Chapter 13 - I Choose You! [1]

Friday arrived sooner than most people expected.

Everyone woke up early for the opening of the Annual Beast Colosseum, a grand event that only occurs once a year.

In the teacher's faculty, the professors were no exception. Most of them walked into the office bringing a cup of coffee with them, and some of them even have dark circles around their eyes.

They had woken up early to watch the students pick their personal companion beasts.

After all, that time of the year was coming—The Great Student Snatching Season—or so most would call it.

It was essentially a period where professors would fight or snatch for students with good talent.

The professors of the academy conversed with each other

"I wonder if any of the second years have improved massively this year…"

"You're still missing one personal student, right? Instead of looking at the second years, you should just place your hopes on the first years."

"That's right. I heard that the freshmen this year are quite talented."

Professor Anastasia ignored the talks around her and looked directly at the large screen.

There were a lot of students present in the stadium. She was here to see if some of her students had failed.

After her guidance and advice, if they still haven't…

"Coffee for your thoughts, Ana?"

At this moment, a female teacher walked up to her and handed her a Skysworn mug.

"Lavander…"

Anastasia attention was taken away by the female teacher. Lavender was one of her closest colleagues.

"So? What are you thinking?"

Lavender tilted her head as she played with heir long, auburn hair. Anastasia accepted the coffee and explained calmly.

"Nothing. I'm just here to see who I will expel this month."

"Ouch, as cruel as ever, eh? You're the only professor here that expels their student after this period…"

Anastasia frowned. She couldn't hold herself back from blurting out her thoughts.

"What's the point of them staying here if they can't even awaken a single core after a few weeks of cultivation? They'll just die."

Lavender paused. She looked at the screen and took a while to respond.

"Maybe… Oh right, are you going to be accepting students this year?"

Anastasia was about to respond, but at that moment, the students in the screen finally moved.

It was starting.

***

Victor walked inside the stadium, looking all over the place. All kinds of students in the academy had gathered here.

The Annual Beast Colosseum didn't just open up to first years, but also to second years and above.

He looked around his surroundings and saw that most of the students couldn't contain their excitement and nervousness.

The nervous and excited ones were most likely freshmen like him who were about to pick the first companion beast of their life.

'It's understandable…'

While those with more or less stable expressions, he figured they should be the second year and above students…

Victor didn't see anything interesting after a while of looking around. He went to the corner and leaned against the wall, waiting for the event to begin.

He didn't have to wait for long.

Bzzt!

At this moment, the large screen on the top of the stadium flickered and revealed a solemn middle-aged man.

"Students, raise your heads."

The middle-aged man had a cold, and stern expression on his face. His voice was calm and yet it cut through everyone's heart.

"Today is the opening of the Annual Beast Colosseum, your professors should have already informed you about the Annual Beast Colosseum beforehand, so I won't waste anyone's time in explaining. Listen carefully."

"Hold the emblem you received when you entered the stadium and chant the instructions relayed to you by the staff in the entrance. Afterwards, you will see yourself in the Colosseum. An attendant will tend to you there, and It's best you listen."

"That's all."

The large screen flickered and shut down. Victor raised his brows and saw everyone hold their emblems and chant away.

Wasting no time, he also took out the blue and yellow emblem from his pocket and held it tightly.

He chanted his name and Student ID number.

"Victor Cruz, 001728…"

At that moment, he disappeared from the stadium alongside everyone else.

Victor opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in the stadium. Instead, he was in a magnificent museum that resembled architectural works in the Renaissance era.

He looked around and saw that all of the students in the place were freshmen just like him.

At that moment, a female attendant holding a cane took everyone's attention.

"Everyone, please fall in line."

Everyone calmed down and followed her instructions.

After a while, Victor and the others formed a proper line separated into ten parts. The female attendant spoke once more.

"Only ten at a time can enter the colosseum. The colosseum has countless rooms, each containing different types of magical beasts. The deeper you go, the rarer the type of beasts you will encounter."

"Depending on your realm and strength, the areas available for you will vary, as well as the time allocated for you. Ordinary students will be held at a standard rate."

"For the special students and scholars, the academy will do its best to nurture you according to your talent, thus additional benefits may be granted."

The female attendant explained the rules before officially starting.

"That's all. We'll start then. The first ten, please enter insert your respective emblems in the device in front of you."

The first ten students did exactly as she said. Then, a blue hologram rose from the device and showed their respective information.

Victor lips parted slightly, surprised. A hologram projector? This world's technology was already that advanced?

Although it was strange, he put it in the back of his mind for the time being.

The attendant returned the emblems to their respective owners, and the students were surprised to see a change in their emblem's appearance.

Notably, the emblem had turned into something like a smart watch—with a small, flickering screen in the middle, displaying a line of text.

[Name: Johnny JJ Junior.

Status: Skysworn Student.

Realm: One Core realm - Iron-quality.

Time: 5 minutes remaining.

Slot: 1 Common-grade beast.]

Those with Iron-quality cores were subjected to the lowest possible treatment, one common-grade beast only and they can only remain in the colosseum for five minutes.

Jade-quality cores were a little bit better, but not by much. They were allowed to pick two common beasts, and their time was extended to ten minutes.

Afterwards, the attendant let the students walk in the colosseum.

Five minutes quickly passed.

The six students returned, each holding a beast on their hands. They seem excited and nervous, holding it with extra care.

Victor raised his brows, examining the beasts. Aside from Professor Anastasia's crystal ice bird, this was the first time he actually saw a tamed beast in person.

'That one with a flaming tail… that should be the Fiery Rat, and that orange frog should be Warcroak…'

Because of the Beast Encyclopedia, he recognized the beasts in front of him rather easily.

After the six students picked their companion beasts, they disappeared from the colosseum.

Once they disappeared, the attendant let six other students waiting in line insert their emblems in the device.

This cycle continued until it was finally Victor's turn.