Chapter 410 - New Field, New Rule!
?Square Field (Obstacle Course)? was finalized as the field for our D-rank promotion exam.
It was not that much different from the previous fields except the obstacle part. The fields we had used so far had allowed us to maneuver the way we want, but the obstacle course would now introduce some areas impossible to enter.
Well, those impassable areas were just audience stands installed inside the ?Square Field? that participants were not allowed to enter. The audience seats were mimicking H-shape with the field dividing into north and south sections with central audience stands.
(B.C. - Big Castle)
The bases of each team were placed sandwiching the audience seats dividing them. Virtually speaking, the distances between the fellow bases were the closest ever, though the placement of the audience stand made it that both teams had to circumvent around it. Also, the attacks on audience seats were nullified by the dungeon function—basically indestructible objects. And the barrier surrounding it also completely sealed the possibility of any attack from participants making out to the audience. Of course, it also applied in the vice-versa case.
Dungeons are unexpectedly high-tech in some place, aren't they? I mean, I know the function very well but it still felt marvelous.
Ahem, anyway. There would be six big castles in this field. One each on the east’s 'North', 'South', 'Central' side, and one each on the west’s 'North', 'Central' and 'South' side. The ones in the east were called ?Northeastern Castle?, ?Central Big Castle? and ?Southeast Big Castle?, while the west side were called ?Northwest Big Castle?, ?Central Big Castle? and ?Southeast Big Castle?.
In a more layman term, the big castles in both the east and west side were placed in parallel to the perpendicular "I" of H.
Also, and again about the audience stand, since this was the first obstacle field, the "H" shape was not completely outlining H-shape. The junction points of the vertical and horizontal lines of the 'H' shape were left as blank squares, allowing movement for participants. On the other hand, audience stands were connected with bridges which enable audiences to move to and fro above, while the empty space below is left for participants to move around. Also, the vertical line of 'H' wasn't stretched all the way to the edges of the field but the bridge allowed the movement from northmost to southmost. The only inaccessible part via the bridges was the 'Central' and the vertical lines of 'Northeast,' 'Southeast,' 'Northwest,' and 'Southwest.'
Had it been the high-ranking guild battle, the field would have been a bonafide maze filled with annoying deadends here and there. This was why it was the mildest obstacle course among all such fields and a place for the beginner, perfectly fitted for the exam.
It's just the beginning. I really hope I could get a ?Count? with a keeper job in lieu of the increasingly complex field we would be facing. Nobles category each had their own specific lineage in the game, like ?Duke? was associated with ?Military?, ?Marquis? with the ?Samurai?, ?Viscount? with the hero, and ?Baron? with the idol lineage. ?Count? also have their own area of expertise, and I hope to get them sooner before setting off for full-blown guild battles.
Well, ?Eden? already had Sierra and Mert in ?Count? category, which was the limit in the game, but I was betting on the possibility that we might be able to take in 3rd ?Count? category holder as well considering this is no longer fiction. I mean, the absence of ?Fame Value? so far as given my hope about the limit removal as well. It would honestly be a dream come true.
Ahem, back to the topic.
Another hurdle in the D-rank exam was the number of participants in contrast to the E-rank exam. This would be a face-off between ten members from each side, and the match format was, as usual, ?Capture the Castle?. The time limit was 40 minutes. No.6 arena was a bit smaller compared to No.5 arena ?Hexagram Field? which was 45 minutes. A small area contributes to less squares, which in turn means less time. The time limit in No.6 arena generally hovers between 30~40 minutes.
We also got a new rule—?Loser's Revival?.
The rule was basically self-explanatory, participants dispatched to ?Loser's Room? could make a possible come-back via this rule. The details pertaining to it were—