MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

“…Damn.”

“Didn’t expect this tavern to undergo renovation these past few days.”

Arriving at the tavern they frequently stayed at while the tournament was ongoing, both Valyr and Ataraxia were briefly left at a loss for words after seeing how the layout of the tavern had changed since they last arrived.

Back during the first round, the tavern they frequented looked just like any tavern they’d been in. The only exception to that was the magic screen at the center that broadcasted the tournament on the surface in real time.

In comparison, the current layout of the tavern focused more on the magic screen this time around, with over a hundred magic screens being added before stacked on top of each other to form a cylinder of screens.

Curious as to why the tavern decided to change how it looked, Valyr and Ataraxia headed to what would be their usual spot before calling for one of its servers.

“Hey there,” said Valyr, his words causing the server to slightly frown. “Got any idea why the tavern changed its layout all of a sudden?”

“…Ah.” Turning to look at the one that asked the question, the server was about to respond with slight annoyance, only to realize that the people asking him were none other than the two people that were at the center of the tournament’s attention.

Knowing what should and shouldn’t be said, the server briefly caught his breath before replying, “It’s preparation for the final round of the tournament.”

“We’ve been given a heads-up in advance by the organizers to have a dedicated magic screen for each fight, which is why the tavern currently looks the way it is.”

“In any case, may I ask if you two are planning to order something?”

“The Barkeep’s Special.” Feeling satisfied with the server’s answer, Valyr tossed a platinum coin to the man as he said his order.

“Just a cold glass of sweetened Howitz Tea would do,” said Ataraxia after that, which the server quickly noted down.

Being served their respective drinks by the same server a few minutes later, Valyr and Ataraxia soon shifted their gazes towards one of the screens at the center, seeing that Schubert had appeared at the amphitheater once more.

“How’s everyone been these past few days?” asked the man amidst the thunderous applause of the crowd. “Has everyone gotten enough rest and relaxation for the tournament’s final round?”

Yeahhh!!!!

Hearing a various mix of cries, screams, and shouts from the crowd in response, the smile on Schubert’s face slightly widened as he gestured for the audience to quiet down.

“Now, I’m sure everyone’s eager for the third and final round of the tournament to begin,” said the man, his gaze sweeping over everyone. “However, before we get to it, let me talk a bit about the difficulties in setting up the third round.”

Whoosh!

As those words left his mouth, a group of mages walked up the stairs leading up to the surface once more, only to then begin transforming the amphitheater’s center into platforms that could accommodate multiple fights at the same time.

“First off, I just want to say that the 4,096 participants that would participate in this round had originally been set in stone… if not for the fact that some of them had decided to forfeit during the four-day break,” said Schubert, focusing the crowd’s attention towards him.

“In total, close to 200 participants decided to forfeit, forcing the tournament’s organizers to hastily choose those from the second round that originally did not meet the criteria.”

“Now, you might be wondering why those participants decided to forfeit their participation all of a sudden, right?” asked Schubert after that, to which the audience nodded as they leaned a bit closer towards him.

In response to the enthusiasm they showed, the man was about to tell them the answer he had in mind, only to then change his mind as he instead flashed a mysterious smile.

“Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk about it, nor have the tournament’s organizers given me information on that regard,” said Schubert, which immediately elicited a couple of jeers and boos to erupt from the crowd after that.

‘It’s because the organizers don’t want the crowd to panic,’ thought both Valyr and Ataraxia in response to the man’s question as they faintly shook their heads.

As to how they came to this conclusion, the number Schubert gave the crowd more or less lined up with the number of participants Erika enticed during the ritual.

After appeasing the emotions of the crowd as much as possible, the man moved onto the mechanics of the third round, which everyone from both the audience and participant side immediately understood.

In short, the 4,096 participants that had been chosen would fight one another until the top 128 participants would be selected.

Though the remaining 128 participants would continue to fight to see who among them could be crowned as the greatest prodigy of the kingdom, the 128 participants were pretty much guaranteed to move on to the final tournament that would be held at Meltierre Empire.

Aside from that, Schubert also mentioned that there would be a loser’s bracket to the tournament, which would give those who had been unlucky at the start a second chance to climb their way up the ranks and take a spot out of the top 128.

“With all that said, to speed up the progression of the final round, a hundred battles shall be done at the same time,” the man told everyone.

“Though, as we move on to the rounds with less participants, the number of simultaneous battles will be reduced to give more attention to each one.”

“Now then, shall we start the third round?”

Under the raucous cheers of the crowd, Schubert officially signaled the start of the third round, prompting some of the organizers to head underground as they began to call the participants that would make up the first batch of battles.

“…No. 69 and No. 420, please head to Stage B-4.”

“…No. 38 and No. 173, please head to Stage A-7.”

Listening to the numbers that were being called, both Valyr and Ataraxia paid great attention just in case one of them was called to become part of the first batch.

Though, with neither of their numbers being called even after nearing the end of the first batch, the two decided to return their attention back to the magic screens, looking at the participants that would be fighting in the first batch.

“Oh, hey. She’s part of the first batch.” Sweeping his gaze through the various screens, Ataraxia soon noticed a familiar person on one of them.

“Hmm?” Taking a look at the screen his other identity was pointing at, Valyr immediately fell silent the moment he realized who Ataraxia was talking about.

“…”

“…Arcenne, huh?”