"Everyone! Welcome to Cardinal Academy!"
Zephyrus's voice boomed across the stadium, and the crowd cheered like an army ready for a successful conquest.
"The day all of us were waiting for has finally arrived!"
"All of us are gathered here for this festival where warlocks from all over the world face each other in battles of strength, will, and ingenuity!"
"Ladies and gentlemen of all races! I welcome you all to the Grand Battle Festival!", Zephyrus yelled as he stood in the center of the arena.
The stadium exploded into roars and cheers such that even the roof shook with the energy.
"The Headmaster sure knows how to rile up the crowd.", Seventeen remarked as he watched the event on a nearby magia screen. The cheer of the crowd was shaking the video feed.
He and Ruth are currently outside the stadium, exploring the many stalls and attractions put up for the festival on the academy grounds.
They and the other instructors are currently on patrol to ensure no funny business is done on Cardinal Academy grounds.
"Focus Seventeen. Don't get distracted.", Ruth chastised him.
He scoffed, "Look who's talking. You couldn't take your eyes off those mini plushies in that stall over there!"
Her face reddened, "That's because they're cute!"
"So a prickly person like you has this side to her.", Seventeen grinned.
"It's a hobby!", Ruth turned away and pouted.
He chuckled, "How cute."
The tips of her ears reddened and Ruth cleared her throat, "Anyway. We should resume patrolling. There are many people from outside, and we can't guarantee that things will go well."
"Fine.", Seventeen sighed and walked away from the magia screen.
"This is the only time in the year when the academy opens its gates to the public, right?", he asked.
"Uhuh.", Ruth nodded, picking up a slime plushie from the stall and squishing it with a playful smile.
"Even during the academy entrance examinations, only those who have received invitations and those who want to take their chances in the exam are allowed in the academy."
She said as she put down the plushie and walked ahead. Seventeen looked at the plushie for a moment.
(What an adorable side to the scary half-elf.)
'Indeed.', he thought.
"Hello, dear sir! Would you like to buy this soft plushie? You and your partner look rather interested in it.", the stallkeeper, a pretty-looking elf with bright eyes, chirped.
"Unfortunately, I am kind of busy. How about I buy it a bit later when I'm free? You could put it away safely for me.", Seventeen told her with a charming smile.
"Ah! Of course!", she said, her face red up to her ears. Picking up the plushie, she said, "I'll keep it safe for you, sir!"
"Thank you."
"Hey, Seventeen! Get over here!", Ruth yelled out to him.
"Gotta go.', he winked at the elf and walked over to where his partner was standing. She looked annoyed.
"Were you flirting with that elf?", she asked with narrowed eyes.
He shrugged, "I was just asking her about the plushies. How can I blame her? I'm just too good-looking. What? Are you jealous?", he asked mischievously.
Ruth was red in the face and avoided eye contact with him, "Me? Jealous? How absurd! I just wanted to make sure you focus on patrolling.", she blurted out.
Seventeen raised his eyebrows, "Yeaah. Let's continue our walk, shall we?"
Just as they started walking, a collective cheer roared from the stadium. It was louder than before.
"Looks like the Headmaster just cut the ribbon. It won't be long before we get teleported.", Seventeen remarked.
He and Ruth are also moderators to help out during the preliminaries. They were told that after the inauguration, they would be teleported to the location of the preliminary round.
Both of them were chosen to go to the location allocated for students of the academy.
"You think it is a coincidence that we're both chosen to go to the same location? Marcus got chosen for the general warlocks' location, and Anne got the location of the Adventurers Academy.", he looked at Ruth.
She shrugged, "Well, the Headmaster was in charge of the allocation, so it's possible."
Anne Felicity was very excited when she heard that they were going to the same location. Ruth can't help but be flustered.
'That cat woman seems to be reading too many romance novels.', Seventeen thought as he recalled her tail swishing and ears twitching with excitement, not to mention the stars in her feline eyes.
He was broken out of his thoughts when the teleport bracelet on his wrist glowed.
"Welp. See you later, I guess?"
Ruth nodded, "We are going to be in different places at the location. So yeah. See you later."
They fist-bumped and disappeared with a pop.
*******
"I'm getting quite nervous.", Gray said worriedly as she nervously fiddled with her fingers.
Arthur, sitting beside her, smiled, "Don't worry, Gray. Things will be fine. All of us went through that brutal training for this occasion."
"Oh, Arkenstein. Don't remind me of those hellish days.", Rhea sitting behind him, shuddered.
"What's hellish about making things wet with your attribute?", Robin quipped.
"Well, it's harder than making you wet with your blood.", she shot back at her brother.
Ray whistled, "Damn, you're good, Rhea."
"Please don't encourage her.", Robin pleaded.
As everyone laughed, Zephyrus's voice boomed all around them.
"This year boasts the highest number of warlocks participating in the Battle Festival. Apart from warlocks worldwide, we also have talented students from the three great academies of Arken."
"Ascalon Academia, Adventurer's Academy, and Cardinal Academy. We will all be witnesses to the power and capabilities of these talented young warlocks during the Festival."
"We will also have battles between our talented Cardinal Knight captains and the special highlight of the Festival. The Instructors Round!"
At the mention of the last part, the crowd went wild.
"Instructors fighting each other sure is popular.", Vanessa remarked, noticing the reaction.
"You don't say.", Arthur chuckled, "The instructors of the academy are on par with squad captains and vice captains."
"Especially instructor Marcus. He's the reigning champion ever since he came to the academy.", Jason quipped.
Arthur smirked, "Looks like this year he will have to give that crown to sir."
"Obviously.", the young Kain chuckled.
"Now! Let us begin the Preliminaries!", Zephyrus's voice resonated throughout the stadium.
"The preliminaries will be done with four categories of participants. The first three are the students of the Ascalon Academia, Adventurer's Academy, and Cardinal Academy."
"The fourth one is the many warlocks from around the world! Most of them include adventurers, some Cardinal Knights, and independent warlocks."
"Each participant was given a special bracelet earlier. It has the space attribute and will shortly teleport you to the location for the preliminaries."
"There are four locations, each for a category of participants. We will explain the rules when all of the participants are teleported to the locations."
He raised his fist into the air, "To all the participants! I wish you all the best!"
The crowd roared and cheered their loudest. To Arthur's sensitive ears, it was deafening.
He winced in pain and almost missed the bracelet he wore glowing a familiar green.
'It's time.', he thought and lifted his head.
"Follow the plan!", he yelled over the noise. The others nodded in understanding and soon the stadium was filled with popping sounds as participants were teleported to the locations.
"This is going to be fun.", Zephyrus said as he turned to a demi beast with purple hair and cat ears who just appeared behind him.
"Don't you think so, Violet?"
*******
"Not another island."
Arthur groaned and slumped against a rock near the beach. The last time he was on an island, he died and awakened the annoying voice in his head.
[I must say that you are an ungrateful child. I helped you out a lot and you call me annoying?]
'This is exactly why you are annoying.'
He took a deep breath, laced his fingers, and visualized the plan to pass the preliminaries.
He has a vague feeling about what the preliminary round will be.
Even from where he was sitting, he could see the unmistakable shape of a tower rising from what seemed to be the center of the island.
Despite being far away from him, it was an imposing structure, made from what seems to be black stone and with a huge light crystal on top to act like a beacon when it is dark.
His bracelet buzzed and a small green light blinked rapidly. Before he could touch it, a magia screen projected out of it.
Arthur saw the real-time feed of...
Cat ears. Adorable and fluffy purple cat ears.
"Zephyrus you stupid asshole!", a female voice that seemed to belong to the ears shrieked and then sighed.
The video adjusted and Arthur saw a beautiful demi beast with bright violet eyes. and lightly tanned skin.
She had a forced smile on her face.
Arthur recognized her. The Earth Cardinal.
"Hello, participants. I am Violet Zelien, the Earth Cardinal from Raveria. By the rather annoying insistence of my fellow Cardinal. I've been given the responsibility to tell you about the preliminary round of the Battle Festival.", she spoke with a tinge of annoyance on her face.
Arthur could hear the cheering of the crowd in the background.
It appears that this live feed is broadcasted to all the participants at the same time since he can hear Violet's voice from the bracelets of participants scattered near him.
"As you can see. Each one of you has been teleported to a spot on the outermost edge of an island.", she started explaining.
"There are four islands, each for one of the four categories of warlocks participating in the preliminaries."
"There is a tower in the middle of each island. The objective is simple.", Violet's lips curled into a smile.
"The first 32 participants to enter the tower are qualified for the tournament. There will be 32 participants for each category."
Arthur swallowed his saliva. There are more than 200 participants from Cardinal Academy. This round will eliminate a majority of participants.
It's a race to the tower. Or is it?
Arthur frowned at the mischievous grin on the Earth Cardinal's face. She wasn't done yet.
"I believe most of you have started moving by now. I was not finished. There is one more thing to say.", she said.
He knew it. No way things will be this easy.
"Now each participant will be given ten points. You can steal points from other participants by defeating them in battle. If you defeat a participant with a higher point than you, all of their points will be transferred to you.
"The same thing will happen to you if you get defeated. You will lose your points. But if you haven't given up yet, just hunt down another participant with points."
"These points are important. The 32 qualified will be provided benefits according to the number of points they have. The higher the points, the better will be the benefits."
She shrugged, "You can enter the tower without accumulating any points but it will affect the benefits you receive."
"And no one wants to be at a disadvantage."
Violet cocked her head and gave a sweet smile, "And that's it, folks! Race to the tower while gaining points by defeating other participants. You can go solo or team up with other participants. It's all up to you."
"Oh, and remember. No killing! If you kill a participant, you will be immediately disqualified."
Her smile disappeared and a cold expression formed on her face, "And you will be hunted down by the Cardinal Knights."
Arthur felt a chill as her feline gaze pierced into his mind.
Just as quickly as it disappeared, her smile reappeared. This time sweeter than ever.
"Don't worry. They won't kill you but you will be arrested."
"All the best to you all! Let the games begin!"