Chapter 553: The Crafting Battle

"Ladies and gentlemen, let us give a round of applause for our valiant contestants who fought their hardest during the Individual Battle Tower event! Many broke the assumption that we made previously in terms of how far they would go, and many showed us the limits of pure power as well as artful creativity!" Amber exclaimed as she watched the square before the tower fill up with many people as the 3 hours duration for the event had come to an end. 

What was shocking was that out of almost 1000 contestants, only 200 had been eliminated during the 3-hour duration, and that was even towards the end. The majority of them had only been kicked out right now while they were still in the midst of battle, so their battle intent was still soaring as they were vigilant. 

Hearing Amber's voice and realizing that it was over, they slowly came down from their adrenaline-fueled focus and began panting due to the stress of it all. Despite this, their eyes were sharp as they waited for Amber to show the ranking list. 

Seeing their expressions, Amber knew exactly what they wanted and so complied without causing trouble. "Ladies and gentlemen, let us take a look at the final ranking and score of the various contestants during the first event!" 

Amber directly displayed the top 30 and their score. 

1st – Essence Stalker: 25th Floor, 2%, 2502 points. (Mexico) 

2nd – Slim Fatty: 24th Floor, 98%, 2498 points. (Central Country) 

3rd – Deployed Solider: 23rd Floor, 99%, 2399 points. (Central Country) 

4th – Gentle Lamb (Kiran): 23rd Floor, 76%, 2376 points. (India) 

5th – Loving Aunt: 23rd Floor, 45%, 2345 points. (Italy) 

6th – Silent Walker: 23rd Floor, 32%, 2332 points. (England) 

7th – Dreary Traveler: 23rd Floor, 29%, 2329 points. (Brazil) 

8th – Eyepatch (Boyd): 23rd Floor, 25%, 2325 points. (Ghana) 

9th – Quiet Blade (Cobra): 23rd Floor, 25%, 2325 points. (France) 

10th – Alpha Male (Uno): 23rd Floor, 19%, 2319 points. (Mexico) 

11th – Tunder Power: 22nd Floor, 87%, 2287 points. (Mexico) 

12th – Heaven's Son (Ao Potian): 22nd Floor, 85%, 2285 points. (China) 

13th – Sublime Notion: 22nd Floor, 78%, 2278 points. (England) 

14th – Killer Queen (Keira): 22nd Floor, 55%, 2255 points. (Japan) 

15th – Great Caster (Hera): 22nd Floor, 45%, 2245 points. (Japan) 

16th – Rambunctious Buttlover: 22nd Floor, 40%, 2240 points. (Canada) 

17th – Cold Summer: 21st Floor, 5%, 2105 points. (Canada) 

18th – Brother Is Best (Bella): 20th Floor, 25%, 2025 points. (France) 

19th – Shani: 20th Floor, 10%, 2010 points. (Ghana) 

20th – Noble Soul: 19th Floor, 91%, 1991 points. (England) 

21st – Gentle Flower: 19th Floor, 82%, 1982 points. (Canada) 

22nd – Young Duel: 18th Floor, 76%, 1876 points. (France) 

23rd – Maple Forest: 18th Floor, 23%, 1813 points. (Spain) 

24th – Slight Breeze: 18th Floor, 4%, 1804 points. (India) 

25th – Panty King: 16th Floor, 34%, 1634 points. (Japan) 

26th – Wee Cunt: 16th Floor, 32%, 1632 points. (Scotland) 

27th – Loli King: 15th Floor, 67%, 1567 points. (Japan) 

28th – Warm Spring: 14th Floor, 87%, 1487 points. (Central Country) 

29th – Joker: 13th Floor, 54%, 1354 points. (Canada) 

30th – Happy Scholar: 13th Floor, 49%, 1349 points. (England) 

Many titans had displayed their immense power in this event, and the spread between various countries got the crowd pumped. The loudest were naturally the Africans as they all supported one country, so they didn't have any divisions. 

Essence simply smiled as he knew no one else could surpass him, while the military siblings of Slim Fatty and Deployed Soldier were surprised that they had scored to sigh. Deployed Soldier especially knew that it was thanks to his new Divine Item, the Sword of Purita, that he could so so well. 

After all, his class focused on leading an army, so without one, he wasn't as potent. Many eyes in Umbra narrowed as they gazed at a bronze-skinned fellow who had dark eyes and a mane of bushy black hair. 

He stood there arrogantly, as if the mere fact that everyone wasn't kneeling to him was an affront to all things sacred. When all eyes from Umbra fell on him, he smirked derisively, provoking them. 

He was the only non-member of Umbra or non-affiliated member of Umbra in the top 500. Literally everyone else was from Umbra or was from a guild affiliated with Umbra, even those two idiots Joker and Happy Scholar who had wisely repented for their actions. 

Ao Potian glared at the members of Umbra with hatred, directly labeling them as the culprits for the disappearance of his cousin, as he was known to partake in this game and was affiliated with them.

The last thing they heard from him was that he was going out to play a little, and just like that, he had disappeared. They did extensive research and found that the fellow had taken a flight to the Central Country, but that was where the trial ended. 

It was Potian himself who was more knowledgable about these things that linked Umbra to his cousin's disappearance, and so started playing this game more fervently to discover what exactly went on. 

His gaze towards Essence Stalker and Loving Aunt was especially filled with dark intentions, as they didn't hide their bloodline aura. The two also gazed at him with either mockery and disdain, further making this Potian fellow enraged. 

Now, he was absolutely certain that this bloody guild had something to do with his cousin's disappearance, and would report back to the lineage for them to take immediate action! 

"Well, the results are out and many countries are dominating the rankings! Now that we know how the contestants fared, let's see how they blessed their countries!" Amber called with a smile. 

｢First Inter-Player International Competition 

Country Rankings Top 15 (Overall): 

1. England - 9,208 points 

2. Canada - 8,783 points 

3. Central Country - 8,618 points 

4. France - 8,512 points 

5. Japan - 8,351 points 

6. Mexico - 8,282 points 

7. India - 7,112 points 

8. Brazil - 6,523 points 

9. Italy - 6,339 points 

10. China - 6,117 points 

11. Spain - 5,788 points 

12. Ghana - 5,625 points 

13. Russia - 5,569 points 

14. Germany - 5,230 points 

15. Scotland - 4,892 points｣ 

The fans of England were roaring the whole stadium down, seeing that their team had taken the lead after the first event. Canada, who were estimated to hover around fifth surprised everyone by taking second. 

Central Country who was estimated to be second was now at third place, which wasn't too far off the mark. Besides, the fans knew that their team would excel in the group battles with Deployed Soldier and Slim Fatty working together. 

France was at fourth place, which was what everyone assumed, so there was no surprise there. However, Japan being fifth was a pleasant surprise as the reputation of their team was not well established in Umbra. 

While Hera and Keira were in many e-sport competitions for FIVR games in the past, that was under Darkrow. Since that guild had disbanded, many had wondered where these beauties went, and now they were found in the almighty Umbra. 

As for Mexico, it was surprising to see them at 6th place, but not so much when one considered that the country was being carried by only 3 powerhouses. If the other two Mexican candidates could score in the top 50 at least, Mexico would have been much higher up on the ranking. 

Many eyes narrowed after taking in the results of the first event, and the various members of Umbra who had once parties and wreaked havoc together were now gazing at each other with hostility and wariness. 

Many other guilds and interested parties in Umbra were excited by this, feeling that if they pushed the button hard enough, they might get Umbra to crumble from within due to dissension and disharmony after this competition. 

Hmph, who asked them to have members so powerful that they formed about 80% of the contestants of the competition from every country? It was just slightly over 10,000 members the guild had, and most countries cherry-picked their candidates from within that bracket. 

However, the members of Umbra themselves were speechless. It was Sublime Notion's idea that they act hostile to each other for the entirety of the event, and she didn't explain why she wanted them to behave that way. 

Clearly, the evil lolitician was hoping to derive amusement from a certain payoff, but who knew what it would be? 

"Without further ado, I call the combat contestants of the various countries to return to the waiting room for the next combat event. In the meantime, we will move onto the next game on our schedule for the first day, the Crafting Battle!" 

"May chosen contestants for the Crafting Battle materialized on the field immediately." Amber spoke with a look of interest as the AI spawned each player from the 200 participating countries. 

200 men and women of various nationalities stood equidistantly from each other, gazing left and right as they sized up the competition. Many lips twitched when they realized that practically every one of them was part of the 2500 Tradeskill members of Umbra from different Ranks. 

However, all eyes were solely on two contestants. 

Happy Saint of France, a nobleman with a baritone that could make most women feel shaky as well as the former tutor of Draco from the previous timeline. 

Armonia Pendray of the Central Country, the wealthiest young master in the world, son of the owner of the company that created and produced NuSmoothies, as well as Dracos number 1 rival in Tradeskills from the previous timeline. 

Armonia had only just acquired his new Legendary class too, so he was still Rank 1 while Happy Saint was Rank 3. This undoubtedly gave the older man a slight edge in the eyes of the crowd and betting houses, yet the older man wore a solemn frown while Armonia was smirking arrogantly. 

The members of Umbra on the field also gazed at Armonia with trepidation, knowing that even when he had an average hidden class, he was able to battle both Happy Saint and Noble Writer to a standstill at the same time. 

How much more now that he had ascended into the fabled ranks of Legendary classes? Not to mention, his new class was tailor-made for him. 

｢Gadget Master - Legendary Class 

Skills: Speed Building (Passive), Omniscient Hands (Passive), Deconstruct (Active), Reconstruct (Active). 

Starting Stats: Str 10, Dex 70, End 10, Int 40, Spr 10, Cha 10, Lck 10 

Exp gain rate: 140% 

Rank up difficulty: 20% 

Class weapons: Any Mechanical 

Class skills: Any Tradeskill, Mechanical.｣ 

｢Speed Building – Passive skill 

Effect: When building any contraption, device, or construct, you move 3 times faster than your base speed.｣ 

｢Omniscient Hands – Passive skill 

Effect: Any construct you successfully build for the first time with be remembered by your hands, allowing you to build it to perfection any time and on-demand even without putting in conscious effort.｣ 

｢Deconstruct – Active skill 

Effect: Completely disassemble an item, contraption, device, or construct immediately, perfectly separating all its component parts into organized quarters. There is a 10% chance to completely comprehend the blueprint of the deconstructed item. 

Cooldown: 2 minutes.｣ 

｢Reconstruct – Active skill 

Effect: Completely reassemble an item, contraption, device, or construct immediately, perfectly combining all prepared parts into their complete form. The success rate of reconstructing is 30%. 

Cooldown: 1 minute.｣ 

His skills made him the perfect mix of Tradeskill crafter and combatant. He could assemble weapons to battle within combat, and disassemble them to create something else that would best deal with the enemy in question. 

Heck, that would be under-utilizing him. Armonia could even build war weapons, airships, and the like on-demand as long as he had made them before, not to mention if he was to reconstruct them and succeed. 

Had his Rank been higher and his success rates increased, the Central Country might have even placed him in the Combat category, because his potential in group and raid battles would be insane. 

"Okay, let us prepare the battleground for these noble crafters who are about to show us the limits of their skills!" Amber declared as she clapped her hands. 

Immediately, the tower disappeared and was replaced by a wide-open grassland with a lovely breeze and a flowing river by the side. Talking in the lovely visual of nature made many spectators feel awe in their hearts, especially those city-slickers who breathed in smog and rat shit on a daily basis. 

"Contestants, pleased assume your positions according to the number you were given!" Amber instructed with a smile. 

Immediately, everyone moved to face the western end of the crowd and rearranged themselves before standing equidistantly from one another once again, the distance being much larger this time. 

"Now, manifest your tools!" Amber ordered once more. 

Every crafter here showed solemn expressions as they commanded Worldly Energy in different capacities to coalesced and form their working equipment. This wasn't a tough thing to do, as this was what Draco used to do way before he got Pair Dadeni and Mjolnir and he was Rank 0 at the time. 

Heck, if you couldn't do this much, you would never advance from Amateur to Elite, much less have the chance to feature in a competition like this. Only monsters like Hikari who had high States of Being though, could turn these temporary work tools into permanent creations. 

This was how she had created the Semi-Epic filtering sets for Blacksmithing and Alchemy for Draco that he still used up till today. As for these fellows, the quality of their items ranged from Rare to Epic depending on their own skill. 

Since they were temporary creations, it was easier to make them have high ranks. Alright, enough tarnishing Hikari's OPness by comparing her to scrubs. 

Armonia and Happy Saint directly made Legendary Rank tools, Happy Saint for Blacksmithing, and Armonia for Engineering. While Armonia was also good at blacksmithing, as he wasn't directly facing off Happy Saint, he couldn't make the most of his special talent. 

As such, he decided to stick with his forte which was engineering. 

"Now, mentally request for the various items for your creation!" 

The 200 crafters did so, spawning hundreds of items in their own areas that would be sued to make whatever it was they would be creating today. The Rank of the item didn't matter for this event, but would matter in the Quality Battle, so no one could afford to choose something simple and lose out points, not chose something hard and make their job difficult. 

Seeing that everyone was ready, Amber wasted no more time. "Let the battle, begin!" 

A timer appeared in the sky that counted down the hours until the end of the event, which started at 3:00:00 on the dot and began reducing quickly. Immediately, the various contestant got to work, filtering their raw materials and turning them into semi-finished goods so that they could process them into finished ones. 

Blacksmiths smelted their ores into ingots, Alchemists turned their reagents into a paste or a mixture, Engineers cleaned and made a basic assembly of their products, Enchanters began arranging their soul stones and working on the first stage of their runes, etc. 

This section was quite heated as everyone moved quickly and professionally, making the spectators marvel at the sight. Many had thought only combat would be fun to watch and that these Tradeskills would be boring as fuck, but they were surprised by how taken they were by it. 

Well, most of these Tradeskills had long been discontinued in reality or suppressed or just never existed, so many realized that there was a novelty in them. Watching amateurs fumble was boring, watching professionals move fluidly and with focus was easily able to immerse an onlooker. 

Many even found themselves gaining an interest in crafting when they finished watching this event, less for veteran players and more for those who had just bought Virtua Helmets to watch the competition and weren't even present in start villages. 

The AI was smart enough to know that for these guests, making the login process tedious would just discourage them and make them lose interest, so it had provided an option to log straight into the stadium after creating a character. 

Soon, the Preparation phase ended as many contestants began displaying their unique crafting techniques during the action phase. Many awesome movements were displayed that shocked onlookers, especially the effect they had in shaping these creations. 

Of course, the two monsters Happy Saint and Armonia Pendray had taken most of the attention. Happy Saint unveiled his Five-Fold Smithing Technique, something he had created that meshed with the abilities his class gave him. 

Not to be outdone, Armonia showed his own special technique Anti-Utonium Chemical X! This was something he was still developing even up until now as she had just started his craft within Boundless and gained a new class, but the speed at which he progressed even in this competition shocked everyone. 

Essence's eyes narrowed as he felt something familiar about this. Draco and he had discussed the mystery behind the Innate Technique Generator, and found that while Draco's worked for Combat and Tradeskills, Essence's only worked for Combat as he had no talent for Tradeskills. 

Could Armonia Pendray have the Innate Technique Generator for Tradeskills/crafts? If so, it would perfectly explain his monstrous ability to master a Tradeskill within seconds of being introduced to it, especially if he was competing against someone better. 

This was serious, Essence decided to contact Draco afterward for him to investigate. With one more person added to the pool, they might finally be able to understand the origin and rules of this strange ability. 

Soon, the 3 hours for the Crafting Battle came to an end as the various contestants had finished their items on time. No one had failed to complete what they wanted to in time, only that some had varying results in terms of quality. 

However, this stage was judged by technique, so apart from the first two, the rest of the rankings could really go either way.