[Welcome to the Battle Arena]
[To level up to the next rank, you need to win 99 matches in the Iron-rank arena.]
Silas read the prompt that appeared in his eyes. This was not made by Rion; it was by the AI in charge of the Battle Arena, Athena.
[Current rank: Iron (100)]
"Rion, I can hide my appearance and name, right?" he asked.
"Yes, you only need to inform Athena about changing your name. As for your face, you can only choose to make it non-visible," Rion explained.
"That is enough."
"Athena," Silas called out to the AI.
"Yes," the response came shortly after, cold and deliberate.
"I want to change my name and appearance," he said casually.
"What is the new name?"
"Rion," Silas said.
"Name changed successfully. Appearance has been hidden from all viewers and opponents."
[Do you wish to start matchmaking?]
Another prompt appeared.
"Yes," Silas replied almost immediately.
[Would you defeat 10 Iron (100) opponents or 1 Iron (99) opponent to advance to the next level?]
"No."
In front of him, a figure flickered into existence.
The person was a young man brimming with overwhelming confidence.
Silas felt his stage at once.
'Expert rank, just like me,' he thought with a smile.
He had never been able to truly see how strong he had become compared to others of the same rank after advancing.
He had only fought twice after advancing, against people who were far above him in cultivation ranks.
[Both participants should get ready.]
[Match starts in 3]
The boy brought out his gauntlets, deep red gauntlets that glistened with an otherworldly light.
[2]
Silas brought his weapon out, his specially created rifle.
"Wait, is that a gun?" the boy asked, bursting into laughter as the countdown reached zero.
Silas looked at the boy's expression and laughed. It was expected; guns were known for their low power and speed against stronger cultivators.
The strongest gun created in the human race could at most kill a Marshal-rank cultivator, but it cost a fortune.
"Boy, it seems you don't know how weak guns are at the current level of development," the opponent began to talk, about to explain to Silas, when he felt it—a hole pierced through his head, burrowing through it cleanly.
The body fell with a thud, disappearing shortly after.
"He talks too much," Silas muttered as he lowered his rifle.
[Name: Silas (Rion)]
[Current rank: Iron (99)]
[Wins: 1, Losses: 0, Draws: 0]
[Spectators: 1]
Silas was surprised, seeing that he already had a spectator so fast.
Looking at the name of the spectator, his lips twitched.
It was none other than the boy he had just defeated.
"Whatever," Silas said.
"Next," he said to the AI.
The next opponent appeared, an older boy, but still clearly under a hundred years old.
Seeing Silas's weapon, he reacted the same as the previous person, but he did not let his guard down.
That had little to do with Silas.
He pointed his rifle at the opponent, pulling the trigger instantly as a compressed mana bullet shot out, piercing through the opponent's head.
Again, he won without even engaging.
But this only increased his spectators. The opponent had joined the list of spectators.
Three hours passed.
Silas had killed all his opponents with just one bullet in that time. He was already at Iron (1), just a single bullet away from Bronze (100).
All his enemies in that time had also joined his spectators.
He now had a staggering 1000+ viewers, his enemies and probably their friends.
"Master Rion is about to play his next match. Let's quickly bet against the opponent's spectators," one of Silas's spectators said.
This was one of the reasons why they could not leave.
Since Silas entered the top 50, his opponents had been having spectators who believed Silas would lose.
By betting, they could reap as many benefits as they wanted.
Although not all of them were placing bets. Some prodigious clan masters were already thinking about how much their base power would increase if they armed their army with it.
Silas's opponent this time was a person at the Master rank, the first of Silas's opponents to reach this rank.
Seeing Silas's weapon, he did not so much as change his expression.
To him, Silas was a dangerous opponent, gun or not.
If not, why would he be standing there competing for the next rank?
Silas also read his opponent's information.
[Name: Claus]
[Rank: Bronze (100)]
[Wins: 217, Losses: 87, Draws: 30]
[Spectators: 10,089]
As the countdown reached zero, Claus burst forward, pure aether gushing through his veins as he lunged forward.
Silas remained calm.
He jumped backwards, quickly transforming the rifle into a pistol.
This was the first time he had pulled this move, and everyone was shocked.
"It could do this?" one of Silas's early spectators muttered.
He shot forward, the bullet flying through the nozzle at a pace that even Claus at the Master rank could not follow.
It pierced through his leg, the force tearing a few chunks of flesh as it burst out the other side.
Silas did not waste time. Aether surged through his body, boosting his abilities beyond normal.
He was not aiming to kill Claus, not when he had brought so many spectators for him to advertise his store.
His leg crashed into Claus's heel, breaking the entire leg.
Claus staggered to the floor, unable to stand up again.
Although the Battle Arena nullified pain, seeing his body in such a mess, Claus could not help but throw up.
"Just kill me already," Claus said through gritted teeth.
Even the spectators felt what Silas was doing was too wicked.
Silas looked at him and whispered, "Wait a minute."
"Athena, enable speakers."
[Speaker enabled.]
Silas coughed, clearing his throat before he spoke.
"For all of you who saw the power of my rifle, you should know it is very special," he said, his words reverberating through the entire stadium.
"It is available for purchase in my store, Sovereign Garden."
There was no need for him to give them directions. As long as a company was registered, anyone could know the way to their store through their AI.
"The rifle can switch between forms. The Rifle mode is used for rapid fire, with attacks capable of killing a Marshal-rank cultivator in 30 seconds.
The second mode is the Handgun, which is easier to carry around and deals enough damage to kill an average Master-rank cultivator.
Then the most special one—the Sniper mode can kill a pseudo-monarch rank or even a weakened Monarch-rank cultivator with enough charge."
Silas concluded his advertisement before pointing the gun at Claus's head and releasing the trigger, killing him in a single shot.