Hitachi High School.
The school assembly grounds. All the third year schoolers were gathered, waiting for the Principal to address them.
After waiting for a while, the Principal entered the hall and climbed the stage.
When he looked like he wanted to speak, the whole room fell silent.
"Good Morning Students, I'm here to tell you all about the rules of this competition. But firstly, will the top 3 students of each class step forward?"
Nine students quickly stepped forward, Jared and Kenny Lee included.
The third year students were divided into three classes, and each class had 50 students each. Coming together for a grand total of 150 students.
"The nine students standing here will be seeded. They will not need to participate in the 1st round, and will directly go straight through to the knockout stages."
The other students were not pleased at this.
"What the hell!? That's unfair to us!" They protested.
Sadly for them, the Principal ignored them and continued talking.
"The first round of the competition will be a Battle Royale. Class A students will battle first, then Class B before Class C. The last eight students remaining after the Class A and Class B's battle will advance to the knockout round, while only the last seven from Class C will get the chance to advance."
No one protested this time around, even the students from Class C. After all they were in Class C for a reason. They were all the worst of the bunch, the bottom of the rung. They were grateful that they even got the chance to participate.
Argo was also in this Class.
"Prepare yourselfs, the first round will start shortly."
After explaining some other things to them and giving each of them a small bracelet, the students were then asked to pick up the equipment of their choice from the storage room.
Argo could see a wall lined with wooden equipment and all types of weapons.
Axes, maces, bows, everything...
The were given wooden equipment in other to prevent deaths as much as possible.
Argo went over and casually picked a short sword. He was not particularly skilled in the way of the sword, but he was sure that wouldn't be a problem with the system.
The students were then led to the Training Arena to finish the rest of their preparations.
From the assembly grounds, they were escorted through a large hallway. At the end of it, they could see a bright light.
As soon as they went into the bright light, they were welcomed with roaring cheers and screams of the first and second years who were there to watch, cheer and support their favorite seniors.
The Arena had two special seating Areas. One was where the Participants had to seat to await their turns, while the other was a high-rise stage where the Principal, teachers and other dignitaries normally seat.
One of the teachers acted as Anchor for the day.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen!"
"We will now begin the opening round of Hitachi High School Tournament. The teacher spoke into a microphone, it was magnified so the whole school could here him.
The Class A students were asked to come up the stage and spread out all over the Arena grounds.
"The first round will be a Battle Royale style tournament. The last eight students remaining with go through to the next round." A holographic image suddenly appeared above the Training Arena.
"As you can see, the health points of each students are stimulated. Once the health of the contestant reaches 0 in the hologram, they will this be eliminated. This is to prevent all chances of unfortunate incidents." The Anchor explained, more to the audience rather. Because the Information had already been made privy to the participants.
"Now let's get ready to start in....
Three!...
Two!...
One!...
*****
The battle ended ten minutes later.
The students participating in the battle were mainly amateurs with the strength of Level 1 Apprentices. There only one or two exceptions possessing the strength of a Level 2 Apprentice.
Thus the battle was not all that exciting, just a bunch of students waving wooden swords and shields at each other.
They were a few students relatively better who performed well, they were obviously more skilled than the rest. They were the eventual winners of the battle.
Eight students left standing at the end. 5 boys and 3 girls.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our eight contenders heading to the next round. A round of applause for them!"
The audience cheered. Only this group of inexperienced students would find such a battle exciting. To the more experienced, this was nothing more than the squabbling of children.
The battle of Class B was much the same as the previous one. At the end of the battle, four boys and four girls made it through to the knockout stage this time.
Finally, it was time for Argo's class to grace the stage. Argo couldn't shake the feeling that some of the students were staring intently at him. He could feel their stares piercing into his skull.
Could it be that I got more handsome recently? He thought narcissistically while stroking his chin.
"Get ready. In 3...2...1!"
As soon as the fight had started, ten people closest to Argo dashed forward and surrounded him. Argo had felt that some of the participants were watching him and he was clearly right.
The only thing he wasn't right about, was the reason he was being watched. They obviously weren't surrounding him just to complement his looks.
The had clearly planned to attack he m together.
"Don't blame us for this, Kenny Lee paid us big money to take you out." One of them spoke as he awkwardly swung a sword towards Argo.
Argo lightly dodged the lame attack and swung his elbow backwards, towards the boy who was now speeding past him after the dodge.
"Omphff" The elbow knocked the wind out of the boy.
"Ahhh!" The other boys shouted out as the rushed towards Argo. The wanted to strike him all at once, hoping to disqualify him as soon as possible.
Argo saw this and grabbed the boy who was beside him, propping him as a shield. Each of the other boys attacks landed on the boy being used as a shield, eventually disqualifying him as the hologram in the Arena showed an 'DISQUALIFIED' besides his name.
A transparent shield popped out of the bracelet he was wearing, covering him from head to toe. This bracelet was actually a Master Level 1 protective tool. It could absorb up to Apprentice Level 5 damage. The condition of activating it was elimination.
This was an extra measure to prevent any accidental deaths.
"And we have our first eliminated contestant."
Some students in the audience booed. They were unhappy with Argo's human shield tactic.
[Ding. Host has done something fun and amazed people. 10000 SP received]
Argo couldn't care less about the audience, there was only one thing going on in his mind.
Kenny Lee again! That motherfucker! This daddy hasn't even gotten back to you about those previous two guys and you send more people? Fuck your mother. This daddy will kill you today.
Argo raged in his mind.
[Ding. New Sub Mission Issued]
[Personally disqualify Kenny Lee from the competition]
[Reward: Intermediate body strengthening pill, +10 Agility]
Argo got distracted from reading the new mission and a punch landed on his back, causing him to stumble. He raised his leg and dodged one of the other boys attempt to trip him.
He regained his balance, and dashed towards one of the boys surrounding him. He struck the poor boys legs, before the boy could even react to his speed. The boy stood still for a while and then completely collapsed screaming in pain.
His legs had been broken completely, so badly that bones could be seen sticking out.
It must be the kids unlucky day, because as the legs weren't considered a vital area, he was not eliminated and had to suffer in fear of Argo breaking more bones.
Argo left him in his pains, he dashed towards the other eight boys who were still scared at what the saw. He struck them with his sword, using it more like a hammer than a sword itself.
Argo had the strength to kill them if he so wished, but he would rather not do anything to troublesome. He struck with just enough force to break a few bones. He struck them near Vital areas, causing them to be eliminated due to 'heavy injuries'.
Argo walked back to the other boy with a broken leg, and hit him on the chest, disqualifying him. He made sure to control his strength to avoid accidentally killing the boy.
The other students watched dumbfoundedly, as Argo single-handedly eliminated ten contestants. They swallowed in fear and wondered if they were really meant to compete against this monster.
They all silently agreed to not bother this beast in human skin and duke it out amongst themselves.
Some of them were even more shocked though, They always saw Argo as one of the weakest students in their class and always mocked him. Though they all conceded that he was talented, they assumed that it will take some time to convert talent to actual strength.
Sweat poured from their heads when they remembered mocking him previously.
The audience cheered wildly at Argo's victory, even the ones previously booing him. This was the type of fights that excite them the most.
[Ding. Host has done something fun and amazed people. 10000 SP received]
[Ding. Host has done something fun and amazed people. 10000 SP received]
[Ding...]
They message repeated itself three more times.
Oh my God! 50,000 SP just like that? Argo exclaimed. He suddenly found getting attacked much more fun. He wondered if Kenny Lee would send more people for him to beat up in front of a crowd.
Kenny Lee!
He almost forgot about him after the distraction from the system. He decided to give Kenny Lee a gift, and searched through the system for a skill he noticed the other day.
There, found it.
Ghost smile: Gives the creep. World's most scary smile.
Price: 500 SP
He bought it immediately and looked towards the Special seating area for the participants, he found Kenny coincidentally looking at him. He smiled inwardly and activated...
Ghost smile!
Argo's lips curved into a strange smile.
Immediately, Kenny Lee trembled as if he had suffered an electric shock. His mind went blank and he stared into space like a moron.
'Humph, serves you right' Argo smile smugly before turning to look towards Jared who was still unaware of what happened. He gave him a thumbs up.
"And that ladies and gentlemen, concludes our 1st round Battle Royale"
The anchor's voice brought Argo back to the event happening on stage. He could see six students breathing heavily while standing. Four girls and two boys, joining him to make up the seven qualified students. The other students avoided meeting Argo's eyes, they were evidently still a little afraid of him.
"The next round will start in One hour, while we take this opportunity to repair the stage. The contestants will also use this time to regain their energy.
Please use this time to buy snacks and go to the toilet. You don't want to miss anything, because the next round is... the knockout rounds!"