Galaxy Fall: All My Skills Are Maxed-Chapter 198: The Mind Games Begin
[On the Arena stage.]
The ambient energy hummed violently as the three apex prodigies of their respective empires stood at the epicenter of the grand stadium, their distinct auras clashing in an invisible war of pressure.
"Ok Captains!! Listen up!" Davy yelled, and continued: manipulating the localized sound waves so his voice pierced clearly through the deafening roar of tens of thousands of spectators.
"There is only one winner, and the winning captain will get to enter first, earn 1,000 points for her team, and will have an opportunity to pick two options, which will greatly increase the success rate in the first round!!" He smiled at their stunned expression. The point economy in the Glory Flag tournament was notoriously brutal; a thousand points right out of the gate was a massive tactical advantage that could dictate the pace of the entire event.
"Now, Start!!" He vanished, utilizing a high-tier Flash Step skill that left only a faint, rippling distortion in the air.
Instantly, the telepathic commands from the VIP boxes took effect.
"There is no need for just childish gain." Eve suddenly said, stunning the audience, while Jessica frowned. Mirabella simply blinked at her. Eve’s calculating blue eyes betrayed nothing; she was playing the long game, preserving her empire’s morale and concealing her skill tree against the impossible stat wall that was Mirabella.
"I will back down and save my strength for the main battle." She said, turned and walked back to her academy line. The crimson-clad Eagle students parted for her without a word of protest, their absolute faith in her strategic mind overriding their thirst for an early victory.
The two stared at her in silence, then turned to one another: Jessica, the Level 250 Sword Empire weapon, and Mirabella, the Level 330 anomaly. Both understood the underlying political currents flowing from the royal viewing decks above.
"We will meet soon, but not this early, I will also back down." Mirabella spoke first, stunning Jessica, who was about to step down. Mirabella had absolutely no interest in an unranked exhibition match; her focus was set entirely on the actual mechanics and hidden loot of the tournament.
"....?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded, watching as Mirabella walked towards her team, and stood with folded arms, a smirk on her face. Her casual dismissal of a thousand free points screamed of a terrifying, absolute confidence.
"What just happened?" Someone from the crowd asked in disbelief. The earth-shattering clashes they had anticipated had evaporated into a bizarre, bloodless political stalemate.
"Two captains surrendered without even putting up a fight, is the sword Academy’s Captain that powerful?" Another asked in shock, fundamentally misreading the hidden power dynamics at play.
A lady shook her head lightly: "What are you all saying? The other academies’ captains just gave her face... It’s nothing serious." She said, trying to rationalize the actions of God-tier players with mere mortal diplomacy.
"Face... But the rewards of this round."
"Let’s just keep watching."
On the Arena, Davy appeared back on his spot, staring at the two captains, then at Jessica: breaking the awkward tension with practiced host charisma.
"Ooo... Kay, it seems the other captains forfeited, the winner of this match is Captain Jessica of the sword academy! For this, she gained 1,000 points for her academy, and will be given the choices." He said, gesturing to the huge screen, everyone watched as 1,000 points appeared beside the sword academy logo. The golden, digitized digits flashed, cementing their early lead on the global leaderboard.
"As for your options."
Davy opened his palm, as two glowing orbs appeared on it; on the right rob was number 10, and the left was a map of the southern region. The items hovered, radiating System-certified authenticity.
"You can choose one of these two, the number ten means, instead of starting with ten members, you will start with 20 members... This is only valid in the first round." He explained, staring at Jessica.
Jessica raised an eyebrow: ’Master already engraved the map in my mythical eye, so I don’t need it... And the ten extra members.’ She looked over her shoulder at her members, and lightly shook her head: her icy gaze assessing the three hundred elites of the Sword Academy not as comrades, but as severe liabilities.
’I don’t need dead weight, they’ll surely make us lose more points.’ She thought, and finally nodded her head:
"Thanks, I will take the Map." She said, pointing at the map.
"Good choice." Davy stretched his hand towards her, as the map moved out of the orb, landing on Jessica Palm. The magical parchment glowed briefly as it bound itself to her inventory.
’If I reject the extra students, no one will suspect a thing, but rejecting the map... That will surely draw attention, not to mention none of us were given a map.’ She thought, turned around and walked back to her line. Her tactical preservation of her master’s secrets was almost as sharp as her legendary blade.
’Seems she hasn’t lost all her brain, yet.’ Mirabella thought, her arms still crossed on her chest: analyzing Jessica’s choice with the critical eye of a veteran who had fought and analyzed her a thousand times in her previous timeline.
’I know the southern region by heart... Being one of my main battleground in my past life, this will be easy.’ She thought. Every hidden cave, toxic swamp, and monster spawn point of the Southern Region was already burned into her memory. A physical map was entirely redundant for someone who already held the ultimate walkthrough.
Davy snapped his fingers, and the orbs vanished: "Ok everyone, let’s get to the main competition!! The first round is known as; Capture the flag, and these flags are all hidden in the southern region."
The Southern Region was a notorious Level 200+ danger zone, completely governed by the demon emperor and swarming with mutated, territorial beasts.
As he spoke, a bowl appeared in front of Jessica: "Take one ball in it." He instructed. The bowl was carved from spatial stone, ensuring a truly randomized, generated draw that couldn’t be manipulated by clairvoyance skills.
Jessica took one, and the bowl moved to Mirabella, who took another, then lastly at Eve, who took the last. The smooth spheres hummed softly.
"Please break it." He instructed.
The three broke the ball, seeing papers in each:
"The word on it?" He asked.
"North." Jessica said.
"South." Mirabella added.
"West." Eve muttered, staring at the word on her paper.
The cardinal directions violently divided the massive region, forcing the teams to navigate completely different, lethal biomes before they inevitably clashed in the center.
"Good! Those are the locations of your flags! The moment you land, you must know the right direction your flag is, and head straight towards it!! Of course, you can also kill one another, that’s if there is a chance." He smirked, and blow the biggest secret that stunned the students.
"If one member from your team is killed, Your team lose 10,000 points!"
