The Glorious Evolution

When Levi first participated in the Nocturnal Ring, he was placed against Newbies just like him since his strength was at the bottom of the barrel... that was the normal Season.

It represented the natural progression of the Nocturnal Ring, as the matchmaking followed the true average strength of each rank.

Meanwhile... Jasmine was considered a Newbie to the Platform, but her average strength corresponded to that of Teraowner Rank, not Homeless Rank.

It wouldn’t be fair for those who had collected Game Points and grinded their way toward a promotion to Territory Owner to have someone else join the platform late and immediately get promoted without collecting the necessary points.

Hence, an Off-Season was born with its own set of rules.

Rifters were allowed to join the platform and start fresh while maintaining their strength... but they would be placed against entities with similar average power levels.

They would be mostly Rifters who had joined the platform early... got their asses kicked on the first game and never touched the platform until they grew some confidence back in their strength.

If the system still failed to matchmake them within a set period of time, the Rifters were given the choice to either continue waiting indefinitely or agree to a reduction of their average strength and powers across the board for that particular game.

Sometimes, even Dominions would be stripped from the Rifters, or they would be given psychological games that relied more on their experience and thought processes than raw strength.

Anything to matchmake these Rifters and bring them into the normal Season as quickly and fairly as possible.

This situation was vastly different from Levi’s last promotional game to Baron rank... He was in the normal Season, which permitted Promotion Games for monstrous entities far stronger than their current platform rank suggested.

”Season or Off-Season, let’s hope for a Game compatible with her...” Nurah muttered as she watched Jasmine press her finger against one of the cards at random.

Following a brief flash, the card expanded into a large screen displaying the details of the chosen Death Game.

// Game Format: Restrictive Attrition Game.

Game Name: Hammer Price

Number of Participants: 10

Average Power Level: 47N... Range (45N–49N)

Ranks Allowed: Homeless.

Battle Map: The House of Ten Hands.

Map Fragments Pot: 10 (1 Desolate-grade stake per Rifter)

Prize Pool: Sunspill Totem, The Widow’s Nail (Grade B), fifty Desolate-grade fragments, the Ninebreath Lotus (Grade C)...

Hidden Game Achievement: Sole Bidder.

Rules of the Game:

1- Every player receives a Clock of 40 minutes, displayed above their head. Time is the only money in the House of Ten Hands. At zero, you die.

2- Money, titles, and rank buy nothing on this floor... Summons and contracted entities have no Clock and cannot bid.

3- A Lot goes up for sale every 3 minutes... You bid in minutes, paid directly from your own Clock.

4- The winner pays their full bid... Everyone who bid and lost pays half of their bid.

5- After each Lot comes the Dispute Floor: 60 seconds where killing is legal... Each Rifter’s name can be bid on for a challenge. Eliminate a Rifter and take their entire Clock and won Lots.

6- Attacks outside the Dispute Floor are banned.

7- Win no Lot for 3 rounds in a row, and you’re insolvent... the House takes half your Clock.

8- The last Lot of the game is The Remainder: every minute nobody spent, pooled together and sold as one item... It’s displayed on the board from the first bell.

9- Sales are final... No resale, no refunds. Die before the next Lot, and what you bought goes back to the House.

10- Abilities are allowed, but external artifacts or tools are banned.

11- You die when your Clock runs out, or when you can’t pay what you owe.

12- The Rifter who wins the most Lots wins the game... If there is a tie, the Rifter with more time remaining on their Clock wins by default.

For more information, please open your NR Profile Interface.

Good luck, Rifters. //

”My head hurts...”

Arthur was the first to rub his temples in confusion, feeling unwell each time he read through the rules... He somehow understood the gist of the game, but at the same time, he felt that it was far too complex.

’This is gonna be a tough one.’

Levi held his chin thoughtfully as he faced Jasmine across the table... This was nothing like his first game on the platform in terms of complexity.

But it made sense; the average Nocturnal Power Level was 47N, placing the participants between Warden and Solarbound.

These Rifters needed to be treated in the same category as Rifters in the normal Season, even if this happened to be their first game.

That’s because only such games could extract the full potential of their strength, powers, and experience to bring out the best kind of entertainment for the viewers.

That last part was the most important.

’It’s okay... I can manage it.’ Jasmine replied with a thumbs-up, completely unbothered.

”I have full faith in sis... cough, Jasmine, to bring it home,” Arthur smirked confidently, skipping past the slip as if it had never happened.

And yet, he felt two sets of deathly gazes resting against the sides of his face, forcing him to keep staring straight ahead.

Nurah and Shia weren’t having it... at all.

Levi acted ignorant while inwardly cursing his little brother... and then swiftly returned to the main discussion.

”The concept might be complex, but it’s quite interesting... using time as both a lifeline and currency in an auction.” Levi nodded slightly in intrigue.

”Indeed... it forces the Rifters to be smart about their bids, but at the same time, leaves them with no choice but to bid during at least one out of every three rounds to avoid having their Clock halved by the House.” Shia nodded sternly.

”If it were me... I would avoid early bids to protect my minutes and then use them to bid for a challenge on the Dispute Floor,” Arthur shared. ”I would win their remaining time and Lots.”

”Unfortunately, everyone will be thinking the same.” Levi shook his head. ”Most importantly, you’ll have only sixty seconds to kill the Rifter... meanwhile, they only need to survive.”

Jasmine and the girls nodded in agreement... If making bids put a target on the Rifters during each round, then it was much smarter to skip a round or two and take the conflict to the Dispute Floor.

The only issue... everyone would do the same, which meant the bids to challenge a Rifter holding a Lot would become too expensive.

Since the bidding rules clearly stated that failed bids punished Rifters by taking half of their rejected bid, it meant that the Rifters might get desperate enough to continue bidding nonstop until they won the challenge.

This would put them in a very bad and reactive situation... and it would only get worse if they failed to kill the Rifter they had paid so many minutes to challenge.

’What do you think, Levi?’ Jasmine asked for Levi’s advice.

Following the series of Levi’s victories in his own solo games, he had the most experience and had earned the right to share his opinions and actually be taken seriously.

Levi remained silent for a few minutes, giving it some thought... After a short while of brainstorming, he nodded slightly and finally spoke.

’Firstly, this is only a suggestion, not a game plan... It’s your fight, and you have to adapt to it on your own... but if I were you, I would do this at the start...’

A couple of minutes later, Arthur and the girls stared at Levi with complicated expressions.

Nurah was the first to giggle in amusement.

”You’re actually a devil... no wonder you became a Baron in three games.”

Even Jasmine covered her mouth, pleased with his strategy, as she had a similar idea in mind... a plan only those with absolute confidence in their strength would dare to attempt.