The Immortal Player

After another skirmish between the two teams, Weyron had completed the final list of the players who would be representing the Team Oran Gutan. That said, those who were not chosen were not demoralized in return.

Unexpectedly, the skirmish between the two teams had ignited the desire of everyone in the Team Oran Gutan to win against Team ARES on the exhibition games no matter what it takes. Thus, it was alright for any of the 100 players to not be chosen because as long as it would give them the victory against their 'seemingly impossible to beat' opponent, Team ARES.

On the other hand, Team ARES was now able to adjust themselves to fighting against other players. Although they were dominating their opponents on their own at the first skirmish, the lapses of their straightforward and unorganized formation were exploited when Team Oran Gutan used a 'trap' tactic—eventually allowing Team Oran Gutan to restrict Lony and Talia's movements momentarily.

That said, the difference in the strength between the two teams was obvious. So, in the end, Team ARES still won the second skirmish with the help of the 'aggressive' support trio of Loren, Aldo, and Roval.

And although the third and final skirmish were to happen, it was evident that Team ARES would be able to easily win against Team Oran Gutan, since they only need once to be reminded of their lapses and be able to immediately overcome or find a solution to them.

These traits of theirs have developed thanks to their training with Clara and Ragas. They would often be told of their lapses and mistakes in a terrifying way. And if they won't be able to come up with a decent solution, they would just keep getting beat up over and over again.

Fortunately, the area where they were conducting their skirmish was guarded and hidden from other spectator's view—to avoid leaking crucial information like how strong both teams were. In any case, other than the rumors that the Team Oran Gutan was being trained by 'strong NPCs', there was no other information related with the skirmish that was spreading around the internet.

Eventually, the third skirmish ended—giving both teams valuable experiences and knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their own teams. This gave them the chance to improve and make some changes before they all fly towards China for the exhibition games.

…

Days later, Team ARES—with 9 Official Players, and Team Oran Gutan—with 50 Official Players, arrived at Shanghai, China together with the Presidents of both the Armaz Energy International and Armaz Electronics Inc., and the Director for Guild Affairs of Armaz Electronics Inc.

Fortunately, their accommodations were arranged by the Game Developers themselves, so, almost all of the teams participating in the Exhibition Games would not need to worry about such details.

Transportation was not much of a problem because the place where the Exhibition Games would be conducted was near the hotel where all of the players were being accommodated.

That said, Mrs. Caroline Armaz and Mrs. Veronica Santiago were still personally managing the needs of their players. Mrs. Caroline Armaz manages the smaller Team ARES—together with Mrs. Marisa Conception (Sabrina's mom), while Mrs. Veronica Santiago manages Team Oran Gutan with the help of some managers lent by Armaz Energy International to Armaz Electronics Inc.

Well… Their jobs were only to ensure that the players are comfortable and would be able to participate in the competition to the best of their abilities. The Game Developers had already provided almost everything that the players would need. So, the respective managers of each team were only there to ensure that everything was going well to their player's side.

…

April 1, 2031

10:00 AM

In the nearby arena to the hotel where all the participants to the Exhibition Games were accommodated, a huge device was installed at its centermost area—projecting a hologram display that spanned up to the roof of the arena.

The higher area of the arena was 'jam-packed' by random spectators—who were lucky enough to secure a ticket to Introduction Day of the Exhibition Games. As for the lower area of the arena, the seats at that location were reserved for the players of the 69 invited teams that would later enter the arena one by one.

Lastly, the VIP Area—similar to courtside seats in a basketball arena, would be occupied by the 11 teams that would represent the affiliate companies and corporations of the Game Developers of Bearth Online.

At this moment, the whole arena suddenly went dark as the lights were turned off—marking the start of the event for that day. The crowd could not help but shout out of excitement as the hologram lit slowly—ensuring that it would not hurt the eyes of the people inside the arena.

At first, the monsters wreaking havoc on different villages on Bearth Online were played at the holographic device as the narrator speaks, saying, "When hope is lost and the light of victory fades… A group of people stood and fought whatever it takes!"

The scene transitioned to the appearance of the players who fought monsters bravely even if it costed their life. Then, the narrator continued saying, "And amongst these brave men… Only one would stand on top! The Heroes that would ignite the strongest light! The Champions!"

A blinding light—seemingly coming from a star or from the sun, was displayed in the hologram projector. Then, slowly, it became dim as the narrator said, "The question is… Who amongst these heroes would be the First Champions?"

At this moment, the entrance to the lower area of the arena was lit by the spotlight as the narrator said, "Introducing… The 69 teams invited for the First Bearth Online Competition!"

The logo of the first team amongst the 69 teams was then displayed by the holographic projector as the name of the respective team was mentioned by the narrator. Then, that respective team's Captain and Ace Player were introduced afterward.

The crowd often cried in support of the respective teams that they support—where most of them support the teams that represent their country. People all over the world also erupted as each of the teams that they supported were mentioned during the live coverage.

Time passed and eventually, the 69 teams were already mentioned and had already occupied most of the lower area of the arena. At this moment, the narrator and the hologram projection were about to end the introduction of the participants when, somehow, an error had seemingly occurred.

The hologram projection shook and vibrated wildly as if it was being hacked by someone else. And in the next second, the narrator spoke and said, "I-I-Introduci-ci-cing! The-The-The… 11 Team-Team-Teams… Spe-Spe-Specially Invited… To-To-To… the First Bearth Online Competition!"

At this moment, the entrance to the VIP area was lit by a spotlight as the logo of the first team amongst the 11 Specially Invited Teams was displayed by the holographic projector with an 'error-like' effect. At the same time, the narrator mentioned the name of that said team and was consequently followed by the introduction of its team captain and ace player.

And as they enter the arena, a guiding light on the sides of their path was lit red—as if the players were walking in the middle of an airport's runway at night. And after all of their players were seated, the next succeeding teams were mentioned.

Moments later…

"I-I-Introduci-ci-cing! The-The-The… 10th Team-Team-Team… Spe-Spe-Specially Invited… To-To-To… the First Bearth Online Competition! Fro-Fro-Fro-From the Philippines… Team-Team-Team… Oran Gutan!"

At this moment, the Team Oran Gutan's logo was displayed to the holographic projector of the Arena, and to the live coverage being witnessed by all the people from all over the world. Naturally, the Filipino spectators erupted at this moment in support of the team.

Consequently, Team Oran Gutan entered the arena with the lead of Weyron and Meen.

"Tea-Tea-Tea-Team Captain… Noryew!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Weyron—wearing his guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of his synced character from the game.

"A-A-A-Ace Player… Neem!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Meen—wearing her guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees, similar to Weyron a few seconds ago, before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of her synced archer-based character from the game.

That said, when Meen was the one projected in the hologram, the crowd became noisier—thanks to the additional cheers of a lot of men who immediately became her fans.

Soon, everyone from Team Oran Guan was seated. And after a few moments of silence, the narrator proceeded.

"I-I-Introduci-ci-cing! La-La-La-Last… Bu-Bu-Bu-But not the least! The-The-The… 11th Team-Team-Team… Spe-Spe-Specially Invited… To-To-To… the First Bearth Online Competition! Fro-Fro-Fro-From the Philippines… Team-Team-Team… ARES!"

At this moment, the Team ARES logo was displayed to the holographic projector of the Arena, and to the live coverage being witnessed by all the people from all over the world. Like how the crowd reacted when the Team Oran Gutan was mentioned, the Filipino spectators erupted at this moment in support of the team.

Seconds later, Team ARES entered the arena with the lead of Pedro, Lony, and Mathew.

"Tea-Tea-Tea-Team Captain… Black!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Pedro—wearing his guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of his synced character from the game.

Compared to the other teams, Pedro's character in the game caught the most attention of the crowd and the spectators as most of them gasp in awe upon seeing the full black armor set that was paired with a matching black sword.

Some of the participating players gossiped amongst each other, indicating that they are paying full attention to Team ARES as if they were the strongest team. The noise within the arena and amongst the spectators all over the world had even surpassed the noise when a beautiful female player was introduced by the narrator and the holographic projector.

That said, Only the Team Oran Gutan's players were not surprised with it. In fact, they remained silent because they know how strong the players of Team ARES were despite wearing a set of heavy armor—which were technically heavier than the armors of the players from Team Oran Gutan.

But the eruption of the crowd did not stop there. Some of the spectators and other players thought that Pedro was the only one with the full armor set amongst their team. Unfortunately, they were immediately proven wrong as Lony, Team ARES' Ace was introduced.

"A-A-A-Ace Player… Bulk!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Lony—wearing his guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of his synced character from the game that was wearing the same full armor set with Pedro—just slightly modified to fit perfectly on the body of Lony's character in the game.

The crowd erupted loudly, with some of them crying and discussing how much did the Team ARES invested in their equipment just for this competition.

Well… Pedro and everyone else from the Team ARES did not mind them much and simply sat in their designated area.

And with that… The Team Introductions for the First Bearth Online Competition were concluded!

"These are your 69-80-69-80… 80 Participating Teams for the First Bearth Online Professional Competition! May the best team arise as CHAMPIONS!"