The Arena's Unexpected Popularity

The Arena. To explain, the Arena was PVP-exclusive content added about a year ago. A place where anyone, Gaian or Otherworlder, could enter and fight to their heart's content under various conditions. It was as if someone had added it, thinking, 'I'll use this later, hehe...' and then had forgotten about it, as it had never been mentioned until now. Unexpectedly, the Arena was still quite popular content. While not entirely without risk, at least one's life was guaranteed during a fight. And you could manipulate the system to introduce various variations within the Arena. It made legal WWE possible, rather than UFC. Since there was also a Spectator System, the Arena was always lively with people fighting and people watching. As the saying goes, Spectating Fights has always been the most entertaining. Though it's a place only a select few really engage with... Of course, many people weren't interested in the Arena. PVP in an RPG game tended to be content that only the most dedicated players stuck with. Chaerin and Haneul Im had never mentioned the Arena in front of me either.

It seemed that for Otherworlders busy with leveling, an Arena that was purely about fighting was a hit-or-miss proposition.

Dying there didn't mean losing items... but it did mean being unable to access/login for three days, just the same.

Nor did lowering the Synchronization Rate completely remove the pain.

It wouldn't be bad to try participating. You can gain a lot of Combat Experience..., and it's surprisingly fun.

However, Hanbyeol Shin, the Rank 1 in the country, seemed to frequent the Arena. She was busy maintaining her Rank 1 and leveling up, but she said the numerous experiences gained in the Arena compensated for it.

So, after a good fight in the Arena, it often became easier to catch stronger Monsters, which actually helped with leveling more. Hearing that, I suddenly grew curious and asked her.

“Speaking of which, what's your current level?”

“Me? I think it's 145...”

“That high?”...