The rules of the second round were simple. Students will be transported to one of the academy training grounds where these monsters are kept. There they will be tasked with surviving and defeating each other.
Each student defeated means you are taking all the points accumulated by the student in the previous round. This round is meant to last for a week or so and this time there were more advanced beasts there but of course, they didn't carry any points.
Seeing the current system of things, Sol felt disturbed by the fact that this world strictly followed the laws of the jungle to the core. This so-called ranking test was no different from a way to weed out the useless amongst them and kill them off.
Even for someone like Sol, he found it extremely cruel.
Unfortunately, he couldn't doubt it was effective. Look at Tulic Vlad for instance, he may be the vampire leader but even a nine-tailed fox spirit with the help of a cursed barrier still couldn't make this man break a sweat.
He admitted that the result was worth the sacrifice but that didn't mean the sacrifice was there.
.....
The next morning, Sol left the castle fast and wandered the academy area on foot. He wore a leather black jacket a black shirt, black leather trousers, and black leather boots.
As chieftain of the sixth tribe, he didn't find it hard to get customized clothes for himself. During the past month, he had his people prepare for his different types of attires with different designs which reminded him of earth. In fact, the orange robes he is so addicted to wearing were simply because he had watched a few amazing cultivation anime back when he was on earth.
After what could be considered ten minutes worth of walking at a steady pace, Sol found himself a bar at the academy and but that wasn't what intrigued him. It was the strong stench of fox spirits which made his eyes ting with suspicion.
Strangely the feeling was too faint and weak… if he didn't have the will of the fox queen, he would not even notice.
"But how?" Sol's eyes squinted.
The only way to avoid detection as a fox spirit is to take the body of a human. This fight left the firefox clan almost extinct and weak, so Sol didn't think they would dare be so bold to do this, especially with him as their new leader and Natasha who has gone back to keep them in check.
"Other clans?" Sol frowned as he kept looking at the bar for a while and sighed.
He quickly turned and left without hesitation, not bothering to look deeper into what happened.
In his opinion, if they are this deeply rooted then he won't be able to find out much. In fact, getting involved may even end up leading to more harm than good. Should they find out someone is on their trail they will become sneaker.
Right now, all he could do is let things happen as they should. When the time comes they will deal with it. By the way, even if the enemy is that strong he doubted they will be able to win against the current leaders of the four families who reside here in the center.
......…
Soon it was night and Sol was just done with his dinner. He sat on his bed in a cross-legged position as he meditated. His body was bare and all he wore was just grey trousers.
Right in front of him was the firefox mask. He just sat and kept gazing at it intently as if he was searching for answers. The six tribe members were now a part of this academy so he needed to do his best to look after them as well.
Fire, wind, earth, and water.
Each fox tribe is known for its element which determines its strength and weaknesses. With the fox queen of the fire clan gone, they are down to three leaders amongst them who can't even compare to the main leaders of Hallow mountain, so he found it strange.
"Do I reach out to the leaders?" Sol muttered with a troubled look on his face.
This was an option that he considered but only for a brief moment. One moment he entertained such thoughts and the next moment he pushed the thought aside.
How would he explain his ability to sense fox spirits which he shouldn't be able to detect?
Sol sighed and looked to the ceiling, feeling helpless. The last time he had information but now he lacked it. He was short-handed this time and he didn't find it amusing.
Bam!
Bam!
Sol looked up as he heard a knock on the door. He looked at it for a short while before inwardly deciding to ignore it. He ignored everything and put the mask under his pillow, before laying down properly.
Sol could smell a familiar scent that should belong to Theresa Vlad.
Maybe that's why he didn't open…
Maybe that's why he decided to sleep…
He could only endure as she knocked for close to minutes before stopping. Even when it stopped she was still there. She simply sat beside the door and began speaking while Sol listened in silence.
"I know you are awake. I can hear your heart beat faster…. I can hear you move, breathe, sigh…" Theresa's voice trailed off as she spoke as if she got lost in thoughts.
"I came to say I'm sorry… I'm not asking you to be my friend… I just want you to know I couldn't help it. My family has a grudge against yours…. I really wanted to help when I watched you struggle, but he wouldn't let me… I am not asking you to speak to me again, I just want you to know I'm really sorry" Theresa said and waited for a minute or two. After she got no response, she dejectedly rose to her feet and left while Sol remained on his bed with a conflicted look on his face.
The only he that could make Theresa do what she doesn't want to do is her brother, Cecile!