the trick

For several months, Rhaena’s goal had been to upgrade Commander Sabrina to four stars. To do so, she began hopping from realm to realm in search of medals and to collect legendary tokens in Phase Six. Because of her size, it was easy for her to move from one place to another. She would earn a few points in Phase Six, collect the rewards, and wait for Lord of Lords to end before moving on to another realm. For months she used the same method, sometimes collecting just ten medals, other times about twenty. In a week she could get at least fifty of those medals. Thinking that this was the same number as getting first place, it was a pretty profitable deal for her. Getting two hundred medals a month, plus a considerable amount of legendary tokens, was something not everyone could do. 

But the rules changed; they were announced months in advance, and this frustrated her greatly, since what she was used to receiving would be much less than what she used to get in a single day.

But with a friend named Vangark, they had set up a network of spies across several kingdoms, and he suggested that she accompany him. For him, the rules of the game had changed: whereas before he could achieve two top rankings on the same day, now he would have to work hard to do so in a single kingdom. That’s how the two of them began studying which kingdoms to visit days in advance. In their analysis for choosing a realm, it was essential that it not be too populated, so there would be less competition for her in Lord of Lords; for him, an important factor was that the strongest player in the realm have a lower personal score than he did, so they would both be more confident in handling any problems.

On their first journey together, she achieved a top ten ranking. At that point, she was seventy Sabrina medals short. Then they went to K3, and thanks to a loot run he did, he gave her a large portion of the gold, and in phase five she managed to get first place and he got second. On the other hand, in Red Mine, on both occasions he helped her get a top ten finish. She was grateful, because on her own she had never before been able to place in that event’s rankings.

Now that she was only twenty medals short of finishing this long journey with Sabrina at four stars, they arrived at K213. The path looked pretty easy by day two; a massive gold haul by both of them ensured at least a top ten finish. 

When Red Mine Day arrived, she hadn’t expected it, since she was well aware of her skill level. And although fatigue now affects every warrior, she knew that with her stats, it would be difficult for her to beat those vying for a spot in that rank.

Vangark quickly called her over to get ready for battle. He thought he’d found another unprotected castle. But that wasn’t it; he wanted her to join the Mine network. She saw that he had the spot practically secured, but there were still many hours left in the battle, and on previous occasions, he had helped her near the end of the day. She listened, and when she was ready, he told her to hide her name. A little confused, she asked why. After he explained, she understood, but she doubted it would work. She didn’t believe that others, especially at that hour, wouldn’t notice that change. She reinforced the idea that he had to be in the same alliance as her, so it wouldn’t be noticeable. That’s how they both moved to the alliance where the vassals are, to GeN, and she entered the mine under the name VangarK. It was a change that, unless you looked closely, the untrained eye wouldn’t notice. 

Their plan was to stay for at least fifteen or twenty minutes, so that he could then help her hold her ground once the stronger players lurking around had secured their positions. She still wasn’t convinced the plan would work perfectly; it seemed too simple—all it would take was for someone to look at the full leaderboard to see the difference.

But he pointed out that sometimes people only see part of the picture and give up on attacking. After thirty minutes in the mine, she began to feel optimistic. After an hour, she had already secured a spot in that event. And a few more minutes were enough to put her in third place. And once she was in sight, they attacked her; Vangark intervened a couple of times so she could return, but after a while the activity intensified, so she gave up on going back in. Besides, her friend didn’t have many attempts left. At the end of the day, she finished in fourth place. For her, it was a great achievement; with a simple plan, she achieved the highest rank she’s ever had in this event. Although she didn’t initially believe in the effectiveness of her friend’s plan, it was also a good strategy for both of them to be in the same alliance while she was in the mine, so that fewer others would notice the change.

https://youtu.be/Q3Mj1K3Nx9c