Online Game: Crazy Skeleton-Chapter 1255 - 1166 Martial Arts Tournament, Officially Begins! (Two in One)_2

Chapter 1255: Chapter 1166 Martial Arts Tournament, Officially Begins! (Two in One)_2

...

The next day.

"The martial arts tournament is finally starting!"

Su Ran’s biological clock was incredibly precise. It wasn’t even 7 o’clock yet when he had woken up, fueled by the excitement of the tournament. After having a nourishing breakfast and taking care of his personal hygiene, he hurried into the game, barely taking the time to chat with his mom. He reminded her that unless it was something extremely urgent, she shouldn’t interrupt his gaming. This rare event was something he absolutely could not miss!

Watching Su Ran’s departing figure, a hint of reluctance and loss flashed in his mother’s eyes. The reason remained unknown.

"Ding! Congratulations to the player for successfully registering for the martial arts tournament. The preliminaries officially begin. Would you like to teleport now?"

The system notification excited Su Ran even more, however, he wasn’t in a rush to participate. As the saying goes, "know your enemies and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster." He decided to first understand what the preliminaries were all about!

Previously, the event envoy hadn’t provided detailed explanations, and terms like "preliminaries" hadn’t been mentioned, which is why Su Ran was researching this area.

"So that’s how it is, the system is really cost-effective."

After understanding the meaning of the preliminaries, Su Ran realized the system’s intentions. All players were randomly assigned into groups for elimination rounds. Winning ten times in a row could earn an additional revival chance, until only 100 players remained. Only then would live video broadcasting of the matches begin, although this would mean many players wouldn’t get a chance to be seen, still it preserved enough dignity for them, preventing them from becoming utterly despondent towards the game.

"I’ll participate!"

Just as Su Ran accepted the system’s invitation, he was enveloped in light and vanished from Skeleton Village.

The reason he didn’t add any temporary attributes beforehand was deliberate. The martial arts tournament had clearly stated that items like temporary attribute boosters, medicines, talismans, beast cards, pet-summoning items (like the Ancient Relic, Strange Demon Bone Cauldron), and followers could not be used. To ensure fair combat, the game designers had racked their brains to leave nothing out.

This restriction significantly weakened Su Ran’s strength. He knew he had shown off his skills in a battle against that foreigner, but he also had exposed his capabilities. If he had summoned all those pets, the other players wouldn’t even have the courage to fight him, let alone talk about game balance—it would just make more sense to forfeit!

"What I feared has come to pass—’the outstanding tree is the first to be blown down by the wind.’ Keeping a low profile is indeed the best strategy!"

Su Ran shook his head in resignation, not blaming the system. He scanned his new surroundings and found himself standing on a ten-meter diameter arena. Square stone slabs formed a grid pattern across the platform, so clean and even that it lifted his spirits considerably.

"It’s much larger than the arenas in Imperial City, which means there’s more room to maneuver. Mages have ample time to gather their spells without worrying about being interrupted right away. Not bad, not bad, this change is quite user-friendly."

As Su Ran was evaluating the arena, the system notification sounded again.

"Ding! Player from Skeleton, please be ready. The first battle of the preliminaries is about to begin. Matching randomly, please wait ..."

"Hey, I wonder if any high-level players have sneaked into the Newcomer Group? If that’s the case, this could get interesting."

In Su Ran’s view, since he had been placed in the lower-level Newcomer Group, it was possible that others could be as well. Only in this way would the competition in the Newcomer Group not seem too dull. If he were matched with a group of children, bullying them wouldn’t even give him a sense of achievement.

...

The scene shifts.

"Hahaha, the Heavenly Stone has such brilliant uses. Awesome!"

Wang Dazhuang’s mood was immensely buoyant. He had never dreamed that the Heavenly Stone he obtained could play such a significant role in the tournament. Being placed in the Newcomer Group was like getting a huge pie from heaven—he had to seize this opportunity!

This chance was once in a lifetime!

"It’s unbelievable. This stone, which can mask the level and name, even fooled the system. Must be a bug, right? No, I need to keep a low profile to avoid being noticed by the rookies. If they report me, that could be troublesome."

He felt the championship of the Newcomer Group beckoning him. With its level restriction set between 20 and 30, and him being level 38, his attributes alone could crush these younglings. Anyone daring to challenge him was simply courting death!

To put it bluntly, the championship of the Newcomer Group was destined to be his!

"Swish!"

Wang Dazhuang, brimming with confidence, was transported by the system into the arena. For him, it didn’t matter who his opponent would be. He had already decided to start off by appearing weaker and then crush his opponents with overwhelming strength, all the way to the championship!

He believed that the prize for becoming the champion of the Newcomer Group would definitely not disappoint him!

However.

As soon as he appeared on the stage, he saw the player in the black robe and mask across from him, paused in surprise, and then burst into laughter.

"Dude, you are too funny, acting like ’Spilt Water Can’t Be Regained’ in the newcomer area. Is that really necessary? Didn’t you think about his level!"

Wang Dazhuang looked at Su Ran with a contemptuous gaze and said disdainfully, "If you were in the Heavenly Gang Group, I might have doubted your identity, but now, well, just wait to be thrashed!"

"..."

Su Ran, looking at the player in front of him, just felt speechless. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself at how fate had played such an ironic trick; the first opponent he encountered was his former deskmate, Wang Dazhuang.

That guy’s tone, his smug expression, and that loud voice—no amount of gear could disguise him; he could recognize this kid anywhere!

"Eh? Something’s off. This guy told me back in class that he had already reached level 30 then. Why is he still in the Newcomer Group? No wonder he’s so arrogant. It seems he’s had quite the fortune, but he’s out of luck running into me!"

Su Ran looked at Wang Dazhuang with a perplexed expression, feeling a myriad of emotions. It had been a while since he’d seen his former deskmate, and to think they would meet in such a situation—it was truly amusing.

"Ding! Players matched successfully, ??? vs. ???, the match officially begins!"

The sound of the system’s notification was like the starting pistol in a track meet, heralding the beginning of a fierce battle.

"Since you aren’t conceding, I’ll make sure you die quickly!"

Wang Dazhuang changed his usual demeanor, throwing his low-key approach out the window. The moment he saw the player in the black robe and mask, his fighting spirit ignited, feeling as triumphantly exhilarating as if he were defeating ’Spilt Water Can’t Be Regained’. This was simply way too thrilling!

"This kid, still so impetuous. With such a temper, even if he didn’t meet me in the Newcomer Group, he would never achieve a good ranking, no matter how high his level is!"

Su Ran saw through Wang Dazhuang’s true nature instantly. It was inevitable; he knew him too well. Despite the seriousness of the moment, he almost laughed out loud.

"Die!"

Wang Dazhuang raised his level 35 silver shield and rushed toward Su Ran with the speed of a spring flea, believing that with his defensive power, similar to a heavy tank, it was impossible for these newbie players to break his defense.

"..."

Su Ran didn’t say a word, not even drawing out his bone scythe for fear of revealing his identity. With empty hands, he formed fireballs one after another, shooting them at his old acquaintance, Wang Dazhuang.

"So, you’re a mage. Let’s see how you feel about the despair of losing -1 drop of blood!"

Wang Dazhuang chuckled mischievously. At that moment, feeling bold and skillful, he didn’t even dodge, directly facing the fireballs with his shield. He wanted to use his defensive capability to crush all of the black-robed player’s hopes!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"-65," "-65," "-65."

"Damn it!"

Wang Dazhuang looked as if he had seen a ghost. He couldn’t believe there was a newbie who could break through his defense. Not only that, but the damage reached an astonishing 65 points, and it was fixed damage!

He had a defense rating of 320. Although he lacked fire resistance, it shouldn’t be this bad, right? This fire mage was only using the most basic Fireball spell, and he wasn’t even wielding a weapon—this was just too abnormal!

Could it be that he was going to lose this first match here?

He couldn’t accept it!