Episode 5
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⟨⟨==Kill the shadow slaves; each slave is worth 1 point==⟩⟩.
⟨⟨==Level 10 shadow slaves will be scattered throughout the Shadow Colosseum arena==⟩⟩
⟨⟨==Get 100 shadow points for every death of the slaves==⟩⟩
⟨⟨==All participants will be teleported to the 'Shadow Coliseum'==⟩⟩
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Elizabeth looked at the system message.
After leaving the Verdance house, she quickly made her way to where butler James had directed her.
Although it was difficult to find the exact location, she eventually arrived.
"An 'Unawakened' in a creative abyss..."
From Elizabeth's point of view, this was ridiculous.
The unawakened usually die easily in a creative abyss, even those of low rank.
The reason is simple:
Being an unawakened reduces the odds of survival to almost zero. The only way to get out alive is to rely on a strong enough awakened.
Even then, ensuring a higher survival rate is still tricky.
The creative abysses.
These are lands within the same abyss that beings with the title "Creator" can control.
For a creator, the only job is to create creative abysses and invest coins. Earning coins is their way of life, as bankruptcy, which means death, is something creators avoid at all costs.
Elizabeth, however, had only one thought.
"Tks... Not awakened and awakened so mediocre."
The thought of being in this abyss was irritating to her.
This was because being around the weak was a bad habit for her.
Even level 50s were annoying to her.
As a Verdance, she hated the presence of the weak.
She only admired the truly strong.
Elizabeth looked around.
"Tks."
Once again, she clicked her tongue.
There were so many weaklings around it was insulting to her.
When the Shadow Colosseum appeared and she was transported inside, the shadow slaves began killing people.
Even in this situation, her gaze was searching for something.
A small nuisance that had stolen something from her was the only thing that troubled her.
Even the creator of the abyss was irrelevant to her.
"Even if he is a creator, his level is probably close to 90. I shouldn't get too confident."
This was because his current strength was not enough to defeat a level 90.
He lacked a few more levels.
Even so, his stats were still absurd.
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⟨⟨==Survival rate has increased by "0.90" because a participant reached 100 points==⟩⟩
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Every time someone scored 100 points, that message appeared.
Seeing it, Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"That's impossible."
No one here was even level 10. The idea that someone already had those 100 points was absurd.
The level of the shadow slaves was 10, while the participants were between levels 8 and 9, except for the unawakened.
However, Elizabeth smiled as she read the message.
"Did you even wake up?"
Still, it would be strange for someone to become so strong so quickly. It had barely been a day since she had left the Verdance house.
Elizabeth looked around for her brother.
She was surprised, but nothing more.
"It doesn't matter, you're not a Verdance anymore."
Even if he had awakened, he would die if she chose to.
"But... what kind woke up?"
Curiosity overcame her.
Most classes were mediocre or ordinary, but the few people who managed to awaken a unique class and become strong quickly were rare exceptions.
So... Freddy must have awakened a unique class.
That could be it.
Thinking about that possibility, Elizabeth was certain that he had accomplished something special.
But she needed to see it with her own eyes.
Quickly, Elizabeth began killing shadow slaves in a matter of seconds.
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⟨⟨==Survival rate has increased by "0.90" because one participant reached 100 points==⟩⟩
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And, as expected, he completed this creative abyss event with ease.
***
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⟨⟨==Survival rate has increased by "0.90" because one participant reached 100 points==⟩⟩
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This was unexpected.
The creator looked at the message that came suddenly.
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⟨⟨==Survival rate has increased by "0.90" because a participant reached 100 points==⟩⟩
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Once again, the same message appeared.
This indicated that two people had already completed the event.
It meant that there were possibly two high level awakenings. Still, this was very annoying to him.
"It's impossible for me to have miscalculated. They were all below level 10."
That's why he chose the shadow slaves after confirming the level of the participants.
Most of them were unawakened.
He was sure he hadn't made a mistake, but now there were two things different from what he had observed just 20 minutes ago.
"This is something they call... What does it look like...? Ah, right, an 'anomaly', right?".
For a moment, his thoughts were jumbled.
The idea was simple: the event would continue normally after checking the level of the participants. But there was an error that even his own eyes hadn't detected.
Of course, he could not see the exact levels of others, but with magic power it was enough to estimate a person's level.
It is said that magic power reflects the true strength of an individual.
"Damn."
Creator Andariel gritted his teeth.
If these participants continued like this, the chances of going bankrupt were real.
Why hadn't he thought of this before?
The possibility that someone strong enough to bankrupt him would participate was remote, but now it was clear that he had underestimated it.
This was a mistake no creator should make.
The demon Andariel looked again.
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⟨⟨==The survival rate has increased by "10%" due to a participant reaching 500 points==⟩⟩
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New messages appeared at the same time.
He looked at the message with confusion.
It was like a stab in the heart.
It meant that the chances of going bankrupt were even more real.
"Damn... Shit, shit."
The maximum points for assessing rewards was 500.
Of course, no one should have been able to accumulate those points after the evaluation of each participant.
His confidence was so strong that he never considered the possibility of reaching this point.
Only one word crossed his mind: impossible.
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⟨⟨==Survival rate has increased by "0.90" due to one participant reaching 500 points==⟩⟩
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His heart pounded.
"This... It's impossible."
The second participant, who had previously reached 100 points, now reached 500.
Two participants had 500 points and their numbers kept increasing as the seconds ticked by.
Andariel clenched her fists as a dense vapor of magical energy rose from her body. Her yellow eyes, bright as the sun, radiated anger.
There was only one choice.
Andariel had only one chance.
Of course, this involved investing all his coins in a single move.
He couldn't afford any more.
"One level 30 will be enough, right?".
He had no more coins to summon someone stronger.
Resolutely, he pressed the system screen.
New messages flooded his view:
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⟨⟨==The level 30 death knight has been summoned to the 'Shadow Colosseum'===⟩⟩
⟨⟨==If you kill the death knight, 5000 shadow points will be obtained. However, if you fail to defeat him in the next 10 minutes, all participants will be eliminated==⟩⟩
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Andariel smiled, albeit nervously.
Yes, this was all he could do.
All his coins had been invested in the level 30 death knight.
He had gambled everything.
If the death knight dies, Andariel will go bankrupt and will also perish. But, if the death knight kills all the participants, he will win a significant amount of coins.
***
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⟨⟨==The survival rate has increased by "15.88" because one participant reached 1000 points==⟩⟩
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Freddy brandished his sword.
At the same time, messages invaded his mind.
He had noticed something unbelievable until that moment.
The way to defeat the shadow slaves showed a terrible weakness in them.
"The magical power of death."
It was only necessary to use a small amount of this magical power to finish off the shadow slaves.
Although they were more than just shadows, the magic power of death had the peculiarity of reducing them to dust.
Despite being shadows, they seemed to react to the very essence of death.
"My assumptions were correct."
The magical power of death, granted by the 'Sword of Death', was at least tens of times stronger than ordinary magical power.
This meant that it was probably a magical power that witches used on a daily basis.
The witches of the Abyss surely mastered this kind of magic power.
"This is quite..."
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⟨⟨==The level 30 death knight has been summoned to the 'Colosseum of Shadows'===⟩⟩
⟨⟨==If you kill the death knight, 5000 shadow points will be obtained. However, if you fail to defeat him in the next 10 minutes, all participants will be killed==⟩⟩
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"....."
"W-what... what... is that?"
Suddenly, a curtain of magical power, similar to the magical power of death, emerged in the center of the coliseum.
At the same time, a knight with a long sword and imposing armor appeared in the middle of the arena.
It was the level 30 death knight.