Chapter 437: Raising the Stakes
Mei Terumi reacted quickly, immediately saying, "Socia, I want to raise my bet!"
"Socia, I want to raise my bet too."
"So do I."
The top players all began speaking out.
Even those usually calm and laid-back like Shanks and Whitebeard couldn't help but stare red-eyed at the black-haired youth who had just displayed astounding talent.
Raising the stakes was a way for those who had already bet to personally support a new player by giving them extra benefits.
By spending reward points, players could purchase monsters to be placed near the new player. These purchased monsters would drop guaranteed treasure chests.
Once hunted, they would greatly accelerate the newcomer's growth.
It was a method of interfering with the leaderboard.
However…
Normally, no player would be willing to raise the stakes.
Because the cost was too steep.
When buying polluted monsters for newcomers, the game didn't adjust the price based on the monster's strength. It always used the highest-level monster encountered in the current trial for pricing.
In other words, even if Mei Terumi wanted to buy the weakest goblin, she'd have to pay as though she were buying a [Polluted GBL Cultist] matched for the immensely strong Saint Lord.
Such a loss-making deal—only someone completely out of their mind would go for it.
But there were exceptions.
Like now.
When a newcomer had enough potential to shake all the top players, even those factions would go all in to steal that one chance to recruit them first.
Mei Terumi raised her stakes to ensure that her chosen, Ying Zheng, could seize first place.
The others raised their stakes to prevent him from doing so—if he didn't win, Mei Terumi would lose her exclusive recruitment rights.
Mei Terumi's voice turned cold. "Everyone, the black-haired boy was my pick first. Are you trying to make enemies of Kirigakure?"
"Kiri doesn't have the strength to be our enemy," Akainu retorted. "If we weren't maintaining balance between the worlds, the Navy would've purged you long ago."
To him, Ying Zheng was already a future Navy superweapon—he couldn't be handed over to someone else.
And even without Aokiji, the Navy still had the capital to look down on all others.
Tsunade looked at the busty Mizukage, teasing, "Just supporting my pick—is that a crime now?"
"Fine then."
Mei Terumi gritted her teeth in frustration, but she couldn't stop them.
This kind of stake-raising contest had not been forbidden by the game—it was tacitly approved by the Game Master.
Players fighting each other and dumping reward points into this would all end up in the Game Master's pocket. Everyone knew how much the game liked to bleed them dry, and complaints to Fang Yi were useless.
Such a rare gem of a newcomer—Kirigakure would not let go so easily.
So, it came down to who had deeper pockets.
"Thanks to the Fire Shadow's betrayal, I was able to redirect Kirigakure's internal clan conflicts to the front lines and fully consolidate power in the rear."
Mei Terumi had no fear of being outspent.
With help from Kanjiro, Haku, and Zabuza, she had forged Kirigakure into a solid iron wall.
No longer the puppet village it once was, beholden to elders and clan leaders.
Other factions—
Whitebeard's pirates and the Ghost Slayer Corps were united but had limited funds.
Shanks and Aokiji's adventurer group was more like a startup allied loosely with various countries—also short on cash.
Konoha had potential, but the Fire Shadow's faction and the clans were at odds, and tensions ran high with the Mobile Corps.
The Navy had the deepest pockets, but like Konoha, its command structure was fragmented.
Mei Terumi smirked coldly. "Hmph, don't think only the Navy has an intelligence division. Kiri's ANBU aren't pushovers either."
But very soon, her smile faded.
Because the other top players, despite their rivalries, temporarily set aside their differences to jointly raise the stakes for the same newcomer.
There were no eternal enemies—only eternal interests.
Clearly, Ying Zheng's stunning performance had made even bitter rivals forget their grudges, if only for now.
"Poison Fang Pierce…"
Rai Pi Snake bit through a demon's throat and violently injected its venom.
The demon collapsed, and a treasure chest appeared.
"Another one?"
The snake was ecstatic—why did it feel like the drop rate had suddenly skyrocketed?
Previously, it took killing a dozen demons to get a white chest.
Now, nearly every kill guaranteed a drop.
"Even the fallen True Dragon must be watching over me, recognizing I, Rai Pi Snake, as the future ruler of the sea!"
It absorbed the dragon energy inside the chest and writhed on the ground in ecstasy.
Suddenly—
Tiny, thick scales sprouted on its spectral tail.
Rai Pi Snake threw its head back and roared in triumph.
As a snake, it could never break through its life form ceiling—not unless it crossed the Dragon Gate and became a True Dragon.
But now, its snake tail had grown an actual scale—dragon scale!
Every True Dragon had its own set of unique dragon scales.
Its former superior, the now-fallen True Dragon, possessed five:
Pao Pao's golden scale,Seahorse's gemstone blue,Jellyfish's jade green,Traitor Green Turtle's fiery red,Vine Dragon's life-giving scale…
Each represented strength, agility, spirit, fire, and vitality.
Rai Pi Snake's new scale wasn't yet a true dragon scale, only infused with a hint of dragon energy.
But it foreshadowed its potential—as a True Dragon, its attribute would be [Poison].
"Poison dragons are still dragons. True Dragon—you'll regret not choosing me as your heir!"
It thrashed wildly and dove deeper into the lava pits.
Its hunger for dragon energy had reached its peak.
This time—
Rai Pi Snake encountered a commander-level demon and was nearly split in two by its axe.
But driven by its dream of becoming a dragon, it turned the tables and slew the demon.
A glowing blue chest appeared.
It opened it with trembling excitement—not dragon energy, but something else: a damaged dragon crystal.
[Dragon Crystal of a Tier-2 Poison Dragon (Broken)]: A fallen poison dragon's condensed essence. Absorbing it may grant the Poison Dragon bloodline.
"A poison dragon... with wings and a fat belly? That thing dares call itself a dragon?"
Rai Pi Snake's ecstatic expression turned disgusted.
It stared at the rare item with contempt.
To Rai Pi Snake, western dragons were no better than overgrown lizards. Only serpentine dragons like itself deserved the title of True Dragon.
It wasn't about being some weakling with diluted dragon blood like the Vine Dragon.
Smash!
With a swipe of its tail, it shattered the dragon crystal.
No fusion—just pure absorption of the dragon energy and poison essence.
[Venom Dragon Scale (Lv.1)]: A barely formed scale that grants the power of venom to its bearer.
"Success!"
Rai Pi Snake howled madly.
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