Chapter 69: Sixth-Rank Contractors Are Indeed Tough
The first match of the sixth rank went smoothly. Since Su Xiao's ranking had been reset, the opponents he matched with were only slightly stronger than fifth-rank contractors, but not to an exaggerated degree.
[Matching in progress...]
[Successfully matched opponent. Opponent's arena ID nature: Void.]
...
Another opponent from the Void. This made Su Xiao realize that the power system of the Void was likely far more complex than he had imagined, with clear disparities in strength.
When the spatial fluctuations faded, Su Xiao found himself in a forest. A girl dressed lightly, carrying a wooden bow, stood on a tree branch. Her appearance was close to that of the Elf race, but she lacked their long, pointed ears.
[Arena, Begin!]
Bang!
A burst of air spread. Su Xiao's hand stopped in front of him, catching an arrow. The arrow pulsed with emerald light.
"Huh~"
The elf girl let out a surprised sound, and the next moment, her eyes widened.
One minute later, Su Xiao sat on top of the elf girl, holding a still-beating heart in his hand. This girl had two hearts, so having one ripped out wouldn't cause death. Unfortunately for her, this meant the protection mechanism wasn't triggered.
"Now I'm getting somewhere."
Su Xiao tossed the heart back to the elf girl. Her eyes brimmed with tears. In her tribe, she was the apple of her elders' eyes; she had never suffered such humiliation.
In truth, the newly-adult elf girl had been sent to the Paradise Arena by her elders at a considerable cost. Since losing in the arena doesn't result in death, it was meant to teach her how cruel the outside world was beyond her family.
Su Xiao, of course, didn't care about the elf girl's psychological trauma. He never showed mercy in battle.
By the second match, Su Xiao sensed the difference of the sixth rank. Perhaps soon, he would encounter a worthy opponent.
However, this time Su Xiao was being a bit optimistic. The Dead Silence City, Moon God Underground Palace, and Origin Island he had experienced were all sixth-rank areas, and among the more dangerous ones at that. This had caused his combat power to far exceed that of a typical fifth-rank.
This was the benefit of developing all four attributes simultaneously, coupled with accumulating a large number of passive abilities. While it consumed more resources early on and occasionally led to frustration during attribute checks, by the mid-to-late stages, it completely outclassed single-attribute or dual-attribute development.
It could be said that Su Xiao had gotten through the early stages with powerful long-range weapons and Bubu Wang's reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering abilities, while the mid-stage involved scheming against various old foxes.
The sixth rank marked the beginning of the late stage, and Su Xiao was already reaping the rewards of his accumulation.
The arena matches continued. In the third match, Su Xiao was matched against a contractor from Apocalypse Paradise. Forty seconds into the battle, that Apocalypse rookie chose to surrender.
In the fourth match, the opponent was again from the Void. This one was trickier, skilled in three types of melee weapons. After all his weapons were severed by Su Xiao, he let out a mournful cry of "Damuzha," likely a curse word in the Void.
In the fifth match, Su Xiao faced a contractor from Death Paradise. This person's abilities were disgustingly annoying. After holding out for three minutes under Su Xiao's assault, he died from True Damage.
Match after match, given Su Xiao's physical condition, this level of combat didn't cause him much fatigue.
...
At a certain arena venue, Su Xiao stood among the ruins. A dozen meters away was a main tank, holding a square shield, kneeling on one knee, his face covered in blood.
"A sixth-rank tank, indeed different."
Su Xiao muttered to himself. The tank opposite him had already taken seven or eight of his strikes. Though he looked battered, he wasn't dead.
Su Xiao exhaled a breath of turbid air, lowering his body as a trace of blood energy spread around him. He was starting to get serious.
"Don't die."
A boom sounded from beneath Su Xiao's feet, and he vanished from his spot in an instant.
Hearing Su Xiao's "Don't die," the tank brother nearly died from rage on the spot. His inner thoughts were: 'Don't die? Is that human speech? Who the hell cut me up like this? Do I want to die? Screw your mother!'
The tank brother went through a series of 'soul-searching' curses in his mind, but unfortunately, Su Xiao had already charged forward, accompanied by a dense array of hundreds of blade auras.
...
In the rest room, Su Xiao picked up a water glass and downed the clear water in one gulp. He had already fought over 70 matches, encountering many troublesome opponents, but none had yet posed a real threat to him.
[Arena Participant: Su Xiao.]
[Status: Good.]
[Paradise Arena Ranking: 37509 (Sixth Rank).]
[Consecutive Wins: 76 matches.]
[Top Ten Honor Rewards: Not obtained.]
...
Su Xiao had won 76 consecutive matches, climbing from unranked to 37,509th place. At this level, opponents were becoming increasingly difficult.
Perhaps in just a few more matches, Su Xiao might face defeat. He vaguely sensed that the gap wasn't in physical attributes, abilities, or combat experience, but in equipment.
In a previous match, Su Xiao had faced an opponent who, despite not being a tank, used an arm shield to block at least thirty of his slashes. That opponent eventually chose to forfeit, his face full of reluctance.
Clearly, that arm shield was equipment above Epic rank. Its defensive power couldn't be matched even by several Epic shields combined.
If Su Xiao's guess was correct, only upon reaching the sixth rank could one obtain equipment above Epic quality. Before that, it was likely due to insufficient permissions.
Even if the defeated enemy was strong enough, the rewards would be converted into another form.
This also meant that equipment above Epic rank was a scarce resource even for the Paradise. Reaching the sixth rank activated the minimum requirement to obtain and use such quality equipment.
Su Xiao wasn't sure if his conjecture was correct, but it wouldn't be long before he could verify it.
Choosing to continue matching, Su Xiao planned to fight a few more rounds before returning to his Exclusive Room to rest.
A sense of teleportation washed over him, accompanied by a faint floral fragrance. Su Xiao was transported to a sea of flowers. As far as the eye could see, light pink blossoms covered the ground, just reaching his calves.
A breeze blew, sending light pink petals flying. A girl wearing a platinum-white robe and holding a bladed staff stood in the flower sea. Her skin was fair, and her eyes were one silver and one blue.
From her attire, this girl was a healer. Meeting her in the arena meant she was a combat healer.
"So you're my opponent, huh? Tch, another one from Reincarnation Paradise."
The combat healer snorted lightly. She spread her fingers, raised her hand to her forehead, and brushed her silver hair back, miraculously tying it into a ponytail with one hand.
"Blade Grandmaster."
The combat healer's lips curled up with a mysterious confidence.
On the other side, Su Xiao lightly pressed his forehead. This opponent was clearly a bit chuunibyou. He didn't want to talk to her for now; it was just depressing.
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing. Blood Feathers slid from his sleeve and shattered the next moment.
He drew the long blade from his waist. The combat healer opposite him, despite her chuunibyou tendencies, was overwhelmingly strong. Based on Su Xiao's judgment, she might be no weaker than Kuska from Origin Island.
Contractors in Reincarnation Paradise were never normal. Some vented their combat stress through madness, while others adapted fully to Reincarnation Paradise through even higher-intensity battles. This combat healer, on the other hand, vented her stress through chuunibyou behavior.
"I'm coming—"
Before the combat healer could finish her sentence, she received a battle notification that made her freeze on the spot.
After a few seconds of hesitation, the combat healer raised her staff with trembling hands and healed Su Xiao.
[You have received the healing effect of 'Flower Bud'.]
[Malicious Damage Ability has been triggered. This healing effect ×5. You will receive 1840 points of Health recovery.]
.