Lily and Almond could fight the most spectacular battle of this tournament, but they didn’t care to give it to the audience.
They had fought by going all-out multiple times, and there was no need to show all of their cards here.
Almond also didn’t need rewards, which were permanent stat-increasing items.
He wanted to give the first spot to Lily, but Lily flatly rejected it. She would accept the reward items from him, but not the first spot that she didn’t earn.
As such, they fought seriously, but in their limitation and purely based on combat ability with their weapons and move-set.
Almond won as expected, but their battle lasted for two minutes because they were in their sparring-learning mode, and it was still a delight for the audience and certainly the most spectacular battle for the silver-rank bracket.
VIP booth of Proximax Guild.
A neatly combed, black-haired middle-aged man stood with his hands on a sword’s hilt that was stabbed in front of him. It was a black sword with dark green and dark red cracky patterns.
Guild leader of Proximax—Liam Sunbreak, and Rank 1 in Global Adventurer Leaderboard.
The other seven people, three women and four men in this booth, all held a similar kind of vibe as if they were a military unit with the utmost respect and trust towards their leader.
“I suppose there are a few gems worth inviting,” said a blond-haired woman with a long ponytail style, looking in her thirties, wearing an office secretary suit.
“It’s been a few months since we allowed anyone in,” Liam nodded, his thin beard as jet black as his hair. “But there are a few worth inviting this time.”
“Who will it be, leader?” a red-haired slim man looking in his late twenties said with a grin, his teeth slightly spiky and vibe comical. But there lurked a sea of blood behind his crimson eye.
Zyger Joy—a relatively young adventurer who made a spot in the top 20 of the Global leaderboard.
“Aside from the top five, send invitations to Maya, Marcus, and Anya, and…Noah.”
“Leader, could we get Natalia too? I believe she has the spirit to do better,” a slim black-haired girl in her late twenties said. “Of course, unless you have planned to give the 10th slot to someone else.”
Liam rubbed his beard before he faintly smiled, “I was saving the 10th in case we find someone later this month. But you are right. Send one to Natalia as well.”
On the other hand, League of Firefly’s VIP booth was more lively.
“That kid’s powerful. Lily will only grow stronger staying by his side,” Executive Ken said with a grin as he glanced at Aria, who sat on a couch watching the screen.
“It’s disappointing that we couldn’t recruit someone like him, but nevertheless, it won’t hurt to have Lily maintain her relationship with him,” the leader of the guild spoke—she was a fiery oranged-haired woman with a hot figure in her thirties, wearing a white, military-inspired outfit with a mini-skirt and leggings, with a sleek and formal aesthetic, complemented by black accents on her sleeves and waist.
2nd rank Global Leaderboard — Quinn Firefly.
“I suppose I can’t deny that after seeing how she has improved when training with him for the past week,” Aria nodded.
“But that Almond is quite powerful. Aside from his strong class, his combat sense is off the charts compared to others of his age,” Executive James said as he lit up a cigarette. “Should I try to poach him?”
“Don’t do that unless you want Admiral Rudra to come and have tea with you.”
“Fair point. I’ll steer clear of him.”
Meanwhile, a guild ranked 14th in the Guild Leaderboard was having a mourning.
Thunderbird Guild VIP booth.
The case of Zolen and his son hit them hard even though they weren’t partners in that duo’s deed.
The media storm fucked their Guild’s reputation, and their recruitment was already reduced, with many canceling their application.
“We have to mend our wounds,” Thunderbird leader Kalen said as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the screen, watching Almond. “The best way is to have a favorable opinion from someone famous. For the younger generation that is to come, it would be the new and rising Adventurers.”
“What’s the plan, leader?”
“Although I want to make the Guild appear in a better light, we need to lay low for now and inspect our guild thoroughly. I don’t want another case like that, sick fuck Zolen. I am going to launch an investigation, and everyone will cooperate, you all too. It’s not strange to have a skeleton or two in the closet, be it due to circumstances or dire situations, but I won’t tolerate going as low as Zolen. So, If you have skeletons in your closet, you better clean them now.”
…
Since the top 5 ranking was solidified, Gelato announced the rewards they were going to get.
Rank 1 got a set of consumable items—Power Fruits (A) that could increase all six stats by 15-20.
Rank 2 got a set of Power Fruits (B) that could increase all six stats by 10-15.
Rank 3, 4, and 5 got a set of Power Fruits (C) that could increase all six stats by up to 10.
Rank 6th to 10th would get a set of Power Fruits (D) that could increase all six stats by up to 5.
From the 11th to the 20th, the rewards changed to two consumable items that randomly increased one’s stats by up to 20 each. So, they could gain up to 40 stat points.
Power Fruits were the product of the 10th Floor, from a hidden area where the mysterious tree grew that bore fruits to increase stats. It was discovered recently by GAA, or more precisely, it was Admiral Rudra who discovered it, so they decided to distribute them this way.
The downside was that these fruits only worked once. After eating a set of fruit from the tree of each rank, the fruits wouldn’t give any more stats.
The tree’s fruit-bearing cycle was monthly, so GAA could harvest the fruits every month. It had been three months since they had the tree, and since each cycle gave 10-15 sets of fruits of different ranks, they had gathered quite a haul.
If a Guild had found that location first, they would have taken it for themselves and monopolized it. It could also spark wars between the guilds, after all, such a mysterious tree with stat increasing fruits was a huge boon.
After the top 5 got the fruits, the battles to determine the 6th to 20th ranking began.
Natalia grabbed the 15th spot, sitting borderline at the top 15, and got two consumable pills with the effect of randomly increasing her stats by up to 40 points total after using both pills.
The Silver-bracket’s Rising Star Tournament was officially over with that, along with today’s schedule.
Everyone began leaving, mostly in airships.
…
The next day arrived, beginning the 5th of December and the quarter-final round for the Gold-rank Adventurers.
But while the whole world was watching the tournament, “They” made their move according to their schedule.
In a remote location at the southern pole where no one was living, a group of 30 people in the same black cloaks with hazy white and blue patterns arrived, each cloak also had a strange symbol of a spiral with an eye in the middle.
They arrived at a Labyrinth Gate that was slightly buried in snow and cleaned the area.
“It’s time, brethren. We have seen the other world, and we have seen what powers Hollowstar can give us. It’s time to shake this game board and make new rules.”
“Once our plan succeeds and this world gets thrown into chaos, Hollowstar’s forces will help this world and take it under their banner,” the leader spoke with fervor. “In that new world, we will be the rulers!” Your next chapter is on empire
After the speech, he walked in front of the closed Labyrinth gate and stabbed a mysterious glowing dagger into its stone wall.
Cracks spread from the point where the dagger was stabbed, glowing violet, purple, and blue.
After a few seconds, a small area of the gate shattered, revealing a familiar whirlpool.
The dagger disintegrated afterward.
“We have 48 hours for this operation, but we will stick to our projected simulation and complete the tasks within 38 hours. We’ll likely face some difficulties, but if we do everything as we devised, we’ll succeed within 48 hours and exit safely.”
“Form a chain!”
The leader extended his hand towards one behind him, and he extended his hand to another.
All 30 people made physical contact so that they would all arrive at the same Safety Zone.
“Group 1, you’ll go to the Red Fall Area and retrieve the item as soon as possible!”
“Group 2, you’ll finish your task at Duskwraith Grove in half an hour before moving to the Hunting Bell Forest!”
“Group 3 will focus on finding the most important items. I’ll be moving solo to complete the other task. Stay in the network and communicate properly. If you face any trouble, ask for help immediately.”
“And most importantly, don’t let the cloaks get damaged! They are durable but not unbreakable. Make sure they are protected by your Mana because if your cloak is damaged, a Rule Enforcer will awaken and find you. Your death will be certain after that, according to Hollowstar Emissary.”
After arriving in the safety zone resembling a small old town waiting to be revived, the thirty of them split into three groups as the leader barked orders. They soon teleported to other safety zones by paying Gold Coins and going to the safety zones near the locations where their objectives were located.
As for the leader, he also teleported and arrived at a safety zone at a river’s bank.
He summoned a giant black crow with glowing violet feathers and patterns before mounting on it and flying away.
‘Rudra, I hope you’ll like the present we are preparing for this world.’