"I yield….." Zhi said reluctantly, as Rocky instantly felt sour hearing those words.
Rocky knew he should have lost this fight. He knew that he did not win it using his own strength and somehow that feeling of getting an undeserving win made him feel incredibly sour.
Looking around, Rocky made eye contact with Professor Mae and Principal Liam who were both looking at him with a bit of pity in their eyes.
'Pity?'
Rocky wondered as he met their gazes–
'Pity for me?' he wondered, as this gaze full of pity hurt him more than a gaze of disappointment ever could have.
Pity wasn't a gaze that Rocky was really used to, so when someone looked at him like he was a charity case, it made his blood internally boil with rage.
While the crowd of students that had gathered to watch him win cheered when he eventually did, feeling happy that Rocky had somehow pulled off a win, internally Rocky knew that it wasn't him who won this fight, but Gemini that ensured that he did.
Although he wasn't sure about the source of the purple aura around him that was now beginning to fade fast. He assumed that it could only be help from the Gemini gods as nothing else really made sense.
The aura defense wasn't a skill that he learnt himself and since the source of its origin was his tattoo, he assumed that it was intervention by Gemini, which made Rocky feel like a cuck once again.
"Great fight…. You're as formidable as they say…." Zhi said with a bright smile on his face, as although he lost, he seemed more happy about how the fight turned out than Rocky, as unlike Rocky he had really given everything that he had to give to the fight and had come within inches of winning it using his own power.
"I didn't win…. This fight was clearly my loss" Rocky said, as he did not shamelessly hog credit for the win and spoke what he truly felt.
"Well since Zhi surrendered, it's officially your win-" Professor Mae said, as she hesitantly raised Rocky's hand in victory.
"I didn't win….. I just got lucky-" Rocky retorted, as he grit his teeth and glanced towards the heavens, feeling frustrated at just how micromanaging the Gemini gods were, to interfere in such a small and inconsequential event in his life.
While he had nothing but respect for them, Rocky was tired of first the system and now the Gemini Gods controlling ever aspect of his life, as he felt extremely suffocated in such a micro-managed environment.
'If I lose…. I lose…. Why the hell did you need to be involved in my spar?' Rocky wondered, as he could not suppress the rage boiling inside him.
'Let me do something on my own for once. While I appreciate the concern and I do wish to become a capable champion for you. You cannot keep interfering in my life like this-' Rocky raged, as while he did not say any of his feelings out loud, internally he was fuming.
His POV of this event was very narrow, for him today's fight was only a spar that had no real consequence in his life if he lost, however, for Shakuni this event was not small at all.
The rivalry between Zhi and Rocky was something that Shakuni wanted to foster and grow as he could peer way into the future covered in fog, that it was this exact rivalry that would someday help Rocky become the most formidable fighter that the tower had seen.
Had Rocky lost today's fight, the trajectory of their relationship would change significantly as from defending against Zhi Rocky's mindset would become one of catching up to him, however, Shakuni wanted Rocky to establish the advantage amongst them both early on, and try to hold on to it throughout their lives.
Today, as Zhi fell only marginally short of beating Rocky, it already made him feel fired up to improve and come back to beat Rocky in six months time.
On the other hand, bubbling in rage, Rocky resolved to win the bout between them using his own strength, as after the fight both shook hands and promised to face each other again once they both became a tier2 fighter.
***********
( Meanwhile on floor 92 )
"Awww, how cute…." Ravan said, as he heard Rocky's curses directed towards them.
"That brat doesn't realize what's good for him. It's like me having to raise Kartikeya all over again, but at least that was my own flesh and blood….." Shakuni replied as he felt as if raising Rocky was like raising a kid, which was a thankless job.
"Well, he will understand someday brother…. One day he will realize just like all the kids do that their father was right.
He's just a teenager, someday when he has a disciple or a kid of his own, he'll understand us too-" Ravan said, as he tried to console his brother to not take the words currently coming out of Rocky's heart seriously.
"I don't really care, Ravan, even if he doesn't understand…. That's not really my lookout.
What I'm more worried about is making him a worthy champion and for it I'm going to do whatever I feel is necessary to put him on the right track" Shakuni admitted candidly as a deep frown spread on Ravan's face.
"You are being too cold here brother… the boy will break when he meets his sister in such a deplorable condition. Let's try and save her while there's still something worth saving inside her-" Ravan pleaded, as he felt genuinely worried about the future that Rocky was going to experience in a short while.
While everything up till now in his life had been smooth, Rocky was finally approaching the rough patch where nothing was going to go as he wanted it to go, with the first major upsetting event being his rescue of Riva.
"We already talked about this Ravan…. I know you don't want to become like the other gods, but I see no other option.
Reaching floor 90 is not a joke and the 'Hero' Rocky NEVER reaches it, no matter how many iterations I try to look at.
He can only ever make it to floor 90 while being a despicable villain and this is the setback that pushes him to the dark side" Shakuni said, as Ravan let out a deep sigh.
Ravan liked Rocky, the kid had heart and potential in his opinion.
Heart and potential were two such important qualities for a Champion that Ravan was almost convinced that they had made the right decision by choosing Rocky to be their Champion, however, according to his brother, just having heart and potential was not enough.
Trillions of individuals had entered the tower throughout ancient times. However, after all these years, there were only a handful of religions and True Gods, because reaching floor 90 wasn't something everyone could achieve.
Even if one could surpass all odds and become a tier 8 monarch, reaching the pinnacle of climber strength, if you were not acknowledged by a God or the tower, the doors to floor 90 remained closed forever, as only 1 in 100 floor 89 climbers were ever given the right to challenge the floor 90 promotion test.
While heartless, Ravan had to acknowledge that his brothers thinking wasn't wrong at all.
Reaching floor 90 was no joke and to set an individual on the path of becoming a god, one needed 'madness' mixed with potential and heart….. and such 'madness' could only come from intense pain or a time-limited goal to achieve.
In Rocky's case, this goal was to save Riva, however, the chain of events that it would trigger would have him marked as a villain within the tower forever.
"Well what can I say…. If it's the only way, then it's the only way-" Ravan said eventually, giving up as he shrugged his shoulders.
He hoped Rocky to have a simple and fulfilling life, however, he wanted him to become a True God someday even more.
Between the two goals if only one could be achieved then Ravan would pick the latter any day without an ounce of hesitation, as while Rocky's mental health and reputation mattered to him, it did not nearly matter as much as his own personal goal to reach floor 101, someday.
"This day will trigger him into working hard for the next few months….
His anger will guide him towards learning a few defensive and movement type moves alongside swordsmanship offense which will make him a more complete fighter than what he is right now.
It will all help him in his floor raid on floor21 eventually and his berserk phase afterwards-" Shakuni said with a clear mind, as like a puppet master, he had already perfected Rocky's future path already.
—-----
/// A/N - Hey guys, quick health update… so I'm feeling better now, and can mostly resume bonus chapters from tomorrow onwards. ///