Chapter 58: The Contestants

I didn’t even have time to turn in my quest before I used my return scroll, and in a flash of light, I found myself back in the long-missed Hurricane City. Not far away, Murong Shanshan stood clad in fiery red armor.

I hurried over. “Shanshan, what was so urgent that you had to call me back?”

She blinked at me. “Didn’t you notice that Hurricane City is a little different today?”

I glanced around and finally realized that, at some point, snow had begun to fall in the city. Beautiful snowflakes drifted through every corner. Perhaps the developers hadn’t had time to adjust the program, because even the grass by the roadside was still there, now dusted with snow. It lent the place a unique charm—less realistic than the world outside, but more romantic. The stone-built bridges and medieval European architecture were now blanketed in white, and beside me stood a beautiful girl, fair as ice and jade.

“So you called me back just to show me this?” I murmured.

“Isn’t this important enough?” she retorted. “By the way, did you read today’s game announcement?”

“I logged in too quickly and skipped it. What’s up?”

She looked at me in surprise. “You really are something! In three days, there will be a unified system maintenance. After that, they’re adding free-form friendly PvP, so we can actually spar. But more importantly, there’s going to be a new event—the Hero’s Challenge! It’s basically a martial arts tournament. The top twenty will all get prizes.”

That piqued my interest. “Is it a global competition?”

“Of course not! For now, it’s just among players from our city. If it were worldwide, the servers would explode! They’ll need to use regional servers for that.”

I thought it over and nodded, then grinned at her. “So, do you have any plans? You’re the second-ranked player in town now. It’d be a shame if you didn’t even make the top ten—it could hurt your prospects!”

She shot me a look. “Please. With my current gear and skills, I could take down a Berserker in under a minute. Believe it?”

“Of course I believe you! So, is it only solo matches, or are there team battles too?”

“There are team battles too! Five-person teams. By the way, three of the town’s top ten are from the Green Veggies Guild. Maybe I should join your group for the competition? We just need five people to sign up at the palace.”

Having Murong Shanshan, a near-guaranteed expert, join us was obviously great—but didn’t she already have her own group?

“Shanshan, if you join our team, what about Keke and the others?”

“Oh, right! If I leave, what will those idiots do? Maybe I’d better go back and lead them myself!” she said, suddenly realizing.

Beep!

Xin Yu messaged me, urging me to come eat. I looked at Murong Shanshan. “I’ve got to go for lunch. Have you eaten yet?”

She replied carelessly, “Go ahead. I’m dieting—let’s eat together tonight!”

I smiled and logged off. With her figure, did she really need to diet? Heaven help her if she slims down her nearly perfect bust—she’d have no chance against Xin Yu’s, ahem, assets. With those wicked thoughts, I left my room.

Everyone was already seated at the table. Today, Xin Yu was in charge of cooking, and everyone was looking forward to it. Of the seven girls here, her cooking was the best, with Xue Han a close second. The rest… well, as long as you didn’t go hungry, it was fine.

Xin Yu sat next to me and asked, “You heard about the Hero’s Challenge, right?”

I nodded. She went on, “Xue Han and I are almost level 25; we should be able to make the five-person team. Lin-jie is level 24, but with her equipment and skills, she’ll definitely get in. Add you, and we only need one more.”

I thought over our potential lineup: swordsman, mage, priest, archer—melee, ranged, healing, all covered. No truly essential class left. If we needed a fifth, it should be Li Qing the summoner: more attack power and a summon pet to tank.

I didn’t even need to suggest it. Xu Lin spoke up first, “Let’s add Li Qing. Her summoned elementals are pretty good in PvP—their attack is about the same as a white-equipment swordsman.”

No one objected, and the meal became lively as everyone talked about the Hero’s Challenge. Though Joly, Liu Yun, and Guozi would have to find other teams for the group matches, they could still enter the solo competition.

“Lin Fan, what are you smiling about?” Xin Yu nudged me, pouring me soup.

I grinned. “Xin Yu, what do you think the first prize will be? Maybe an artifact, or a top-level skill book?”

She shot me a glare. “Of course not! If they handed out artifacts after just a month, no one else would stand a chance. As for top-level skill books, even if you got one, you couldn’t use it—those require level 80 or higher, and their power is incredible!”

I nodded in agreement. Just then, Xu Lin looked at me and said, “Lin Fan, you’re currently the highest level in town, three levels above Murong Shanshan. You shouldn’t have any trouble taking first place in the solo competition, right?”

“Not necessarily. There’s always someone better out there; who knows what kind of experts might show up and one-shot me...”

Xu Lin immediately rolled her eyes. “Come on, you’ve got at least 1,200 HP, right? Who could possibly one-shot you? I’ll tell you: yesterday I partied with a level 22 swordsman. He only had two pieces of level 12 green gear. I asked his stat allocation—three strength, one stamina, one agility per five points. Guess how much HP he had?”

“How much?” Xin Yu’s beautiful eyes widened, her slender, white neck visible beneath her collar.

“Six hundred and twenty-four!” Xu Lin’s answer surprised everyone. She continued, “His defense was 113, attack 72–104, wielding a white two-handed sword with 9–18 attack. Lin Fan, what are your stats?”

I was inwardly amazed—it’s hard to know how overpowered you are until you compare. Under everyone’s eager gaze, I reported, “HP: 1,530. Attack: 220–284. Defense: 302. Don’t… don’t look at me like that…”

“You’re a total monster!” Xin Yu said softly, then added, “The man I like is anything but ordinary!”

Xu Lin laughed. “That swordsman’s stats are about average for most players right now. Our gear isn’t as good as Lin Fan’s, but compared to most others, we’re way ahead. Let’s all do our best to place well in the team competition!”