Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 294 End of a Season

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/Munch… Munch…/

"Phew… Well then, time to proceed." Dale muttered to himself as he finished eating his lunch, a large steak of unknown origins with a bunch of other things like mashed potatoes

It was extremely good, perfect even, so much so he felt a bit depressed about leaving this place for 'earthly' food again…

The only problem was how he couldn't confirm where it came from...

'Ouch... My body still aches, just moving my arm hurts.'

'Yup, there's no way I can continue, it's confirmed now, I'll rest for the next hour, check the shop, pay for my debt, and buy something extra.'

'With my most recent victory, my total bank went beyond 300 Million Favor, I can buy anything I want… But not everything at once.'

'Since I'm resting, I may as well spend some time checking each Skill book individually and see which ones would be the most valuable to bring back with me to the Village.'

'For example, Class Skill books would definitely come in handy, by coping those I can essentially hand out Classes to whoever and whenever I want as Quest rewards.'

'So far, Resko only has the Mercenary Guild and the Church handing out Classes, that can't go on.'

'Maybe I can include Illia, Barme, and the other craftsman in the Village, as I feel that if someone progresses their Questlines far enough they should be able to get a Class similar to theirs.'

'But the rest? We still lack severely compared to other Villages.'

'I can perhaps add people like Zaw, Sarferato, and Merchants together with the other Survivors, but most players don't even have enough Reputation to even talk with them, much less receive a Class from them.'

'By the time they do get enough Reputation, Zaw and the Merchants will have left Resko.'

'And although it is a bit artificial if I can give Classes to players based on the Quests they perform, that would fill the gap a little.'

'I can make it a Questline that at the end gives them a Class, further progressing in it gives them basic Skills and maybe even one Advanced Skill.'

'To solidify it, I could even tie it with some of the other Villagers, there's a lot of room for improvement here… However…'

'There are tens of thousands of players… And copying a Skill book can only be done by someone proficient in writing, which most Villagers of Resko are not.'

'Ordinary Players cannot copy it, I should be able to do it but I won't spend an entire day doing so, besides, I can't read properly yet, much less write.'

'Even if they were able to copy it, it wouldn't be enough to cope with the future demand… Not even close.'

'Maybe I can build a special facility dedicated to copying Skill Books? But then it would be too obvious... Should I disguise it as something else then?'

'Or maybe the Village Interface will give me some leniency and allow me to lend Skill Books without losing them?'

'I'll have to think a bit about it if I wish to give the players more options… Automating the process is a must as well.'

'I'm essentially doing what large Guilds are currently trying to do but on my own, that won't bode well in the end.'

Thinking about that, Dale had a small moment of enlightenment, opening an older System message as he took a sip of his grape juice.

"Almost forgot about this."

[Would you like to leave your name in the Hall of Fame?]

'This time, I can guarantee that everyone will check this out.'

'My game ID is already well known, and even though I kept it hidden during most streams, it was still shown to anyone watching a match from the other side.'

'My Stream ID is also well known, and lastly, there is the Alternate ID I used during the tutorial…'

'If I reveal the fact that DareDevil is also the player that broke the Tutorial, a lot of attention would end up befalling me.'

'But… Does it change anything?'

'My appearance is mostly a secret anyway and I don't think many know me… Apart from people like Roger and that girl…'

'This means that people can find out my identity and connect the dots already, so connecting these wouldn't change anything for those people anyway, which are the ones I'm concerned about.'

'This act will only increase the exposure to the ordinary and curious individuals.'

"Hum… Fine."

Dale pressed yes, and the moment he did so, a new System Window popped in front of him.

He quickly wrote the ID he would be using and not that long after…

[DING]

[Server-Wide Announcement]

[Due to some technical issues, the 1v1 Duel Arena Servers will be temporarily closed for maintenance, we are very sorry to those who were unable to find a match in the last 10 or so minutes]

[Following this, we'll be ending the first Season of the Arena, your current Ranking will be locked in place and you'll receive an appropriate reward for the Rank achieved]

[With the exception of the Top 100, all player Ranks have been reset]

[The Second Season will begin shortly, good luck!]

[Disclaimer, the Top 100 of each respective mode will be unable to compete in the following Seasons of their own modes in order to open space for new promising Rankers, thank you for your understanding]

As this message played across all of the Plazas of Babylon, the world around them trembled as four large Obelisks rose from the ground, full of golden letters carved into their smooth surface.

Those were the names of the Top 100 players of each division, from left to right, starting with the 1v1 Duel Arena…

[DING]

[Congratulations to the Player, 'Hot_Wheels88' for achieving Rank 10 in the 1v1 Duel Arena!]

…

[Congratulations to the Player, 'PanguGod' for achieving Rank 6 in the 1v1 Duel Arena!]

…

[Congratulations to the Player, 'Twilight Moon' for achieving Rank 2 in the 1v1 Duel Arena!]

[Congratulations to the Player, 'My Dad' for achieving Rank 1 in the 1v1 Duel Arena!]

Following that, the System sent messages to congratulate the top teams of the 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 Duel Arenas.

It seemed the System only cared about those four modes, the others weren't as meaningful.

Still, fireworks burst in the sky to commemorate everyone's hard work, from PvP to PvE.

Some were happy, others were sad, knowing they could've climbed further and competed for better rewards.

To others watching from afar, they thought this was the right moment to make a name for themselves, after all, with the bombastic ending of the 1v1 Duel Arena, everyone was eager to give them a try.

And with the removal of the top players, they now had a much higher chance of actually getting within the Top 100.

Dale on the other hand…

"Rewards? Great, but where's mine?" He asked as he looked around

He waited and waited, but nothing happened.

'Is it bugged or something? Where's my reward for being Rank 1?'

But the longer he waited the more upset he became.

'Don't tell me they aren't going to give me anything because I already got a lot?'

"I want my rewards!" He asked out loud as he tapped on the table

[DING]

"!"

'Here it is!'

[Congratulations on being ranked 1 in the 1v1 Arena Duels!]

[From now on, you're blocked from accessing any Arena content throughout the remainder of Babylon in order to enforce fairness and competitiveness!]

[A Warrior should go Hunt Monsters, not People]

[As a reward befitting your Rank, you've been given 1 Favor!!]

[Due to your Special Packages, all Favor and Recognition rewards times 3]

[You've been awarded 3 Favor (Final Value)]

[Keep up the hard work!]

"..."

'...'

As he read the notification, Dale's body silently trembled, knowing full well any reaction was exactly what whoever wrote this wanted.

So he held it in, trembling silently.

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Meanwhile, the world went on.

Players rejoiced at their rewards and flocked to the Arena section, ready to fight for supremacy and booty.

With the end of the Season, most of the Top 100 players decided that it was time to walk away from PvP and try some other activities for a change.

Many of them opened new streams to showcase their own strengths and increase their popularity, striking while the iron was hot thanks to the announcements and the degree of attention they were receiving, mostly due to a certain match...

At the same time, everyone discussed about the nature of the first Ranker and the fight between him and the previous first Ranker, trying to figure out his abilities, strengths, or just commenting about what they thought was the coolest part of the fight.

Some studied for the sake of improving themselves, others merely watched it because it filled them with Adrenaline.

Especially for the first Ranker whose ID had been revealed.

The same person that had vanished after the tutorial had returned with a bombastic reveal!

In truth, he had always been there, right beneath their noses.

However, with his stream closed and a complete and utter silence from his side, they all wondered if he was going to vanish once more as he did at the start.

They also wondered what the Queen, Twilight Moon was doing now that she lost her position.

All kinds of rumors started to pop up, some reasonable, others not as much...

There were even some... Strange rumors regarding her and Dale...

Well, the truth was sometimes simpler than it seemed, the more boorish it may sound.

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Notes