In the nearest arena to the entrance of the underground arena, two players were engaged in a fierce battle. At this moment, Miss Lea was intently watching the match, clenching her fists tightly whenever the action intensified.
Seeing Lea clench her fists and her excited expression, Xiao Hua was reminded of someone: the Rogue Guild's profession instructor, Lina!
Lea sensed someone approaching and reluctantly shifted her gaze from the arena, hoping the match wouldn't end just yet.
"May I ask the beautiful Miss Lea, do you know Miss Lina?" Realizing the possibility of a special relationship between the two, Xiao Hua seized this rare opportunity. The map of Second World was vast, with countless NPCs, and encountering two possibly related NPCs in different cities was quite unlikely!
"Lina? Do you know my sister?" Lea's eyes lit up with surprise.
"Indeed! Miss Lina is my profession instructor!" Xiao Hua was pleased that his guess was correct.
"So, you're a rogue from Snowdrift City." Lea seemed to understand, then cautiously glanced at Xiao Hua and whispered, "There's something I need to clarify. Apart from being my sister, I have no other relationship with Lina. If she steals your gold or extorts money from you, I won't take responsibility!"
Xiao Hua was speechless. He had hoped to leverage Lina's relationship with Lea, but now it seemed that Lea had faced many troubles due to Lina's love for gold. Establishing a connection might be impossible.
"Miss Lea, how do I use this?" Xiao Hua took out his pass, deciding to tackle this matter first and see if it would trigger any special events.
"Very simple. Give me the pass, and you can participate in the arena matches." Lea took the pass from Xiao Hua and explained her duties.
"As for the rules and rewards of the matches, this manual explains everything in detail. Read it and you'll understand." Lea handed over a parchment booklet.
System Prompt: You have become an "Apprentice Assassin"!
System Prompt: You have received the Underground Arena Rules Manual!
Conveniently, Xiao Hua flipped through the manual and quickly read it, resolving most of his doubts.
First, the Killer Badge, which he was most concerned about, was not a secret in the manual. Besides the badge's attributes, which were unknown, the method of obtaining it was clear: participating in the underground arena matches! Winning each match earned 5 Victory Points, used to upgrade the Assassin rank.
For example, as an Apprentice Assassin, earning 25 Victory Points would allow him to spend these points to upgrade to a Novice Assassin. Subsequent upgrades required 50 points for Intermediate, 100 points for Advanced, and 200 points for Expert. According to the manual, reaching the Expert rank granted access to a special item from Lea, undoubtedly the Killer Badge!
To reach the Expert rank, one needed 375 Victory Points. Calculating purely on numbers, winning 75 matches would yield the badge. However, this was not as simple as it seemed. Not only was victory uncertain, but entering the arena required paying 100 gold coins and 10 Blackstones, limiting each participant to a maximum of five matches per day. However, Lea offered special tasks that could grant additional daily matches.
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The daily limit was not the hardest part. Players competing in the arena only gained 5 Victory Points for matches against equally ranked Assassins. Battles against lower-ranked Assassins reduced the Victory Points by 2 for each rank difference. Losing matches deducted Victory Points, potentially reducing Apprentice to Intermediate ranks to zero points, while Advanced and above could dip into negative points!
However, no matter how negative the points, the Assassin rank would not drop. Excessively negative points might prohibit participation in matches until special tasks were completed to reset the negative points.
To prevent exploitation, additional rules applied. Two players could face each other twice daily at most. Lower-ranked Assassins could not challenge opponents more than three ranks higher. Defeating a higher-ranked opponent granted extra Victory Points, one point for each rank difference!
The manual also detailed specific match rules. Each match lasted 20 minutes. In this limited time and space, certain abilities were restricted. For example, Rogues' Stealth duration was reduced to one-fifth, with a cooldown of one minute. After Stealth ended, a 30-second cooldown applied before reusing it. To prevent passive play, failing to hit or be hit after Stealth extended the cooldown to two minutes!
If a match ended without a fatality, victory was determined by damage dealt. Identical damage resulted in mutual defeat, with no ties allowed.
After reading the manual, Xiao Hua understood Tu Kuang's words. For Rogues, the arena posed a significant disadvantage. Rogues were notoriously low in output, making it difficult to accumulate Victory Points for the Killer Badge.
However, with Tu Kuang's help, things could be different. Tu Kuang could arrange for players to deliberately lose matches, and consecutive victories starting from the fifth match granted an additional Victory Point. Consistently defeating higher-ranked Assassins could quickly reach the Expert rank and obtain the Killer Badge.
To receive Tu Kuang's assistance, however, Xiao Hua would need to join his guild, something Xiao Hua was unwilling to do. Tu Kuang would not compromise on this matter!
Previously, Xiao Hua had declined joining Tu Kuang's guild. Now, he still refused. Although Xiao Hua could leave his guild and join another, he was no longer the leader of Beauty Paradise. Only the guild leader had the highest permissions, like approving applications or adjusting task rewards, which Xiao Hua had transferred to Piaoling before leaving for Black Mist City.
However, joining Tu Kuang's guild of blacklisted players, known for special rules, could lead to complications. Exiting would not be straightforward, potentially causing problems.
Returning the manual to Lea, Xiao Hua realized following the manual's guidelines would take too much time, which he lacked. Before asking Lea about the alternative path mentioned by Tu Kuang, Lea whispered, "Are you a rogue? Becoming an Assassin is challenging for rogues. Watching matches daily, I've seen how skilled these players are. It might be tough for you to become an Advanced Assassin. However, since you're my sister's apprentice, I'll offer you a shortcut. Instead of earning Victory Points through matches, this path offers a more direct route. For others, it's difficult, but for you, it's equally challenging. However, it's extremely dangerous!"
"If Miss Lea could share the information, I'd like to attempt it," Xiao Hua promptly responded, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
"Since you've made up your mind, I'll tell you. Exit Black Mist City and head west. Not far, you'll find an ancient castle. Inside lives a key figure of the Assassin Guild. Pass her test, and you'll directly qualify for the Assassin Badge! Her test is perilous; one mistake could cost your life. Consider carefully before accepting her challenge!" Lea spoke mysteriously, her tone warning of danger.
Xiao Hua learned that the Killer Badge's real name was the Assassin Badge. Apparently, through word of mouth, it became known as the Killer Badge.
With this information, Xiao Hua thanked Lea. Since the castle was nearby, he planned to visit and see what awaited him.