(Meanwhile on the global forums)
At first, most common players were blissfully unaware of the special live stream.
Hidden among the countless threads of the global forums, the stream initially went unnoticed.
However, as it was pinned to the top of every feed, players soon began to stumble across it, clicking on it as curiosity got the best of them, and soon enough, a steady trickle of viewers tuned in to see what all the fuss was about.
The moment they clicked into the stream, they found themselves thrust into the middle of an intense spectacle.
Confusion rippled through the community as they realized they were watching something extraordinary—but there were no rules, no explanations, just pure chaos as top-ranked players battled their way through various dangers, traps, and monsters in what appeared to be a high-stakes event.
Questions flooded the chat:
"What's happening?"
"Is this an event? Why wasn't this announced?"
"Did I miss something?!"
"Why are the rankers the only ones who have participated in this event?"
But even as the confusion lingered, excitement quickly replaced bewilderment. The battles were too thrilling to look away from, and as the adrenaline pumped through their veins, players shared the link across private messages, guild chats, and public forums, rapidly inviting more and more viewers.
Soon, thousands were glued to their screens, the viewership skyrocketing by the minute.
---
As the live stream continued, the reactions in the chat began to explode in a frenzy of opinions.
"OMG, did you see Purple Rock just destroy that golem?!"
"Scrappy got wrecked lmao. Dude's global rank 9944 for a reason!"
"That's embarrassing. The guy didn't last a minute, and he was talking like he was gonna win the whole thing."
The chat was alive with commentary, bouncing between awe and mockery.
"Nah, for real though, who is Purple Rock? He's too smooth with those spells. Dude's definitely underrated."
"He's just a golem killer, watch him choke later."
"I've been saying Purple Rock's been slept on for a while now. While 'TheBoss' and 'DarkEmperor' take all the hype, that guy's the real deal—"
Meanwhile, on the South Path, Big Daddy's struggles sparked even more heated conversations.
"Why does this guy always act like he's the leader? Smh, Kane's out here cleaning up while Big Daddy just barks orders."
"LOL, Big Daddy can't even keep his own team together."
"Kane is straight up ruthless. He didn't even help Big Daddy. Just moved on like it was nothing."
"Yeah, Kane's playing this smart. Why bother helping when it's every man for himself?"
The chat exploded with memes and gifs of Big Daddy getting overwhelmed by insects, many poking fun at his self-proclaimed leadership.
Not all the comments were criticisms, though. Some were just thrilled to be watching such high-stakes action, especially with rankers they had long admired.
"I can't believe we're getting to see this live. The fact that they didn't announce this makes it even better!"
"Bro, this is the kind of content we needed. Real-time, no filters, no commentary. Just pure ranker mayhem."
"Facts. No rules, no explanation—just chaos. It's perfect."
"I'm getting to learn a lot about my class from this event, although I don't know what it's about or why they are fighting in a dungeon, I love it!"
However, while the common players were only warming up when they watched the streams on the north and south path, they absolutely lost their minds when they opened the stream on the East path.
Jacob, a.k.a Ghost, was leveling up at an absurd pace on the East Path, mowing down the undead without breaking a sweat, and players who noticed his mayhem felt their minds blown off by his skill.
"Ghost is a monster. The way the undead just give up when they see him... Insane."
"Did I just see a skeleton bow down before he killed it?!"
"Ghost is literally the king of this event. Look at his EXP climb!"
However, not everyone was impressed by Ghost's rampage.
"This isn't fair. Why do the undead not attack him but attack everyone else? Is this rigged?"
"Yeah, no one else even stands a chance. The system is rigged."
"Ghost's class is suspicious, he's definitely cheating, or secretly a necromancer; it's RNG."
While some players debated the fairness of the event, others were too busy celebrating the carnage unfolding, as there was something about watching a player gain a level every minute that made for an exciting viewing experience.
Finally, as the viewers tuned into the west path, they realized that it had the fewest monsters, however, even though it seemed like the simplest path, it was actually the most dangerous.
Traps and hidden contraptions claimed more lives than monsters ever could, and while most players understood this logic, the more notorious commenters, ever the trolls, stoked the fires of chaos with their remarks.
"West Path = EZ mode. If you die here, uninstall the game."
"I'd make it past these traps in like 5 minutes, easy."
"Yo, anyone else notice how TheBoss hasn't even shown up yet? He's probably out there rigging the game in his favor as usual."
Some players, eager to stir up controversy, questioned the rankers' abilities.
"Honestly, none of these rankers are as good as they think. It's all hype. The real players are the ones grinding every day like us."
"Facts. You see how many people Kane just let die? If he was so good, he'd carry them."
"If Ghost's so strong, why doesn't he just solo the whole dungeon?"
But amid the critiques, there were just as many supporters, defending their favorite rankers.
"You guys are just salty that you'll never be rankers like them. They're on a whole other level."
"Ghost is literally a legend. Keep hating while he's out here killing it. He's a new gen player, but still in the top 10,000"
"Purple Rock for the win! I'm telling you, he's gonna surprise everyone."
As the event went on, the viewership continued to grow, with new players joining the stream every minute.
Soon, the excitement reached fever pitch, with discussions spilling out of the chat and into the global forums.
The event had become more than just a spectacle—it was a phenomenon. And the common players, whether they loved or hated the rankers, couldn't look away.
However, although they felt like the event was good already, in reality they had not seen the best parts yet.