'Why is it that I can hear this man's voice? Even the ruckus around the Hunting Ground. But why is it that I can't hear Thyr's and those women's voices? Is there a certain criterion regarding what I can and cannot hear? That's vexing, to say the least.'
Aectaeon couldn't help furrowing his eyebrows at the inconsistencies he had found. Rather than focusing on the upcoming battle, the man became more inclined to find an answer to his questions.
'Can I still opt out of this battle? But if I do, the other Meisters will look at me as if I'm a coward. It's not like I care though.'
The man sighed deeply, closing his eyes to somehow shut his thoughts down. Upon opening his eyes, he met Hano Berkley's gaze.
"I'm done choosing!"
"Why is he always shouting?" Aectaeon whispered through his gritted teeth. He then gave a nod at Berkley before raising his voice a tad, "What should I choose then?"
A battle between two Meisters should be governed by 4 rules. As the number of combatants increases, the number of rules would increase as well. For every player added in the battle, 2 new rules would be added.
There were several categories that the Meisters could choose the rules from -- Winning Criteria, Stat Threshold, Item Restriction, Demon Rank, Demon Order, Demon Attribute, and a few more.
"Item Restriction, ban the use of all potions. Demon Order, only allow False Gods." Berkley hollered, showering the dirt with beads of his spit.
Aectaeon immediately searched for the rules that the Meister had mentioned. After tapping on the rules and submitting them, a prompt panel shortly appeared.
{-{ Winning Criteria: First Meister to deplete the HP of their opponent Meister wins the battle }-}
{-{ Summoning: Each player can summon a maximum of Three Demons }-}
{-{ Item Restriction: Ban use of all potions }-}
{-{ Demon Order: Prohibit False Gods, Imitators of Miracles, Purveyors of Pestilence }-}
{-{ Tap 'Yes' if you agree to the Rules }-}
{-{ Tap 'No' if you want to modify }-}
{-{ Yes }-} {-{ No }-}
The man readily pressed the 'Yes' icon, having no issue with the rules in the list. Hano Berkley, on the other hand, contemplated for a short while more before he finalized.
{-{ Set Battle Time Limit }-}
{-{ Select Option }-}
Again, Aectaeon gave Berkley a look, only to leave the decision to him.
"Disable the time limit! Meister with the last demon standing wins!"
With a sigh, Aectaeon selected the 'No Time Limit' option. The second he submitted it, the small panels vanished. A moment later, two rectangular panels materialized a skosh meters above the heads of the Meisters.
The purpose of the 6 square-meter-sized panels was to display the names of the Demons summoned by the Meisters. It would be accompanied by Demons' level, rank, order, and attribute.
{-{ Meisters, Summon your Demons within the Time Limit }-}
{-{ Time Limit: 02 M ; 00 S }-}
'Now, who should I choose? I was hoping to bring out Thyr, but its order is Imitators of Miracles. Figures, their order is quite on the strong side.'
Aectaeon didn't rush making a decision. There was a myriad of Demons for him to choose from. Hano, in the meantime, had concluded which Demons he would summon before even a minute could pass. He then began briefing the demons, encouraging them to do their best.
While the combatants were preoccupied, Meisters and Demons alike surrounded them. However, they made sure to be as far as possible in order to not get caught up in the fray. There was no barrier to protect the onlookers from the attacks of the Demons.
Only an arena built by the Grand Council had that feature.
One might wonder how the other Meisters were still oblivious of Aectaeon's rank.
Along the way to the Hunting Ground, Aectaeon became aware that he could hide his rank with an item. In the process of searching for it in the shop, he discovered that he already had one in effect.
The 'Obscuration Screen' amounted to an exuberant 5,000,000 gold coins. To compare, the salary of a White Meister, excluding the commissions that they had accomplished, was 1,000,000 gold coins per year.
Aectaeon figured that both the Digital Map and the Obscuration Screen were luxuries that the uppermost ranks of Meisters could afford. Hence, to not incur the suspicions of the lower-ranking Meisters of the Hunting Ground, he purchased another item.
It was the 'Camouflage Screen', its price similar to the Obscuration Screen. The said item allowed a Meister to disguise their rank.
If another Meister activated the command 'Meister Rank' against him, they would only see 'Green Meister' -- the fourth rank from the bottom.
'Now that I'm here, I can see that I've wasted 5,000,000 gold coins. I don't care if they see my rank at this point. Besides, my Demons will certainly be a testament to what my true rank is. I should just find a way to make these players shut their mouths.'
{-{ Time Limit: 00 M ; 21 S }-}
Aectaeon tapped on the names of the three Demons he chose forthwith. Three circular light portals appeared on the ground a meter away from him.
The Demons slowly emerged from the portals, earning the gasps of the spectators. Even Hano became petrified of the array of Demons that Aecteon selected to engage.
"A-aren't th-- aren't those the…" Berkley immediately covered his mouth with his hands.
As the light portals ceased to be visible, the names and the levels of Aectaeon's Demons materialized over their heads.
{-{ Yvettrimeqh Lv. 115 }-}
{-{ Ixshellivarre Lv. 104 }-}
{-{ Acxsyortlnmir Lv. 118 }-}
Compared to Berkley's Demons' averaging a level of 56, Aectaeon's Demons were much, much more superior. Everyone could see that Berkley's Demons were cowering afore their enemies.
Berkley pointed his finger at Aectaeon, shouting, "You-- who are you?!"
"Uhh, a passerby who you just challenged?"
"Don't lie to me! Tell me your true identity!"
"What is there to say? You're the one who challenged me, so I should be the one who's aggravated." Aectaeon responded, frowning at Berkley's rude gesture.
Right then, a game panel came into Aectaeon's view, making him smile widely.