The sun slowly rose up from the horizon and the bright light coming from the sun fully illuminated the arena grounds of the Lock.

As time passed, the spectating stands of the arena grounds started to become filled with more and more people. At some point, no gaps could be seen from the stands as all seats became filled to the brim with people.

If there was one thing that you had to take note of, it was that you couldn't watch the tournament for free. This was made to limit the number of people that could come and watch the tournament, as well as provide funds to pay for the security and management costs of hosting the tournament.

Though the Lock was rich, the price needed to host the tournament was tremendous.

Fortunately, the admission cost wasn't too high either; it was only a thousand U. And even if a limited number of people could enter the arena grounds, there was enough space to accommodate more than fifty thousand spectators.

A thousand U was the base price. The nearer you were to the platform, the higher the price. You had to pay at least tens of thousands to enter the area that was nearest to the arena grounds.

Even then, huge screens stood above the arena grounds showing the games that were happening below. So even if you were further back, it didn't really ruin the experience.

Today, the people from Lock Academy were dressed in black school uniforms with golden and white patterns. Lined up behind them were the people from the four great academies, and even further back were the other academies.

There were a couple of reasons why the Lock was ahead of the other academies; it mainly had to due to the fact that in the last tournament they had reached first place overall in the rankings, with the four great academies falling slightly behind. Aside from that, it was also because they were today's hosts of the tournament. As such, they were rightfully put at the front.

Behind the Lock and the four great academies were the other academies. Public and privately owned ones. Despite their limited budget, they were not to be looked down upon as every year a dark horse would emerge from them.

Even so, a large majority of them were inwardly praying that they wouldn't meet students coming from the Lock or the four great academies.

At least not on their first match.

No one wanted to meet the strongest so early on in the tournament as that would reduce their chances of standing out.

Everyone was here to make a statement. They wanted to let their names be glorified and made known throughout the whole human domain in hopes of pulling the attention of some of the top guilds in circulation.

No one was here to play today.

***

[Section G, Lock arena grounds]

It was now 10 A.M, and the arena grounds were now filled to the brim with spectators. Everywhere I looked I could see people.

"Huuu..."

Standing in the middle of the arena grounds, I took a deep breath.

I was currently standing in a long line with all of the first years that were participating in the games; there were about a hundred of us.

Standing in two different lines beside us were the second and third years. Everyone's faces were solemn.

"You nervous?"

Feeling a slight nudge on the right side of my waist, I looked at Kevin who was beside me.

He had a slight smirk on his face.

"Hee, unlike you I'm not used to all of this attention"

This was an event that would be broadcast everywhere, it'd be weird if I wasn't a little bit nervous.

"You'll get used to it."

"Don't think I ever will..."

Despite my popularity soaring over the past few months, I was still not used to the stares.

In fact, they were extremely bothersome.

I really didn't think I could ever get used to such stares.

"Silence."

A loud and imposing voice suddenly spread throughout the entire arena grounds.

Immediately, as the solemn voice covered the entire field, the originally-clamorous arena grounds went completely still. All forms of noise ceased.

"Thank you all for attending the fifteenth edition of the inter-academy tournament."

Following the voice, an elderly man appeared at the center of the stage.

The elderly man had long hair and a thick beard. Whilst his beard only reached halfway through his neck, his long hair spread over his shoulders, giving him a sort of free and easy appearance.

The old man's face was also not ordinary. Despite his age, the elderly man could still be considered quite handsome; chances were that in his younger days the old man was very handsome.

Perhaps in the same league as Kevin or Jin.

As he stood in the middle of the arena grounds, an ethereal and regal feeling exuded from his body. Be it, students or attendants, everyone could feel it.

He appeared unfathomable.

"It's the headmaster!"

One student spoke out loud, breaking the silence.

"The headmaster!"

"He's here!?"

"I didn't think he would be here..."

Once again, the arena grounds were filled with noises as both students and attendants whispered amongst each other.

"That's the second time I've seen him"

Besides me, Kevin muttered.

"Right, me too..."

I half-heartedly replied whilst my eyes never left the headmaster.

The first, and only time I ever saw the headmaster was during the inaugural ceremony at the beginning of the year.

In theory, this should've been the second time I had met the headmaster, but...

'He's a clone.'

The headmaster before me was not the real headmaster; he was a clone.

The current headmaster was still not here. He was in fact doing a very important mission. The only reason he was able to attend today was due to him using one of his strongest skills in the arsenal.

[Double pulse]

A <S> ranked skill that allowed for him to create a clone of himself. The skill generally had a long cooldown period hence why he couldn't do it often.

It was also the skill that the headmaster was most known for.

"If things don't change, then he should be back by the end of the tournament..."

"Hm? Did you say anything?"

Kevin asked as he looked at me.

"No, nothing"

I inwardly shook my head.

Really had to stop talking out loud.

"Okay"

Fortunately, it didn't seem like Kevin had heard me properly as his eyes remained fixed on the headmaster.

Suddenly the arena grounds quieted down as the headmaster started to speak.

"The inter-academy tournament is the most important event that is held each year to showcase the talented youths of the world. This year, the Lock will be the host of the event"

"As such we will try our best to ensure your and the participant's safety. I would also like to commend those that traveled far to attend today's event to support your team or child."

"I'm sure that some of you are tired from traveling so far. For that, I applaud you and welcome to the Lock"

"Thank you for hosting the event!" The instructors, students, and attendants applauded.

This carried on for a minute before the headmaster raised his hand. Once again, all forms of noise ceased.

Turning around, the headmaster looked at everyone in the arena.

His crystal blue eyes looked as though they could see through anything.

"I can see a lot of talented and eager youths today. This is gratifying for me to see. Especially in these hard times. I really am glad..."

The headmaster paused. Looking back at the spectators, his voice boomed throughout the whole arena.

"And it is with such an honor that I officially declared the beginning of the inter-academy tournament!"

Dam! Dam! Dam! Dam! Dam! Dam!

Following the headmaster's declaration, fireworks shot in the air and the sky became dyed in a multitude of different colors.

This carried on for five long minutes before they stopped.

Once the fireworks stopped, the imposing voice from before once again rang out again, "This is a message to all participants. In about a minute or so you will all receive a message with a timing schedule for your upcoming games."

This time the announcement was focused on the participants of the tournament.

"Some games will be held here in the arena grounds, some will be held in the VR space below us, and some in different areas of the academies"

"Now, for the first few games of today, we will start off the tournament with the following games, The hunter's quadrant, Abyss scavenger, Dummy massacre, and Supernova skip. All participants, please make your way to your games"

Following the announcer's words, the atmosphere in the arena grounds reached a boiling point, whilst, the atmosphere around the students became tense.

"Good luck, I'll be eagerly waiting for your performance"

Patting my back, Kevin followed some of the other students out of the arena grounds.

"Ugh, to think that I will be going in first..."

I groaned as I watched Kevin and the others leave.

Because they didn't tell us when our games were in advance, I only just learned about the fact that my game was coming up soon.

'Fortunately, these are just the elimination rounds...'

The tournament would span over a period of a month's time; this was a given as there were thousands and thousands of students participating.

They wouldn't be able to fit that many games in just a couple of days. Furthermore, students needed to be in optimal shape in order to perform at their best. If not the games would not be as entertaining.

Therefore, the chances of me being paired up with a strong contender were low.

Though I wasn't scared of any challenge, it'd be better if I didn't go against anyone strong yet.

'”TWIIING! '”TWIIING!

Suddenly my phone rang. Most likely was a message regarding the games.

「Dummy massacre '” Ren Dover」

▼ Game time '” 10:45 A.M.

▼ Location '” Arena grounds

▼ Score '” N/A

▼ Pass/Fail '” N/A

It indeed was a message regarding the games. Opening the message I quickly scrolled through the information.

'Still have thirty minutes before my game starts...'

It was now 10:15 A.M, and given that my games were at 10:45 A.M., I knew that I still had thirty minutes to go before my next game started.

This meant that for the next thirty minutes or so, I had nothing to do.

'”TWIIING!

As I was randomly scrolling through the data of the games to pass time, a notification clogged up my screen. It was my mother.

[Ren, I wish you the best of luck. Mom, Dad, and Nola can't wait for your performance. You better do your best!]

Reading the message, the edges of my lips curled upwards.

"Well, since my parents are watching, I better give them a show worth watching..."

I muttered as I put away my phone. Couldn't disappoint them could I?