Chapter 973 - Match of the Century
Inside the Divine Colosseum, players came and went. It was even more lively than White River City's Auction House. The Divine Colosseum had become the most populated location in the city.
Sitting along the rest bar, many players chatted as they watched battle videos on the screens hovering in the main hall.
"The drinks here are awesome. It's a pity that they're so expensive. Unlike everywhere else, where we can pay with Copper and Silver Coins, can only buy drinks here with Magic Crystals or the points we accumulated in the Divine Battlefield. Each bottle costs 100 points. I need to win at least three team battles to earn that many. I'll never afford more drinks at this rate."
"That's nothing. A few days ago, someone spent 3,000 Battle Points to buy one bottle of Icefire Spirit. I heard that not only is it calming, but its effects last for five hours. Its calming effects are far better than the Trial Tower's. It also tastes magnificent."
"What?! I could drink for half a month with 3,000 points!"
"The Icefire Spirit isn't the best alcohol available. I heard that if one reached the Trial Tower's eighth floor, they can purchase the Witch's Tear. One costs 5,000 points. Some time ago, I heard that a player from another kingdom bought one. I wonder what it tastes like."
"Stop dreaming. Only God's Domain's apex experts can reach the eighth floor. Getting past the fourth floor is difficult enough for us, much less the eighth floor."
As the Divine Colosseum became a larger factor in players' lives, players grew stronger. Players also used the Trial Tower's results as a way to judge someone's true abilities. As for tycoons who used their equipment to suppress others, they weren't experts, just rich. Hence, Guilds and independent teams now recruited members using the Trial Tower's results as a benchmark.
Players who could reach the fifth floor were considered ordinary experts.
Players who reached the sixth floor, even in a large Guild, were experts of the next level.
Players who could reach the seventh floor were of the more powerful experts, even in first-rate Guilds. As for those who managed to reach the second half of the seventh floor, they were top-ranking experts in a first-rate Guild.
One would be hard-pressed to find players in a first-rate Guild who could reach the eighth floor.
While the players in the main hall chatted amongst themselves, Lethal Gale and the others, who had just arrived, immediately attracted everyone's attention. People in their way moved aside as they felt these players' shocking aura.
Shortly after, however, everyone noticed Gentle Snow. Her saint-like beauty even enthralled a few new players.
"That beauty is hot!"
"Damn, is this your first day playing a virtual reality game? You don't even know about the Snow Goddess? She is the Guild Leader of the first-rate Guild Ouroboros! Be careful with what you say. I heard that many wealthy young masters have tried to harass her in the past. In the end, these people had been killed to Level 0 and forced delete their accounts and start all over."
Hearing the veteran players' story, the players new to White River City shut their mouths immediately.
To them, even joining a third-rate Guild would earn them bragging rights among their friends for days. They looked up to players in first-rate Guilds. They were also aware of the massive differences between third-rate and first-rate Guilds.
In the current God's Domain, unrated Guilds were forced to develop in smaller NPC towns; there was no place for a small Guild in a city. Only those acknowledged as third-rate Guilds barely survived in NPC cities.
Meanwhile, first-rate Guilds ruled over several, or even over a dozen, major cities. With a word from Gentle Snow, other Guild Leaders would make their lives hell in God's Domain without hesitation. With their standards, their only option would be to start a new account.
"What are they trying to do? Why is Ouroboros's Guild Leader in White River City's Divine Colosseum?"
"Huh? That man, Lethal Gale, recently defeated the 354th ranked expert from the God's Domain's Experts List. I heard that he even broke the Trial Tower's record in Hot Sand City and reached the eighth floor. Why is he here?"
"Can this be…"
When everyone saw Lethal Gale and Gentle Snow enter the same combat room, the main hall fell silent. They couldn't help but stare at the combat room's closed door, their skin breaking out in goosebumps.
An eighth-floor expert was going to fight Ouroboros's Guild Leader.
"I need to notify my Team Leader and the others! This is the match of the century!"
"Hopefully, they'll broadcast the fight. I'll even be willing to pay for this show!"
"Look! They didn't turn Private Mode on! We can watch the battle on the main screen! Hurry; select this battle!"
Pandemonium swept through the main hall. Every player quickly called up the Divine Colosseum's system interface and clicked to watch Gentle Snow's battle against Lethal Gale.
In the Divine Colosseum, the videos on the main hall's screens depended on the number of viewers. If enough players wanted to watch the fight, the system would automatically display said fight on the main screen.
Following which, everyone in the main hall stared the main screen in rapture. At the same time, many players fervently contacted their companions and Guilds, telling everyone they knew about this shocking development.
Before the battle between Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale began, news of their fight had spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. The Guild Leaders and upper echelons of the kingdom's various Guilds received the news at almost the same time.
"Has Gentle Snow lost her mind? She agreed to such a challenge?" The Star Alliance's Purple Eye was surprised when she heard the news. "Lethal Gale is a Refinement Realm expert. Although Gentle Snow is strong, she had only reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. Doesn't she care about Ouroboros's reputation anymore?"
Purple Eye knew just how powerful Refinement Realm experts were from her experience in the Secret Pavilion's simulation training system. Although there only appeared to be a thin line separating a Half-step Refinement Realm expert from a true Refinement Realm expert, with equal levels and equipment, the disparity between their strengths was like the difference between heaven and earth.
Although Gentle Snow had a slight advantage with her equipment due to her status as the leader of a first-rate Guild, she could never close the gap with such a small lead in Attributes.
"No, she is no fool. I also heard about Blackwater purchasing Ouroboros. From what I learned from the Secret Pavilion, that Lethal Gale fellow is an expert that Blackwater has secretly nurtured," Galaxy Past said, chuckling.
A realization struck Purple Eye.
This was no longer a simple competition of strength. It was a competition between Ouroboros and the Blackwater Corporation. Both of their reputations were on the line.
"Purple, notify our people in White River City immediately and have them record the battle. We must not miss this opportunity," Galaxy Past commanded.
Other Guilds also burst into action.
Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale's battle had attracted the attention of Star-Moon Kingdom's various large Guilds.