MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

1140  Same but Different

Whoosh!

At the very moment the last person still fighting against their beast finally decided to surrender, Scho'doxa's voice soon echoed throughout the entire arena, causing everyone fighting for their lives to let out wide sighs of relief.

"The second round is now over."

As the people in the arena heard those words, almost all of them ignored the fact that the ground below them was soaked in blood, sitting down as they slumped on the ground.

After getting a bit of rest, those people stood up once more, grinning as they looked at their friends and comrades who'd passed the second round just like them.

However, for those who were slightly more unlucky in their placement, those people were instead placed within the center of carnage, with all of the people that used to surround them now turned into chunks of blood and gore.

Then again, those people surrounded by such a sight instead felt even more relief that they lived to tell the tale, thanking both the heavens and themselves for having the ability to push their bodies as much as they did.

With that, it did not take long for Scho'doxa to make his move once more, teleporting all of the people within the arena away with a sweep of his arms, returning them back to the large field they were in before.

Swoosh!

As the 341 people that automatically passed the second round were teleported back to the field after that, everyone soon began to look up at the man that hovered above them, only now realizing that the man was far more terrifying than he initially seemed.

Oblivious to the thoughts and impressions some of the people had towards him, Scho'doxa briefly glanced over everyone before nodding with a satisfied expression.

"Not bad."

"Out of the 25 million of you that entered the second round, roughly 13 million of you decided to surrender," said the man. "A small portion of those 13 million surrendered just after fighting the first beast."

"However, the majority of those that surrendered pushed themselves to their very limits, wanting to see how far they could go before realizing where their limits were."

"Though all of them have been returned to your home planet as of this moment, I would like to say that those people have shown a level of courage that even I, Scho'doxa, would highly respect."

"Unfortunately…" Just as those that remained after the second round thought that the man above them was going to continue talking about positive things, the man's next words caused the expressions of many among them to turn grim.

"Out of the over 12 million that remained on the arena, around half of that figure succumbed to the beasts they fought," Scho'doxa told everyone, taking on a neutral tone. "Of course, the reasons as to why they succumbed varied. It could be overconfidence, arrogance, fear, or any other reason that anyone here could come up with."

"Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that only over 6 million of you remain on the field as we speak."

Whoosh!

To no surprise, the entire field turned silent in response to Scho'doxa's words. Whether it was grieving the fallen, giving their condolences, or inwardly crying their hearts out for the ones that lost their lives, they took the silence as an opportunity to recall and think about these people for some time.

Yet, all of the people knew that those people that lost their lives to the beasts had made the choice that brought such a fate onto themselves.

With that, it did not take long for them to remind themselves that, just like anything in life…

They had to move on.

Watching a considerable number of people let out collective sighs in response to their thoughts, Scho'doxa decided to break the silence as he spoke. "It's quite commendable that all of you have decided to briefly take the time to mourn over those that lost their lives."

"However, let me remind you that all of those people have chosen the paths that they did," continued the man, his words resonating with the earlier thoughts of the majority. "I have given everyone here a way out beforehand, even going so far as to remind everyone to not bite off more than they could chew."

"But in the end, we are entirely responsible for our own choices. If they thought that they had the capability to fight against the beast even though they didn't… then so be it."

"I hope their decisions serve as a good example to all of you," said Scho'doxa, sweeping his gaze over the 6 million people on the field. "A good example of what not to do in a situation where your lives at stake."

"After all, even if you live to tell the tale now… that doesn't mean you'll live to tell the tale forever." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"All the advice aside, let me reward everyone for their efforts thus far."

At those words, Scho'doxa waved his arms outward, prompting almost everyone on the field to receive notifications from their systems all of a sudden.

Though, before they could even check on what notifications they received exactly, a set of bottles soon began to fly towards the crowd, all of which contained a golden pill that those excluded from the second round had become more than familiar with.

"Now, before you take those pills, let me tell you something beforehand." Learning from his mistakes during the second round, Scho'doxa went ahead and took the initiative to explain the effects of the pills to everyone.

Naturally, he also explained how the pill's effects would grow better the more rounds they passed. However, that still did not stop some of them from consuming the pills within their bottles without hesitation.

Bitterly smiling at how foolhardy some people were in the face of good advice, the man slightly shook his head before giving everyone a brief explanation regarding the notifications they received.

Talking about the upgrade to their title in detail, even those that automatically passed the second round listened to what Scho'doxa had to say, curious as to whether the man would give tidbits of information that they didn't do.

Surprisingly, he did, causing not only them, but the entire crowd of 6 million people that remained on the field to become excited for the third round.

"Though I'll be giving you all some time to rest after the second round, it doesn't hurt to tell you what the third round is going to be like beforehand." Realizing that he turned a negative into a positive, Scho'doxa faintly smiled as he introduced the next round of the tournament to everyone.

"In short, the third round is the same as the second round, but also different in a way."

"That's because… instead of fighting beasts…"

"You'll be fighting against human puppets!"