- Aha! Here they are - said Vikram as he found the right pages. Team sixty-three: Edward Hill, Enrique, Kasper.

- I already know about Edward, but not about the others - I pointed out to him.

- Ok. This is America's strongest team. Kasper apparently is a sniper that uses a bow. Former hunting entusiast. Incredible precision. He can put spells on arrows. Enrique uses both magic and a large sword. He is the strongest person after mister Hill.

- Good to know, but I won't be fighting them anytime soon.. By the way, who is my opponent in the first round?

Vikram went through his papers again.

- Bunch of randoms from... America. Please slap the shit out of them.

I smiled.

- I'll get a bonus if you do - he added.

- Are they paying you depending on my performance?

- No. I just bet some cash on your win.

- You did what? Is that legal?

He shrugged his shoulder.

- Don't worry about that, nobody will find out - he waved his hand like it wasn't important.

- I hope so.

- Next team! Team thirty-three: Timur - he opened his mouth to say the second name, but snorted heavily instead. After collecting himself he finally spoke it - Thanatos, and Aiko.

- Thanatos?

- Apparently yes. This person's parents had to have a sense of humor.

- Making fun of somebody's name is really... low... - I pointed out.

- I don't care. I hope he is purple. That would be just perfect, but anyway... Both T's are close combat fighters, while miss Aiko is... Hot. Wow - he turned the stack of papers sideways.

- Hey, focus! And show me that.

- It's confidential information. I can't. She is a magic-user, and that's all you need to know.

- You realize that I can beat you up, and take it?

- Can you? - he asked while raising his eyebrows.

That was too much of a provocation for me to just ignore, so I stood up.

- Ok, sorry, sorry! You definitely can beat me up, but you won't.historical

I sighed.

- Yeah, I won't - I agreed and sat back down.

- So... Next, we have team ten. Ekenedilichukwu, Buhle, and Lacey. Fully African American team. Ekenedilichukwu is their fighter, while Buhle can enhance the abilities of others. Lacey is a healer, but she also uses telekinesis and some mind influence abilities. I think they might be dangerous, and they are quite close to you, so you might actually be fighting with those people.

- If I survive Gavriil Semenov.

- Don't say that - he said, as his hands dropped. - Come on Peter. The whole of India is watching you.

- Shouldn't you say, the whole world?

- Who cares about the world. Only India matters - he rises the hands again and looked at the papers.

I just laughed, the guy knew how to raise my mood.

- Team forty-seven - he continued. - Ethan, Hanna, Laura. All in possession of unknown magic abilities. Be cautious. That's what they wrote.

- Ok, I will be cautious.

- Team seventy. Nikolas, Yash, Nina. Oh, finally somebody from India. You would expect more of us since so many go to America, but surprise.

- I guess we got all of you. Your country really got lucky.

He peaked at me from behind the papers and smiled a bit.

- Another fully close combat team. After them, we have Team seventy-two. Abraham, Herman, Eun-Ji. Two heavy mele types, with one bow user.

- Ok.

He searched through the papers again.

- I guess this would be it - he concluded. - The rest seems like fodder.

- I wonder about the Chinese representatives.

- Well, you might clash with some of them, because there is one team close to you. Team number two, but we only know partial names. So yeah, if they win, you should be able to test them.

- If I win with Gavriil Semenov first.

- Oh come on! Stop it. You are making me nervous.

I winked at him, and he smiled.

- Finish your breakfast. I'm gonna get some sleep since I've been awake the whole night - he said and headed towards the door.

- Goodnight.

- Yeah... - I heard before the door closed.

I finished my food, took a shower, and went out of the room as well. I met with Will in the corridor.

- You to just finished the briefing? - he asked

- Yeah.

- It was so useless... I hope the other teams know just as much as we do.

- I'm sure the CIA fed their own guys with good intel. They know a lot about us - I pointed out.

- The eyes will be on you, my friend. Are you nervous?

- No. Not at all.

- Well, I am. At least a bit. After all, we are the second-best Arc has to offer after you. We need to smash.

- With whom are you fighting?

- Some randoms, as I just got informed.

- Then just smash - I slapped him on the shoulder.

- Yeah... But we are close to some Brazilians. Apparently they have a good synergy among them. It might be hard.

I snorted.

- Their synergy has nothing on you. You, Borins, and Nobuo will run the mover like a train. You will teach them a lesson about life. Don't worry - I assured him.

I sounded confident, but I had my worries. After all, there was a chance of them losing.

- Yeah. You are right - he smiled. - Thanks for that. I really needed it. My son will probably be watching, and... You know.

- I do. You want to show off. Make him proud, so he would be able to brag about you in school.

- Exactly.

- Come. Let's grab a drink, so you won't be thinking stupid thoughts. Today is not the day for that. Today we won't be worrying about anything - I said. - And tomorrow, we smash!

- Aye! - shouted Will.

We went down laughing and talking silly. We went straight to the bar, where others also gathered, at least those who managed to get past their briefings. The rest of the day was spent on drinking, and talking about everything, but not the upcoming day, and fighting.

We needed to have clear minds before the clash.