoming a reserve member of the Blue Rain team, to be officially trained as a pro. Yet even so, after all this time, his hand speed still hadn't improved much. So even after so many others were eliminated, among the excellent trainees who remained, he was still at the bottom. With the most talented Edward Harris calling him that, it seemed all the more convincing.

　　But Thomas Reed was neither angry nor annoyed by this. He simply stated his opinion calmly.

　　"Glory is not a one-man game," he said.