As the clash was happening, the group’s instance was being broadcast in Auditorium Three. Most customers knew about Bu Dong and his reputation as a first clear dungeoneer and they began to call others to watch him and his group. All were also eager to check out how the new dungeon would develop.
“Looks to me like a pretty straightforward dungeon.” A male customer commented on the dungeon that Bu Dong was participating.
“I think so too, the price of the ticket can also be considered to be on the cheaper side.” Another customer agreed with the male customer.
“I might be overthinking this, but don’t you think it could be set up for future cultivator versus cultivator matches? I mean those robots or Savants look very real to me.” A bespectacled female customer speculated as she analysed the dungeon instance.
“For guessing correctly, Five Bronze Medals have been awarded to the lady at the end of the stairs of Auditorium Three!” Mr Patsu announced a surprise reward. A small box came parachuted above her head with the rewards. She was a bit shocked since it was just a passing remark. However it was the confirmation of the observation that caused a big ruckus from the customers at Auditorium Three.
“Does that mean we might have an internal tournament against each other in the future?!” An older customer was excited to see cultivators pit against each other. Usually, it was based on a need to fight basis and police had to oversee the duels. Otherwise, those cultivators would fight in underground arenas that were illegal to the public. Mixed martial arts or other fighting sports were regulated to make sure no cultivation was allowed at all.
“Ahh, so Boss Jin is releasing this dungeon as a tryout? A tutorial for cultivators who might want to participate in future cultivator versus cultivator fights? Well, that is an original way to introduce such a concept. I love the idea to make it a game rather than an outright fight too.” Another customer voiced his opinion.
“It is illegal for dungeon suppliers to promote cultivator versus cultivator directly, so his way should be a nice little loophole. However, I believe some dungeon suppliers have tried doing something similar, but they were not very successful because the matchmaking was terrible. And that is only in the cases of the technology working… I recall reading that some smaller dungeon suppliers were not even able to handle it, causing cultivators to be ejected the very moment they clashed with each other. Nevertheless, if it’s Boss Jin, I believe he can do it.” Mr Know-it-All who was sitting at his favourite spot gave his expertise, and many agreed.
“Man! Then I got to learn how this dungeon game really work. I got some colleagues who would love to let off some steam against our superiors!” A male customer joked, though many could sympathize. While not all had the same motivation, others could feel the urge to compete with others, and the crowd got even more pumped up than usual.
As the Inter World Football game continued on, the first round came to a close. Bu Dong and group lost severely for the first round, securing only one magical ball for their guardian. Yue Han had no chance to impress the girls and was instead beaten to a pulp by the Warlock and his Otherworld Abomination.
“HOW IS THIS FOOTBALL!?!?” Yue Han shouted in agony as he could not believe he was trounced by the Warlock.
“To be honest, Boss Jin would like the audience to give their input on the game and hopes that they could come up with a more suitable name for the sport.” Mr Patsu admitted upon hearing Yue Han’s cries of help and everyone all laughed as they they were trying to come up with a suitable name on their own.
“Oh, please present your suggestions into the Pandamonium App. There is an open survey option on the front page of the app!” Bear Cub One, the secondary announcer added on.
——-
As there was an interval between the rounds, Coach Hui gathered the rest up in the locker room and commented on the tactics that were used by the group. “You guys are too segregated. No one is helping each other at all. Zero teamwork. Even an unlearned spectator would laugh at you for performing so terribly.”
“How can we have teamwork when we are stuck in the energy barrier with an enemy, forced to fight them one on one?” Bu Dong questioned angrily.
“Remember how that Assassin Savant retreated the moment Xing Li stole the magical energy ball from him? Great work, by the way, Pandastic movement. Ah yes, the energy barrier disappeared, right? It was because he was willing to forfeit the magical ball. That means when you no longer have the will to fight for it, the energy barrier will break. But that also allows you to use this move tactically.” Coach Hui explained.
“Ah…at that time the Lancer Savant came in and contended me for the ball. With my stamina spent fighting against the Assassin Savant, the Lancer Savant who had the range advantage against me managed to defeat me and won the magical ball.” Xing Li analysed as she sighed.
“Yes, and when Bu Dong tried to clash with the Lancer Savant, the Assassin Savant slipped in and entered the battle against Bu Dong, giving the Lancer Savant a chance to press forward to his own Guardian.” Coach Hui continued.
“I was in too much of a shock the moment the Lancer Savant clashed with me as I was not prepared to fight against a melee opponent.” Katerine stuck her tongue out to apologise to the group since her death was the fastest among all of them.
“Then in Kong Xian’s case, he was able to withstand the battle against the Lord Knight but as soon as the 30 seconds were over, it became a free for all, allowing the Archer Savant to enter into the fray. Because of the blunder you all made, three of you were down for the count, leaving Kong Xian alone to fend for himself. Defensive character against defensive character was the right choice, but when a ranged attacker comes in… there was no way Kong Xian was going to win.” Coach Hui concluded as he folded his arms.
“Ahhh…we blundered so much.” Kong Xian apologised in his own way.
“Hmm, surprisingly, the MVP for this round was Yue Han. His shadow form allowed him to slip through the cracks of the Otherworld Abomination’s defence, bypassing the Warlock Savant’s notice and delivering the magical ball to our Pandajilla. It’s a pity the Warlock Savant found your presence afterwards, cursing you so badly that you could not move away, allowing the Otherworld Abomination to beat you senselessly.” Coach Hui shook his head.
“I think we all know where we went wrong and with one match, we more or less learnt a little about the opponent.” Bu Dong tried to defend his group since he was afraid that they would become more depressed with Coach Hui’s complaints.
“Question, what if two of us went for one particular magical ball? Will it become a two versus one?” Kong Xian asked as he was thinking if he should pair up with a ranged attacker like Katerine, a Fire Shaman.
“Yes, if you manage to do that, it would become a two versus two in an enclosed area, and any other Savant could join in at will. Not sure how to explain this well. Erm…it can only occur if both of you move towards the ball at about the same time. Not in instances like ‘Ah! I should join him!’ That kind of excuse. To play it safe, both of you must be within at least 5 metres of the energy ball for the two versus two to occur.” Coach Hui said which made Kong Xian light up and he shared his intent to partner up with Katerine.
Meanwhile, Katerine was already bent on winning, forgetting her previous plans of causing some mischief between Xing Li and Yue Han. This dungeon instance way more exciting than creating discord between friends.
Fortunately, this did give an opportunity for Yue Han and Xing Li to communicate and discuss their technique and tactics together. Bu Dong also felt that they should partner together since they knew each other strength and weakness reasonably well. “Guess, I will continue to stay as the defence.”
“Judging from your discussion, you both are aiming for two balls rather than getting all three energy balls?” Coach Hui rubbed his stubble.
“Get these two energy balls, achieve at least a tie in terms of energy balls against Roboz for the second round and later go all out for the last golden ball.” Bu Dong cusped his hand together in a thinking pose.
“I see, so you guys are already considering the end goal. I like this simple and straightforward strategy. Good luck.” Coach Hui said as they heard a ringing bell, indicating the start of the second round.
