God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 597: The Winner Who Never Enters the Arena

[Ding!]

[World Announcement: The first "Ascendancy Tournament" is about to begin!]

[Official start date: fourteen days from now. Registration opens in three days. Venue: Valerian Kingdom, Stella City Arena.]

[Eligible participants: all Otherworlders and natives who meet the level and reputation requirements. The final rounds will be broadcast simultaneously to the human nations through kingdom grade image crystals.]

[Champion rewards: a special title, rare equipment, class advancement materials, massive reputation, and an unknown special reward.]

[Ding!]

[More detailed rules will be released when registration opens.]

The moment the system voice fell silent, the entire New Dawn camp was as if set ablaze. Just a moment ago, the players had been cheering Gabriel’s return; the next, everyone’s attention was utterly seized by the deafening world announcement in the sky. Shouts erupted everywhere, across the square, the tavern, the training grounds, and the wall watchtowers.

"A world tournament! The first world tournament!"

"Stella City Arena? Isn’t that the kind of stage that gets broadcast server wide?!"

"There’s an unknown special reward too. This has to be a main story event!"

"The forum’s exploding! The champion prediction thread is going crazy!"

Countless players looked up into the night sky, their eyes glittering with uncontrollable excitement. To them, this competition represented glory, wealth, fame, and the chance to prove themselves before the entire server. Even if they could not win the championship, as long as they appeared once in the full region broadcast, that alone would be enough for an ordinary player to be remembered by the major guilds.

However, Gabriel had the slightest change in expression. The torchlight brushed across his side profile, making the blue of his eyes look especially cold. He did not cheer like the others, nor did he rush to open the forum. Instead, he quickly organized every piece of information the announcement had revealed in his mind.

The tournament would begin in fourteen days, registration would open in three, the location was Stella City, and the final rounds would be broadcast to the human nations. For ordinary players, this was a staircase to the summit. But for Gabriel, it felt more like a giant chessboard being pushed into the open. Everyone who stepped into the arena would become a conspicuous piece on that board.

The arena was not a battlefield. At least, not for him.

On a battlefield, the enemy only wanted to kill him. The purpose was direct, and so were the methods. But an arena was different. Every strike, every dodge, every skill activation would be recorded, dissected, and analyzed. Those seated behind the audience, royalty, nobles, churches, guilds, and military forces, would not only watch the outcomes. They would study habits, cooldowns, limits, and whether a person was truly unbeatable.

Gabriel slowly lowered his eyes. If this were merely a player competition, he could indeed participate. With his current attributes, the vast majority of Otherworlders probably could not even track his movements.

His current power had already lifted him beyond the realm of what current players could understand. He had endured the suppression at the core of the God Tomb, personally killed a master of the demonic path, and even taken the still beating Heart of Death from beside the core imprisoning a god. Compared to that, so called genius players in the arena were mere children.

They pursued victory, while Gabriel was already thinking about how to keep himself, New Dawn, and even the entire continent alive. That was not the same level of competition.

So he did not need to participate. More precisely, he could not.

Because he was too easy to win with, and winning itself was the problem.

If he bulldozed his way into the finals, every kingdom, church, guild, noble house, and military force would reevaluate the name "Sir Broken." If he used the gravity field, the outside world would learn that he possessed large scale battlefield control. If he used Shadow Spike Array, the outside world would learn he could manipulate multiple weapons at once. If he revealed excessively high physical attributes, someone would inevitably connect him to the White Phantom.

Even if he hid his strength, it would be meaningless. The act of hiding was itself a form of exposure. Even deliberate failure would be worthless, because failure would be analyzed too. Others would wonder why he lost, where he lost, whether he was holding back on purpose, and whether he had weaknesses they could exploit.

For Gabriel at this point, the arena was not a podium. It was an interrogation room.

"Bad timing," he muttered.

In the distance, a player was excitedly shouting something, apparently already setting up a betting thread on the forum. Gabriel ignored the voices. He simply withdrew his gaze, opened the manor door, and stepped inside.

A few minutes later, the core members of New Dawn were summoned one after another to the meeting hall. Anna arrived first. There had still been a little smile on her face, but the instant she saw Gabriel’s expression, that smile vanished. She did not ask what had happened, because she understood very well that the calmer Gabriel looked, the more serious the matter was.

Ragnarok99 came bursting in next. He practically shoved the meeting hall doors open, unable to contain his excitement. "Boss! Did you see the announcement? A world tournament!"

Bunny followed behind him, still holding half a dessert in her hands, her eyes sparkling. "Will there be legendary desserts in the champion rewards? If there are, do we have to win first?"

Sniper Bow Legend walked by nearby and couldn’t help glancing at her. "Is there anything in your head besides eating?"

Bunny thought about it seriously, then answered, "Staying alive."

Casie arrived soon after. Her face was still somewhat pale, clearly not fully recovered from the matter with Sophie. Sarah, actually Seraphina in disguise, leaned by the wall, quiet as always, with a neutral look on her face.

The last to enter was Darius. The royal envoy was still dressed neatly in a black formal suit, with gold patterns at his collar and cuffs. He did not hurry to sit down, nor did he speak first. He simply stood in the corner and appraised Gabriel like an observer.

He wanted to know how this young lord, so often mentioned by Sophie, would choose in the face of glory that the whole world was offering him. Would he rush to the stage like an ordinary young powerhouse, or would he continue to remain in this dangerous wilderness camp?

The meeting hall quickly fell quiet, all eyes settling on Gabriel. Ragnarok99 was the first to blurt out, "Leader, you’re definitely going to enter this one, right? If you take the championship, New Dawn’s name will spread across all the kingdoms! Who would dare look down on us then?"

"Exactly." Sniper Bow Legend nodded too, though his tone was far calmer than Ragnarok99’s. "With your strength, at least you can place highly. As long as you make a single move in the full region broadcast, our recruitment, expansion, and alliance negotiations will all become much easier."

Bunny raised her hand. "If Sir Broken wins, can we have a celebration feast? I can be in charge of taste testing."

Gabriel looked at them once, then said evenly,

"I am not participating."