The Fourth Calamity: People in High Martial Arts, Gods in Games

Chapter 83 Ranking

As the sun rises, the weather at the end of September is gradually turning cold.

However, in front of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in the human abandoned area, it was already surrounded by unemployed people who were repairing the hall. They were all in high spirits, as if they were celebrating a festival.

The repair of the martial arts school's exterior walls was done with utmost care, as if afraid that the repairs wouldn't be perfect enough. It was done with several times more care than repairing one's own house.

"Old Luo, you're really lucky. Today is the last day to finish, and you actually got selected by Obsidian Martial Arts School to become a long-term worker, specializing in decorating for the school from now on." A middle-aged man in his forties looked at a burly man around fifty years old with great envy. "Obsidian Martial Arts School offers long-term workers a monthly salary of one thousand bits. Because of this salary, several thousand people have come to apply these past two days, but in the end, only fifty people were selected."

"Old Wang, I'm only good at handicrafts. The master of the martial arts school thought my handicrafts were good, so he kept me on and let me make all kinds of furniture for the martial arts school in the future," the burly man named Lao Luo chuckled.

"Look how happy you are." The middle-aged man glanced at the busy players in the hall and sighed, "But who would have thought that the Obsidian Martial Arts School would become famous after the battle at Crimson Moon Mountain two days ago? Now all the major gangs in the wilderness have to give the Obsidian Martial Arts School some face. We undocumented immigrants are even less troublesome when we go out into the wilderness now. It's a pity that the Obsidian Martial Arts School is not recruiting disciples now, otherwise I would really like to let my daughter who works in the suburbs join."

"Who says otherwise?" Old Luo sighed. "I heard that now, members of all the major gangs in the wilderness avoid anyone wearing dark gray long-sleeved T-shirts. And Luo Qi, who used to be very close to Master Lin, is now being poached by other weapon shops in the suburbs with high prices because she wears the Black Obsidian Martial Arts School's mark and credentials. In the end, it was that Cangjing Iron Rooster who was smart enough to hire Luo Qi as a senior employee, which is the treatment only senior mechanics get. That's how he kept Luo Qi."

The wages offered by Obsidian Martial Arts School to its long-term employees are no less than those of homeless people working in the suburbs. However, what is more valuable to these undocumented homeless people is their status as employees of Obsidian Martial Arts School.

The world of high-level martial arts is full of dangers. Even in the suburbs, there are certain dangers, let alone in places outside the suburbs.

Now, thanks to the battle at Red Moon Mountain, Obsidian Martial Arts School's strength has been recognized by many gangs in the wild. Anyone associated with Obsidian Martial Arts School has an extra layer of protection, instantly raising their safety level by two or three levels.

In fact, it's arguably more useful in the wild than a formal resident status in the City of Light.

"I wonder where Obsidian Martial Arts School will rank this time. If we can make it into the top 80 of the wilderness gangs, we might even be able to compete for a place in the suburbs. It would be much more convenient for us to go to the suburbs for work or shopping in the future." The middle-aged man called Old Wang said with some nostalgia, "More than 20 years ago, we human nomads had four blocks in the suburbs. We had our own shops and companies in the suburbs, and the cost of living in the suburbs was also lower. Unfortunately, after the rise of those powerful races, the costs that we humans had to pay have become higher and higher. Now, if you're not a formal resident, you can't even afford to live in the suburbs."

"There's no other way. Cities need warriors to protect them. Warriors are everything." Old Luo sighed. "I wonder what happened to those who left for other cities back then. I heard that there were very few humans left in other cities. Some cities simply refused to take in weak races, or they treated them as disposable materials."

"From what I've gathered over the years, the nearby cities are all treated like consumables, with everyone forced to run supply and transportation to the wilderness base, or else they'll be forcibly evicted." Old Wang sighed, looking at the Obsidian Martial Arts School with some anticipation. "I dare not even think about the Obsidian Martial Arts School producing martial artists, but if they can squeeze into the top fifty wilderness gangs, we can at least have fewer people die here every year."

In the City of Light, the ranking of wild gangs is not just a matter of chance; it carries certain rights recognized by the city.

The higher the ranking, the greater the rights one can obtain, especially regarding the number of homeless people of each race who must serve in the military each year; the higher the ranking, the more slots can be reduced.

In the past, the number of human nomads was one thousand per year, and these one thousand people were selected by lottery. They spent the year transporting supplies to the wilderness base, and their survival depended entirely on luck. After a year, less than 30% of them could survive, so the mortality rate was quite high.

Generally, if a gang ranks 50th or higher, it can reduce the number of people exempted from the exemption. The top 50 can reduce the number of people exempted from the exemption by 200, the top 20 by 300, and the top 10 by 500. If a race has multiple gangs, the highest ranking will be used to determine the exemption.

This also meant that among the nomads of different races living in the abandoned zone, the strong got stronger and the weak got weaker.

Of course, there were some unexpected events. For example, the Crystal Clan was an unexpected case. More than 30 top experts who were serving in the military all died, which caused the status of Crystal Clan nomads to plummet, forcing them to withdraw from the suburban residential area.

"That's probably a bit difficult. The top fifty are all large gangs like the Green Sparrow Gang, with over a thousand members each. Obsidian Martial Arts Academy is still relatively new and needs time to build up its strength." Old Luo shook his head, feeling that Obsidian Martial Arts Academy's chances of entering the top fifty were slim, but entering the top eighty was a sure thing.

Just as Lao Luo and the other man were chatting, a one-eyed giant, who was over 2.4 meters tall, slowly walked to the entrance of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, attracting the curiosity of many vagrants.

"Why is Lao Qin here?" Lao Luo looked at Qin Mu, who was informing the players, and couldn't help but feel strange.

As the strongest fighter in the human race's abandoned zone, Qin Mu has always been a very busy person. People in the abandoned zone rarely see Qin Mu taking a break.

It was early morning, and Qin Mu usually went to work in the suburbs. The fact that he came over with a happy expression on his face seemed rather strange.

When the players saw Qin Mu, it was as if they were seeing a BOSS-level NPC. The impression they had of him during the test and assessment was extremely deep. They respectfully led Qin Mu to Lin Qi's rest room.

"Old Zhen, do you think this NPC who came to see the Master is going to open the new map, Crimson Moon Mountain?" Ragnarok, who had just logged in, couldn't help but ask excitedly when he saw Qin Mu walk into the rest room.

After two days of waiting, players are speculating that the game developers may release a real new map, Crimson Moon Mountain. After all, Obsidian Martial Arts School owns 60% of Crimson Moon Mountain, so it should be under the management of Obsidian Martial Arts School.

The new map, Crimson Moon Mountain, is significantly larger than Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, which is likely a preparation made by the game developers to welcome a large influx of new players.

At that time, Crimson Moon Mountain will likely become a beginner's village.

If these test players could receive some quests in the starting village in advance, it would be a huge help to them when they settle down in the starting village in the future.

"It's very likely that the two major NPCs will meet. The previous encounters have all been major events, and this time will probably be no exception." Fang Zhen nodded, looking expectantly at the closed lounge.

Since the main storyline battle at Crimson Moon Mountain ended, the thirty players have earned over three thousand basic points, another ten thousand points from killing elites, and one hundred thousand points from each of the two bosses. It can be said that these players have made a fortune.

Unfortunately, after the three teams saved up enough money to each buy an A6-level weapon, they all became broke. They just hoped that more new story missions would be released so they could accumulate enough points to exchange for B2-level weapons. Then they could earn points and contribution by quickly clearing the maze tunnels.

It shouldn't be like this now, where it takes three days to kill a single unicorn gold-devouring rat, and who knows how long it will take to become an elite disciple and have a private room of one's own in the martial arts school.

The current "High Martial Arts Descent" is not what it was just over ten days ago. Several of the new players who came last time were members of large guilds from other virtual games. As "High Martial Arts Descent" becomes more and more popular, they have all set their sights on it. It can be said that the competition in the future will become more and more intense.

If we don't work harder to widen the gap now, as more and more players are brought in, the advantages of those large guilds will only grow, just like Tianwei now. Out of seventy players, five are former Tianwei members, and their numerical advantage will only increase, along with the number of skilled players.

The latest novel is first published here!

"Or, should I talk to Captain Li and Saiwai and ask them to let their team members also come to High Martial Arts Descent to develop?"

Fang Zhen suddenly felt it was necessary to persuade Li Ranxing and the others. After all, the professional team members of the Mech Continent were all carefully selected experts. Once they entered the High Martial Arts Descent, they could quickly form a fighting force and might be able to compete with Tianwei.

Those who have played "High Martial Arts Descend" like Li Ranxing should also know very well that the Mech Continent is a thing of the past, and the future definitely belongs to the world of "High Martial Arts Descend". For professional players who just want to make money, this is an opportunity that they absolutely cannot miss.

Just as Fang Zhen was thinking about how to persuade Li Ranxing, in the quiet lounge of the museum owner.

Qin Mu, who was like a giant, took out a purple-gold metal token from his pocket and handed it directly to Lin Qi.

"Brother Lin, congratulations!" Qin Mu said excitedly. "According to the Martial Arts Association's assessment, Obsidian Martial Arts School is now ranked 42nd in terms of strength in the wild! Now Obsidian Martial Arts School is not only qualified to cooperate with some large companies in the suburbs, but can even rent a shop in the suburbs and buy and sell goods freely without being ripped off by those suburban gangs."

"42 bits! That's so high?"

Lin Qi was somewhat surprised when he saw the number 42 printed on the token.

He knew quite a bit about the rankings of the wild gangs through Luo Qi. Normally, based on the strength shown by the Obsidian Martial Arts School, it should be ranked outside the top 50. Not to mention that the number of people is small, it is not impossible for it to be ranked in the top 70 or 80. After all, this ranking is a gang's overall strength, not individual martial arts.

Those who rank among the top fifty in the wilderness, even if they are undocumented vagrants, can rent shops in the suburbs to open their own stores, which means they can openly sell what they have obtained in the wilderness and are protected by the City of Light.

Having this right means you can truly establish yourself in the wild and no longer be an unknown figure in the City of Light.

At the same time that Lin Qi received the ranking token, the nomads living in the abandoned area who often paid attention to the ranking of wild gangs, as well as the members of various gangs, also received a copy of the latest information on the ranking of wild gangs.

In an instant, the entire abandoned area was thrown into turmoil!

(End of this chapter)