Transcendent Resurgence: Regressing on an abandoned Earth

Time ceased to flow as Zyrus and the Imp king met their eyes. Both of them were 'restricted' at lv 50, but still, it wasn't able to block their perception of others.

Zyrus knew that his enemy sitting on the throne wasn't someone who could be defeated in the second ring. Even if he fought with his full strength, the outcome would remain the same. The imp king was someone who was supposed to be at lv 100, the same as the other four kings.

Before coming to Huodao he had defeated the native kings one way or another. On the surface both sides were under system's restrictions, but Zyrus was able to use powers like his celestial vitality and the 13 curses of void. It was this roundabout way of going against the restrictions that enabled him to face off against the natives. The heart of abyss and the formations he taught to his army were the same.

The system would restrict the powers that crossed the threshold of the current ring, but the prerequisite for that was that the powers being used should be recognized by the sanctuary. To put it in simpler terms, imagine a place where you cannot use any weapons above 'rare' rank. In other words, everyone in that place would be forced to use common and rare rank weapons.

But what if it was a half-finished product? While rare, there were top existences in each race who had the ability to create unique grade equipment. With their knowledge it wasn't difficult for them to create a half-finished product that was a) not a unique weapon, and b) was stronger than any rare weapon.

The players' situation was similar to this. The subclass that Zyrus was creating was stronger than the player's main class at the moment. It was obvious to deduce who was stronger between a player who had an elemental seed and knew how to use runes versus someone with a common class like an ice mage or a swordsman.

Unless it was a powerful rare class, it was difficult for players to have a main class that was stronger than the subclass Zyrus was creating. Had Zyrus accepted his achievements on the first island and made a decision to announce the subclass, the system would've restricted the players' powers under the pretext of it going over the limits of the second ring. As for the natives, they were already way above lv 50. Zyrus and his troops should be grateful that the system had lowered their levels so that they were on an even battlefield. Asking for anything more would be nothing less than pure hypocrisy.

Why was all this important right now? It was once again due to mimicry. The imps could absolutely mimic the roundabout ways Zyrus used to wield powers beyond their supposed level. He still remembered the days when mimicry was considered one of the most powerful skills.

'Looking back, we were all so foolish…'

Zyrus shook his head and glanced down at the trembling stages. Some things were hard to explain unless seen with one's eyes. Players might feel like mimicry was a cheat like power right now, but once they ascend to the higher rings, they'd realize just how naïve and ignorant they had been.

*Crackle*

Boiling lava circulated with faint arcs of lightning. The imps that were hazy in his eyes became more defined and soon enough, the players on the platforms were able to see their enemies.

One imp appeared from each circle and gave a hideous smile to the player in front of them.

\\-/| Ding! The participants have made their appearance |\\-/

\\-/| The Game of Shatar will follow the theme of Holmgang |\\-/

[The detailed rules and effects are listed below]

\\-/| The stage will begin in 00:30:00 |\\-/

Holmgang– it was an unfamiliar word for most players. After looking at the detailed information they realized that it was in fact not so different from something like a duel.

{|{ Rules for the Final round of Shatar }|}

Platforms will be generated for each player, on which they will face off against an Imp of a corresponding role. There will be a short break after a role's fights are over and after that the next phase will commence.

You can only move on to the next phase of

Holmgang

after occupying the platform. After 24 hours, Failure to reach a conclusion in a fight will lead to

Death

.

To occupy a platform, you must kill the enemy or make them surrender.

Each victory and the time required for that will be taken into account while creating

'Turns'

for the kings.

The fights will be one-on-one in the first stage of

Holmgang

.

Players and imps are unable to assist their comrades in any shape or form. Those who try to do so will receive

Death

penalty

[Note: King's using Turns are exempt from the above rule]

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Once all battles are over, the second phase will commence where players and imps of the corresponding role will battle in an all-out brawl. All battles will commence at the same time.

After 3 hours have passed on the second phase, the battle between two kings will commence and the final outcome will be determined.

After reading the long list of rules it seemed like the time given before the event began was justified. The players were both nervous and excited at the thought of having a one-on-one fight. Ria, Kyle, Druv, and others started racking their brains to come up with strategies as they focused their eyes on the next segment.

{|{ Effects for the second round of Shatar }|}

Fire resistance + 50%

after the occupation of a platform (lasts till the end of this round)

Fire affinity +5%

for each role vise victory (Counted by % of win for each role) (lasts till the end of this round)

Occupied platforms will create a

Green Zone

. All wounds will be healed within the Green zone and the cooldowns of skills, equipment, and titles will reset. All recovery rates are boosted by

1000%

Those who have died on the platform will be sent to a

Black Zone

with

10 HP

. Those who surrender will receive damage equivalent to

90%

of their remaining HP. Cooldowns of skills, equipment, and titles will be increased by

300%

. All recovery rates are reduced by

1000%

The platforms will merge according to roles in the second phase while the effects of green and black zones will be lifted.

Each Victory will grant the corresponding roles a buff of 'Valor'

Valor: Increase all stats by 0.01%

Each Defeat will grant the corresponding roles a debuff of 'Cowardice'

Cowardice: Decrease all stats by 0.01%

At the end of the first phase, the side that has an overall higher win rate will have their stats boosted by

10%

while the losing side will have their stats decreased by

10%

. (lasts till the end of this round)

There was a lot to digest from the effects. It looked simpler than other stages of Shatar but in fact, it was quite the opposite. The penalties didn't seem that harsh at a glance and reviving at a black zone with 10 HP was more like a god tier buff. The key here was the second phase.

With a drastic reduction in cooldowns and recovery rates, having 10 HP was as good as being dead. Not only would the revived ones be useless, there was a good chance that they'd become a hindrance to their comrades. Surrendering looked like a better choice considering this, while in fact it was even worse when the effects of Valor and Cowardice started to stack up.

0.01% looked trivial at a glance and it was indeed so for every role except the lowest one. A multiplication with thousands could turn 0.01% into a buff that had a chance to place them at the top with Vajeers. Of course, the chance of happening that were low unless the win-to-loss ratio was too one sided. The more likely scenario was that one side would have an overall higher win rate and obtain a 10% stat boost.

Be it the players or the imps, all of them were at lv 50. Giving them stat boosts was a roundabout way of getting past the restrictions of the second ring– a result of Zyrus's methods being mimicked by the imps.

Time seemed to pass by like a fistful of sand. Zyrus didn't give any advice to the players because in his eyes, the result of this battle didn't depend on strength and strategy. This too was something the players could only realize on their own.

\\-/| The stage will begin in 00:01:00 |\\-/

'There's a good chance that my interference will be detrimental to their growth,'

Zyrus straightened his back and activated 'Eye of the heaven'. It was the best method if he wanted to observe the battle of each and every player.

"Kihihihihi…"

"Lets plaaayyyy!"

Irritating cackling reverberated across the whole island as the imps started taunting the players. It was a pity that their mind games were ineffective on the players who were tempered by blood and iron under Zyrus's lead.

They had faced off and won against existences such as Camazotz, Nuckelavee, Pugalo, Ketos, and Star marked tyrant. The imps that were trying to intimidate them were nothing but annoying critters in their eyes.

\\-/| The stage will begin in 00:00:00 |\\-/

*Tngggg*

Thousands of Duels began with the clang of a bell.