Chapter 1351 Contestants in Quirky Attire <TOC> Chapter 1353 Cat Lantern Witch
Translator: SumTLMan
Under Leon’s puzzled gaze, Angel labored to explain the actions of those people.
He didn’t want Leon to get the wrong impression; asserting one’s individuality is one thing, but if it leads one astray, it’s another matter altogether.
Leon seemed to have a spark of understanding and nodded, though it was unclear if he truly grasped the situation.
At that moment, cheers erupted from inside Sky Tower, accompanied by thunderous applause.
As Leon’s confusion deepened, a message appeared on a screen on the tower’s exterior wall: “Mysterious Forest defeats the Dragon Summoner, achieving four consecutive victories today, advancing to the second level of Sky Tower!”
“It seems a battle inside has just concluded,” said Angel. “Let’s go inside and see for ourselves. It’ll give you an idea of the standards across the tower’s various levels.”
Since the purpose of this trip was merely for Leon to gauge the capabilities of his peers, they bought spectator tickets to enter Sky Tower. Although Angel could use his ID card for free entry, the card required registration. The embarrassing nickname associated with it was a blot on his reputation, and he couldn’t bear to use it.
After purchasing tickets for two first-level matches, Angel and Leon approached the leaderboard.
A massive screen, nearly twenty meters wide, continuously updated with match details. A barrage of text and numbers flashed across it, so dense and swift that it left one’s head spinning.
“Here, we can monitor the match schedules,” Angel explained to Leon, while pondering which match to watch first.
Angel initially focused on the seating arrangement, as typically, higher-ranked competitors are more formidable. He intended to select matches based on rank. To his surprise, he found that the top rank on the first level of Sky Tower was held by “Mysterious Forest”, the same name showcased on the exterior screen advertisement. As the screen updated again, this top-ranked individual vanished from the first level’s listing, clearly having advanced to the second level.
For the top ten ranks, apart from the recently concluded match of Mysterious Forest, none of the others had any matches scheduled for the day.
On the luminous screen, only ten seats are displayed.
“It seems we’ll have to make a random choice.” If you can’t pick from the available seats, the only option is to take a gamble.
Angel’s gaze settled on the upcoming matches, ready to randomly choose one and introduce Leon to the spectacle.
“Just picking any?” Leon was also scanning the luminous display. “Where are the matches for the first level?”
Angel replied, “All of these are from the first level.”
Leon’s eyes widened in surprise. The screen was so vast, with minuscule letters densely packed. Could all these matches really be just from the first level? He had assumed that Sky Tower displayed matches from every level here.
“With so many matches, can the tower accommodate them all?”
Angel briefly explained the magic formation for spatial expansion. “This is the headquarters of Sky Tower in the Southern Region. Its internal space is beyond imagination. Hosting several hundred matches simultaneously is a breeze.”
Leon absorbed this new information. While it seemed commonplace to Angel, for Leon, it was profoundly astonishing.
With Angel’s guidance, Leon finally began to understand how to choose which match to watch.
“Lord of the Underworld VS World Ending Flame. This match sounds intense.” Leon pointed to a match scheduled to start in ten minutes, his eyes shining with anticipation.
“See the viewer count for that match? It’s not even a hundred. Such matches are just for kicks,” said Angel.
“But their titles sound formidable,” Leon murmured.
“In this arena, more than half the contestants have imposing monikers,” he observed with a discerning gaze that scanned the multitude, spotting at least a few hundred. “Often, contestants set the bar too high with their chosen names, leading to a chasm between their aspirations and reality that’s hard to bridge.”
Leon nodded in understanding, “So it’s a way to make a statement, just like an advertising gimmick?”
“You could look at it that way,” Angel replied as he spoke with Leon, his attention simultaneously diverted to the changing scenes on the screen. A particular matchup caught his eye, making him raise an eyebrow in curiosity.
“Scorpion VS Sword of Judgement”
Angel hadn’t heard of either contender. In fact, in this layer of the competition, he didn’t recognize anyone. He suspected that even if this were a contest in Sky Tower’s fifteenth layer, he’d still be unfamiliar — after all, he rarely interacted with those outside the Savage Grottoes.
What puzzled him about the matchup was its location — Arena 7, yet there were only sixty spectators.
Usually, the top ten arenas were reserved for the most sought-after contenders. This meant that either “Scorpion” or “Sword of Judgement” must be a formidable competitor to be assigned such a prominent arena. Given their caliber, one would expect the match to attract a sizable crowd. Still, the turnout was even lower than the ‘Lord of the Underworld VS World Ending Flame’ bout Leon had mentioned earlier.
Angel pondered the oddity, sensing there was more than met the eye. He contemplated investigating the situation, especially with a contender named “Sword of Judgement,” which sounded like a disciple of the bloodline side, potentially offering insights to Leon.
As Angel wavered, a voice abruptly sounded beside him, “If you’re indecisive, I’d recommend you check out the match in Arena 18. There’s a promising dark horse there.”
Turning, Angel found a teen adorned with skeletal decorations standing next to him, exuding an air of dramatic flair.
Beneath the luminous screen stood a multitude, so much so that Angel overlooked the arrival of a certain individual. Yet, when Angel caught a clear glimpse of this man’s visage, his eyes subtly shifted.
“I go by Glen. Are you here to witness the battle too?” remarked the youth, a hint of drama in his tone, seeing Angel’s gaze upon him and subsequently introducing himself with a grin.
This self-proclaimed Glen was not unfamiliar to Angel.
In days gone by, upon Angel’s return from the Abyss, he learned that a fellow named David had entered the Novastar Competition. Consequently, with his friend Baruba, Angel had attended a match — David versus the King of Beasts. During that match, Glen had been seated beside Angel, seemingly an ardent supporter of the King of Beasts.
Upon the match’s conclusion, Angel encountered Glen once more. At that moment, Glen was in the company of Baroque.
Now, within Sky Tower, Angel beholds Glen once again. Though Glen bore an expression of ‘meeting for the first time’, Angel wasn’t convinced that their paths crossing again was mere coincidence.
The masses choosing to watch under the luminous screen were as numerous as the sea. In such a setting, the chance of Glen, an acquaintance met a few times before, ending up beside him and striking up a conversation — could that be chalked up to mere chance?
Though Angel currently employed an illusion transformation, making it difficult for the average person to discern his true appearance, he was certain the higher echelons of Sky Mechanical City could pierce through his disguise.
Given that Baroque was indeed a part of Sky Mechanical City’s higher ranks and that Glen had ties with him, it’s plausible that Glen was connected to the city’s upper hierarchy.
Did someone intentionally inform Glen to then draw closer to me? Angel pondered on the likelihood of this but found himself puzzled. Why choose Glen to approach him?
Naturally, these were mere speculations on Angel’s part.
It might well be a twist of fate, yet Angel remained skeptical.
“The contender on Arena 18 hails from a renowned wizard clan from the Gloriosa Kingdom. While the outcome seems predictable, with him most likely dominating, it’s his bout that promises to be the spectacle of the current tournament,” Glenn prattled on, despite Angel’s silence, painting a vivid picture of the upcoming duel.
This reminded Angel of his first encounter with Glenn. Though Glenn’s appearance screamed adolescent flamboyance, the spirit of enlightenment blazed within him. It was Glenn who had initially briefed Angel on the rules of the Novastar Competition.
Leon didn’t recognize Glenn, but given Glenn’s familiarity and youthful face, Leon wasn’t overly wary. He even whispered to Angel, “Should we heed his words and go watch?”
Angel glanced at the contest scheduled for Arena 18: ‘Caged Bird Vs Delusional Thought,’ with a current viewership of 578.
In the end, he nodded, pulling out their spectator tickets and penning down ’18’.
As their pens stopped moving, the tally jumped to 581. Along with Angel and Leon, Glenn had marked ’18’ on his ticket too.
“Since we’re all headed to see the match on Arena 18, why not go together?” Glenn proposed, a glint of anticipation lurking in his words.
Without responding, Angel drew out his ticket again, marking ‘7’ — the contest between ‘Scorpion VS Sword of Judgment’.
The duel on Arena 18 was slated to begin in an hour, while Arena 7’s showdown was in a mere ten minutes. Angel reckoned that after viewing the match on Arena 7, they’d still make it to Arena 18 in time.
Angel’s choice wasn’t a slight towards Glenn; he was genuinely intrigued by the bout on Arena 7.
As for Glenn, whether his approach was intentional or just a fluke, it made no difference to Angel.
Angel’s choice was met with no opposition from Leon, for he was unfamiliar with the competition at Sky Tower. As the battle on Arena 7 was about to commence, his eyes sparkled with intense curiosity. He yearned to understand, what was a battle between these extraordinary beings truly like?
Half an hour later, as Leon sat in the audience section of Arena 7, his brow was deeply furrowed.
The curiosity he previously held for the match had, with time, faded into oblivion.
Seeing this, Angel grasped why no one was interested in this bout. Simply put… it was dreadfully dull.
The female apprentice known as “Scorpion” made an impressive entrance. With a flourish of her crimson skirt, nine dark reddish-black scorpion tails emerged, menacingly swinging around.
“That’s the Bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Red Poison Scorpion!” Angel’s eyes lit up at the time. He hadn’t expected to encounter a bloodline-integrated apprentice on the first level. Just the integration of the bloodline meant her abilities should exceed the fifth level, explaining why Sky Tower officials placed her on such a prominent stage.
Angel informed Leon about some of the advantages and disadvantages of the Nine-Tailed Red Poison Scorpion bloodline.
Initially, Leon was quite excited. However, as the match proceeded, both he and Angel fell silent.
Technically, the Nine-Tailed Red Poison Scorpion bloodline should have been a powerful offensive force, capable of inflicting intricate poison damages. Yet, this apprentice used it as a defensive bloodline. The nine tails enveloped her, and the ‘Sword of Judgment’ couldn’t breach her defense, no matter how hard it tried.
It wasn’t that the defensive capability of the Nine-Tailed Red Poison Scorpion was extraordinary, but that the level one competitors were just inadequate.
“A potentially engaging match turned into a drawn-out battle. No wonder few are watching,” Angel mused, feeling a bit exasperated. Such a match would hardly offer Leon any valuable insights; it would be a boon if it didn’t mislead him.
But on reflection, Angel thinks it made sense. The first level was, after all, a competition for the most novice of contestants. If they genuinely wanted Leon to gain any meaningful insights, it’d be better to venture to the higher levels.
Thankfully, he’d only purchased tickets for two matches.
Once this one concludes, after watching the bout at Arena 18, it might be more worthwhile heading to the upper floors.
Chapter 1351 Contestants in Quirky Attire <TOC> Chapter 1353 Cat Lantern Witch