MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1516: Long-needed Upgrades

”…Just because I look up to your teacher doesnʼt mean Iʼll treat you the same way!”

Listening to his opponentʼs words under the excitement of the crowd, Valyr could not help but look back at his opponent with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

”What are you trying to imply?” he asked, inwardly thinking to himself whether he should have his player identity continue with the placement battles after this.

”What Iʼm saying is that Iʼm not afraid of you!” replied his opponent, charging at him before swinging his axe with great gusto.

Whoosh!

Conjuring a shield in response, the young man took a few steps back before sending a series of spells towards his opponent to distract him.

Then, under the veil of the spells heʼd just cast, Valyr went ahead and activated [Art of Mundanity], reducing his presence to the point where his opponent could not even figure out where he went.

With the fight now to his advantage, the young man watched as his opponent yelled out for his name every once in a while.

Of course, his opponent also swung his axe from time to time, relying on his gut instinct to figure out where the young man was currently hiding.

In the end, Valyrʼs opponent couldnʼt figure out where he actually stood, allowing the young man to end the match with his victory using the same trick his original identity did in his matches.

…

”Are you sure you want to forfeit any of your next attempts at the placement battles?”

After confirming that he had more or less secured his spot as top 25 out of the 128 that would move on to the final tournament, Valyr felt that it was more than enough for the meantime.

After all, his original identity had become the unanimous champion of the tournament.

”Yes.” The young man faintly nodded, looking back at the organizer that asked the question with a calm expression. ”Iʼve made up my mind.”

”You do know that you still have to fight those that challenge your position from the loserʼs bracket even if you forfeit, right?” asked the organizer while interacting with his tablet for a bit.

”Iʼm well aware.” Valyr nodded once more.

Seeing that he could not dissuade the young man before him any further, the organizer decided to end their conversation then and there, inputting a bit more information into his tablet before confirming with Valyr that his forfeit in the placement battles had been finalized.

Thanking the organizer for his time, the young man watched the ongoing battles from the side for a bit before heading underground.

Making his way to the tavern where he and his original identity frequently stayed, the young man eventually found himself at the same spot they would sit at, a cold drink already waiting for him.

”So… youʼre content with being top 25?” Taking a sip of his own beverage, Valyr looked back at his other identity with a hint of amusement.

”Wouldnʼt really matter much if you think about it,” replied Ataraxia with a slight shrug. ”You did affiliate yourself with the alliance, after all.”

”…Oh right.”

Recalling that he had put the Azure Coalition as his affiliated organization during his registration, Valyr fell silent for a bit before nodding in agreement.

”In any case…” Letting the silence between them disappear on its own, Ataraxia looked back at Valyr with curiosity as he asked him a question. ”What are our plans after this?”

”Pretty sure we already know what weʼre gonna do next,” replied the latter in return, only to send a series of messages to his other identity between their shared thoughts.

Looking through the messages Valyr sent to him, Ataraxia soon fell silent as he went through them one by one, the gears in his mind turning as he tried to formulate a plan that would allow them to achieve those goals as soon as possible.

In general, their next plan once the tournament was over to push their combat strength to a higher level.

Though they knew there was still a long way to go before they could fight another person like Erika without being at a serious disadvantage, they could at least be more prepared for those scenarios in the future.

With that, the duo had four fixed goals in mind that would allow them to achieve it, as well as a few other avenues they could take along the way.

The first goal they had in mind was to fully upgrade Valyrʼs set of armor to Elder Wyvern tier, considering that the boost it gave in stats alone was enough to become substantial to the young man during his fights.

In their minds, they were certain that Valyrʼs combat strength would be brought even closer to the boundary between mortals and Myths the moment he completed the full Elder Wyvern Armor.

Under that same train of thought, the second goal they had in mind was to craft a proper set of armor for Ataraxia that worked similarly to what his original identity had.

Although Valyr recalled other guides from his past life that would allow him to craft armor sets that suited his other identity, most of them required materials that would have to be obtained from other planets.

As for those that had materials that could be sourced within Veldanyr, all of them required materials that even they thought the royalty would fight over if given the chance.

And so, the two of them came to the conclusion that theyʼd just forge another set of the armor Valyr had, confident that a different set of armor would come out with Valyrʼs improved skills and Ataraxiaʼs intervention.

After all, if the recent upgrade to Valyrʼs armor put emphasis on the help his other identity gave, what else if the Emissary of the Arcane were to help from the start?

The third goal they had in mind was to push Ataraxia to the peak of Rank 4, which was pretty self-explanatory for the most part.

On the other hand, the fourth and final goal they had in mind wasnʼt that straightforward.

ʼ…Do you think itʼs possible?ʼ asked Ataraxia through their thoughts, looking back at Valyr with a hint of skepticism.

ʼWe can only try,ʼ the latter replied, his expression solemn as his gaze revealed a sense of determination. ʼPlus, even if we donʼt achieve it in the end, weʼd still be leagues above the rest once we ascend as Myths.ʼ

ʼI know, but…ʼ Ataraxiaʼs expression changed into that of slight concern.

ʼIs it even possible to push both our classes to Divine grade before ascending to Rank 6?ʼ