The Glorious Evolution

Knowing that he had a free week before the team's gathering, Levi decided to pick the second game right now... They would give him two weeks inside the Boundless Expanse for preparations.

Levi wanted to become a territory owner before he embarked on the Global Campaign... So, it wouldn't conflict with his first Raid.

After returning home, Levi used his consciousness to enter Nocturn Heart's city... Then, he went to the same bench in the park and opened the Nocturnal Ring's Death Games homepage.

He ignored the thousands of live death game streams and aimed his finger at the Play a Game button in the center.

After pressing the button, the same screen appeared before him with thousands of shadowy cards, each bearing the Nocturnal Ring's insignia on its back...

-Randomize-

He took a deep breath and pressed the randomize button. As Levi watched the cards shuffle among each other, the first thought that went through his mind was... Nocturn's Pardon had expired.

If he died in this game, he died for real.

But, as someone who survived death and watched his close ones die near him, Levi wasn't as disturbed as before... His resolve to climb the ladder was unshaken.

Once the cards stopped and pulsed with the same gentle light, Levi reached out with a finger and touched a random card in the right corner.

Immediately, the sea of cards collapsed, leaving the chosen one behind.

It flipped over slowly to build anticipation... and then expanded to cover the entire screen:

// Game Format: Racing

Game Name: Sandstorm Surge

Participants Number: 50

The Combined Average Power Level: 25,3N...Range(20N_30N)

Ranks allowed: Homeless/TeraOwner.

Battle Map: The Endless Dune Sea.

Map Fragments Pot: 100 (two map fragments for each Rifter)

Prize Pool: Mid-grade Artifacts, Rare Desert Natural Treasures, Essence Vials infused with the Sandstorm Spirit, Nocrix Credit bonuses, and more.

Hidden Game Achievement: The Leviathan Slayer.

Rules of the game:

1-Abilities Allowed.

2-Flight banned.

3-External Items are banned.

4-Each Rifter will be given a standard Sand Glider during the preparation period before the race.

5-Nocrix Credit can be earned by eliminating players. (1000 NC each)

6-Placement within the starting line is random.

7-One Rifter shall be picked randomly every five minutes… The marked rifter will be hunted down by Sandscale Leviathan for five minutes.

8-If the marked Rifter lives, the Rifters will be cursed with a three-minute speed decrease, and the survivor with a two-minute speed boost.

9-If the marked rifter dies or resigns, two Rifters will be picked in the next round. The number will keep doubling with each marked Rifter's death.

10- The Sandscale Leviathan's rules apply above surface... Do not meet it underground.

11-The Endless Dune Sea's map stretches to two hundred kilometers from south to north. (The Rifters will start south, and the finish line will be north)

11-The map is full of shortcuts and traps… Be aware.

12-The first Rifter to reach the Finish Line wins.

For more information, please open your NR profile Interface.

Good luck to all Nocturnal Rifters//

"Sandstorm Surge... A racing game with an external Sand Glider and a Beast chasing us." Levi rubbed his chin, "Sounds treacherous..."

The first thing Levi did was search the network for more details about the game, Sandscale Leviathan, the Sand Glider, and such.

He pressed on the first video shown and was amazed to see tens of Rifters riding above skateboard-like gliders... speeding across dunes with heights reaching up to hundreds of meters!

Yet, this was just an appetizer... His expression soon turned grim at the sight of a golden-scaled, gigantic serpent, bursting from the depths of the desert and chasing after the Rifters.

It wasn't just fast, its scales could camouflage it to near-perfect when moving slowly... In addition, it possessed sand-based powers, allowing it to shapeshift the desert to a limited degree if it meant catching their prey.

"Isn't this a bit too much for our average level range? What about that damned title? They don't expect one of us to actually slay such a monstrosity?" Levi frowned, not liking the comments he kept reading about this game.

Although Sandscale Leviathan's strength was limited, it didn't change the fact that it was still a one-hundred-meter-long serpent in its hunting habitat.

Yet, the worst part? Since abilities were allowed and the Sand Gliders were breakable, many Rifters in each game get stranded in the Desert after their Gliders break apart.

Unless they had a different ability to help them cross the desert, they could kiss their lives goodbye the moment they got marked.

"I need more training than anticipated for this game... The difficulty has truly jumped through the roof." Levi knitted his brows, '25,3N for the average power scale... I think this is for the middle part of the Teraowner ranked players... I guess they calculated my strength to be enough to handle the most powerful Tier 3 nightcrawlers or peak stage Pathfinders?'

Levi knew that the only way to test it out was to undergo the Testing Protocol in any city within the Boundless Expanse.

But everyone clamored that it was fairly accurate since the moment one signed a Nocturnal contract, their true strength could be figured out from a simple reading of their soul, body, and the collective number of innate abilities they possess.

They couldn't find out about their abilities' details, but the range never considered it.

Whatever one owned as abilities could never be subjected to a fair reading... Though adding the collective number did affect it a bit.

'Guess, it's not bad... The prize pool and the map fragments pot are much better.' Levi accepted it eventually.

Although he would be fighting against Rifters above his rank on the platform, they were of similar strength to him... plus he would be awarded the same as them.

If he was going to put his life in danger, he might as well earn as much as possible from each game.

Soon, Levi pressed his profile Interface and scrolled down until he found the newly registered Death Game: Sandstorm Surge.

He pressed it and was met with a list of information about the game's date, the registered Rifters, the chosen Gamemaster, and such.

"The game is in fifteen Boundless Days... So, about a week on Earth as usual." Levi murmured, "Luckily, a month has gone past since the first time I entered Ash'Kral's little island."

The dimensional key needed a month to recharge its spatial energy... With Levi having an entire week to himself, he planned on spending fifteen days in Ash'Kral's little island.

He wouldn't just prepare for the Death Game, but also take advantage of the peace to work on his Resonance with the Crimson tree and maybe give it a try with the Sun Tree and Void Tree.

In addition, he would finally have some time to truly discover his ultimate ability... The power to create sound-based constructs didn't imply being limited to weapons or barriers.

Of course, not forgetting his second weapon...Starpiercer Rifle.

Levi wanted to fully discover whatever he could about his current powers before reaching the first stage of Junior rank... At that time, he would choose an ability from a new sense, unlocking a whole new world of prospects.

"Now... Let's see our opponents."

Since Levi was playing a Death Game with Teraowner rankers, he was allowed to peek through the list of the Rifters.

This perk wasn't available to new Rifters to avoid being scared off by other Rifters... The new Rifters were the only ones with the possibility of bailing on a game before it started, even if they had a Nocturn's Pardon.

However, once they finished their first game, such a benefit was stripped, and they were bestowed with normal perks.

Once Levi opened the list, he understood why such a perk was banned for first-timers.

The list appeared as such:

//

The Razer: Wins: 5 | Defeats: 3 | Kills: 24

Most Highlighted Clip: Surviving a two-kilometer freefall (3 million views)

Glassfang: Wins: 3 | Defeats: 4 | Kills: 33

Most Highlighted Clip: Clutch 1v3 ambush (400k views)

Red Gale: Wins: 4 | Defeats: 2 | Kills: 10

Most Highlighted Clip: Six-second triple kill sweep (2 million views)

Shadebite: Wins: 4 | Defeats: 4 | Kills: 19

Most Highlighted Clip: Biting a Rifter's Nuts off. (29 million views)

Three-Body Problem: Wins: 1 | Defeats: 0 | Kills: 20

Most Highlighted Clip: The Celestial's Ascent (650 million views)//

The Sandwitch: Wins: 5 | Defeats: 4 | Kills: 340

Most Highlighted Clip: Sand Burial (90 million views)//

Levi's expression couldn't help but harden at the sight of fifty Rifters, each one a force to reckon with... They won and lost games, making him understand that each one knew what they were doing.

After all, it was hard to win a couple of games through pure luck... In Nocturnal Ring, luck was saved almost exclusively for survival.

If one wanted to win, they actually had to be skilled to back up their ambition.

Though when his spiritual eyes landed on his listed name and the highlighted clip of his career... he couldn't help but smile wryly.

"650 million views. I can tell... everyone will be searching for me to understand the hype."

When Levi pressed on his clip and saw the views and comments increasing nonstop, he knew that many viewers would be tuning in to watch him.

Some as fans, and some as haters, waiting for him to fail and be the first to mock him for it.

Soon, Levi scrolled down the list... That's when he found her.

'What the...Three hundred and forty kills in nine games? Was she aiming to win or farm Rifters?'