849 Preliminary Round

The rules were simple.

Three students—all of them in the same group—would enter the stage and fight for a total of five minutes. If a winner emerged within that time, then they would be considered the victor of the round and advance to the Main Event.

If no single victor had been established after the time limit was exceeded, then the one who dealt the most damage and had the least damage inflicted on them would be the winner.

To determine this, three judges—reputable, unbiased Instructors—were placed in an elevated platform to watch the entire Preliminaries.

Hence, by the end of the whole event, only thirty-two students out of the ninety-six would qualify for the main event happening the following day. Needless to say, the hall was electric with anticipation and excitement.

So many Dragons had turned up as spectators for the Prelims, and even more were going to show up for the main event.

This was an event of the year.

"Round one of the preliminaries… involving Sha'la, Fi'tzari, and Ll'oyd…"

The three students stepped into the stage, their levels of confidence varying from one person to the other. Sha'la and Fi'tzari were both in the Second Stages, while Ll'oyd was in the third. It was clear who had the most charisma out of all of them.

As they finally settled on stage, and the cheering crowd was finally silenced, the Announcer raised his voice and announced the start of the match.

"... Begin!"

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~

*************

"So… are you going to make a bet?" The three judges who sat at their prestigious position—an elevated platform high above the other students—looked down at the match as one of them spoke up.

It was none other than D'aru, one of the Frost Dragon Lord's Squad members.

He had a cheerful smile on his face as he observed the students fight amongst themselves. His colleagues—L'ester and O'jog—had more bored expressions on their faces, but he seemed rather excited for a mere Preliminary Match.

"What's the point?" L'ester, the most logical of the three sighed. "Based on what I've observed, your students will be the one winning this Event."

The reason was simple.

Of the three Stages, the third years were by far the most competent… and their instructor was none other than D'aru.

The guy seemed all cheerful and carefree, but when it came to tutoring wards, there was no better candidate. He was basically set up for success, having the strongest class and the best skill in terms of teaching.

After analyzing the odds, L'ester already gave up on victory and yielded it to his comrade.

But—

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

—O'jog felt a little different about the whole thing.

"Oh? Why do you say so?" D'aru, trying to hide his surprise under amusement, asked with a raised brow.

Silence, followed by a few chuckles, echoed within their exclusive space for a few seconds. Both D'aru and L'ester shared confused expressions as they watched O'jog laugh for no apparent reason.

After he was done being amused, he finally said something.

"I don't think your students will be the ones winning this time, D'aru." "Really? So you've got some pretty good contestants in your arsenal, then?" D'aru's smile widened even more, though this only revealed how threatened he felt.

"Nah! Most of them are duds, but… I know a few that show promise."

As O'jog said this, three images appeared in his mind—one of them shining brighter than the others.

'R'ai, Luc'ia, and Ad'oni… those three are definitely much stronger than everyone else in Class 1-A, and the entire Stage 1.' He smiled as his thoughts trailed. 'Especially that R'ai…'

O'jog always had an eye for things, and this one was no different.

"I don't want to spoil things for you, but… unless he decides to screw things over for himself… there's no way anyone else will get that first prize but him."

"Who's him?" Both L'ester and D'aru wanted to know at this point.

"Well, he's—"

~DRRRNNNG!!!~

"First round is over! The winner of the match is Ll'oyd!" The announcer's voice echoed into the air, even infiltrating the room of the judges, hence interrupting O'jog's big reveal.

As soon as this happened, the latter shrugged casually.

"Why not just sit back and enjoy the show?" He grinned widely. "I can guarantee that it's going to be a fun sight to behold."

Both Squad Members, now judges, glanced at each other and sighed. There wasn't any way to argue with their Squad Leader when he became like this. He was having his fun, and so they had to be held in suspense until the time was right.

Still, it wouldn't be long until every single group fought in the Preliminaries.

They would soon be able to see who his golden boy was.

*************

"The winner of the match is Ll'oyd!"

As the announcement echoed within the hall, Rey and his classmates sat together—among the other students who were waiting for their turn to fight in front of thousands of people.

Looking at these students of Class 1-A, and even the other Classes in the same Stage, it was easy to see that a lot of them were worried. Just as they suspected, the Stage 3 students had the upper hand.

But—

'As expected. The winner was already determined in my mind the moment I saw their Status Windows…'

—Not all the students felt the pressure that others had.

Rey, for one, didn't feel anything.

~Can't believe I have to wait so many rounds until my turn.~

Lucielle was feeling rather impatient, since she wanted to return to her room to continue her research on a particular Magic Theory she was formulating.

According to her, it would be the next big thing.

"Well… all in due time." Rey responded to her in a slight whisper, glancing at his fellow classmates as he witnessed them making their best attempt at a strong facade.

He knew how they felt deep down, though.

'I've seen the Status Windows of every student here, including the seniors we are matched against. And… I already know who's going to win or lose.'

Other than Lucielle, Adonis, and himself… no other Stage 1 student was making it past the Preliminaries.

'No matter… it is what it is.'

*

*

*

Thanks for reading!

I'm dealing with a lot of IRL problems right now. I really don't want to let you all down, but it's pretty serious.

I'll do my best to keep releasing chapters, though.

I appreciate those who reached out, and everyone who keeps supporting me.

Cheers!