"Heh, still trying to put on a tough face? Just prepare all that equipment of yours to be given to me," Grimclaw replied with a snort.
Dashrunner was peeved. He came up to Grimclaw. "Didn't you see us shaking our heads at you?" He whispered.
"I know you guys are polite, but arrogant people like them, who are like frogs in a well, need to be taught a lesson once in a while."
Dashrunner was speechless. He didn't say anything more. He just shook his head and walked away.
Jack was also whispering to Bowler, "Bro, why are you using me as a bet? I'm not gonna help you pay the equipment if we end up losing."
Bowler gave him a mischievous grin, "Don't worry. I'm doing you a favor by getting you a rare sword. You are sure to win."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I had a chat with the some of the other White Scarfs members before. That Grimclaw guy is still level 12."
Jack was stupefied, so this guy had already known the outcome before proposing the bet; that was diabolical. Jack glanced at Grimclaw who still wore a confident expression. He used his God-eye monocle and scanned him; he really was just level 12. Grimclaw himself had also tried to inspect Jack, but was unable to see his level. He simply considered it as his Inspect skill being lower, since he never bothered with this skill so it was still at Basic Apprentice grade. It never crossed his mind that the reason was Jack had a higher level than him.
Jack couldn't help but feel pity for the guy for falling into Bowler's trap. But then he looked at the sword hanging at Grimclaw's side. He would be able to upgrade his Storm Breaker to rare grade if he let it consume that sword. The thought excited him.
He clapped Bowler's shoulder, "Good job!" He whispered.
As these two sly men were grinning like fools, the old man with the golden cane made a move. His eyes shone brightly as he lifted his cane high. Golden fire swirled around his cane and turned into a fire dragon as it spiraled outwards, creating a spectacular spectacle. The crowd noise instantly died down. The dragon then flew high and broke into multiple fiery orbs. If anyone could have counted the orbs, they would have found them to number exactly one hundred.
"It's time!" His voice boomed out. His left hand stretched out and a giant blue sphere materialized.
"Those chosen by the orbs will come forward and select their rewards from this sphere. Please be clear that you can only select one and what you have chosen cannot be changed. Therefore, make your choice carefully!"
He then tapped his cane onto the ground, and one of the orbs floating high up starting to descend.
The crowd was full of anticipation. Many of the past well-known players observed the falling orb with confident looks, each and every one expecting the orb to come their way.
Warpath, who stood in the midst of his adoring fans, held his head up high. He thought to himself, 'Why bother with all this theatricality? I should just walk up to the old man and demand my fair reward.'
But contrary to many people's expectations, the orb slowly floated towards the group of White Scarfs. Seeing this, Warpath was confused. Had the old man gone senile and made a mistake?
Grimclaw, who saw the orb coming, felt elation filling him. He was the best amongst the White Scarfs members. The first prize was as good as his. He lifted his left fist up in a victory pose, and was about to go forward to receive the orb when he realized it had drifted past him.
Grimclaw turned to see where the orb was floating to and saw it stop in front of Jack. To avoid embarrassing him further, Jack tried not to look at Grimclaw. Bowler, however, didn't give a shit and grinned widely from ear to ear.
As the orb dissolved into a thin blanket of light enveloping Jack, almost every well-known player from past VR games held the same thought in their minds: Who the hell is that guy?
The old man's enhanced voice echoed through the crowd, "First rank, Storm Wind! Fighter class. Level 13!"
The crowd gasped when they heard his level; disbelief in their faces.
"He is level 13, no wonder his attributes are so high," Red Death, who was among the crowd, said.
"No," Scarface said. "Even though he is level 13, his attributes are still too high. He still has other secrets."
"Please step forward!" The old man's voice urged.
Jack didn't dilly-dally anymore. He strode in the direction of the old man. Most of the crowd parted as he advanced, giving him a clear path, but one group stood their ground and blocked his way. It was the people from Weary Wolf.
Their leader, Boulder, was at the front. He said, "You have ruined our business and you have killed my Flowing Fox; now you think we're gonna let you go claim a reward just like that? I don't care about the White Scarfs anymore. They are way over there; they won't make it in time to save you. Get him, brothers!"
This move of theirs was completely unexpected. Jack took out his sword as the Weary Wolf people moved to surround him. They had cut off his path of retreat before he was aware of it. As the first axe wielder was about to reach him, a blinding light slammed down from above, covering the entire body of the axeman. His body was instantly disintegrated. With his body completely gone, his axe dropped to the ground.
"You dare make a ruckus in my presence?!" A thundering voice lashed out. Everyone looked up and saw the old man floating above Weary Wolf gang.
"If you dare interrupt this ceremony again, I will wipe out every last one of you!" He gave the warning as he glared at the people from Weary Wolf gang. Terrified by this display of power, Boulder, and all of his subordinates, backed away in fear and opened a path for Jack. They hung their heads low and didn't have the courage to utter a single noise. Jack sheathed his sword and continued forward.
He went past the group of Death Associates, who obediently stood to the side. They were swallowing their saliva and wiping their sweat. Some of them had had the idea of blocking Jack as well, before Scarface told them to stand down. Scarface glanced at Boulder and uttered, "Idiot."
Jack didn't encounter any more resistance as he arrived in front of the giant blue sphere. The old man floated down and landed beside him.
"Storm Wind greets Elder," Jack bowed down respectfully. "May I know Elder's name?"
The old man looked at Jack, studying him.
One person, who was standing close enough to hear this, criticized in a whisper, "Why the heck is he acting so respectful? The old man is just an NPC. He probably doesn't even have a name."
"You are a fine young man," the old man finally spoke. He then glared at the person who just whispered and said, "And I do have a name!"
The person who he glared at was feared for his life. He thought that he was about to get disintegrated because of a random comment which he had not even spoken out loud.
However, the old man didn't act so imperiously. He looked back at Jack and said, "You can call me Honuren."
Jack glanced at the person who had been reprimanded. He thought, 'That guy is still treating this like a normal game. Probably a lot of others here also have the same way of thinking.'
Jack was not going to make the same mistake. He made another bow and said respectfully, "Greetings, elder Honuren. Thank you for awarding me this recognition."
"You've earned it, young man," Honuren replied with a smile.
"Now put your hand on its surface," the old man said as he gestured towards the floating giant blue sphere.
Jack did as he was told, and his vision was soon filled up with images of rows and rows of items.