-(Warning from the Author: This book will be a lot gorier than I originally thought [heheh, decay go brr]. Reader discretion is advised.)-
*PART ONE OF THE TOURNAMENT WILL CONSIST OF A SURVIVAL-TYPE BATTLE ROYALE. CONTESTANTS WILL ACCRUE POINTS BASED ON HOW MANY OPPONENTS THEY ELIMINATE. IF YOU ARE ELIMINATED, YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED AND YOU WILL NOT PROGRESS. THIS PORTION OF THE TOURNAMENT WILL END ON THE DAWN OF THE THIRD DAY.
ONLY THE TOP 150 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS WILL PROGRESS INTO THE NEXT ROUND, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY STUDENTS REMAIN STANDING. ADDITIONALLY, DYING WITHIN THE POCKET REALM DOES NOT KILL YOU. ALTHOUGH, YOU WILL STILL FEEL PAIN.*
The almost robotic-monotone voice described the details of the first event. Lia was fairly sure she understood.
In essence, all contestants will be transported to a pocket dimension. They would have to survive and fight for three days. Eliminating opponents would grant them points, and the top 150 students remaining at the dawn of the third day would progress to the next event. Dying would count as elimination and would disqualify you. There were seemingly no other methods for disqualification.
Lia wasn't sure what the next event was, but she was already starting to get excited. This was going to be extremely entertaining.
Glancing over at Lacey, Lia saw that she was much more relaxed, although she was still nervous. Lia had the thought to pet her head once again, but she stamped that thought out.
There was a bright orange glow that resounded throughout the room as small mirrors began to appear in everyone's hands. The robotic voice began to explain.
*THESE ARE USED TO VIEW YOUR CURRENT RANKING, AS WELL AS THE RANK OF THOSE CLOSEST TO YOURS. YOU CAN VIEW THOSE AMONG THE TOP 5 AS WELL IF YOU TAP ON THE MIRROR. PLEASE STAND BY FOR INSTANT TRANSMISSION. GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HUNTING.*
Lia waited patiently. She hated waiting and based on everyone else's reactions, they did too. The wait time felt like an eternity, but eventually, everyone began to glow with a golden light.
.....
Lia's eyes adjusted to their new climate quite quickly. The sun shone directly on her, annoying in its radiance. She was standing in a desert, and her pupils shrank as the sun assaulted her eyes. Her sclera turned pitch black, granting some relief to her eyes. This was something she hadn't noticed until now.
Whenever the sun shone directly on Lia, the sclera of her eyes would turn black. It granted her some measure of relief from the sun's strain on her eyes. She had just noticed it, as it was a bit difficult to notice unless one was standing in extremely direct sunlight. She nodded as she looked down at the mirror in her hand. This would indeed be fun.
Lia walked for quite some time. She hadn't been in a desert before, but she decided they were her ultimate bane. It's hot, the sun's very annoying, and the sand sucks to walk on. If Lia had her way, she would never return to the desert. She would steer as far away from them as possible.
It took her roughly two hours, but she eventually saw signs of civilization. It was a small desert village. There were no signs of life anywhere, however. The houses were abandoned, yet they were all well cared for. It wasn't until she attempted to enter the blacksmith's cottage that she heard voices for the first time since entering this realm. Two people were talking inside. They were trying to be extremely quiet.
"Look man, I found the sword, so I should keep it. You can't expect me to just give it to you because you have trained to use a sword. I still need a weapon as well."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to take it from you then."
"Fucking moron. I still have the sword."
There was a slight *PSSHH* sound as the sword was presumably stabbed into someone. The man began to lament how moronic his "partner" had been. Why would someone who has no sword, attack someone who is wielding one? Even better question, why would someone announce they were going to attack you? In his eyes, these people had no battle sense.
Lia chuckled as her mana whipped into a frenzy. 'How do I want to kill him, hmm? Perhaps a little..decay could be fun.'
Her mana flooded the room as the man inside dropped the sword on the ground. Lia entered and saw the man clutching his arm, a scream locked in his throat. Her mana clung to his skin as it corroded and separated itself from his body. It left small piles of raw sizzling flesh on the ground, exposing the white bones underneath his skin.
The man writhed on the ground, his skin was being consumed by Lia's mana. It fell off in larger and larger swathes as she watched on with morbid curiosity. Eventually, the man was turned into nothing but bones that clung to pieces of half-consumed flesh. She nodded in satisfaction.
"This spell was a bit more than I had hoped for. I may have to tone it down next time." She picked up the sword, strapped its sheath to her side, and continued on her way.
.....
Lia broke out into a smile as she saw the first hint of a new biome. It seemed to be a lightly wooded forest, with more open grasslands than actual forest. She continued semi-haphazardly. Of course, Lia was still on guard, there was no chance she wouldn't be.
Lia walked, finally having exited the desert. She could have begun hunting more and more people within it, but her only want was to leave the accursed biome as quickly as possible.
Lia spoke aloud, uncaring if anyone heard her. "The real hunt begins now."
"Oh, what hunt, hmm? I am curious to know who you'll be hunting, little vampire." The voice came from someone that Lia couldn't see. She assumed it was an invisibility spell or some kind of cloaking.
Lia chuckled. "Oh. I think I'll start with you." Her mana began to dance frantically around her as the grass beneath her boots began to wilt and die. She walked forward and stood in the center of where she heard the voice. "Are you going to come out, or must I flush the little weasel out?"
There was no response and Lia looked around confused. Her eyes widened in sudden realization. 'This bitch is running!'