Chapter 78. Arena starts (1)
"Hello, viewers!! My name is Alice and I'm a reporter from KSM."
"My name is Hans and I'm also a reporter from KSM. We are here outside the Arena where the preliminaries are going to start."
Two reporters were broadcasting from outside of Arena.
One of them was Alice who Ian had fought the Goblins with and the other person was Hans, a human thief.
They were tasked to broadcast the hottest topic in Ark currently 'Arena' by the director.
"People are still entering the Coliseum and it's close to getting filled with players. It seems like everyone is excited about it."
"That's right."
A view of the whole Arena was shown to the viewers by the help of a floating crystal sphere that was acting as the camera.
The Arena was shown to be filled by people and some of them were cheering even before the battles had begun.
"It's really crazy here. Especially because all the players had gathered here for the Rookies league instead of the Master league."
"Yeah. I wonder what is the reason behind it."
"Maybe, the players are disappointed because only 7 players in the top 100 rankings are participating in the Arena."
"Yeah, I'm disappointed by that too."
People have expected to see their favourite rankers fighting against each other but they haven't not expected that most of the rankers won't even participate.
In a way, it was understandable.
Rankers would rather focus on leveling up and exploring new regions than fighting against each other.
Moreover, most of the rankers are not even in the Altheim empire.
It won't be beneficial for them to come here, just to take part in the Arena.
Another reason was the embarrassment they would face if they lost to a ranker lower level than them.
Most of the rankers know very well that level was not everything in Ark. Skill creates the real difference between two players.
Due to these reasons, most of the rankers choose to skip the Masters league.
"Hans, which class do you think would be beneficial for PvP?"
Alice asked as he read the lines on the script.
"Won't close combat classes like swordsman and warrior would be more likely to win?"
"Yes, they have high attack power and defence. Ark analysts are saying the same thing."
Both of them continued to read their scripts flawlessly. They didn't talk about complicated things and made it easier to understand for the viewers.
Although most of the people watching already knew about Ark, there were some ordinary people too.
"What do you think about the super rookies that would be joining this time?"
Alice quickly brought out a topic that would interest the viewers.
During a broadcast, it was necessary to keep the basic things simple, then gradually move on to interesting topics.
"I'm really excited about them as we would be seeing the new faces of the top guilds for the first time."
"Yes, many people are saying that a super rookie would win the Rookies league."
"It's highly likely but there can be variables."
Alice raised her eyebrow when she heard that. Her acting was really great in front of the camera.
"Variables? What variables?"
"I'm talking about unknown players with special skills or… hidden classes."
Hans dragged out the word 'hidden classes' which was also their next topic.
Hidden classes were such a topic that would make viewers interested always. The reaction of the viewers would be the same as if a new song of their favourite idol was coming out.
"Do you think there would be players with hidden classes entering the Rookies league?"
"It's not like it can't happen. Maybe, one of the super rookies would have a hidden class."
"That would be interesting to watch."
They continued to talk about hidden classes for the next five minutes.
Even though most of it was unrelated to Arena, they still have to read it out loud because of the script.
They don't have the authority to change the script as they were mere reporters with no power.
"Ah, the preliminaries would be starting soon."
"Yes, the preliminaries round sure would be interesting as it would be a battle royal between five players."
Earlier, the preliminaries were going to be just 1v1 fights but because of the large number of players entering the Arena, Pegasus corporation has to make some changes.
It also means that Arena was more successful than they had thought from the start.
"It's starting now!!"
Alice exclaimed as the camera showed the ground where the battle wound took place.
Five players were entering the battlefield. They all looked to be wary of each other.
Their classes were warrior, assassin, magician, ranger and archer.
Everyone was expecting to see the magician and archer players getting eliminated first because a long range class would be at a slight disadvantage in PvP.
The five players just stood on the ground, waiting for the battle to start.
The cheering of the audience made them excited as well as nervous.
They were at the centre of the stage and it would be up-to them to win this fight.
That message appeared before them and all the five players took out their weapons and rushed at each other.
The Arena officially starts with that!!!
* * *
'It was really exciting.'
Ian thought as he looked at the first round of preliminary going on in the ground.
The battle had started with five players but soon, only two players were left.
They were unexpectedly the warrior and the archer. No one has expected the archer to give a tough battle but his skill was better than the rest.
Ian was guessing that the archer would win this round.
"That archer is really great!!"
"Yeah, but I think the warrior have a greater chance to win. Look at how he is swinging his sword."
"Do you think so?"
Besides him, Clara, Ria and Wayn were discussing the battle. There was also Xiao Ming but he was not speaking because he was flustered.
He was not used to being around girls, especially beautiful girls like Ria and Clara.
"Ian, who do you think would win?"
Ria turned around and asked him.
"Um, the archer would probably…"
As he was speaking, there was a loud shout from the crowd. Ian stopped speaking and looked at the ground.
The warrior had lost and the archer was standing proud. He raised his bow like he was celebrating his victory.
"Oh! The archer really won."
"His skill was way above everyone else. It's no wonder that he won the battle."
Ian explained and everyone nodded at their heads.
Two hours ago, Wayn had whispered to Ian, asking him about where he was and if they could meet.
Coincidentally, they were both near the Arena. So, they had decided to meet and watch the first battle together.
"Wayn, will you be able to defeat that archer in a battle?"
"Ah, well, of course, I would win."
"Really?"
"Y-yeah."
Clara asked Wayn mischievously and he answered with a flustered tone.
It was not like his skills were bad. They had improved a lot lately but he was not confident to say that he would really win.
His slightly arrogant and show off attitude has lessened after he had met Ian.
He had stopped flaunting his skills and focused more on improving them. Maybe, it was because of that Clara has gained a favourable opinion of him.
Ian could see that there was a sweet atmosphere between the two of them but it didn't look like the two of them were dating yet.
They were more in the 'more than friends but less than lovers' phase.
After glancing at them once more, Ian didn't bother to look.
"When will your match start?"
Xiao Ming asked him, changing the topic. It seems like he felt embarrassed seeing Wayn and Clara flirting with each other.
So, he quickly changed the topic.
"It's the fifth match. Looks like I have to wait."
"My match is after that. It's the seventh match."
Wayn said from the side.
Among the three of them, it looked like only Wayn was participating in Arena. Ian was surprised by this because he thought Clara would surely take part in Arena.
It was because of her personality but he has guessed wrong.
When he had asked her about it, Clara had said that she was more interested in fighting monsters than other players.
As for Ria, she would surely get eliminated in the first round if she tried to take part in the Arena.
It was not because of her skills but her class that leans more towards support rather than defense or attack.
She doesn't even have an attack skill.
Like that, Ian and the others watching the next battles.
The second battle finished quickly with an assassin winning the battle. It was the same for the third battle in which a knight came out on the top.
The fourth battle was more exciting as an elf magician won it. It was a close fight but the magician was able to win because of her superior equipment.
"All the best."
"Yeah, we know you will win."
"Show them what you got."
Everyone cheered him as Ian's fight was next. Ian nodded his head towards them and went towards the ground.
His debut in Arena would begin now.
* * *
"That archer was good. I haven't seen him before but it looks like he has potential."
"Are you going to recruit him?"
Two players were talking as they watched the fights in the Arena.
Both of them were wearing a cloak to hide their identities. It was because they were both famous rankers.
"Maybe. Our guild is looking for more close combat players but an archer won't be a bad choice."
A male player with a beard said.
He was wearing low grade armour but he was actually the vice guild leader of the Kailan guild, Clink.
He was here to recruit players for his guild.
"Well, you should take your hands off that archer as Storm breaker guild is interested in him."
Clink's eyes shined when he heard that. The woman before him is normally not interested in players.
It looked like the archer held more potential than he had thought.
"That won't do. Are you bullying a smaller guild because your guild is bigger? I can't accept it, Rachel."
The bow princess, Rachel didn't say anything at that. She opened her mouth after a while.
"Let's see which guild the archer would want to go to."
Clink's face crumbled when he heard that.
Compared to Kailan guild, the Storm breaker guild was much better. The archer would surely choose it over his guild.
"There are many more players that are taking part. You can choose another player."
Rachel said like she was soothing him.
Clink didn't say anything about that and looked at the Arena.
The fifth round was starting and five players were entering the ground. His gaze lingered on all of them and stopped at a strange player.
A player was wearing a mask.
He didn't know if it was because he wanted to show off or it was just because he had something to hide but Clink laughed seeing that.
"Haha, he seems like he wants to grab attention. That type of player..."
He stopped his words when he glanced at Rachel's face.
Her usual poker face has a hint of surprise and immense interest. She was looking at the hologram that has all the players' names.
Rachel was glancing at the name of the masked player.
"Is it the same person…?"
She muttered and took another glance at the masked player. There was no way of knowing but her intuition was telling that he was the same player that she had met in the public library.
"Is there something wrong with that player? Do you know him?"
"No, I don't but…"
"But?"
"Take your hands off him. If he hadn't joined any guild, then Storm breaker would take him."
"Huh?"
Clink can only let out a surprise voice when he heard that.