(P.S. The Douluo Golden Spatula arc moves a little faster here. I'll quickly return to the main story later.)
The instant the fifth-round countdown hit zero, the shop refreshed and the pool flipped to a new page.
Ning Rongrong's fingers moved faster than her brain. She spotted a Sword Douluo—4-cost, priced at 4 gold—quietly glowing with a pale gold border in the shop's second slot.
Sword Douluo, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, versatile class.
She had just leveled up to a population of 5, and the odds of finding a 4-cost unit were only 2%. In theory, this piece shouldn't have appeared before her, but there it was.
She didn't hesitate and bought it at once.
Sword Douluo's phantom settled firmly onto her bench. A shimmering silver-white sword aura swirled around the projected skeleton for a moment before falling still.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect synergy count jumped from 1 to 2, just one piece short of the three-piece breakpoint. As long as she got either Bone Douluo or Ning Fengzhi, the whole team would gain 10% attack, ability power, and resistances.
Yi Chen said nothing, but his gaze lingered on her bench for half a second.
Xiao Wu wasn't nearly as lucky in the fifth round.
She rerolled three times, spending 3 gold, but the shop kept offering cards she didn't want: Jing Ling, Jiang Zhu, Xue Beng, and the occasional Dai Mubai. But she already had Dai Mubai, so buying another would just waste a slot.
The remaining Ma Hongjun pool had already dropped to 21 and was still slowly dwindling. Clearly, she wasn't the only one hunting for him.
She gritted her teeth and stopped rerolling. She sold an extra Jing Ling for 1 gold, then upgraded Dai Mubai to two stars before bracing herself for the next round.
The fifth round brought Dugu Yan her first real power spike.
She leveled up to a population of 5 and put together the beginnings of a three-piece Spirit Hall and double-control lineup. Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan stood on the front line, while Huo Wu and Dugu Yan herself took the elevated back-row positions.
The three-piece Spirit Hall synergy activated. At the start of battle, it summoned a one-star Spirit Hall elite that inherited 30% of its equipment stats and stood at the front as cannon fodder.
Though the elite unit was only one star, it was free, and she didn't mind if it died. It could absorb at least two rounds of damage for her main units.
Her health was still 100. She hadn't lost a single point.
Ye Lingling's pace was as steady as ever. She didn't rush to level up, instead staying at population 5 for one round and spending all her extra gold on refreshes to advance her Commoner synergy.
She already had Ye Lingling, Jing Ling, Jiang Zhu, and Bai Chenxiang on her board: four Commoner units, just one short of the five-piece breakpoint.
Five Commoners granted the whole team 15% damage reduction and doubled the mana regeneration of Commoner units. That was the threshold for a massive power spike.
The fifth-round matchups appeared: Rongrong faced a random player, Xiao Wu faced Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling faced another random player.
The battle animations played automatically.
Though Rongrong's Sword Douluo was only one star, the all-around class's stats boost helped him hold his ground. Combined with the one-piece Commoner synergy's mana regeneration, he unleashed a sweeping sword wave in the latter half of the battle, clearing out the enemy front line's low-health units. Rongrong stayed at 96 health, and her win streak earned her 2 extra gold.
Xiao Wu versus Dugu Yan was a one-sided stomp with no suspense.
Dugu Yan's three-piece Spirit Hall synergy was practically dominant in the early game. The one-star elite stood at the front and absorbed most of the damage from Xiao Wu's Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai, while Huo Wu and Hu Liena in Dugu Yan's back row took advantage of the opening to unleash their full control and damage.
Xiao Wu's Shrek synergy hadn't had time to stack yet. That was the usual weakness of scaling synergies: they were weak in the early game. By the end of the battle, Xiao Wu's health had plummeted from 100 to 74, a loss of 26 points.
She stared at the number in silence for two seconds, then moved Dai Mubai one space forward without saying a word.
Ye Lingling won her match handily. Her opponent was a random player following an aggressive attack strategy. They had high early burst damage but poor staying power, and Ye Lingling's Commoner damage-reduction setup wore them down. Ye Lingling stayed at 94 health and had saved up over 30 gold, earning +3 interest each round.
In the sixth-round carousel, the player with the lowest health picked first.
Xiao Wu had 74 health, ranking third from the bottom among the eight players, so she got an early pick.
Four units stood on the display platform: a Dai Mubai unit carrying a Storm Greatsword, a Zhu Zhuqing unit carrying a Recurve Bow, a Hu Liena unit carrying a Useless Large Rod, and a Ning Rongrong unit carrying Chain Mail.
Xiao Wu didn't hesitate. She picked Zhu Zhuqing with the Recurve Bow. She needed attack speed to pave the way for her late-game Shrek synergy.
Besides, Zhu Zhuqing was both Shrek and an agility attacker, just the piece she needed to activate the three-piece Shrek synergy. She already had Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Dai Mubai on the board, so adding Zhu Zhuqing would bring her to four Shrek units, one short of five.
When Xiao Wu returned from the carousel, she looked noticeably more focused than before. She placed Zhu Zhuqing on the bench and began planning her equipment combinations for the next round.
Dugu Yan was still at 100 health, the highest in the game, so she picked last.
The remaining option was the Ning Rongrong unit carrying Chain Mail. She passed over the offensive equipment and took the Chain Mail instead, equipping her frontliner Xie Yue to make him sturdier.
When Yi Chen saw her choice, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing.
In the sixth-round battle, Xiao Wu faced a random player with 82 health.
This was the first time in the game that she'd had a real advantage. Her opponent's team was also cobbled together from early-game placeholders, with no completed synergy setup.
Though Xiao Wu's four-piece Shrek synergy hadn't yet reached the five-piece breakpoint and its massive power spike, the 12% attack and ability power bonus, combined with 1% growth each round, had already begun to give her units better stats than her opponent's.
By the end of the battle, her opponent had lost 15 health.
Dugu Yan continued her win streak in the sixth round. Her opponent was a player following a defensive strategy, with a tanky front line but too little damage. Dugu Yan's chain of controls slowly ground them down.
Her health was still 100. She hadn't lost a single point. Her win streak had earned her +3 gold, and her economy had snowballed past 40 gold.
Rongrong ran into a little trouble in the sixth round. Her opponent found a Tang Hao—4-cost at population 5, activating the three-piece Clear Sky Sect synergy. Tailong's first skill caused his following basic attack to deal massive true damage, instantly killing Ye Lingling in her front line. Rongrong's health fell from 96 to 78, a loss of 18 points.
Frowning, she adjusted her formation, moving Sword Douluo one space forward so he could take more damage on the front line. She also moved the Ning Rongrong unit one row back to keep it from being picked off.
Ye Lingling won in the sixth round, too. She managed to reach five stacks of the Commoner synergy at population 5, granting the whole team 15% damage reduction and doubling the mana regeneration of Commoner units. Her lineup didn't deal much damage, but it was tough as nails. Her opponent could hit her with a full combo, only for her to heal back to full in a few casts. Her health stayed at 94, and her economy remained steady at around 35 gold.
By the seventh round, the field began to split apart.
Dugu Yan was still the only player at full health: 100 points, 51 gold, and a board of six units. Her three-piece Spirit Hall and double-control setup had taken shape.
Rongrong had 78 health and 44 gold, with six units on the board. She was still one piece short of the three-piece Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect synergy, but Sword Douluo kept her lineup's overall quality high.
Ye Lingling had 94 health and 38 gold, with six units on the board. Her five-piece Commoner synergy was active, making her the tankiest player in the game. Xiao Wu had 74 health and 31 gold, with five units on the board. Her four-piece Shrek synergy was still growing, but her overall lineup was on the weak side.
Among the other four random players, one had already dropped below 20 health and entered the danger zone.
Under the rules of the eight-player elimination format, anyone whose health reached zero would be eliminated. As the number of players dwindled, the remaining players would be matched more frequently, making the game move faster and faster.
Yi Chen leaned back in his chair and watched the live state of the eight boards on the screen. At last, he spoke. "When the seventh round ends, it'll be the monster round. After you finish off these monsters, you should all get your first full batch of component items."
He paused, his gaze landing on the line showing Xiao Wu's health. "Some of you should start thinking about cutting your losses."
Xiao Wu didn't argue. She simply sold an extra unit from her bench, bringing her economy up to 40 gold, and began collecting +4 interest each round.
She knew her lineup wasn't complete yet. Forcing a fight now wouldn't be wise. Better to stabilize her economy and wait until she got the key units before making her move.
The monster-round animation finished playing on the screen. Each of the four women had gained several component items on her bench: Storm Greatsword, Recurve Bow, Chain Mail, Negatron Cloak, Giant's Belt, Useless Large Rod, and Tear of the Goddess. Each of the seven basic items had its own use, and combinations began rapidly taking shape in their minds.
The eighth-round countdown quietly lit up.