The moment Sandra announced the start of the battle was the moment chaos reigned on the platform. Everyone began fighting. Swords clashed. Arrows flew through space and impaled people with lightning quickness. Spells flashed out. Fire. Ice. Water. Lightning. Energy. A myriad of magical projectiles flew through the air as people began bombarding each other with spells.
Several people charged toward their group. Adam had noticed it before, but they had garnered a lot of attention, either because all but one of them were concealing their faces or because he was the only man in the party. A group of ten people had come to attack them. There wasn’t a single woman in this group.
“I’d like everyone to keep their skills hidden so we can surprise our opponents in the actual tournament, so please leave this to me,” Adam said as he took a step forward.
“We will let you take care of this then,” Fayte said.
“Kick their butts good, Adam!” Aris cheered.
While Susan and Lilith didn’t say anything, Adam thought he sensed a similar sentiment coming from them.
When the ten men saw Adam stepping up to fight them alone, they stopped walking and instead stared at him, incredulity seeping from their eyes. This group seemed to be a mixed one. They didn’t have any uniform that identified them as a guild. Adam wondered if this was because they hadn’t been able to buy custom clothes yet, or if it was because they were independent players who belonged to no guild and just decided to gang up on his party.
He supposed it didn’t matter.
“Get a load of this asshat,” one of the men standing at the front said. He wore an arrogant grin as he placed his sword on his shoulder. “This loser thinks he can take us on by himself! Isn’t that hilarious?!”
“Hmph. Does he think he’s invincible or something?”
“Ha! The jerkwad is just trying to show off in front of those women! Let’s show these bitches what real men are like!”
“Don’t worry, ladies. After we take care of this fucktard, we’ll be sure to show you a good time. We’ll treat you real good.”
Immediately after the first man spoke, the others also began speaking. Adam thought they would have been better off keeping their mouths shut. He didn’t even have to look behind him to know the girls were not happy. Their killing intent was so potent even he shivered, though perhaps owing to their stupidity, none of the players confronting him could feel it.
Since Adam had no real desire to prolong this fight and wanted to make an example out of these people, he began walking toward them. He walked slowly as if he was just out for a stroll. Placing the tip of his spear against the ground, he created loud scraping noises that grated on the ears of his enemies.
“If you people are going to attack, then hurry it up. I don’t have all day,” Adam said.
“Fucking bastard!”
“Go die!”
“Let’s teach this son of a bitch a lesson he’ll never forget!”
The men took offense to his calm and disdaining demeanor. With a loud roar, they charged at him. Adam felt a smile tug at his lips. He waited, and waited, and waited, until all ten of them were within range of his spear.
Then he used [Energy Sweep].
[Energy Sweep] was an AOE skill with a limited range of five yards. He slammed his left foot against the ground, flexed the muscles in his calf, and swung the spear in his hands with all his might. By channeling his spear intent into his weapon and swinging it around in a long arc, he could release a powerful blade of energy that swept over his opponents.
-10,298; -10,208; -10,468; -10,398; -10,358; -10,403; -10,468; -10,398; -10,468; -10,438!
Ten massive numbers appeared over the head of every man who attacked him. This number was more than ten times higher than the amount of health most of these players had. Ten thousand points of damage. That was a number only boss level monsters could deal, and yet, here was a player who had simply swung his spear and instantly killed ten other players in the blink of an eye with a single attack.
The moment his attack hit the players, all of them were instantly teleported to just outside of the platform. Most of them landed on their butts and were staring wide-eyed at nothing. The one who seemed like their leader looked incredibly confused, like he couldn’t figure out how he’d suddenly ended up outside of the platform.
Adam’s grand attack caused many of the players participating to stop what they were doing and stare at him. He gazed at everyone through his mask. Several of the people who locked eyes with him shuddered and looked away, not daring to maintain eye contact for fear that he would attack them as well.
With a snort, Adam walked back to his party, turned to face the crowd, and slammed the butt of his spear against the ground as if daring the other players to attack him.
No one did.
Among the many players who had seen Adam’s instant kill AOE attack was Daren Daggerfall and his three brothers. He had sucked in a deep breath upon seeing that magnificent skill. The man had swung his spear in a powerful arc that created a fan-shaped wave of energy, which swept over the ten attacking players and would have killed them if not for the effects of the magic barrier that Sandra spoke of.
The first to speak was Skyrim, the third oldest among the siblings. “Brother… did you see that attack just now…? That person, do you think he’s…?”
“That man is definitely the Adam we’ve been hearing so much about,” Daggerfall answered the question that never fully formed. “I suspected he would be taking part in this tournament ever since it was announced. I had been hoping to see his skills in action, but this is far beyond what even I could have imagined. Bwa ha ha! He certainly doesn’t disappoint.”
Ten thousand points of damage. That was an insane number that should not be possible for a player to produce at this stage of the game. Even if Adam was at level 50 and had the best weapon available, it would have been hard for Daren to believe he could deal that kind of damage. The man hadn’t even used a single buff!
“Come to think of it, wasn’t there someone named Adam who shocked the gaming world three years ago?” asked Oblivion. He was the youngest of the four siblings at only twenty-two years old.
“There was. I remember watching him defeat Lin Akamine in one of the international tournaments,” Daggerfall said, reminiscing. “He would have been ranked number one on the International Power Rankings, but he disappeared after demolishing the strongest players at the time.”
“Think this could be him?” asked Skyrim.
“I think there is a very real possibility.”
Because of their position as the second-largest guild in the American Federation, nobody dared come near them. This meant Daren was free to look at the cloaked figure standing beside him.
“Do you think you can beat him?” he asked in a low voice.
The Spear God did not say anything, but Daren did not feel insulted by the silence. This person had never spoken a single word since coming into his family’s service. All he cared about was the skill this figure displayed and the trust they had earned.
Finally, the Spear God made a single motion, nodding their head once.
Daren gave a relieved sigh. Then he smiled.
“It doesn’t matter how powerful Adam is. He might have defeated Lin Akamine, but he won’t defeat the Spear God, especially when they use the same type of weapon.”
With his confidence bolstered, Daren went back to observing the battles happening around them. He completely missed the gaze the Spear God sent Adam as the other man stood in front of the members of his party like an immovable object.
Like the members of Daggerfall Dynasty, the Pleonexia Alliance’s five members were free of fighting. No one wanted to come over and attack them. Even if they believed they could defeat this group, nobody wanted to risk offending the Pleonexia Alliance, which could result in untold suffering both in the game and in real life. This meant they also had a perfect view of Adam’s astonishing performance.
“Levon, that attack jus
t now…” Connor Sword began.
“I know!” Levon snapped through gritted teeth.
Levon had spent untold amounts of money to discover Adam’s identity in the real world, but not only had all of his searches come to naught, he’d eventually learned that Adam had teamed up with none other than Fayte Dairing.
He remembered the International Announcement three weeks ago. Adam, Fayte, Lilith, and Susan had defeated a 4-Star enemy and earned one thousand status points. That was a ridiculous reward no matter who you were. However, more than the status points, what really made Levon feel like someone had placed his heart in an oven was learning that this man was a member of Fayte’s party. It was a combination of intense jealousy and hatred that he felt. Jealousy that this man was working with the woman he planned to marry, and hatred because it was clear that Adam was working against him to help Fayte.
“Do not pay them any attention right now,” Levon ordered. “Being able to deal such incredible damage means nothing if you can’t hit your opponent. No matter what happens, we have to win this tournament.” He looked at Connor. “You may need to rely on your secret weapon if you face him during the tournament.”
“Don’t worry,” Connor Sword said with a sharp smile. “That man is also partying alongside my fiance, so I understand how you feel perfectly. If we fight in the tournament, I will use my strongest ability right from the start.”
Levon nodded, feeling reassured, and turned his head to gaze at Adam. The man in the mask was not doing anything. He was just standing there with the butt of his spear resting against the platform. Levon narrowed his eyes as darkness flashed within his pupils.
“Enjoy your small moment of fame while you can. I will be sure to crush that fame before the tournament ends.”
The preliminary match ended several minutes after it began. Just as Adam expected, aside from his party, the ones who survived with their parties intact were Daggerfall Dynasty and the Pleonexia Alliance. Nobody had bothered to attack them. Adam was almost willing to believe anyone who fought against them in the tournament would surrender just to avoid offending these two great powers.
Among the remaining five people who survived the preliminary round, there was the leader of the Holy Sword Sect, American Samurai, Daniel Frost of the Rising Phoenix Alliance, Kevin Swift, leader of an independent guild called American Kitsune, and two people who did not belong to any guild but were still ranked sixth and seventh on the International Power Rankings. Cherry Summers and Mist.
Cherry Summers was an archer with a bow and quiver of arrows attached to his back. He wore a leather jerkin, brown pants, and brown boots. His outfit didn’t look that sturdy, but Adam knew better than to assume. Even weak-looking equipment could have impressive stats like Aris’s Blade Dancer outfit. He wasn’t what Adam would call a handsome man, but Cherry Summers did have a somewhat roguish aura about him. His cheerful smile also made him seem very amiable.
On the other hand, Mist seemed disinterested in everything. His somewhat feminine appearance gave him the androgynous charm all pretty boys possessed, and his cool demeanor lent him an aura of mystery. His hair was long and jet black, glossy, and tied into a ponytail behind his head. He wore the white robes of a Priest. Gripped firmly in his hand was a praying staff with a cross at the very top.
“Now that the preliminaries have come to an end, it is time to begin the main event!” Sandra said from her place on high. She seemed extra cheerful after having watched all the players beat the crap out of each other. “I want everyone to pay attention to the magic projection above your heads.”
As she spoke, a large screen appeared in the air above the platform, projected from a magic stone in the ceiling. It currently displayed two empty boxes with the letters “VS” between them.
“Participants will be selected to fight via random drawing. When your face appears in one of those two boxes, it will be your turn to fight. Because the fights are determined by random selection, there are no brackets, so you could fight two or more times in a row. Consequently, you could also only fight once in the entire tournament. The same rules from the elimination round apply here. You are not allowed to use potions, though you can use buffs. Participants will lose when their health reaches +1, they surrender, or they are knocked out of the ring. Does everyone understand? Does anyone have any questions? No? That’s great! In that case, let’s begin the true tournament now!”
Loud roars of approval echoed from the crowd in the stands. Adam looked up at the stands to see a sea of bobbing heads and flailing limbs.
The screen above flashed and the faces of those participating appeared in the boxes, flashing by in the blink of an eye as if the boxes were scrolling through the participants at light speed. The faces being scrolled through slowed down until two faces appeared, signifying who would get to fight in the first battle of the tournament.
The Tournament Begins
Spear God versus Cherry Summers.
“Awwww, man! Why the hell do I have to fight the second most powerful player in the entire freaking world?! What did I do to deserve this?!” Cherry Summers immediately screamed when he saw his face appear on the screen. He grabbed his hair as if wishing he could tear it out. “This sucks! This blows! I’d rather face anyone but him? Hey, Mist! Wanna take my place? You do, right? Right?!”
Mist gave the man beside him a cold look. “Shut up and fight, idiot.”
With that, Mist walked away from the man who could only wail in despair and beg him not to leave.
Adam found the strange interaction between the two unusual, but he didn’t say anything as he stepped off the platform with everyone else. Sandra directed the players to stand off to the side instead of return to the waiting room. This meant they had front row seats to the competition. He wondered if she was doing this so everyone would be able to study their opponents, but he dismissed the thought as irrelevant.
“Titania, can you [scan] Cherry Summers?” Adam asked the fairy as she floated back onto his shoulder.
“Give me a moment,” Titania said as she cast [scan].
Name: Cherry_Summers
Class: Archer
Lvl: 16
SP: 0
AP: 215
Experience: 115/4,915,200
Reputation: 20,000
Strength: +205
Constitution: +60
Dexterity: +50
Intelligence: +25
Speed: +50
Physical Attack: +650
Health: 620/620
Hit-Rate: 300%
MP: 230/230
Movement: +100
Luck: +2
Physical Defense: +125
Magic Defense: +60
Dodge-Rate: 200%
Magic Attack: +25
Skills:
Skill Name: Deadeye
Description: Archers can increase their hit-rate and critical hit-rate by increasing their perceptions through the Deadeye skill.
Current lvl: 5 MAXED
Ability: Increases Hit-rate to 110%. 30% chance of dealing x2 critical damage
MP Cost: 5
Cooldown Time: 0 seconds
Skill Name: Rain of Arrows
Description: Archers who learn this skill can fire a hailstorm of arrows that deals damage to multiple enemies.
Current lvl: 5 MAXED
Ability: Causes 150% damage to all enemies within 15 yards of targeted enemy
MP Cost: 5
Cooldown Time: 0 seconds
Skill Name: Triple Fire
Description: Archer fires three arrows at the same time.
Current lvl: 4
AP needed to reach lvl 5: 50,000
Ability: Fires three arrows
Each arrow has a 50% of causing critical damage
X3 damage if critical hit is struck
MP Cost: 20
Cooldown Time: 30 seconds
Skill Name: Curve Shot
Description: Archer fires an arrow that curves mid-flight and strikes enemy from th
eir blind spot.
Current lvl: 4
AP needed to reach lvl 5: 40,000
Ability: The arrow curves and strikes the enemy in their blind spot
It cannot be dodged
100% hit-rate
MP Cost: 20
Cooldown Time: 15
“His stats are surprisingly high. I didn’t realize there was someone outside of the big guilds who reached level 16. He also has some decent equipment,” Adam muttered as he studied the man’s stats and skill set.
Titania, also examining his stats, nodded. “That bow of his is definitely something that was forged by the dwarves. You can tell because of its exceptional craftsmanship. He probably found it in a dungeon.”
Adam glanced at the bow in Cherry Summers’s hand. It was indeed an exceptional weapon. It was a compound bow, a weapon that was mechanically operated using cams, pulleys, and cables to help archers hold onto heavy draw weights at full draw. They were known mostly for their lightweight and incredible speed.
He didn’t know what this bow was made from, but since it was a fantasy setting, he assumed it was created from something other than fiberglass. The bow itself was beautifully crafted and had rune-like designs drawn onto the surface. Adam didn’t know if they were for decoration or had a practical use.
“Are both fighters ready?” asked Sandra.
“No!” Cherry Summers shouted. “Can I get a redraw? I don’t want to fight this guy!”
“You can surrender if you want,” Sandra said with a shrug.
“Fuck that!”
“Then fight! The competition starts now!”
“Damn it!!!”
The moment Sandra said the competition was beginning, the Spear God launched himself forward like a bullet fired from a sniper rifle. He moved so fast even Adam was shocked. The girls standing by his side made surprised exclamations. Only Aris didn’t say anything, narrowing her eyes as she followed the Spear God’s movement.
Cherry Summers proved that he was not as dimwitted as he acted. The man leaped backward and quickly used [Triple Fire], shooting three arrows at the same time. All of them flew in different directions but curved around to attack the Spear God. It looked like each one would hit, but then the Spear God spun his spear around and created an impenetrable barrier that the arrows bounced off of.
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