Chapter 2141 - 2141: First Round Ends

Even before he entered the Elemental Source Land, Ajax had been fighting the Dark Beasts continuously to earn this Universe's Acknowledgement.

Even after entering the Source Land, he had hunted the Elemental Beasts nonstop until today.

Having already achieved his primary goal of helping Thorne obtain a Divine Elemental Potion and secured 100,000 Elemental Spirit Ascension Crystals for himself, Ajax decided to rest for the next six hours.

'It is just the First Round. I should be in my best condition for the next round.'

Although Ajax could continue fighting for a few days without any issues, he still wanted to be in his best condition for the upcoming rounds.

Moreover, he had already achieved what he wanted from the First Round.

As for the remaining time, he might as well use it to recover and prepare for the next round.

Time continued to pass.

Except for Thorne's team and Elyndra Raith, the remaining participants stopped hunting the Elemental Beasts. Instead, they started targeting other participants.

After all, if they could steal the crystals from other participants, their total would almost double in an instant.

Compared to hunting the Elemental Beasts one by one, this was a much faster way to collect crystals.

Of course, there were risks involved.

After all, everyone who had survived until now was a genius with their own trump cards.

However, as the First Round approached its end, many participants were no longer willing to take things slowly.

They wanted to secure their positions in the top ten rankings by any means necessary.

On the other hand, Nyra continued operating the clones of her Elemental Spirit, Spectros, to observe the participants and collect information about their Elemental Spirit Ascension Crystals.

Since she had already accepted Thorne's payment, she had no intention of disappointing him.

Moreover, she was also curious about how the rankings would change in the final hours.

After one hour, Nyra updated Thorne's team about the rankings.

"The first place still belongs to Elyndra Raith with 250,000 crystals. Brother Ajax is in second place with 100,000 crystals."

"However, the positions below them have already started changing."

After two hours, she provided another update.

"Several participants have entered the top ten by defeating other participants and taking their crystals. The rankings are changing much faster than before."

After three hours, the situation became even more intense.

More participants started targeting those who had accumulated large numbers of crystals.

As a result, even those who had spent the previous few days hunting Elemental Beasts peacefully were forced to fight.

Some participants who had barely managed to collect a few thousand crystals were quickly eliminated, while others gained tens of thousands of crystals in a short period.

After four hours, even the top five positions started changing.

Although Elyndra continued to hold the first position, the participants below her were constantly changing their rankings.

Of course, there were still a few powerful participants who managed to maintain their positions.

One of them was Kael Draven.

As a genius of the Draven Forge Clan, he was not someone who could easily be defeated by ordinary participants.

Meanwhile, Ajax continued resting without paying much attention to the changing rankings.

Since he already had enough crystals to secure his position, he didn't care whether he ranked second, fifth, or even tenth.

As time passed, the First Round approached its final hour.

By then, even Ajax's position had changed.

It was Kael Draven who had accumulated enough crystals to surpass him, pushing him down the rankings.

However, Ajax didn't care much about it.

He simply continued resting, waiting for the First Round to end.

Finally, only a few minutes remained.

"Nyra, how many crystals do we need to have to enter the top ten?"

Thorne asked through Spectros.

"The current tenth-ranked participant has 40,000 crystals, while the seventh-ranked participant has 50,000 crystals."

Nyra revealed the current rankings.

"If you want to occupy the bottom four positions in the top ten, you only need to have at least 51,000 crystals each."

"51,000 crystals? Great!"

Hearing that, Thorne and his team became excited.

After all, they currently had 230,000 crystals.

If they divided them equally among the four of them, each would receive 57,500 crystals.

That should be enough to secure all four positions in the top ten rankings.

"However, it is very risky to aim for the bottom four positions."

Nyra shook her head when she saw Thorne's excitement.

Thorne looked at Spectros with a puzzled expression.

"There are still a few minutes before the First Round ends. If one or two participants suddenly defeat others and collect their crystals, they could easily obtain 58,000 crystals or even more."

"If that happens, your rankings could be pushed down."

Nyra paused briefly before continuing, "So, I suggest that you aim for at least 65,000 crystals each."

"65,000 crystals?"

Thorne frowned slightly.

Their current total was 230,000 crystals, which meant each of them would receive only 57,500 crystals.

They were still short of the amount Nyra had suggested.

"Since the current seventh-ranked participant has 50,000 crystals, they could collect another 8,000 or 9,000 crystals by defeating a participant."

"Moreover, there are many participants with 15,000 crystals, and if one of the current top 20 participants managed to take all the crystals from those participants, they could directly surpass your team."

Nyra explained further.

"With 65,000 crystals each, your chances of securing all four positions would be much higher. Unless three other participants have more than 65,000 crystals, all four of you should be able to enter the top ten."

Although it was still possible for them to enter the top ten with 57,500 crystals each, having more crystals would naturally be safer.

"It's alright, Nyra."

Thorne shook his head with a smile.

Unlike Nyra, who preferred to have a greater safety margin, Thorne wanted all his seniors to obtain a Divine Elemental Potion.

Even if one of them failed to enter the top ten, the remaining three could still obtain three Divine Elemental Potions.

To him, that was already a good outcome.

"It's your choice."

Nyra didn't bother convincing him any further, as she already knew what kind of person Thorne was.

'...'

From the side, Ajax had been listening to their entire conversation.

He thought about it for a moment before taking out another pile of Elemental Spirit Ascension Crystals.

"Brother Thorne, take these 30,000 crystals and share them equally among yourselves."

"T-this..."

Thorne was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected Ajax to help them even further.

"Brother Ajax, this is..."

"Brother Thorne, it's alright."

Before Thorne could finish his words, Nyra's voice came through Spectros.

"You should accept the crystals."

She continued, "Even after giving you 30,000 crystals, Brother Ajax will still have 70,000 crystals for himself. Meanwhile, with these additional crystals, the four of you will have 65,000 crystals each."

"That should be enough to push you into the top ten rankings with a much greater degree of certainty."

Nyra quickly calculated their total.

With 260,000 crystals divided equally among the four of them, each person would receive exactly 65,000 crystals.

Unless three other participants had more crystals than that, all four of them would be able to secure their positions in the top ten.

Hearing Nyra's explanation, Thorne finally stopped hesitating and accepted the crystals.

"Brother Ajax, I will definitely repay your help in the future."

Thorne looked at Ajax with a sincere expression.

Although they had already made a deal in which Thorne would reveal the method to unseal Divine Elemental Spirits in exchange for the Elemental Spirit Ascension Crystals, Thorne felt that it was not enough to repay the help he had received.

Without Ajax's help, he was doubtful that he could obtain even one Divine Elemental Potion.

However, now that he had received these additional crystals, he was almost guaranteed to obtain four Divine Elemental Potions for himself and his seniors.

How could he not feel indebted to Ajax?

"There's no need to think too much about it, Brother Thorne. Just remember our deal."

Ajax simply smiled.

"Of course!"

Thorne nodded firmly.

He would never forget their deal, and he would certainly share the method once he obtained it from his great-grandfather.

'It is about time for the First Round to end.'

Meanwhile, Ajax looked towards the sky.

[Attention to all participants, the First Round has ended. The Elemental Spirit Ascension Crystals you obtain from now on will not be counted.]