0063 – Big World and the cks


    Athena leaned against a tree, her hands constantly flipping through the system panel. Suddenly, one of the purple dots on the map began to flicker, then promptly disappeared. She erged the map, and another dot started shing, moving rapidly in one direction. Her pupils constricted abruptly as she realized the dot was heading straight towards her.


    There was never a moment of peace... [Ranked 8th: Big World ]


    Retreat? Or fight?


    It was obvious that [ Big World ] was being pursued by someone, but the number of pursuers and their strength were unknown. Although there were many trees around her, none were sufficient to conceal her as before.


    Thinking back to the [ Witch''s Cloak ] and the [ Magic King ] from before, both of them belonged to region 004 just like her. She had the ability to view theprehensive rankings of everyone in her region, yet neither of them appeared within the top 20. They weren''t even in the top 50. [ True Heart ] from region 003, at least, was ranked 8th before the war.


    Given their strength, it was impossible for them to rank so low. The only possibility was that their strength had suddenly increased during the preparations for the regional battle in recent days.


    The system''s tasks boiled down to survival, hunting monsters, defeating yers, and seizing wartime medals, all of which could earn scores and score bonuses.


    "System, what''s the criteria for defeating someone?"


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    <tbody>


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    <td style="width:100%;text-align:center">When the opponent yer losesbat capability, it is considered a defeat!</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Losingbat capability was a loophole. If you left the opponent half-dead but still able to fight, handed them a sword, wouldn''t they still have somebat capability?


    Athena held the medal she had snatched earlier from Mikmik. Mikmik liked it and had kept it as a trophy on its chest. But the moment Athena held it, the wartime medal merged with her.


    As long as she didn''t touch it personally, the medal couldn''t add to her score. Athena squinted, scheming in her mind.


    She thought of a way to increase her score without affecting her ranking: let Mikmik keep the medals every time she obtained one, or store them in a secure ce. When the time was right, she would merge the medals together. This way, her ranking wouldn''t change, and over time, it might even drop naturally.


    When thest day arrived, not only could she catch up with everyone''s progress, but she could alsopete for a spot in the top ten, participating in this chaotic battle.


    Watching the purple dot gradually approaching her, Athena had no intention of escaping. On the contrary, she, with Mikmik, searched for a nearby hiding spot.


    She couldn''t run away every time she encountered someone. Her temporary evasion was just a tactic, not an indication of herck ofbat strength.


    After a thorough search, she found a rtively secluded corner. There were several huge rocks here that could temporarily conceal her figure. So she didn''t hesitate to slip into this small space, quietly waiting for others to arrive.


    The dot moved quickly, and it didn''t take long to reach Athena''s location. She slowed her breathing, watching the activity outside. Soon, she saw a figure speeding past, followed closely by a giant snake.


    It seems that the girl is indeed "[ Big World ]". As for the python, it was as thick as a calf''s leg, but Athena frowned, feeling more and more familiar as she looked at it.


    It wasn''t until the monster viewing prompt popped up beside her that Athena realized this was the ck phosphorus snake she had defeated before and sold off.


    "[ Big World ]" seemed to notice something unusual here and looked in Athena''s direction. Athena''s heart skipped a beat. Had she been discovered? It seemed this girl had keen eyesight to notice her immediately without any movement.


    None of these yers could be underestimated.


    However, "[ Big World ]" didn''t linger. She continued to run forward, engaging in a fierce chase with the ck phosphorus snake.


    Unfortunately, her vision was limited, and she had to be cautious of her surroundings while running. The ck phosphorus snake, on the other hand, moved through the darkness as if it owned it, its speed far surpassing hers.


    Athena stayed put, not caring if "[ Big World ]" had spotted her, as she had prepared herself to be found when she chose to stay there.


    She didn''t care if she was discovered or not. She was waiting. If she remembered correctly, she had sold the ck phosphorus snake to a man named [ ck ].


    "[ Big World ]" was from region 003, while [ ck ] was from their region 004.


    As expected, soon after, a man in casual clothes dashed out. Athena watched as the two, along with the snake, passed by her, but she had no intention of following them. She wouldn''t help either of them, even though one of them had been her customer.


    It didn''t matter who won for her. The only thing she was curious about was the rapid growth of the ck phosphorus snake.


    But this curiosity didn''t prompt her to take action.


    She determined the direction, estimating that the time was almost right, and decided to go to where she had buried the Explosive Balls earlier.


    But while she thought this, others had different ns. After circling around the ck phosphorus snake, "[ Big World ]" came back around, heading straight for Athena''s hiding ce. Athena and Mikmik moved, but Mikmik snarled back in the direction they hade from.


    Athena guessed that "[ Big World ]" might be running out of options and wanted to use her as a scapegoat.


    She took out her Moonlight Bow and aimed in that direction.


    "[ Big World ]" ran wildly, but she also kept searching for Athena''s figure around her.


    Unfortunately, the endless darkness severely affected her vision, making her search extremely difficult. She regretted not running directly towards Athena just now.


    At that moment, an inexplicable chill surged through her, causing her body to tremble involuntarily. The danger didn''te from behind, from the relentless pursuit of [ ck ] and the ck phosphorus snake, but from an unknown source ahead.


    She suddenly stopped and sidestepped, warily scanning the front, trying to identify the source of the threat.


    The air seemed to be heavy, suffocating. She didn''t have to wait long. Almost as soon as she stopped, she felt a subtle change in the atmosphere around her, and a silver-white arrow shot towards her.


    Even though she moved to the side at the first opportunity, she couldn''t dodge in time, only managing to avoid vital points, but the arrow still pierced deeply into her shoulder.


    She rolled on the ground, hiding behind a tree, but the tree couldn''t conceal her figure. What made her despair even more was that the ck phosphorus snake caught up from behind.