Team Member Selection
Mission Introduction: Han Xiao will soon leave Planet Aquamarine in secret to begin a new adventure. He is looking for powerful people to fight alongside him. Those who pass his test can venture off into the stars with him.
Mission Requirement: LV 60
Mission Period: 5 days
Completion Requirement: Pass Han Xiao’s combat test.
Reward: 1 EXP and the qualification to go with Han Xiao on his journey.
_____________________
This instantly caused massive waves among the players.
Everyone had widened eyes as they read through the mission information.
“This is so sudden. Can we now leave the beginner planet‽”
“I can’t believe we need to have max level before we can take the test. This is so frustrating!”
Up till now, the players had all been limited to their respective beginner planets, and none were able to travel into space. News of Han Xiao’s mission exploded within the present players, and they rushed to release this information onto the forums. The whole of Planet Aquamarine was shocked, and even players on the other planets were talking about this.
The forums were thrown into chaos once more!
Every single player’s attention was forcefully wrenched over from the previous competitions to Han Xiao’s shocking new mission.
Space in Galaxy was still a complete unknown to the current players, and many were curious and anticipating it. However, everyone was stuck on their beginner planet. Now that news had gotten out about a chance to venture off into the stars, something that should only have been possible in later versions, the players could not help but get more excited than ever.
This was a chance!
If they could follow Han Xiao, they would be able to travel into space much earlier than their peers, giving them massive advantages over the others.
Han Xiao had nonchalantly thrown out a mission with such huge implications that it was like a bomb had gone off. The players realized that Han Xiao had not actually mentioned going into space—rather, this information was revealed by the mission notice. The players were secretly happy as they thought that they had hit the jackpot and were able to glance into Han Xiao’s true intentions.
Naturally, Han Xiao had done that on purpose as he was aware how the players would react. He knew that the players would feel a sense of accomplishment when they saw this. Standing there, he just smiled as he watched everything unfold on the forums.
He was only planning on bringing the pro players, so he obviously needed a plausible excuse and could not be too obvious about it. The maximum level requirement would be able to filter out most of the casual players, while the combat testing could easily be manipulated by him. As long as they could last thirty seconds against him in a fight, they would have passed the test.
With this, he should be able to acquire all the professional talents.
The news very quickly caught the pros’ attention. These players were done with their matches and had nothing on their hand. There was still another year before they would fight on the global stage; however, as they were all already maxed out in levels, there was not much that they could do aside from personal training and trying to learn some new skills. Most of the winning teams who had qualified for the next stage were in the same position. But now, Han Xiao had given them a chance to adventure in a brand-new map.
New maps meant countless new possibilities!
These pro players could not have been happier. In their eyes, this was the same as a blessing from God, and this chance could not be missed.
..
On the second day, countless pro players gathered in the Sanctuary’s square. It was like a celebrity red carpet event. These star players dazzled the crowd as they walked on the road.
“Oh right. A while ago, wasn’t there a similar scene a while ago when Black Phantom started selling advanced knowledge?”
“There are still recordings of that time, but things are on a much bigger scale this time. Basically, all the pro players on Planet Aquamarine have come here today.”
“Both events have something to do with Black Phantom…”
The matches had just drawn to a close, and most players were still in the Sanctuary. This was one of the reasons that Han Xiao had chose this time to announce the mission.
Soon, a bunch of people had accepted the mission. Han Xiao walked back a bit to make some space and randomly chose a pro player who he did not recognize and said, “Hold for thirty seconds, and you pass.”
About a thousand people had accepted the mission, and they all discussed among themselves as they watched.
“Thirty seconds can’t be that difficult right,” said the Second Prince. “Even if I went one on one against a level sixty Boss in the wild, I could at least survive for a few minutes.”
Li Ge looked at the time and shook his head. “Thirty seconds for everyone is quite long.”
As the players chatted, the players and the pros all used [Detect] on Han Xiao to get some basic information.
_____________________
Han Xiao (?)
Level: ?
Type: ?
Danger scale: Extremely Dangerous
_____________________
“It’s all question marks‽” Everyone’s faces suddenly changed.
They had all reached Version 1.0’s level cap, and when they used the same ability on the other Boss-level NPCs, they could at least see some of the target’s basic info such as character level and character type. However, they could not see anything when using it on Han Xiao. There was even a question mark on his basic identity. He had to be at least five levels higher than them, right?
Ever since maxing out their levels, they had never encountered something like this!
Just how high was Black Phantom’s level‽
Chapter 314 - As Expected of the Great Mechanic Han!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This new information caused a commotion within the players.
“I’ve never seen any main NPCs that are over LV 60.”
“But he’s still ‘Extremely Dangerous’ like the last time I inspected him. Was he already this strong back then? It didn’t feel like that.”
“Based on his story, Black Phantom didn’t start out strong. He suddenly became strong later on, eventually becoming the one to topple the Germinal Organization. I guess this is what sets him apart as the main character in the storyline.”
“Black Phantom’s combat strength is definitely on the level of bosses. I wonder how he ranks on the entire planet.”
The players’ first impression of Han Xiao was that he was very strong. However, his actual strength was still a myth. Most of them had watched the recordings of Han Xiao’s fights out of curiosity ever since they started playing the game. Now that they realized that they still could not inspect his character information even after maxing out their levels, they could not wait to see Han Xiao go up against these pro players and demonstrate his strength.
“Thirty seconds doesn’t sound too difficult, right?”
Most of the players, including the mission participants, thought this. Although they could not inspect his stats, they made the assumption based on his previous battle recordings as well as the fact that he was only a Version 1.0 character.
Although he was definitely strong, how much stronger than them could he be? The difference between them and Han Xiao’s strength had to have decreased significantly since the start of the game. They were players! They leveled up super-fast!
The first player who was selected for the test had the ID ‘Falling Leaf’, and he took a big step out of the crowd.
The surrounding players immediately backed up to clear a space. Although fighting in Players’ Main City would usually worsen their reputations with the city’s NPCs, it should be fine with Han Xiao there.
Countless pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly, as if waiting for somethin
g.
“Start.” Han Xiao said a single word.
Falling Leaf immediately got into a defensive stance while waiting for the incoming blow.
Hum—
Four Sonic Spheres flew out while crisscrossing in the air. Attached to the spheres were detection devices that both increased the weapons’ range and accuracy.
An ear-piercing explosion suddenly bloomed on the stage!
Falling Leaf’s health dropped instantly, and he was rooted where he was by a stunned effect.
Boom boom boom!
Six pre-planted turrets suddenly sprang out of the ground and simultaneously opened fire on Falling Leaf. The combined firing rate was so fast that it was as if a miniature hailstorm was occurring where Falling Leaf was standing. Within a few moments, Falling Leaf collapsed onto the ground after being blasted to bits by the turret.
Although Falling Leaf had activated multiple energy skills to surround himself with a thin layer of energy, he was pinned to the ground as bullets rained down on him. The Sonic Spheres were also constantly applying various kinds of crowd control debuffs on him, locking him on the ground.
His health dropped to a dangerously low level within the blink of an eye, but the hurricane-like assault suddenly stopped, and the ground cleared up as if nothing had happened.
“You didn’t pass,” said Han Xiao with a flat voice.
Falling Leaf was stunned. It was all over before he even realized what had happened.
The surrounding players all had their mouths hanging wide open as they could not believe what had just happened.
A max level pro player could not even resist for five seconds before almost being wiped out!
There was no need to even talk about skills or controls. Han Xiao might as well have just hung him up and whipped his backside.
The player had been completely suppressed!
What surprised the players even more was that Han Xiao had remained in the same position throughout the whole thing. Even his pose was the same!
“Are Mechanics supposed to be this overpowered? Do we really have the same class‽”
“He didn’t even move. How did he control those weapons?”
“Isn’t he too overpowered for Version 1.0? Could it be that Planet Aquamarine can no longer limit him and that’s why he has decided to go into space?”
“Based on his past battle recordings, Black Phantom still has a lot of cards up his sleeves. This means that he didn’t even go all out!”
“Wasn’t that DPS a bit too ridiculous? Even a fifty-man raiding party would be turned into mincemeat if they had to fight a Boss like that…”
The same question once again surfaced in the players’ minds, albeit with them feeling completely different emotions this time around—just how high was Black Phantom’s level‽
The players had been in contact with Han Xiao ever since the open beta. They had thought that they had already closed the level gap between each other after farming so much experience. But never would they have expected to be so wrong… as expected of the Great Mechanic Han!
When Han Xiao turned around and saw the dumb expressions on the players’ faces, he knew that he had achieved the intended effects. He had once again refreshed his position in the players’ hearts, and they once again worshipped him.
Although the players were at max level, they were still too lacking in terms of talents, attributes, and skills. Their characters were still, after all, built around player templates. Han Xiao had now reached LV 70, and he was only stuck here due to the class change requirements, unable to choose a new sub-class. However, the difference between him and the players was the difference between one whole Version. On top of that, with Han Xiao’s Boss templates, his countless talents, skills, energy capacity, and weapons, the damage that he was able to output was unimaginable for the players.
LV 60 players only had around 3,000 health and some meager defense. They were still too weak in front of him.
Moreover, his Sonic Spheres had been upgraded to the purple grade and had very high damage. Sonic Spheres were a very unique type of weapon in Version 1.0. They operated on an entirely different set of tactics, dealt very high damage, and required high-level control skills.
The pro players’ expressions were all frozen on their faces.
Li Ge realized how wrong he had been when he ran his mouth off earlier, saying that this would take a long time. Han Xiao had basically one-shot the previous challenger!
None of the participating players dared to be careless anymore, and they all listened carefully for when they got picked. Everyone was starting to feel nervous in front of this monstrous foe.
The battles continued. The following players were much more careful, and they all tried their best to kite around Han Xiao. None dared go head on. The moment a player was hit by Han Xiao’s attacks, they would go down within ten seconds. Everyone tried everything that they could to survive for thirty seconds.
The surrounding audience grew in size, and some started to post recordings of the ‘fights’ onto the forums.
The people who watched the recordings were flabbergasted. It had only been a few days ago that these pro players had been showing off their skills in the tournament. However, watching them getting butchered like pigs by this NPC aroused their curiosity.
It was not an everyday occurrence for them to be able to watch pro players get bullied like that. More and more people got interested in this event as they got to watch the pros get shredded one after another.
Han Xiao’s strength was also recognized once again. Many posts were discussing this topic intensely. The happy bunch, of course, consisted of the Mechanics. Mechanics, on average, had the worst performance during the tournaments, causing many of them to be unhappy about the status quo. Watching Han Xiao pop off was like a breath of fresh air!
So, we can become that strong! Please show us the way!
Han Xiao’s mission had exploded among all players, and many tried to come up with jokes about the situation. What was originally a serious topic quickly turned into a source of memes. Only someone as famous as Han Xiao could get this kind of treatment.
“Black Phantom: Hold on for thirty seconds if you are a man!”
“Shocking! Pro players can’t even do it for thirty seconds!”
“Guide by pro players: How to hold on for thirty seconds!”
Making fun out of everything was what these players were best at.
‘Thirty seconds’ soon became a well-known term, while ‘seconds’ became something that people used to quantify a pro player’s strength. Those are players who were able to make it to the end of the thirty-second test all became the legendary ‘Thirty Seconds Warriors’.
…
The selection continued into the night. The crowd only started to disperse after Han Xiao had returned to his quarters to rest. The mission period was five days, and the remaining pro players went away with heavy feelings in their hearts, stressing about coming up with a strategy for the next day.
Han Xiao was just about to enter his house when he thought about something and suddenly stopped. He then turned and walked toward the room with Frenzied Sword and the others.
When Han Xiao pushed opened the door to their room, he saw that the four were chilling in the room. They immediately stood up when they saw Han Xiao walk in, curious as to what was about to happen.
Black Phantom would not look for them on normal occasions. He would only find them when he had missions or benefits to distribute.
When the four thought about the commotion earlier in the morning, they were able to make some faint guesses, and the anticipation started to show on their faces.
As Black Phantom’s followers, they had always been receiving special treatment. So, maybe this time as well…
Han Xiao chuckled before saying, “You’re all my friends. I am about to leave this planet for the boundless world above. Are you guys willing to come with me?”
Look at this!
Eve
ryone had only been able to find out about Han Xiao’s plans through the mission that he gave out earlier. Yet, he had come to invite them in person. They could even directly skip the selection. What a caring boss!
“I’m willing!” Frenzied Sword answered without a second’s hesitation with a face full of excitement.
Chapter 315 - Prelude to an Age of Strife (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Although Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian had both accepted the selection mission, neither was confident about passing. Now, with Han Xiao’s direct offer, the two could finally let out a deep breath.
This was a golden opportunity, and of course, none of them would want to reject it. Bun-hit-dog was especially happy about it. He understood the impact that being one of the first few players to journey into space could have on his videos. Moreover, most of the people to follow Han Xiao would certainly be exceptional pro players, allowing him to interview them whenever he wanted to boost his show’s popularity.
At first, he had felt heartbroken when he saw the requirements that one needed to meet in order to join Han Xiao’s journey. He was not a particularly skillful player, and he had thought that he had no chance of following along Han Xiao.
In this moment, Bun-hit-dog was so excited that he would have jumped through the ceiling, but he stopped himself after he thought about the fines that he would have to pay if he did.
To Han Xiao, Bun-hit-dog was the perfect reporter. Although he did not even think that Bun-hit-dog would be good enough to be cannon fodder, his role in the group was still irreplaceable.
Bun-hit-dog’s shows served as a bridge between Han Xiao and the players, and it helped to boost his popularity. Han Xiao leading the only group of players who could adventure in space would definitely bring in loads of attention. So, he would be able to continue to leave a deep impression on the players despite having left Planet Aquamarine.
The player’s curiosity for the space in Galaxy as well as their fan-craze on the pro players would ensure views for Bun-hit-dog’s ‘Exploration Diary’.
After all, things like this were highly entertaining for the players and would be in high demand.
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