A day had passed after Jake's training, and it was the day of the second stage of the competition, the lower stage.
*Knock* *Knock*
A sound was heard outside Jake's room.
It was the sound of someone knocking on Jake's door.
The sound woke Jake up who was meditating in his room.
"What is it?" He coldly yelled.
"Jake, I have being sent to remind you that you have two hours to prepare," replied the person behind the door.
"Ok," said Jake, dismissing the person.
After he was sure no one was at his door, he closed his eyes and continued meditating.
Following a brief period of time, Jake opened back his eyes.
His right eye color changed from fierce blue to purple, as he unveiled the true appearance of the [Akashic Eye].
There was a reason why Jake purposely activated the [Akashic Eye].
He did that because he felt weird not using it for almost a week. It was like he was hiding a part of himself.
In truth, the [Akashic Eye] was never meant to be de-activated. It was a mutation of his eye, a special ability.
It was like a tail to him, a new part of himself. The more he uses it, the greater its efficiency becomes, and the more abilities he discovers.
It was too precious to be a rusted iron!
It needed to be oiled regularly!
Now that Jake had spare time, due to him completing his technique practice yesterday, he could take some time off to get more familiar with it.
As for the reminder he just got, he didn't worry about that. He had woken up early this morning to prepare.
He was already in his light combat outfit, and couldn't be more prepared.
The moment the [Akashic Eye] showed its true appearance, Jake entered a "euphoria" zone, where he felt more attuned to his environment.
He was already used to the basic ability of the special eye, but it felt more enhanced when he unveiled the [Akashic Eye]
His photographic memory felt like permanent files have been placed in his mind.
His enhanced five senses went off the roof as he could smell and identify the perfume his next-door roommate was using.
He could see the holes in his skin, could hear his blood flowing like the sea, could taste the wind, and could feel with his skin far beyond his control.
Also, his brain activity became more intense as his intelligence, intuitive aptitude, and energy control, increased by a level.
'Amazing. Just the activation of the eye could enhance all its basic abilities. Perfect,' smiled Jake.
He went on further, focusing on the special abilities of the [Akashic Eye].
As he had done this before, he could identify them all.
The first one was his accelerated thought process. He was more familiar with it as it was the first ability he had ever used.
It had helped him defeat the child of the [Curved Spiked Ape] he met way back.
The ability manifested in a way that seemed like he had more time to himself. He could think about five times faster than his usual thinking speed.
With this, he possessed a great amount of reaction and could be quite deadly in battle, as he was able to experience things far slower.
The second ability was his accelerated perception. It was just like its name entailed; it increased his perception and made him understand things faster and better.
The last one was what he called Power Reading. With this ability, he could identify the power level of an individual by gauging their threat level based on all the information provided.
Getting an idea, Jake threw an object up and watched as it came down.
"Beautiful," he said as he observed the action.
It was like a slow-motion movie. The object floated down, and Jake could see almost all the dimensions of it.
It was really a fascinating sight...to only Jake, as others would just see it as it is, an object falling down.
This experience made Jake smile, "Perhaps, that how perfection is. Something that others can't perceive. They lack the ability to see it."
To Jake, it was like a speck of dust to the human eye. It couldn't be touched nor seen, but Jake swore that he would attain perfection.
He owed it to himself to find perfection.
While Jake was in thought, his eye pulsed to inform him that it was running low on gas, which Jake could already feel as headaches clouded his head.
In a decisive action, he de-activated the [Akashic Eye] and mentally recorded the amount of time it stayed active.
It was a groundbreaking six minutes which was better than the previous three minutes.
It was definitely progress, and such progress was why Jake wanted to get more familiar with the special eye.
After the de-activation, Jake laid on his bed and looked at the ceiling.
His eyes became unfocused, but it still stared at the ceiling.
He emptied his mind as he spent the last of his time thinking about nothing. It was also a form of meditation.
.....
*Screech!!*
A big carriage stopped as it neared a magnificent large building.
The teenagers inside took turns at getting out orderly.
After the umpteenth turn, Jake got down from the carriage.
His indifferent eyes soared his surroundings as he walked to the entrance of the stadium.
He wore a light combat outfit, as stated before. A grey leather jacket with a black long sleeve innerwear that coiled its way from its position to Jake's fingers, wrapping around it like a silk glove.
His stretchy pants were also black. It was joined to the waist by his leather brown sword belt, which its sheath extending down to his torso to fit the length of his sword.
Jake kept quiet as the Pinesun group walked to the group. They passed a lot of inspections and identifications before they could eventually enter the large stadium.
After they arrive at a dividing line, Uncle Todd speaks out, "This is it. The five of you are going straight to the stage, while the rest, including me, are going to the spectators' seat."
He smiled at them, "When you are out there, do not put yourself in unnecessary danger. Just go at your pace. We will be cheering for you up there."
He pointed at a particular section among the row of seats that towered one another.
He bid farewell to the five participants as he led the rest to their seats.
The participants proceeded to the center of the stadium, where the stages were.
They met with the other participants and blended into the picture.
...
On their way to their seats, Andrew asked worriedly, "Will they be okay?"
Uncle Todd replied, "I don't know. All we can do is believe in them."
They got to the boxed layer of the spectators' seat, the noble layer. It was basically a protected layer, covered with a green box which outsiders could not see-through, only those inside could.
Todd Elliot walked to the Pinesun spot and instructed the teenagers to sit, while he went to greet the other nobles.
"Attention! Attention!"
A mysterious voice, audible for everyone in the stadium to hear, uttered.
It came from a rather small black box among the nobles' spot. Due to it being black, no one could see who was inside.
Nevertheless, they were at ease as most of them have been informed of it.
Inside the black box were the commentators which used a small device to amplify their soundwaves, making them loud and clear enough for everyone to hear.
While listening to the voice, Jake smiled.
A while back, he had seen some devices that mirrored the functions of the technological devices he had in his original world, but that was all to it.
The strange devices only mirrored the functions of the technological device. They were not built the same.
The one the commentators were using was most likely the Voice Amplifiers, made of an energy crystal that amplified their soundwaves.
Jake had seen smaller versions of it in different shops.
When he asked around, he discovered that the devices were not made in Aztec or the Southern Continent. They were imported by merchants who traveled a lot and sold at expensive prices to the Southern Kingdoms.
"Attention! Attention! The Competition will begin in two minutes. Please take your seats," the commentator informed.
Within the two minutes, people bantered, latecomers arrived, and the stadium was already full and ready to kickstart.
"Excellent. Now, May I call upon our referee for the lower stage, Royal Duke Conan Aztec to begin?"
At the behest of the commentator's word, the King's brother took to the stage, or rather, stages.
He held a small device in his hands, which Jake deduced was most likely the Voice Amplifier.
After getting to his destination, he shouted, "Silence!"
Upon getting a satisfactory result, he announced, "The Lower Stages is quite unique. It is basically a free for all style. Judging by our, we decided to divide you, the participants, into seven matches. Each match consists of six people on the combined stage. The only exception is the seventh match which consists of four participants."
He shoed away all the participants on the different stages and bent down, pressing a hidden button that joined all the stages together. The combined stage!
He continued to inform, "In each match, when only three participants are left, with the remaining eliminated, the match concludes with the three participants qualifying for the next stage. It is the same for the seventh stage, but instead of three qualifiers, it is two."
"Though some of you might have read it in the leaflet provided at the entrance, I would still say it. The rules of elimination are forfeiting, leaving the stage, and being in an unconscious state. The other rules are...…..."
Royal Duke Conan kept talking until he had informed them of all the rules.
"I will now allow the King to give the final speech."
The King, upon his seat, smiled at the stage.
He held his own Voice Amplifier device as he said, "Hahahaha. Quite the fierce faces on all of you. This stage like the previous other has its purpose. It is to test one's resourcefulness and adaptability. Anything is allowed, as long as it is within the rules. So, be wild!"
After his speech, Duke Conan sent the participant off to a special section for them among the stadium seats. One that was very close to the stage.
He brought out a bottle with contained the names of all the participants written on slips. The participants had put it there themselves during the King's speech.
He announced, picking up slips and reading them out loud, "The moment I call your names, come to the stage. Dean Forst. Cheyenne Aztec. Alexander Grant. Ollie Butler. Kenia Sharp. Marley Tyson."
The six participants came on the stage. They arranged themselves in a square formation.
Seeing this, Duke Conan loudly shouted, "Match 1, Start!"