There were both pros and cons to announcing his achievements worldwide.
One of the pros was that he would be noticed by organizations that held considerable influence in the Land of Trials.
The most significant organization in the Land of Trials was the Player Association. The branches and members of this organization were spread throughout the various levels into which the Land of Trials was divided, exerting their influence across many levels of the land.
They had a monopoly on a considerable amount of resources from different levels of the Land of Trials. Players without any backing had no choice but to obey their rules if they wanted to access the resources they had monopolized.
Being noticed by the Player Association was a good thing, as it might lead to an opportunity to be recruited into their ranks.
Being part of such an organization could provide him with access to not only exclusive trials, specialized training, and resources that would be otherwise unattainable but also strategic information and backup from powerful players during challenging trials
For players like James, with no backing in the Land of Trials, these benefits were invaluable as they could significantly boost their chances of survival and success in navigating the trials. Thus, 9 out of 10 would take any action that would increase their chance of joining these organizations. Only in some rare cases would players choose against joining them.
There was also the possibility of being noticed by a ranker if he chose to announce his achievements worldwide.
Rankers were beings who had passed the Ultimate Trial of the Land of Trials and gained the chance to return to their Home World but chose to remain in the Land of Trials.
The reason why they made such a choice was a running mystery in the novel Tales of My Regressions. Thus, James was as clueless as any other player in the Land of Trials as to why the rankers chose to stay behind in the Land of Trials when they had the choice to return to their home.
One thing stood true about all rankers and it was also mentioned in the novel James had read before being summoned to the Land of Trials. Rankers were all forces to be reckoned with. Their might was comparable to gods.
Entering the eyes of a ranker was both a good and a bad thing.
If a ranker was appreciative of your talent, they would want to raise you into their subordinates or accept you as their student. They would help you as you challenge one difficulty in the Land of Trials after another.
If the ranker felt jealous of your talent or threatened by your existence, they might just smite you to death, and you would be helpless against such power.
This was one of the cons of announcing his achievement worldwide.
It might offend a sensitive and bitchy Karen of a Ranker who didn't do as well as him in the trial "Corridor of the Dead," leading to his death.
The other con was being noticed by the notoriously dangerous Player Killer Association and having a bounty placed on his head.
Having a bounty on his head would mean player killers would aim for his head whenever he cross paths with them.
Player killers were players who hunted other players for fun or for bounty.
James also knew another horrifying aspect of being targeted by the Player Killer Association.
Once a bounty was placed on a player's head, the bounty would increase the more they accomplished and the longer they survived. With an increase in their bounty, more and more player killers would be tempted to hunt him down. Endless trouble would be drawn towards them. The only way to put an end to it would be the destruction of the Player Killer Association, which was impossible for regular players.
After all, in the past, even a group of Rankers failed to root them out.
Basically, being targeted by the Player Killer Association was the worst that could happen to a player.
James sighed heavily in his heart, 'I can't afford to be targeted by the Player Killer Association. I also have secrets to hide, secrets that, if revealed, would land me in serious trouble. Thus, I cannot afford to arouse the curiosity of rankers; otherwise, my secrets would be exposed. It's saddening, but the cons of announcing my achievements outweigh the pros for me. I can only give up this time.'
Thus, he said to his system, "No."
[Your wish will be respected. Your achievements will not be announced worldwide.]
The system was a privilege automatically assigned to him for being summoned into the Land of Trials. It didn't have a consciousness of its own and operated strictly according to its programming. This programming encompassed a complex set of algorithms and coded instructions that directed every aspect of the system's operations within the Land of Trials. From tracking player achievements and distributing rewards to enforcing trial rules and interacting with players, the system's behavior was governed entirely by its underlying code, ensuring it performed its functions consistently and impartially. So although it came across as something living as it had the ability to understand and respond to him, James didn't mistake it as one.
James's eyes narrowed in thought.
"Not announcing my achievements worldwide doesn't completely hide them as my name has appeared in the top hundred ranking list of the Corridor of the Dead trial."
"Access to the top hundred ranking list of the Corridor of the Dead trial is restricted to only two types of beings, but they sometimes trade the information that only they are privy to in exchange for things that benefit them. However, it's very rare, and they disdain player killers. So they don't trade with them."
"My name being on the top hundred ranking list of one of the easiest trials will eventually attract some attention, but it will not be as much as if I had allowed my achievement to be announced worldwide."
"At least, I won't get player killers desiring to add my head to their nasty collections on my trail right off the bat, which is a good thing."
"I can grow faster than other newbies to this land. By the time the player killer association realizes I am worth killing, I will be strong enough to hold my own against the player killers on the same level of the land of trials as me. After all, players can't travel between the various levels of the Land of Trials freely nor can they grow past a certain limit unless they advance to a higher level of the Land of Trials."
James knew the worst wouldn't happen now that he had given up on garnering the attention of the player association by announcing his achievements worldwide, and his heart felt lighter.
He turned towards the opening that had appeared in the center of the dead end of the corridor of the dead.
It was a door with white light streaming out of it.
It appeared when the notification that announced he had completed the trial had sounded.
He could take it to advance to the location of the next trial.
'Before going through it, I should cover my weak points and empower my strong points by using my trial points to unlock a few spells and passives of my class,' James thought decisively.