Speed Is King

[Congratulations, You have levelled up to level 229!]

[Ellie has gained 15 levels and reached level 85 for killing a level 325 Stitched Pixie Witch.]

[Rex has gained 22 levels and reached level 64 for killing a level 325 Stitched Pixie Witch.]

[Brock has gained 5 levels and reached level 170 for killing a level 325 Stitched Pixie Witch.]

[Winter has gained 14 levels and reached level 92 for killing a level 325 Stitched Pixie Witch.]

[Wu Kong has gained 18 levels and reached level 89 for killing a level 325 Stitched Pixie Witch.]

[Armored Kaijin 1 - 6 has gained 45 levels and reached level 46 for killing a level 325 Stitched Pixie Witch.]

Elliot glanced at the notifications as he flew steadily towards the other three Stitched Pixie Witches who were chasing Red as though they were playing a fun game of tag, and realized that he had been neglecting the growth of some of his tamed beasts.

In particular, Winter was lagging really far behind Brock. They both started out with similar levels, but Brock was already 78 levels above Winter.

"It's not really considered as neglecting! It's just that I haven't exposed them all evenly to gaining XP." Elliot reasoned with himself.

"Plus, with Frosty at level 166 and Brock at level 170, I think I had done very well indeed." Elliot thought calmly, not feeling at all out of place that he was doing a brief analysis of his performance thus far in the middle of an attempt to save Red.

"FLY FASTER PIP!! SAVE MEE!!" Red cried out as he swerved and spun around, trying to avoid the clutches of the three creepy witches.

Red was in no real danger, of course, as his Transport/Fighter was extremely durable, and could probably last for a few more minutes with ease. He was just totally creeped out by the three Stitched Pixie Witches.

"And Red too. He's level 125." Elliot ignored Red's cries and continued his introspection.

Elliot glanced at the first Specter Wolf whom he had disabled earlier. It had regained the ability to move and was slowly distancing itself from the witches. Romarok was already flying towards it to make sure that it did not get attacked by other beasts seeking a quick kill to power up.

"With Romarok and Romulus, and if I could tame the other Specter Wolf with its Dark Brainwyrm host, I am probably in control of the strongest force in North America. And with my incredible level 229, I think even if I had to participate in the final competitions now, I would still win."

"Who in the entire universe apart from me could gain two hundred twenty nine levels in just two days of apocalypse anyway? None! If there's someone more capable than me, that person is a goddamn freak! The King of freaks!" Elliot finally concluded his analysis and felt rather satisfied with himself.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Far away in the universe on a different planet, Justin sneezed.

"Achooo! Strange. I haven't sneezed in a long time. Someone must be cursing me secretly." He chuckled lightly and ignited his mecha's boosters.

VOOOOOOM!!

He shot into the sky and towards the next powerful Emperor level beast which had appeared in his radar.

(If you're reading I Devour Mechas, the answer is'¦ YES! All will be explained in the future :D)

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Did he just tame that King level Specter Wolf?" Jessica Sands remarked in amazement.

"I think so. The Game Master in charge is extremely shrewd. I have never seen such a gambling frenzy develop so quickly. The number of bets on and against Elliot had reached unprecedented levels." Jul'Taras replied Jessica with a touch of awe in her voice.

"It's a Battle of Kings - Battle Royale on the second day of the Games. That in itself is unprecedented as well, although for good reason. It's too early for people to be emotionally invested in any single player to want to bet big. But technically for some, this isn't the second day of the Games of Earth. It's the 353rd day!" Monkey King noted.

"The number of bettors in the Games of Earth during its first iteration is pitifully low. A mere billion or so. Now that it has been upgraded into a Battle of Kings, the number has shot up to over ten billion, and is still going up at an increasing rate! Most of the bettors now are still new to the Game. And yet, somehow, they are all irked up and are placing such huge bets. Incredible." Jul'Taras said.

"You seem to have lots of information about the inner statistics of the Games." Monkey King observed with a smile.

"She's the Chairman of the Gaming Commission's favorite niece. Of course she'll have access to mere live statistics." Jessica Sands said.

"I only have observer status, and can only see. So it doesn't really matter to my uncle." Jul'Taras explained. "Look, over five trillion resource planets are already committed into the bets. The whales are playing this round."

"Five tril'¦ Gah. I don't even know how much that is." Monkey King said in awe as he looked at the string of numbers on Jul'Taras' information pad.

"How many are for Elliot's success and how many are not?" Jessica Sands asked curiously.

"Four point five trillion resource planets are for Elliot to die. Only five hundred billion are for Elliot to survive. Out of that, only five million are for Elliot to take first place." Jul'Taras elaborated.

"Five million! That's still a lot! Wow, our boy Elliot has a pretty solid fan base huh?!" Monkey King said, suitably impressed by the number.

"No he does not." Jul'Taras chuckled. "Most of the five million bets are probably hedges by many organizations. I doubt the number of real bets for Elliot's victory to number above a hundred thousand resource planets."

"They definitely are above a hundred thousand resource planets." Jessica Sands said with a frown.

"Statistically'¦"

"They DEFINITELY are above a hundred thousand resource planets!" Jessica Sands repeated stubbornly.

"Why are you so stubborn? Statis'¦ Wait a minute. How many resource planets did you place on Elliot winning first place?" Jul'Taras asked Jessica with a growing sense of unease.

However, before Jessica Sands could answer her, the space near them suddenly shimmered lightly before a small portal opened.

"JESSICAA!" An aged voice roared out from within the portal. "WHY DID I JUST RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION THAT I HAD PLACED A HUNDRED-THOUSAND-RESOURCE-PLANET BET ON EL-GODAMNFREAKING-LIOT?!?!"

/ZqdTKhtn6z