Ian watched as the display began zooming in from its overview to view a rocky area in between two fairly steep hills. The ground was made up of loose gravel and the occasional green leafy plant. The only large areas of cover were the stone outcroppings and naturally formed pillars. With the landscape ranging from brown to gray with only small hints of green here and there, Ian realized most adventurers weren't going to be able to hide without playing line of sight games.

Ian watched as a counter appeared and counted down from five. Once it hit zero, all five of the members from Worg's Fang suddenly appeared, and the views from their drones took over providing the footage for the stream.

"Enemy sighted front," Liam said, bringing his shield up.

"Also seeing another group farther behind and hearing even more over the ridge," Ernest said as a small blue glow surrounded his eyes and ears.

"We need to move," Ivy stated. "Start advancing at a jog, but be careful about the footing. It would take a bit for me to heal a broken ankle out here."

Ian smiled as he watched the group on the display move forward without hesitation. The most dangerous thing to do when surrounded by enemies was being indecisive and ending up getting pincered.

When he looked over, he saw Diana nearly bouncing in her seat. This was going to be her first time seeing them fight with their new power. They had refused to stream during the week leading up to the event because they wanted to surprise their competition. The comments on how they were too low level for the top teams to know they existed weren't enough to convince them it was unnecessary.

"Oh, here it comes!" Diana exclaimed as Josh began casting a spell.

"What was that?" Vince asked when Josh's target suddenly lost an arm.

"Wind blade," Jason said with an appreciative nod. "Hard to see, but it makes a distinctive clicking sound when cast. It will only work really well on people and monsters who don't have any resistances. When you get into the higher end of the mid-tier, you will see monsters that have similar abilities to wind spells."

Jason suddenly looked over at Ian and his team. "It would be a good idea for you all to look into resistances as well. Most groups only focus on a couple of them and pick their dungeons accordingly."

Ian nodded as he watched Worg's Fang overpower the six-man team. It wasn't so much of a fight as pure brutality. With the extra strength, Tisha's two-handed maul crumpled everyone she ran into. It helped that it was one of the new weapons James's wife had crafted. The two-pronged spike on the back side of the giant weapon punched right through magisteel armor.

As the group regrouped after the quick fight, Ivy healed the couple of hits they had taken.

"They are lucky the group didn't have an archer and only one mage," Ashlyn said. "At these low levels, most of them don't have a way to fight against a skilled archer. They may overwhelm them, but the ranged physical damage is just too powerful while most people lack a defensive skill."

To prove her point, she pulled up the current kill count sorted by weapons. Even though only thirty-one people had bows, they accounted for half of the thirty-seven eliminations so far.

"That's definitely interesting to think about," Diana said. "When it comes to monsters, most archers struggle against their hides and weird movement patterns. Without their SP heavy skills to empower their arrows, the natural mana in the creatures makes their hides tough enough to blunt a lot of the penetrating power, preventing hits from causing critical damage.

"Though, I will admit a lot of that is probably from the lack of good gear. It also doesn't help that most archers do not get enough strength to utilize level-appropriate bows. They just don't have the capability to draw them. It's one of the reasons magically enhanced crossbows become so popular starting as early as the end of the mid-tier."

"Gross," Ashlyn said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "You can't even really call someone who uses a crossbow an archer."

"Shhh," Claire said. "We're missing stuff."

Looking back at the screen, Ian was surprised to see Worg's Fang running away as two groups came over the hill they had been moving towards. Ian was sure the two parties were going to begin fighting, but they just waved at each other and pointed towards his fleeing friends. With a quick nod, both groups began to chase.

"What type of bullshit is that?" Ashlyn asked. "Shouldn't they be trying to eliminate each other?"

Jason snorted. "I keep forgetting that most of you were too young to watch the last one. These battles are made up of parties from all over the world. Some countries hire adventurers and support them in the same way clans would. They see this event as an opportunity to show how powerful their adventurers are in a way that bolsters their future recruitment.

"Take the two teams following our friends. They are from the Northeastern European Collective, which runs their state program almost exactly like a clan. So, it isn't surprising that they are working together to give their country a better chance at being represented in the tournament. Our country would do the same, but it is illegal for the government here to directly employ adventurers for adventuring purposes."

Diana just nodded with a smirk before her eyes got big.

Ian looked back at the screen to see his friends turn a corner and scatter, hiding behind huge stone pillars and outcroppings. As their pursuers came around the corner, Ernest—who had gone farther down to hide—poked his head out and jumped back after they had seen him.

The man who saw him screamed something in a language Ian didn't understand and pointed to the spot he had seen Earnest disappear. A second later, both parties began rushing in, ready to overwhelm his friends.

Ian watched as the camera angle suddenly changed to Josh, who was crouched behind a ten-foot-tall rock formation that the other two parties were running past. As soon as the casters moved past him, he stepped out of his hiding space and held up his hand. Three clicks went off in rapid fire.

Two women and a man, all in robes, suddenly pitched forward as their necks sprayed blood onto the backs of those in front of them, as their heads hit the ground and rolled. The fourth mage looked over at her dead friends and began screaming in shock.

Of the eight left alive, six turned to see what was going on with the screaming woman as the first man pushed on towards Ernest's hiding spot. They turned just in time to watch as Tisha stepped out from her hiding spot and brought her maul around, smashing directly into the screaming woman's head, pulping it and knocking her towards her living teammates. The surviving members yelled in outrage as they charged Tisha, only for the ground beneath them to suddenly roll as Liam rushed in from the opposite side and activated a skill called ground slam.

As the entire group lost balance, two more clicks caused wounds to open up on two of the enemy swordsmen as Tisha moved in and started swinging. Each swing tossed broken bodies left and right. As she hit the third one, she realized that they had all been taken care of as Liam swung his blade in a downward arc to remove the blood.

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"One more went to get Ern—Oh shit!" Josh screamed as five people suddenly stepped out from behind the area Ernest had been hiding.

Ian watched as the camera screen switched to Ivy's view from the little alcove behind her brother as Josh suddenly jumped towards the protection of the rock face and Tisha side-stepped to give herself cover. As Josh began to scream, Liam grabbed his arm and tossed him back into cover, causing the man to begin swearing.

Ivy rushed to him to see an arrow buried halfway into his thigh—the fletching portion having been broken off when Liam threw him.

"God damn that hurts!" Josh swore through gritted teeth. "I'm pretty sure it's not all the way through."

"Don't worry," Ivy said, a small amount of panic in her eyes as she winced. "The arrow has to come out, but I don't think I can do it without causing a ton more damage right now.

"I've got my heal over time on you, so just keep focused on—"

The sound of a clang cut her off as she looked over to see Tisha crumple the shield of the man who she was fighting. Unlike the other adventurers they had faced, the man Tisha had hit just swore before kicking her in the stomach.

"You all are scary as fuck," said another man who barely got out of Liam's ground slam before he lost an arm. "All under level 250, and easily some of the most dangerous people here. Your supporter single-handedly killed Jace before he died. Shocked the hell out of everyone when he snapped his level 981 neck like a twig after Jace stabbed him."

"Then maybe you should just move on before you lose more?" Liam said, keeping his shield ready.

"Hell no," the man said back with a smirk visible through the opening in his helmet. "Gotta deal with you now while we can fight you while you're weak. Our clan has two other teams in here, and you would decimate either of them if we left you."

Ivy turned her attention back to Josh as he tried to focus enough to get a cast off. Suddenly, the man using sword and board against Tisha flew into the rock next to the one who was fighting Liam. As everyone turned, they saw Tisha try to charge the remaining man.

The camera view turned to watch from Tisha's shoulder as the man stepped back away from Liam and just gave Tisha a smirk. Tisha let out a war cry before it was cut short when she suddenly jerked and collapsed on the ground.

"No!" Josh screamed when the arrow hit his girlfriend through the opening of the helmet.

He pushed Ivy away and forced himself up, his evident anger apparently numbing his pain. Pushing his arm forward, he pointed at the man who had turned back towards Liam, and rapid-fire clicks began to sound. Blood began to fly before the sixth click, and the man collapsed by the tenth as his body started coming apart when his armor gave out. Josh was seething when his eyes rolled up into his head as he toppled forward onto the ground, his mana completely spent.

Ivy tried to reach him, but he had fallen into the open area on top of the man he had just ripped into half a dozen pieces. Before she could do anything, a giant shard of ice smashed into the unconscious man's neck.

As Ivy ran to get behind Liam, a roar began building from the opposite direction of the archer and mage.

"Well, they had a good run," Diana murmured.

"What do you mean?" Ashlyn asked. "I thought they were doing really good! That group is one of the highest levels in the entire tournament, and they took out three of their members."

"Yeah, but the name of the game is to survive," Jason said with a scowl. "The mage and the archer have already set themselves up to run. They are going to let that other group swarm our friends, and Liam doesn't have any hope of holding out against a group like that. While half of the adventurers have been eliminated, the match slows way down when you get near the end. With no place to run and a horde coming at them, they are on borrowed time."

Ian watched as Liam covered his head with his shield as he quickly peeked at the force coming towards them.

"Well, we aren't going to beat that," he said to his sister.

"Nope, but we did well," Ivy said, anger still evident in her voice. "Just like we talked about earlier?"

"Yup. Time to pull a 404."

"That joke is awful," Ivy said, giving him a scowl. "Team Worg's Fang forfeits."

Ian smirked as the screen suddenly jumped to the archer and mage who were watching the dozen players charging towards the area where their teammates had died. When the incoming enemies didn't even slow down when they reached the bodies, Ian couldn't help but chuckle as both of their eyes widened in surprise then fear.

They both started running, only to stop and collect their healer, who had been hiding in the spot Earnest had died. It was obvious after a moment that the only one who was going to be able to outrun the oncoming horde was the archer. With a grimace, the healer and mage pushed him forward and turned to face the crowd.

"Damn!" Jason said with a clap. "Got 'em. Though I think that archer there may be able to make it if he gets a bit sneaky and starts picking off duos and singles."

"That match was pure chaos," Lana said, eyes wide. "I wonder if our mass elimination round is going to be that crazy?"

"It's going to make that look like child's play," Diana answered. "Most of the adventurers in the low-tier don't have a bunch of different skills to use, and their parties are also lacking in utility and damage types. You will end up dealing with groups that have large scale area of effect spells, huge groups from certain countries and clans, and weapons skills that will punch right through the crappy armor we all wear."

"Not to mention you will be dealing with players that have run dungeons together for over a decade," Jason added. "You are all considered to be new adventurers, and there are some things that take time to develop, like perfect teamwork and understanding the best way to utilize your skills together. Some of these parties still have their original members and have been running together longer than I've been an adventurer. Even if they didn't start out particularly talented, they are correctly equipped, highly experienced, and have the right skill sets to be dangerous."

"So, we are going to be facing an uphill battle against some of the older folks?" Tram said with a smirk.

Jason snorted. "You'll be leaps and bounds behind the top teams in nearly every category. Making it past the initial elimination round is going to be very difficult for you all. My advice would be to steer clear of any group that isn't trying to hide. The low-tier may have the most adventurers, but the mid-tier has the most who want to prove themselves."

"So, if it is so difficult, what is the bonus for going through with the tournament?" Tram asked. "Wouldn't we be better served by ignoring it and spending the time focusing on leveling?"

Diana began laughing as she pulled up the level listing for Worg's Fang, causing Ian to sit up straighter. Each member had gained twenty-five levels.

"The curator awards those who perform well, regardless of where they place. Ivy's ragtag group of five took out three full teams of adventurers roughly two hundred levels higher than them, and then they knocked out three of the top ten highest-level players from the match. It would not surprise me if some of them get granted additional bonuses."

"What additional bonuses?" Claire asked, sitting up straighter. "As far as I know, participants can only be granted levels. That's all there is on these tournaments in the Keeper database."

"What?" Diana asked, blinking, as everyone, including Jason, looked at her in confusion. "Really? Okay, it is apparently a well-kept secret by the clans that it's possible to receive free boosts to your current skills, or even earn extra, higher-ranked skills from these tournaments. Quite a few of my party members got rare skills they didn't have the prerequisites for during the last two tournaments."

"There is nothing in our records about that!" Claire exclaimed, pulling up her tablet and looking at something. "This is the fifth tournament. The first was fifty years ago, and there has been one every ten years on the dot after that, but none of the older adventurers I know ever participated in one."

"Well, when was the last time a group from the AO did as well as Worg's Fang?" Diana asked.

Claire frowned. "Over the last couple of tournaments, only three teams from the AO made it past the mass elimination rounds. Even then, they were recruited into clans almost the same day.

"The problem is the average level of adventurers in the AO worldwide is around 240, and the few members who reached the low-tier are semi-retired. We just don't have many teams that can compete with the ones who work for the governments of different countries, or the clans who can provide better financial incentives than we can."

"The next tournament will be dominated by the AO," Ashlyn stated with quiet confidence. "By then, we will be the highest-level party on the planet, and we will be paving the way for those who stay with the AO to follow in our footsteps."

"I like your confidence," Jason said. "However, you should probably focus on steeling yourself for what you will face in the coming weeks. It isn't just harder in the mid-tier. You also don't have the option to quit and still receive anything from the tournament when it gets tough."

"Fair," Ashlyn admitted, "but we won't be quitting. We're tough."

Jason's smile left his face as he looked around at the table. "I believe you, but the competition isn't the only thing you will be fighting against. Just remember that I'm always here to talk if any of you have a hard time with the tournament. Fighting other people is rarely easy for people."

Something in Jason's eyes prevented anyone from making light of his words.

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