"The rules of the event are as follows..." Raya began, and for a while, every player listened intently.
The event itself was simple, and apart from a few foolish players who needed clarification on minor details, the majority found the concept easy to grasp.
Each ranker was poised to gain 1 level for every monster they individually defeated or earn experience points based on their contribution to taking down a monster in a group.
The goal was to fight their way to a special room called the 'Guardian Room,' where they would face one of the four event guardians.
If they successfully defeated their guardian, they would earn 200 levels, to be shared among all those who contributed to the fight.
However, if they were killed during this phase, they would lose half of the levels they had gained on the journey and be ejected from the event.
If somehow they managed to defeat the guardian, they would then gain the right to enter the event's boss room, where the treasure keeper awaited as the final challenge.
Dying in this phase wouldn't result in the 50% level reduction, and players could leave with whatever levels they had gained.
However, if they managed to defeat the final boss, they would be rewarded with a total of 1000 levels, distributed evenly among the participants, along with access to a special treasure room filled with invaluable items.
The twist in this event was that the 10,000 rankers would be split into four groups, each with identical paths leading to the treasure chamber.
However, only one group could claim the treasure, making it a race to the finish.
If one group entered the boss room, the others would have to wait until that group either defeated the boss or failed, at which point they could make their attempt, and the group that successfully defeated the boss first would claim all the treasure.
"Ha, this is some interesting shit—" said a player standing beside Jacob, as although Jacob mirrored his sentiment, he did not appreciate the use of such light cuss words.
"It is a nice set-up…." Jacob murmured, as he hoped that he might be paired up with one of his two kids in the event.
At this point the players were completely unaware that the guardians they were to face were none other than their fellow rankers, and hence they were all in for a big surprise when they eventually reached the end of the road.
"One more thing…. This event will be live streamed across the global forums, so please note that the feed might broadcast your every move in real time–" Raya said ending her speech, as immediately a wave of chatter broke amongst the crowd.
"Live Streamed? Now that's what I'm talking about! Your brother is about to become famous"
"Live Streamed? Man, I'm camera shy…. I'll get performance anxiety if I think I'm on camera"
"Muahaha, all the girls will see how handsome I'm now. Girls, hit me in dms to see my sword, it's long and thick, like every man's is supposed to be–"
"Err, the event hasn't started yet, also please don't show any girl your sword, it's disgusting"
"How do you know what it looks like?"
"Bro, we used to go to school together, I know what it looks like, it's bent to the right like a banana"
"Noo it is not— you liar!"
Jacob felt his eyes twitch when he heard this conversation, as he felt a few brain cells die within him.
This new generation talked about weird things and it gave Jacob a massive ick.
*********
(Meanwhile Leo)
Unlike the other players that were gathered in an open field, Leo and the four guardians were gathered in the treasure room, where Leo was supposed to defend from.
It had been two minutes since the five of them had gathered, however, nobody seemed to utter a word.
Leo put his arms behind his neck and stood in a casual pose, while Luke gave him an acknowledging nod.
There was a new girl that Leo did not know about, and although she was beautiful, Leo did not care one bit about her beauty.
In his heart, Amanda's spot was irreplaceable, and hence after making eye contact with the woman once, Leo never bothered glancing at her again.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Andheri however, as the guy kept staring at PinkLotus with his mouth agape from the second he arrived in the room.
PinkLotus was an ethereal beauty, with long flowing pink hair that cascaded down her back, contrasting against her fair, jade-like skin.
She wore sleek, form-fitting armor that accentuated her perfect D-cup breasts and emphasized her narrow, slender waist. Every piece of her gear, from the polished shoulder guards to the reinforced boots, was top-notch, hinting at her elite status. A finely crafted sword hung at her side, its hilt glimmering under the soft light of the treasure room.
Despite her impressive appearance, it was clear that Andheri had only one thing on his mind. His eyes were glued to her chest, his mouth still slightly agape, as if he couldn't tear his gaze away. PinkLotus shifted uncomfortably, adjusting her armor twice in an attempt to divert his attention, but Andheri remained oblivious.
Leo glanced briefly at the scene but quickly dismissed it, he didn't care too much to intervene, however, the awkward tension in the room continued to grow, until finally, Luke broke the silence.
"Hey, Andheri," Luke said, smirking as he leaned casually against the wall. "If you stare any harder, you're going to burn a hole through her armor. Maybe focus on your sword instead of hers?"
The remark hung in the air for a moment, the humor cutting through the tension like a blade.
Andheri snapped his mouth shut, his face flushing as he looked away awkwardly.
PinkLotus, for her part, gave Luke a small nod of appreciation, finally relieved that someone had addressed the situation, however, Luke felt conflicted at receiving that nod.
On one hand he felt his own heart flutter slightly when his gaze met hers, and on the other, he could see the passionate gaze that his guildmaster had in his eyes when he looked at her.
Although Cervantez did not stare at PinkLotus constantly like Andheri, nor did he look at her chest, the guy was clearly infatuated with her, we he stole glances at her face continuously, to the point where he hadn't even talked to Luke or 'TheBoss' since arriving in the room.
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/// A/N - Mass release chapter 5/5, please thank patron Cervantez91 for today's mass release event in the comments below. //