At that moment, the scoring for the absolute categories began, and surprisingly, Earth's scores surged. I was left perplexed as they started awarding scores because Earth won several top positions, mostly in the top 3.
These rankings included things like the most invaders eliminated, the most infection zones controlled, or the most secrets found. Many achievements were being ranked, and Earth's total score began to rise like a rocket. Towards the end of the ranking, Earth's score managed to place us in third place.
The atmosphere changed again. If there was contempt before, now there was envy and a kind of resentment. Additionally, something strange could be noticed in their eyes, something like anticipation.
And soon, I knew why. Once the rankings were finished, our host dropped some bombshells.
"We will soon detail the rewards for your entire civilization, as well as rewards for those present who are considered the best fighters of their respective civilizations. But before that, we know that the scores can be considered unfair in some way, so we will give you the opportunity to challenge a civilization with a better ranking. However, those who challenge also risk their best reward. The combat mode will be singular, in a duel to the death."
The surroundings erupted in fervor, and almost immediately, a challenge was issued. The host immediately calmed the atmosphere.
"Planet Tersanik challenges planet Earth; Shar will act as their champion. Members of planet Earth have 5 minutes to send theirs, or they will lose by default, and the penalty will be doubled."
Tersanik was the planet that had consistently ranked among the top 5 in the evaluations, so they must have felt confident about being better than us. However, they forgot that the challenge was one-on-one, and they couldn't rely on their innate quality.
"I think we should concede victory," Ethan said.
"What do you mean? Weren't you the one who surpassed level 99? You should have more than enough power to defeat him," Dimitri immediately responded.
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Ethan seemed to panic, and his complexion turned unusually pale.
"They clearly are among the best, and their forces are much stronger than ours. Plus, because I had to look after my camp to progress further, I couldn't level up my classes and abilities much."
"Well, man, even without the ability, you should be able to put up a good fight."
"If you want to see a good fight, why don't you go?"
While the three of them engaged in a heated discussion, I looked at the rest. There were still three fighters who were supposed to represent Earth's elite.
The first one I saw was dressed in attire that I can only describe as typical of the Middle East, and although he spoke in his own language, somehow I understood him in English.
"My name is Musaf, and it seems I'm the last on the list. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can be your contender."
I nodded at the man and turned to the next one, a tall and sculpted woman with an Amazonian appearance.
"I'm definitely not up to it."
Her response to my gaze was clear and concise, and her disdainful attitude toward the scene the other three were causing said it all. I nodded at her and turned to the last one.
The last one was a man who seemed to be a Buddhist monk from his attire, although he wasn't of Asian ethnicity; he seemed rather European, probably having parents from both sides.
"My name is Yun, although I may be ranked among the best, it's probably because I acquired a rare magical talent towards the end. I don't have enough mastery with it to be useful in this event."
I nodded in recognition of his reasons and turned back to face the others. From the type of conversation they were having, it was clear that they also didn't wish to face the enemy, so I simply began walking towards the arena for the duel.
As I walked a bit away from our position, I could feel everyone in the human camp falling silent.
On my way to the arena, I focused on looking at my opponent. He looked much like humans, but there were some major differences. First of all, both he and the others had much larger bodies; the smallest one was two meters tall, and they were all well-built and toned.
What caught my attention the most, however, was the lack of general protection on their bodies, as well as the fact that their arms didn't protrude from their shoulders as in our case but rather from lower down. This gave me some ideas about how they functioned.
Once we reached the center of the arena, the host spoke again.
"You are equipped with a repaired version of your equipment from just before you arrived here. If you wish, you can choose any other equipment you have used before; you cannot acquire new equipment for future fights."
Since I didn't have my greatsword at the moment just before my death, it didn't appear with me, so I quickly requested it.
"All right, if there are no further changes, the rules are simple. You can use anything you've obtained through the points system. The fight only ends when one of you is dead. Take your positions and start as soon as I give the command."