Chapter 122: Chapter 116: It’s Just a Game, Don’t Take It Seriously

「The next day」

The qualifiers with the most participants in all of Veridia began!

This qualifier was one of the preliminary rounds before the professional league, aimed at discovering new talent. Players who performed exceptionally well often had the chance to be scouted by professional teams.

It was also a path for amateur players to turn pro.

Since Aurora Sinclair’s match was the next day, she, Leigh Miles, Titus Miles, and Jean Quincy all went to Arthur Lockwood’s presidential suite to watch the competition.

When Abel Lockwood returned with takeout bags, he saw his master lounging on the long sofa with four “kids,” watching the match.

Each of them was holding a bucket of popcorn, just like they were at the movies.

Abel Lockwood secretly snapped several photos and sent them to Beta Morgan to complain.

[Abel Lockwood: Look! My master has become the king of the kids! (Image)]

The photo showed one adult and four youngsters sitting in a neat row on the sofa from left to right. Their movements were identical: one arm holding a popcorn bucket, the other hand stuffing popcorn into their mouths. It gave off the strange, heartwarming feeling of a family of five.

After seeing the photo, Alvin Morgan’s expression was unreadable. He asked, “When is Aurora’s match?”

Beta Morgan glanced at his watch. “Tomorrow at 2:30 PM.”

“Go book tickets!”

“Yes, sir—”

***

The live match was about to begin. A huge countdown timer appeared in the center of the screen.

3, 2, 1, 0

A massive dungeon map filled the entire screen, with over three thousand small red dots randomly scattered across it.

“Which one is my brother?” Jean Quincy asked.

“Let’s zoom in and see—”

Arthur Lockwood directly increased the zoom ratio, and the screen showed a large, realistic view of the game environment.

The graphics were so realistic you could see individual blades of grass swaying and hear the sound of a flowing river.

“Lockwood, the view is too wide. We can’t see any people,” Leigh Miles protested.

Arthur Lockwood quickly adjusted the zoom again, panning the camera toward an area with more people.

The sound of Skills being cast grew closer, and soon they saw two people in a fierce PK battle.

“They’re fighting already?”

A Mage got caught in close quarters by a Swordsman. A beatdown ensued, and the Mage eventually fell and greyed out.

One of the two characters’ points were zeroed out, while the other acquired all of their points. On the minimap in the bottom right corner, one of the small red dots turned grey.

“It seems killing someone gets you all their points.”

Aurora Sinclair nodded.

Arthur Lockwood continued to pan the camera, searching. Finally, in a small corner, he spotted Young Lord Shawn.

He was hiding behind a tree, preparing to ambush the mob up ahead.

Arthur Lockwood glanced at the person battling the monster and tsked twice. “Is he planning to kill two birds with one stone? This kid is pretty smart!”

Jean Quincy felt a swell of pride. ’My brother is a genius!’

Just as the player was about to kill the monster, Young Lord Shawn unleashed an AoE Frost Arrow shower on both the monster and the player.

Both turned into points that Young Lord Shawn absorbed. At the same time, he gained a strengthening buff from the monster.

His defense increased by one point.

“Holy crap! The monsters can give buffs too? Now this is interesting…”

They continued to follow the match from Young Lord Shawn’s perspective.

Most of the members from The Conquest of Glory Guild were in this match. Before long, Young Lord Shawn ran into Mr Know It All.

Mr Know It All was a Swordsman, currently fighting an assassin. The moment Young Lord Shawn saw this, he immediately rushed forward to help, and together they killed the assassin.

Since Mr Know It All landed the final blow, all the points went to him.

A text bubble appeared over Young Lord Shawn’s head: [Don’t move, I’m teaming up with you]

When he first entered the dungeon map, he had tried to find a party icon, but besides the Skill icons, there was only a bag icon on the screen.

He’d originally thought Gideon Lockwood’s analysis was wrong, but just a moment ago, when he got close to the first player, two options had suddenly appeared before him: Team Up or Kill.

Young Lord Shawn tested the distance. As long as a player entered his attack range, he could make a choice.

[Mr Know It All] I didn’t get a party request?

[Young Lord Shawn]: ?

[Mr Know It All]: I only have two options here, Team Up or Kill.

Zeke Quincy had a faint guess about the organizers’ intentions and replied directly: [Choose Kill. I want to test something!]

Then, when Young Lord Shawn attacked Mr Know It All, the attack dealt no damage. However, Mr Know It All was able to damage Young Lord Shawn with his attacks.

Immediately after, their relationship status automatically changed to “Hostile,” and Young Lord Shawn could now damage him as well.

Zeke Quincy’s face darkened. ’The organizers are too damn devious!’ This party selection was one-sided. If you chose to team up with someone, but they chose to kill you, you would still become mortal enemies. Only if both players chose “Team Up” would they enter a friendly state.

Now the two of them were in a hostile state, and for the time being, they could only be careful not to hit each other with their Skills.

Unexpectedly, this hostile status only lasted for ten minutes. Then, their screens reverted to a neutral state, and they could once again choose to Kill or Team Up.

Overjoyed, the two of them quickly selected the team-up option.

This competition was truly unpredictable and full of twists.

The audience was roaring with excitement. Thanks to these ever-changing rules, reversals happened one after another.

You could often see teammates who had just grouped up suddenly turn on each other and attack, just as you could see hostile players bury the hatchet and team up to advance together.

A single match was a showcase of all kinds of betrayals and alliances, putting human nature to the ultimate test.

Someone went on the official website to question if the rules were too cruel, but the official response was just nine words: “It’s just a game, don’t take it seriously!”

***

In the end, Zeke Quincy was the only member of The Conquest of Glory Guild to make it into the top 100.

The competition was too fierce. Many people teamed up like them, but most were members of guilds backed by professional teams. Player-organized guilds like theirs were almost completely wiped out.

In the final struggle for the top 100 spots, everyone started killing each other. Members of the major guilds took control of key point-farming areas, preventing anyone else from entering.

The reason Zeke Quincy was able to break into the top 100 was because his guild members made it happen. They farmed mobs together and funneled all the points to him, with a dozen people sacrificing themselves to ensure the one person with the best chance of success would advance.

This was the ultimate strategy that Gideon Lockwood had devised for them.

After they returned, everyone eagerly shared their experiences with those who hadn’t competed yet. The key advice they gave to Aurora Sinclair was to avoid conflict with other contestants in the early stages. Quietly farming mobs for points and buffs was the way to go.

If she encountered someone provocative, she needed to kill them cleanly and efficiently. If she was outmatched, she had to find a way to escape as quickly as possible and not get drawn into a prolonged fight.

When the match was nearing its end, during the period where all the players would be scrambling for points, she shouldn’t be impulsive. She had to protect herself while looking for opportunities to be the oriole that snatches the prize.

Finally, they warned her not to go to places with rivers or cliffs, as those areas had the highest chance of spawning random dangers.

Aurora Sinclair nodded obediently.

Gideon Lockwood explained some common ambush tactics used by professional teams to her and Noelle Chaucer. He also had the guys practice with the two of them on their computers.

While everyone was in the middle of a heated practice session, Lorraine Morrison, who had been sitting ignored in a corner, sent their entire strategy, word for word, to a certain someone.

Her last message was:

[The Poison Master, Echo, is the weak point!]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep