I’m finished eating.
Yan pressed his palms together, offering a deeply sincere thanks to his mother for the delicious dinner.
“I’m going back to my room now.”
Before he could even finish the sentence, he was already greasing his heels, ready to make a quick escape.
“Wait a moment.”
His mother’s calm voice instantly froze him in place; he stiffly turned his head back, offering a wry smile as he looked at her.
“Wh-What is it?”
“Are you going back to your room to play games again?”
His mother’s tone carried a hint of displeasure, startling Yan, who guiltily lowered his head.
“Uh… I really have to play tonight, because…”
“Because tonight is the finals for your arena match, isn’t it?”
‘Huh?’
“How did you know?”
Yan gazed at his mother in astonishment, finding it difficult to comprehend.
He couldn’t recall ever mentioning it to her; he never discussed anything about his games with his mother. He had always assumed she wouldn’t understand, nor would she want to.
“What’s with that look…?”
His mother seemed quite displeased by Yan’s shocked expression, sighing as she raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.
“Don’t treat your mother like a caveman, alright? I’ve been keeping up with that incredibly popular full-dive game you’re playing.”
“It’s called ‘Partnered Divine Realm’… right?”
“I’m impressed you even know that.”
Yan muttered, yet inexplicably broke into a relaxed smile.
“You still think of me as a caveman, don’t you?”
His mother glared at him, appearing on the verge of losing her temper.
“Haha, how could I dare…?”
He chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head, and quickly pleaded for mercy.
“The latest news reports are all about that game. They’re saying the first event for the new server has narrowed down to ten finalists, and the ultimate battle is about to begin. It was even a headline, you know?”
“It was too prominent; it would have been hard not to see it.”
His mother spread her hands, as if recounting a humorous anecdote.
“What’s more, there were posters of the ten arena masters, and as soon as I saw that guy called [Lancer], I thought, ‘Damn, this couldn’t be my son, could it?'”
‘Could this be a telepathic connection between mother and son?’ Yan mused, a faint stir of emotion in his chest.
However, upon seeing the mischievous grin on his mother’s face, that fleeting moment of sentiment vanished, replaced by her wicked smile.
“Well, look at you, playing games and becoming a celebrity.”
‘Does Partnered Divine Realm really have such promotional power…? I was a headline (even if it was just my virtual avatar) and I didn’t even know…’
It was, indeed, a clever way to attract new players, Yan thought, scrolling through his phone screen.
‘Well, the game’s promotional poster itself is quite beautiful, and my avatar was photographed very handsomely… but seeing the belligerent expression and posture displayed in the news, Yan was so embarrassed he wished he could burrow into a crack in the ground.’
“Why do I always feel like I can’t be happy when you say things like that?”
Yan offered a wry smile, returning his phone to his pocket, then glanced at his mother who was still grinning oddly, feeling as though she were simply amusing herself at his expense.
“Well, anyway…”
His mother dropped her playful grin, her eyes now serious as she stared directly at Yan.
“Good luck with the match. If you want to do something, then do it well, no matter what it is.”
“Yes, yes… I know.”
Yan responded with a smile of his own.
‘If you want to do something, you must do it well.’ This was his mother’s life motto, and a phrase she often used to lecture Yan.
‘I’ve heard that phrase countless times.’
‘Though, hearing it so often can be a bit annoying.’
Yet, Yan didn’t truly dislike the saying.
Yan smiled, waved his hand, turned, and walked into his room.
****
A flash of blue light shimmered, and Yan slowly opened his eyes.
“Speaking of which, this setup is truly magnificent and over-the-top…”
Yan exclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder.
Before him lay a brightly lit event map, surrounded by dense crowds of spectating players. Suspended in the air, a large screen displayed five empty arena platforms.
Beyond the main screen, ten massive rectangular electronic posters floated in the sky, depicting the ten arena masters in towering, awe-inspiring poses. Naturally, Yan’s own figure was among them.
The benefits of an event with such a magnificent stage were truly countless: it would first ignite the atmosphere for tonight’s finals, stir the players’ excitement, instill a stronger sense of honor in the ten arena masters, prompting them to fight even harder in the final battle, and even inspire players outside the top ten to train diligently in hopes of one day appearing on such a poster, and so on.
For the operations of Partnered Divine Realm, it merely cost a few programmers their sleep (TL Note: “肝” (gān) literally means “liver,” but in Chinese internet slang, “爆肝” (bào gān) or “肝” (gān) refers to working extremely hard, often to the point of exhaustion or sacrificing one’s health, typically in gaming or coding.) and a tiny bit of data.
‘What a masterstroke,’ Yan thought, smiling as he shook his head, a hint of admiration in his musings.
“So, the final battle of the arena challenge is finally about to begin.”
He smiled, clenching his fist, and looked up at the ten massive posters in the sky.
The five on the left belonged to the arena masters from the morning session.
[Immovable Fortress] An Dong, [Pugilist] Ivan, [Lancer] Yan, [Swordlight Wielder] Xiao, and [Divine Eye Archer] Lian.
‘Come to think of it, it’s pretty impressive that the officials actually use these chuunibyou (TL Note: A Japanese slang term for someone who exhibits delusions of grandeur, often believing they possess special powers or hidden knowledge. It literally means “second-year middle school syndrome.”) nicknames that players came up with…’
‘Unexpectedly? The effect isn’t bad?’
‘As for the morning group, there’s no need to worry; no matter how the tournament brackets are arranged, the morning session’s arena masters won’t be pitted against each other, right…?’
‘The problem lies with the afternoon session’s arena masters…’
Yan’s gaze swept to the right side of the sky, where five new faces had appeared.
[Poison Maiden] Hayata Midori – she seemed to be the girl Yan and An Dong had encountered before, who looked neither like a priest nor a pugilist. The stark contrast between her pale, delicate gloves and her dark, flowing dress had left a deep impression on Yan.
‘She actually became an arena master too? Indeed, one can never underestimate any player…’
[Iron-Blooded Queen] An Ruina – her imposing yet elegant aura was inimitable. The captivating red lips not entirely concealed by her silver helmet, and the slender rapier drawn at her waist, were utterly unique.
Rumor had it that she had secured her position as an arena master with an unparalleled string of magnificent victories.
[Monster Chronicler] Zhen Bupo – his poster was arguably the most unique. His handsome figure, reminiscent of an elegant young lord, stood in one corner of the image, a folding fan held to his face, revealing a faint, enigmatic smile. Behind him, a shadowy silhouette, which upon closer inspection, proved to be a towering old ape.
‘Just as Yan expected, he became one of the arena masters?’
‘Well, if Yan could actively choose his opponent, he would probably pick that old ape, since he did promise Xiao.’
The remaining two arena masters, however, were entirely unfamiliar faces: [Termination Mage] Fei Yi, and [Afterimage Assassin] Ye.
According to Qing Bai, who had been observing the matches, [Termination Mage] Fei Yi was the master of the medium-sized arena, number four, meaning there was a theoretical possibility of her facing Yan.
However, Qing Bai had casually dismissed her, claiming, “That mage girl’s strength is mediocre; she only managed to defeat an exhausted arena master through sheer luck. She wouldn’t be able to beat either you or Xiao.” Yan suspected Qing Bai was simply too lazy to share information about the opponent.
As for the other, [Afterimage Assassin] Ye, they were an assassin player true to their name (or rather, their nickname). Their fighting style reportedly involved multiple rapid movements, so fast that only afterimages could be seen. “Anyway, Yan won’t be fighting the person on the large arena, number five, so I didn’t pay much attention, hmph.” Our young lady had declared, casually tossing aside the task Yan had entrusted to her.
‘Oh well, Lian seems to have paid close attention to that person anyway, so it should be fine.’
Yan offered a slight smile and headed towards the area beneath the large screen. Before long, he spotted An Dong’s figure.
“Hey, over here.”
An Dong waved his arm high, his dark armor faintly glowing red from the brilliant lights surrounding him.
Beside him stood Lian, Xiao, and Ivan. Yan paused for a moment, then, smiling, walked towards the group.
The first event, the final battle of the arena challenge!
It was about to begin!