After the director finished speaking, another person stood up from their seat. He was a young man dressed in a green uniform that contrasted with his black hair. He energetically declared, "Welcome to the Arkania Tournament!"
"This marks the 5th year of the Academy, and we are here at the opening ceremony to witness future talents compete against each other!" Calix smiled widely as he surveyed the crowd. "Unfortunately, only the best will be selected!"
Applause rippled through the audience, though some were reluctant, knowing only the best would proceed.
"My name is Calix, a third-year instructor, and today I will be your host," Calix announced.
"Alright, let's cover a few points: as you've heard, the rules are simple. No artifacts will be allowed during the tournament. If needed, we will provide iron-grade weapons. To avoid any issues, the matrix will transport you back here if in danger," Calix explained cheerfully.
"The tournament duration is 6 hours. Once it concludes, we will announce the leaderboard, and best of all, it will be broadcasted to all your seniors."
More applause followed, tinged with the reminder that only the top performers would proceed.
The excitement and nervousness in the air were palpable as the aspirants murmured among themselves, knowing they would be observed by older students. Some sought to make connections, knowing a bad impression could ruin their chances.
Calix raised a hand to silence the crowd. "Now, I ask that you make your way to the designated preparation areas. Once there, you will receive further instructions and your iron-grade weapons."
Students began moving towards their assigned areas, some determined, others showing nerves. Calix watched with a smile, confident that this tournament would unveil the academy's most promising talents.
"Good luck to everyone, and may the best win!" concluded Calix, as the students dispersed, ready to face the competition.
**********
About ten minutes ago, in a room, several men were chatting. An attractive man, seated in a chair, spoke up:
"Xavier, I heard your sister will attend the academy. They should announce the tournament's start in a few minutes."
Seated in the middle was a beautiful young man with long white hair and red eyes.
"I know, Father informed me already," he replied.
"It seems the son of the Grand Duke Darius will also come, that creepy bastard. What do you think about that?" suddenly interjected another man. He had green hair, golden eyes, and pointed ears.
"Well, unfortunately we won't be able to drink his blood," replied Xavier.
"What a shame... I was hoping to have a little fun," said the young man with a hint of regret. Continuing, he pulled out a bottle from his ring and said, "Speaking of blood, my father gave me this exquisite bottle, blood from a rare mid-level ice bear. Perhaps you'd like to try some, Sylvaris."
Sylvaris responded, a vein popping in his head, "Vincent, you blood-sucking bastard, how many times do I have to tell you I don't drink blood!"
"Hahahaha... just kidding. And you, Xavier, what did you get?" replied Vincent, wiping away an imaginary tear from his eye.
Pulling out a bottle from his ring that emitted a scent that would make common vampires salivate, Xavier said, "Special edition from a fire wyvern. I think I'll save this one for my collection."
"Lucky you, being the Emperor's son has its perks, it seems," Vincent replied, his eyes glinting slightly as he looked at the bottle.
"So says the son of one of his great dukes..." commented Sylvaris.
"Shut up, pointy ears! You guys just eat leaves... you'll never understand what I'm going through," Vincent exclaimed dramatically.
"Hey, speaking of which, where the hell did Nergal go?"
"I don't know, maybe he went to meet Princess Liliana. You know he's a fan of hers," Sylvarius lazily replied.
"Shouldn't you be doing the same thing?" Vincent asked.
"Sorry, but unlike others, I'm not a simp," Sylvarius replied.
Now it was Vincent's turn for a vein to pop.
"Welcome to the Arkania Tournament!"
"It seems the tournament is about to start," Xavier remarked upon hearing the announcement.
**********
After Calix finished speaking, all the contestants began to leave the venue, following the staff to get their armaments in case they needed them and to enter through the matrices.
In a teleportation matrix:
"What weapon do you need?" respectfully asked the staff member.
"Short swords," confidently replied Liliana, maintaining a strong façade.
As she received the swords, Liliana heard someone say, "This is unfair! You saw how she got better treatment than us!"
"Shhh... quiet down. Listen, those who get better treatment are the nobles... You don't want to mess with them unless you want to die," replied the person next to the speaker.
At another teleportation gate:
"What weapon do you want?" respectfully asked a staff member.
"A spear," confidently replied a young man with silver hair.
Nodding, the person handed him the spear and said, "You may enter now."
One by one, all participants entered the matrices, and both boys and girls were teleported to different locations.
After teleporting, Liliana surveyed her surroundings, finding herself in a wooded area. She tried to move but found a barrier blocking her path. Just then, Calix's voice echoed throughout the arena.
"We have chosen a forest environment for the tournament locations, as you can see," Calix said and continued, "Once the clock hits 0, you may begin," showing a large countdown clock. "The rankings will be broadcasted in real-time for everyone to see. Without further ado, let the show begin."
When the clock hit zero and an image displaying the rankings and tournament duration appeared, Liliana managed to move and walked aimlessly through the forest, holding her short swords tightly.
[05:59:58]
As she walked, she heard some fighting noises nearby, silently running as far as she could, once she was at a certain distance, watching the fight carefully saw that it was between an elf and a vampire, realizing that the elf was a wizard when he did not bring any weapons, while the vampire used a long sword.
The vampire moved quickly, trying to reach the elf, who countered by materializing a bow and arrows with his mana. With a quick motion, he shot a barrage of arrows.
"Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*
The vampire quickly infused his sword with aura and deftly dodged most of them, cutting down the ones that tried to pierce him with his sword. He knew that if he kept infusing his aura, he could break the sword, it was not created for handling.
*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*
"Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Seeing that he couldn't get close to the elf, the vampire decided to run towards him, ignoring most of his defense in a desperate attack and being injured in the process. At that moment, without the elf noticing, blood subtly began to accumulate on his back.
*Shwick!* *Shwick!* *Shwick!*
Just as he was about to cast another spell, his senses alerted him to danger. He tried to jump to the side, but received a cut in his legs from a blood sword. Falling to the ground, he tried to recover, but before he could move, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, making him groan in pain.
"Uuugh..."
"Bastard, if it weren't for my blood skills, I would have lost," said the vampire as he wiped away the blood. When he tried to attack the elf again, a barrier protected him, causing the attack to bounce off. In a split second, the elf disappeared.
"Tsk!" clicking his tongue, he picked up the badge, as he got up in that moment his instincts screamed and quickly moved to the side quickly dodging a cut aimed at his head.
Positioning himself in a defensive posture, he looked around as he breathed heavily. He felt a faint presence to his left and made a diagonal cut, expecting to feel the resistance of the flesh being cut. However, all he heard was the whistle of the sword cutting through the air. Before he could react, a sword plunged into his stomach, causing him to spit blood.
"Schlunk!"
Looking up, he saw a beautiful young woman with white hair and purple eyes staring at him without showing any visible emotion. Before he could say anything, he was transported out of the arena.
"Haaaah..." Letting out a sigh, Liliana quickly took the badges, leaving the place in search of more opponents.