===

Participant name : Ren Dover

Gender : Male

Year : 1st year

「Participating games」

— Dummy massacre. Within a specific time frame, participants will be surrounded by multiple combat dummies. The score will be based on most kills within that time period.

— 1st-year team battle royale. Three-man battle royale. Last team standing wins.

[Team composition]

▷ Kevin Voss

▷ Jin Horton

▷ Ren Dover

===

"Good thing I only have to participate in two games..."

I scrolled through my phone. This was the tournament log that I had received hours ago. In it were the details of the game that I would be participating in.

Dummy massacre, and battle royale.

Just two games.

Whilst I did select Dummy massacre out of my own volition, for the battle royale, that was all done by Donna.

'Since you guys are the strongest first years, I chose for you to participate as a team. The battle royale gives us the most points, and since we need to secure first place in that game, I had to put you guys together to bring our chances up'

Was what she said.

There was some truth to her words, however, I wasn't sure whether this team composition would work since synergy and teamwork were important.

Though I could work well with Kevin, the same couldn't be said for Jin.

He wasn't the type to listen.

'That aside...'

The reason why I chose dummy massacre was because I was confident in getting a high score in that game.

At the very least top ten.

Though there was a chance for me to get first place, there were a lot of tough competitors. I wasn't conceited enough to say that I was guaranteed first place.

—TWIIING! —TWIIING!

Suddenly I received a notification.

[Your friend Kevin Voss is turning 17 today, wish him a happy birthday]

"Oh, right"

Almost forgot.

Today was Kevin's birthday.

[Congratulations, you're now one day closer to your death]

Opening my chat log with Kevin, I sent him a quick birthday wish before closing my phone and going back to training.

Because the tournament was right around the corner, none of us had time to celebrate birthdays or anything of the sort.

Just a quick message was enough.

***

[Theodora academy exchange dorms]

—Have you chosen your teammates for the battle royale?

An authoritative voice echoed from the speakers of Aaron's phone.

"Yes, I have"

—That's good, are you confident in your chances?

"Mhm, there should be no problems instructor"

Aaron confidently said as he genuinely believed in his chances of victory.

He had everything planned out. From the games he was participating in, to the battle royale. Aaron had a detailed plan for everything.

He wasn't going to lose.

—I see, that's great. I hope that the next time you contact me, it will be news about your victory.

"It will be. Don't worry"

—Very well, I wish you luck Aaron.

"Thank you"

Du.Du.Du. Aaron hung up the phone.

"It seems like your confident in your chances of winning the battle royale"

At that moment, an cold and imposing voice resounded. Aaron turned around. There, a tall and sturdy man calmly walked in Aaron's direction.

"It's you..."

Opening his eyes slightly, Aaron's eyes coldly flashed for a second.

The man stopped right in front of Aaron. Their eyes locked for a second before the man suddenly smiled.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, I was just slightly surprised by your appearance"

Aaron shook his head and calmly responded.

"Oh? What's there to be surprised about?"

"I just didn't expect you to be here looking for me"

Under the man's questions, Aaron remained calm and patiently responded to them.

"I see..."

The man deeply looked into Aaron's eyes. For a brief moment, neither one of them talked. Breaking the silence was the man's stern voice.

"Aaron, I want you to keep in mind one thing. This year we're aiming for first place. I don't want to see any blunders. Especially from you..."

A powerful aura started exuding from his body.

"Khhh"

The imposing aura crashed towards Aaron who gritted his teeth and withstood it with all his might.

"You better not disappoint me"

Muttered the tall man as he retrieved his aura back. He was satisfied with this little test.

Aaron truly deserved his fame. Though he held back, his aura shouldn't have been something someone of his age could've withstood.

"Aaron, I believe in your talent. This is the year Theodora Academy beats the Lock. I hope you can help me lead Theodora academy to the top..."

"I understand"

Closing his eyes, Aaron nodded his head.

"You say you do, but do you really?"

"What do you mean?"

Aaron's brows knit as he opened his eyes.

"You think I didn't hear about your little blunder in the dungeon trials?"

"That...I was just caught off guard"

"I hope it truly was that way..."

"It is"

Aaron clenched his fists tightly. How could he forget that day?

He could still vividly remember the happenings of the dungeon trials like they were yesterday.

He had been too focused by Kevin that he had completely neglected the other student. Jin Horton.

That day Aaron experienced the bitter taste of defeat for the first time. Never again did he want to feel that bitter taste of defeat.

"Alright, I'll trust you for now"

The male student patted Aaron on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got the third year's victory secured. The rest is up to you. As long as you win we're going to beat the Lock"

The male student spoke in a confident tone. He truly meant what he said.

He was confident in his chances.

Especially after having done a thorough investigation on the participating members for the third-year battle royale coming from the Lock.

Ebonie Wills, Mark Mendez, Perry Crossley.

Each, outstanding individual's whose fame resounded across the whole human domain.

All three of which, had already secured different deals with either the union or a diamond-graded guild.

Without a doubt, they were all future rankers.

Unfortunately, despite how good they looked on paper, there was a problem.

And the problem was that they were all the respective heads of the three major factions in the Lock.

Factions that absolutely despised one another.

Because of this, they had no synergy between them. No teamwork at all.

This was the source of the tall man's confidence.

A team with no teamwork was not a team. No matter how talented they were, if they weren't united, they were as good as gone. This was especially so in cases where they met strong and prepared teams.

The tall man knew that his chances of winning the battle royale were high...

—TWIIIING! —TWIIIING!

Suddenly the man's watch vibrated. Turning his watch slightly, the man read the foremost notification.

"I guess that will cut our little chat for now"

Tracing his hand over his short black hair, the man turned around.

"I hope you don't forget my words, Aaron. I'd be disappointed if you do"

Aaron watched as the man imposingly walked away. His bulky back, mountainous shoulders, and flawlessly refined physique showed that he was anything but simple.

Theodora academy third year's first-ranker.

A genius whose name was just as famous as the names of the three faction leaders of the lock.

Morgan Lowry.

A man who will one day become a top ranker.

***

Late into the night.

Kevin was working out in the public training ground of the Leviathan building. Because of the limited space of his own training ground, Kevin had no choice but to move to the public one.

Even so, Kevin did not dislike it here. Despite it being public, the number of people that frequented this place was low.

On rare occasions, he would spot Amanda training in the archery area. Other than that, it would usually be just him.

"Huuuup!"

With his feet shoulder length apart, Kevin lifted an 800kg bar and did a deadlift. As he lifted the bar, the veins by the side of his neck protruded as his face reddened.

BAAAM!

After lifting the bar once, Kevin dropped it. The heavy sound of the bar hitting the softened floor echoed across the room.

Kevin didn't care.

"This is enough for the warmup..."

Taking a towel Kevin wiped his face clean.

Stretching his neck, Kevin took out his sword and calmly walked towards the middle of the training grounds.

"Kevin!"

Just as Kevin was about to start practicing, a familiar voice called out for him.

"I had a hunch that you were here"

"Emma?"

The voice belong to Emma who was hurriedly walking in his direction.

"Did you not see my message?"

"Message?"

A look of confusion appeared on Kevin's face as he took out his phone.

"There's no need to check, I can already tell that you didn't..."

"hehe, sorry"

Putting her hand on Kevin's phone, Emma shook her head. As a result, Kevin laughed in embarrassment.

He was too engrossed with training to notice any messages directed to him.

"Here"

Biting her lower lip, Emma suddenly took out a black box from her dimensional space and handed it to Kevin.

"What's this?"

"Just take it"

Forcing the box into Kevin's hands, Emma's cheeks reddened slightly.

"Wait, what are you-"

"I won't disturb you anymore, good luck with your training...and happy birthday"

Wishing him a happy birthday she ran off leaving behind a confused Kevin.

'Was this her way of wishing me a happy birthday?', Looking at the box in his hand, Kevin smiled slightly.

It was cute.

—TWIIING! —TWIIING!

Right before Kevin opened the box, his watch suddenly vibrated. It was Ren.

[Congratulations, you're now one day closer to your death]

"...seriously?"

Looking at the message, Kevin was at a loss for words.

"What an idiot"

After a while, a small chuckle escaped from his lips.

Though he wasn't wrong, couldn't he have just wished him a happy birthday like any other person?

[You've got problems]

Sending a message back to Ren, Kevin turned off his phone and put the box that Emma gave him inside of his dimensional space.

He would check it once he was done with his training.

***

—Sorry, I've got nothing.

Smallsnake's voice echoed inside of my ears.

"...really? Is there like no information at all?"

—Unfortunately, it seems to be that way. No matter how hard I try, I can't find anything out. Demon hunter guild has sealed all types of information regarding Edward Stern.

"Haaa...I see, alright. Contact me if you find anything else regarding this matter"

—Will do that.

Du. Du. Du. Smallsnake hung up, and the repetitive sound of the phone tone rang inside of my mind.

Not minding it, I put my phone on my desk.

"This is troublesome..."

Opening my laptop, I wasted the next few minutes looking at random articles about the demon hunter guild.

I just wanted something.

Any clue leading me to find out the situation in the demon hunter guild was wanted.

Yet, no matter how hard I searched, I found nothing.

It was as though I was walking in an endless circle. No matter where I went I was back in the original spot.

"Should I ask Amanda?", I muttered as I closed a web tab. "No, that'd be stupid"

I quickly discarded such thoughts from my mind. It would be insensitive of me.

Amanda's state of mind was probably extremely fragile right now.

At this moment she was probably trying her best to remain strong. My comments might cause her fragile state of mind to worsen.

I couldn't let that happen.

Especially since she was trying her best to not let others down for the tournament.

If the event in which her father entered a dungeon desync really happened, then the situation was really bad.

It would only be after the third cataclysm started that Amanda would reunite with her father.

But that was in the novel...

This world was no longer the same.

Even though Edward Stern survived the hellish demon world, things might not be the same this time.

Right now, everything was different, and I was the cause of it.

This situation was my fault. I knew that. However, unlike in the past, I wasn't going to mourn or blame myself for my actions.

I did what I had to do. If this was the consequence of my action, then so be it.

I will live up to my mistakes and find a solution for it.

'Well, that's easier said than done'

Leaning back on my chair, I scratched the side of my neck.

I really was stumped this time.

Entering the demon world was out of the question.

With dangers lurking everywhere, I knew that going there would only prove to be suicidal on my end.

"Maybe I could..."

For the next thirty minutes or so I tried to think of all possible solutions that I could think of.

Unfortunately, my mind remained blank throughout the whole time.

"Haaa...what should I do?"

I muttered as I leaned back on my chair. I really did not know what to do.

No matter how much I tried to think, I couldn't find a solution to this problem.