Chapter 34: The First Battle

“Looks like you were farming outdoor monsters that have a significant bonus against physical attacks while reflecting spell damage. Were you able to gain the full amount of bonus experience? No wonder you reached Level 60 so quickly. Those outdoor monsters respawn rapidly, have little health, and appear in large numbers. You can lure a whole swarm at once and wipe them out with area-of-effect skills.”

Cup of Wine Traps Heroes had evidently thought of the same thing. As though something else had suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “Are you sure you’re in a proper state of mind?”

“I’m fine. Actually, I reached Level 60 quite some time ago. I mainly took a break to rest and get myself back into shape. After the first week is over, I probably won’t be able to log into the game for a few days. I may have to trouble you to keep an eye on things then.”

Cool Night smiled and placed his right hand directly on Cup of Wine Traps Heroes’ shoulder.

Although Cup of Wine Traps Heroes did not know why Cool Night had suddenly said this, it was obvious that something had come up in the real world and that Cool Night would be busy for several days. He knew that this man intended to make a name for himself in God’s Sorrow. Giving up so easily was simply not in his nature.

After spending so much time together, Cup of Wine Traps Heroes had gained a basic understanding of Cool Night’s character. His meticulous mind, his ability to remain calm when facing trouble, and his steady composure were all qualities essential to an outstanding leader.

Before long, everyone had gathered. Old Hu also appeared, though his level was only 55. He had not made it into the top ten of the level rankings, but he had firmly occupied eleventh place. Clearly, he was not far from Level 56.

“All right. Sign up and get ready to fight.”

Cool Night smiled gently, and everyone began clicking on the Arena NPC to register.

“Which mode should we choose?” Cup of Wine Traps Heroes asked from the side.

Old Hu answered without hesitation, “I think Battle Arena is more suitable for us. Our coordination isn’t very good when we’re split apart, and everything mainly depends on Cool Night. In that case, Battle Arena should be the better choice.”

“With Battle Arena, we can divide into two groups, while the other two can enter the solo matches,” Luo Feng said with a nod. He then reminded them once more, “The two people we choose for the solo matches should ideally be classes capable of fighting independently. The Spear and Yan classes are the most suitable at present. Even that half-witted fellow could do it, but he would be more useful in Battle Arena.”

“All right, no problem.”

Huang Heng and Luo Wei exchanged a glance, then nodded with smiles.

“Okay, let’s register.”

Cool Night smiled and signed up for Battle Arena. Apart from Huang Heng and Luo Wei, who registered for solo matches, everyone else entered Battle Arena. The remaining six seemed to divide themselves automatically into two teams. A window then appeared before them.

Grouping in progress.

Several minutes later, the two team rosters appeared.

“Xuantian Server: Cool Night, Dark Night, and Cup of Wine Traps Heroes—Group A.”

“Xuantian Server: Qu Xiaozheng Sways and Sways, From Warmth, Long Affairs, and Smart Smart Smart Smart Brother—Group B.”

“Damn, we got Group A? Does that mean we’re going first?”

Cup of Wine Traps Heroes glanced at the results and cursed under his breath. Going first was not a good thing, especially since they needed to win. The first team to enter would be watched and studied by the other players, who could then devise ways to counter them. Thus, in the Arena, the later a team appeared, the greater its advantage. It could gather information about its opponents and fight with much greater ease afterward.

“All right, all right, it’s fine. Let’s hurry up and bet on ourselves to win. Then we’ll be entering the match.”

Cool Night could only shrug with a bitter smile. With a sigh, he said, “Group A will begin in half an hour. Let’s rest properly and adjust our condition. Otherwise, things may become troublesome.”

The Arena was an independent cross-server battlefield. Players who registered would be teleported to an ancient primordial battlefield. The arena stretched endlessly across the land, and an enormous primordial city stood upon that lifeless continent.

The vast city was itself a massive battlefield. Its arenas were astonishingly large. When Cool Night and the others looked up, the boundless sky above them shimmered with the colors of primordial tides, and the distant roar of strange beasts could faintly be heard amid the churning sea of clouds.

However, the Arena contained different primordial cities, each corresponding to a particular level and ladder rank.

Players in the Arena were divided into six tiers according to level. In addition, there was a system known as Ladder Victory Points. Winning in the Arena awarded the corresponding number of Ladder Victory Points, and that value could continue to increase. Losing would reduce it by a certain amount. In essence, the points represented a player’s actual level of strength.

The first tier was Valiant Bronze, with Ladder Victory Points ranging from 1,000 to 1,300.

The second tier was Unyielding Silver, with Ladder Victory Points ranging from 1,300 to 1,600.

The third tier was Glorious Gold, with Ladder Victory Points ranging from 1,600 to 1,900.

The fourth tier was Noble Platinum, with Ladder Victory Points ranging from 1,900 to 2,200.

The fifth tier was Brilliant Diamond, with Ladder Victory Points ranging from 2,200 to 2,500.

The sixth tier was Supreme King, with Ladder Victory Points ranging from 2,500 to 2,800.

Every player began with 1,000 Victory Points. If someone lost too many matches, and their losses exceeded their victories by more than twenty, the points deducted could exceed the points gained from a victory.

Once a player surpassed 2,800 points, every additional one hundred Ladder Victory Points earned another star.

After registering, players were automatically assigned to the appropriate Arena according to their level and ladder rank. The coveted All-Server Arena Glory Rankings, which PvP players took pride in, were also based on these ladder rankings. Players could naturally check their positions on the Arena Glory Rankings within their own servers.

However, the top one hundred players on the All-Server Arena Glory Rankings possessed an utterly terrifying number of Ladder Victory Points. The average score among the top one hundred had already surpassed 9,000, while even the top ten had exceeded 10,000.

After roughly fifteen minutes, Cool Night and the others noticed the scenery around them begin to change. A system notification about rapid reconstruction appeared, and in the next instant, they found themselves in a primordial world.

The ground around them was covered in traces of battle, with smoke and the stench of gunpowder filling the air. They were now inside the primordial city located in the cross-server Arena.

Soon afterward, several beams of primordial light descended from the heavens and rapidly enveloped them before vanishing from their original location.

When Cool Night could see the surroundings clearly again, he found himself inside a stone chamber. The expressions of the three men all froze slightly.

“What’s going on? Why have we been placed in the Unyielding Silver tier? Shouldn’t we be in Valiant Bronze?”

Cool Night looked at the information displayed on the map. His expression darkened slightly as he frowned.

“What exactly is happening?”

“Could it be that our strength has already surpassed the Valiant Bronze tier? But why are our Ladder Victory Points still at the initial value of 1,000?”

Cup of Wine Traps Heroes looked utterly bewildered.

“Could it be because of Old Hu? I heard his account was an old one and had never been changed. It seems the previous data was not erased and was retained in God’s Sorrow.”

Luo Feng pondered for a moment before offering the reminder.

“That’s very possible. If that’s the case, things will be rather difficult for us. Who’s going first?”

Cool Night gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Clearly, he had not realized that before they split into groups, they had all belonged to the same team. The Arena had therefore assigned them to different starting tiers. Being divided this way made things somewhat difficult.

Still, Cool Night thought that at least Group B had Old Hu on its side.

“The opposing team has the standard three-class formation: melee, ranged, and healer. Why don’t we enter at random? That way, we won’t be countered too severely.”

Luo Feng opened the Enemy Team Information page and examined the opponents they would be facing.

Cool Night nodded in agreement. In the game, classes still possessed a degree of mutual restraint. Even with the addition of customizable talent trees, the situation was not necessarily advantageous.

For example, ranged classes had an easier time against melee classes. Stealth classes also possessed a certain advantage against ranged classes and could deal with tank-type classes particularly well. However, sword and spear melee classes had an advantage against stealth classes as well. Though it was not especially obvious, stealth classes could easily exploit their concealment advantages to target opponents in the Arena.

The order in which players entered the Arena was entirely up to them. If only one player was ready, that player would enter. If all players were ready, one player would be selected at random.

Thus, the three of them opened the Arena interface and clicked Ready in the lower-right corner.

Soon, an electronic voice gradually echoed beside their ears.

“Five... four... three... two... one!”

Click!

The scene suddenly changed, and Cool Night’s body was enveloped in radiance.

No one could have expected Cool Night to be the first to enter. His class was at a disadvantage against almost every other class, with the exception of spellcasters. This was precisely the advantage of the String class.

“This is enough to make me cry. Poor me, a complete beginner, being sent to be beaten by players already in the Unyielding Silver tier.”

Cool Night’s face was filled with a deeply aggrieved expression as he spoke bitterly. However, he quickly composed himself and slowly rose, allowing the radiance to swirl around him.

When the light around him dispersed, he had already appeared atop an arena platform. A blinding radiance suddenly pierced his eyes, and Cool Night raised a hand to shield them. Only then did the surrounding scene gradually shift from a blur into clarity.

His heartbeat suddenly quickened. This sensation stirred his blood, and his fighting spirit began to surge wildly within him.

Spectator stands surrounded the arena. Clearly, many of the players participating in the day’s Battle Arena matches were gathered there. They came from different servers within God’s Sorrow, though all were at roughly the same level of strength. Cheers soon resounded between heaven and earth, and the entire venue became utterly frenzied.

Cool Night saw dried bloodstains scattered across the platform beneath him. The ground was mottled with blood. Then, from somewhere near his ear, he suddenly heard voices cheering him on.

“Third Brother, do your best!”

“Come on! Don’t lose, you brainiac!”

Cool Night turned his head toward the voices and saw the figures of Qu Zheng and the other two. When he shifted his gaze away again, he unexpectedly spotted quite a few members of the Purple Void Illusory Realm. Their levels were all around 50, but it was obvious that they had already accumulated both victories and defeats. Clearly, they had fought their way into the Unyielding Silver tier.

“Boss, do your best!”

“Don’t lose!”

Cool Night gave a bitter smile. Since these fellows had come, it meant they had bet on him to win.

Soon, the members of the Purple Void Illusory Realm shouted in unison, “We all bet that Boss would definitely win, so we bet on you!”

Cool Night could only smile bitterly again.

“You fellows are really something. You actually all bet on me to win.”

Although he said this, Cool Night had already focused all his attention on the arena. On the opposite side, smoke billowed into the air. Dust and stones flew wildly, obscuring his vision, and he could not yet see whether anyone was standing there.

However, Cool Night had always been cautious. He immediately sensed something strange about the scene. His brows drew together slightly, and a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

In the next instant, a frigid killing intent surged into his heart. The back of his neck suddenly felt icy cold.

A figure silently emerged behind him.

Cool Night’s reaction was simply too fast. He did not even need to activate Overdrive Mode to know that someone had appeared behind him. Violent internal energy erupted from his body at once. As the figure materialized behind him, Cool Night turned and sent it flying with a single palm strike.

A cold voice then reached his ears.

“I never expected this match’s opponent to be so weak. It seems this victory is already safely in my pocket.”

Cool Night turned around and saw the opponent’s ID:

A Lifetime of Fate.

The moment he saw that ID, Cool Night’s expression became slightly unpleasant—not because of his opponent’s strength, but because he truly disliked such painfully unconventional names.

...