"Here they come."
One of the protector mages stationed at South View mountain looked ahead.
The roughly nine hundred students were dashing towards the mountain albeit at different speeds. In front of the group were some of the top students of the two academies alongside the more confident ones. Slightly behind them were the above-average students and some of the geniuses who wanted to witness the strength of the first batch of geniuses first before taking part in the qualifying round.
Finally, the cowardly, or better yet, less confident students along with the weaker ones stayed at the back. This group intended to analyse the results and performance of their predecessors and use that data to gauge the difficulty of the qualifying round. From that, they would estimate their chances of failure and begin crafting a strategy to use.
Although they were still young, one need not forget that all the students of the two academies were geniuses from all across the kingdom. They had also been trained for three years on various topics, including battle strategies and the like. So, despite being young, they shouldn't be treated as regular kids.
"They're here."
Just as the mage spoke, Aurora appeared in front of the mages followed by Lyn. Right beside her was Hanru. The trio was clearly ahead of the rest of the students as after them, the next student took roughly ten seconds to catch up. This was Emma of the Saunters family and two steps behind her was Wendel.
About fifteen seconds later, a bulky figure who looked more like a fit and well-built nineteen-year-old appeared. This was Koln from the Second Dawn Academy, who despite his appearance, was only fifteen years old. He was recognized as the second-strongest student in the third-year division of the Second Dawn Academy, only behind Hanru in talent, but ahead in raw power.
From his performance now, it was clear that Koln was also impressive in terms of speed.
The students mentioned above consisted of the head of the first batch as right after them, it took almost a minute before the other students could arrive; well, not everyone.
"Where's he?" Aurora couldn't help but ask as she looked around and scanned the next batch of students that arrived.
Even Lyn glanced around but similarly couldn't find him.
'Who the heck are they looking for?' Koln thought.
It might seem like a simple race to everyone else but to the students, especially the top geniuses, this was an opportunity to showcase themselves both to the people and most especially, the sacred land. Based on the performance so far, it was easy to identify the top students at a glance.
For these top students ahead of him to be looking for someone else, Koln couldn't help but be shocked and wonder who that individual was.
"It seems like the duke's son is taking his time." Wendel offhandedly stated, although no one knew his intentions for such.
"The duke's son?" Koln couldn't help but ask.
"The sole exception to the Arnhaunt household." Aurora fiercely answered.
While Aurora's words seemed harmless, they were laced with a bit of venom. By 'sole exception' Aurora meant 'the odd one out', and when one recalls that the Arnhaunt family was one with close ties to the military and performed a lot of military activities, an exception in the family would be someone weak.
"May I ask who you're looking for?" A voice interrupted the group.
It took only a second for some to find the voice familiar as they turned abruptly to its source.
"How are you here?!" Aurora asked in shock.
"When did you get here?" A shocked Emma also queried.
"Since. I took a shortcut."
Seated on a boulder in an easily ignored location was Asher, who was currently smirking at the group.
Every one of them was stunned by Asher's reply. A 'shortcut'? Which route was shorter than the one they all took? From the arena to the mountain was just a straight line, so there was no shortcut.
"It's a lie. You probably sneaked in with the others." Koln lambasted.
"Doubt me? Ask the mages." Asher ignored him and jumped from the boulder before proceeding forward.
"Tch."
Aurora and the other geniuses from the First Dawn Academy admitted their loss as they knew that if Asher was lying, the protector mages on standby would have already called him out. However, Koln didn't know this.
"Sir mage, tell us the truth; this kid sneaker in, right?"
Although in his head, Koln might feel that he was being respectful, the protector mage didn't think so and was irritated by how Koln talked to him.
"He came a minute before the rest of you guys and was taking a break behind the boulder. If you're angered and jealous, you should know that the blame lies with your skill and not your opponent." The protector mage bluntly said before walking away, leaving behind a stunned Koln.
. . .
It took about five minutes for all the students to completely arrive at the foot of the mountain afterward. During this time, everything was being broadcast on a magical display board, similar to the crystal bulletin board used for announcements [1], but much larger. There was also a similar board located at the foot of the mountain for the students to use and view the events within the mountain.
Both boards were divided into one hundred sections with each section displaying a different scene from the other.
"You've all been briefed about the basics of this qualification rounds so will the first one hundred students step forward." The protector mage in charge spoke up.
Asher, Aurora, Hanru, Emma, and all the other geniuses that were part of the first hundred walked forward and separated themselves from the remaining students.
The protector mage then addressed not just the first one hundred students but everyone else.
"Each one of you would be assigned a cave in the mountain. Inside, you'll find four puppets at the mid-rank of the second stage. A timer will be on display on the heads of the puppet. You'll seize from making any moves until the bell rings. Once it does, the round has begun and you'll have to defeat your enemies within thirty minutes. Even if you can't defeat them all in time, take down as many enemies as possible.
"Your final scores would be determined by the speed at which you defeated your enemies, and by speed, I mean how fast you did so, or how much time you used. In the case you didn't defeat all enemies, your score would be based on how many enemies you took down and how long you lasted.
"If we notice that you're about to lose your life or in dire straits, we will end the fight right away even if you still have some time left. Try and avoid such though as us having to end your fight before your time is up would affect your score. So do your best but with caution. With that well said, let's begin."
[1] Check Chapter 48 to understand better.