It was Friday, and all-day was dedicated to the For Honor Class. It wasn't that early in the morning so the students that entered the classroom didn't look too haggard.
Everyone arrived quite early actually, they were all pumped up about the recent announcement of the upcoming tournament.
Additionally, they were only given a week or two to prepare!
That made their determination grow stronger, the training grounds were now always filled with Impure Pathbearers, training to be chosen as a participant.
With the announcement of the Secretary regarding the limited space for participants, everyone was passionate and nervous to get in.
This includes Veritas and the others.
Although they weren't in the training grounds yet, their For Honor Class is something to be anticipated.
A few of them were going to be chosen as a participant after all..
"It's guaranteed that you three are going to be chosen in this class. Hopefully me and Hana can get in too!"
Leo enthusiastically wished, raising up the morale of Veritas' group.
As the only outgoing person in their group, it was his job to enlighten them up, though.. he couldn't quite tell whether they were being down or they were just being their normal selves.
Nevertheless, Leo wanted to be the light of the group.
Veritas rode along with his enthusiasm, talking every now and then to everyone.
"That said, the Professor sure is taking his time. It's supposed to be a very special day for us!" Leo pouted whilst gazing at the entrance to the classroom.
"Be patient, Leo. It hasn't even been 5 minutes yet and the class starts at 9:30 not 9:00"
Hana replied and brought out a cup and a bag of tea from her pink suitcase.
'Is that allowed?' Veritas thought while staring directly at Hana's teacup.
She then opened the suitcase entirely, revealing an entire set of teacups that came in many sizes, stirrers, teapots, and various jugs containing milk and other assortments.
Veritas' mouth was left agape.
"Does anyone want tea? I heard that it helps relieve our nerves, making us less uncomfortable and nervous."
Leo tilted his head and reached his hands forward.
"I want one!"
It seems that there was already pre-heated water inside one of the jugs, and Hana poured that into the teapot, carefully twisting it in a clockwise motion.
In a few seconds, she poured the water into a yellow-colored teacup, grabbing a teabag with high-grade tea leaves and other herbs.
She placed the teabag in the cup of hot water, and stirred softly.
"Here you go.."
She handed the newly made tea to Leo, who held it with utmost care.
He took a sip of it, and was quite appalled by its exquisite taste. His eyes grew wider with every second and he appreciated this level of tea-making.
"It's very good.. Thanks."
"Have some too, Lady Alice and Lord Mercury.."
With that, the seconds quickly passed by and Veritas was suddenly holding a white cup in his hand.
He placed it down the table carefully and breathed in.
'What the hell is happening?! Why are we suddenly having a tea party!?'
No one would be able to tell what the Prince's elegant figure that drank tea along with his group was thinking..
It seemed surreal to Veritas.
A very nerve-wracking day started with a peaceful upbringing of Hana's self-made tea!
...Alas, he could not complain.
Veritas had already fallen to the endearing trap set by a cup of tea. His body immediately felt relieved and was no longer tense like before.
It was still a peculiar situation to be in though..
Everyone in the room looked at them like they were an exhibit at a carnival! The serious tense atmosphere in the room was somehow broken by the delightful tea party that they were having.
It helped in a way..
Their clouded minds full of nervousness was replaced with the weirdness of the situation.
It was like a flower embedded within everyone had suddenly bloomed and washed away their worries.
But.. that moment of relief didn't last long as the Professor suddenly arrived at the classroom.
He had the usual Professor's attire, fiery-red hair that stretched down to his shoulders and was tied in a small bun, he had various scars on his face but the most notable one was a scar of a gaping slash that cut his face in half. Lastly, his face was filled with calmness yet stern behavior.
"Okay everyone, be seated. We shall be starting momentari- are you people having a tea party?"
Veritas was sipping his tea when the Professor suddenly addressed their event. He jolted up and was brought back to reality.
Veritas almost replied but Leo got the best of him.
"Yes we are, Professor Newt! Would you like to join?"
He offered his tea to the direction of the Professor to which he replied by waving off his hands.
"Uh.. No thanks. Please clean up soon.."
"Alright~"
It didn't take a minute for them to tidy up their spots and clean. Hana put everything back inside the briefcase and placed it down the table.
After a moment, the Professor finished setting up his things and walked towards the front of the room. Clearly garnering everyone's attention, he looked left and right and mentally counted the students inside.
"Everyone's present.. good. No one would want to miss such an important day."
He clasped his hands.
"Now! With the recent announcements made by the student council, I'm sure all of you are already familiar with our procedure. But, in this class, our method of choosing the participants will be different."
He walked slowly to the seats and circled the room while talking.
"Our method will be simple! Naturally, the school wants the best to participate in order for us to raise our chances of winning. So, today... We'll be using the Dueling Area. I'm sure you've already pieced everything by now.."
The Professor suddenly raised his voice.
"All of you will duel for the chance to participate in the Tournament!"
"Please.. gather your things and head over to the Dueling Area."
*
"Next!"
Three duels have already gone past, and one of them included Veritas. He fought a classmate that he wasn't quite familiar with, but nevertheless.. Veritas finished the fight in a second.
It was unfair, really.
To be faced off against the kingdom's Prince, no one had a chance of winning.
So, Veritas sat down and observed the other duels.
The system that the Professor formed was like the Tournament itself.
Whoever wins will be placed into the winner's bracket, and face off against other winners.
As for the losers, it was the same thing but there was a silver lining..
Only those that contend in the top 3 of the loser's bracket will be given the chance to participate in the Tournament. In the winner's bracket, the one who stood at the top would already be given a position, so.. that individual wouldn't have to worry about their chances.
The ones currently facing off are someone that Veritas hadn't really talked to that much and the girl that got a 79% on the Aptitude test, Betzal.
In this examination, everyone was allowed to go all out. Professor Newt's Path is really useful for these types of scenarios. He can mitigate the damage caused by these Impure Pathbearers using a barrier that he conjured up.
In any case of an injury, high-leveled potions were in store and ready to use. Additionally, nurses were on standby if there should be a case of lethal wounds.
Thus, the Professor raised his hand and blew into his whistle.
"Ready... Begin!"
With a loud PRING!, the battle commenced!
The terrain suddenly turned dark and under Betzal's feet, the shadows loomed all over the place. They extended farther than the barrier that the Professor had conjured. In fact, that Barrier covered up most of the dueling area, and it was not miniature at all!
The Dueling Area is about the size of a football field, and Professor Newt's barrier was the size of that.
As the shadows extended, Veritas, who was sitting on the benches, felt a tingle on his toes.
'What a weird feeling..'
They could not see properly but there were sparks inside the barrier dome.
After about 21 seconds, the sparks had stopped and the shadow field regressed back to Betzal.
After the darkness was gone, everyone saw the Graceless student standing over her enemy.
The battle was over in a flash.
"It's Betzal's victory!" He announced and read the paper in his hands.
The two of them exited the barrier dome through a hole that the Professor opened.
Once they exited, the hole was patched up and the barrier was whole once more.
"Lady Alice Dragonia vs. Morgan Yild!"
Veritas squinted his eyes.
'Alice battling Morgan? This would be interesting..'
The blonde and emotionless Alice got up from her seat.
"Good luck, Lady Alice!"
"I bid you the best of luck.."
Leo and Hana encouraged her while she walked through in front of each of them.
When she passed by Veritas, she locked eyes with him and Veritas mouthed the words:
"Win this."
She nodded in response and made her way to the barrier dome.
Morgan entered the dome from another direction, there was a steel blade on his waist, and he wore durable steel fabric clothing.
However.. Alice was not that proficient with the blade, she mainly focused on using her Path and Attunement for combat. Wearing the steel clothing, Morgan would have quite a hard time facing her.
Professor Newt raised his hands and placed the whistle on his mouth.
With a loud RING!, he gestured his hands down and yelled:
"Begin!"
Thus, the duel commenced.