The screaming Instincts - 3rd Stage Begins!!!

A bright blue flash blinded his eyes.

When Kai's eyes adjusted, he found himself seated in the same White Hall as from the previous times before heading forward to the actual venue of the Tournament's stages.

In front of him, a gigantic screen was hovering midair.

Kai looked around but found no other decoration or object whatsoever. Then he looked at himself.

Shock appeared on his face with a bang!

No longer was he wearing his clothes, but a military uniform, brown, green, and pale yellow, matching the color of jungle terrain. It was almost the same uniform he had worn during the 1st Stage, he remembered.

So the 3rd Stage will happen in another jungle? Kai asked himself.

It was then words began appearing on the screen, along with the familiar return of the two voices.

[[

Congratulations Kai Stormborn

You have successfully chosen a Sponsor during the auction

Rewards:

1. Attribute Points +10

Note: The said Attribute Points belong to your Attribute Quota of the 2nd Set

]]

"Wha…?!" Kai's eyes almost popped out, making him blurt involuntarily. "10… 10 Attribute Points?!"

This was such a shock that Kai's heartbeat sped up.

What absurd concept were the 10 Attribute Points? Kai just couldn't fathom it. The shock he felt was even greater than he would have in other circumstances, for he just never expected a reward.

Then again, what happened to him, getting sponsored by 18th-floor Contestants, wasn't a normal thing, to begin with. None knew if the Systems would find it worthy enough to award 10 Attribute Points in one go.

But this wasn't all. There was an even more hideous and heart-palpating reason behind Kai's pounding heart.

After his return from the Pirates of the Caribbean Random World, Kai had attempted no Side Mission. Like Darcie, Kai had also devoted much of his time to studies of the magical fields only. If it wasn't for the Tournament of Worth, he would have done everything in his hands to make the old fools let out the principles behind casting a Bounded Field.

Still, Kai had 4 Unassigned Attribute Points on him.

This was a habit instilled in his heart — To assign the points to his Stats and surprise the enemy mid-battle.

However, with these 10 more Attribute Points, the number of Unassigned Points reached 14.

14!!!

Kai's mouth went dry.

With 14… he could bring both his Intelligence and Breath to 26, as his Intelligence stood at 20 and Breath at 18 now.

And then…

'… I can use Sounga's Skills, then,' Kai thought, licking his lips, his very existing feeling the thrill of him wielding the Sword of Calamity.

Sounga, the sentient Item that housed the spirit of an evil dragon, required Kai's Intelligence and Breath both to be above 25. With these newly obtained Attribute Points, he would be free to use its absurd Skills as per he desired.

Things still hadn't ended here, though.

More words were appearing on the screen, making Kai take a deep breath to return to the optimum state.

And the more Kai heard those two voices, the more he read those sentences on the screen, the more his face gained a puzzled look.

[[

The Systems welcome Candidate, Kai Stormborn, to the 3rd Stage of ?#?!?###? Tournament of Worth.

Please refer to the following points:

1. For the 3rd Stage, all Stats of the Candidate now stand invalid. All Items, Skills, Titles, and Magical Creatures stand inaccessible to the Candidate

2. The 3rd Stage's venue is an island called Island X. It is based upon the topographical setting of the actual island, Madagascar

3. Island X is the home of the Apocalypse Alliance, which is formed of 4 Armies. The 4 Armies have a set structure and an equal number of soldiers among them, and they are based on Candidate's experiences and potential

4. The Candidate will be a part of the invading faction, called the False Ones. Including the Candidate, there is only one other member in this faction, the Samurai. The Samurai acts as the Supreme General of the False Ones and lives in a separate Dimension from the Island. The separate Dimension is called the Samurai's Hut

5. The Candidate must note that the Samurai will not take part in the invasion, and will remain in the separate Dimension

6. Each soldier of the Apocalypse Alliance is worth a certain number of points

7. The Candidate can use these points to visit the Samurai's Hut, where the Samurai will give the Candidate a task. The successful completion of this task, based on the Samurai's evaluation, will let the Candidate clear the 3rd Stage of the Tournament of Worth

8. If the Samurai proclaim the attempt of Candidate a failure, then he must invade the Apocalypse Alliance again

9. Once arrived at the Samurai's Hut, many options will become available for the Candidate. He would be able to unlock his Items, Skills, Titles, and Magical Creatures using the points, which will remain otherwise inaccessible to the Candidate on Island X

10. As there will be no concept of Stats within the 3rd Stage, the Candidate will only be able to use Items/Skills upon unlocking if he meets their Requirement right now

11. The Samurai's Hut will also let the Candidate buy Life Halt Capsules. These Capsules will halt the Candidate's aging by a certain amount of time

The Candidate is now being given a Smartwatch.

]]

Utterly bewildered, and heinously anxious, Kai got up from his chair and picked up the Smartwatch, which had appeared near the flashing screen.

The moment he wore it on his left wrist, its screen lit up with a blue glow, and a holographic projection shot out of it.

The Systems' voices resumed, words began appearing on the screen, and the same words materialized in the holograph over the Smartwatch.

[[

The Candidate can use the Smartwatch to access all information regarding the 3rd Stage. It will also let the Candidate distinguish between the different ranks of the soldiers, their points, and the general landscape around him.

Each Army comprises 600000 Troopers, 6000 Captains, 60 Commanders, 6 Generals, and 1 Supreme General. The point distribution for each soldier is:

1. Trooper — 100 Points

2. Captain — 500 Points

3. Commander — 1000 Points

4. General — 10000 Points

5. Supreme General — 100000 Points

The Candidate will be sent to Island X with a Rank of Trooper, i.e. when considered sheer power alone, he will be as strong as a Trooper.

The Candidate will be able to Rank up on the recommendation of the Samurai. Hence, it can only happen at Samurai's Hut.

The number of Points needed by the Candidate to visit the Samurai's Hut will increase with his Rank. All such information will be available in the Smartwatch.

The Candidate is warned that the Apocalypse Alliance will actively seek to eradicate him. All attempts at arriving at a truce with them will be futile.

Do you have any questions?

]]

Kai had gone incredibly silent. No matter how he looked, things just didn't seem normal to him.

Kai went back and sat down before closing his eyes. He relaxed, putting his arms on the chair. Soon, his fingers began tapping the unknown material in rhythmic sound, his mind racing to calculate hundreds of scenarios.

Nothing.

He could see nothing out of place in all this.

Then why were his Instincts screaming? Why… was his Observation Haki going haywire?

"So," Kai drawled, slowly opening his eyes, "I just need to complete the Samurai's task to clear the 3rd Stage and win the Tournament. And it is independent of the Apocalypse Alliance, how many soldiers I kill, and what I do on Island X. Is that correct?"

[[

That is correct.

]]

Kai frowned.

'Isn't it…' he thought, his fingers dribbling. 'Isn't it just too simple?'

Kai just couldn't put his finger on the feeling he was having. So he asked again. "And how many Points will I need to visit the Samurai's Hut?"

Beep!

The Smartwatch beeped and answered, along with the voices.

[[

At the Trooper Rank, the Candidate will need 100,000 Points.

]]

This?!

Kai's frown deepened. 'In this case,' he thought, calculating, 'I will just need to kill 1000 Troopers to visit the Samurai's task. So, it's even possible to clear the 3rd Stage in one go. Then… what's the fucking need to add Life Halt Capsules?!!'

"Who are these soldiers?" Kai asked, mentioning the elephant in the room. "Are they based upon Random Worlds?"

[[

This information is still inaccessible. Only after Candidate's successful teleportation will Island X come into being.

But, as mentioned, the Armies will be based on Candidate's experiences and potential.

]]

'This again, tch!' Kai complained inwardly and tsked. 'What does it mean by my "potential?" It's all so abstruse.' "What about MP and SP?" he asked. "Will I be able to use Magic?"

[[

The Smartwatch will project the pool of Mana, Spirituality, and Life-Force allotted to each Rank of the soldiers. The Candidate will be subjected to the same constraints.

]]

Kai had one more question. The most important one. "What about my Glitch?" he asked, his breathing fluctuating. "Will it be restricted as well?"

Both the Voices and the screen, and even the Smartwatch, seemed to pause before answering.

[[

Glitches can't be restricted.

If there are no further questions, the Candidate should prepare himself for the Teleportation.

]]

Kai sighed.

Well, he would get all the answers upon reaching Island X, anyway. No point in ruminating over questions that couldn't be answered now.

He hastily added his 14 Attribute Points to his Intelligence and Breath, bringing both of them to 26, so that if he needed to unlock Sounga at Samurai's Hut, he could use its Skills.

When Kai was done, he stood up and nodded to himself.

[[

Teleporting Candidate Kai Stormborn to the venue of the 3rd Stage, Island X.

Warning: The Candidate must not forget that the Theme of the Tournament of Worth is Survival. Survival is the lock and Survival is the key.

Good Luck.

]]

Kai felt disgusted. "I hate your Good Lucks," he spat, feeling the stirring of Selene inside his heart.

[[

…

]]

A bright flash engulfed Kai in the next moment, the blues becoming bluer.

And then he vanished, leaving the empty White Hall alone with its grander emptiness, knowing not what kind of fate awaited him on this… Island X.