Rewards

"Did she just-" Matchstick looked on in shock.

Cheng Xiu pulled the sword out.

Blood splattered to the ground.

The whip around her neck disappeared.

Lotus pixelated away.

Cheng Xiu felt a twang in her heart as her Qi pulsated. She felt Lotus's Qi Presence disappear from her Qi Centre.

Cheng Xiu fell to her knees and panted. Her eyes trembled. She hadn't realized that she would be able to feel the death of her opponents.

There was a sense of horror at that, but…she felt that wild satisfaction that made her play these games again and again despite the setbacks her Qiless status brought. The savage satisfaction of being the winner of the battle.

"She just killed Lotus!" Matchstick screamed.

The golden dome of the arena glowed, giving everything around it a golden hue.

[Ding!]

[World Announcement: Grandmaster Arena Battlefield

Battle 1: SelaXiu Veritas VS Lotus.

Victory: SelaXiu Veritas]

"She really did it!" San Zhu said laughing. "Whoo! Go sister Xiu!"

Cheng Xiu turned to him and grinned. She waved her hands at him. "I did-"

Cheng Xiu's vision turned dark. Her Avatar disappeared from the Arena.

The Arena froze.

The Display screens all around the world that was watching the aftermath blacked out.

"What happened?" Gu Shu asked in shock. "Didn't A'Xiu win?"

"She is receiving her reward I think," Ro said, twirling her green hair. "After all, she just defeated the first Grandmaster."

Gu Shu looked at Ro in excitement. "Sister Ro! Does that mean Cheng Xiu is going to get that Lightning Whip?!"

Rin slammed her beer bottle down. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Didn't the loser have to give the Winner their most expensive stuff?"

Rin grinned. "Yup! But not the Lightning Whip! That is a soul weapon!"

Gu Shu sweat dropped. "What is that?"

"A weapon that has pledged its alliance to one person's soul," Chu Ying said in excitement. "Soul weapons cannot be bought! They are made by the System according to the player preference and materials provided by the player. It's loyal to you forever unless you don't treat it well! Soul Weapons are things that have a conscience!"

"It isn't a new concept," Gu Shu said to her with a frown. "Why are you so excited about it?"

Chu Ying grinned. "I love the topic."

"Good for you I guess."

"Thanks!"

"Your friend will get a special reward as well I imagine," Bear said to Gu Shu.

"A better weapon maybe?" Lion guessed.

"Better cultivation technique?" Bear said with a grin.

"We don't know her cultivation technique to guess if there is a better one, Bear."

"You are right, Lion. I'm so sorry."

"It's not okay-"

Rin hit them both in the head with a Warhammer.

The pixellated away.

Gu Shu looked at the muscular woman in terror.

"They were annoying me," Rin said with a chuckle. "And I think your friend will be getting a lot more than a weapon. Defeating a person who is 10 levels above you gets you an C Ranked treasure in the Arena. There difference between the two of them would determine what rank the Treasure would be."

"So cool," Chu Ying whispered as she stared at the Blank area above the arena, waiting for the display screen to reappear.

"Yeah, she is," Gu Shu said with a grin.

In a different plane, far away from the interface of the players.

A whirlpool of lights and shadows passed by Cheng Xiu's eyes faster than her mind could react.

When she regained her bearing, Cheng Xiu found herself in a blank, white room.

Cheng Xiu looked around and found herself covering herself with her hands.

She stood naked as on the day she was born.

The wall opposite her turned golden, and black symbols started to appear. A glowing black circle faded in and words-no spells started to be etched around it in glowing amber colours.

She looked around her in surprise. It couldn't be.

She was back in the white room from the beginning of the game.

The Room of Choices as the players called it in one of the articles she read about The Other World.

She hadn't even thought of this place since then.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Player Selafia Veritas! You have won your first ever PvP in an Arena!

You are given a care package as reward for this monumental moment of your life! Please keep working hard and enjoy the benefits that our game has to offer!

Thank You!]

Cheng Xiu frowned. A care package?

[Ding!]

Another one?

[By achieving your first victory in an arena after receiving the quest Madman's Prophesy, you have unlocked Vixia's The Chosen One leaderboard.

Congratulations!]

Cheng Xiu was a bit annoyed at being reminded of that particular quest. But that annoyance went away as she realised she now had access to a leaderboard!

"Open The Chosen One leaderboard."

[Ding!]

A blue, translucent Interface opened up in front of her.

[Next time, just say Chosen One board or think of this board while saying open. I'm a high functioning A.I that is using your brain waves and neurological connections to connect your mind to a Virtual Reality where I keep track of your progress. I know when you think of something.]

Cheng Xiu frowned. "How was I supposed to know that? All other game A.I systems are not so intrusive!"

[I have to be so that I can prevent any peadophiles and rapists from doing horrible things to other players.]

"You should be reporting this to the police!"

[That would be a breach of Client privacy.]

"You are joking, right?"

[Just because someone has a malicious thought doesn't mean they are going to commit such acts.]

"Maybe not here! But what about the real world?"

[System doesn't have authority outside this Virtual Reality.]

"But Maya-"

[Any suspicious behaviour seen by the system is reported back to the Devs who decide on what to respond and how to respond.]

"Oh. Okay then."

She looked at the Chosen One leaderboard.

Almost all the names were in blue and some were in green. Only her name was in grey colour.

That couldn't be a good sign.

[Ding!]

[Myrdian, the bartender is ecstatic that you have more than three World announcements in the first week of you playing the game. He has had the Village Head make a statue in your name. The Head refused, but he named the Fountain Near the Bridge after you! It is now called Selafia Fountain.

Congratulations!]

Her name on the leaderboard changed to green.

Cheng Xiu glared. She didn't want any of it, let alone be humiliated by having a fountain named after her.