Ascension of Chaos - Book 3 - Chapter 22 (Patreon)

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Table of Contents

Click the following link for the 1384 word chapter 22:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dMdgOmuDbqC4Nol6teXdbuoK8s3-KIpjOsowRzp_pMI/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

Within the Spectator Stadium

“And the final battle has beguuuun!!!!” Tia shouts, her voice echoing amidst the roars of the leviathan. “It’s a fight between the top hunters of this Official System Event and the Four Quarters Leviathan’s clone! Who will come out victorious?! And who will fall?! Stay tuned to find out!”

The audience watching the battle roars their enthusiasm all across the stadium, meanwhile Tia finds herself on the metaphorical edge of her nonexistent seat just watching.

“Now this! This is something you only see in Competitive Lifestyle Events!” Tia exclaims while clenching her fists. “A group of hunters working together against a single large enemy! Only to eventually backstab each other by the end of it to receive the credit for the kill themselves!”

Laughter rings out at her words that clearly describe what usually happens during most of the Competitive Lifestyle Events’ finales.

In almost every one of them, if the hunters in the event manage to bring the monster at the end down, they always fight to steal the final hit. All so that the credit for the kill will go to them for the reward. Even if the EXP is split between them all.

Of course, this is assuming there are any other hunters left alive besides them. Since there are often just a couple left alive by the time the monster is brought to its knees.

Sometimes there is only a single hunter left alive to claim the spoils.

It’s why Tia and everyone else enjoys the Competitive Lifestyle Events so much. They bring variety through the lifestyle hobby conducted in the event, and they bring immense danger by the end for the ones that have incredibly powerful monsters that appear in the last few minutes of the events.

And on top of all of that, the majority of Competitive Lifestyle Events allow revival. Whether they’re through coupons, paying with Skill Points, or automatic revival all depend on which Class the event is in. But every last one allows revival in some way.

So even when hunters die in the events, the vast majority of them aren’t actually dead. They simply die in the event and return to the waiting room after reviving.

It decreases the public consequences of the event while increasing viewer interest since not all users in the System enjoy hunting. With many of them taking a more passive approach, and a large majority opting out of events entirely.

And the higher Class events have numerous major consequences for deaths with the majority of the hunters at those events being royalty or planetary leaders and governors.

One simple mistake in an Official System Event by a higher Class hunter, and a world could be put into a crisis by the sudden death of their leader.

But when revival is allowed, it turns from a potential crisis into a potential showing of national spirit. Allowing the planet’s leaders and higher ups to represent their planet or nation while fighting against other planets’ representatives.

The battle between the hunters and the leviathan clone continues to rage on as they all fight hard, wiping out entire swarms of fish in the process.

“Wait, is that…?” Tia mutters as she notices something. Specifically, a certain princess going around ‘borrowing’ fish from some of the other hunters’ ships. The hunters who were already eliminated by the leviathan during the battle.

“Wow,” Tia exclaims with a dumbfounded expression. “It looks like Princess Diana is at it again, ever the opportunist.”

Laughter fills the audience as several of the screens around the stadium shift to show Diana as she moves around the battlefield casually swiping fish from the ships of the hunters who died to the leviathan.

“This isn’t much of a surprise when you think about it,” Tia says, not even bothering to hide her smile. “Diana has always been like this since she was first revealed on her debut ceremony at the Reltfel Royal Palace. Shameless and with more greed than most thieves.”

Tia doesn’t hold back in the slightest when talking about the royal family. After all, the Reltfel Royal Family is full of thieves. Some of the best thieves in the entire universe.

And yet, no one directly calls them thieves because they’re too powerful and they shamelessly act like they’re not thieves.

On top of that, they’re incredibly popular in the Official System Events since fans find their shamelessness hilarious to watch.

“Oh, of course, Diana isn’t stealing from anyone,” Tia says with a firm nod of her head. “She’s just taking the fish she found lying around in empty ships that no longer have any owners.”

More laughter fills the audience at her words. But then the laughter grows even stronger when a strange scene is witnessed on one of the ships.

When Diana moves to her next ship amidst the other hunters’ grueling battle against the leviathan, she finds something else already on the ship swiping the fish. Something completely unexpected to both her and the audience.

Because what they find swiping the fish is a little tiger cub that is just carrying a bag full of fish out of the ship’s cargo hold with its mouth.

A very familiar tiger cub to everyone watching the livestream.

“Isn’t that… Leo?” Tia mutters while tilting her head. “Ashley’s tiger cub companion?”

When the tiger cub sees Diana, his ears immediately fold back on his head as he growls at the princess. Clearly warning her to stay away from his fish.

And this sight has people clipping the broadcast all over the universe. Instantly adding to the already-fast-growing pile of posts about the adorable tiger cub that have flooded every corner of the internet.

“Is Ashley also taking the fish from those killed by the leviathan?” Tia asks out loud before switching some of the screens to show Ashley, who is just lying down on a lawn chair watching the battle against the leviathan clone from far away. “Doesn’t look like it. Then does that mean Leo went out on his own to gather fish?”

Diana tries to rush up to the cub and take the fish, but Leo makes a blizzard of snow and ice form around him before he himself turns into snow and ice. Then he carries the bag with him as he reforms several meters away from Diana.

Except that now he’s hissing instead of growling.

“He must really want those fish,” Tia comments, making the audience break out into laughter even harder than before.

Diana narrows her eyes at the tiger cub on the screen before she rushes to try and take the fish from him again. Only for him to dissipate into snow and reform elsewhere just like the last time.

Then the tiger cub rushes to another ship and begins looting it of fish, finishing up by the time Diana reaches him.

Thus beginning the fish war between Diana and Leo as they start racing each other to collect the fish from the various ships under the bewildered gazes of the hunters fighting against the leviathan. None of whom try to stop them since they’re too busy fighting to do so.

And the race continues to rage on until the two finally swipe the fish from the last ship that no longer has an owner. Leaving the two facing each other with their own separate hauls of fish.

“Not bad, little kitty,” Diana says with a nod as if she’s looking at someone worthy of respect. Which looks ridiculous and hilarious to the audience and Tia watching them. “Not bad at all.”

The tiger cub just nods his head to return the gesture.

Meanwhile Tia, amidst her laughter, says, “What am I even watching here?”

Then the two finally go their own separate ways, with Leo reaching Ashley’s ship with a massive bag full of fish that shocks her into muttering, “Just where did you get all of that…?”

But Leo just stores the fish in her ship’s cargo hold before jumping onto Ashley’s chest as she lies down on the lawn chair before wagging his tail and lifting his head high. Almost like he’s telling her to pet him on the head as a reward.

Once again making the audience resound with laughter in the stadium.