I walked toward the table for contenders and got into the long line of hunters who wanted to join the gauntlet.
In a short while it was his turn to register and he could not help but feel nervous as he approached the table.
"Name and Rank with One thousand for registration fee" said the man behind the table in a sluggish voice, it was clear from his attitude that he had done this a lot of times that he did not even have to think about it to even do his job.
Ray had already put on his mask earlier and it was impossible for anyone to know it was him and that was the plan from the start.
[Fuck I completely forgot that I had to think of a name which I could use for the competition] thought Ray as he realized a new problem which he had not thought of in a hurry to register for the competition.
"Name and Rank with one thousand for registration fee" replied the man once more as he saw Ray was being unresponsive and was slightly annoyed.
[Which name do I use?] wondered Ray as he heard the man's voice once more.
"Blood Beast?!" he replied.
"Blood Beast?" asked the man as he looked Ray up and down with a discerning gaze, "more like a dead beast" he murmured as he shifted his gaze from Ray.
"Rank?" he asked once more.
"Blood Beast, D rank" said Ray as he fished out one thousand from his pocket to pay for his registration, luckily he did not forget about the registration fee.
The man behind the table did not waste any time and quickly collected the one thousand and registered Ray as he gave him a number tag as he screamed "Next!"
The entrance for contenders and observers were different since there was basically an entire world of difference and he was lead to the entrance for Contenders.
The view that greeted his after entering the area for contenders sent shivers down his spine since it was completely field with a savage aura that made the entire place heavy with killing intent that seemed tangible, if any normal person who was not a hunter was brought in here, he might faint from the pressure alone.
Every one turned their eyes to look at Ray the moment he entered the waiting area for contenders because every new person who entered the waiting area was a possible contender for their spot at the top and there was nothing better than getting an idea of how powerful your opponent was before your fight.
They only looked at Ray for a moment but their stares made his blood freeze and he could not help but hiccup, some of them scoffed after seeing how average he looked, he was neither bulky nor did he make one feel that he was very fast or tricky.
The mask on his head was completely normal and he was directed to the area for D ranked hunters to wait for the start of the gauntlet and for his number to be called up.
Everyone in the D rank waiting area was very average only a small number of them gave off a very dangerous aura when he looked at them but it was only at the D rank level, as for C rankers they were all powerful whether it was how they looked or their auras.
Ray walked to the corner and found himself a spot to sit down while waiting for the start of the competition.After waiting for nearly half an hour a group of beasts who were definitely not supposed to be in the D rank area from their auras which they unleashed alone.
The new contenders who entered the waiting area all had a D rank tag on their body and it was clear to everyone else who was already in the waiting room that these guys were already qualified to be promoted to Rank C hunters but had clearly refused to go for a promotion test choosing to wait for the Gauntlet to gain rewards by dominating the entire D rank category.
They all just looked at us before they roared with laughter as they continued walking, at that moment a lot of contenders were brimming with anger and some others were already demoralized because they knew that with the addition of these guys it was clear that they would not make it through if they met them in the first stage of the competition.
Ray on the other hand was not as bothered about it since he was only going to try his best to get a high ranking so he could be promoted to Rank C and get some access to more information.
It was finally time for the Gauntlet to begin and the announcer was having a great time, that much was clear from the enthusiasm he was showing as he kept spewing loads of inspiring words about how much of an honor it would be to be able to stand on the stage and fight for recognition and glory.
"As we all know the first stage of the competition is a group battle where fifty people will descend on our glorious stage and fight for only ten available spots to move on to the next round, bringing them closer to a wondrous and glorious achievement of being the number one in their category!" said the announcer.
"with no further delay let the Gauntlet begin!!!" he roared as the crowd exploded with insane cries of excitement.
If the dome was not completely sealed I was pretty sure that all the zombies would have begun to converge on our location and it would have been a complete disaster.
Different numbers were called as contenders left the waiting area one by one as they went down to the arena where a numerous number of stages were occupied and the stages were distributed across each Rank of Hunters.
There were stages for D ranks, C ranks, B ranks and A ranked hunter the only difference was that no A rank hunter would be promoted to S Rank, the number of A ranks in the city did not even exceed Fifty to show how very few A ranks were available and they would not waste their time fighting for the competition.
The Top one hundred hunters that would gain a promotion were all from rank D to Rank B and sometimes even after the gauntlet was over based on the strength displayed by the B ranks they might not receive a promotion leaving more promotion spots for other ranks.
No A rank would get promoted but would only be rewarded with rare resources which could enhance their strength further and that was the only reason A ranked hunters even participated in the Gauntlet.
The gauntlet had begun and everywhere one looked they would only see contenders making their way to their designated stage as they waited for the fight to begin.
Since the gauntlet allowed the use of weapons, it was going to be one hell of a bloody mess as usual but since the advancement in science increased with the apocalypse it would not pose much of an issue but a couple of people will be in a lot of pain for a while.
The gauntlet was finally underway as fights raged across the arena as hunters clashed against one another fiercely as cries of pain and cries of pure excitement filed the entire dome.
The first group battle of fifty people was over in a short while and he remaining hunters had their numbers taken down as they made their way back to the waiting area.
The next set of contenders were called upon the stage with the stage not even being cleaned up and blood was clearly on the floor and as Ray watched everything from the screen in the waiting area it made him wonder if he had made the right decision to join the gauntlet.
Just like that over five fights had taken place in the D rank category, meaning only fifty people had passed the first stage of the gauntlet and two hundred people had already dropped out of the gauntlet.
The whole dome became a fever of emotions; it was an amazing sight.
Humans were able to live through anything even the zombie apocalypse which should have been the end of the world but look at the way we all screamed watching people go at each other's throats with battle intent.
The next set of people for the next fight were being called and the announcer calling the numbers just could not hold himself back.
"Am I seeing this right?" asked the male announcer as he looked at his female colleague.
"What are you seeing?" Asked his female colleague as she smiled widely and the whole dome had quieted down a bit as they were curious about what the announcer was seeing.
"Hahaha... I've seen arrogant names but I've never seen a name so arrogant in a low level category like the D rank" he said as he shook his head.
"Everyone meet our final contender for the competing group of Rank D on stage, No. 419 Blood Beast!!!"