[First Place: Big Shrimp]
The person in first place didn't use his real name, but a virtual ID instead.
This instantly sent the players into a frenzy of speculation. They began discussing the origins of this mysterious person one after another. Some even speculated he was a prodigy in reality, while others wondered if he had discovered some exploit to cheese the game.
Jose looked at the rankings and became furious.
"Dammit! I didn't expect someone to already be in the rankings!"
By now, he wasn't behind anymore. He had almost gathered all the materials for the Green Obelisk boss room.
"No, I need to step up my game."
Boshita also saw the rankings, and slowly, his expression turned serious. He had originally been extremely confident in his own abilities. But he hadn't expected someone to actually get ahead of him this quickly.
He didn't know the true identity of this person, but they were certainly impressive.
Rowan saw it as well. As one of the very first players, he hadn't expected someone to be even faster than him despite his early start.
The more talented players have already made significant progress by now. Seeing that first place taken away from them, they all sped up their efforts frantically.
As time passed minute by minute, more and more names appeared on the rankings.
Some used their real names directly, while others, like Big Shrimp, used pseudonyms to maintain an air of mystery.
It didn't take long before the leaderboard filled rapidly.
A group of experts, including Rowan, Carter, Boshita, Jose, and even Nautia, all made the list, occupying prominent spots on the rankings.
At the same time, many others also began appearing on the list, making the competition for the first 100 quite exciting.
As time elapsed, the top one hundred spots on the rankings were completely filled.
As soon as they were fully taken, the players who failed to qualify felt utterly dejected.
"Just a little bit more! If I had just focused on developing from the start, I could have made the top hundred!"
"Shit! Now all that's left is saying my prayers!"
Many people cursed their luck and lamented their poor planning. Everyone knew the rewards for this competition were massive. Missing the top hundred felt like missing out on a fortune that was right within reach.
Soon, the officials announced the results of the random spot drawing. Once the list was released, the forums erupted once again with reactions. Some lucky winners jumped for joy and cheered, drawing envious gazes from all around.
Others who missed out had faces full of despair while muttering bitterly about their terrible luck. It wasn't just a feeling of missing a fortune this time. They really had missed out on a hundred million.
Next, the officials began announcing the specific competition times, requirements, and the locations of various storefronts. By now, the Alto's coverage was already very extensive across Solaria after all.
At least within the entire range of the imperial capital and Lunaria, players who obtained a spot could easily find a DreamNet Cafe nearby.
Considering the survival competition had a long schedule, and many players still had work obligations, Alto specifically set the competition time for the evening hours.
Although entering the Dream World couldn't completely replace sleep and would inevitably affect work the next day, no one was willing to give up in the face of such generous rewards.
This bit of fatigue could be endured by pushing through it. Once they won, they might finally be free from their miserable jobs.
More thoughtfully, Alto's Trading Company also reserved rooms in inns near the participating stores to make it convenient for players to rest after the competition each night, catering to the needs of different groups.
On the day of the competition, the one thousand qualified players arrived at their respective competition locations with excited and nervous hearts.
These players came from all over the empire, and their backgrounds were vastly different.
There were commoner elves dressed in coarse hemp clothes, noble children in luxurious attire, and even burly dwarven blacksmiths.
Some hoped to survive until the end and use the prize money to improve their lives.
Some hoped to pay off crushing debts.
Some were in desperate need of money for their families.
Others simply found it thrilling and didn't really care about the prize money at all.
Most of these people came from wealthy families and weren't short of money themselves.
Among them, some were gaming experts with hundreds of hours of experience, while others had only just encountered games like these and excitedly signed up after hearing the news.
They hadn't expected actually to be chosen to participate.
Lake was one of those lucky individuals who couldn't believe his fortune.
Because he started playing relatively late, he only had a rough understanding of the various mechanics on The Island.
He had originally planned to give up on qualifying, but he hadn't expected to be picked in the random draw.
With an excited heart, he arrived at the competition location. After the staff explained some important rules and precautions, the one thousand players officially logged into the map.
In the world of The Island, beams of light lit up one after another across the landscape.
The one thousand players were randomly scattered across various parts of the expanded continent.
The spawned players immediately began to survey their surroundings cautiously.
Some veterans immediately opened their maps to confirm their direction and then quickly charged off in different ways.
What were they doing?
Naturally, they were racing to grab the notes from the ruin chests scattered everywhere.
Across the entire Island, there were only about two hundred notes and creature dossiers in total. These notes could provide players with a massive amount of experience in the early game, along with a one-hour experience boost.
There were many notes on the outskirts of The Island, and these were the primary targets for the experienced players.
Besides them, different players also quickly made different choices based on their strategies.
Some novices planned to find a place to hide, thinking it would be best if they could just lay low for a hundred days.
Others were hesitating over whether or not to enter the forest depths.
After all, this competition wasn't like their usual gaming sessions. If you died, you were directly eliminated with no second chances.
Given the difficulty of The Island map, exploring it without dying was a massive challenge for everyone.
On the world channel, a large number of players began spamming messages excitedly.
{Unlucky spawn, North Zone 1.}
{Haha, West Zone 3! Landed safely!}
{Can anyone carry me? I need a big, strong man to ease my burdens~~!}
{Ms., don't be afraid. Tell me your coordinates, and I'll go protect you.}
{Hey, pay attention. Don't easily trust strangers. Your life is worth 10,000 Bailey!}
{Bastard, who asked you to talk so much!}
Boshita spawned in South Zone 3. As soon as he appeared, he confirmed his position on the map.
He recalled the ruin chests in his vicinity from memory and previous exploration.
Then he quickly charged in one direction without hesitation.
This time, the race he chose was still the Marine Elf. He seemed to have developed a special attachment to this race's skin.
Because the map had been scaled up significantly, the distance between each point of interest was massive. However, the general terrain was still faintly recognizable from his memories.
After traveling without stopping for a short while, a small patch of architectural ruins indeed appeared ahead of him.
His expression brightened with anticipation. As expected, although the map was larger, the locations of the chests remained roughly the same.
Just as he was about to step forward and open the chest, the figure of a burly man suddenly appeared from the opposite side.
His purpose was obvious. He was also coming for this ruin chest.
The two glanced at each other and suddenly charged toward the chest at the same time with an unspoken understanding.
"This is mine, get lost!!!"