YEAAAH!!!!!
The coliseum thundered with thee echoing cheer of the gathered players. The huge construct easily can contain millions of spectators. However, the currently jam-packed coliseum boasted a viewer count over 20 million, the highest ever for any ranker tournament.
Ranker tournament is a system hosted tournament allowing players of 'AMAZON' to contest for stupendous treasures. In the year 2025, AMAZON MMORPG Online came out as the first full immersion gaming experience that took the virtual world by the storm. Though expensive, everyone who had an experience of being transported to a magi-filled fantasy world, found the price completely reasonable and within a short time, the frightening demand for its game cabin increased the price to ten-fold in the black market. Fortunately, Mythic Ascension Corporation, the founder and manufacturer of AMAZON amped up the production of the game cabins to maintain the price, ensuring smooth supply.
It is not that the company does not want to capitalize on the demand price inflation, the game nature being MMORPG, AMAZON can only fully exhibit its potential only if it has a huge player base. Very quickly, by popular demand, impactful marketing, and robust production; the gamer count went beyond 2 million in just the first month.
It has been two years since the game went live, AMAZON now boasts a player population of almost 3 billion. With the approval of half the world's population, AMAZON became the biggest social hub, elevating human interaction and commerce to an unprecedented level via the digital interface. Now, Mythic Ascension Corporation is the biggest company in the world wielding limitless capital and astounding influence around the globe.
The whole system of AMAZON is handled by the most advanced AI in the world: Aphion, the Goddess of Miracle. She also serves as the top tier NPC and the guardian of AMAZON. Aphion is helped by 12 sub-tiered God and Goddess NPC, who oversee AMAZON.
Being the first fully immersion MMORPG game and its ultra-realistic environment with magical quests and dragons made the players treat AMAZON as a second world. The game also has time-dilation rooms that helped the elite of the society to better manage their busy schedule. Shortly after AMAZON rose in popularity, the focus of various corporations and real-world powers were directed towards AMAZON. What once has started as a Mythical Fantasy world has turned a more cut-throat and divided planet of various superpowers of the real world. AMAZON now serves the whims and desires of big corporations as they hoard the game resources and in-game production lines making massive profits skinning the independent players to their bone.
Aphion has created various player quests, training opportunities, and resource competition to restrict the Super Guilds backed by real-life superpowers to monopolize the game resources. However, either with tempting offers or by force or coercion, one corporation or the other will swiftly annex the new player who stumbled upon a game opportunity into their ranks. The various Corporation couldn't help but laugh at Aphion's attempt to neutralize their powers. One such event that allows even a non-guild player to have the chance to receive a Divine-Rank artifact is the 'Ranker Tournament.'
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"Which Guild do you think will rank first?"
"Heh… Is there a need to ask? Infernal Force Guild members are sure to take the top 10 spots! After all, the famed Stawin Corporation has invested a lot in them and is a major shareholder."
"True that… non-guild players like us stand no chance against behemoths like them…"
Overhearing the conversation of the dejected duo, the nearby independent players could not help but smile bitterly. This has become the reality for non-guild players, prosperity in AMAZON can be sought with adequate might. A curvaceous cursemancer who is decked in basic equipment looked down on her in self-pity when she overheard the conversation. However, a little girl who was on holding onto the cursemancer was oblivious to the woes of the adults, unwittingly uttered…
"Big sis, didn't you say Garuda will take the number 1 spot…"
As soon as the little girl mentioned Garuda, the eyes of all the independent player brightened.
"Ha-ha, little girl you should not listen to the lies of the adults," loudly called out a voice tinged with arrogance…
"Cheh… who do you think…" the retort of an independent player got caught in his throat as he recognized the man who said it…
"I think I am Two Fingers, commander of Infernal Force battle legion," the succinct reply and the guild badge on his armor stopped everyone from guessing. When he walked to the little girl who spoke about Garuda, the cursemancer put herself in the middle, shielding the child behind her.
"You think you are qualified to get in my way?" curtly asked Two Fingers when saw the basic equipment of the cursemancer.
Sigh! "I wanted to get to into the fighting area without any fanfare. Guess that's not possible anymore," an easy-going voice interjected when the pressure of Infernal Force commander's aura was mounting on everyone.
"WHO IS IT? SHOW YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE GUTS! LET ME SEE WHICH IDIOT LOST HIS BRAIN AND GOT IN THE WAY OF INFERNAL FORCE'S BUSINESS!" the man who's the subordinate of the Infernal Force's commander bellowed out and all 100 men that wore the Infernal Force Guild emblem started to search for the man who spoke out.
Peanuts, a Lvl 20 Elementalist, was just checking out the commotion until the hooded guy beside him spoke out, getting in the middle of Infernal Force's business. He suddenly felt like a lightning fell on his head and immediately put a wide distance between the hooded stranger and him. If it was just an arrogant player showing off, Peanuts will just rat him out earning the favor of the Super Guild, but he knew that the guy spoke out only to help the cursemancer and the little girl.
"Psst brother, I laud your courage for speaking out, but if you keep standing here, the men of Infernal Force will find you. Why don't we take off before they catch us?" though Peanuts addressed the hooded player with familiarity his eyes kept roaming around and his legs angst, ready to sprint at moment's notice.
"Don't you want to make a buck, selling me out?"
"Ah! I… I was… Don't... Don't look down on me, brother, I may be poor in AMAZON, but I won't do anything to make a profit. You stepped in to help that cursemancer and that little girl. Now that the Infernal Force people are distracted, we completed our heroic act, we should get the hell out of here!"
"We…?"
"Brother, this is not the time for details!"
Gritting his teeth, Peanuts opened a trade tab with the hooded stranger, "Here take this instantaneous movement scroll, but remember it's a loan! Use is only if you are about to get caught," generously traded Peanuts with a cry face.