Mrs. Naomi was in her forties, but she looked barely in her early thirties—still elegant and beautiful. She smiled warmly at Roy. "I haven't seen you for half a year, young man. Why don't you visit anymore? When you were younger, you ate at our house every day, but now that you're grown up, you've forgotten all about us."
Roy scratched his head sheepishly, not refuting anything, just standing there with an awkward smile.
The Mu family wasn't considered among the truly wealthy in Meadowbrook—they were merely well-off business owners. Their entire family fortune amounted to a few hundred million Pokédollars, and they operated several successful enterprises. Among them was a company that produced Pokémon food, which Serena had mentioned previously. The Lieyang berries were their own product...
In this world, if a family only possessed economic strength without the backing of a top Trainer, they couldn't be considered truly wealthy...
The reason Roy knew the siblings was purely because his parents worked for companies where they received dividend shares.
As they grew up, beyond the business relationship, the two families had developed a deep friendship.
The fathers of both families had already stepped aside to chat, looking completely at ease, like old buddies with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Meanwhile, the mothers stayed behind, guiding the younger generation in conversation about family matters.
After chatting for a while, Naomi suddenly said, "I heard that Roy has qualified for the main tournament, so Nolan and I came to watch and cheer you on. What a surprise that you're actually a promising Trainer..."
She looked amazed, regarding Roy with increasing approval.
She understood her daughter's feelings perfectly well. The relationship between the two families was solid, and Roy was handsome with no obvious character flaws. Naturally, she supported the connection.
Finding out that her prospective son-in-law suddenly possessed excellent Trainer talent was a pleasant surprise.
"Reece, you hang out with Roy every day—why don't you learn something useful from him? You haven't improved at all!" Mrs. Mu turned to scold her son.
Reece, who had been leaning against a wall for no apparent reason, shot Roy a resentful look.
His entrance scores weren't bad. Although he hadn't qualified for the main tournament, he had ranked fourth in his qualifying group, making him a top student. The Mu family didn't have many Trainer resources, so his achievement was already remarkable.
Normally, his parents would have rewarded him with extra allowance.
However, his buddy's exceptional performance had overshadowed him completely.
"Aunt, I was just lucky to make it to the main tournament. We'll have to see how it goes," Roy said modestly.
"Humility is a virtue, but one must also be self-motivated," Mrs. Naomi took his hand, patting it encouragingly as she spoke kindly. "Tell me, dear, what placement do you think you can achieve?"
"Well, let me set a small goal first."
Roy said with a solemn expression: "Winning the championship would be considered a success."
Naomi and Roy's mother: "..."
Serena, who had been quietly observing Roy, let out a "pffft" of laughter. When she noticed everyone's surprised looks, she quickly covered her mouth and turned slightly away, though her reddening cheeks remained visible.
"You rascal, now you're joking with your aunt."
Mrs. Naomi smiled and gave Roy a playful look of mock disapproval.
Just then, the campus announcement system chimed in.
"All contestants, please report to the competitors' lounge as soon as possible. Those who fail to check in by 9:30 will forfeit their right to participate."
"I repeat, all contestants, please report to the competitors' lounge as soon as possible..."
Roy said goodbye to his parents and headed to the competitors' lounge as instructed.
As he approached the entrance, he spotted Callan and asked curiously, "Why aren't you going in?"
"I..." Callan's face froze. He had actually gone inside the lounge but had come back out.
For good reason—as soon as he'd entered, everyone had looked at him with knowing smiles, and an acquaintance had shouted, "Callan, coming to lose another match?" When he didn't respond and simply sat down to check his phone, they called out even louder: "You must be planning to lose again! The disgrace of the recommendation system!"
Callan had opened his eyes wide and protested, "Why are you insulting me out of nowhere..."
Immediately, there had been a chorus of comments like "losing to Roy isn't really losing," "just wait and see," and "recommended students must fail," causing everyone to laugh. The competitors' lounge had been filled with an atmosphere of cruel amusement.
"Nothing," Callan said now, shaking his head and looking at Roy with burning intensity.
"Destroy them! Make sure you destroy them all!"
"..."
Roy wondered if he'd somehow broken the poor guy's spirit.
Ignoring him, Roy walked into the lounge and immediately became the center of attention.
There were only sixteen contestants in the main tournament, not a large group. Roy glanced around and saw fourteen people in the room—including Callan at the door, he was the last to arrive.
"Well, if it isn't the champion of Capital University!" A short-haired girl approached, her smile containing no warmth. "Oh, I'm sorry—I misspoke. I meant the future champion!"
Roy gave her a brief glance, then ignored her, taking a seat and looking down at his phone.
The short-haired girl wasn't deterred and continued with a smirk:
"Let's get acquainted, champion. My name is Chloe."
Hearing the name, Roy looked up.
The reason was simple.
His opponent in the first round was named Chloe, who was also the forum user "ComeAtMeBro."
Well, this was unexpected...
Based on the username, he'd assumed it was a guy, but it turned out to be a confrontational young woman.
Chloe wasn't surprised by his reaction and smiled. "Seems like even a celebrity like you knows who I am. You're not a complete egomaniac after all. Then I don't need to share my information with you."
"Wouldn't want people saying I had an unfair advantage."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said coldly, "This way, you'll have no excuses when you lose."
"..."
Her antagonistic attitude was even more irritating in person than online.
Roy's fist clenched involuntarily.
"Likewise," he replied calmly.
The matches would begin soon, and he didn't bother with harsh words. His strength would speak for itself.
In a way, Chloe was unlucky to be matched against him.
No matter how highly ranked recommended students were in the group stage, once they entered the main tournament, they enjoyed the privilege of being top seeds. They would be placed in different brackets from other recommended students, ensuring they wouldn't face each other before the finals.
This was an exclusive privilege for recommended students.
In other words, recommended students wouldn't meet each other in the round of sixteen.
Since Capital University's founding, the top eight had always been dominated by recommended students, without exception.
But Roy was confident he could break this historical pattern...
Therefore, Chloe, who had a one-in-seven chance of being matched against him, was the unfortunate one who might lose her recommended student qualification and make history.
Losing the match would be the greatest punishment for her.