God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World! Chapter 598: Sophie Wakes up

The meeting hall instantly fell silent.

Ragnarok99 gaped as if he thought he had misheard. "Huh?"

Gabriel gave no explanation. He simply repeated himself. "I am not participating."

"Why not?!" Ragnarok99 nearly jumped out of his chair. "Sir Broken, you must be joking! This kind of competition is made for the strong! If you don’t go, then who will?"

"You will," Gabriel said.

Everyone paused again. Sniper Bow Legend frowned and cautiously asked, "You mean... you want us to represent New Dawn in the tournament?"

"Yes," Gabriel said flatly. "The tournament itself has no problem. The problem is the people watching it."

He stood before the long table and lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger. The sound was not loud, but it made everyone unconsciously sit up straighter. "This event will be broadcast to the human nations. Every city, all the world’s royalty, nobles, guilds, churches, even enemy military forces will all be watching the arena. Every participant will become public intelligence. Skills, cooldowns, habits, weaknesses, fighting styles, all of it will be recorded."

As he said this, he swept his gaze across the group, his voice still calm. "The moment you step onto that stage, you are voluntarily handing yourself over to the world for analysis."

Ragnarok99 had wanted to argue, but the words stuck in his throat. He was not stupid; he had simply been inflamed by the world announcement just moments earlier. Now, with Gabriel’s explanation, he finally understood that this tournament was not just an opportunity for New Dawn. It could also be a massive risk.

Gabriel continued, "If I win, everyone will study me. If I lose, they’ll study why I lost. If I hide my strength, they’ll study what I’m hiding. So no matter the result, there is no benefit for me."

Bunny said softly, "But the champion reward..."

"It is not worth it," Gabriel said simply.

After that, the meeting hall went completely quiet.

A world class tournament, full region broadcast, champion rewards, unknown special rewards. Things that would drive any player mad had, in Gabriel’s mouth, been reduced to four words: not worth it.

Yet no one thought he was arrogant. They had seen the monsters and knew his power completely exceeded player understanding.

"Also." He suddenly spoke up again. "The tournament could also leave us vulnerable."

Seraphina, in her Sophie form, couldn’t help but look at Gabriel and slowly said, "You think someone will attack the camp during the tournament?"

Gabriel looked back at her. "If I were them, I would."

That single sentence made the air in the meeting hall suddenly heavy.

When the world’s attention was focused on Stellar City Arena, the wasteland, the wilderness, the camp, and the defensive lines would become the easiest places to overlook. Julian in the northern camp, the army of Edgeborne, the Holy Church, none of these enemies would stop acting just because players were busy watching a tournament.

Quite the opposite. They would take advantage of the noise.

Darius finally spoke. "Most young people faced with this kind of opportunity would think it is destiny."

Gabriel looked at him.

Darius smiled faintly, his tone carrying both scrutiny and a hint of testing. "But you seem to think it is a trap."

Gabriel answered calmly, "A destiny everyone can see is already a trap."

Darius was silent for a moment, then a trace of genuine appraisal entered his eyes. "Sophie’s judgment may be even better than I expected."

Gabriel did not respond to the compliment. He did not need Darius’s approval, nor the royal family’s. What he needed now was a way to survive.

He turned to Bunny. "One more thing. I need you to find someone for me. They will join the tournament."

Bunny nodded immediately. "Understood. What’s the name?"

Gabriel was silent for a moment, then spoke a name.

"Valery. Vile Valery."

Most of the people in the meeting hall looked confused. Ragnarok99 scratched his head.

"Who’s that? A guild expert?" Bunny blinked.

"Sounds like a girl." Sniper Bow Legend asked more directly, "Enemy?"

"Not sure," Gabriel said.

His gaze rested on the long table, as if he were looking through the candlelight toward some future that had already happened. "But she will appear in this tournament."

Bunny did not ask further. She knew Sir Broken had many intelligence sources he could not explain, sources that were sometimes frighteningly accurate and sometimes seemed to come from a dream he did not wish to mention. It was as if he knew future details.

Seraphina narrowed her eyes slightly. She noticed that when Gabriel mentioned Valery, there was no fear in his tone. It was not the caution one had toward a powerful enemy. It was more like he was searching for a long lost loved one.

Cassie asked softly, "Is she strong?"

Gabriel thought about it. In his previous life, Valery had been the champion of the first Ascendancy Tournament. She had not won by crushing everyone with overwhelming attributes, nor by relying on some impossible divine artifact. What made her terrifying was her combat sense, tempo control, understanding of skills, and adaptation speed that was almost monstrous.

She could read an opponent’s combat system in an extremely short time, then dismantle all of their advantages with the fewest possible movements. If the Valery of that period were placed before him now, she still could not threaten Gabriel in his full power state. After all, he had already advanced far ahead of too many people.

But she had value. Very great value, and she was one of humanity’s greatest weapons against the God of Destruction.

"To current players, she is very strong," Gabriel said.

Ragnarok99’s eyes lit up. "Stronger than you, boss?"

"No."

The answer came quickly, with no hesitation.

Ragnarok99 froze for a moment. Gabriel then continued, "But she is... she’s much stronger than the entire current player population."

That seemed to have done quite a bit of damage to the likes of Sniper Bow Legend and Ragnarok99, but they knew that for Sir Broken to praise someone, it could only mean the other party was indeed strong.

Gabriel continued giving orders shortly after. "Ragnarok, Sniper Bow Legend, you can register."

"Really?" Ragnarok99 immediately brightened.

"But your task is not to win," Gabriel said. "Your task is to show the world that New Dawn is indeed powerful and swindle more players into our ranks."

Ragnarok99 immediately patted his chest. "Don’t worry, boss. Leave this to me."

Bunny also quickly raised her hand. "Yes, leave it to us."

Sniper Bow Legend gave a gentle nod, as usual choosing not to speak.

The tense atmosphere eased a little after that. But soon Gabriel continued issuing orders. "Cassie stays behind to handle Sophie. Bunny handles intelligence integration. Seraphina handles night patrols alongside Samantha."

Cassie nodded, her expression serious. "I know."

Anna also immediately agreed. "Yes."

Seraphina smiled faintly. "Of course."

Her smile was as gentle as that of an ordinary maid, but Darius instinctively looked at her again. This seemingly insignificant woman gave him a very strange feeling. She was clearly standing there, yet seemed as if she could melt into the shadows at any moment; her presence was faint, but there was an unsettling trace of blood in it.

Gabriel noticed Darius’s gaze, but did not call it out. He simply said lightly, "Darius, you will continue as liaison officer. All letters, envoys, and orders from the capital must go through you first before being passed to me."

"Yes, I’ll do just that," Darius nodded.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the meeting room door, followed by a voice.

"Lord Gabriel, Vice Leader Sophie is awake."