While Earth-11 was slowly being riled up, he avoided the trouble by staying in the core of the world. It is a good thing because the search for Icon might put him in trouble.
Even though he avoided the public, the public wasn't willing to leave him alone. Especially news channels.
Someone had been keeping tabs on his progress in the destiny games. Whoever they are, they found out that he had a game coming up.
Actually, no one needed to be on the specific lookout for him. Games in the professional league and above are matters of great importance. News channels keep track of those games.
Advancement games in particular are especially important because they will determine if someone will progress to the next league or not.
The fact that any death in advancement games above the professional league will lead to a permanent death for the player has only increased the importance attached to them.
So someone would have surely noticed that Augustus was slated to play an advancement game. The fact that someone was keeping tabs on him only meant that people got to find out early.
Augustus was just a talented upstart, so his game shouldn't have drawn much attention. But that wasn't the case because he was just a talented upstart three months ago.
About three months ago, he had just finished his advancement game. He was supposed to play 19 games before his advancement games.
That meant his advancement game should have happened 20 months after his last advancement game, not 3 months. This is what drew a lot of attention to him.
There was only one explanation for why he was having his advancement game so soon. This explanation is that he went to the foreign battlefield for a time, and not only did he survive on it, he performed so well that 19 games were wavered for him.
Someone who went to the foreign battlefield and survived cannot be trifled with. Someone who didn't just survive but also performed excellently will be a bona fide terror.
For news channels and the general populace, his appearance in the game will be thrilling.
His fans were excited to see what kind of power he would have now, while his enemies were curious to see how far he had grown. Either way, his game is a must-watch for both those who like and hate him.
However, for his fellows who will participate in the same game as him, his appearance is a great obstacle that they must overcome.
They began investigating him to find out everything about him. They did so despite knowing that whatever information they gain about his abilities is likely outdated.
On the plus side, their search for information about him was aided by news channels replaying his games, showing highlights of his performance, and analyzing his play style.
He sent one of his shadows to catch one of the interviews about him.
A male presenter was interviewing two analysts about him in one of their news segments.
The presenter asked, "How do you think Augustus will perform in the upcoming game?"
One of the analysts, a blond female, replied, "It is hard to say. He had been a rising star before. He was a rookie with potential, then he skipped 19 matches in the professional league only to appear for the advancement game to the expert league, so I have a lot of faith in him to perform well in this game."
The other analyst, a male, also spoke up. He said, "To be honest, I thought he was dead when he didn't appear for two consecutive games. But it turned out that he had gone to the foreign battlefield. Like my colleague said, I also believe that his chances of advancing are high."
"If there is something else that I believe has changed about him, it is that he might have become more brutal."
The presenter chuckled and said, "More brutal? Could Augustus become worse?"
The man shook his head and said, "My statement was not a joke. I said that based on past events. Those who return from the foreign battlefield tend to become violent. In the case of Augustus, it might make him worse."
"In fact, I believe that it is his ferocity and violent nature that made him survive the foreign battlefield. It could also be lucky, but I don't believe that his competitors would become lucky enough that the foreign battlefield made Augustus realize the value of life and stop being violent."
The female analyst spoke. "I know that war makes people more violent, and I know that Augustus likes violence. But things are different right now."
"He is not fighting in some random game where death will only half the power of players. Death in this advancement game will have serious and permanent repercussions. I believe that he will hold back in this game and become less violent."
"I say that because it is the wise thing to do. If he disregards life in favor of game points and kill counts at this point, he will be shunned by the whole world."
"Besides, he already has a large amount of kills from the foreign battlefield. He should have earned a lot of game points too if he did well enough to skip 19 games. I believe that Augustus is smart enough to give up some benefits in this game in favor of fan count and public admiration."
Kelvin, who was watching the show through the mind of shadow, scratched his chin and said to himself, "This is not a bad idea, actually. If I get a large number of fans, my power will soar."
He was considering this course of action seriously. Eventually he said, "I won't go out of my way to kill. But I won't hold back either. Besides, this is a race. Focusing on killing others in a race might make me lose the game."
He hates races because they force him to prioritize speed over kill counts. In the case of his next game, it is mostly the case.
He can either choose speed or bother others, but it is still best if he focuses on his own obstacle course and ignores others.
By overcoming obstacles, he can earn game points. And since the obstacle course is endless, he can technically earn as many game points as possible.
Gambling by strengthening the obstacle course of others can earn him a lot of game points, but it can also make him lose game points. It is a risk that is not attractive if all he needs to do to earn game points is to focus on the race.
What's more, he can't leave his track to attack other competitors. So he can't bully them outright and eliminate his competitors directly.
This arrangement is making him consider not bothering with the other competitors. It is more efficient to earn game points this way and allow him to earn more fans.
He smiled and said, "Even if I don't earn more fans, at least I won't earn more enemies."
Meanwhile, the TV show was still going on.
The presenter said, "You are right. He doesn't need to kill to earn game points in this game. But can he overcome the allure of eliminating his competitors in order to earn all of the game points that they have worked for?
The female analyst shook her head and said, "As I said, the smart choice is to focus on his track. But Augustus has been known to be wild. He might take the risk."
The male analyst said, "Interfering with the other competitors is a risky endeavor. He might gain their game points or lose the game points he uses to strengthen their obstacles. It is indeed smart to avoid this kind of risky act. But the payout is tempting."
The presenter said, "It is like gambling. Gambling is bad for you. Most times, you lose. But that hasn't stopped people from trying to gamble and hasn't prevented people from becoming addicted to it."
The male analyst clapped and said, "That's exactly what I meant. Gambling feels good. It is especially tempting if the cost of entry is small, like that of the lottery."
"If all he needs to do to eliminate someone is to strengthen their obstacle with 100 game points while the potential payout is 1,000 game points. With that kind of risk and reward, do you think he will be considerate of others and care about their life or death?"
Kelvin knew the answer to that question. What he would do made him chuckle evilly.
He said without guilt, "Maybe I'll gamble a little bit."
The show continued for a while longer. They spoke about his state of mind and his chances of success in the game. Then they ended the show to speak about some other player.
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A/N: I have made some changes to the rules of the advancement game. Go to chapter 296: Obstacle Course to update your understanding of the rules.