AT exactly one in the afternoon the next day, Luo Yan appeared on the Four-Seasons Island.  He thought that he would appear at the shore where he and the others last logged out.  But no, what welcomed him was a white expanse and snow falling on his face.  He quickly felt the cold temperature around.

He seemed to arrive at the Winter area of the island.  He looked around and didn't see anyone.  So, would this second round of preliminary just start without briefing any of them?

Earlier, after having lunch, their older brother logged into the game first to meet up with the others to watch the preliminary together.  He and Luo Jin could only log in at exactly one p.m. 

The two of them had already discussed their strategy in the next round.  Well, to be fair, it's not exactly that much of a strategy.  They just decided that they would not be separated during this upcoming round of preliminary and face all the challenges that the game would throw at them together.

But who would have thought that the game would pit them this early and actually separate them before the official round even began? 

Luo Yan sighed and just opened his Status Window to see if he could send a message to Luo Jin.  But the Message Tab was completely disabled.  He wasn't too surprised.  Probably because he already somehow expected that.  So, he just decided to switch his attention to his Items Tab.  He hadn't yet checked the reward he got from Captain Roger. 

But before he could do so, a screen suddenly appeared in front of him.  On the screen was a teenager with red hair.  He was wearing a white coat with lapels that were shaped like half of a heart – one of it was red and the other red.  So, when put together, it made a heart shape.  Over his clothes was a black cape with a red underside.  And on the left side of his head was a small golden crown.

He was smiling.  But it didn't really reach his red eyes. 

[Welcome to the Four-Season's Island!  Do you know who I am?  You should know me, right?  After all, this lord is so famous.  But just in case you don't know, then I shall tell you.  This lord is the amazing Duke of Hearts!  Are you surprise to be in my great surprise?  And you should be, you plebeians.  It's not everyday you can see this wonderful visage after all.]

The corner of Luo Yan's mouth twitched when he heard the Duke of Hearts' introduction.  Because it felt like he was looking at himself – a thousand times narcissistic version. 

He had heard of the Duke of Hearts.  He's one of the four dukes of Arcadia.  The one with the most infamous reputation.  Players could get task from him.  But it usually didn't end well for the players.  Despite that, a lot of players still went to his territory.  Because once they succeeded, then they'd receive the best of rewards.  An example was the invitation to the King of Arcadia's birthday.

The Duke of Hearts continued;

[This lord will be the invigilator for this round of preliminary.  You peasants should be grateful.  Are you excited to know what you will do today?  Well, it's very simple.  We're going to do a battle royale!  Fun, right?  But it won't be a simple battle royale.  It's not just other players you should look out for, but the environment as well.  How exciting.]

A battle royale?  Somehow, that didn't really surprise Luo Yan.  Because it had already crossed his mind.  After all, it's the fastest way to cut their number down. 

[You peasants have probably seen that this island is divided into four areas and each area represented a major season – Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn.  These areas have their own unique dangers to them.  So, you should watch out your every step.  Just kidding.  I'd be very happy if more of you mess up.  Just try to do it in an interesting manner so this lord could at least be entertained.] 

[Eliminate one another until only four players are left in each area.  Once that's done, then this round will end.  The area that managed to reach the required number of players the fastest will receive a reward.  Speaking of rewards, those who were promised trinkets by Roger, you can use all the items in your Items Tab.  To those who didn't receive these trinkets, too bad, let's just say it's your fault for being big cowards.]

Luo Yan raised his brow when he heard that.  This Duke of Hearts was really quite the character.  Based on what he said, at the end of this battle royale, there would only be 16 out of the remaining 1,112 would be able to go to the final tournament.  If there was a reward for the group who reached the quota fastest, then they were probably divided into each area as equally as possible.

This meant that there were exactly 278 players in each area.  And those 278 players should fight it out until only four remained.  Not to mention that the area they were in would definitely mess with them. 

And he really just had to end up in the Winter area.  Because anyone who's smart enough could see that the place filled with snow was the most dangerous area in this island. 

Although with this game, one could never really tell.  Who knows, maybe there were more hidden dangers in other areas.

[Let the battle royale begin!]

As soon as the Duke of Hearts said that last sentence, the screen vanished and a loud sound was heard.  Like the sound of a canon being fired.  As if signaling the beginning of this battle royale.

The first thing that Luo Yan did was to continue checking his Items Tab.  Just like what the Duke of Hearts said, the items in his tab were no longer disabled.  In his opinion, this trinket that Captain Roger gave them was pretty good.  It could really helped the players in this battle royale. 

  Because of that, the expectation he had for the reward given by Captain Roger for that 2nd trial just increased.  When he saw the gift icon on his Items Tab, he knew that that was the reward. 

He clicked it and a gift box appeared in front of him.

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