"Hmm. What should I do now?"

Tuan asked as he looked around himself. He found himself in an abandoned city that featured ruined, old houses and buildings. The city looked like a relic from the past long forgotten.

He was sent here along with all the other contestants after standing inside the grand array activated by Gladius at the end of his speech.

************************

The rules of the game were not too difficult to understand.

The Titus tournament was going to run for seven days. Each day of the tournament would last from sunrise to sundown a total of twelve hours. Participants were only allowed to stay active and hunt during these 12 hours. Trying to sneak in on one another outside the 12 hours would cause the offender to get kicked from the competition.

Each participant had been given a wristband that would keep track of their location and status. It would also keep track of the Titus points they would earn each day.

There were two ways to earn Titus points.

The first was to go outside the city and hunt the array-generated spectral copies of mana beasts and monsters. The competitors would earn Titus points according to the level of difficulty of the mana beasts and monsters.

The mana beasts and monsters would range from Novice rank to Adept rank. The contenders would get drops and Titus points for slaying the targets. The drops would contain healing potions, artefacts, alchemy products, and other daily necessities that may help the rankers during their stay during these seven days.

Titus points would be deposited immediately on the rankers' wristbands after they had slain the targets. They could also team up to kill Adept level targets. The total Titus points awarded for slaying such a target would then get divided among the participants that were part of the raid.

The co-op raids were more lucrative as the Adept level target had a much higher Titus point value even if it got divided among multiple rankers. But it was a bit risky to run co-op raids.

That's because of the second way the competitors could earn the Titus points. By taking hold of others' wristbands and crushing them, competitors could gain all the Titus points their victims had on their wristbands. Consequently, if and when co-op raids were successful, the biggest risk a competitor had came from their mates who had just fought with them.

Solo mana beast and monster hunts were relatively less lucrative. But they didn't contain any risk of betrayal. Plus, one didn't have to depend on anybody as long as they chose their targets well.

Fights were prohibited both during the day and at night in the ruined city. One could use any ruined house for their occupation during these seven days. They could also make use of any hidden drops the houses may have. The use of items obtained from drop sites would not be frowned upon.

The entire ruined city and the hunting area outside it were under observation by a giant observation array setup. The audience outside was able to see their favourite competitor in action through various POVs. Or they could watch the collective feed that was getting projected on the aerial space of the colosseum.

The most significant battle at that time would be spectrally unfolding inside the colosseum ring, just as it was in the ruined city. In short, the event was a pay-per-view event designed to cater to the various viewing needs of the audience.

There were 32 competitors inside the ruined city. They were allowed to use any strategy they wanted, provided they did not breach any rule of the competition. At the end of each day, each competitor would receive a message on their wristbands. The alert would tell them their position in the tournament according to the Titus points they had.

This also meant that the biggest earners of Titus points ran the risk of being targeted by other competitors. Meaning the top earners needed to watch their backs the most.

The competitors also had a self-quit option they could use through their wristbands in case of any emergency. Apart from that, the organizers of the Titus organization held no responsibility for the safety of the contenders.

Throughout the seven days, the spectators in the colosseum would visit the venue at sunrise and leave after sunset. Gladius would be actively commenting on the most eye-catching battle that was getting projected on the colosseum's battleground live.

The entire city of Arangar's schedule had been adopted to suit the tournament's timing. This was the biggest cash cow for the local vendors and the city's administration alike. Of course, they would make the spectators' convenience their priority.

******************

'Do you sense anything?'

Eren asked to be the only voice he could count on in the tournament. He got his answer shortly afterwards.

'Hmm. This looks like a real city that had been pulled into a subspace. I guess the person who did this must be at least what you call a Grandmaster ranker.

Apart from that, hehe! Yes. The city is littered with various drops. I can sense your opponents in the city as well, struggling to make sense of their surroundings just as you are. Do you want me to tell you where they are?'

Tuan couldn't help flashing a smirk when he realized that Alephee understood his intentions. He responded promptly.

'One step at a time, Alephee. First, I'll need reliable weapons. Tuan's dual swords don't suit me. I'll need a pair of weapons that can aid me in the close and mid-range. Can you sense anything like that in the drops hidden in the city?'

Tuan decided to cheat his way through the competition right from the get-go. He knew that Alephee's soul sense was the most powerful tool he had at his disposal in this place. Unlike the mana sense of the competitors that were restricted by the arrays, her soul sense couldn't even be detected by the array system.

'I found one such hidden drop that can help you get what you want. But you need to hurry. There's another ranker approaching the same spatial array that may give you your choice of weapons.'

Alephee warned Tuan and provided him with directions. The latter narrowed his eyes and disappeared from his position leaving a blazing trail behind in his wake.