The list of rankings on the ceiling shifts around.
Some of the numbers above the silver doors in the room shift too, matching the hunters' updated rankings for those already inside.
Many applicants move up and down 1 or 2 slots as they've managed to squeeze in a few points past their fellow applicants.
I see Natalie's score actually get worse, moving from [17] to [19], while Dane's moves from [18] to [16], and Marcie shoots up the rankings all the way from [19] to [13].
Ember moves up in the rankings one slot too, hitting [9].
My grin grows as I see myself move all the way up to position number [5].
The first four slots are still filled by Apex Region Elites, Trax and Callum taking first and second.
It seems that portion of the written test where niche association hierarchy knowledge is still holding me back a little, but my in-depth explanations of scenarios and training tactics were enough for the experienced proctors to see that a majority of my answers were correct where the machine didn't.
I call out across the room while taking a step back into the rejuvenation room.
"What was that about me not being in the top 12? Huh? Looks like it was just a system error."
My laugh echoes through the room as the perfect 1-6 rankings of the elites are broken up by a rogue no-name Bedrock hunter.
While the silver door begins to slide shut, Trax's angry yell echoes back.
"This is another trick! You've cheated again! I'll kill you in the next trial and prove you're nothing! You do not deserve to rank this high! Just wait, wait until I get my hands on you without that A-Class holding me back!"
I make a final glance of eye contact with him.
"Looking forward to it."
The door clicks shut, and a wave of hot soothing mana rushes into me from the floor and through all of the walls.
It's at least ten times as strong as the golden lounge in the pre-trials.
It is very impressive and would certainly speed up natural healing to a significant degree, however based on some of the injuries I saw on the other applicants, they're going to need a bit more than just a mana bath to bring them back to 100%.
I take a stroll of the small 10m by 10m room to find a bed, a large desk and chair, food, potions, and a complete wall of armor, pendants, weapons, and all kinds of unique-looking high C and low B-Grade gear.
A message above the items in glowing holographic text reads out that I should help myself to whatever I desire.
On the ceiling of the room, a 16-hour timer ticks down and the live ranking still sits there without moving.
After a quick scan of the items on the wall, I confirm there is still nothing worth taking.
I walk over to the desk and comfortable-looking chair, then sit down and take a deep breath of the fresh mana flooding through my veins.
A few hours pass as I fall into a peaceful trance-like state while absorbing just enough mana to not be abnormal.
Then, my concentration is disrupted by a light dinging sound and a new text screen on the ceiling.
[A personal Healer will arrive shortly. Any additional injuries will be rejuvenated now.]
Seconds later, the silver door at the back of the room opens and I turn in its direction to find a level 994 woman with silky blond hair that waves in the air below her waist.
She has the same legendary grade [Soft Heal] skill as both Natalie and that tank healer from earlier.
However, this woman has the mana control of a hunter that has far surpassed the double ranked up status. It's surprising she hasn't hit level 1000 yet given the mana radiating off of her, but I have a few guesses as to why when the golden collar around her neck enters my field of vision.
Her eyes are a dull blue, it looks like there is no life behind them. However, she still smiles and keeps her body language graceful as she walks over and speaks in a steady tone.
"Please show me where any lasting fatigue or injuries may be after your trials. I will make sure you are able to fight at full capacity before the next stage."
I stare forward for a moment, still looking her up and down as she comes to a halt in the middle of the room, staring back at me with a lifeless gaze.
I shake my head.
"No thanks. I feel fine already."
She doesn't move, still staring forward and replies in the same tone.
"I insist. You may have injuries you're not aware of, Mr. Anderson."
I stand up from my desk and look back at her.
"I said no thank you, I've already fully recovered. There are applicants that need your heals much more than me."
She nods.
"They have already been assisted. You're next in line for a full heal. Please allow me to do my job. I need to make sure you're in your top fighting condition, that is all."
I reply back with lightning flickering in my eyes.
"I don't know what your deal is, but I don't want whatever treatment you're offering to give. If you lay a finger on me, I'll be less ready for the next trial than if I'm left to my own natural healing."
Surprisingly, she nods and takes a step back.
"That is a satisfactory response. I find no visible injuries and your mana control base appears to be stable."
As she turns to leave through the door she mumbles to herself.
"You Bedrock applicants sure are difficult this year..."
The silver door clicks shut and the messages disappear to leave me in a blank room again with only the timer and rankings.
Her odd behavior is one thing, but it leaves my mind as the fact that she left without much of an overreaction means she most likely wasn't trying to do anything devious. The thing that interests me most as more hours pass in the rejuvenation room is that woman's skill.
Trax's words about the Apex Region's director and his obsession with healers stick in the back of my mind as I try to piece together this puzzle.
I've come across other healers in my travels through cities when I do broad scans.
While this [Soft Heal] skill is far more efficient than the [Surface Heal], [HP Heal], [Self Heal], and various other lesser healing abilities I've found, it's not like it's a unique or overpowered skill like the [Restore] skill Abby has.
Whatever the Director is looking for here, it's either way over my head and has something to do with this [Soft Heal] skill that I can't understand, or a far more likely option, the director is looking in a totally wrong direction.
Whatever it is, my only hunch on the matter is thousands of kilometers away underground cultivating Qi beneath Valor City... Overthinking this matter any further won't be of use until I can figure out why the director is looking for a healer and what the exact ability is he's looking for.
Until then, I will focus on getting close enough to the higher-ups to actually have the ability to find this information myself.
More hours pass, and eventually the timer on the ceiling hits the 1-hour remaining mark.
While I'm sure most people slept during this time, I sit in silence and wait.
There's another soft ding that breaks my concentration, but this time the text on the ceiling is rather open-ended.
[Prepare to fight. You have 1 hour before the matches begin.]
It flashes a few times, then I feel the entire room move, along with the mechanical moving parts making it seem like the entire room is gliding on a long rail and constantly switching tracks.
The ceiling text disappears, then a large video screen of Rodrigo standing in the center of the circular white room we left 15 hours earlier appears.
However, as it pans up, it's now clear that the ceiling of the room is gone.
It's been replaced by a large blue transparent dome.
There are a few hundred seats surrounding the entire room outside the dome.
The audience seating is split into 8 sections and I see a large throne sitting in the center of each section. There are a few people that I recognize.
Sitting in one golden seat with about a dozen C and B class hunters surrounding it is Brutus, the Vice Region's director. A bright light is showing on him in his Association armor and shimmering rings.
Next to him, less than 20 meters away is another throne made of glossy black rock. Director Maylack, the Director of the Bedrock Region sits there with a few of his B-Class guards and quite a few C-Class hunters.
Across the ring in the curved seating, I even see the green-eyed woman with earth magic from the Talton Region. She sits in a stone throne but has not brought a single guard or hunter with her. The section of the audience around her is empty.
My vision tracks over to an old man with grey hair on a silver throne. He has a strong build and noble stature with similar strength and armor to Brutus. He has over 20 guards around him, and I assume that this is the director of the Veridian Region.
Beside this, about 25 meters away, there is another region. There is a figure in black robes with 6 guards around him in masks and matching dark outfits. I can't see any of their faces, but I assume this is the Phantom Region.
Lastly, on the far edge of the ring there are two more regions.
One Director is a young woman who hovers in the air above a white throne with wind magic, while the regional throne beside them is less than 10 meters away. It is led by a young man flickering with fire.
Each of them has about 10 C-Grade guards around them.
These are the Silca and Raya Regions. From the way they're positioned so close together in the seating, it seems like they're one. However, there is a clear distinction between their clothing, and there are two thrones.
I cannot definitively tell which region is which.
To my surprise, there is no throne for the Apex Region visible either.
The positioning of the camera pans back down to Rodrigo who stands in the center of the room.
"Attention, applicants. The 4th Stage of this year's B-Class exams will begin shortly."
He pauses, and the screen on the ceiling of my room splits in half to show the ranking again as he continues.
"We will be holding a tournament to display each individual hunter's strengths and weaknesses in a solo match environment."
The ranking boards with all the individual hunters' names start to move around and form groups of two. Their faces show up next to their number in a long line.
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[1][66], [2][65], [3][64], [4][63], [5][62], [6][61], [7][60], [8][59], [9][58], [10][57], [11][56], [12][55], [13][54], [14][53], [15][52], [16][51], [17][50], [18][49], [19][48], [20][47], [21][46], [22][45], [23][44], [24][43], [25][42], [26][41], [27][40], [28][39], [29][38], [30][37], [31][36], [32][35], [33][34]
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It seems the lowest rated applicants are matched up with the highest.
Only one line comes up from each pairing and it leads to two new blank spaces where the line from another pairing meets.
The winner of each match moves on, making the chart look like a pyramid.
There is a single blank space left for the pairing of two at the top of the chart for a final event.
This will allow for the highest-rated hunters to make it to the later rounds and won't have the most intense matchups first.
This means it's already skewed in favor for the higher ranked hunters to do well in the tournament. Middle-ranked hunters will be the only ones fighting fair matches, at the start at least.
This works in my favor so I don't mind much.
My eyes scan the numbers as Rodrigo continues to speak and explain.
"You will be fighting in 2-minute rounds. The winner will be decided by death or verbal submission."
He smirks and holds up a pendant.
"Of course, you will be given a protection item that ensures your safety. This is given to make sure no valuable Association hunters are unnecessarily killed, but also to make sure you don't hold back and show us everything you've got."
He points up to the circular seating that wraps around the mana-shielded fighting pit.
"If both parties are still standing after the 2 minutes are up, our 7 Regional Directors will vote on a winner."
The camera pans up even further to show a solid black box with no doors or windows floating in the sky above the dome.
"-And of course, our very own Apex Region is overseeing the event itself."
The video view pans back down to Rodrigo and he continues.
"Every round you continue to fight will affect the live ranking on your wristband. If you win a match against an opponent of a higher ranking than your own, this will allow you to rise in the ranks. However, if you defeat an opponent at a far lower rank than your own, it won't affect your own ranking at all."
He pauses and smiles.
"With that being said, all of the rankings are weighted. So, the stronger the opponent you managed to defeat, the more it will affect both of your scores following the match."
He nods and waits in silence again before continuing.
"This 4th stage may be the final step in this year's B-Class exams for some of you, as only the top 20 will be moving on to the final stage of the exams."
He steps forward and places a hand in the air.
"However, if you fail to reach this goal, your journey in the hunter world does not end here today. This is an opportunity for all of you to grow and make connections with all of the Great Regions, not just the ones you came to represent. Every Regional Director here will be watching you perform. If your abilities and style suit their needs, they may send private contracts to whoever catches their eye as long as Apex Region deals are not already in place with the applicant in question."
The video zooms out again to get the Regional Directors in shot again.
"With that being said, the prize for today's tournament, for those who believe they have a shot at winning it all, will be awarded a B-Class License no matter their results during the 5th stage, and in addition to this, a guaranteed lifetime contract with any region you desire. This includes a seat on the board of contracted Apex B-Class hunters, and extends to every region here tonight."
My gaze tightens at this statement, as this prize seems like it's meant for the Apex Elites to win no matter what and receive their B-Class ID anyway, but it is still great incentive for other regions to give it their all.
Rodrigo smiles and the split screen shifts to show the first matchup in the tournament event with a large timer counting down the minutes.
"Applicants, make sure to stock up on all of the gear you have available to you in your rejuvenation rooms. Any magic items you've brought with you today are fair play. These matches will be simulating real-life or death situations. Your opponents may not always be monsters with solved ways of defeating them, you will have to know how to react to situations well within the unknown too."
A small circle in the floor of the room pops out and a silver pendant on a black string comes out with it.
"Please, place on your respawn items and prepare for the tournament to begin. Once it is your turn to fight, your door will open."
I take the small silver necklace and appraise it to find [Rodrigo's Silver Amulet] as its name. It is very similar to the item that was used during the C-Class exams, imbued with the A-Class hunter's respawn skill.
I know it works, I've seen it in action before. When the hunter wearing the item hits a low enough HP threshold, they will be sent back to a set location away from danger and with restored health. However, I know the previous version of this item had its faults. They may have fixed it for a large event like this one, but I'm definitely not going to trust my life to a magic item not made by myself or tested very carefully. I'm only wearing it for show.
I place the necklace on and the visual of Rodrigo disappears, leaving only the tournament chart of future matches on the ceiling screen and a timer ticking down the remaining minutes before the first match.
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Author's Note:
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