The announcement of the AI was loud for everyone who had logged into the game to hear..
In Ultra fighters , people usually fought with individuals of the same rank... This was not a setting of the game, but it was an unspoken rule in the game... After all, no one wanted to duke it out with someone who had a higher rank than them and end up being trashed, beaten and humiliated...
If this were some console game where there was no sense of pain and reality ,many would have loved to duke it out with stronger awakened..
However this was 99% reality simulation virtual reality ... Everything one felt in the game was freaking realistic ...
No one wanted to experience the crushing strength of someone of a higher rank ...
This was why Erindor had battled with opponents of the same rank and not tried to battle opponents of a lower rank ,because he was completely aware of the fact that only opponents of the same rank would accept his request to duke it out... no one below his rank would accept his request for battle... As for people above his rank, they would simply treat him as unimportant and a waste of time and reject his offer...
Also, due this same 'unspoke rule ' reason, when Erindor's winning streak was publicly announced by the AI, everyone online knew that this Viper had secured ten consecutive wins against individuals of the same rank as him .....
This showed the individual's potential was not small, and that they were very talented...
" The hell?... A winning streak?...."
"Who's this Viper?"...
" Quickly let's search for the videos of his winning streak battles right now..."
" It looks like another dark horse has appeared ...."..
This and many other conversations had broken out concerning 'Viper ' in the game and on social media platforms concerning Erindor...
A lot of gamers secured the matches of his winning streak recorded by the AI of the game and started watching the match from various locations in the game via holographic screens... The chat forums in the game was full of discussions concerning this "Viper ".
In one of the game forums for instance...
Mylazynose: "Oh my God... Did you see that ... What's that ... He just disappeared and then turned into some dark knight with some eerie sword and slew his opponent?... "..
I am so awesome : " Idiot... Take your time .. and watch it well... He merged with the shadow of his opponent and did some weird stuff from there ... I don't really know the details of how he did the things that followed.....but I know that Viper guy... He's from my school and city... He's called Erindor Thorne... I clearly remember his face... That affinity he used is probably the shadow affinity.... The guy he beat up is also someone from my class... I can't believe this guy actually beat up someone from a senior class... Hehe...."
Sister Loly :" Damn.... So that guy has the shadow affinity... Wait... I'm also from Pristborne City... Aren't there only two shadow affinity users in the world ,one being the Vice Principal of Pristborn City academy , and the other being some trash with an F grade talent... Does that mean..?.."
I am so awesome : " Yeah that's him... The guy who awakened the lightning affinity, fire affinity and the rare shadow affinity, only to turn out with an F grade talent... That's him....no one knows why but this guy is some monster ... For some reason no one knows , recently he miraculously became E+ rank overnight and recorded a S grade talent for the talent assessment at the awakening centre... Rumors on campus also has it that he beat up a Mchealson -a scion of an influential family in Pristborn City, who used to bully him so bad that the guy broke... Surprisingly, the academy did nothing about it.... It looks like the academy now values him more than even a Michaelson Scion.... Hehe..."
Sister Loly " .... The hell?... This guy is actually such a monster..?... ".
Holy Moly " a genius with three affinities and an S grade talent?... I thought it was all a rumor.... Turns out it's true.... Even how he beat up his opponents is crazy ... They didn't even manage to land a hit on him... He's also extremely vicious ... Look at how he ended his tenth opponent... After that, he appeared somewhere on the battlefield with his hands in his hoodie pockets like nothing had happened..."
This and many other conversations concerning Viper had broken out , even amogst social media platforms in the real world, outside the forums in the game...
*****
A few minutes ago...right after Erindor finished his battle with Voltage.
When Erindor saw the notification for a request for a match on his holographic screen, he was a little taken aback .....
-"Red Magma.... She's a D rank ..Isn't she shameless... Doesn't she know about the unspoken rule where you don't request for match from a lower ranked ?... Is she expecting me to accept this match , only to be trashed by her to boost her reputation?...She wants to use me as a stepping stone for fame errr .....
I'm actually on the verge of breaking through to the D rank... Let's return to the real world and break through to D rank, then I will return and accept her request..... then we will see who will trash the other around... "
*******
Erindor removed the helmet and got up from the pod...
He quickly sat in a lotus position where he could absorb the worldly natural energy faster, his focus on the worldly natural energy in his environs ..
The worldy natural energy rummaged his cells at a quick pace , due to his monstrous S rank talent...
******
A dark oozy smelly subtance traced on Erindor's body...
However a smile was on his face.. Erindor had broken through to the D rank.... Just a few weeks ago, he was a meager F ranked awakened... but just now, he has broken through to the D rank .... However, he was not too satisfied with his results... He had just stepped into the beginner D rank level not even the intermediate D rank level or the D+ rank... If anyone were to be in Erindor's mind, they would have stabbed him to death ...
- "It's a shame that the worldly natural energy of the real world is nowhere compared to that of the time dilation artifact ... If I had broken through in the artifact, my results would have been better.... I can't wait to enter the time dilation artifact again... I need to grow stronger quickly...Im still too weak.." Images of his parents flashed through his mind as he stood up... He had to avenge them...But he was still too weak, whiles those demonic beasts were out there roaming around freely and causing more havoc ...
Erindor sighed... " Baby steps... Erindor... Baby steps..".. he proceeded to the shower in the training hall to take a shower ...
On the way back from the washroom, Erindor realised that the area at which he could sense shadows had broadened a little , although not very significant compared to before...
-" I guess it's understandable ,since being at the E+ rank was not that far from the D rank so I'm not surprised at this insignificant improvement "
****
Erindor had eaten a meal, then performed a set of body movements to test his new increase in strength .He felt his body had become more flexible , his movements had become more fluid and his vision had become more clearer, albeit not significantly ...
Erindor proceded to check the time... "The hell?....according to this time... It's been one month since I used the time dilation artifact?.. And also many days since I logged off Ultra fighters ?"...
He was surprised that he had taking so long in breaking through to the D rank ... The time passed by in a flash... He had assumed it had just been a few days...
" I suppose the worldly natural energy of this world can really not be compared to that of the time dilation artifact ..... No wonder it took a longer time to break through ... " Erindor sighed....
" I suppose I should forget about this Red Magma and return to the time dilation artifact and make good use of it .... I can't waste any more time on useless stuff... If a demonic beast invasion occurs, I will be too weak to protect myself..... I need to be stronger..."...
Erindor willed for the time dilation artifact to appear before him...
The palm sized miniature orb liked device floated , defying gravity ..
Quickly, Erindor disappeared from the training hall, the orb, turning completely invisible, as though it had disappeared from where it was....
*****
Meanwhile, in the weeks Erindor had been absent from the game... The name " Viper" had become ridiculously known..
Ultra fighters was a virtual reality game that was very popular in the world... So when videos about Viper's winning streak and his unique method of fighting caught the attention of many in the game and on social media platforms in the real world, many expected him to appear and do more flashy stuff, however, he suddenly disappeared...
Many social media platforms and people were asking " Where is Viper?".....