What a wonderful experience~
One second, I was in an unpredictable and ethereal hall, my mind racing with countless thoughts in that mysterious realm beyond human imagination, and then, in an instant, I was engulfed by a noisy crowd. The thunderous cheers and shouts in the distance were deafening, the thin, cold air always invigorating, and the high-pitched, enthusiastic laughter and hawking were endless, as if returning from a dream to reality~
Blacksmiths, medicine vendors, tailors, dumpling stuffers, bird walkers, sword casters, treasure hunters, beggars, prayers, skewer eaters, recyclers, insole sellers…
Hmm, it's as real as a train station…
“It’s really lively here.” Mo Tan finally recovered from the déjà vu of a train station and said to Leisade with emotion, “I thought there wouldn’t be so many people here~”
He looked around at the continuous stream of people, and then his gaze was involuntarily drawn to a huge hexagonal building not far away. The shouts and sound waves from before had come from that direction…
“This is the First Outer Mountain, there are no entry or exit restrictions~” The burly Half-Orc Warlock gestured around with his head, “Because the Grand Arena is in the First Outer Mountain, the people here are mainly adventurers, mercenaries, and those who like to pursue strength and excitement. It’s the best place to improve one’s strength~”
Mo Tan nodded. He was indeed quite drawn to places where he could become stronger, but he was also worried that he might get beaten into a mosaic the moment he entered. A Level 3 Warrior plus a Level 1 Knight was considered very weak even among players, let alone compared to these NPCs who all seemed unfathomable…
“Come on, I’ll take you inside to have a look first.” Leisade, in high spirits, pulled Mo Tan towards the nearby Grand Arena, laughing, “You’ll probably have to spend some time here, after all, with your current strength…”
The High-Rank Observer smacked his lips with a troubled expression, shook his head, and said nothing more.
“What will happen when my strength reaches a certain level?” Mo Tan suddenly turned to Leisade and asked, “Do I have to stay here for a long time?”
The latter was slightly stunned, then waved his hand at him: “We will tell you some things and remind you of some matters. As for what you want to do or where you want to go afterward, it doesn’t matter. We will not restrict anyone’s freedom, I can guarantee you that.”
For some reason, Mo Tan felt that Leisade’s tone seemed to carry a hint of bitterness, but the latter did not show any abnormality and soon enthusiastically chatted with him about the Grand Arena~
“Many people know about this place~” Leisade said with a smile to Mo Tan as he walked ahead, pushing through the crowd, “After the First Outer Mountain opened, three-tenths of the powerhouses on the continent have been here, and there are even a few exceptionally outstanding ones among them. They all received gifts from Tian Zhu Mountain and gained the right to have their names eternally carved on the Monument of Heroes.”
The two soon entered the first-floor hall of the Arena. Compared to the plaza outside, it was relatively more spacious, and its area was much larger than it appeared from the outside, but the number of people was relatively sparse. On both sides of the hall were numerous spiral staircases leading to the upper floors, and in the center was a circular work area where many receptionists, seemingly native residents of Tian Zhu Mountain, were handling procedures for visitors.
The environment here was completely different from the so-called Inner Mountain before. The style leaned towards heavy and rugged. Although it lacked that ethereal sense of mystery, the huge steel runes on the surrounding walls added a wild aura to the place out of thin air. Coupled with the ground and decorations composed mainly of black, red, and gray, it was even more perfectly aligned with the main theme of the place.
And not far from Mo Tan’s left hand (he wasn't sure which direction that was) were twelve black metal pillars, ten of which were engraved with silver characters, and each also had a small statue on top.
“The first floor is not the Arena area, so there will be relatively fewer people.” Leisade pointed to the circular reception area not far away and said, “You can register for competitions there, and you can also apply for accommodation. I’ll tell them later, you can stay here temporarily for this period.”
Mo Tan nodded, he naturally had no objections, and having a ‘residence’ would make it more convenient for him to log off.
Then Leisade led him to the row of black metal pillars on the left, and said with a smile, “These are the people I told you about before, those who are qualified to leave their names in the Arena, you can take a look.”
Mo Tan nodded, then walked to the first metal pillar…
“Rat King” Jameson Pearson, Human, Shadow Master, Goblin Engineering Master, Record: 1478 Wins, 6 Draws, 1 Loss.
The line of text on the metal pillar appeared before Mo Tan’s eyes under the system’s translation. The small statue above was a lean human, shirtless, holding a dagger in one hand and a cannon in the other.
“He is the most talented Thief I have ever seen, and also an Engineering genius.” Leisade whispered to Mo Tan, looking at the arrogant statue in front of him, “Unfortunately, he has some mental issues. In the last battle, he tried to die with his opponent. Although he miraculously survived, he lost a leg.”
Mo Tan also felt quite emotional, then walked to the second metal pillar…
“Ox Demon” Kane Snowhoof, Minotaur, Weapons Master, Artist, Bard, Record: 1273 Wins, 11 Draws, 1 Loss.
This was a tall Minotaur holding a totem pole in his left hand and a truelute in his right.
“Ah, I remember this guy vividly~” Leisade laughed, “He once met a dark-skinned fellow of his race, and that guy named Magatha actually tried to poison him before the match. Guess what happened in the end?”
Mo Tan thought for a moment: “That person probably didn’t succeed.”
“More than that~” Leisade rolled his eyes, “Later, he was beaten so badly his mother wouldn’t recognize him, and when he went out, he was bagged and beaten into a cripple by that old ox’s son, Little Bain. It’s said he was later thrown onto a famous mountain at that time to fend for himself.”
Mo Tan subconsciously asked, “What mountain?”
“It seems to be called Brokenback Mountain. I heard that a dragon whose spine was broken fell there back then, and later, for some unknown reason, a bunch of strange people appeared, and finally…”
“Cough cough, I’ll continue looking…”
“Flying Tiger” Paul Winchell, Half-Orc, Silent Ranger, Stage Actor, Detective, Record: 1056 Wins, 0 Draws, 1 Loss.
This was a Tiger-man. In the statue, he held no weapon and seemed to be about to leap into the air.
“Haha, this guy is very interesting. Although he’s a Ranger, he rarely shoots arrows. In combat, he almost always jumps around, jumping very high, and then stomping on people’s faces.” Leisade smacked his lips, “He even seems to like to hop and skip when he walks normally.”
…
“Eighth Master” Bags Binney, Half-Orc, Legendary Magician, Duke, adventurer, Record: 1045 Wins, 100 Draws, 1 Loss.
A handsome Half-Orc with buck teeth and long ears, he was slender, dressed in a black noble’s suit, and held a… hammer inscribed with ‘100T’.
Leisade’s expression was not good, and he grumbled, “This guy is a disaster. He’s even stronger than the most powerful Berserker, and he possesses incredibly bizarre mental and spatial magic, yet he claims to be just a ‘Magician’, and he even almost snuck into the Inner Mountain once.”
…
“Huh?” Mo Tan was startled when he reached the fifth black metal pillar, because it was empty, a bare pillar with neither text nor a statue.
Leisade smiled and said, “The twelve Pillars of Heroes have not been filled up yet. The reasons for this are a bit complex, I’ll tell you slowly if you’re interested later.”
…
“Blacktooth” Tom Slytherin, Human, Black Wizard, Summoner, Magician, 1500 Wins, 0 Draws, 1 Loss.
The statue was a person completely hidden beneath a black cloak, with their face entirely obscured.
“This is a terrifying guy!” Leisade seemed to have a headache, “He seems to be the leader of some cult outside, but his strength is truly formidable. To prevent this guy from killing people, we almost had to send someone to watch him during every match.”
Mo Tan’s mouth twitched slightly. He felt that he seemed to have summarized some patterns.
“Alien” Bojack Ananai, ???, Bard, 970 Wins, 0 Draws, 1 Loss.
The figure was a dejected horse-headed person, without any distinctive features.
“His nickname has quite an interesting origin.” Leisade said with a gloomy expression, “There is no such race as ‘Horse-headed people’ in this world, and his parents were indeed both Half-Orcs, but his head was not a Half-Orc’s head at all. It looked like a horse’s head no matter how you looked at it, so many people called him ‘Alien’. His characteristic is… um, especially downcast (fourth tone), yes, especially downcast…”
For some reason, looking at the statue in front of him, Mo Tan suddenly felt particularly downcast as well…
…
“0803” Wesley Zion, Dwarf, ???, Noble, 666 Wins, 14 Draws, 1 Loss.
This was a young Dwarf wearing a white wig, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, and a bell hanging around his neck.
“Wesley is the youngest participant ever. His admirers call him 0803, I don’t know why.” Leisade scratched his hair, “He always wins, he’s incredibly smart, lively, cute, optimistic, active, kind, and always has a smile.”
Mo Tan’s face had begun to stiffen. He didn’t know if Leisade understood what he was saying…
…
“The Walker”, Stone Throat Bamboo, The half elf, Monk, Weapons Master, Berserker, Druid, 2000 Wins, 0 Draws, 0 Losses.
The statue was a tall elf holding a long staff. Despite being a bit hairy, he was still very handsome. He was shirtless, wearing a tiger-skin skirt, and on his head… I can’t go on…
“Stone Throat is the only person in the Grand Arena who has never been defeated.” For the first time, Leisade’s eyes showed a respectful emotion, “I don’t know what else he can’t do…”
Mo Tan chuckled dryly, “Ever heard of the Golden Fillet spell?”
“Ah?”
“Nothing…”
…
“Red Flame” Blaze Ken, Ravenfolk, Monk, Spellblade, Fire Archmage, 1070 Wins, 0 Draws, 1 Loss.
This was a red-haired Ravenfolk with his head held high. He wore a crimson tight suit and stood on a fireball, looking arrogant.
“Zaken is an anomaly among the Ravenfolk.” Leisade laughed, “He’s also an anomaly among mages. At least, I’ve never seen a mage kick fireballs with his feet~”
Mo Tan shrugged. He felt that if one of his characters ever had the chance to become a mage, let alone kicking fireballs with their feet, even carrying the things and throwing them at people wouldn't be out of the question.
…
The second-to-last metal pillar was still blank, but Mo Tan stopped there and suddenly turned to Leisade with a smile, “Let me guess, is the last person a Half-Orc?”
The latter shook his head: “No.”
“Wild Boar People?”
“No.”
“Uh… well, is his nickname ‘Bajie’ or ‘Second Senior Brother’?”
“No.”
“Is his name Oink?”
“No~” Leisade pointed at the last metal pillar with a chuckle, “His name is Davis.”
Mo Tan: “…”
Just then, Leisade, who had been quite leisurely, suddenly became serious. After standing still for a few seconds, he abruptly said to Mo Tan, “I need to return to the Inner Mountain immediately. For now, you can just look around or rest. Someone will come to find you later.”
“Okay.” Mo Tan nodded, “Thank you very much.”
“Take this.” Leisade gave him a dark purple crystal, pointing to the center of the hall, “Show this to them, and let those little guys prepare a good room for you. I’ll come find you again when I have time~”
With that, he tore open a dark red rift and swiftly walked into it, just as he had done before.
Mo Tan looked down at the crystal in his hand.
Leisade’s Token
Quality: Unique Legend
Effect: Allows you to move freely in the Outer Mountain of Tian Zhu Mountain and enjoy extremely high treatment.
Note: This is the token of Leisade Fireblade, the Ninth-Rank High-Rank Observer of Tian Zhu Mountain. The power contained within is immensely formidable, but it has nothing to do with you.
“Unique Legend…” Mo Tan looked at the unassuming dark purple crystal in his hand in surprise, muttering, “Although the amount of information is indeed huge, I’m getting more and more confused.”
However, he didn’t think too much about it. He simply held it in his hand and strolled to the reception desk in the center of the hall, preparing to get a room for himself first, and then to learn a little about the rules and related matters of this Grand Arena…
Just as he was about to speak to the somewhat listless Dwarf… young lady in front of him, the ground behind him suddenly caved in!
Mo Tan and several people nearby were startled, and then they saw…
A pickaxe extended out from the newly formed pit…
A thin hand reached out from inside…
A candle extended out from inside…
Chapter 76: End
