Once they separated, Luke and Cervantez began setting up the traps they had purchased throughout their guardian rooms.
With their prior knowledge of the event, they had made sure to prepare well in advance, purchasing many traps in bulk.
Luke, in particular, felt like he had hit the jackpot as his lava room, with its limited maneuverability for his opponents, was the perfect place to lay traps.
He strategically placed explosives around the floating platforms where players would eventually land, as well as on various walls throughout the room, ready to be triggered when necessary, creating the perfect set-up to rattle his opponents.
Cervantez on the other hand, filled entire sections of his tunnel labyrinth with explosives and drew reference lines to mark safe zones.
His idea was to now lure his opponents into a tunnel section and blow it up, killing dozens of rankers at once.
In contrast, Andheri and PinkLotus simply waited patiently for the players to show up, as they, just like 'TheBoss', had nothing much to do during the starting phase of the event.
********
(Meanwhile the various rankers)
Once the rankers were split evenly across the four paths, the true challenge began.
Each of the four routes had its own dangers, forcing the players to rely on their skills and wits to survive.
During this event, some were sure to rise to the occasion, while others were doomed to fall, victims of either their own arrogance or nervousness of the big stage.
And unfortunately for those who failed, the world was going to be there to watch their demise.
[ The North Path ]
A group of eager rankers charged down the North path, their eyes gleaming with greed.
At the front of the pack, a foolish ranker named 'Scrappy', global rank 9944, laughed as he brandished his oversized axe.
"First to reach the guardians gets the glory!" he boasted, charging headfirst into the misty corridor ahead.
But the moment his feet touched the ground, a rumble shook the earth. From the walls, armored golems emerged—each one standing ten feet tall, their rocky fists crashing down like hammers.
"Piece of cake!" Scrappy roared, swinging his axe with reckless abandon.
*Swoosh*
*Clang*
His axe clanged uselessly against the stone-like hide of the golem, barely scratching its surface.
As a second later, one of the golems' fists crashed into him, sending him flying across the corridor, blood spilling as he hit the ground.
[ Player 'Scrappy' has been eliminated ] a small message flashed in front of the eyes of everyone in his team, as the first player had already been eliminated less than a minute into the event.
Watching from behind, Purple Rock, a cool-headed top ranker, shook his head in dismay.
"Fools rush in," he muttered, stepping forward, as with a calm wave of his hand, he summoned a barrage of magical boulders that shot toward the golems.
The stones slammed into their weak points—the joints of their arms and legs—bringing the hulking creatures to their knees.
Without missing a beat, Purple Rock raised his staff and cast another spell, this time sending a shockwave that cracked the golems apart, reducing them to rubble.
He walked past Scrappy's fallen form without a second glance, leveling up quietly as he advanced deeper into the dungeon.
—-----
[ The South Path ]
Big Daddy led a small group down the South path, confidently swinging his warhammer.
Unlike the North Group, Big Daddy, the rank 8 player seemed to have the others obeying his commands, as he coordinated the rankers into a directed march.
Unlike the golems on the north path, these guys encountered giant insect-like creatures with razor pincers that attacked from the shadows.
Big Daddy smashed two of them, only to be overwhelmed by a third, however, just as the swarm closed in, Kane, an Assassin class ranker darted forward, his twin daggers flashing in the dark.
*Swoosh*
*Swoosh*
He dispatched the insects with swift, precise strikes, leveling up as he walked past Big Daddy's injured form without a word.
Hundreds fell on the south path, as although Big Daddy tried to lead them from the front, it soon turned into a every man for himself type scenario.
---
[ West Path ]
The West path was dark and reeked of decay.
It was the perfect path for Jacob, a.k.a Ghost and he made the most of it too.
Killing the undead that trembled in his presence for fun, he leveled up like a maniac, gaining almost a level every passing minute.
To others watching him on, they felt flabbergasted to see the undead flinching and offering their own lives without resistance when Jacob killed them, as while the rest of them struggled for their lives, Jacob seemed to be taking a walk in the park.
---
[ East Path ]
Finally on the East path, while the players rarely encountered any monsters, they did face difficulties as they triggered hidden traps and contraptions with every step that they took.
Arguably it was the worst part to be taken, as the monsters that they faced seemed to be enough just for 1 in 10 players to face, while everyone struggled with traps and lost their lives to silly attacks.
However, regardless of what path a ranker was assigned to, each path seemed to have its own perils and merits.
From the very start, the strongest seemed to push forward, gaining levels, while the reckless were quickly weeded out by the dungeon's relentless traps and monsters.
Right from the get-go, the entertainment value that the viewers received from the event was astronomical, as with every passing minute the streaming number only seemed to climb higher and higher.
Whether it was someone getting impaled, someone using a flashy move, or some rankers teaming up, it was an exciting viewing experience for the common players, who never got to see such action on a day to day basis.
—------
/// A/N - Guys we are sitting 14th on the GT rankings and number 10 is just 60 tickets ahead of us.
The ranks are incredibly tight together, so can we make the push for top10? ///