Free Web NovelChapter 1278: Chapter 93: Glory and Strife
Su Xiao returned to the lounge, and a series of notifications appeared.
[Notification: Arena Competitor’s ranking has risen to tenth place, you have received the following rewards.]
[You have gained 2 attribute points.]
[You have gained "Glory of Victory (Mark)"]
["Glory of Victory (Mark)"]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Special Items
Category: Mark (Usable within third tier)
Durability: 100/100
Mark Effect: Life Value +150 points, Mana Value +150 points, and infrastructure usage fee in Reincarnation Paradise reduced by 6%.
Tip: If Hunter’s ranking increases, this mark will gain enhancement.
Tip: If Hunter rises to first or second place in the third-tier arena, this mark will transform into an arena title.
Introduction: This is a reward for the victor.
Price: Cannot be sold.
...
The attributes of the "Glory of Victory" mark are quite practical, increasing Life Energy and Mana Value while saving a significant amount of Paradise coins.
Do not underestimate this 6% cost reduction, as it includes leasing stalls, the Skill Upgrade Hall, the Equipment Strengthening Hall, and other facilities. Calculated in this way, the saved Paradise coins are very considerable.
Moreover, this mark is in an ’upgradeable’ state. As Su Xiao’s rank in the third tier increases, the effects of this mark will gradually enhance.
When Su Xiao defeats the second-ranked competitor in the arena, this mark will transform into a title. Su Xiao hasn’t heard of what a title is, indicating how rare the means to obtain it are.
Even if Lachin’s main weapon enhancement fails, he chose to face the challenge, just to keep the "Glory of Victory."
Lachin was also unlucky. He had just put his main weapon into the enhancement machine when he received a match notification. The result was obvious: even with the weapon enhancement failed, Lachin was thoroughly beaten by Su Xiao. Or put another way, even if the weapon enhancement didn’t fail, he would still have been severely cut down by Su Xiao.
Actually, Lachin could have accepted the arena match much earlier, but he kept delaying for two main reasons: to take the opportunity to purchase weapons, and to express his displeasure by leaving Su Xiao waiting, as a kind of power play.
Su Xiao directly branded the "Glory of Victory" on the metal armguard, and another unexpected reward for making it into the top ten was the 2 attribute points.
These are 2 ordinary attribute points, which cannot be used to enhance true attributes, causing Su Xiao to subconsciously open his personal profile and focus on his Charm Attributes, feeling that there might be hope for them yet.
Su Xiao is clearly very imbalanced; his four true main attributes are almost at 90 points each, while his Charm Attributes remain at 9 points. The single-digit Charm Attributes are quite glaring.
Defeating the tenth place earns 2 ordinary attribute points; if he reaches the first place, the attribute points gained would be substantial, offering hope for Su Xiao’s Charm Attributes to be salvaged.
Su Xiao made up his mind to take this opportunity to rescue his Charm Attributes, aiming to at least get them to a two-digit figure.
The first arena match concluded, and Su Xiao was in good condition, ready to match with another opponent.
...
Twenty hours later, in a ruinous area.
Su Xiao leaned against a stone pillar, with bite marks on his arms and thighs, and blood gushing out.
Taking out a bandage, Su Xiao roughly bandaged the wounds. This was his seventh arena match within the twenty hours, with each match involving a top ten competitor taking about ten minutes to match, unlike the dawdler Lachin.
After the battle with Lachin, Su Xiao realized that the strength of the top ten in the arena wasn’t as formidable as he imagined, or rather, he himself had grown stronger.
Before entering the World of Xiya, Su Xiao’s strength had already reached the top ten of the third-tier arena; he just didn’t have the time to achieve it then.
But after exiting the World of Xiya, Su Xiao’s strength greatly improved, with his core ability, Sword Technique Master, advancing five levels, his Blue Steel Shadow Ability reaching Level 40, and slight enhancements in his four true attributes.
Currently, Su Xiao was in a match against the third-ranked competitor, who was a Summoner named White Crocodile with only one type of summons, a group of giant alligators.
This type of alligator wasn’t a true creature but a post-natally cultivated combat creature, devoid of pain and fearless of death, with all attributes around 80 points and maintaining a number of 10. It’s said White Crocodile could only summon ten giant alligators at a time, but his reserve of them was significant.
As the battle began, White Crocodile hid inside one of the giant alligators’ mouths, and one minute later, Su Xiao had slaughtered that alligator, but White Crocodile was nowhere to be found.
With Su Xiao’s experience, he judged that White Crocodile could freely switch between the stomachs of these ten giant alligators, unless he could cut down all ten at once.
Indisputably, White Crocodile’s ability was quite vexing, and who knows how many such giant alligators he had cultivated.
Su Xiao had already slaughtered nearly a hundred giant alligators but still hadn’t found a trace of White Crocodile, instead getting bit several times by the alligators, which was exceedingly frustrating.
From the tenth-ranked Lachin to the third-ranked White Crocodile, Su Xiao encountered all sorts of opponents along the way, from the ninth to the fifth-ranked contractors who all received a lesson from him.
The ninth rank was a mature, charismatic specialist who ended up being pinned to the ground and cut down by Su Xiao. As the mature lady turned into a light particle, she shouted: ’May you stay single for life.’
With the blessing of the sexy mature lady, Su Xiao then defeated the eighth-ranked competitor, a cute girl with audacious banter during the fight and proficient with heavy weapons, who truly battered Su Xiao significantly. This girl eventually surrendered, and it must be said that she was a commendable opponent. After taking three consecutive sword strikes from Su Xiao, she didn’t even flinch, continuing her audacious banter. Indeed, a charming heroine among women.
As for the seventh, sixth, and fifth ranks, these were three males. The seventh and fifth places were negligible, but the sixth male contractor disgusted Su Xiao notably. The guy had an Undead Physique with remarkably rapid Life Value recovery, and Su Xiao relied on Blue Steel Shadow’s True Damage to exhaust him to death.
The fourth-ranked competitor was quite amusing, he seemed to have watched previous match recordings. When Su Xiao was matched with him, he directly refused the match, presumably finding the odds of victory too low and the potential for equipment damage too high, with risks outweighing rewards.
Su Xiao advanced like a bulldozer, attracting the attention of many Adventure groups initially thinking a dark horse emerged in the arena. But after watching battle recordings, they realized this wasn’t a mere dark horse, but a fierce competitor madly charging the arena rankings.
By the time Su Xiao prepared to challenge the third rank, many third-tier contractors were aware of the news, naturally keeping an eye on the same-tier arena.
While Su Xiao fought the fourth rank, because the arena didn’t provide betting for the top ten, the Black Sail Merchant Group, sensing a business opportunity, opened bets. These experienced individuals avoided penalties through unknown means, or faced them head-on, suggesting the penalties were tolerable considering the potential profits.
Just because the Black Sail Merchant Group could do it didn’t mean others could. Two medium-sized Adventure groups tried to emulate them and opened external bets, only to end up nearly spitting blood from penalties.
While opening the bets, the Black Sail Merchant Group also contacted Su Xiao, proposing a deal: Su Xiao would immediately inform them when challenging opponents, and in return, he would receive a 50% cut.
Don’t think this cut is too much; if Su Xiao wanted to mess with the Black Merchants, he could easily leave them spitting blood. And this 50% is after deducting costs, meaning a true 50-50 split. Without signing certain contracts with Su Xiao, the Black Merchants could be tricked at any time. Trying to open bets without the agreement would be living in a fantasy, as it means Su Xiao losing on purpose at most incurs a 30-hour wait time, making it easy for the Black Merchants to agree.
So far, Su Xiao had profited 370,000 Paradise coins from the Black Merchants.
