It was still early in the morning so Flux did not hastily make an action without planning beforehand.
However, despite having so much time to spend, Flux didn't see anything worthy to catch his attention.
Some Legendary weapons and items were put into auction but no matter how much you adore seeing them, it is worth nothing with no money on hand. Therefore, Flux quickly gets into his business by placing the dark staff on the auction.
The bid starts from 25,000 gold. It is the best starting price for people to bid considering that the item is one of the tier-4 weapons. A weapon close enough to rival legendary weapons. Surely people in the auction would take interest and bid until it reached the highest price points.
Its level is not quite high, however, this is the most ideal item for mages who had just received their system a year or a few years ago.
"More items are still on the line to bid on before mine so I guess sleeping for now is not a bad idea."
───────────────────────────
inside the king's castle, Wades along with his son Nel arrived at the said room where they will meet and have a meeting with other dukes.
The room was too grand, enough for people to feel comfortable inside. However, that wasn't the feeling they felt upon arriving there. An intense, almost intended amount of pressure deliberately welcomed them.
It wasn't intended for a greater cause.
'Are these guys testing us' Thought nel seriously.
His father did not make any reaction as though it was just a normal day.
Nevertheless, none of the two took the bait to such a deceitful provocation.
Instead, to pay them back, Nel and Wades released an even greater pressure as they walked toward certain seats.
Without wasting time, they sat and remained silent.
Those who were present nearby did not mutter a word nor did they try to converse with each other after feeling the pressure.
They genuinely knew what it takes to provoke a family in the top three strongest families in the empire ranking.
Regardless of the situation, the atmosphere became more intense because whether they're part of the top three in the ranking, there's not that much difference in strength between them.
Time passes by. Albeit people from a famous family started to show up one by one, the inexplicable pressure in the atmosphere did not change. Rather, it deteriorated.
None of them came to get pressured. As a result, they released more pressure on others as payback.
Those who were not interested in joining their strange atmosphere did not speak anything. Some were sitting in the corner speechless and awkward.
The situation was just people being prideful and competitive with each other, not until the arrival of the king.
"As I thought, everyone is here." Said Lance as he look in everyone's direction for confirmation.
Some seats are empty but it isn't a problem as those people not present today have sent an excuse message the day before the conference started.
After sitting in an empty chair in which everyone could see him, he started explaining with no further delays.
Of course, no one complained. They already knew what this was all about from the very beginning but they still attended nonetheless.
The reason was obvious, it might seem trivial when you think about it but some circumstances may have changed. Therefore, listening to it is not a big deal for them.
"So let me start explaining-"
"Before that, is there any change in the original plan?"
Before the king could finish his sentences, Jack the head family of Lianck one of the ten strongest families in the empire cut him off.
His action may be seen as rude, especially in front of the king. Yet strangely, no one including the king thwarted his action as though they already understood his behavior altogether. Or perhaps, his words were straightforwardly said correctly.
King Lance smiled broadly. "Yes. A huge change on top of that."
Jack did not speak or said anything else once his question was answered by the king.
"So, are there any questions?" Said king Lance in a composed tone.
"..."
No one answered. This prompts Lance to start explaining.
"Like all of you, I don't like to waste time any further so let's get straight to the point." Lance halted for a moment before continuing. "The event held two days from now on, whereas everyone already knows will have a massive change. We concluded to create a better arena where the kids could show their potential in front of us. That being said, we also decided to change the rules. The kids will not be fighting 1 on 1 in the arena like as always, rather, they will fight in an even bigger arena to fight all at once. Simply put, everyone will fight and survive in a dangerous place together until the remaining ones. Also, the arena where the kids will be fighting is inside the 'Lone Forest"
King Lance grabbed a device from his pocket. He pressed a certain spot, and then, a hologram appeared in the air showing everyone the view and state of the forest.
Looking carefully at the place, everyone had a solemn and bitter expression. Not that they have unpleasant memories within the forest in the past, it was the nostalgia that struck them to have such reactions.
Nel and other people of the same age did not have the same reaction. Yet their reaction is no different than their father's. It's not something they don't know but something they know.
"As you can see, this place was generally picked by me since this place had few numbers of monsters and low levels on top of that." Said Lance with a smile engraved on his face.
It took a while for them to come back to their senses as they look at the map with various feelings as they were reminded of the past.
Sitting on his chair, Wades said seriously. "To think you'd picked this place for the new generation as a battlefield for the event. And, for sure, that nasty old man was the one who was behind this. But, I can say this is the best place to prove who's stronger here."
Everyone nodded in unison as though the grudge from the past suddenly possessed their bodies.
Seeing them agree, a wide smirk was displayed on Lance's face. "So the second plethora had been decided then."
Hearing the conversation of the top 10 families, Nel had a thoughtful look. 'Plethora the title of the tragedy that happened 52 years ago. The unwanted treasure was a story I heard from my father. 52 years ago, an unnamed man was roaming around the lone forest alone, wondering if a low-level monster would appear. While he walks through the forest, he found a bright colorful crystal. The man immediately knows it's a treasure and therefore, he did not hesitate to grab it. However...
『Crystal of infinity』
『Level:???』
『Tier 10: Divine』
『Perk: the holder will gain infinite mana』
『Note: only vulnerable when 1 person survives a death match against 1000 people who entered the forest. Age requirements 15. The death match will only begin once the number of required people to join was fulfilled. The current number of people 1/1000. You can also back out if you don't want to join』
As soon as his fingers touched the crystal, the crystal flew to the sky while shining brightly.
The man trembled, and his whole body collapsed to the ground. "Tie-tier 10? Divine item?" He muttered in shock.
There was no item like that that exist in this world.
At that moment, having understood the requirements to have this item, he knew his luck had disappeared, this item will bring chaos to his life. the exact opposite of what he thought at first sight.
But he knew there was still a way to earn money on this. His goal to earn a huge amount of money did not let him succumb to despair.
Putting all strength he had on his two legs, he sprinted hastily back to the empire to sell the information.
The words spread so fast in the empire. It was like an endless flowing water in the river whereas the information notified the whole citizens of the empire including those from the outside.
As a possible act of humanity, the lone forest was immediately filled with dozens of people in just 10 hours.
And that's where plethora had started. My father including the other family's former head or current head fought each other to obtain the crystal of infinity at such a young age.
It was a fight that almost shattered the empire into pieces because of the number of deaths of commoners, royals, and nobles.
At that time, the last ones standing were the former and current heads who participated on the battlefield.
While the battle is progressing in a dire situation, an angel suddenly appeared. He began explaining the whole thing and apologized to people who were a victim of this incident. But the angel knew humans will put grudges toward the gods for letting such an incident happen.
The angel knew and absolutely cannot let such a thing to happen.
The war reached its conclusion when the angel was given the authority to revive the dead. In the end, no one won the battle and received the prize because the angel took the item back to heaven.
That's why it's highly likely for people to be reminded instantly as soon as the same place where they battled was mentioned.
It was a brutal fight but fortunately, no one died. Although they felt death once, they did come back to life so it's no big deal.'
While Nel is lingering with his thoughts, a question was put on the table.
"What are the rules in this event?" With her legs crossed, a decent woman named Sandra from the Baignar family one of the top ten families asked Lance to specify the rules and how the game operates.
Originally, her husband is supposed to be in this meeting. Unfortunately, something came up so he was replaced by her instead.
Lance quickly replied in an inexorably amusingly tone. "Of course. This event will be the same as the Arcadia family year 5 events for every new generation. It was naturally suggested by Mr, Wades himself when we decided to think a little bit about this event from our last meeting."
"Oh, you mean that family event only held by the Arcadia?"
"I came there before so I know the details of this event."
Suddenly some people murmured to each other upon hearing this event held by the Arcadia family.
Sandra obviously didn't care and protested instead. "Doesn't that mean the Arcadia family had full advantage of this event?"
The reactions to epiphany shifted from a cheerful atmosphere to bitter.
Their reactions are too egregious, no one wants to have an unfairly match.
This made Lance urge himself to speak before the storm hit the land.
"Calm down. We concluded to add some more rules and details to this event whereas this event will make it totally different from theirs." Lance pressed on to calm her down.
"So what? They have more experience in this compared to others." Sandra did not care about that and continued to complain.
Lance knew nothing would change considering her attitude when it comes to unfairness since a long time ago.
'I knew some will disagree on this. I guess there's no other choice, I have to show them the video Mr, Wades showed to me, We agreed to show it when they started opposing the idea.' Thought Lance as he grabbed another device before showing the contents.
Not long, the second hologram was illustrated. Seeing another hologram in front, everyone's attention was immediately caught by several kids trying to survive in an unknown forest.
"This is the records of the recent event from the Arcadia family." Said Lance.