( The generals office)

  It was a celebratory mode inside the conference room today , as Japan had another good day with three contestants making it to the fifth day finals.

  Every match was exhilarating in their own rights , however ,Karna really shined brightly in the cliff fighting event. His opponent in his group finals , was a user of a special Sonar type sound technique that helped him locate his enemies , hence he used a smokescreen to blind Karna on the fighting stage.

  It was a tense moment , and nobody knows what happened inside the smoke , however after a short while , it was shockingly the opponent that was sent flying down the cliff to his doom. Karna managed a win!

  The opponent did not know Karna had the minds eyes special move , him using the fog to blindside Karna was basically playing right into his hands.

  Neatwits finals were also interesting , his rise considered an anamoly as except for himself , everyone else was a thief / assassin / ranger class player. Swordsmen were not especially known for their blinding speed , however Neatwit managed his first blood match victories through incredibly nimble movements. It was a fun short exchange match to watch.

  Compared to those two , the longer fights featured Rudra, whose real strength was just shrouded in mystery, he was a pool that nobody seemed to figure out was actually a bottomless well.

  Well , parallax was going to find it firsthand soon enough.

  Just as the matches for all groups ended , Rudra logged out of the game . His opponent for tommorow was Parallax , he needed to prepare for the match——

  ( Rudra's room , real world , the upside)

  Rudra logged out of the game , and came down to the dining room , where his family was watching news about him and his coming match on the big screen.

  When they saw Rudra , both his parents smiled , while father Rajput said " Good fight kid ". Rudra smiled and took a seat beside his father , as he munched on a light snack looking at the TV.

  The news channels were already branding tommorows match as a fight between bitter rivals , etc etc.

  Clips of Fatty Kalash saying that Parallax was not worthy of being a respectable opponent in Rudra's POV was being played .

  Animations of him inside Omega on one side with a big VS sign in the middle and parallax on the other , like traditional boxing matches was being played.

  Rudra chuckled at the cringe , but he would not lie , the animations and the teasers did hype him up a little. However what he saw next , completely baffled him , it was unexpected.

  After Parallax won his group , apparently he did an interview with a reporter and the contents of it were something like this " Tommorow I will beat the pi** out of that arrogant Shakuni , for my country and for my pride. I don't like that guy, I haven't ever met him , have no vendetta , however I just hate his guts , him beating me in beat the clock will forever be an unwashable stain in my memory ".

  Then the reporter asked him about what were his thoughts on his strategy to fight Rudra " Well ofcourse I have a solid strategy , but I can't quite reveal it on camera , however it's out of disgust that I'm making strategy , his ridiculous strength is no joke , however against me , it's only but a stupid mistake. He doesn't put me in his eyes …… Hence I will put him in his grave".

  The interview was overall filled with Parallax taking jabs at Rudra. Rudra was not affected by this at all , he even found it very funny at how rattled he had made parallax without even doing anything.

  Rudra analysed Parallax's character and found a fatal flaw in his personality , which was vanity . He had a strong sense of self importance and glory , he was hungry for respect and dignity , he fought for the spotlight …… In other words…… He was a fool!

  Rudra initially planned to study tapes before his fights tommorow , however seeing Parallax's personality a wicked plan formed in his mind as he immediately called Ethan Grey .

  His request was very simple , he wanted to mess with Parallax's head before the fight even started , hence he gave a script of questions to be asked to him in a press conference and told Ethan to arrange one within 30 minutes.

  With the news channels being more than willing , and about 50 private helicopters owned by Ethan flying people in , it was made possible within 30 short minutes.

  Rudra sat in the centre with Ethan being seated at his right , as the left seat was left vacant. The live interview then convened.

  Within the last 30 minutes , the live press conference was heavily promoted on every channel across the globe and hence more than 200 million people were watching this thing live , across the globe , including parallax.

  The Japanese reporter asked the first question prepared by Rudra , he said " Congratulations on the win guild master Shakuni, you fought splendidly and the country is proud , if I may soo boldly ask , what's the strategy for tommorow? ".

  Rudra calmly replied " Well thankyou for the compliment there sir …… The finals shall indeed be a challenging match , but I will study the tapes of the winners of group B and C closely , hopefully I will be prepared ".

  Many viewers worldwide picked up on this hidden nonchalant sentence , and the reporter quickly countered , to ask a question that would make the slow witted also aware of what Rudra was trying to imply

  He innocently asked " Sir you have two matches tommorow , the first one being against the winner of group D Parallax ".

  Rudra frowned …… Pretending to think for a second , he asked " I'm sorry …… Who? ".

  The reporter said it again " Parallax the winner of group D ".

  Rudra cleared his throat , and said " Ummm…… Who?".

  Murmurs started to spread amongst the other reporters , this was a clear provocation.

  The reporter said it again " The winner of the silver medal behind you in beat the clock challenge …… The flagbearer of?this year's Olympics , the highest level player and the player with second most votes to win this contest …… Parallax ".

  Rudra looked at Ethan , and said with his eyebrows raised " Does it ring a bell? ".

  Ethan chuckled as he said " nope ".

  The murmurs from the reporters turned into audible excited shouts …… This was some juicy content.

  Rudra cleared his throat , and spoke with arrogance " I'm sorry sir , I don't put inferior men who iv already beat in my line of sight ".

  Silence …… Utter silence across the globe…… everyone had the same thought ……How arrogant !!!!!

  Rudra gave Parallax absolutely no face in this press conference , as in every question he would act in a way that he did not even put Parallax as his opposition , to any concerns about him being beaten by parallax , he would laugh out loud , and soo would Ethan , like the reporter was spouting nonsensical question.

  Although it was completely over the top for the nefarious duo , it got its intended effect , Parallax who was watching the interview was absolutely fuming . He had never been soo belittled in his entire life!

  His reason for being always alone , his pride as a solo player thriving without any support , the attention of the media , the adoration of his fans …… That was his source of ego , and Rudra brutally stepped on it today . He vowed to pay him back in full tommorow in the battlefield , however he did not realize , that by becoming soo riled up , he was already one step behind Rudra in the fight , before it ever even properly started.

  The reactions on the forums and the anaylsis of the experts were varied across the world , some absolutely loved the arrogance of Rudra , this was the typical (18-44) alpha male demographic . While the children and the women preffered Parallax to crush the upstart.

  The thoughts on who would win the fight were pretty varied , out of five experts , three supported Parallax for the win , while two supported Rudra. The overall ratio was a bit tipped , at odds being 55-45 against Rudra in the fight.

  Ethan Grey looked at these numbers and scoffed , his only response to Rudra being " Hey , I'm betting billions on your A** as well as buying a seat to tommorows arena seats , give me some entertainment and good returns will you? I hardly have such vacations ".

  Rudra only winked at Ethan in response , it was not gonna be easy , however Rudra was confident in his chances to win.

  Wrapping things up , he went back home , and started ro review te footage of all fights seriously , making notes and trying to figure out his opponents weaknesses.

  This was the major difference between him and most other competitors , everyone was sure to analyse each other's Fighting styles tonight , however Rudra did it citically and in a way , noone else could.

  Half his fight was fought in his mind , where he would lay layers and layers of seamless deciets. That would keep driving the opponent to the edge of despair.

  His purpose? To win thoroughly , crushing every possible move their opponents could pull off and after 6 hours of studying he was more than ready , a sick smile spread across his lips , as plan A,B,C,D,E,F,G, had been loaded in his mind. Every possible known sequence , every counter was planned , contingencies for emergency situations and unknown attacks was also thought about. He was ready.

  Rudra was 90% sure of defeating Parallax , however he wanted to do it soo brutally that his next opponent would get shivers down his spine thinking about what would happen to him at the finals , hence to build that psychological advantage , Rudra planned on absolutely annihilating Parallax , a brutal defeat that would go down in the books , achieving which was very hard . Would he accomplish it …… Or will it all go downhill ? Only time would tell……