"Everybody!!!!! It's time for the first part of the tournament." The masked announcer spoke. The crowd screamed at the top of their lungs with excitement. They stomped their feet, causing the stadium to vibrate.
"The vibes of the stadium is off theeee roooof!!!" The announcer continued, swinging his caned microphone around. "Our first competition is the famous VALLEY OF MYYYTHSS!"
He screeched at the top of his lungs. The audience yelled back. "Players, solo or in groups, are to enter this door," A wide door with glowing white light emitting from it appeared in the middle of the stadium grounds.
"On the other side of this very door, large valleys with various creatures reside there. The first twenty-four contestants to make it through the doors will make it to the next round. During your time in the Valley of Myths, make sure to keep focus and alert."
"Let the games begin."
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"Who's excited? I'm excited. Who's excited? Excited, that's me." Magnus was dancing in a little corner. Mortale, Thali, and Elvia studied him with tilted heads and bewildered expressions.
"Accustomed to this world and completely at ease. Something that they couldn't wrap their heads around in the two weeks they've known him. Most summons or reincarnations lose their minds. Yet here he is, at ease with himself. It's as if he was telling the world. Hello, I'm Magnus Jokull. The whole village, including my mother, was annihilated by the French rebel army. But it's okay. It's time to move forward in life. There's no need for revenge."
The mortified trio looked behind them as a tall, lanky old- man with pale skin and pale white hair spoke to them. He unravelled details only they would know.
If it wasn't for the rules of the stadium, the old man's head would have been placed in Mortale's calloused palm for unnerving him
"If my simple mind probing is enough to have you on edge, I sincerely hope that you're able to defend yourself in the valley of myths. There's a whole lot of mind games in there." The old man smoothed himself.
He was dressed in a black male Victorian attire, almost mimicking the famed Jack The Ripper. Magnus walked up to the shaken trio just as the old-man walked back.
"You look like you've seen a ghost. The old man kinda looks like one." The joke was terrible but Magnus was slapping his knee and cracking up. Thali cracked a small smile and the other two only muttered dork under their breath.
"Contestants, get ready to meet at the stadium ground in five minutes for your first challenge." A young girl in a referee uniform announced. Her bright orange hair bounced as she bounced up and down on her toes.
The contestants started making their way to the stadium ground. The sun hit them once again as they exited the waiting room.
The crowd cheers, boosting some of the contestants' egos. Magnus, Thali, Mortale, and Elvia warmed themselves up on the spot.
"Would you look at that! There are our contestants! Are they ready to face the greatest challenge of their lives and move on to the next stage?!" The contestants screamed yes whilst Magnus' group stared at the over-excited announcer.
The large gates from earlier were still opened and the contestants readied themselves.
" On your marks! "
" Get set! "
" Go! "
The contestants ran into the gate, leaving the pastel kingdom behind. Darkness surrounded them as they felt their bodies being moved on their own. The consciousness slipped in and out as they moved forward at lightning speed.
The group was split up, something that didn't feel too good to them. Once the light returned, they were now in a mystical forest with blue glowing butterflies flying around. Some of the contestants looked perplexed whilst the rest were happy that the journey here was over.
Magnus got up and started looking for his team. They weren't really far and Thali was spinning in circles. Rough crashing.
He could see a valley up ahead. The place where the real challenge would begin wasn't that far from them, which invoked a nervous reaction within the red-haired boy. The challenge within the Valley of Myths had begun.