Narrated by John
The stadium was huge, and looked like it was sold out. There was a concert going on there, and the crowd cheered loudly. The roar of the crowd was so deafening, that, even at a distance away from the stadium, I couldn't hear Alex.
"WHAT?!!" I shouted in the midst of the noise.
"I SAID, THE STADIUM'S PACKED! AND LOUD!" He shouted back.
"I NOTICED!" I shouted back to him, and we walked to the stadium entrance. I recognised a few students from out school, and we walked to them.
Claysher gathered all the Stronghold students together, and said,"So, you've all managed to qualify for the tournament qualifier. Congratulations on that! But, it's not over yet. There will be another qualifier, out of which only thirty two, out of five hundred and twelve, would qualify. And at least five of them, must be from Stronghold City, got it?"
"YES!!" An enthusiastic reply from all of us.
He smiled and nodded,"That's the spirit! I hope you all do well!"
He walked outside.
Mr. Benji said,"Oh! Almost forgot this! I forgot two give you your batch logo, forgive me for that."
"Batch logo?" I asked.
He came in front of me, and held his right hand right in front of where my heart would be. He closed his eyes, and opened them after a moment.
"There we go."
I looked down, and saw a red colored logo on my gi, on the left. It was a shield, with a broad top and pointy bottom. A normal three point shield, like the general shield they show in movies and stuff. It was black in color with a red border. Inside the shield, "OLIVER BENJI" was written in red, and the logo blended with my gi's color scheme.
"Looking pretty good!" I said, and he smiled.
He went to Alex and out the same logo on his gloves, but white and purple instead of red and black. Soon enough, we all had the logo in our clothing.
"Now, that completes Class Benji!" Mr. Benji said.
We smiled. Then, a man appeared at the stadium entrance, and shouted,"All the tournament participants, follow me!"
I looked around, and saw a huge crowd of people everywhere. All of these... had qualified? All five hundred and twelve of them?
The man led us all through a huge corridor, and stopped in front of the entrance to the arena.
"Please proceed." He said.
The long line in front of me began to move, and soon, I began to move too. I walked out, and the sight of the arena left me speechless........
The ground was huge and circular, and was big enough to accommodate all of us. The audience rose to a great height. Everywhere I looked, I saw so many people, chanting, cheering, jeering, sitting, or standing. There wasn't a single seat that was empty.
The ground was grassy, with a stone pathway emerging from where we came, and it stopped abrupt at the centre of the arena. That was where the ring would be, I guessed.
We were sorted into lines, and formed a neat thirty two by sixteen rectangle. I was slightly nervous. There was such a huge crowd all around me. My parents might be there too, but I couldn't find them.
If I lost here, what would happen? I didn't want to think of it.
And luckily, I didn't get to, as a helicopter hovered above us right at the next moment, and the audience erupted in another loud cheer.
A few guards dragged a platform to the middle of the stadium, and the helicopter hovered right above it.
The crowd cheered as a man emerged from the helicopter, and jumped down to the platform, landing in a superhero-like pose, bent on a knee with his fist on the ground.
He got up with a puffed chest, and placed his hands on his waist, as if he was enjoying all the attention he got.
He had a rectangular face, with neatly combed black hair, a thin moustache bordering his upper lip, and blue eyes electric with excitement. He was probably in his early 20's, and wore a black tuxedo, and thin spectacles on his face. His nose had a perfect 60 degree angle, and the guy looked like a nerdy model.
He grinned, and his head turned 180 degrees from the right to left. He then turned himself, and again his head turned 180 degrees.
He bent down, and his right hand produced a mic from his pocket. Still bent, he brought the mic near his face, and said,"Today... I feel...."
He quickly bent up, and looked at the sky, and said,"I FEEL EXCITED!"
His voice was light, and he the charisma. The crowd cheered, and he faced them.
"Mira City! Welcome! Welcome to the 50th Bender League! Once again, prodigies will clash! Once again, legends will be made! Once again, great fights will be be witnessed! Once again, we'll feel the excitement! The anticipation! The electricity! The intensity! The oohs! The aahs! Once again, we'll feel Every! Single! Thing!"
The crowd roared with excitement.
"Yes! Yes! Keep it going! It's an honor for me, Jimmy Patt, to serve as the announcer for this season! So, ARE YOU READY?!"
The crowd went crazy.
"Who will win? Will Stronghold get a hat-trick of wins? Or will Mira redeem themselves at their hometown? Will Condiac come out victorious? Or will it be Arco? Does Ontas have a chance at winning the title? Or would Seeburg emerge victorious? Will Erton win their first League? Or will Symphulis pick up the win? Who will win?"
Everyone in the crowd started cheering for their own city, and it was total chaos, with no clear city name being heard.
"This week is gonna be bi-i-ig! The event is gonna broadcast everywhere across the eight cities! So, kick back, relax, or shout your lungs out, for this, is the 50th Bender League!"
Jimmy continued,"Now, it is time, to start the qualifier match. Actually, it's not a match, but more of a race. An obstacle race! Yep, you heard it right! It's gonna be an obstacle race! The rules are simple. One lap across the track. What's the track? It's the city! We've made a track across the city, and this track is divided into five parts! Each of these five parts tests each of your five primary abilities! And the first 32 to cross the line, will qualify for the tournament! Think you can make it? Well, try it out!"
He faced us,"So, are you ready?"
"YES!!"
"I repeat. ARE? YOU? READY?!"
"YES!!!"
He smiled,"Okay then!" He took an air pistol out of his pocket, and pointed it up at the sky.
"Ready!"
I took a deep breath.
"Steady!"
I can do this, I told myself. My brain said nothing.
"Go!"
The pistol fired with a boom, and that's when the chaos started.