Flashy Adventurer System : Show Off to Get Stronger!

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today kicks off the highly awaited rookie event in our beloved city, the Balkrow City Rookie Adventurer Competition. We have 128 outstanding rookies, each a standout in their guilds, ready to battle it out. Let's see who emerges as the top talent among Balkrow's young adventurers!"

Corey's vibrant voice filled the air, spurring all 60,000 spectators to rise to their feet and erupt in deafening applause.

All of them were excited to find out who would represent Balkrow in the region's most prestigious rookie event and hopefully, bring honor to their beloved city.

Although the residents and the ordinary adventurers mostly see the competition as entertainment, it was actually not the case as there was a lot more at stake than what meets the eye.

One such stake was the rate of development of Balkrow City.

Last year, Balkrow's Rookie Representative, Sebastian Evergreen, made a not-so-impressive run in the Valenzia Region's Rookie Adventurer Competition, only achieving a top 128 exit despite being stronger than the usual representative.

Well, the guy was unlucky fighting against such a talented generation of rookies from other cities.

His talents, although enough to conquer a city like Balkrow, became a mere stepping stone for other, more talented rookies from other cities.

Still, since Sebastian failed to meet the city's expectations of at least a top 32 finish, the poor young man from Iron Jin Adventurer Guild lost confidence in himself, slowly deteriorating to mediocrity as time went by.

By this time, even one of the guy's juniors, the current crowd favorite, Arthur Vermillion, had completely lost respect for him, witnessing the stark transformation brought upon him by harsh realities.

And because the man failed, there were fewer rookies this year, affecting not only the city's economy but also its potential.

If this trend continued, less and less talented rookies would choose Balkrow as their home base which in turn would result in the city ranking lower and lower in future competitions, ultimately deteriorating into utter mediocrity while other cities rise and soar like burning phoenixes.

This was the reason why rookie competitions were so important.

It was because it set the direction and speed of the city's development.

On a more profound, local scale, there's a subtle suggestion that the city's survival hinges on swift development, given the escalating challenges confronting each and every region in Adthiopia.

This very dilemma weighs heavily on the mind of City Lord Blas of Valenzia City.

Unfortunately, he was but one man.

He cannot save an entire region on his own, hence, it was every city for himself.

Develop faster or perish, basically.

Well, except for a select few, almost all of the cities were oblivious to their actual situation.

And Blas wasn't planning on letting them know…for now, at least, since it would probably cause unnecessary panic amongst both mundane folks and adventurers.

There wasn't a single safe place in the entire world, after all.

Such a problem was for the future though.

Currently, everyone was happy and excited, believing that this competition was just like the previous year, or the year before that—mere entertainment.

The competition followed a single-elimination format, guaranteeing peak competitiveness, with only one undefeated young contestant destined to reign as the ultimate rookie champion in Balkrow.

This victor would then go on to represent the city in a larger-scale competition six months later.

…Despite being one of the potential winners, neither Arthur nor Shye would be granted a free win. Both of them would have to fight in the first round, just like everybody else, to ensure fairness.

Naturally, the top five rookies, both in guild contribution points and perceived strength, were kept as far away from each other as possible in the brackets, ensuring a healthy and exciting competition.

Again, the fact that Shye and Arthur were on both ends of the brackets infuriated John Oni.

It should've been him!

'Hmmph! At least I'm on that clown's side of the bracket. If nothing goes wrong, I'll have a chance to destroy him in the semi-finals!' John Oni inwardly comforted himself as he walked out of his locker room under the supportive gazes of his guild master, the Dark Sentinels guild staff, and a few of his close friends.

With perfect timing, John Oni entered the arena, eliciting loud cheers from the crowd as quite a sizable number of people believed that he deserved better treatment in the brackets.

Sadly, the tournament organizers didn't think so as they favored the newly-risen Shye Crowley over John.

'Hmmph! I'll show all of you!'

John's opponent, Boren Matthews, a fairly strong rookie representative from Celestial Eye Adventurer Guild, was already waiting for him onstage with a determined expression.

The man knew his chances of winning were slim, however, it wasn't zero.

Hence, the guy was pumped.

Meanwhile, Corey's voice once again sounded as John Oni ascended the stage.

"...The fallen general! The Crownless King! From the prestigious Dark Sentinels Adventurer Guild, let us all welcome, John "Sinister Shadow" Oni!!"

Overwhelmed by both the frustration in his heart and the crowd's cheers, John, who was usually calm and calculating, raised his arms and clenched his fists, appealing to the crowd.

Witnessing this scene, Boren frowned.

However, his determination didn't wane in the slightest, in fact, it burgeoned even more.

'Hmpph, fine then, let's see what you got, number three!'

Once both contestants were on the stage, the referee stepped down and activated the blue dome, enveloping both John and Boren in a subtle azure aura.

"Begin!"

Shortly after, the referee announced the start of the match.

Boren was waiting for this moment, he planned to immediately go all out at the start, hoping to catch John off guard.

Drawing his katar, Boren immediately used his trump card, [Phantom Rush Lv.3(Rare)], allowing him to disappear and reappear wherever he wanted.

Boren chose to reappear below John, who looked unprepared to deal with his sneaky attack.

He then thrust his katar upward toward John's throat, unleashing yet another of his aces to seal John's fate: [(Dark) Sinister Stab Lv.3 (Rare)].

Shortly after, a sinister black aura that reeked of death and decay enveloped both his weapon and his arms.

'It's now or never! Die, John Oni!'

The next instant, an azure ray of light shot out of the blue dome…

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