Chapter 373 - Start of the 4th event (Patreon)

A new window is accessible to me, and in it, I can see all 16 groups. 2356 participants are separated into 147 and 148-member groups. I belong to a 148-member group, and searching, I don’t find any member of group 4 in it. There also isn’t anyone from Beyond in my group.

In my group, I can see an interesting face: BenDover. That reminds me that I forgot about him again, so it’s nice to see him here.

Then there is also Brainiac, Adam from WhiteWing, and Samuel in another group. Miwa is in their group too, and a few more people from Hell difficulty. Otherwise, it seems like a boring group.

A more interesting one is the one with Tess and Lily in it, the two of them most likely fighting for a spot in the top 16.

Tacita’s group has Sophie in it and Isabella as well.

Savant got a few people from WhiteWing, Channeler, and Maya.

Biscuit’s group has Aaron and Ghast, the lightning guy from WhiteWing.

Min-Jae is in the group with a few people from Hell difficulty I don't know.

What I do is mostly check people from Hell difficulty and ignore the rest, as it’s obvious who will be winning these groups.

Instead of returning to the house, I lay on the grass and stare at the sky. It’s nice to have some quiet after such busy days full of people. But overall, it was my decision, so it’s obvious who to blame. The past Nathaniel, screw that guy.

Even so, I’m glad I summoned Vega. Sure, we just said goodbye to each other not even a week ago, and I could use the summon much later. But knowing the tutorial, when would a safe enough opportunity arise to do so? It just seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I stretch and yawn. The grass is thick and nicely soft, the ground having a comfortable cold to it. Laying there, I feel myself calm down. The need to move and fight I felt the moment the duel’s countdown begins to fade.

Only when the countdown ticks down I sit on the ground and watch the window.

To win your group, you need to win 8 duels! Your mana and stamina will be restored after every duel.

When there are 8 participants remaining in each group, you will be moved to a common area where you can watch the remaining group matches.

Good luck!

I feel a pull on my body, and as always, I try to follow how and what the system is doing, but as always, I find myself unable to do so.

After being moved, I open my eyes and find myself in the middle of a huge clearing. The floor is made out of gray stone, and the weather is without any clouds, a clear blue sky.

There is even a soft breeze, and other than the two of us, there is no one.

“Fuck’s sake. Fuck’s sake. Fuck’s sake. What the fuck have I done,” my opponent curses.

Such a beautiful day.

“Wanna forfeit?” I ask BenDover.

He doesn’t answer, but before he can use any skill, I reach through the domain and place an anchor on him.

Sensing it, he tries to remove it, but he is too slow, and I send kinetic energy through. Just a little to throw him against the ground.

The barrier I create blocks his ranged attacks.

His wounds aren’t healing, the same as during previous events, and I can’t think of anything else I would want to examine, so I just send much more energy through, emptying half of my Vortex Core. It explodes a huge chunk of the floor, sending debris into the air.

Congratulations, you have won your 1st duel!

After that, I appear outside and observe my Vortex Core. It’s back to being full. So it seems like the system will replenish this kind of reserve as well.

My second round is against a young woman from Normal difficulty.

“So that’s it,” she sighs. “I forfeit!”

Congratulations, you have won your 2nd duel!

I appear back outside, and soon after, I get summoned back in.

“I forfeit!” The man, feeling like he’s from Hard difficulty, shouts.

Congratulations, you have won your 3rd duel!

Another match.

“Fuck, not him! I forfeit!”

Congratulations, you have won your 4th duel!

Standing back outside, I feel the calm mood I had slowly erode away.

Another round starts.

“Don’t just immediately forfeit, damn it,” I say before the woman can say anything.

“W-why?” she asks. Hard difficulty for sure.

“I mean, at least try to fight,” I complain.

“Will you hunt me outside in the common area if I don’t?” Taking a few steps away from me, she asks.

“Not really, but…”

“I forfeit!” She shouts and disappears.

Congratulations, you have won your 5th duel!

Appearing outside, I release a chunk of kinetic energy from my Vortex Core and stomp, the nice grassy ground I laid on before exploding into the air.

Congratulations on being in the top 8 of your group! You will now be moved to the common area.

The scenery changes again, and I find myself in the common area surrounded by a few hundred people, with more appearing as their groups get into the top 8 as well. The noise of that many people adds to my already sour mood.

Getting away from them, I boost myself into the air and land on the roof of the tall house we used before to watch the other events. As if planned, the remaining members of group 4 get there over the following few minutes.

“Everyone in the top 8 of their group?” Tess asks.

From all members, a confirmation sounds.

“Good job, I guess we were lucky to not get strong ones right away.”

“Or it was planned,” Maya sighs. “But why did I have to get into the group with one of the weirdo trio.”

“You can do it, Maya! Just imagine how shocked Nat would be if you beat Savant. So give it your all and don't be such a scaredy cat,” Dennis says with a smirk. 

“You can do it too! Maybe you and your brother will get squished by Sophie’s thighs if you win your groups.”

What a terrifying counterattack. It seems to cause a lot of damage. The result is an immediate silence from the twins and Min-Jae as well.

“Oh, come on, Dennis, why don’t you say anything?” Maya seems to be enjoying every moment. “Aaron, why don’t you help your brother? And you, Kim? We don’t know anything about what you said, so why are you so worried? Are you hiding something?”

Nice combo indeed and the boys smartly decide to stay quiet.

In the end, Maya sighs, “Boring.”

***

The first out of us to get summoned inside is me.

Finally, the person I’m facing is from Hell difficulty. Someone from group 8, TheGuild. A man I haven’t met before.

The area we find ourselves in is different this time too. A floating island high in the sky, and I curiously move to the edge of it and look down, at a never-ending blue sky as far as I can see. In the sky, a few clouds move lazily, and the floating island doesn’t have any inscriptions or mana powering it. It just floats, probably to make the event look cooler.

I wonder if it’s for participants only or maybe Rulers as well if they decide to watch. Or maybe it’s possible for other beings than Rulers to watch. Should I point a middle finger towards the sky?

Creating a barrier in front of me, I block a barrage of invisible slashes. The attack feels like an extremely sharpened wind, invisible to the eye, only the movement of mana betraying it. It’s not bad at all, but lacking the oomph.

Over my palm, I create a single mana orb and compress it further to the point of it turning dark blue.

More attacks surround me, swirling like a tornado, slashing, trying to tear through, but to no avail.

Reaching into my Vortex Core, I use a stream of kinetic energy, boosting the orb that disappears in a blink.

Even expecting that and creating some sort of wind barrier, the man is unable to defend himself, and the orb moving at high speed pierces through his chest.

Congratulations, you have won your 6th duel!

Back on the roof, Tess sighs, “You could be more considerate. I know the guy, and he is a really nice person.”

That makes me snort, “Maybe to the women. He attacked me when I was examining the area.”

“Did you consider that this kind of behavior during the duels could piss off some people?”

“Not really.”

The screen lights up before Tess can say anything silly, and two figures appear there: Samuel and Brainiac. The redheaded Brainiac our boys befriended and a military guy from Hard difficulty. The result seems to be already decided.

On the screen, a few sentences are exchanged, the sound enveloping the common area from all sides, making it possible to hear even through the noises of two thousand people.

Brainiac teases the man. The same as me, he seems to dislike uptight military men who are good at organizing but to more free-spirited Hell difficulty attendees feel too stuffy.

The projectiles Brainiac likes to use shoot from him, invisible, and Samuel barely blocks the attacks with his giant sword.

From down below, noises of loud cheering explode, people hyping up and supporting their favorites.

“A few groups started going around and setting up bets. Mana stones, magical items, food, or items from Earth. They take and write down anything. They bet on winners of groups, winners of duels overall, and other stuff,” Sophie says when she sees where I’m looking.

“Damn, they are quick.”

“Yes, and some started selling snacks too. I think it’s Adam helping with it a lot. Even here, he is trying to make as many shards as possible. But I guess that’s why he is in the top 5 of the crafter rankings.”

“Who has the best rating for winning the duels?”

Sophie silences for a bit, a stiff expression as she concentrates on something.

“There are four people with small differences between them. But Tacita comes just slightly ahead. They say that her speed is the biggest advantage when it comes to fighting human versus human. You seem to be a bit ahead of Savant, who is third, and in 4th they put Tess.”

“Poor Gareth and Lily didn’t even get on the list,” I say, being sure Lily is listening.

“I will win against Tess, and they will see! I bet they picked her only because she goes around zapping people, so Hard difficulty guys are scared of her a lot. If I did that too, they would place me there!” Lily complains.

“So what’s your plan against Tess? She will just keep a distance and shoot you from afar,” I become a bit curious.

I wonder how I would fight Tess if I were Lily. Using [Sacrifice] to get as close as possible and trying to end it in a single [Disintegration] attack? But Tess would expect that, and unlike Lily, she can fly.

Sure, Lily can use some ranged attacks, but they can’t compare to Tess’s range.

“As if I’d tell it in front of her,” Lily snorts to Tess’s amusement.

“I’m already excited for the fight, Lily,” Tess smiles at her.

With that, the duel between Brainiac and Samuel comes to an end, Samuel losing, unable to get too close even using his body strengthening and some sort of movement skill that made his feet glow and slide on the ground as if it’s ice.

Brainiac shows great positioning and a barrage of attacks that he seems to be able to throw almost infinitely.

Another match is someone from the same group as Lily, two men from Hell difficulty. Their arena is the same as mine and Brainiac’s. The floating island where they fight for over 10 minutes, trying to tire each other out. Both of them are extremely careful and swift to dodge. A woman with a bow, using projectiles creates out of pale blue mana and that move as if having their own mind.

And the man uses his skill with mana to compress the orb into a disc-like shape with sharp edges. He also moves it with his mind only, the disc easily cutting through the trees and stones, and even tilting at times to block the arrows.

Yet, in the end, the man loses. That arrow that missed him and stuck in the tree moves out of nowhere and hits the man’s back, just enough to distract him to get him hit by a few more attacks. The woman uses the opportunity and attacks more aggressively, wearing him down quickly and winning the duel.

“That wasn’t that bad,” Tess says. “Sophie, what’s her name?”

“I think it was Alaine from TheGuild. I think she and Swordmaster are married.”

“Swordmaster is also a nice guy. They fit well together.”

Sophie nods, “Yes, TheGuild seems to be consisting of decent people.”

Petting Biscuit, I listen with one ear and nibble on the snacks I stole from Maya. Surprisingly, she doesn’t complain too much. Maybe still in hopes I will sell her my axe one day.

This isn’t that bad at all. How could a football or hockey match compare to this? Watching people use interesting skills, fighting, and giving their best. Not bad at all.

Soon after, Isabella disappears, and on the screen, a thin figure appears facing her.

Sophie, who was talking up until now with Tess, shuts up, and I see her clench her teeth, her eyes becoming much colder.

Tacita on the screen tilts her head in surprise and looks at Izzy opposite her.

***

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