Chapter 61: Provocation from a Hostile Race
The two-class players were in good spirits, thinking that even passing the first round of the test would be a great victory!
However, seeing their colleagues crying and mourning, they felt embarrassed to show their excitement...
At that moment, apparently hearing the players discussing, Sterl noticed someone in the spectator stands nearby letting out a disdainful sneer.
"Earth humans? You lot are quite amusing, you trash."
"Heh. This time, the mission won't be yours, winning by sheer numbers won't work."
"Your inferior race will surely be annihilated."
...
Sterl and the other players turned around and saw in the spectator stands to their left front, players of a race that looked almost identical to humans from Earth were mocking them, their eyes filled with hatred.
Daphne, recognizing the unique hairstyles of the mocking players, cozily pressed herself against Sterl and whispered in his ear, "These are the Centaurians, and they have a lot of conflicts with our Earth human race. We have been attacking each other for the last few decades, with many people dying on both sides. Overall, we have the upper hand."
"They, like most advanced races, follow the path of elitism."
"But the Centaurian race has a large population and plenty of players, so they can sustain the war..."
Facing the mockery, the Earth human players, who had been despondent, retorted sharply.
"When you were running away with your tails between your legs on the battlefield, you weren't saying that."
"Wasn't it because we didn't teach you a harsh enough lesson that you dare to talk to us like this?"
"This mission won't result in death anyway. How about we go for a PK outside and see??"
...
Their rebuttal hit the Centaurians hard, pointing out their painful defeat on the battlefield.
But the Earth human players barely had time to celebrate their verbal victory...
Soon after, mocking voices came from all directions.
"You Earth humans, only capable of raising a bunch of trash, what's the use of having so many people? Haven't you always been the most miserably defeated in every hidden mission contest?"
"You should feel lucky that this mission won't result in death, otherwise not one of you would survive!"
...
A group of human-like beings with reddish skin and strange patterns on their bodies stood up, one by one, to mock them.
"On the battlefield, you're nothing but a horde leveraging your numbers, without that advantage, you're worthless."
"This trial, I bet the Earth humans are just here to make up the numbers."
Then another race, looking similar to Earth humans, joined in the mockery.
"Go back home! Evolved monkeys!"
"You lowly races should just roll back to the ruins in your reality and slowly wait for death!"
"You bunch without the spirit of gaming, you disgrace the gameplay of Transcend!"
...
One after another, races stood up, all with attitudes of attack.
...
For a moment, Sterl and the players around him were subjected to a barrage of mockery.
The human race of Earth, taking advantage of their large population, plundered most of the resources in the Divine Mountain Empire, and thus made numerous enemies.
These alien players each wished for the death of the human race from Earth, even though death in [Transcendence] did not lead to actual death in reality. However, once a character perished, all of their superpowers would vanish, and it also meant that these alien players would lose their comrades-in-arms forever, only able to meet again in reality...
The hatred had already accumulated!
Whenever the players of different races met, it was a fight to the death. If it weren't for the restrictions of hidden missions, they probably would have already started fighting!
And the players of the Earth human race, how could they possibly withstand the hostility of all the players in the arena? They were completely overwhelmed just by the volume of voices, turning red with anger, and many looked towards Sterl with hopeful eyes.
Only this big shot!
They knew, this big shot could easily obliterate a level 70 two-class player with a single move, leaving nothing behind!
These alien players could also be easily wiped out by a counterattack!
Big shot! Please say something!
At this moment, the alien players were still launching various vicious verbal attacks, while Sterl, among the Earth human players, didn't stand out. He just sat there, calmly.
However... soon the atmosphere in the arena changed. It wasn't hard for the alien players to see that all the Earth humans were looking at one person, full of expectation.
Clearly, this player held a high status among the Earth humans, almost like a pillar of support.
Immediately, many turned their heads to start attacking.
"So you still have a strong player? I see he's just trash, too busy playing with women at a time like this."
"Hey, during the trial later, I'll outperform you so badly!"
"A leader of trash is still trash?? Look at his frail appearance, I could kill him three times with one punch."
...
For a moment, Sterl was at the center of a storm of verbal attacks.
Under the watchful eyes of many, Sterl finally made a slight move, slowly speaking—
"Daphne, you've kept in good shape."
"How do you train? I have two friends who might also need your methods."
He couldn't care less about everything happening around him.
The honor of the Earth humans? What did that have to do with him?
As for being attacked along with everyone else, Sterl was even more indifferent. Back in the base without any golden fingers, he had been stepped on countless times.
He never bothered to retort, but would instead take advantage of the deep night to find the person who cursed him the most and hit them hard with a blunt object.
Sterl still wanted to complete his mission. So at this time in the spectator stands, he wasn't going to take any risks. He wouldn't directly attack out of concern for the face of the Divine Mountain Empire, but during the trial later...
"Don't let me catch the opportunity, or else... you'll regret it." Sterl thought to himself silently.
Seeing his lack of response, the alien players laughed even louder: "Where did you find this leader? Even more cowardly than you!"
"I'm dying of laughter. So this is the strong player of the Earth human race."
"Not even daring to retort? Could it be you've been fooled, and this guy is actually just trash."
"How boring, a whole race of trash actually feels comfortable being punching bags now."
...
The alien players mocked them.
But the players of the Earth human race knew well that those people were obviously not telling the truth. The mysterious big shot was extremely strong!
They grew even angrier, their faces turning red.
Because according to the logic provided in the mission prompt, this trial required the players to withstand the enemy for a certain period.
The mysterious big shot could definitely pass, but that was just it.
The Earth human race was to be trampled upon. As their individual strength indeed fell short, with probably few being able to last into the top 30, and a total wipeout was also very normal.
And now, the big shot could do nothing but watch these alien players pass through!
Damn! So infuriating!
Unlike Sterl, a time traveler born with a set of fixed principles, the players of the Earth human race, including Teresa, still placed great importance on the honor and disgrace of their race.
So at this moment, the more they tried to endure, the angrier they became!
The alien players, on the other hand, were jubilant. Perhaps there were frictions among the various races on normal days, but when facing the common foe of the Earth human race, they united!
"We can't beat you on the battlefield on a regular day, losing so many resources, but now in the hidden dungeon, it's our turn to show off!"
Thus, the only area in the audience that looked gloomy was a small section.
In this strange atmosphere, the figure in a white robe, full of smiles, watched this scene. For him, a priest of the Divine Mountain Empire, the more disunited these alien warriors were, the better he could control them!
He loudly announced: "Warriors, the trial officially begins now."
Instantly, dazzling golden light flashed in the arena below.
"You only need to last for a certain period in your respective areas."
As his words fell, the first batch of players was directly transported to those areas.
Sterl was among them!
Looking over the entire area, then at the dozen or so players who arrived at the same time, he seemed thoughtful.
"The trash of the Earth human race, I will show you what a gap in strength looks like." A player from the Centaur star threatened Sterl fiercely.
And this player gathered a frost blade in his hand and threw it directly at Sterl.
However, at that moment, a dragon glowing with azure light flew out from Sterl's sleeve and melted the ice blade with a breath.
"You have a pet!" The Centaur player revealed a hint of greed: "It's a pity. If it were in the wild, I would have killed you no matter what."
"With a pet, you must have other good things on you too."
And Sterl remained calm-faced.
Until...
The situation in the trial field changed again, causing the expressions of all players to change!
All the players were scattered, spread across various parts of the arena.
However, what they saw—