Chapter 114-1: Ancient God Arena (1) |
Pfft!
Bursting out of the water, Gu Chen spat out all the seawater in his mouth.
Gasping violently, he felt like an idiot for actually trying to die by holding his breath.
This was different from being killed by a Monster or dying due to other external forces.
The 10 percent pain feedback in the game made deaths caused by such external forces not as unbearable as imagined.
Even if there was fear at the time, for some reason every time he revived he was in a good mood, and recalling it brought no discomfort or sense of oppression.
But the feeling of suffocation was not pain and could not be blocked by 90 percent feedback. Even knowing this was just a game, the attempt to suffocate stirred an intense will to survive.
He could not help surfacing for great gulps of air.
After several attempts in a row, he completely gave up on this stupid way to die.
[Yes, starve to death.]
“That is even harder to endure than drowning.”
This time Guide did not answer, but looked at him with the eyes one would use for a fool.
Realizing Guide could not provide any help, Gu Chen decided to dive again to search for a ferocious big fish, seeking death.
He slipped into the sea and kept diving downward.
There were many corals growing nearby, but most of the fish wandering around were of low hunt level. Seeing him approach, they decisively flicked their tails and left, not giving him any chance to get close.
After a round of searching, unable to find a target, Gu Chen resurfaced again and gulped air.
Just then, he discovered a strange aircraft shaped like a motorboat floating in the sky above his head.
By estimation it was about thirty meters long and a little over ten meters wide. Its overall structure was covered with bizarre mechanical components and carvings of unknown symbols. The outer shell was not metal, but a semi-transparent material that glowed faintly blue, as if it were capturing the weak light around and converting it into energy, giving him an illusion of both lightness and heaviness.
Two irregularly shaped propellers were mounted at the rear of the aircraft, spinning rapidly in an almost silent manner to provide propulsion for this behemoth. Each time the propellers sliced through the air, faint blue trails were left behind. In the belly of the aircraft was a tightly closed door, inlaid with a crystalline object that flickered with a strange light, like a firefly, brightening and dimming with the airship’s movement.
He activated the analysis function, and a flood of information surged into Gu Chen’s mind.
[Hunter Aircraft]
Target introduction: A flying tool used by the Ancient God race to capture arena fighters, operated by servants of the Ancient God race.
—
At that moment, a gap opened beneath the aircraft, and an energy rope shot toward him at extreme speed.
By conditioned reflex, Gu Chen tried to dodge, but there was no time.
The rope wrapped around his body several times, then suddenly tightened and went taut, yanking him toward the opening.
Entering the gap, his vision was engulfed by darkness. He could only hear the meshing sound of turning gears, followed by the heavy thud of metal descending.
The energy rope around him also dispersed at this moment.
Feeling around, Gu Chen discovered he had been confined in a narrow metal container, so small he could not even squat down.
“Crap, this is even worse.” As he spoke, Gu Chen looked at Guide water orb still hovering at his side:
“Guide, is this a hidden quest?”
[Not sure, maybe.]
“Do you not have even a tiny bit of insider info?”
[I am just a newbie Guide, not omniscient and omnipotent. Why do you not ask me whether your wife is carrying a boy or a girl.]
“Huh, how do you know my wife is pregnant.”
[A guess.]
Unable to get help from Guide, Gu Chen fell into thought.
There were two options before him now: use self-harm to free himself, or wait for the subsequent story to unfold.
Thinking of how luck was on his side today, that he had managed to reel in a Primordial Monster while sea fishing, he immediately abandoned the first idea.
The dark environment felt somewhat oppressive. He brought up the guild chat channel and began telling his friends-and-family group about his current situation.
Upon hearing that he might have triggered a hidden quest, the friends-and-family group became a bit hysterical, all crying about how the good luck kept going only to him.
They then all demanded that he turn on the livestream function, wanting to follow the subsequent plot.
Gu Chen did not refuse and decisively switched on livestream mode.
Besides the friends-and-family group, a few bored players entered the stream from time to time, but upon seeing total darkness they quickly swiped away.
The process was endlessly long. Gu Chen passed the time chatting with his friends-and-family group. Along the way he could hear the sounds of crashes and clashes of their fierce battle with the Swarm.
Three hours later, a sudden and intense feeling of weightlessness struck.
Gu Chen immediately realized the plot had progressed.
He could feel the metal box confining him being transported to some area, jolting all the way.
Not long after, the metal box was opened. The blinding light made him squint on reflex.
Clack.
With the sound of metal meshing, Gu Chen felt a pain in his right forearm. Looking down, he saw a black wristband had appeared on his wrist.
He had seen this thing in the gold-farming group’s livestream room. It was a special device that could suppress strength.
What followed was a strong sense of weakness, very much like the feeling when logging out of the game.
“Out.”
His eyes quickly adapted to the glare, and he also saw clearly the appearance of the figure who spoke.
It was nearly three meters tall. Its body was formed from metal fragments, shattered rock, and flesh fused together. Every inch of its skin exuded a sense of savage power. As it breathed, the metal and rock on its surface writhed with the flesh. Its body was like a machine in operation, emitting a low roar, like the breathing of an ancient behemoth, shaking the surrounding space. On its head was a pair of horns, one of which was broken halfway.
At this moment it held a bone-spike chain in its hand and looked at him coldly, delivering a powerful visual impact to Gu Chen.
One look and it was clear this was not to be trifled with.
He grumbled inwardly, but obediently stepped out of the metal box.
Looking around, this was a field overgrown with wild grass. Dried blood remained on the ground, and a faint scent of blood hung in the air.
At this time, figures were also stepping out one after another from the other metal boxes. They were intelligent beings from different races, and all wore expressions of extreme terror.
Gu Chen’s gaze finally returned to the burly Monster, and his analysis ability activated.
[Barbarian Thrall]:
Hunt Level: 139
Target introduction: A servant of the Ancient God race, responsible for overseeing the operation of the Death Arena.
—
Just as Gu Chen was astonished at the Barbarian Thrall’s terrifying Hunt Level, the Barbarian Thrall stamped its foot.
A sweep of blood light instantly passed over their bodies. Gu Chen felt a sharp pain in his right forearm. Looking down, a complicated symbol had appeared there.
In the analysis information, this symbol represented the number: 0.
The Barbarian Thrall swept the crowd with a cold gaze and said in a deep voice.
“Listen up. Next I will explain this place to you in detail, and the rules you must obey.”
“First, this place is called the Death Arena, one of the three great arenas created by the Ancient God race. You are all death fighters captured and brought here. Your purpose is to please the Supreme Ancient Gods through bloody combat. In return, the Ancient Gods will grant each victor a boon, even the supreme power of undying lifespan, but the premise is that you prove your strength in the arena.”
“The blood mark on your arm represents your number of wins. Each time you kill an opponent in the arena, the number will increase by 1 and you will win that match. In the next round you will fight an opponent who also has 1 win.”
As it spoke, the Barbarian Thrall pointed toward the staircase of energy constructed in the distant sky.
“There are 15 arenas on the Heavenly Ladder. Each time you advance one tier upward, you can obtain a period of rest and a generous reward bestowed by the Ancient Gods. A death fighter who reaches the summit will receive the blessing of the Ancient Gods and proceed to the Dark Arena of a higher tier, ascending to become a Glory Fighter.”
Hearing the Barbarian Thrall’s introduction, Gu Chen muttered inwardly.
“Guide, how many opponents must be eliminated to reach 15 wins?”
Facing the question, Guide said with a bored expression:
[Of course you need to eliminate 15 opponents. But if you count the opponents eliminated by the ones you defeated, then for you to reach 15 wins, a total of 32,767 opponents must be eliminated. That is, by the time you kill the opponent in your 15th match, 32,767 arena fighters will already have died in battle, becoming the stepping stones for your 15 wins.]
“Crap, that many!” Gu Chen was startled.
While listening to the Barbarian Thrall, he had felt that 15 wins did not seem like much, but Guide’s answer gave him a fright.
This value would obviously become even more exaggerated later.
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