Paxton rested on the wall with a sigh and slowly closed his ears.
Listening to music wouldn't help the nerves he felt right now so instead, he decided to replay the video in his head.
The Finale of the first ever BattletoDeath tournament in the Worlds Player Tournament was one of the lasting moments as each victor meant the loss of a powerful figure.
And the victor, three years ago, was his father, otherwise known as the Fist of Flames. He wasn't particularly a great dad, but he had quickly risen to fame on getting to Gametopia after two years of settling in.
He could still recall the loud voices and cheers from the crowds and the exciting vibrations and explosions that occurred in the Sparring Ring.
Every event felt so vivid that he didn't need to hear the replay for him to know exactly what they were saying at each moment.
The commentator's voice, the crowd cheers, the jarring fight scene, the night sky, the wind and breeze, Everything was vivid.
He slowly opened his eyes with a sigh. 'Maybe that's where my condition began', he thought when he noticed Ruby's gaze fixed on his.
He raised a brow in confusion, and the crimson-haired snapped her gaze away in surprise.
"So–Sorry about that" she muttered in embarrassment.
He scoffed and looked around. It seemed like some of his classmates had gone to get information or a form of connection. After all, they weren't the only low-grade schools, and they tended to stick together.
'How amusing'.
He thought before turning away. He wasn't interested in useless conversations, and anything he heard before the Test from students was deemed useless.
After all, what have they experienced?
Their parents would simply tone it down for them if they ever told them about it and the Representatives are keeping a closed mouth until the Test is over.
'Patience….I'll find out everything in time'. He thought when a figure walked over to the front of the large crowd of students.
The students were caught by surprise, as this particular Man wasn't putting on a uniform, but a suit.
'Is he another representative?' Paxton wondered when the figure walked up to the front of the group and suddenly stumped his foot on the ground.
The room violently shook, causing a swirl of fear to spread through some students while others remained calm. It occurred for a bit of a second before it finally died down, together with the noise.
A tense silence suffused the air until the man smiled and stretched his hands across the air. At that moment, pristine, white angelic wings stretched out from his back in his symphony of glory.
While he flew into the air with a brush of his feathers. He looked down at the students with a smile, firm and pulling.
As if he was sent to mesmerize the people of the world. Player Don Zipo, a level 160 Caster was here to lead the Challengers.
"Welcome, challengers!" he greeted with his glorious voice as his luxurious golden hair cascaded down his back to his white suit. His pupils were a shade of golden purple, as tales of beauty were imprinted on his every facial expression.
"I'm sure you're wondering how I'm doing this, but relax, this is something you will get to know in time". He said with a smirk, his gaze scanning through the students from above.
'Interesting….we have some important Challengers this time of the year'. He thought as he acknowledged some genuine figures, Children of the Developer Families. 'The Olton household, the Flax household, the Valenzin household, the Tim Kuga household and the Bolyx household. Five out of seven huh'.
All five were from Star Academy, and some other noteworthy mentions were at other less prominent schools.
He found this amusing, and exciting. His gaze trailed down to the back of the group where seven Challengers caught his attention.
'...Oh…those kinds of things are allowed as well,' he thought to himself, in a disapproving tone.
'Well, as long as they know they'll die'.
"Alright then. The Server Test will begin in Two minutes" he said with a smile.
However, his smile didn't serve its purpose, as the Challengers glanced at each other with confused expressions.
They weren't even aware of how the Test began because no player liked to talk about it. So this was a rather confusing situation.
Of course, some students brought it upon themselves to ask. One of which was Christopher Bolyx, a superb scholar of the Star Academy, second to Dollina Olton. He had a firm expression, with glasses and well-tidied black hair.
"What do you mean? How does it start?" He asked out loud, enough for the other challengers gathered to hear him.
Player Don glanced at his watch, and then at the students. "One minute left". He said, ignoring his question.
At this point, the room had almost gone into chaos as they all asked what he meant by "it was about to start".
It wasn't told to them, and now they were pulled into something they weren't even aware of. Times like this, when your life's on the line, and you don't even know how you could lose it, is when most humans lose all sorts of rationality.
One of Ryan's friends was one of such. Ronny was a chubby yet built fellow who followed Ryan around because of the protection that came with it.
He had an unwitting fear of the unknown and right now, his gaze kept glancing at the exit and the man that flew in the sky.
His body was frozen in place as he was forced to come to a decision. His life or his growth.
It was one thing to do something on impulse but another to do it rationally, and right now, he wasn't being rational.
Sadly for him, he wasn't even given enough time to walk out.
"Let the Test Begin!".
At that moment, the ceiling opened up, revealing vents with pores, and in the next second, fumes were emitted into the room.
The students were caught by surprise, as some even fell to their feet from fear. While others just glanced at it in amusement.
Paxton found himself surprised by the whole thing. 'Oh? So that's where that sound was coming from'. He thought as the vents shook and rumbled while more fumes were emitted into the room.
Soon, the students began to fall unconscious to the ground. Starting with the weakest of constitutions, they lost consciousness, one after the other.
"Wha–What is this?!" Christopher cried out in shock as he fell to his knees. The gas was too powerful, and it sent most of them to their feet by now, leaving a few more who were still conscious.
Don found this amusing as he chuckled lightly. He glanced at the people who still stood despite the gas that was powerful enough to knock off the strongest of beasts within seconds, only to find himself amused.
Out of the five Developer Families, only three remained conscious.
The others, including other schools, had fallen to the ground, some atop each other, others against the wall and a few on their knees.
Out of the three were Dollina Olton, Christopher Bolyx and Melinda Valenzine, who were still struggling to stay awake.
He was amused, but soon they had lost their grip and fell unconscious.
Dollina on the wall, Christopher on his knees and Melinda atop her friends. He chuckled as he looked up at the vents.
The white ceiling rumbled as it closed shut, cutting off the rest of the fumes from entering the room.
'My work here is done'. He thought as he drifted towards the exit, his gaze scanning the room for the students.
'This part is the most exciting of course!' he thought as he chuckled slightly.
"So….You…find…..this…..amusing?"
Don's gaze flickered as his gaze snapped to the corner of the room. There, he found an amber-haired boy, leisurely struggling to stay awake, his body resting on the wall.
'Impossible?! Who is He?!' he wondered in shock as he flew towards the boy to get a better look.
His gaze scanned around him to find his classmates already unconscious, leaving him alone.
"You….How are you still awake?"