Rudra was just outside Ruby's room , in the dormitory corridor , when the invitation for the Japanese selection came.

He looked around to check if anyone had eyes on him , and after confirming that he would not scare some NPC needlessly , he accepted the invite.

Instantly Rudra was teleported into a massive open ground. Amongst a sea of people , everywhere he could see , there were only people , people and more people.

Some wore guild robes , while some did not , some where chatting continuously , while some calmly stood without interacting to anyone.

There was a massive screen in the centre of the open ground , on top of a small stage , where a number was being displayed , the last three digits we're changing constantly , as it showed the number of players joined.

Players joined: 20,000,125

Over 20 million players had joined , considering that Japan had a population of 140 million , this was about a seventh of the total population gathered in one location.

Amongst these millions of players , barely a few hundred would be selected for the National team , and those few would carry the hopes of the entire nation.

If anyone was not intimidated upto this point , standing here , between these millions of players , they would surely realize the competition they were going to face ahead. That this was just japan ... The world stage awaited them at the VR Olympics .

He remembered Ethan Grey's words , that were told to him after the lantern festival he had thought long and hard about it , and right now amidst his burning motivation , he felt like what Ethan said was indeed correct. He needed to pick up the persona of the real Shakuni.

Rudra was not an idiot to reveal all the cards he posessed in advance in the national selections , however for the first time in his life he felt like absolutely destroying his opposition in the national rounds , there were two main reasons for this.

1) He wanted to declare to the world that this is the strength of the guild master of the True Elites , that they should think thrice before messing with someone like the Elites.

2)He wanted to become the anchor and the beacon of hope for Japan , that every event he was in , the country could feel safe , that if Shakuni was playing there , that meant they would win.

Just like the Elites depended on him , he wanted Japan to feel secure with him out there too.

It was a tremendous responsibility to take , however Rudra was willing to shoulder it , there was nobody who could shoulder it in his past life for japan , but Rudra knew the effect a charismatic leader had on a teams morale. If his achievements could shine , then his peers would be motivated and perform as well.

And to create that impression , he needed to make a bold display of strength , he needed to be arrogant , and he needed to put money in his own stock.

Was Rudra truly the best in the world? Was winning 3 golds even possible? Was he being just a moron to dream about the impossible?

Maybe !

However , he knew first hand how hard the national selections would be , and the world stage would only be exponentially harder , yet he still beleived in himself.

He knew he was not the best in the world , he knew he was not the most skilled , he was not the smartest , and he was not the strongest. However he was Shakuni , the ultimate schemer , and even if there was a 0.01% chance of victory , he would snatch it!

Rudra decided to make this change in his personality , going forward , the soft and beloved guild master would only be seen in the guild. In the national selections , and the world stage , only the cold , arrogant and ruthless , yet a strong player Shakuni would be seen.

Closing his eyes , Rudra thought about what this stage meant to him , and shifted his mentality , he thought about Ethan Grey , his demeanor his aura , he thought about Emperor Aman , about how when he saw the behemoth dragon and said ' Know your place Livestock ! ' , he thought about that arrogance , he thought about that aura and little by little he shed his own aura and adopted that arrogant aura.

He opened his eyes again , now cold , he no longer felt intimidated by the massive crowd , but felt pissed at having to wait.

He clicked his tongue and thought ' Get on with it , I have not got all day for this bull**** '.

Finally , after 21.4 million people had joined , the admin and chief selector of Japan finally took the stage .

Murmurs could be heard all around the crowd , however given the sheer size of the crowd the murmurs became deafening noise.

The selector could not be heard over the murmurs , but he had the power of system on his side. He asked Gaia to mute everyone in the crowd.

In a instant , the massive crowd fell deathly silent , as not a single noise came out of anyone's mouth .

The selector then said " Sorry for muting you all , but the noise is just too much. Ladies and gentlemen I am Elyon , but all of you will address me as sir Elyon , I am a retired 7 star general from the army , and I am sure many of you will already know me.

The responsibility that the representatives of Japan carry is no small responsibility , for those who don't watch world news , let me re inform you. The seats in the security council of the UN are at stake at the VR Olympics.

Quite literally , the safety of the nation is in your hands.

Hence I expect seriousness and dedication in the coming selections. If you are an immature child , or a old retard , get the hell out of my selection ground right now. Only the best of the best may represent japan ... Do I make myself clear?

The government will not leave it's top talents without support , for everyone that does get selected here today , the government will provide the top of the top line equipment , and resources , , best training facilities and intelligence reports before your events. We will train you to become the best In the world , soo all you have to do is try your best to be selected."

That being said , although we did allow anyone willing to participate a shot at being selected , those below tier one , we have no time to nurture you , sorry but your journey ends here .

System boot the tier 0 players from the ground ".

Following that command , over 10 million players were booted out .

Elyon said " congratulations , you have all survived round one. Onto round two... ".

/// Bonus chapter 2/3 for Cervantez91 , thankyou again for the gifts! ///