Guild Wars

No one mocked the competitors or disdained them in their moment of weakness. Many understood that they must have gone beyond a certain threshold of safety in order to win, which reminded the viewers new to the game that they were in a virtual world that was connected to their real bodies.

As one could imagine, with how realistic and intense Boundless was, many had long since forgotten that they were hooked up to virtual devices and had become extremely immersed in the experience. Heck, even reincarnators like Draco and Eva often forgot this simple fact, that was just how powerful Boundless was.

Soon, the rankings were shown for the top 30 countries.

1st - England: 38th Floor, 76%, 3876 points.

2nd - Mexico: 38th Floor, 54%, 3854 points.

3rd - Central Country: 38th Floor, 43%, 3843 points.

4th - Canada: 38th Floor, 12%, 3812 points.

5th - Italy: 36th Floor, 98%, 3698 points.

6th - France: 36th Floor, 93%, 3693 points.

7th - Japan: 36th Floor, 86%, 3686 points.

8th - India: 36th Floor, 32%, 3612 points.

9th - Ghana: 36th Floor, 26%, 3626 points.

10th - Brazil: 35th Floor, 19%, 3519 points.

11th - China: 31st Floor, 23%, 3123 points.

12th - Spain: 29th Floor, 32%, 2932 points.

13th - Germany: 29th Floor, 12%, 2912 points.

15th - Argentina: 28th Floor, 45%, 2845 points.

16th - South Korea: 27th Floor, 40%, 2740 points.

17th - Philippines: 27th Floor, 15%, 2715 points.

18th - Scotland: 26th Floor, 95%, 2695 points.

19th - Ireland: 26th Floor, 70%, 2679 points.

20th - Australia: 26th Floor, 41%, 2641 points.

21st - Puerto Rico: 25th Floor, 82%, 2582 points.

22nd - Nigeria: 25th Floor, 76%, 2576 points.

23rd - Ukraine: 25th Floor, 23%, 2523 points.

25th - Sweden: 24th Floor, 34%, 2434 points.

26th - Switzerland: 24th Floor, 32%, 2432 points.

27th - Norway: 23rd Floor, 67%, 2367 points.

28th - Indonesia: 23rd Floor, 57%, 2357 points.

29th - Greece: 23rd Floor, 54%, 2354 points.

30th - Egypt: 23rd Floor, 49%, 2349 points.

The results bore testimony to just how fierce the competition had been, the only notable gap had occurred between the 10th to 11th place, then from there everything seemed to have even out. This wasn't too surprising since starting from the 31st floor, candidates had been forced to fight against Rank 6 foes.

The 200 participating countries were lucky to have 1 or even 2 of Umbra's members in their ranks, since they were the only ones at this point in time at Rank 3 and with classes above the norm. Even the weakest basic member of Umbra had at least, a Semi-Epic Class.

However, to fight three Ranks above, having at least 1 Umbra core member was the basic requirement as they were the only ones strong enough to barely eke out a battle against such foes. Anyone else would just be playing with fire.

A lot of countries who had sub-par results individually shown in these group battles. Some names one would never expect to see in the top 30 like Nigeria. Ghana being in the top 10 was not surprising though, as it was a country that gave birth to geniuses periodically, as well as some of the handsomest blokes any universe has ever seen. (Editor's Note: Any hints of 'favoritism' is surely purely 'coincidental' and has nothing to do with the nationality of a certain 'author'. )

Cough, cough…

Anyway, the crowd praised their favorite contestants, chanting their national anthems in their various languages. This made those who fought hard feel invigorated and respected, bringing a soft smile to their exhausted faces.

Essence smiled bitterly as Mexico had been unable to take 1st place this time, yet the gap was so small that it was negligible. At least, that was a consolation.

As for Canada, they were shocked to have secured 4th place, not doubting their ability to enter the top 10, they had honestly believed to end up at the 6th or 7th place.

The Central Country were the most shocked, as they expected to come in 2nd and not 3rd. Slim Fatty and the rest had given it their all, but they had still lagged behind. Mexico they had predicted, but England…

The English team themselves were quite startled. They had expected their strategy to allow them to enter the top 3, but they had half expected Mexico and the Central Country to have been ahead of them, yet none of them minded to have been wrong for once.

"And now, let us check the top 15 country placements before we get into the Writing Battle!"

｢First Inter-Player International Competition

1. Central Country - 18,282 points (-)

2. England - 17,394 points (-)

3. France - 16,691 points (-)

4. Canada - 14,871 points (-)

5. Mexico - 14,516 points (+1)

6. Japan - 14,196 points (+1)

7. China - 14,004 points (-2)

8. India - 13,515 points (-)

9. Brazil - 12,705 points (-)

11. Ghana - 11,465 points (+1)

12. Russia - 11,200 points (-1)

13. Spain - 10,488 points (+1)

14. Germany - 10,274 points (-1)

15. Scotland - 9,064 points (-)｣

The first four places had remained unchanged, but the Chinese were currently gritting their teeth in hatred. It was fine for Mexico to pass them as they were originally the favorites to win the competition, but having Japan pass them was unacceptable!

The way they glared at their contestants was devoid of the worship from before, rather filled with malice and hate. The Chinese team paled, especially Ao Potian who was shocked by the reaction of his countrymen.

As for the Japanese, they didn't make any noise, instead they opted to just wear a smug look on their faces that said it all for them.

Hehe, we beat you in every engagement we've had since time immemorial and you want to defeat the status quo now? Isn't it a bit too wishful thinking, ahahaha!

While such tensions were high, Amber's eyes curved into crescents. She enjoyed the possibility of international conflicts springing up in the aftermath of this competition, as it would weaken the World Council and allow Boundless to better assume control of- *cough* assimilate with humanity.

Still, she had to stop it here before anyone got suspicious of her. "And next, we have the writing battle! Will the contestants of the Group Battle return to the stands first, so that the contestants of the Writing Battle may appear before us?"

The 1000 Combat Team members disappeared into their standings or respective waiting area depending on their own choice, while the 200 contestants for the Writing Battle materialized before everyone.

They were all dressed differently but they all shared the air of scholars about to take an exam. Apart from a sash that represented their home country, there was nothing to distinguish them.

Within the crowd there stood one monster who all others were gazing at with trepidation, Noble Writer!

The Wordsmith simply pushed up his glasses and smiled slightly, aware that his participation in this event was no different from a university professor entering a competition for high schoolers, but he realized having the international stage all to himself was succulent.

Literally everyone else who showed up today would only live in his shadow as a foil for his greatness. It was a terrible and sad fate for sure, but who asked then to exist in the same era as him? Or in the same field as him?

There were of course some others from Umbra he knew had Epic Tradeskill classes, almost the entire 200 of the other contestants in fact. Ever since the guild paid their fees for the Class Ups, it was hard to find a member of Umbra whether Combat or Tradeskill, who had below an Epic class.

"Now, let us manifest the stage in which our contestants will use!" Amber exclaimed as she clapped her hands.

At once, the battle tower sank into the earth and was replaced by a large open-air classroom in a meadow, with the chirping of birds and the smell of clean nature. In this environment, forget stress, it was likely that one would be easily able to enter the zone.

"Without further ado, let the Writing Battle begin!!!!… after the contestants get in their places of course, hehe." Amber stated with a 'teehee' expression.

This made many lips twitch. Yeah, you're pretty, s.e.xy, and all, but why the hell are you acting like you're cute?

Amber clapped her hands and the various contestants were arranged at their places. They manifested the tools they needed for their specific writing-related Tradeskill and began working.

Cartographers began drawing delicate and intricate maps, accountants began solving pre-arranged balance sheets, Poets began expressing their literary might, copywriters began cloning a written text in neat handwriting, authors began making cheap s- *cough* well-thought-out novels and legal practitioners began drafting a writ of summons as well as the accompanying statement of claim.

Noble Writer was a Wordsmith which allowed him to perform any literary, financial, or legal related Tradeskill with ease, so he chose to show off his legal prowess. He began drafting an exotic writ of summons as well as a detailed and thorough statement of claim that would put even real lawyers to shame.

When the other contestants saw him dragging in torrents of Worldly Energy to infuse into his writing, their faces were filled with chagrin and despair.

Did all of us wrong you in any way?!

Just how cruel could you be to go so far for just one event like this?!

Noble Writer seemed to notice their accusatory and hate-filled glances burning his back... relishing it all. He never knew he had quite a sadistic streak in him. It seemed like he would have to go and take tutelage under Vice-Guildmistress Sublime to fully unlock his talents.

Once again, it should be noted that no one in Umbra was 100% normal. Just look at Draco and Eva. How could a guild created and run by these two fellows be full of normal blokes and lasses?

Eventually, the 3-hour period given to the various candidates came to an end and many breathed audible sighs of relief at having made it in time. Unlike the Crafting Battle which was straightforward, the Writing Battle required more finesse and skill.

Amber clapped her hands and allowed the various tools to disappear into thin air while the creations themselves were sent to storage, only going to see the light of day when it was time for the Quality Battle.

"Great job contestants! Everyone, please give them a round of applause, for just like during the previous Tradeskill event, no one failed their work or was unable to complete it in time!"

The crowd cheered for their people, making these fellows sigh with relief. Now that the Competition was on the second day and the ranks were being sorted, there was pressure on them to put their countries in good spots, lest they end up being sinners who couldn't even do one thing right.

"And now, the rankings!" Amber cried with excitement.

1st - Noble Writer: 0:16:59 taken. Legendary Technique Used. 3430 points. (England)

2nd - Junior Dong: 0:57:12 taken. Epic Technique Used. 2542 points. (China)

3rd - Shitake Shiki: 0:58:01 taken. Epic Technique Used. 2528 points. (Japan)

4th - I Hate Work: 1:00:40 taken. Epic Technique Used. 2498 points. (Central Country)

5th - Map God: 1:01:23 taken. Epic Technique Used. 2055 points. (Spain)

6th - Itemancer: 1:03:32 taken. Epic Technique Used. 1988 points. (Germany)

7th - Pokser: 1:12:21 taken. Epic Technique Used. 1932 points. (Russia)

8th - Caramba: 1:13:45 taken. Epic Technique Used. 1923 points. (Mexico)

9th - Gin King: 1:13:58 taken. Epic Technique Used. 1919 points. (Canada)

10th - L'Argent: 1:14:02 taken. Epic Technique Used. 1907 points. (France)

The scores were quite even in most regards, which was pretty good overall. Unlike the Crafting Battle where there was a noticeable gap, here most constants had finished close to each other, as their work was more time-intensive.

Amber smiled playfully and called up the scoreboard for the top countries immediately.

｢First Inter-Player International Competition

Country Rankings Top 15 (Overall):

1. England - 20,824 points (+1)

2. Central Country - 20,780 points (-1)

3. France - 18,598 points (-)

4. Canada - 16,790 points (-)

5. Japan - 16,724 points (+1)

6. China - 16,546 points (+1)

7. Mexico - 16,439 points (-2)

8. India - 15,219 points (-)

9. Brazil - 14,560 points (-)

10. Italy - 13,820 points (-)

11. Russia - 13,132 points (+1)

12. Ghana - 12,731 points (-1)

13. Spain - 12,543 points (-)

14. Germany - 12,262 points (-)

15. Scotland - 10,119 points (-)｣

It could be seen from this that the competition was quite intense at this stage, but today just seemed to be England's day. They had retaken first place overall, after clinching first place in the Group Battle Tower as well as the Writing Battle.

The Englishmen could be heard singing the national anthem from the stands so loudly that everyone else wore grimaces of anger on their faces, especially the Central Country. The Englishmen too sneered at them.

Ha, tossing that tea over was the stupidest decision of your life! Now, we will show you what it means to be number 1!

Amber let the hatred stew for a little while before clapping her hands once more.

"Now, let us move onto the last event for the day, the Memory Game! Will the contestants of the Writing Battle please leave the stage so that those of the Memory Game may appear before us?"

The various contestants who just competed were beamed away while those who were to partake in this current event appeared with gusto, their faces solemn as they knew that the points earned from these Technical Games were what could change the entire competition from the ground up.

Amber then smiled and clapped once more. The area that was like a lovely meadow shifted into a classroom that had a backboard in the middle. All the candidates had a clean as well as a fresh wooden desk and a chair that was designed with comfort in mind behind them, along with some writing materials and a screen that hovered idly above the desk at eye-level.

"Will the candidates please take a seat and get ready for the commencement of the event?" Amber instructed giddily. She was in such a good mood today after seeing tensions rise up so strongly and so early!

Immediately, they all obeyed her instructions and sat down obediently not wanting to risk disqualification or worse by being recalcitrant.

Amber then continued. "Please focus on your screens before you. On the main blackboard, a random pattern or design will be displayed. You will then have 30 seconds to memorize the pattern or design and 30 minutes to replicate it. Since the event lasts 2 hours, you have a gross total of 4 patterns. For each pattern you manage to perfectly recreate you will be awarded 5,000 points, so good luck~"

This made the faces of the contestants pale while these in the VIP seats were like wild beasts, wishing now more than ever that they could dismember Amber from head to toe and feed her flesh to the dogs.

If Amber had possessed the Dark Angel Inheritance, she would be so intoxicated with the hate directed to her that she might even collapse in happiness. As it were, the woman enjoyed the hate the good old-fashioned way, by not giving a f.u.c.k.

As for the event, it progressed as one would expect. The patterns shown on the board were so intricate it was akin to asking one to memorize the traces on a motherboard within 30 seconds and replicate them in 30 minutes.

The 5,000 points per design were well earned, because it was f.u.c.k.i.n.g impossible to get 100%. Most countries had chosen candidates with the sharpest memory for this event, as this was a basic requirement.

It wasn't like the previous Identification Game where most had picked louts and young masters so their names could shine here. Here, there were only sharp-minded geniuses, but even their faces were filled with despair at this herculean task.

By the time the event came to an end, the crowd was silent as they were gazing at the contestants with sympathy. No one was angry, because even they, who could look at the design permanently, couldn't f.u.c.k.i.n.g make heads or tails of them.

When the results came, many were simply speechless.

1st - Actual Cultivator: 4 attempts, 34%, 44%, 54%, 32%. 8,200 points. (China)

2nd - Bodhisattva: 4 attempts, 32%, 39%, 48%, 31%. 7,500 points. (India)

3rd - Wonder Bread: 4 attempts, 31%, 38%, 46%, 30%. 7,250 points. (Central Country)

4th - Kalashnikov Wins: 4 attempts, 29%, 37%, 45%, 28%. 6,950 points. (Russia)

5th - Fromage: 4 attempts, 27%, 35%, 43%, 27%. 6,600 points. (France)

6th - Kleiner Bruder: 4 attempts, 25%, 34%, 42%, 25%. 6,350 points. (Germany)

7th - Jolly Lad: 4 attempts, 25%, 32%, 40%, 23%. 6,000 points. (England)

8th - Send Food: 4 attempts, 23%, 30%, 39%, 22%. 5,700 points. (Ghana)

9th - Taco Two: 4 attempts, 22%, 28%, 37%, 20%. 5,350 points. (Mexico)

10th - Miggate no Gokui: 4 attempts, 21%, 26%, 36%, 19%. 5,100 points. (Japan)

Once again, China took the mantle of first place for the Technical game, giving them the much needed edge they lost in the Combat and Tradeskill sections. The way the Chinese fans gazed at the fellow who won with gentleness in their eyes made him blush.

However, goosebumps appeared him skin when a few fellows blew kisses at him and made hand signals his way that could not be misinterpreted. Soon, the country rankings for the end of the second day were displayed once more.

｢First Inter-Player International Competition

Country Rankings Top 15 (Overall):

1. Central Country - 28,030 points (+1)

2. England - 26,824 points (-1)

3. France - 25,198 points (-)

4. China - 24,746 points (+2)

5. India - 22,719 points (+3)

6. Japan - 21,824 points (-1)

7. Mexico - 21,789 points (-)

8. Canada - 21,290 points (-4)

9. Russia - 20,082 points (+2)

10. Brazil - 19,410 points (-1)

11. Germany - 18,612 points (+3)

12. Italy - 18,470 points (-2)

13. Ghana - 18,431 points (-1)

14. Spain - 16,793 points (-1)

15. Scotland - 14,069 points (-)｣