Jose rode his Tyrannosaurus forward and let out a thunderous roar before charging straight at Boshita.
But instead of facing him head-on, Boshita suddenly turned his Spinosaurus around and fled toward the coast.
The moment Jose saw that, he burst into a mocking laughter.
"Hahahahaha! You coward! Now you know how to run? Even if I have to chase you to the end of the world, I'm killing you!"
And so the scene turned into a chase across the entire map. Boshita raced ahead while Jose pursued him atop his massive T-Rex.
"Stop running!"
As he fled, Boshita occasionally glanced back and threw taunts at Jose. That only made Jose angrier, wishing he could catch him immediately and tear him to pieces.
Soon, Boshita rode his Spinosaurus all the way to the seaside.
Without the slightest hesitation, he guided it straight into the water.
"You think you can escape by going into the water? If you're a man, come up and fight me properly!"
But Boshita didn't keep him waiting long at all.
The moment the Spinosaurus entered the water and gained the Wet Buff, it turned around and charged toward Jose with renewed aggression.
With the Wet Buff active, the Spinosaurus gained massive boosts to attack power, attack speed, and movement speed. Combined with its already formidable stats, it instantly became like a freight train rushing straight at the T-Rex.
Seeing the Spinosaurus suddenly surge forward with such terrifying speed, Jose felt a faint sense of unease creep in.
But he didn't panic yet.
He had absolute confidence in his Tyrannosaurus after all their battles together.
The two prehistoric behemoths soon clashed violently.
The Spinosaurus rushed in first. With its superior speed, it struck immediately before the T-Rex had any chance to react.
'Smack! Smack!'
Two heavy claw swipes landed squarely on the T-Rex's thick hide.
That was enough to ignite the Tyrannosaurus's primal fury.
As the undisputed King of the land, how could it tolerate such humiliation from a water-dwelling nutcase?
Enraged, it reared back to unleash a thunderous roar.
"Raaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!"
But the Spinosaurus showed it no respect whatsoever.
'Who do you think you are?'
Seizing the moment while the T-Rex was busy roaring, the Spinosaurus attacked again.
'Smack! Smack!'
Two more claw strikes hit him directly.
This time the T-Rex didn't dare waste time roaring again. It lunged forward and began biting ferociously at the Spinosaurus with its devastating jaw.
The Tyrannosaurus clearly dealt more damage per hit, and its thick scales gave it formidable durability, while each and every single one of its bites inflicted devastating wounds that tore off entire chunks of flesh.
But near the water, the Spinosaurus, empowered by the Wet Buff, moved with incredible speed and swiftness.
Time and again, it avoided the T-Rex's lethal attacks at the last possible moment.
Its claws and razor teeth worked together efficiently, quickly carving numerous wounds across the Tyrannosaurus's body.
Boshita and Jose weren't idle either during the chaos. Both drew their weapons and unleashed their own skills in tandem.
In real life, they were already experts at combat, so naturally, they were formidable in the game as well.
Their stat builds were nearly identical. Both had focused on speed over everything else.
That allowed them to move with incredible agility while maintaining high mobility during fights.
For them, excess health or carry weight was meaningless. As long as it was sufficient, that was enough. Compared to that, speed and flexibility allowed them to better display their true abilities.
Standing atop their mounts, they exchanged blows back and forth. Sometimes they even leaped into the air to fight mid-battle.
Boshita wielded a longsword that gleamed in the sunlight.
Jose held a metal spear with years of experience showing in his stance. Their weapons clashed in midair repeatedly, sending sparks flying with each exchange.
For a time, neither could gain the upper hand.
But as time passed and the battle dragged on, the tide began to turn. The battle between the two prehistoric titans neared its inevitable conclusion.
In the end, the Spinosaurus, empowered by the endless Wet Buff near the water's edge, defeated the Tyrannosaurus through superior speed.
With a sorrowful roar that echoed across the beach, the massive body of the T-Rex collapsed to the ground.
"My Tyrannosaurus!"
Jose's eyes burned with rage. His very first T-Rex had just been killed after all his effort.
Pain coursed through him.
Too much pain to bear.
"AAAAAH!"
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
[You were eliminated by a Spinosaurus!]
And so the two continued their endless rivalry, constantly battling each other while rapidly improving their understanding of the Ark world.
Outside the game, the DreamNet Cafes in Solaria were becoming more and more popular with each passing day.
As more stores opened across different districts, increasing numbers of people heard about the strange new phenomenon that had appeared in the city.
Curious, many went to try it out themselves to see what the fuss was about.
The login device had long since become popular in the Imperial Academy due to Boshita, and many students there had already been longing to get their hands on one.
"Hey, have you heard? That thing that's been popular in our Academy lately is being sold in Solaria now!"
"Really? Where did you hear that?"
"You still don't know? Everyone's talking about it. Apparently, these shops, called DreamNet Cafes, have started popping up all over Solaria, and they sell these devices."
"Let's go check it out then!"
Their excited conversation in the corridor was overheard by a passing figure.
She wore a white robe, and her silver hair was tied behind her shoulders. Her expression remained as cold as ice. A practice sword rested in her hand as she happened to walk by. Hearing their whispers, her pointed ears twitched slightly with interest.
Nautia had heard about this strange new trend in the Swordsmanship Academy long ago. At first, she hadn't cared at all about such frivolous distractions. Entertainment meant nothing to her. Her days were spent entirely in training, and her heart focused only on pursuing strength.
But every now and then, she would hear people talking about it with such passion.
Gigantic beasts that towered over buildings.
Prehistoric worlds untouched by civilization.
Ancient forests filled with danger.
Dragons and monsters beyond imagination.
Those words stirred her curiosity despite her best efforts to ignore them. Her grandfather had been a legendary Sword Saint who once slew an evil dragon, so he was the role model of her entire life and the standard she measured herself against.
Her dream was to one day become a legend like him and surpass his accomplishments. And until now, she had never tried the device, partly out of pride and discipline.
Now that she heard it was being sold right in Solaria, she felt an unexpected urge to give it a try.
Taking advantage of a rare break, she did something unusual.
She walked out of the academy gates for the first time in weeks.
Meanwhile, on Alto's side, the expansion plan was in full swing.
As more and more players explored the Dreamscape, discussion threads on the forums multiplied rapidly.
However, since Alto had not implemented difficulty settings, the players' overall progress remained relatively slow.
There was another important factor as well that hindered advancement.
Taming dinosaurs had become a much more diffcult endeavour. It was no longer as simple as building a trap room and easily capturing any creature. Now, the intelligence of various species had been significantly enhanced by him and his assistants.
Seeing how much fun the players were having, Alto decided it was time to add a little more excitement to the mix.
He immediately asked Helena to contact their partners for a major announcement.
Early the next morning, the forums, Alto's Trading Company, and all cooperating partners released a joint announcement.
[ARK Cup: Ancient World Championship]
Grand Prize: 100,000,000 Bailey
Participation Requirements:
-The top 100 players who have cleared any boss chamber of the Island's Red, Green, or Blue Ark automatically qualify for entry.
-Starting today, 900 additional players will be randomly selected from all registered applicants.
-Qualified participants must play at the nearest official store location. The event will run daily from 8 PM to 8 AM.
-A total of 1,000 players will participate in a 100-day survival competition within the Island world.
Competition Rules:
-All participants will lose the ability to respawn naturally during the event period.
-Players who survive until Day 100 will equally split the 100,000,000 Bailey prize pool.
-During the competition, killing another player and submitting their implant will reward 10,000 Bailey immediately.
-The event will be live-streamed across the Dreamscape's main qoeld with a delay to prevent cheating.
-No restrictions on tactics or gameplay style allowed.
-Eliminated players will receive a 1,000 Bailey consolation prize for each day they survive.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the community.