"Why hasn't 'The Future' guild leader finished him off yet?" Nawa muttered to himself while watching the ongoing battle. However, Yongyut was close enough to overhear and chimed in.
"The man attacking the guild leader right now is no ordinary player. Even though he hasn't officially reached High Rank (Rank B) yet, the fact that he became a core member of the 'Earth Tiger' guild while still at Rank C proves he must have something special up his sleeve."
"Are you telling me a Rank C can actually defeat a Rank A?" Nawa asked, turning to look at Yongyut with a serious expression.
"Hmph, little brother, you lack experience. Although I, your older brother, have never been to The Oneness, I've seen countless player battles. Rank only reflects basic physical stats like strength, speed, and defense. But what truly makes a player powerful is their combat skill and artifacts. With powerful skills and good artifacts, defeating players of higher levels isn't difficult."
Player ranks are measured by the average of basic physical stats including strength, defense, speed, agility, accuracy, and mana. Player ranks are broadly divided into six levels:
E-rank players have an average stat range of 1-99 (normal players have an average stat range of 1-80).
D-rank players have an average stat range of 100-999.
C-rank players have an average stat range of 1,000-9,999.
B-rank players have an average stat range of 10,000-99,999.
A-rank players have an average stat range of 100,000-999,999.
Any player with a base stat of 999,999 in all aspects is considered a Super Player or S-rank.
Even though the stat differences between ranks are tenfold, what Yongyuth said isn't entirely wrong. Skills and artifacts can significantly boost a player's power, enough to compensate for the stat disparity.
This is based on logic and reasoning. But in reality, players with high stats tend to learn high-level skills as well. Furthermore, their chances of acquiring high-level artifacts are much higher. Winning against players of higher rank is therefore almost impossible.
However, what's happening now is exactly as Yongyuth analyzed. The Future Guild President has no weapons whatsoever, and the clothes he's wearing are just ordinary clothes, not artifacts.
Meanwhile, the Singkhon Guild is in full combat readiness, with weapons and artifacts far superior to the Future Guild President. Moreover, for some reason, the Future Guild President seems unwilling to use his skills in combat.
"Hey, do you think I'm a kid, trying to trick me? From what I've seen, if that guild president wanted to defeat the other side, the fight would have ended long ago. But he acts like he doesn't want to fight."
Nawa said, observing the battle thoughtfully. He had fought countless battles in the Himmapan Forest; his experience and analytical skills were still as sharp as ever. They hadn't diminished like his power.
Despite the counterargument, Yongyuth's face showed a satisfied smile. In truth, he thought the same as Nawa.
Singhakhon's strength wasn't yet enough to challenge the president of The Future Guild, Thana. It wasn't just about stats; his fighting skills were also exceptionally high.
Otherwise, Thana wouldn't have been able to lead The Future Guild to become one of the top three guilds in the country. But Yongyuth intentionally said that to test Nawa, and Nawa didn't disappoint.
Currently, Yongyuth needed an assistant reporter who could infiltrate The One Nest in his place to gather information for news analysis, as The One Nest… There were no cameras or communication equipment; those entering had to gather information and analyze the situation themselves.
If someone analyzes the situation incorrectly, Yongyuth, who receives the information secondhand, will also make mistakes.
Therefore, Yongyuth wants a colleague with a high level of memory and analytical skills, and who is also a player. He has been searching for someone like this for a long time, but has never found the right person.
Even high-ranked players, with their experience and analytical abilities, are vying for support from large guilds and organizations. They wouldn't be interested in being a field reporter for Yongyuth.
That's why, after so long, Yongyuth hasn't found anyone. But today, it seems he has finally found what he's looking for.
"I must apologize for my rudeness, but your analysis is correct," Yongyuth said, a smile spreading across his face.
"The president of The Future Guild didn't defeat the other side because he couldn't bring himself to act."
"What do you mean?" Nava asked, his eyes widening slightly. Although he had anticipated this, he still didn't know the deeper details and reasons behind it. It wasn't something that could be guessed without information.
Yongyuth told Nava that three years ago, according to the time zone, a great war broke out between the kingdoms of Jothundea and Mayonia. Thana, at that time just an ordinary player and not the guild president, had applied to join... , a general of the Jotandia Kingdom, joined the war.
In one major battle, his unit was surrounded by enemy soldiers because his commander fell into a trap set by the enemy general. Thana led his troops to break through the encirclement. Many of the Mayonian generals and commanders were as strong as high-ranking players, but none could stop Thana.
Thana's actions changed the course of the war, ultimately leading to the Jotandia Kingdom's victory. After the war, Thana was appointed a general of the Jotandia Kingdom, and this marked the beginning of the founding of The Future Guild.
With the reputation and influence of the Jotandia army, The Future Guild quickly grew to become one of the three largest guilds in the country, as it is today.
After that, few people saw his skills again, leading to rumors that Thana had suffered serious injuries in that battle and had not yet recovered.
However, despite the persistent rumors, The Future Guild had no intention of refuting them, because after all, besides Thana, The Future Guild also had... With two other A-rank players as vice presidents, no one dared challenge their authority.
But now, the situation has changed. The Future Guild has declared itself the police force within The One Nest, making it impossible for their enemies to remain passive.
Yongyuth analyzed that the real purpose of provoking the Future Guild president this time was to force Thana to demonstrate his skills to confirm the rumors.
"Are you saying the Earth Tiger Guild sent Singkhon to test the Future Guild president's skills?"
Nava asked, his voice slightly surprised. This was a conflict between three giant guilds, a conflict that would determine the future of everyone in the country.
Yongyuth was also surprised by Nava's question. It showed that the young man understood the situation quickly; after only a few sentences of conversation, he could see the big picture and predict the situation with more than 70% accuracy.
This young man seems smarter than I thought, Yongyuth thought to himself, looking at Nava with admiration. He must have studied the information extensively, using both experience and considerable time to analyze the situation to this point.
But Nawa seemed to understand everything after only a few sentences of conversation. He's truly an incredibly gifted person.
Actually, it's not talent. It stems from Nawa's consistent practice of the principle of causality (Itipajjayata) since his teenage years.
He trains himself to view everything from a self-existent perspective to a flow of cause and effect: because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises. A simple principle that is the heart of Dharma.
This allows Nawa to see complex interconnectedness clearly and avoids being controlled by prejudice. His analyses and decisions are therefore often accurate.
This isn't intelligence born from talent, but wisdom cultivated through practice. Many may be smarter than Nawa, but they can't utilize it because they're consumed by ego, prejudice, and self-deception.
"Then why did the Earth Tiger Guild take action at a press conference like this? Isn't it a bit conspicuous?" Nawa continued.
"There are two reasons for that. Firstly, we can't bring modern equipment inside The Oneness. That means we can't record the battle."
"Inside The Oneness, and secondly, on Earth, there are laws protecting us," Yongyuth explained.
The reason advanced equipment cannot be brought into The Oneness is because all parts of the equipment that can pass through the teleportation gate must be made from materials obtained from The Oneness.
And these materials from The Oneness have different properties from materials on Earth. Using only materials from The Oneness would not allow the creation of advanced equipment like recording devices.
The most advanced equipment a player can bring in right now is the device attached to their ear. Because it's mostly made from materials inside The Oneness, it acts like a key, allowing players to pass through the teleportation gate.
In addition, it has many functions to assist players, such as creating dimensional rifts for players to store items or communicating over long distances telepathically. It's considered extremely necessary equipment for players.
Another reason, though Yongyuth didn't need to explain, Nawa understood: The chances of survival are much higher in a press conference than inside The Oneness.
"Hmph… You think you're so great, huh?" Singkhon roared, reaching into the cloth pouch tied to his waist with his other hand and pulling something out.
It was in his hand, so no one could see it, but as it absorbed some kind of energy from Singkhon, a bright blue light emanated from his fingers.
This was enchanted rice. It was a type of magical item that activated when it received mana from a player.
Although it had immense destructive power and a very wide attack radius, few players used it, as a single handful cost hundreds of thousands of baht, and it was a consumable item.
The moment Singkhon threw it, each enchanted rice grain was like hundreds of bullets hurtling towards where Thana was.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The large stage crumbled to pieces, as if struck by a barrage of war weapons.
Even so, it couldn't harm the Guild President of The Future. With incredible speed, Thana was now tens of meters away, but he hadn't done anything, not even glanced at Singkhon. Thana's gaze was fixed on the two men approaching.
They wore black uniforms similar to traditional Thai attire, with a Thai pattern of a three-headed elephant embroidered on the chest.