Taking a deep breath, Michael patiently watched with balled fists as the video continued playing.
The Merchant's voice resounded once more, the tone of his voice more imposing.
[Would you be strong?](Merchant)
With the video returning to his small shop in the middle of the wilderness, he was standing in front of an anvil, sharpening the blade of an axe.
[Then, I can grant you the might to overpower any foe!](Merchant)
The video cut to a third figure, apparently in the midst of battling against a group of soldiers.
A burly physique, red skin, and a mighty axe at least two meters long. Letting out a wild roar, the warrior began spinning like a top, allowing his weapon to demolish the 'creeps' ranks, only for two hand-blades to stop its advance.
With a deep guttural growl, the enemy hero who had just intervened was sent flying into a flight of stairs, creating a deep pit in the hard stone. Just as the axe was about to fall and finish the job, the strange, smaller enemy hero backflipped and avoided it.
Not willing to relent, the red-skinned hero smacked the head of the axe in the chest of his foe, sending him sprawling once more.
Grinning as he calmly approached his downed opponent, the red orc paused upon seeing the cunning smile flashing on his enemy's face.
Two new heroes appeared around him. One sporting two warglavies literally teleported behind him to draw his attention while a strange creature with brown fur lunged at him while smashing a huge wooden totem into the ground.
A large fissure appeared under the red orc's feet, the shockwave sending him flying into a nearby wall.
Undaunted, he let out a rough laugh as he re-engaged the trio.
With the video returning to the Merchant, leaving the fate of the four heroes unknown, the deep voice echoed once more.
[Would you be wise?](Merchant)
Holding a satchel from which blue glowing powder fell to the ground, the portly man took a handful and threw it at the campfire, forcing the image to change to a different battle.
[Then come closer, and I'll unlock your inner cunning!](Merchant)
In this new scene, two strange figures were fighting at close range. The attacker sported a mace and aimed it at his opponent, only for the blue fatty to duck and grin, letting out a mocking laughter.
The violet-skinned creature was humanoid but had only four fingers on his hands. As for its head, it looked almost human if not for its lack of... well, face.
It did have a mouth but no eyes, nose, or ears, and its head resembled a hammer shark more than a human.
After evading the mace, the blue-skinned, jolly figure threw a ranged ball of lightning at his enemy, only for it to avoid it effortlessly.
Undisturbed by his foe's uncanny movements, a surge of lightning followed, and the blue figure moved at incredible speeds, leaving behind five lightning remnants surrounding the opponent.
With a thunderous discharge, the human-looking elemental tipped his conic hat to show respect and calmly walked away.
Another fight was shown nearby, with a monstrous winged creature with a humanoid build chasing after a much thinner opponent lashing with a whip.
Hurt by the strike, the winged creature's mouth opened in four different directions simultaneously, showcasing a nightmare-inducing set of teeth, allowing the fear to temporarily stun its enemy and gain an advantage.
Somewhere else, an abomination with a large body from which the guts were hanging threw a hook at an enemy more than ten meters away, only for the super-sized scorpion to avoid it, then dive into the ground and exit underneath his enemy, stunning and damaging him at the same time.
Finally, the gorgeous Lina weaved through the air as she hurled flames at the sister, who, in response, raised walls of ice to block and attack her.
Unlike the redhead beauty, Rylei had blue, glowing eyes and blue hair, cold air emanating from her mere presence.
Large amounts of steam were released every time these two clashed, with none giving way to the other.
[What does a hero truly need...](Merchant)
The image zoomed out, showing three different lanes in which both soldiers and heroes were facing off against each other, a flurry of skills and spells continuously thrown.
The sounds of chaotic fights slowly died down, and the image continuously zoomed out until the battleground disappeared and the Merchant was brought back into focus.
Raising his head as he watched a tall knight leap off a cliff, turn into a dragon, and then engage a poisonous flying viper, a malevolent smile appeared on the man's face.
Eyes closed into slits as he turned to gaze at the audience, he spoke for one last time.
[That is for you to decide.](Merchant)
Less than two minutes worth of footage, but a video that would enter the halls of history in the Green Sanctuary.
The DOTA 2 emblem appeared, with the name of the game shown on a dark fading background.
Only when the full map of the island was shown did the three judges and the audience finally react.
Good or bad, Michael managed to entrench himself into the minds of those who have watched the trailer.
--------Scene Break--------
The three judges, sporting awkward expressions, stood above the island, a system notice prompting them to choose a side.
Unfortunately, since Michael didn't have time to improve the Secret Realm further, only one person at a time could enter.
Stumped, the trio looked at each other.
[In that case, I will let you seniors do the honors. I already have an idea of what this Secret Realm should be about since I kept in touch with this trainee.](Morano)
[Oh? Then, do you have any suggestions?](Roland)
[Hmm... I think Elder Roland should try it first. From what that brat told me, what he brought over and what we are experiencing now should be the demo version of his project. Elder Melinda and I can inspect the virtual world. Even if it's not yet complete, the Concept should be interesting. I can at least guarantee that much.](Morano)
[Hoh? That confident? That's fine. We can postpone his evaluation and try out the demo ourselves after all other examinees are done with their presentations.](Melinda)
[Then, I won't be polite.](Roland)
Seeing two of the three judges take off their headsets less than a minute after the promotional video ended, Michael received a large amount of strange stares.
The judges could tell they were pitying him, but only they were aware of the real reason behind this action.
Taking two steps forward, the young man once again scanned his smartwatch and downloaded the Full Version of the game—at least what he had worked on so far—and nodded to show it was ready for browsing.
Curious, Elder Melinda reconnected her headset and found herself flying above the same island as before.
However, this time, there was a different feeling.
The island gave her a feeling of a forbidden territory, with three specific places emanating the type of pressure she had only felt from their Nascent Soul sect master.
Weirded out since a Qi Gathering newbie couldn't possibly display the majesty of a high-level cultivator, even in a virtual world, she delved deeper into the backstory.
Allowing herself to sense the Concept Michael infused so far, a story took shape in her mind.
[Two divine beings imprisoned, yet their wills continue to infect the world's people. As a final resort, the leaders exiled them to this island, where rituals are being held to satisfy the divine beings' cravings for death and destruction. This... is this something an 18-year-old child can come up with?](Melinda)
She continued exploring the ideas the young man had in plan for the Full Version, and she found the Concepts ludicrous. They had almost nothing to do with previous demonic invasions nor actually related to the concept of cultivation.
Fortunately, she found some notes made by Michael regarding his plans for the game mechanics, the leveling system, the Tallent Tree, as well as the total 124 heroes and the skills they each possessed.
Exiting the deep dive since the time had ended, she sported a strange expression as if confused and unsure how to react to what she'd seen.
Fortunately for her, there was someone in an even worse state, glancing at the screen behind him with some embarrassment.
Thinking about how the audience just saw him getting beaten and sent flying by the floating lady, Elder Rolan wished he could find a hole to hide in.
--------Scene Break--------
Backtracking less than ten minutes ago, Elder Rolan entered the game instance and found himself standing beside a tall tower. Ten soldiers at the Qi Gathering level but physically weaker were contending against each other, fighting in the shallow river.
Just as he prepared to inspect the game mechanics, a gentle mechanical voice explained the general situation and what he needed to do.
[Let's see... what a weird concept... What sort of body is this? I can't feel anything below my waist, but I can still move as if I'm taking a step forward. Odd... Four skills and normal ranged attacks, and I am one of these 'heroes,' a cultivator of this world stronger than normal soldiers. A novel concept, I have to say... Huh?](Rolan)
Just as the Elder was busy inspecting what this young man cooked up, a sense of impending danger filled his mind.
Wanting to escape, he tried using his body movement technique to make a clean breakaway, only to find himself restricted by the Heavenly Laws in both cultivation and skills to the 1st-level Qi Gathering.
With his 'attributes' limited, he clumsily tried to move from the affected area but failed to do so in time.
A pillar of flames poured from above, smashing him into the ground. There was no sense of pain, but a red health bar in the left corner of his eyes diminished by more than 20%.
Before he could gather his bearings, a wild beauty came floating over, launching multiple fireballs at him while he was still dazed and getting up.
His HP dropped even further.
Showcasing the experience of a Golden Core cultivator, he avoided the follow-up attack by sidestepping five continuous ranged attacks, only to see a large wave in the form of a flaming bird impact him and send him smashing into the tower behind.
While none of the attacks hurt, his ego was severely bruised as the lady continued hurling fireballs, not willing to give him any breathing room.
Sneering and wanting to sidestep the attacks again, he found himself unable to do so, as the speed with which they were moving was much faster than before.
With Lina's passive skill, Fiery Soul, activated, the poor Elder found himself at 15% HP and then brutally zapped to death by a lightning bolt.
The world turned gray, and he watched from above as his body slowly disintegrated while the enemy unleashed a brutal massacre upon his side's soldiers.
Once the wave was exterminated, a golden glow covered the wild beauty, the feeling reminding the Elder of a cultivation-level breakthrough.
Once twenty seconds were up, he resurrected beside the same tower. He only had two active skills available to use, but one required him to be much closer to the target to deal damage. Furthermore, he lacked the 'souls' and the skill needed to be channeled for two seconds.
Understanding how Raze should be used, he approached Lina and, once in range, waved his hand to cast it. A strange demonic energy erupted from the ground and attacked his opponent, dealing 20% of her Hit Points as damage.
Laughing wildly, he moved closer to use mid-range Raze, only to find himself staring at a strange blue talisman the woman was wearing around her neck.
Strange information poured into his mind explaining what the item offered in terms of attributes, prompting a perplexed expression to appear on the Elder's face.
Just like before, the familiar combo followed, allowing Lina to use three consecutive skills and wipe out his Hit Points in one go.
Just like that, he died for the second time.
Realizing he could buy items, he spent the waiting time while he was being resurrected to browse the Shop for interesting artifacts, ending up spending 700+ gold coins buying some trinkets the system recommended, such as the Wraith Band and a Magic Stick.
Unfortunately for him, Lina leveled up again after killing him for the second time and wiping out another wave of creeps, now showcasing the power of a 3rd-level Qi Gathering cultivator, while the Elder was still at the 1st.
The result was obvious. Even if he somehow managed to persist a while longer, that vicious woman's attacks were much faster than he could avoid.
Furthermore, her skills area of effect was quite large, making him unable to dodge in time.
Upon his third death it was GG, and Elder Rolan was sent out of the simulation.
--------Scene Break--------
Returning to the present, the three judges had strange expressions on their faces and unanimously called for a postponement since they didn't actually have enough time to properly do their jobs.
Seconds after, the Heavenly Laws assessment followed.