The tower master's face immediately changed. It only took one second for the accusatory tone of the other person to send him to the defensive edge.
"Is that so? Then let me ask you something. Are you only guiding him a little, or are you perhaps trying to do something else?"
"Maybe you are pulling some threads in the shadows. Maybe you know about something, and you are not willing to accept it… Hmmm?" He threw the accusation right back.
With one guy glaring at the other, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Finally, the old man from the blacksmith association broke this silence.
"Crawford, ha ha ha. You take things too far, my old friend. I was only concerned about you. Well, never mind that. Shall we watch this contest together at least?"
The tower master frowned. He knew that the person in front of him was very shrewd, but he had nothing to say against such a straightforward request.
"Hmmm. Have a seat." One of the disciples immediately rushed forward to place a chair next to the tower master.
Another brought wine and snacks, and the two old men settled to watch the show. The mirror-like circular portal in front of them displayed everything.
Well, not everything. At the moment, it was just showing Liam's actions.
Unbeknownst to everything that was happening around him, the guy was very excitedly walking over to the registration spot.
Seeing this, the tower master Crawford chuckled with satisfaction. It was now only a matter of time.
However, unexpectedly the person next to him was also smiling. Crawford saw this, and his temper raised. "You won't be intervening, right? Acalan?"
"Me?" The old man from the blacksmith association, Acalan, shook his head. "I won't interfere with anything at all."
Though his words were innocent enough, tower master Crawford did not have one ounce of trust for the old guy. The subtle smug smile on the guy's face pissed him off.
Hmph. He turned around to pay attention to Liam. No matter what happened, that stone tablet was going to be his!
Meanwhile… Liam saw the crowd at the contest registration and clicked his tongue. "This is going to be a huge pain in the ass. Please tell me that at least the format is knock out."
Just as he was thinking about this, suddenly, another notification popped out.
[Ding. The PVP contest will now be conducted in a single-elimination tournament for the first round. A total of 100 contestants will be selected]
Immediately, all the players on the contest arena floor blew a casket.
"Hey! What is happening? Why did they change this up suddenly? Which bastard is running this contest?"
"Are you real? I wasted so much time here, and now you are changing the format?"
"What the heck? How am I eliminated? This is unfair. I only lost before the contest rules were announced. So this loss shouldn't be taken into account."
"Me too! I am also eliminated!"
"I am also eliminated!"
One by one, several players were kicked out of the contest floor, and since this was a special floor dedicated only to this contest, they were also unable to re-enter it.
The whole area was outraged. Many players wanted to burn down the whole damn tower.
Some even tried attacking it, but the instant they did, their attacks right away bounced back to them, several times higher, dealing lethal damage.
Seeing this, the others could only grumble or shout loudly, expressing their discontent, and walk away.
The normal PVP tower climbing path was still open to them, but the contest door seemed to be close forever, and no one was able to do anything about it.
The players on the inside were in no better shape.
Everyone was happily participating just now, discussing their strategies and finding ways to cheat the system to climb in the ranks faster, but now there was only a tense atmosphere.
This was a brutal contest. Only a swift death was waiting for them. The chances of loss were extremely high, and luck would also be a major factor.
If they were unlucky enough to face a monster early in the match up, then there was no choice but to be eliminated.
Liam, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. "This should be fast." He cracked his joints and registered his name when his turn came.
A few minutes later, he was called onto the stage. The players' names could be kept hidden, so his name was also hidden.
Even otherwise, not many people were paying attention to the ring. Because of the sudden twist, everyone was still scrambling around to gather resources for their own fight.
However, those who watched the fight received a thorough shock.
The fight in front of them was over in a second. They only saw fire. There were a few fireballs, and then the match was over. What attack was this? Were mages this powerful?
Moreover, as the guy walked down the stage, he let out a yawn. There was a mask on his face, but it was still clear that he looked bored.
Everyone gulped subconsciously, watching him sit back in the arena. This contest was not going to be easy.
Coincidentally, other than the players, another person was also unhappy to see Liam win like this. "Tch." Tower Master Crawford clicked his tongue.
"Make up your mind, you senile fool. If he doesn't win, how will you steal his treasures?" Grandmaster Acalan smiled wryly.
"Hrmm? Say that to me again?" Crawford immediately flared up, his veins bulging.
"Nothing. Nothing. I am saying this is just the start. You shouldn't become this heated up now itself."
Crawford scoffed and turned around. "He knows some tricks. So what? As you said, this is just the start."
He He He. Grandmaster Acalan did not say anything else and silently watched the event with a twinkle in his eyes. He truly wanted to see how much Liam had improved in this short time.
