The location of the first round of preliminaries is the largest arena in the outer city. A total of more than 6,000 people signed up for the competition this time, which was far more than the previous ones, and it was an unprecedented event.
Due to the large number of people, the first round of preliminaries can only be conducted in groups and in batches. Each registered contestant has been given a number. On the stands of the arena, a huge crystal screen appeared, showing the number range of the group. , Chen Rui is No. 5200 and is in the last group.
The content of the first round of preliminaries is very simple, that is, three questions are randomly selected, and the content of the competition is completed according to the requirements of the questions within the specified time. The extracted content is related to the proficiency items filled in the registration. For example, metal proficiency is a metal-related topic.
This kind of competition has a lot of luck in it. Some people happen to get the questions that they are not good at or are very difficult. up. But in general, those who are truly capable can still pass smoothly.
The competition started, and numbers for elimination and promotion began to appear on the crystal screen. Generally speaking, these questions were not easy, and even many senior contestants felt that this year's competition was more difficult than the previous one, that is, ten years ago. Much bigger. Many unlucky losers cried bitterly, but they could only attract contempt and ridicule, and almost no one sympathized with them. This is a competition.
Chen Rui filled out metal proficiency, and got three questions. The first one was to complete the incomplete part of an earth-type enchantment magic circle, the second was a question and answer on smelting metal, and the third was to repair a damaged long sword.
Except for the second one, the first one was more difficult, and the third one was more time-consuming, but for Chen Rui, there was no pressure, and he completed all the projects easily, and the judges beside him announced the promotion.
Dio, who had been anxious in the stands, saw the reminder of Chen Rui's promotion, and finally let go of his hanging heart. This craftsman from the dark moon finally has some real talents, but this is just the beginning, and the difficulty behind It will only get bigger and bigger. Can this guy who just got the title of tool maker pass the next round of tests
Ji Ya was also surprised. As far as she knew, the eldest princess did not have a particularly good craftsman. Where did he find Arthur? She had a faint premonition in her heart that Arthur's strong self-confidence was definitely not faked.
It took six full days to complete the first round of preliminaries. Nearly 70% of the contestants were eliminated in this round, leaving nearly 2,000 people left.
In the past few days, Chen Rui obtained a lot of materials through Dio, some of which were kept for his own use, and some were transformed into aura.
The second round of preliminaries has begun. From this round on, even candidates recommended by the master must participate.
The location of the second round of preliminaries is the Ancient Magic Tower of the Artisan Alliance Building. The Ancient Magic Tower is one of the most mysterious places in the Artifact Alliance of the Shadow Empire. It is said that the Magic Tower was built very early, and the year is already unknown. There are precious magic engravings left by master and grand master craftsmen tens of thousands of years ago, as well as various magic circles, which are unpredictable. Even the master craftsmen of the alliance now have difficulty Peep through the mystery.
Normally, the Ancient Magic Tower is not open to the public. Only the masters of the Artisan Alliance can enter it for details. This time, it was opened with an exception, which immediately aroused the interest of all the contestants.
The content of the competition is very novel. Participants enter the magic tower with special magic slates and magic stones. Within two hours, use the slates to copy a complete magic circle. After completion, they can be sent out with the magic stone. In addition to functions, it can also reflect the latest integral situation in real time.
Those who have not come out within the specified time will be automatically sent out, and those who have not completed the magic circle will be directly out of the game.
Not only that, this round can only leave the last 200 players to enter the rematch stage. The higher the difficulty of the magic circle, the less time it takes, the higher the score. 90% of the 2,000 players will be eliminated, and only two of the 2,000 players will be eliminated. Hundreds, the cruelty of the competition can be imagined.
A total of 2,000 people were divided into 20 groups. By fate, Chen Rui and his old "friend" Savage were both placed in the last group.
Savich saw Chen Rui by accident, his eyes froze immediately, and he shot out a gnashing of hatred. Because of his youth and potential, he has been famous since he became famous, and the humiliation he suffered last time was simply unprecedented!
He will never forget how he limped out of the lounge at that time, and how the pain tortured him in the following days. Although the wounds on his body healed, the great shame and trauma in his heart would never be washed away !
If it wasn't for the Toolmaker Contest, which was about the future, Savage really wanted to use all means to avenge the Custer family and that Arthur who deserved to be cut to death.
Unexpectedly, in the Weapon Maker Competition, I met this hated enemy. This guy even passed the first round of preliminaries!
"Isn't this Savage?" Chen Rui also saw this old "friend" with resentful eyes, and greeted him with a familiar face, "The magic item you studied last time is really powerful, and I admire it even more. It is you who are willing to take such a big risk to try it yourself, you are worthy of being the number one genius in the imperial capital!"
The tool makers in the same group all showed admiration when they heard it. Genius and hard work, no wonder they are famous in the imperial capital. This praise was heard by Savage, but it was another round of unceremonious ridicule, which was as uncomfortable as a needle prick, but in front of so many people, it was impossible to reveal that kind of humiliation, so I had to slap Luo Ya swallowed it, the hatred in his heart could not be increased.
Savage is just an ant, and Chen Rui didn't take him seriously at all, but this kind of role can barely become a step to be stepped on in the competition.
It was the turn of this group to start the competition. With a gloomy face, Savich walked in the front of the team and entered the ancient magic tower.
Chen Rui originally thought that the ancient magic tower was a tower with layers of stairs, and magic patterns were carved on the walls, but when he entered, he realized that it was completely different from what he imagined. It was an independent space inside, floating and changing around and moving around. The singular light, colorful. At first glance, it looks colorful, but in the eyes of the tool maker, these lines faintly show the mysterious and profound magic circle.
In addition to the light gate at the exit, there is another light gate in the far space, which can reach the upper level. The higher the level, the more profound and difficult the magic circle becomes. There are six floors in the ancient magic tower. It is said that even a master can only comprehend the mysteries of the first four floors.
There are many arrangements and combinations of magic arrays. Everyone has different mentality and focus of attention, and the resulting magic arrays are also different. Now start recording in the magic tablet.
It is a rare opportunity to enter the ancient magic tower. Chen Rui has already opened the in-depth analysis and started recording and scanning. During the in-depth analysis, the patterns of arrangement and combination were quickly "copied". Parse slowly.
His vision has reached the master level now, and he can see more things than ordinary people. Many of the magic circles on this level have been improved, but the difficulty is not great. According to the level of the alliance, it is one-star and quasi-level. two star. Chen Rui didn't stay for long, and walked towards the light door leading to the upper floor.
Compared with more than 100 people on the first floor, there are only a dozen or so people on the second floor. Savage is among them. When he saw Chen Rui walking to the second floor, he showed a disdainful sneer: Because of Master Leo, Savage It’s not the first time to come to the ancient magic tower. The magic array on the second floor is much more difficult than the first floor. Although it can be recorded and completed, the points will be more, but if it can’t be completed, then it’s not as good as the first floor. layer up.
The difficulty of this layer is indeed greater, and the amount of data is much larger, and the scanning speed of in-depth analysis seems to be much slower.
"I don't understand why..." Chen Rui held the magic slate, hesitated for a moment, and said to himself deliberately, "I don't know if the top will be better..."
Savich sneered secretly, the above can only be understood by masters, this "Arthur" is just a rookie who has just been promoted to a craftsman, and passed the first round by luck (at least Savich thinks so) For the preliminaries, if you really go to the third floor, let alone an hour, even if it is a year, you will not be able to record a few strokes.
As a competitor and enemy, Savage certainly hoped that Chen Rui would go to the third floor to "send his death". Just as he expected, Chen Rui walked towards the light gate on the third floor step by step, and soon disappeared. A cold smile appeared on the corner of Savage's mouth, and without stopping, he recorded a difficult magic circle. He got down, then crushed the magic stone he was carrying, and teleported out of the ancient magic tower.
The third layer is not only light, but also all kinds of flames and visions, and even the space is strangely distorted. In Chen Rui's eyes, those melodies and colors are all strange magic symbols. The arrangement of these formulas is like complicated calculation formulas, some of which were taught by Master Da Da and Master Skye, and some are even unheard of. With Chen Rui's current state, he can naturally see the mystery of these "calculation formulas". I can't help but immerse myself in it.
Outside the ancient magic tower, many people have completed the records and sent them out. Special evaluators began to record and verify the scores. The crystal screen in front of the alliance building marked the latest top 200 rankings.
The first place is Savich. It took 10 minutes to record the magic circle as a three-star magic enhancement type with 170 points.
The second place, Robert, took 15 minutes to record the magic circle as a quasi-three-star basic enhanced type, with 165 points.
The third place is Southgate, who took 16 minutes to record the magic circle as a quasi-three-star basic enhanced type, with 164 points.
…
The current result of the 200th place is that it took an hour, and the recorded magic circle is a two-star magic-weakened type, with 80 points.
Chen Rui has reached the fourth floor at this time. Even Chen Rui finds the fourth floor difficult to understand, but he has in-depth analysis. Although he doesn't understand it, he can "record" it first, and then slowly save it for reference Enlightenment.
After the recording was finished, Chen Rui looked at the time on the Philosopher's Stone, and it turned out that more than an hour had passed. Looking at the next level of light gate in front of him, he hesitated for a moment, and tried to walk over.
As soon as he approached the light door, the space was distorted suddenly, and countless mysterious imprints flashed, and a strong repelling force pushed him out. Every time he tried it, the arrangement and shape of those imprints were different.
Chen Rui had a feeling that even if he tried his best to use the power of the Law Realm to display the Flame Dragon Possession, he would still be unable to break through the power of this light gate. The Light Gate not only contains enormous power, but also a kind of rule. If you can't understand the rules, even the power of the devil emperor level may not be able to break through.
In the business center on the fifth floor of the building, a middle-aged man with snow-white beard and hair frowned. He was the president of the Shadow Empire Artisan Alliance and the empire's number one instrument maker, Master Anderson.
"Another curious guy is testing the gate on the fifth floor, and I don't know if it is a wise move to open the ancient magic tower this time."
Master Rummenigge on the side smiled and said: "Even if we are unable to break the seal of the gate, the president does not need to worry. In fact, this time is more about discovering and cultivating potential juniors, so that they can open their eyes and grow up." It’s good to know a little bit.”
Master Anderson nodded slightly and said nothing more.
After trying and recording the magic symbol several times, seeing that there was not much time left, Chen Rui looked at the latest ranking and knew it well. He recorded a magic circle on the second floor, crushed the magic stone, and sent it out. .
On the VIP seats outside the Alliance Building, seeing that the name "Arthur" had not appeared within two hundred, Dio, who had been paying attention to the crystal screen, looked very ugly, and Ji Ya also seemed a little nervous.
At this time, a beautiful woman walked over holding a man's arm, showing a gloating look: "Isn't this our elder brother Dio? It's the last time, why haven't I seen you yet?" The Arthur who supported appeared on the ranking list? Faramo, where are our supporters ranked now?"
The man on the side is Dio's younger brother Faramo, and he sighed deliberately: "Robert seems to be ranked second. Although he is behind Savage, this kind of points ranking will not be brought into the semi-finals. The real contest is still there. later."
"As far as I know, the following events are Robert's strengths, and he was the champion last year." The woman is Faramo's wife Marlene. Asmodeus is also the younger sister of Valen, the second general of the Shadow Empire. This woman is very powerful. Faramor has been eaten to death, and she dare not even accept a concubine.
Dio was furious in his heart, but he couldn't find the words to fight back.
"Look at the screen!" Ji Ya suddenly exclaimed excitedly, and Dio quickly looked at it, and suddenly he was refreshed.
Arthur's name finally appeared in the 200 list, and it took 1 hour and 25 minutes to record the magic circle as the quasi-three-star basic enhanced type. The points are 95, currently ranked 192.
Since it is the last group, there are not many people left in the magic tower. This ranking is basically stable, and they should be able to enter the next semi-final stage.
Savich looked at Arthur's name on the screen and sneered viciously: That's fine, just continue to step on the head of this enemy in the following games, not only the game, but at the end of the game, "Arthur" "When the body is smashed to pieces!
Dio in the VIP seat let out a sigh of relief, no matter the number 192, no matter what, he finally escaped from death.
"Shouting, what an impolite country woman!" Marlene mocked Ji Ya dissatisfiedly, and then said to Dio with a look of disdain: "I forgot to tell you, Celine, the girl who supported Horford, is no Entering the top fifty, although the final victory must belong to Faramo, but to my surprise, the person you selected is actually worse than Bilin, no wonder you can't even keep the position of the first heir."
Diou snorted coldly, and ignored the two of them. At this time, Chen Rui came to Diou, nodded to Ji Ya, and said with a smile: "It seems that luck is good, within two hundred, you can enter the next round steadily .”
"You will be eliminated immediately in the next round." Marlene chuckled, holding a fan, and gracefully stopped the contemptuous smile.
"Diou, who is this hypocritical ugly woman?" Chen Rui had heard Ma Lian's mockery of Ji Ya, and asked deliberately.
Marlene's complexion changed, and Dio was delighted to hear that, and replied, "This is my younger brother Faramo...and his woman."
In order to retaliate against the sarcasm just now, Dio deliberately did not mention Marlene's name, and Chen Rui showed a sudden look: "I heard that your brother has several women outside, I don't know which one?"
Now it was Faramo who changed his face. Seeing Marlene's icy gaze, Faramo's expression became very exciting. In fact, Chen Rui was wrong. Faramo did have a mistress outside, just because of Marlene He is too powerful and has a strong background, so he has been hiding it from this fierce wife.
Diou secretly gave Chen Rui a thumbs up, but Chen Rui is currently ranked in the top 190, and the next rematch stage may not be optimistic, so he asked worriedly: "The next round will be the rematch, and it will be decided How confident are you that you will be the final candidate in the final stage?"
Chen Rui shook his head, this guy is too impatient, how could he ask such a question in front of a competitor
"Big Brother! Second Brother and Sister Marlene are here too!" A young girl walked over. This girl was dressed in a short skirt, with a beautiful appearance and a youthful appearance. Judging from her address, she should be Dio's youngest sister, Celine. .
Celine is the least "threat" and has a good relationship with her two brothers. Dio squeezed out a smile and nodded, and Marlene also relaxed her tense face.
"Is this your chosen supporter Arthur?" Celine looked at Chen Rui curiously, "I actually entered the ranks of two hundred at the end. But I had better luck this time, and found a craftsman named Horford , although he is not well-known, but he is very good, and this time he got the forty-seventh place."
Dio smiled wryly and nodded. Chen Rui looked relaxed and said indifferently: "Actually, I'm just saving my strength."
Dio secretly sighed, where the ranking of this competition is, at best it can only be regarded as a fluke, no matter how you look at it, this "retaining strength" seems reluctant.
"I hope your strength is as sharp as your mouth!" Marlene pulled Faramo and said, before walking away.
"Poor Brother Faramo, you will definitely become a punching bag when you go back." Celine smiled sweetly, greeted Dio, and turned to leave.
"The semi-finals will start tomorrow, let's go back and rest first. By the way, you have to help me get more materials, the sooner the better, I need more insights." Chen Rui's last sentence is purely for self-interest, now It is the time when you are willing to fight and suffer, and if you don't kill it, you don't kill it.