Virtual Sword God!

Josh was just getting surprise after surprise, after meeting the boy. Novis had just told him the story of how he and Tom had met and usually a story as strange as this, he wouldn't believe. The fact that Novis had one of these capsules, it had to be the only explanation.

"You are quite a lucky boy aren't you?" Cindy said.

Although Novis didn't agree with what Cindy said, he didn't say it out loud. Novis had worked incredibly hard and if he hadn't learned how to fight he would have never got himself involved in a situation like that.

"I suppose we should start the interview," Josh said.

The three of them sat down and Cindy had brought out her laptop to take notes on. Josh wanted to start with the usual questions before aking the stuff he was really interested in but the very first question he had asked Novis revealed what he wanted to hear already.

"Novis, it says here that you haven't been playing the game for long, what made you suddenly want to join the VSW club at your school?" Josh asked.

Novis thought about his answer for a while, there was nothing to hide so he answered honestly.

"One day when I went to this local VSW café, I met someone the same age as me. I saw them play a game with one of my friends and I couldn't believe how skilled he was but that wasn't what attracted me. It was his dedication to the game, the amount of passion he had to truly become a professional in this thing. When I looked at him, I thought, I wonder if I could be like that?"

When Novis had finished answering Josh's question, the room had gone silent for a little while. Novis suddenly felt embarrassed by his answer as no one was saying anything.

"Did I say something wrong?" Novis asked.

"No, no don't worry."

Josh and Cindy were silenced by Novis's answer. When he spoke, they could really feel his emotions behind his words. It was as if a lost person was speaking and they wanted to listen to every word he said. It was just unexpected for them.

"Okay, my next question. This person you saw playing the game, was it Lucas?"

"Wow, how did you know?"

"Your friend Scarlett told us," Cindy said.

Suddenly, Josh started to remember a rumour that started to circulate around a while ago. About how a kid the same age as Lucas had beaten him in a match, how there were two monsters to watch out for in this tournament. This couldn't be him, could it? Josh's heart started to beat harder at the thought.

"Would you call him a rival then?"

Novis then started to laugh, which surprised Josh.

"You could say that but I would have to say it's very one-sided. It's more me chasing after him, I'm nowhere near at his level."

"According to Arthur anyway," Novis thought

Novis thought this because of the words Arthur had once said about Lucas being like a dragon compared to him.

Josh thought for a second, he had found something. His gut was screaming that there was something deeper hidden behind this.

"Did you ever play against Lucas yourself?"

Again, Novis paused before answering.

"No, but one day I hope to."

Novis answered like this because it was technically true. Novis wasn't the one who fought him but it was Arthur.

Once they had finished asking questions, they exited the room and went to say goodbye but before Josh left the room, he wanted to tell Novis one thing.

"Novis, it looks like we'll get to see a match between you two soon."

"What do you mean?" Novis asked.

"If you win the quarter-finals, your next match will be against Westgate in the semi-finals."

Now Novis's heart was suddenly beating faster. Novis had been waiting for this moment, a moment to prove that all his hard work actually meant something.

"I'll make sure I'll be there."

Josh and Cindy then headed back to the car and were finally ready to go home as they had all the information they needed.

"You ready to head back out of this town then?" Cindy asked.

"There's one place I want to drop by first, let's head to that internet café were Novis met Lucas, maybe I can get a few details myself."

Before heading back home, the two of them decided to look for the internet café that Novis had described. Eventually, they arrived just outside and entered the café together.

"Welcome to the best VSW internet café in town!" Sophie said with a smile as she stood behind the counter.

Josh then handed a little card to Sophie showing that the two of them were from Tick media.

"Oh my! What brings you two here to this little VSW café?"

"We heard that Lucas frequents this place a lot, is that true?" Josh asked

"Ah, yes, well it used to be. Lucas used to come here on a weekly basis and help train people in his spare time but to be honest with you he hasn't been here in months. Now that I think about it, it all started when he met that kid?"

Suddenly, both Cindy and Josh were very interested in what Sophie was talking about.

"Would you mind describing to me what happened?"

Sophie then went on to explain everything that had happened. About how when Novis first came Lucas and him had a match, which Lucas had lost but not only once but twice. That was when Lucas started to change.

"How is this possible, the person she described without a doubt is Novis," Cindy said. "Why would he not tell us about that?"

Josh knew he was onto something and this was something huge. Two upcoming rivals at the pro level getting ready for a face-off. This was an unbelievable story. The only problem was if Josh wrote an article now people would think he was a mad man.

After all, Novis had done nothing spectacular in the last few games. Even Josh would find it hard to believe that Novis was at the same level as Lucas.

Josh could only hope for one thing, that in Montem's next match, Novis would do something unbelievable that would bring all the attention to him.