Free Web NovelChapter 471: Free For All Zone
"You will be sorted into large groups upon entry. Every hour, your group will be assigned a target section. A1, for example. Your goal is to reach that section as quickly as possible. The first group member to arrive earns ten points. The second earns five. Everyone who arrives after that earns three points each, but only while the section remains active. Each section stays open for exactly ten minutes. Arrive after that window, and you earn nothing."
Klein let that sink in before he continued.
"Different groups will receive different assignments at the same time which happen at random. While your group races toward A1, another group may be racing toward B5. The sections are scattered across the entire zone, so reaching yours will require speed, navigation, stamina and diligence."
After explaining the first method, Klein began to explain the second method of earning points.
"The Free For All Zone is populated with beasts. Their strength ranges from Second Star to Fourth Star. Killing them earns points based on their rank. A Second Star beast is worth ten points. A Third Star beast is worth one hundred points. A Fourth Star beast is worth a thousand points." Klein’s tone sharpened. "But do not rely on this. The beasts are few and far between. You may encounter many. You may encounter none. Treat them as a bonus, not a strategy."
Finally, the third method appeared on the screen.
"And the last way to earn points." Klein paused, his eyes sweeping across the two thousand fighters below. "Is to eliminate your fellow competitors and take their points."
The arena went quiet.
"When you defeat another participant, every point they have earned transfers directly to you. A competitor sitting on fifty points becomes a very tempting target. The strong will hunt the weak. The clever will hunt the distracted. And the careless will find themselves with nothing, no matter how hard they fought to earn it."
He smiled faintly.
"So choose wisely. Race for your sections. Hunt the beasts if you find them. And watch your back at all times. Because everyone around you is thinking the exact same thing you are.
Once you arrive at the Free For All Zone, you will have ten minutes to head towards any part of the map you please, during those ten minutes, no fights are permitted, and anybody that does so will face exclusion from this tournament."
The screens shifted back to the live feed of the competitors.
"You have all you need to know. The rest is up to you."
Moon’s eyes narrowed slightly, the rules already turning over in his mind. freewebnoveℓ.com
Speed for the sections. Opportunism for the beasts. And the real game, the one everyone would pretend they weren’t playing, was hunting each other.
He could work with this.
Moon turned the rules over in his mind, and almost immediately, several loopholes began to show.
Of course, Moon didn’t believe that Klein was oblivious to them this, not at all. In fact, Moon believed that Klein had created these loopholes himself.
Those smart enough will capitalize on them. Whilst those that didn’t fell prey to their ignorance.
Hunting wasn’t permitted during the first ten minutes after a section opened. That was the rule as stated. But the rule only protected competitors during that window. It said nothing about what happened the moment the timer expired.
In other words, a clever fighter could follow a target into a section, wait out the ten minutes without raising suspicion, and eliminate them the instant the protection lapsed. The kill wouldn’t yield points, since the target would have barely any time to gain any points so early in the game, but that wasn’t the purpose.
The purpose was removal of dangerous competitors before they had a chance to grow into real threats when the battle reached its peak.
Moon suspected a handful of people would fall to this exact tactic in the opening minutes. The ones who relaxed the moment the timer hit zero, who assumed the rules would keep them safe a moment longer than they actually did.
He wouldn’t be one of them.
"That being said, you shall now follow me to the zone." Klein began drifting southward.
His pace was too fast for most. The bulk of the competitors broke into a run to keep up. The stronger ones jogged.
Moon jogged. Whilst Selene summoned her beast soul, then rode on it.
Moon’s eye brows rose, before shaking his head. Selene simply giggled, watching the others run whilst she rode on her beast.
Most of those around them look at her beast soul in surprise, very few had the privilege to gain a beast soul, and Selene was one of them.
The two thousand competitors trailed Klein across the sprawling tournament grounds, the journey itself a measure of who possessed real physical conditioning and who didn’t. The spectators stayed behind in the arena, watching everything unfold through the massive screens.
Eventually, they reached the entrance to the Free For All Zone.
A line of Surpassers from the Awakener’s Association stood waiting, their auras faintly visible even while suppressed. Beside them stood a dozen Second and Third Star Evolvers, organized and efficient, ready to process two thousand fighters.
As the competitors arrived, the Evolvers moved through the crowd handing out devices after received the order from Klein.
Sleek wrist-mounted watches that would track every point earned, whether through reaching sections, killing beasts, or eliminating other competitors.
Moon accepted his and fastened it to his right wrist. It was lightweight, black, with a minimalist design that hugged the contour of his arm. A small screen activated when he tapped it, projecting a soft holographic display above the surface. It showed his name, his candidate number, his group id, his current point total of zero, and a compact map of the zone’s grid.
He flexed his wrist, testing the fit. Once he was satisfied, he glanced at Selene, who was adjusting her own watch beside him.
"What group are you in? I’m in group B." Moon asked.
Selene sighed, "I’m in group A."
