Outside the parking lot, there were dozens of tents on the plain, with televisions and spaces to watch the event. It was a surreal amount of accommodation, and the further into the center, the more luxurious it became.
The airship continued to float at low speed forward. Kayden was able to see dozens of children and adults sitting and milling around the place. If the test was counting on more or less 10 million people, there should have been at least 20 to 30 million in total accommodated there.
As they advanced, it became more and more deserted, until they reached a platform that was flying. Its entire floor was made of dark noble wood, it was an immense square in length reaching 500 meters.
The boy estimated that, from the entrance to this point, they covered at least 20 kilometers, making evident the surreal size of the event they were participating in.
As soon as they got down, they were met by a man in a suit who guided them to a private tent. Again with all the possible luxuries inside, even the tent cloth seemed to be something expensive. Before they settled down, the man took out several non-disclosure agreements about the test that they had to sign.
The food and wine displayed on the table also revealed the luxury of the environment, with one of the drinks marked as 1000-year-old wine. The price of this bottle should be able to easily buy a house.
Once everyone was seated, Han began to speak.
"As you know, there is a large number of participants . The three tests you see on television are actually four. The first is the one that really cuts out 90% of the participants," the old man paused to fill his glass. "The first test comes down to a gigantic Battle Royale held in the forest in front of this plain."
Kayden was able to see while in the airship that in front of the plain was a large forest as far as his eyes could see. He had guessed that this was probably where the staircase was also.
"The innate talent test has no weight for entering the academy, only for choosing a patron, but that's a conversation for another time," he said as he looked at Kayden, it seemed like he had already talked about something similar with Heimer. "The first and the staircase test are the main ones, but even then it's difficult to know who can and cannot pass."
This was something Kayden had noticed a long time ago. This entire test was nothing more than a show for the participants to show off their best skills. Probably, the academy administration handpicked those who would be approved or not.
"Kayden, don't insult any nobles or cause intrigues that you don't need to. No matter how strong I am, there are still people who shouldn't be touched", that was the last sentence Han said before leaning in his seat and closing the eyes.
Seeing this, Heimer called Kayden to take a walk. There were still a few hours left before the start of the competition, as they left Lucian's house very early. They went directly to meet up with their friends from the previous day.
Five minutes later, they saw a tent a little bigger than the ones in the area. At its entrance, there was a logo of a restaurant. As soon as they entered, it was clear that it was a meeting place for young people.
Dozens of teenagers were sitting at round tables, sharing a meal or simply talking to each other. The first thing Kayden noticed was how well everyone was dressed .
Not only that, but they also carried different accessories, such as chains and watches carved in gold or silver. Luckily, Han gave the two boys fine clothes to wear today, so they didn't attract much attention.
"Heimer! Kayden!" Matheus shouted, catching the attention of the two at one of the tables located near the wall. Along with him was Sarah and the two brown-haired brothers from the day before.
After a little conversation, Kayden discovered that their names were Linus and Isaac. The two were exactly the same age as Kayden and were identical twins, making it difficult to identify who was who.
"Who could be the two filthy commoners who are fouling the air of the best restaurant in the capital?" an arrogant voice took away from the happy atmosphere and quickly emotions went from shock to anger.
"Shut the fuck up, Raymond", the first to defend the two was Matheus. His family taught him not to belittle any type of person, regardless of their origins. Unfortunately, not all nobles had this thought.
Kayden chose to stay quiet. He knew that if he said something there and Raymond was one of the people Han warned him to stay away from, he would simply be lost. In his previous life, he read enough novels to know that arrogant young masters had the worst revenges.
Heimer also did not speak while the two argued. It seemed like the boy wasn't an idiot either and knew the right moments to be arrogant.
"Oh, the blonde got angry and came to defend the little princesses", Raymond's high-pitched and irritating voice matched his thin and skeletal-looking physique. To go with his physique, he had pale skin with black hair.
"Leave before I get mad," Sarah said. As soon as she spoke, Raymond lost all his composure and simply left while promising that this wasn't over. Kayden chuckled to himself in his mind. He never imagined he would go through such a cliché soap opera scene.
"Sorry about that", Matheus scratched his head in an embarrassed manner.
"Don't worry, we know it wasn't your fault," Heimer nodded in agreement.
"Very well, I hope he doesn't try to cause you trouble in Battle Royale," Sarah said calmly. "He doesn't have the courage to go against me since I'm the Duke's heir and not even touch my brothers. But you two don't have that protection. Be careful."
His sentence brought two new pieces of information that Kayden didn't know. First, that she was the duke's heir. Perhaps because of his previous world, where most of the time it was the man who inherited everything, he had a bit of a wrong conception of things.
And the second information was that the twins would also participate. He should have thought that this was probably so they could train.
When it was noon, a booming voice resounded, drawing the attention of everyone in the 20 kilometers of structures in the area.
"For the next 10 minutes, all participants will be levitated. Anyone who resists will be disqualified. You will be placed at a random point in the forest and must face each other until there are the right number of participants. There are 100 kilometers of test area. Every hour , 10 kilometers will be shortened. We will automatically move people off the edge and into the test zone. Good luck."
"Good luck everyone", this phrase began to repeat itself like wildfire among the children. And when Kayden said his, the medal that Kayden received from Lucian earlier began to glow blue. A number of 10 million and some broken ones appeared on its surface, and in parallel, Kayden began to feel his body being lifted into the air.
As soon as he left the tent he saw several children and teenagers being levitated too, passing his eyes through the crowd he saw Han next to Lucian.
"Good luck " Kayden understood the words that came out of the old man's mouth even with that distance between them. For the first time in a long time his heart started to race, this was the biggest event he had participated in in his life.