Luciel and Violet soon returned to the training ground after getting patched up. The infirmary was quite crowded likely due to other classes organizing tournaments just like theirs. The healers were experts that could heal minor internal injuries within minutes. As for Echo Energy depletion, they gave out pills for cadets to absorb energy faster.
"You're back. Sit down." Instructor Kyus gestured, his face stern as ever.
Luciel and Violet sat with each other. It seemed that they would soon become inseparable, the cadets thought. Luciel could see the cadets stealing a quick glance to look at the two, but Violet didn't seem to mind. She never cared about trivial matters to begin with.
"Listen up. The purpose of practical training is simple. It's application. Most of you must be unfamiliar with the foreign energy suddenly invading your body, so you have no control over them. Watch the difference between shabby and good control."
Kyus pointed his index finger straight out to the metal wall, thumb raised to form a gun. A faint energy pulsated around his fingertip as Kyus dispersed the wind, but the speed was slow and the range was short.
He turned to the cadets, his voice low. "Everything starts with Echo Energy. Knowing how to control it efficiently is a big step forward."
Kyus focused back to the demonstration. "This is good control." He then lowered his arm slightly, energy surged violently and shot out like a sniper's shot. Luciel widened his eyes as he saw that lump of energy bent the metal wall. It was fast and powerful.
"We'll learn more in the afternoon." Kyus retracted his arm and faced the cadets. "Now, there is one more event this morning before we actually start learning seriously." His eyes suddenly flared up as if he had been waiting. "The winner of each class will face each other to determine the strongest of this year."
"What!? Is that so, Instructor Kyus?" one student asked in excitement.
"It's been a tradition for decades. The winner gets a lot of credits that can help them in the future," Kyus explained.
"Isn't our Luciel going to win then? I don't think anyone could match his level," a girl boasted with a proud look on her face.
"Yeah! He's so scary. No one can rival that flower skill of his," another cadet declared.
Luciel was quite flabbergasted because of their support. He suspected that people would be envious or jealous in face of someone better because of pride in being a Resonator. He reflected on himself, thinking that reading too many comics and webtoons had corrupted his mind.
'Well, who knows? I might meet those types of characters soon.' Luciel chuckled mischievously at the thought of humbling a third-rate villain or an arrogant young master. He had practiced every way of speech possible to combat against them.
Violet saw Luciel acting strange, her face scrunched in confusion. Luciel noticed and quickly returned to normal, smiling at her innocently as if nothing had happened.
"Quiet!" Kyus shut down the chatter and started walking to the exit. "Follow me. We'll be meeting your peers."
The cadets stood up and formed a line. Luciel stood behind Violet as they marched to an actual arena, anticipation increasing with each step. The arena was out in the open and simplistic in contrast to places with high-tech devices that Luciel saw. The floor was concrete and there was an invisible barrier protecting the spectators. There was no one yet.
"The other classes must not be done yet. This is the first..." Kyus trailed off. "Luciel. You stay here while I lead everyone to the stands."
"Yes, sir." Luciel answered while inspecting the arena. He looked at Violet with warm eyes as she followed the cadets. As Luciel walked around, he thought about Resonators in general and realized something.
There were two types of Resonator. One with supernatural abilities and one without them. Fire and ice were considered supernatural. Elina's telekinesis could be considered supernatural. And then there were Resonators without it. This type used Echo Energy directly to fight. It was basically aura versus magic, to put it into webtoon terms.
When the class tournament ended, he had thought that supernatural Resonators had a slight edge over normal ones, but seeing how Kyus shot that wind bullet that was just Echo Energy, he wasn't sure anymore. One thing for sure was that at the beginning stage, supernatural Resonators were more powerful because the abilities were birthed and granted within them. Normal Resonators had to learn control first before even dreaming of fighting.
Luciel contemplated momentarily before seeing the other classes arriving one by one. The representatives entered the area with confident stride while the remaining cadets seated as audience. Each one of them carried themselves sharpness and dignity, possibly from their superior lineage.
Elina told him that hereditary succession or forced succession was possible, so there were famous houses of Resonators in both the North and South Noxio. This practice was popular in the sovereign states of North Noxio, but the South also had its few powerhouses. Three to be exact. Since the North had its own academy, the cadets here could be from the Ragnar, the Fulgur, or the Flykra.
Kyus took the stage, his figure stood tall among the representatives. "Cadets!" His shout grabbed everyone's attention, not one noise leaked out. "Today, we have five representatives of each class here in all its glory and honor. Their strengths and wits were proven by the trails, and so they stand before each other to determine who will rise as the true king." The atmosphere became heavy as Kyus paused, allowing the cadets to feel the weight of his words.
'What the hell?' Luciel was dumbfounded. 'Why are you making it more grand than it seems?' This was theatrics at this point.
"Since we have five representatives, we won't be doing an elimination tournament. Instead, a king will be randomly chosen to defend the stage. Challengers can come up and challenge the king. And you can team up as you like. The only rule is when a fight starts, you can't participate until it ends."
Kyus smiled and turned towards a floating holographic screen. On the board were the names of the representatives – Evelyn Flykra, Lumine Hine, Horus Fulgur, Rekal Lancinus, and Luciel Gulova. The top five, including two from the great houses of the South. Under their names was a score count reading at '0' right now.
'Two of the three houses? I wonder if they're any good.' Luciel observed them sneakily. Just from one look, he could tell that they were no ordinary.
"The goal is to reach two-thousand points first." Kyus continued to explain. "The king will automatically gain points even during fights until defeat. Staying inside this circle here gets you two points per second, outside is one. Challengers gain no points." Kyus paused, giving people time to process the rules.
The game was simple yet it could test many things. Ability to cooperate, endurance, wit, teamwork, skill, prowess, stamina control, and hunger to win. Outside the arena ring had healing properties while the inside didn't. Luciel thought that it was a fun game.
"Now that everything is explained," Kyus held his breath and released an echoing sound that riled up everyone, "ARE YOU READY FOR A SPECTACLE?"
WAAAAAA!
Cheers exploded. Everybody jumped up and down as if they were about to witness the sight of the century. Luciel looked at the crowd and felt slightly nervous. It was his first time facing such a big crowd, but then he found Violet sitting right before the barrier. She always had her eyes on him, and so she smiled when he saw her. It calmed Luciel down.
"Guys! Isn't this awesome?" A blond hair man couldn't contain the excitement in his voice. He was tall and handsome. Too handsome even... Luciel doubted his looks when looking at him. That guy looked like a prince! Rekal, a name Luciel would remember as prince.
"I know! Ah—I'm so so so nervous!" A petite girl next to Luciel shivered. It was Lumine. Silky long dark blue hair, eyes as black as the abyss itself, a large scar slit vertically on her right cheek that didn't really suit her innocent look.
'Just start already. Stop cheering!' Luciel had been standing here for at least twenty minutes. He couldn't wait to get out and just rest.
Finally, Evelyn Flykra was chosen as a king and stepped onto the stage. Her tall figure with flowery white hair made her seem quite formidable. As she stood there and looked down on the representatives, the first challenger arrived. It was none other than the rival of the great houses. Evelyn versus Horus!