Suddenly, the LED illumination went out, putting the entire plaza in serious darkness... However, before anyone could trip out, the lights blinked back.
Everyone was confused at first, but when they saw a blue-furred Squirrel in the center of the platforms, their expressions turned solemn and focused.
The squirrel had a white curly mustache like the old man mascot in the Monopoly board game... he was also wearing a dark gray formal suit, and a classic watch on his wrist, resembling a ’007’ James Bond in any of his casino scenes... of course, the James Bond of Squirrels.
"Well, hello there." The Gamemaster bowed his head in everyone’s direction and introduced, "I am Gamemaster Gamble, and I am the creator of this new Game Design... It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lovely test subjects."
No one seemed pleased with being called test subjects, but they weren’t stupid to take it on the Gamemaster... they understood that their backgrounds meant absolutely nothing before the Gamemasters.
Once annoyed or cursed during a Death Game, only prison or death awaited them.
"As you know... creators of new Death Games get to host them regardless of their rank." Gamemaster Gamble smirked, "Aren’t you happy to have a blue-tailed Squirrel host your game?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Levi and the majority of the Rifters gazed at him in silence... seemingly having no interest in inflating his ego. Though one of them did sound excited.
"Haha, I am a big fan of you, Gamemaster Gamble... I have been obsessed with all of your game designs since they revolve around mind games and our nature as different species." The Dealer shared with a big smile.
"Is that so?" Gamemaster Gamble rubbed his white mustache with fake shyness, "You’re already my favorite."
Although they heard this, no one seemed bothered or worried that Gamemaster Gamble was going to play favorites... the system was extremely tough on Gamemasters to maintain fairness.
If they were found to have abused their powers, they could even be sued by the Cricetii Clan, responsible for the juridical system in the Boundless Expanse.
"We don’t have much time before the game starts... so, let’s get this over with quickly."
Gamemaster Gamble kicked off the ground and hovered above everyone’s heads. Then, he extended his hand to the side, manifesting a dimensional screen with a list of questions and answers prepared.
Instead of letting them waste his time with questions, he wrote the ones he had expected to make an appearance and answered them already.
"Everything you need is here... if you’re still not understanding something, feel free to ask."
Levi focused on the Q&A list, reading it internally. He found that the game had no trap mechanism since there weren’t many Rifters in it and the design was new and complex... Adding another challenge might ruin the game.
’Good... I was worried about what they had prepared for us.’ Levi sighed in relief.
He wasn’t too scared of the game’s design and details since he knew about them for fifteen days... enough to prepare his strategies. But, trap mechanisms were different, either shared during the Q&A or found inside the game.
Soon, he moved to the title achievement: The Hand of Madness.
’Oh? We have to gather all Joker cards before the game ends... doesn’t this mean we have to either kill everyone to claim their Joker cards in ten rounds?’ Levi frowned.
After what he earned from the Leviathan Slayer’s title, Levi was beginning to target those titles... whether he got them or not didn’t matter as much as trying.
Though even for him... he could see that such an achievement was too hard to complete. If it were just a simple killing of Rifters, it would be a different story. However, he understood that many rounds were going to be thrown, resulting in no deaths.
After all, when everyone was at peak... one should expect peak attack and peak defense.
’The only way to achieve this is to kill my opponent every round, regardless of the chosen cards... that ain’t a viable option against these monsters.’
It seemed like the rest felt the same, deciding to ignore the achievement for now and focus on getting promoted to a noble status.
Many of them already came from noble status... however, since this status couldn’t be passed along bloodlines or bestowed by anyone besides Nocturn himself, it forced everyone from such backgrounds to participate in the Nocturnal Ring.
If they failed to claim their noble status... they became a laughingstock back home.
So, it was personal for every one of them.
Levi moved to the next important points... the dos and don’ts, also the extra rules like how long the break periods between rounds would last.
’We can’t trade cards, we can’t show each other’s locked-in cards’ picks, and we can’t challenge the same person in two rounds in a row... but, a challengee can challenge back the Rifter who targeted them.’ Levi murmured inwardly, ’So, nothing new.’
These extra detailed rules were found within the game’s details... but some Gamemasters still chose to show them again before the game started, since many questions were related to them.
"Stand before any platform... once the game starts, you will be assigned a random combat room and a role: Challenger or a Challengee..." Gamemaster Gamble said calmly, "You will find your personal deck of cards within the rooms... You can also decide your target on a screen you will find inside. However, if two or more challengers decided on the same target, you will be given a die to throw. The Rifter throwing the highest number will be given priority of choice, while the others will need to choose again."
"You will have five minutes to choose your target and cards... once five minutes are over, the doors will open up, and the challengers can walk inside their targeted Rifters to start the Card Duel." Gamemaster concluded, "I believe the rest is self-explanatory."
Seeing everyone nodding their heads, Gamemaster Gamble clapped his hands once, and the entire LED roof of the building started flickering... then, under everyone’s surprised looks, millions of eyes started showing on the screens, gazing at them with looks of pure excitement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen... Are you ready to witness one of the most highly anticipated low-ranked promotional games on the platform?!"
Gamemaster Gamble instantly switched to his hosting persona, addressing the hundred million viewers... his voice stern but comfortable, like an old, wise Englishman.
Whooooah!! Whoooah!!!
The watchers were hyped up to the seven heavens; their noise was thunderous enough that it made the building shake all over.
’There are so many... 405 million viewers in the first two minutes?’ Levi raised a brow, ’I am starting to think this game might actually break the ’B’ barrier.’
Levi already anticipated the game’s popularity as he had seen it within the network... the ticket prices were insane, and still, many viewers were buying them like there was a limited supply.
The reason for such hype? It wasn’t an everyday experience to witness a promotional game involving ten infamous Rifters with high followings in the network, playing a completely new game design!
’Good for me, I guess... I just need to win it now.’
Knowing that the Rifters split up a percentage of the streaming revenue meant that having more watchers was always great for the participants.
’Good luck, Levi...’
Unbeknownst to him... one of those eyes belonged to Jasmine, and she was cheering him on silently, wishing for his success.
"You stand in the Arena of Gambits, where destiny is shuffled, cut, and dealt without mercy. Some of you will draw triumph... others will draw your final breath." Gamemaster Gamble brought the dice-decorated microphone close to his mouth and shouted while the countdown kept ticking on the screens, "Now... let us discover who fortune smiles on, and who she leaves to rot!"
"GAMBLE ON!"