The 64 winners' names were shown onto a chart at the colosseum for everyone to see and the crowd went wild. Alabaster is puzzled as his eyes scroll down on every notable name. Selim is one of the 64 winners, more specifically 28th place. He was in the middle ground, not too high but not too low.
"The second round will take place in the forest. You will enter the forest and find one of these," The professor held up two different colored headbands; red and blue. "The colors depend on your rank number. We will split everyone based on your placement. Odd numbers will be looking for the red band and even numbers are looking for blue. There are in total sixteen of each these colors meaning that 32 people would make it out of this second round and move on to the next one. This round would also be the last one for the day. You will have an hour to find and retrieve your headbands."
"We also added some obstacles too." Another professor added, "Monsters, hidden traps, fakes and questions to solve. Retrieving the bands will not be easy as just finding them in some random location. They are sealed behind a question lock where you need to answer a question based on your grade level. We created these questions so that everyone would have an equal chance. The moment you answer, you put the headband on, and you will be declared the winner."
The preliminary round took more than two hours. This one is a different kind of race. But the competition will be much fierce and more difficult. Alabaster chuckled a bit. This is going to be fun.
*
Rufus knew that this round isn't going to be easy. The rules said that you must answer correctly to get their band however, it won't stop people from stealing it. This is basically an exam. Just finding one and wearing the band sounds too easy on its own.
Everyone was positioning themselves to run as the timer is frozen. They are more anxious than ever and for the first time, Rufus lacks the confidence.
"READY!!!
SET!!!
GO!!!!"
Everyone ran as fast as they could. Rufus has used this forest many times as a training ground, so he knew every rock, tree and shrub. Anything out of place would be...
He then spotted something near the lake and saw a rock with a... red head band.
No, not this one, he huffed in disappointment, then he quickly moved on and dodged as he noticed a goblin threw rocks at his direction. He quickly waved his hand, and its head fell off its body.
"Hey! You okay?!"
Theseus was running. He probably saw the blood and was worried that someone got hurt. His expression changed to realization after seeing the decapitated goblin. "Oh, it's you!" he marveled and saw the red headband.
"Aren't you second place?"
"I just found it. I have no use for a red headband. I'll leave."
"Wait! I might need your help, Rufus." Theseus then approached the headband, touched it and revealed an illusionary scroll.
Translate this to English and explain the meaning and its effect.
Lascia che la durezza sia levigata,
il fuoco si affievolì da ardente a dolce,
e la distruzione produce la vita.
Theseus groaned, "This is Infernus. AGHH!!! Why did it have to be Infernus?"
"Write this out," Rufus said and wrote the answer down on the dirt with a stick.
After copying it word for word, the scroll disappeared, and Theseus slowly grabbed onto the headband before finally relaxing.
Theseus beamed happily, "Thank you Rufus! You're a good friend!" He quickly tied it around his head, and his name suddenly appeared on the red headband in black bold writing for everyone to see.
"I'll see you in the next round!" He yelled and ran off into the woods.
To be honest, he didn't think it would work. This is basically cheating but sharing answers doesn't count as disqualification.
He then continues to look around using the wildlife as his eyes until he finally found a blue headband tied on a tree branch. After bypassing the blue fakes, He touched the headband, not confirmed to be real or not, revealing a scroll.
"What are the three key ingredients to creating a universally made panacea?"
He wrote down the answer and he replied wrong.
After many frustrating attempts, he finally got the answer right. He was attacked by a nearby student who was hoping to ambush him, but he kicked him hard on the chest. Rufus immediately tied it around his head without giving him a second chance to attack. The student stopped to observe the headband before chuckling.
"That's too bad. I've always wanted to fight Rufus Valerian."
He recognized him. He's the kid that hung around Amaryllis a lot.
"Your name is... Selim, right?"
Selim smiled. He has cream colored hair and green eyes. He has an androgynous beauty, but he doesn't seem like the type to flaunt it. In fact, he seems to prefer covering it up. He doesn't portray having the typical Damat traits of tanned skin and dark hair but then again, Damat is ethnically diverse. He doesn't know much about him except that he is one of the stronger students in their year.
Rufus untied the headband, observed his name on it and tied it around his arm. He doesn't like to wear it on his head anyway.
"I wish that Amaryllis were here. This competition would be a piece of cake for her." Selim says out of the blue.
Rufus calmly stares at the boy before turning to the exit, "You should go look for more blue headbands if you want to make it before time runs out." He ran off with his newfound prize.
In a spot where Rufus was previously at, an unusual looking snake slitter away. There is a trail of blood following the snake's path.
*
Rufus didn't even notice it until the pain on his ankle got worse. He looked at the timer before he made a quick spot, noticing he got two puncture wounds.
He encountered all kinds of animals and wildlife and there is actually one he couldn't control.
He was careless.
Then he summoned a honey badger and grabbed onto it, snapping its neck. He then felt his heart grow heavy and the power of its venom immunity, but it didn't work. Cursing himself internally for this wasteful attempt, he then summons a large eagle to carry him to the finish line. There is no way that he could walk, let alone run, in his condition. The venom is working fast.