Reborn: Rise of the Greatest Summoner

8:00pm, normal Earth time…

"Hello everyone, my name is Kate Catherine and here with me on this special TV show is Dave Simmons, a retired professional gamer".

"Hi Dave, how was your day?"

"It has been awesome Kate, not as awesome as yours though I think". Both speakers laughed at the typical Dave poke that was becoming more common by the day at every subsequent Dominator TV show.

As both speakers engaged in second-hand jokes on stage, a certain spectator in the VIP seats could not help but narrow his eyes suspiciously.

He glared at Dave. "Manchester f*cking…!"

Jax got goosebumps on hearing the first word alone, his reflexes were fast like usual as he tapped him on the leg and hissed. "Stop it!"

"Stop it!" Jax stressed again while gritting his teeth.

"But Boss, it's not right, Dave is being shameless".

He put on a righteously angry look on his face. "How dare he flirt with my crush on stage? Is he not scared of breaking my heart?" He fumed.

"…" Jax was speechless.

"Boss Blue River, I'm telling you, this guy is a fraud".

Jax sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me by my game name when we're out of the game?"

"Oh, sorry boss, I've just gotten used to your real name, that's all".

"…"

"Ah sh*t! He touched her hand!"

He seemed shocked. "He f*cking touched her hand!"

"That mother*cker!" He hissed in a muffled tone.

"He's f*cking after my life!"

"Manchester f*cking united!" Smokes of anger seemed to emanate from his head.

Bonk!

"Stop it…!" Jax hissed with a stern look on his face.

Horny Assassin rubbed his head even as a look of grievance filled his face. In the end, he respected his boss' wish though and finally kept quiet.

In his mind, he had other plans. 'We'll meet in the walkway!'

"Hihihi!" Kate Catherine giggled in a good-natured manner.

After taking a few more jibes and jokes at each other to liven the atmosphere of the show, Kate finally took it a step further and went to the point.

"So Dave, what do you think of Version 1 so far and the tournament?"

Dave rubbed his chin. "My overall impression of Version 1 is that it has been full of rollercoasters. Though most players were not strong enough to affect the big picture, we were still able to witness the tension from the cliffhangers".

"The battle twists, everything, my verdict was that it was super exciting".

"Dominator already has a huge argument as the best VR game of the last decade despite premiering just one Version so far".

"As for the tournament, I think that the pro players are prepared".

"With all the fighting that took place in the game, all of them had the opportunities to level up to the peak of Version 1. Also, with the mysterious NPC Legolas, they more or less all have powerful weapons of the same level".

"Due to this, I think the outcome of battles in this tournament will be mostly determined by real battle skills and experience rather than weapons".

"I'm anticipating it, I think it will be interesting".

Kate's bright smile blossomed. "Dave, thanks for your professional opinion, I also think millions of the fans who've fell in love with Dominator agree with you".

"What I'm most hyped for is the champions and dark horses that would emerge from this tournament, I can't wait to see them all".

"Also guys, be hyped!" Kate whooped excitedly.

"After waiting for months, the selection process is about to begin!"

Instantly after she spoke, the scenes on the screen changed to all the teams that would be participating in the tournament. For the national cup tournament, only 10 professional Chinese teams qualified.

The screen soon changed again as the team logos disappeared only to be replaced by small pictures of individual players which filled the screen.

Kate explained. "The national cup tournament for Dominator will mostly be in line with the tournament formats of similar VR games".

"The tournament is divided into the team and individual battles".

"The team battles will be fought twice a week after the fixtures are drawn. 5 teams will proceed from the first round, then 4 teams will contest in the quarterfinals, the last team will contest with the last-placed team in the quarterfinals for a place in the semifinals".

"After the quarterfinals, 3 teams will meet in the semifinals".

"All 3 teams will play against each other once".

"The 2 teams with the most wins advances to the finals".

"The team that wins in the final will be crowned the Chinese National Dominator Cup Champion for it's very first edition".

"As for the individual battles, the set-up is much looser. The thousands of contestants will fight elimination battles until only 48 are left".

"The 48 will contest in the 2nd elimination round to lessen the numbers".

"After that, the qualified 24 will contest in the quarterfinals for a place in the semifinals, after which only 12 players will proceed to the semifinals".

"After the semifinals, 6 players will proceed to the finals where they'll have to fight each other in one-on-one battles to determine the winners through the players with the most wins after completing his battles".

"The winner, 1st runners up, and 2nd runners up will be decided this way".

The explanation for the first ever Dominator Cup Tournament was slightly cumbersome and complicated but to the avid Dominator fans, it was completely worth it, they didn't complain.

During the show, the fixtures were decided.

After the Dominator TV show, a few hours later in the game, like scheduled, the first National Dominator Cup Tournament took place.

The very first battle in the tournament was about to be fought.

Inside the game, the server projected words up in the skies to all Planet Darvis players. The very first fixture in the tournament.

[Player #Smoking Thunder vs #Your Papa!]

Smoking Thunder entered the battlefield in a bombastic manner as he flexed his Broad Sword. "All enemies shall bow before my might!"

"Your Papa!" The other player declared arrogantly.

Smoking Thunder frowned. "What does that mean? Is that Chinese?"

"Hehe…" His opponent chuckled as he brought out his twin iron rods and pointed them tauntingly at him. "Your Papa!"

Boom!

Your Papa rushed forward first with his twin iron rods.

Smoking Thunder was perplexed by the username and accent of his opponent, this guy didn't seem Chinese. He didn't care though as he braced himself for impact with his sword, he aimed for only victory.

Sword and iron rods collided; the clash began in earnest!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The battle was epic and fast-paced. Blood flew constantly as both players chipped at each other's health, their fighting styles were distinct.

Whereas Smoking Thunder preferred to stay on the defensive, calculate his moves, wait for his opponent to make mistakes before exploding with tyrannically thunderous counterattacks, Your Papa was a pound for pound player.

With his twin iron rods, this player was all about attack, attack, and attack.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Your Papa was aggressive as he constantly launched his crazy attacks!

Smoking Thunder found it hard to defend most times but his firm basics enabled him to hold on. His calculated counterattacks dealt lethal damage each time, and it seemed like he would win until he made a mistake.

Your Papa anticipated one of his counterattacks at the end.

As soon as Smoking Thunder launched forward enthusiastically at the opening, Your Papa dodged, it was a trap!

Before his opponent could recover, Your Papa lunged in for the kill!

Smoking Thunder was caught off-guard, he could only attack pound for pound and against an expect of this specific battle style, he stood no chance.

Your Papa battered him till he faded into white lights.

[Winner: Your Papa!]

The first individual battle of the tournament came to an end.

*****

For the beast illustrations, go to my discord server through this link

https://discord.gg/cMgee6s8