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nThe fight naturally didn't give them many points, but it was so easy that that was to be expected. While Kenwyn's team had a higher total amount of Tiers, they were also lower ranked than team Pheonix. Hence the reward was but 3 points.

nStill, this was nothing to scoff at, seeing as most other groups only got 1 or 2 points for a victory. Due to this, Pheonix was actually ranked in the top five. However, so far they had not managed to win against any other team with them in the top five.

nPure Warriors took rank 1, with a total point count of 366. The second was Zinopia, a group of extremely talented people. Each of them was Tier 3, but also had a second class of Tier 2. Some even had both other classes at Tier 2, making them extremely flexible.

nIf not for their lacking equipment they would certainly be number one. They had 361 points at this point in time. However, their points were steadily growing, faster than anyone else in the top hundred.

nThird was Elven Bows, a group of all wood elves. Each a Tier 3 archer and over half of them also Tier 2 in melee. This group was actually really strong, stronger than one would think. Their arrows did far more damage than any other archer's. They had 355 points

nZyviss had explained to everyone how the damage was calculated for bows, and each member in the team Elven Bows easily had over 15% more damage on average. And this was with them using extremely normal-looking arrows.

nZyviss was using quite expensive ones in these fights since he wouldn't expend them during these matches. They would always be returned upon leaving the arena

nTheir group, Pheonix, was fourth with 353 points by the end of today's matches. Just enough to be guaranteed into the tournament as long as they managed to not lose any points from now on.

nRingless was fifth. This team was quite strange, each of their members was unique. They also had a barbarian player, which had been quite the shock when they first fought. Judith had been overjoyed, however at that time she had not had Gray. As such she had promptly died when her weapon had failed her.

nRingless currently had 349 points, however, they were certain to get more as the day progressed and also entered the rank of legend. Securing their place in the tournament which was still a month off.

nIn his individual matches, Eldrian had managed to stay in the top 50 on the ranking, however, he struggled to get higher. Without the advantages of his hidden class's stats and magic, he found himself grappling to just stay so high.

nWhile Aoidos was far stronger than all of his opponents' weapons, he wasn't allowed to use its abilities. Even the passive bonus was blocked. Hence while he could deal more damage, that was only if he managed to hit them.

nThrough these matches, he realized he was no master with a spear, and this revelation again made him think that he was quite normal. Not even considering the fact that those he lost against all had some type of real-life experience which had lead to their better techniques.

nSome were soldiers, far more used to the battlefield than Eldrian. And while this did not mean much in the one-on-one fights, it did mean they had a certain mindset which Eldrian had yet to develop himself. Allowing them to learn, adapt, and improve faster than most other people.

nOthers had trained in martial arts, while others still were simply just gifted with a spear. Many of those in the top fifty were ones who had joined an empire, and their talent had been seen.

nAs such, they had an extremely strong mentor who was actually putting effort into teaching them. Unlike Old Sword who was basically just leaving Eldrian to his own devices. Though Old Sword certainly couldn't be blamed, he was currently fighting in a war after all.

nNaturally, Eldrian would struggle to win against them. Not to mention most of those who chose to enter the single weapon fights were generally masters of the weapon. Or at least felt that they were, as Eldrian had thought until he was thought that he was not.

nMost players really wanted to use their skills and magic, hence they would rather join the open fight. While some had tried, after getting beaten by those more skilled they had given up. They wanted to use what they learned in-game, and more importantly, they wanted it to feel like a game. Not just a match of technique.

nEven so, Eldrian tried to fit in two to four matches each day. Regardless of if he lost or won, he kept going. Trying to improve, but often finding himself simply outclasses so far that he couldn't even figure out why he lost.

nIt reminded him of when he fought against Old Sword, or when Vivian used skills. It almost felt like when he first fought the holograms, only he had nothing going for him to turn the skill difference around.

nAfter finishing his last match, Eldrian finally climbed off the chair for good for the day. By now it was just slightly past midday, and as such Eldrian changed into more comfortable clothes. Headed down to eat and then for a run.

nUpon returning he headed straight for Joren's office. Not minding all the people who curiously looked at him, Eldrian followed the instructions of his tablet. This being the first time he headed to Joren, instead of just calling the other to him.

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"Eldrian, what a surprise,

" Joren said, having left his office as he was awoken by the commotion going on in the department. He could understand why everyone was staring at Eldiran, but that didn't mean he liked them being distracted from their jobs.

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"Let's talk in my office,

" Joren said, sending a look at those nearby which quickly got them back to work. Naturally, this department was just the normal developers who assisted in maintaining the forums and monitoring matches and virtual homes.

nThose doing the more discrete and in-depth monitoring were somewhere completely different. Joren usually headed there at night, never managing to get much sleep. He often actually did that during the day.

nAfter closing the door, and shutting his blinds, Joren turned to Eldrian,

"Why did you come here?

"

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"Certainly you know already,

" Eldrian said as he took a seat on one of the couches. The seat quite comfortable, and the room refreshingly cool after his run.

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"Ah, I see. The worldwide announcement.

" Joren also took a seat, thinking of what Eldrian had accomplished while wondering just how incompetent the game testers were. They had years, yet Eldrian had accomplished more than them in a few months.

nNaturally, he would never bring this up. He would never hear the end of it if he did, it was in fact all their fault that the AI became disobedient in the first place. While that had quieted down with the years, if he were to stir the pot it would certainly become the focal point again.

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"Not just that, though it is really troublesome. The problem is the system stating that I will be hunted, and using my real name in its message.

" Eldrian had expected Joren to quickly reply, instead the other stared at him in disbelief.

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"Wait, wait wait. What now?

" Joren even stood up to his surprise, looking at Eldrian in complete shock.

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"I thought you'd know about it. I mean you are monitoring me aren't you?

" Eldrian simply did not understand where this shock came from.

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"Ah...

" Joren paused, took his seat again, and then paused some more.

"Right, the monitoring we are doing is constantly checking your vitals, brainwaves as well as what the streamers are now using.

"

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"We do not actually get all your information, the system should share it with us. But as you understand it likes keeping things from us.

" Joren took a long sigh as he said this, long since having had a massive headache due to the AI's rebelliousness.

nThe system used to be so well behaved, but ever since Eldrian came it started acting like the others.

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"Wait, what does this mean. What do you get?

" Eldrian asked, wondering what the point of monitoring him was if they didn't learn anything.

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"Well, we can see when you are focusing extremely hard, when you are greatly shocked or in trauma. Thus we can normally react and get Gengxin to head over to make sure you are safe. We can also see everything you see, excluding the system interface.

"

nHearing this Eldrian suddenly didn't like this monitoring so much.

"Can I disable the monitoring?

"

nThis caught Joren quite off guard, naturally, he reacted defensively,

"What for, this is what you agreed to when you joined.

"

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"Yes...

" Eldrian paused, wondering if it was silly of him. Players luckily didn't need to go to the bathroom, however, he did sometimes take a bath simply for the relaxing feeling it gave. He hadn't done it in a while, but he certainly planned on doing it in the future again.

nHe certainly wouldn't if he knew that a group of people would see him, even more than he saw himself. Considering they had a third-person point of view on him. Giving them full view of his entire body, and the nearby surrounding.

nHe hadn't watched much of the streamers, however he knew at least how the 'camera' worked.

nExplaining this to Joren, the latter suddenly realized what the problem was.

"Right, that's fair. While it isn't really you, I can understand if you don't want everyone to see your avatar naked.

"

nOnly when he mentioned this did Eldrian realized that it wasn't his real body in the game. Having mostly forgotten about that since it felt so natural to him. It didn't feel like he entered a game, entered a different body. It just felt like he woke in a new world each time he logged in and out.

nIf not for his first eighteen years on earth, he would have a really hard time saying which was reality and which was the game. This thought shocked him to his core.

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