Chapter 180 - Only Once (4)
The next morning, the opening ceremony of the World Raid Festival began.
Moebius' representative delivered an inaugural speech and briefly explained the rules of the event.
From here, I could accurately understand the event's itinerary.
The festival would span over three days.
On the first day, the opening ceremony and qualifying rounds of the top three events would take place. The second day would host the final phase, while the third day would feature the upper rounds and the grand final.
Additionally, interspersed among the main events were smaller additional events.
Although Moebius and Earth originally followed different timelines, they were adjusted to coincide for this festival, according to the information provided by the headquarters.
The special events would take place in various locations, requiring us to disperse after the opening ceremony.
Of course, we were prepared for any eventuality, as we carried portable communication devices. I immediately headed to the event venue on a transport bus.
During the journey, I went over the things I heard during the opening ceremony.
One of them was that even if you died in the Dimensional City, you could resurrect without loss of abilities. However, a hero who resurrected would lose eligibility to participate in the event. Another was that the recovery abilities of the Lobby would not work here.
"..."
Had he said something about returning if he won the tournament?
Aaron's voice echoed in my ears. It didn't sound like a joke. After briefly exchanging words with me, Aaron immediately returned to prepare for the tournament.
'I'm curious...'
Belkist would participate in the individual competition.
I wanted to see the situation up close, and for that...
'I have to finish as quickly as possible.'
According to the schedule, the individual competition would take place later.
If I managed to finish the qualifying rounds quickly, maybe I could go see the individual competition.
For now, I had to take care of my part.
I looked out the window. The four-lane road was crowded with transport buses. They were all heroes traveling to the random event. This event had an unusually large number of participants.
It was inevitable.
With the rumor of Niflheim's participation in individual and group competitions, participants who gave up on the event abounded. On the other hand, the random event in which Niflheim would not participate attracted numerous contestants.
'It seems like the goal isn't to win everything.'
By giving up on one discipline, it seems they aim to provide practical experience to outstanding students.
They don't seem to have ambitions for the 5-star ticket.
'I can't complain.'
The festival was an event for non-rankers.
At the moment, the rankers didn't have time to deal with trivial jokes, as they were busy with preparations for the World Raid. In other words, Niflheim was giving up on that Raid.
Anyway, we had a lot of rare materials, so it didn't matter much whether we participated or not.
A little later, the bus stopped.
All the participants, including myself, followed the instructions of the employees waiting in the parking lot and entered the huge dome-shaped stadium.
"Wait here. The responsible person will come soon."
The woman who ushered us into the spacious auditorium paced back and forth.
"What are we doing here?"
"It's true. Although the place looks strange, there doesn't seem to be anything special."
"Why is it taking so long?! Call the person in charge immediately!"
Thump.
The entire dome reverberated with the noise of thousands of people.
I leaned against a corner of the covered stadium, waiting.
'There are so many people.'
From among the crowd, a small dot appeared on the conference stage after waiting for a few minutes.
The individual spread their wings and flapped them before folding them and sitting on the podium.
[Dear heroes participating in this event!]
Said the organizer.
Her black hair fell in long braids, and she wore a form-fitting woman's suit.
Her cheeks, which had a rosy tone, puffed up like buns.
[Welcome all! You're overflowing with heroism. Thank you for joining the special session I've organized this time. You really have good eyes. I'm moved by the overwhelming show of support, like a blazing fire.]
The fairy covered her mouth and chuckled.
Behind her, the Mobius Order stood in the background, forming rows.
It was quite a unique scene.
[If you'll allow me to speak...]
"Iselle?"
Someone up front spoke.
The fairy's face, which was smiling gently, hardened for a moment.
Bang!
As if the fairy was about to flap her wings, she moved in front of the man with a loud bang.
A supersonic speed test. It was a sonic boom.
[What did you just say, at this moment?]
"Oh, no..."
[Comparing me to a mere domestic fairy?]
The fairy held up her badge in front of the man's face as if she was about to stab it.
[Can't you see this? It's the golden badge the CEO personally gave me! Don't compare me to the temporary slaves clinging to their homes! Unless you want to suffer the consequences! Do you understand? Huh? Do you understand?]
The man nodded dazedly.
The fairy laughed and stepped onto the podium.
[Oh-ho-ho! Dear heroes, this event is a significant collaboration with a famous company. It's a great honor! I hope you all enjoy it. The Masters will also be watching. It's an opportunity to show your bravery and skills. Let the battle begin!]
The fairy shouted with a sweet voice and began to spin in the air.
[Twinkle! Fairy Power!]
Flash!
There was a blue flash on the field, and a holographic message appeared before their eyes.
[Raid Festival!]
[PlayerKnown’s BattleRoyale] [N/T: Wait... PUBG, is that you 🫥]
[*Warning!]
[This is not a forgery].
[It's a collaboration].
[The rules of the competition will be described below].
[A special hyperdimensional field will be set up for the event].
[1. Participants start naked, with all equipment returned, and fight to be the last one standing by acquiring items and equipment hidden throughout the field].
[2. The field narrows over time, and supplies, including magical items, drop].
[3. Participants can form temporary groups for a common goal].
[*Note!]
[This is not a forgery].
[Please trust us].
Underneath the message was a brief map of the field we would use for this competition.
I quickly flipped through the rules and the map.
[And this is what you see before you, the result of my full-time excellence, Plainknown’s Battle Royale!]
"......"
'This... isn't this copyrighted?'
Well, it doesn't matter.
They say it's fine.
It's not my concern if they get sued.
The fairy, laughing heartily, remembered something and clapped, pulling out a box of jewels from her embrace.
[Attention! This is a special prize for the winner of this event!]
The fairy opened the box.
On a soft cushion lay sparkling rainbow-colored stones.
[Nothing less than Ascension Stones of the highest quality! For those like you, inferior... No, heroes who even after much effort will find it difficult to obtain this type of item.]
Click.
The box closed.
I narrowed my eyes tightly.
'I've come to the right place.'
Actually, having a ticket would be nice, but it's not necessary.
I came to this festival to get those Ascension Stones. Although I wondered what would happen if they didn't come out as a prize, it seems my concern was unfounded.
"Hwi-yu, what a relief."
I heard a slight whistle.
I looked around and saw a woman who seemed familiar.
After thinking for a while, I could remember.
She was the 4-star woman who caused a commotion yesterday saying that everyone was useless.
Other members of her group were also there. It seemed like everyone had withdrawn from both group battles and individual ones.
'If I get those Ascension Stones, I'll be able to humiliate those guys. Whether it's Niflheim or whatever, they're losers anyway. Wait for me in the next event. I'll let you lick my feet.'
The blonde woman lightly waved her hand in the air with a mocking laugh.
'...'
I'll meet those guys soon.
I turned my head.
[As I mentioned before, dying here isn't the end. With the incredible technical skill of our Moebius, you'll be revived! Even if you have to die, do it bravely for the benefit of those watching us!]
'....'
[So, now we'll start the qualifying rounds. Everyone, have fun!]
The fairy smiled widely and descended from the platform.
Then, she whipped the workers lined up behind her with a leather whip.
'Hey, temporary slaves! Aren't you going to work?!'
Chas!
The workers who received the lash quickly scattered.
Immediately, event preparation began. The heroes were divided into various groups according to the staff's guidance. Since the number of people gathered was in the thousands, forming teams was necessary. Dimensional portals appeared in various places on the circular field.
[go(.)onewinch(.)tv/ - OW]
[Pick Me Up! - Huh? Niflheim in a Level 4 Dimensional City?]
[BJ - Assalahikum]
[3,053 viewers]
A broadcast banner appeared on the right side of the visual field.
It was Anything's screen. The Raid Festival was an event that offered many broadcasting opportunities for BJs (Broadcasting Presenters). Most players watched the Rankers carry out the raid, but this time it was a bit different, as nothing less than Niflheim was here.
'Not here.'
On the broadcast, the situation of the individual event was being aired.
I quickly reviewed and dragged the broadcast out of my visual field.
Accurate information couldn't be obtained from the game screen.
It seemed that the qualifying rounds were being held with a limited number of participants.
I counted the people assigned to my group.
Around twenty people. It was said that the number of participants increased as the rounds progressed.
Calculating the ratio between thousands and tens was a challenge.
For now, there were too many variables.
I could be ambushed or die in an unexpected accident.
Those who trusted in their skills would opt for individual or group events. Looking towards the field exit, I noticed heroes leaving the stadium, probably seeking out other events that hadn't started yet.
'Of course, I'm not going to withdraw.'
I came for total victory.
"Heroes of Preliminary Group 18! Please return the equipment you possess!"
In front of the dimensional portal in a corner of the field.
The worker opened the door of the shelf installed on the wall.
"You must not take the items you possess. You will be disqualified if caught. We will take care of storing them properly, so please remove your armor and equipment and place them in the lockers."
The heroes began to remove their armor and equipment and place them in the locker room.
"Once you enter the portal, the preliminaries will begin. As mentioned before, even if you die, you can respawn, so don't worry. Just do your best."
"......"
I stored my leather armor, my Bifröst, and my dagger on the shelf.
Anyway, no one could steal the Bifröst, no matter how hard they tried, it had all sorts of security enchantments. I could retrieve it after passing the preliminaries.
"All right, enter!"
Wiiing.
The portal the size of my height was spinning.
The other participants had already entered. I was the last one.
I asked the assistant standing behind me.
"Can I leave after finishing these preliminaries?"
"If you have completed your program, you may leave. However, this event has a prolonged duration concept..."
I entered the portal.
With a unique sensation of floating, light enveloped my body.
[Floor ?]
[Special field for events.]
[Objective: Survive until only one remains!]
I opened my eyes.
I looked around. It seemed I had been summoned to the side of a tall building. Broken concrete and twisted irons revealed its true nature.
'This field is modern too.'
It seems to have been inspired by a city in ruins.
It was early morning. A crescent moon shone through the broken glass of the window.
'There are twenty survivors.'
The probability is 1 in 20.
On the left side of the field, a mini-map was drawn.
The red exterior would be the prohibited zone. It was supposed to narrow as time passed.
"First, let's get weapons."
Bare hands are boring.
It is said that useful items are scattered everywhere.
After exploring for about 10 minutes, I managed to find a rusty pipe. It might not be very effective, but it would be useful as a replacement for a sword.
I descended the stairs holding the pipe.
"Hey, look at this!"
The third floor of the ruined building.
Someone was talking to me.
I looked towards the direction of the sound and saw a young man with a crossbow approaching.
"Hey! You're surely aiming for victory too, right?"
I nodded.
"We're just getting started. There's no need to fight right away. How about we join forces? You seem like a Warrior, I'm a Rogue. Let's form a good team to increase our chances of survival..."
'Is he suggesting forming a group?'
Of course.
It's not a bad idea.
"Hoho, it seems we understand each other. My name is Lahane..."
Bang!
I hit the young man's head with the pipe.
"Ugh!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood splattered from his head several times with each strike of the pipe.
[1 Kill!]
Jusum Jusum.
After picking up the crossbow, bolts, and first aid kit from the young man, I descended the stairs."
