[Ding! Server-Wide Announcement!!!]
[World-Class Event "Beast Maze" officially begins!]
[Event Description: In ancient times, Humans and the Magical Beast race waged a cataclysmic war, both sides losing their elites. Now, the Beast Maze has reappeared in the world. All adventurers may enter the maze, explore the unknown, and acquire treasures!]
[Participation: Click the event icon to register; maps are assigned randomly.]
[Event Rules:]
No level restrictions; all players may register.
Upon entry, all players are randomly assigned to maps of varying difficulty (1â10 stars).
All items obtained during the event may be taken back into the main game world.
Upon death, players may enter spectator mode to watch others, tip, or leave comments.
At the eventâs conclusion, ranking rewards are distributed according to performance.
[Special Note: High-difficulty maps are extremely dangerous; proceed with caution!]
"Holy shit! Whatâs going on? 10 billion players online simultaneously? World-class event!"
"This event is for 10 billion players! How massive must it be?"
"Good grief, this recruitment by World #616 probably triggered the entire Stellar worldâs online population!"
"No, itâs Faustusâs power! One person alone drove the whole gameâs population online!"
"666, no need for theatrics, this Faustus isnât even a GM!"
"Beast Maze? Sounds exciting!"
"No level restrictions! Iâm only level 20, can I participate?!"
"Brothers, charge!"
"Sign me up!"
...
Daniel frowned slightly at the announcement.
A world-class event for 10 billion simultaneous playersâhe was aware of this, but hadnât expected the number to hit so fast.
In his memory, there were still a few days before such an event. Could it really be, as the World Channel suggested, that his guild recruitment had detonated the entire Stellar worldâs player count?
The truth was unknown, but Daniel didnât panic.
He had long been mentally prepared for butterfly-effect consequences.
As for this Beast Maze...
In his previous four lives, he had experienced numerous world-class events.
But he had never seen one called "Beast Maze."
What was this about?
Could it be that his current reincarnation had altered something?
He shook his head and stopped thinking.
Regardless, the rewards for a world-class event were substantialâreal and tangible.
Just like the event he previously activated with the Dark God Anti-Holy Grail, he simply had to participate.
He clicked the event icon to register.
[Ding! Registration successful!]
[Assigning map...]
[Assignment complete!]
[You have been assigned to: 9-Star Difficulty Map â Beast God Phantom]
[Good luck!]
...
In the next instant, white light flashed.
Daniel opened his eyes to find himself standing inside a massive iron cage.
Around him were nine other players, all wearing the same drab yellow prison uniform with a number printed on the chest.
Daniel glanced at his status.
His equipment was gone, inventory locked, and skill bar grayed out.
A system notification soon appeared.
[Ding! You have entered the event map: Beast God Phantom (9-Star Difficulty)]
[Current Status: Imprisoned]
[Mission Hint: Your equipment has been confiscated. Proceed with caution!]
[Special Note: This map has a very high death rate. Exercise extreme caution!]
Danielâs eyes narrowed.
The warning emphasized caution twice, and with his equipment temporarily unavailable, it was clear that this event would not be simple.
In the cage, the other nine players were slowly coming to their senses.
"Holy shit! Whereâs my gear?!"
"Is this a system bug? My skills donât work! How can I play without summoning my puppets?!"
"Where is this? Why is it so dark?"
"Listen, I hear beasts! I hear beasts howling!"
Outside, low guttural roars vibrated the iron cage.
One player lunged toward the bars, shaking them furiously.
"Let me out! Let me out!"
"Stop screaming! Itâs useless!"
"Then what? Just wait to die?"
"The system says thereâs a mission, there must be a chance."
"I donât care! You idiots, silently waiting to dieâanyone, open this cage!"
As his voice faded, a huge figure appeared outside the cage.
A magical beast over three meters tall, its body covered in black scales, holding a massive wolf-tooth club in its mouth.
[Magical Beast Guard · LV25 (Iron-Grade)]
It rapped the club against the cage, producing a harsh metallic clang.
"Making noise! Keep it up and Iâll crush you all!"
The player shaking the cage froze in terror but still shouted:
"Why am I locked up? Let me out!"
The Magical Beast Guard grinned, baring sharp teeth.
"Why? Because I said so!"
It opened the cage, grabbed the player by the neck, and lifted him out.
Snap!
The playerâs neck was crushed, and the body was tossed aside.
[System Notification: Player "Raging Warrior" has been eliminated, entering spectator mode]
The remaining nine players in the cage went completely silent.
...
Meanwhile, in Spectator Mode,
Eliminated players appeared one after another, quickly gathering into hundreds of thousands.
"Holy shit, this event is way too hard! I died three minutes after entering!"
"You died in three minutes? I got squashed by a magical beast in one minute!"
"What star map are you on?"
"Three-star."
"Five-star."
"I... nine-star."
All eyes turned toward them.
Raging Warrior grimaced. "My luck... randomly assigned to the nine-star map."
"Nine-star?! What the hell?"
"I donât know. I spawned in a cage, no gear, and got crushed by the magical beast."
"Did you see the other players?"
"Yes, nine others were locked in with me."
"Theyâre still inside?"
"Yes, when I died, the Magical Beast Guard locked the cage again."
Speculation and chatter rose, when suddenly someone shouted:
"Wait! That person... is that Faustus?!"
Raging Warrior froze and quickly looked at the spectator display.
The nine-star mapâs live feed showed a player in a yellow prison uniform standing in the corner of the cage.
Calm, composed, eyes cold and steady.
It was Daniel.
"Holy shit! Heâs from World #616, it really is him!"
"Faustus in a nine-star map?! His luck is a little rough!"
"Master, go! Take down those magical beasts!"
"With Master in the nine-star map, victory is guaranteed!"
"Donât celebrate too soonâhe has no gear and skills are disabled. How can he fight?"
"Uh... true."
"Letâs see. Maybe a miracle will happen."
...
At that moment, another group of Magical Beast Guards approached.
Leading them was an even larger Magical Beast, wearing intricate leather armor and wielding a whip.
[Magical Beast Squad Leader · LV35 (Silver-Grade)]
It arrived at the cage containing Daniel, rapping the bars with its whip.
"These few, take them out."
The guards opened the cage and forced Daniel and the other nine players out.
"Move! Hurry!"
The ten players were herded down a long corridor and into a massive circular arena.
Around them, tiered stands were packed with Magical Beasts, roaring excitedly.
At the center of the arena stood an enormous figure.
[Magical Beast Commander · LV50 (Platinum-Grade BOSS)]