This chapter is pretty neat, enjoy!
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/Before.../
[Activating Skill, Falling Star 9.5-Star]
A descending slash gathering within the light of a sparkling comet…
[Activating Skill, Morning Dawn 9.5-Star]
A rising slash reflecting at its edge the sheen of the sun…
/FLASH!/
A strong enough light that even the broken dome of the Arena could not contain…
Eventually met.
/Shua…/
Moments passed but no sounds echoed within the Arena, nor any explosions resounded, it was as if nothing happened.
Only a strong light flashed as it consumed everything.
The dome shattered to pieces, and following suit, the stone stands vanished into nothingness, and all of the spectators were blasted into fragments of light as they too vanished from this world.
The ground was flattened as the sand grains were scattered in the wind, crushed into dust.
The statues of angels and demons could not resist the force, vanishing as well as if never there to begin with.
Everything was seemingly transported elsewhere by the collision between the swords, leaving behind only a field of grayish particles, a mix of ash, sand, debris, and fragmented sediments.
Beyond the Arena, a strange world was revealed, and beyond a massive razed area, like a burnt spot in a forest, a clear field of green extended into the distance, where tall mountains rose from the ground, dozens of Km tall.
Or so it seemed, as it was hard to tell how far away they were.
The only thing remaining now was a man holding a large sword, using it for support and he stood there silent.
In front of him, one of the Arena's walls still stood miraculously.
Above it, the cubicle where the red-haired man and his partner sat.
They were the only ones who still remained after the clash, looking down at him with their own cryptic expressions.
"..."
/Clap… Clap…/
The red-haired man was the first to get up from his seat, and also the first one to clap his hands, a small but noticeable smile on his face as he did so.
His partner did the same, smiling. Proud, happy, satisfied.
She seemed more than amused, impressed even, though those do not seem enough to explain what she felt, but they also felt excessive.
Her expression was a mystery in itself.
[Your fight has impressed the Ruler of the Red Court]
After clapping for a little while, he turned around, and together with his partner and guards, he walked into the dark hall behind his seats, and although that path seemingly led nowhere, he still vanished as soon enough…
/Crumble…/
Even his seat crashed onto the ground, but no signs of the four of them could be seen anywhere.
As if they had never been there, like ghosts, a mirage in the distance...
"..."
In this lone world, Dale was now left to his own thoughts, breathing slowly as he recovered from his injuries.
His Mana receded back to his heart, his Vitality gathered in his flesh, and the strange mark on his forehead closed, dissipating amidst several flakes of light that quickly broke down into sparks.
/Closing…/
He closed his eyes, done with his task, the fight was over, and with it, his desire…
With nothing else to fight, without a clear goal ahead of him, he could finally rest and leave it to...
[Manifestation of the Perfect Self 1-??? has deactivated]
/Gasp!/
"Arg… Huff… Huff… I'm... URGH!"
'Everything hurts!! I'm going to puke...'
His body burned everywhere, a pain great enough to surpass the greatest of cramps, at the same time throughout every fiber of his being.
Above all, his head hurt the most, it pulsated in pain every few seconds, as if someone was hammering it back in place.
An intense feeling of lethargy filled his body, nausea, anemia, lightheadedness...
If there was something he could feel, he was feeling now.
He couldn't even tell if what he felt was real or just an invention of his mind.
/Pop!/
As he felt all of that, he tried taking out all kinds of potions to see if he could help with his condition, opening them up and chugging them without a care.
He didn't care if he was wasting one of the Elixirs he got from the Loot Boxes, he just wanted to clear that feeling from his body.
But while he did that, the System had other plans...
/Din Din Din!/
[Champion of the Arena!]
[DING]
[56 Victory Streak!]
[Solo 1v1 -> 56/0/0]
[Calculating Ranking...]
[Leaderboard Ranking -> 1]
[Ding!]
[Rewards have been processed]
[You've been awarded 1,000,000 Favor for defeating Twilight Moon, the previous Undefeated Champion!]
[By climbing without suffering a single loss, you have become the new Undefeated Champion, being awarded an extra 2,000,000 Favor for such impossible task!]
"Huff... Haha..."
'I did it.' Dale thought with a tired expression as he fell to his knees
'Shit... That girl... She's fucking crazy.'
'Just how much training did she receive?... What did she experience outside of Resko?'
'Only when I reached the Top 100 did I realize the strange thing about this all.'
'If there were so many HardCore players all around, why did none of them choose Resko as a starting point?'
'But after thinking about it for a while and now that I have become the Champion... I think I know why.'
'These people... Aren't here for Leveling Up, that is inconsequential to them.'
'They are after something else... Other kinds of opportunities... To grow strong outside of Levels.'
'On average, they are already rather High Level for the Player Rankings, but that must be more of a result of their own abilities rather than them directly seeking after it.'
'Very much like me...'
'After Rodi started making livestreams and showcasing Resko to the world, I think their choices would be obvious.'
'Resko does not have what they want, so they choose the Northern side of the Continent where such opportunities were bound to be at...'
'Leveling opportunities will never lack for them because they can hunt anywhere... '
'This is why none of these people are in Resko... Though that doesn't mean they won't make their way to the South eventually.'
'Albeit that is a biased analysis from my own perspective.'
Dale had found many pieces of information and hints that indicate Resko may be one of the gateways into higher-tiered content in the future of Azimuth, however, that did not mean Resko was the sole gateway, it may not even be the highest one there is.
The incredible items some of his enemies possessed were a testimony to that, the world wasn't one-dimensional, and High-Level gear wouldn't be condensed in a specific area.
Although he was curious as to how Galatine came into her hands, that was a story for when they met again, how far in the future that may be.
With those thoughts in mind, Dale quickly read through the next wave of notifications, trying to catch up with it.
[You bet on your own Victory, being awarded 10,000,000 Favor]
[Due to the outside Bets, you've received a total of 36,813,072 Favor]
"..."
'I'm rich...'
[The Gods of Old stand conflicted at your Achievements]
[Some of the Gods of Old question the naturality of your Achievements]
[The…]
[A Vote has been forcibly cast to determine if your actions are within natural order or not]
[Votting in progress…]
[Number of Positive Votes: 87]
[Number of Negative Votes: 12]
[Number of Neutral Votes: 25]
[Your Achievements have been accepted]
[Achievement: First Ranker]
[You have been awarded 1,000,000 Favor]
lightsΝοvel [Achievement: Champion of the Skies]
[You have been awarded 1,500,000 Favor]
[Achievement: Umbeatable]
[You have been awarded 2,000,000 Favor]
[Achievement: Rush to Number 1]
[You have been awarded 4,000,000 Favor]
[Achievement: Legendary Clash]
[You have been awarded 4,000,000 Favor]
[Achievement: Richest Man Alive]
[You have been awarded with a Golden Badge]
[Achievement: Giant Removal]
[You have been awarded with a Red Badge]
[Hidden Achievement: It's either everything or…]
[You have been awarded with a Golden Badge]
[Hidden Achievement: Shattered Skies]
[You have been awarded 2,000,000 Favor]
[Hidden Achievement: Unrestrictable]
[You have been awarded 2,500,000 Favor]
[Hidden Achievement: The Star above the Sun]
[You have been awarded 10,000,000 Favor]
[Hidden Achievement: Acknowledged by the Red Court]
[You have been awarded the Red Envelope]
[Hidden Achievement: Acknowledged by the Gods of Old]
[You have been awarded the Blue Envelope]
[Due to your Special Packages, all Favor and Recognition rewards times 3]
[You've been awarded 230,439,216 Favor (Final Value)]
"..."
'I'm so rich I'm getting dizzy again...'
[You stand victorious at the Summit of the Eternal Skies!]
[Would you like to leave your name in the Hall of Fame?]
"..."
'I...'
'I would like some rest… Damn Reflection, messed up my entire body and left without fixing it...'
His body trembling in a multitude of overwhelming emotions, mostly pain, Dale's head collapsed as he fell unconscious.
A single red knight kneeling by his sword at the center of a burnt crater.
/Flash.../
And with that, his time as a gladiator... Came to an end.
/Tremble.../
Now alone in the Field, Caladgolg, shook.
Without a single sound, it slowly rose into the air, its edge now pointing towards the sky.
/Flash!/
It rushed into the clouds above, forming a rainbow connecting the skies to the earth.
There, it vanished, returning to its rightful home.
…
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Notes
That's about it everyone for the first round of rewards, in case I missed anything be sure to tell it in the comments.
I always end up missing something...
Peace!
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