章 93: Battle Royale
In the preliminary round of the Sovereign's Tournament, the first event is a high-stakes battle royale. All 100 participants enter a massive, intricately designed arena that incorporates various terrains—dense forests, open plains, treacherous cliffs, and even a small river running through the middle. This environment is meant to challenge the students' adaptability and force them to think on their feet.
The rules are simple yet brutal: the last eight participants standing will be seeded into the main tournament. There are no eliminations by ring-out, as the entire arena is the battlefield. Participants are "defeated" by being incapacitated or forced to submit. Magic barriers ensure no lethal injuries, but the pain and exhaustion are real.
During the battle royale, alliances and betrayals are common as students temporarily team up to eliminate stronger opponents. However, these alliances are often short-lived, with former allies turning on each other as the numbers dwindle. Each participant must strike a balance between offence and defence, ensuring they aren't taken out early while also making strategic moves to secure a top spot.
As the battle royale progresses, the tension rises. The weaker participants are gradually weeded out, leaving only the strongest and most cunning fighters. The top eight survivors, those who have managed to outmanoeuvre and outlast their peers, are granted the coveted spots in the main tournament, where the real challenge begins.
Professors would oversee the entire event, ensuring that no student suffers serious injury during the battle royale. Their presence adds an extra layer of security, allowing participants to push their limits without fear of lasting harm.
To keep things fair, all one hundred participants are randomly teleported to different locations across the expansive arena. This ensures that no one gains an early advantage from a favorable starting position. The arena itself, far too large to fit within the stadium, sprawls across a vast landscape.
Because of the arena's immense size, spectators must watch the battle unfold through screens, capturing every intense moment. The main stadium, with its towering walls and grandstands, will come into play only in the subsequent tournament rounds, where the top eight participants will face off in head-to-head combat.
The anticipation in the air is palpable as the battle royale begins, each student knowing that this is only the first step toward becoming the Sovereign.
As the countdown to the battle royale echoed through the arena, tension gripped the participants. The moment the final number fell silent, a brilliant flash enveloped each of the one hundred students. In an instant, they were scattered across the vast and varied landscape of the arena, transported to random locations with no knowledge of where their rivals had landed.
Arthur blinked as he found himself in a dense forest, the towering trees casting long shadows across the mossy ground. The air was thick with the scent of pine and earth. He inhaled deeply, centering himself as he rubbed his fingers across the metallic surface of his spatial ring, the only artifact other than his sword he was allowed to bring here.
'A battle royale is all about survival,' Arthur reminded himself as he scaled a tall tree, seeking a better vantage point.
In a battle royale, it wasn't always the strongest fighter who emerged victorious, but the one who could outlast the others. Being overwhelmed by sheer numbers was a real threat, even for the most powerful participants.
While a battle royale might not be the fairest way to determine the strongest, it was an efficient method to quickly reduce the number of contestants.
And this wasn't a quick skirmish—it would last for days, testing not just strength, but endurance and strategy.
Arthur's ears twitched at the faint rustling of leaves nearby. He instinctively channeled mana to his eyes, sharpening his vision. When he turned towards the source of the noise, he spotted a 2-star mana beast—a Horned Rat—scurrying through the underbrush.
The presence of mana beasts in the battle royale added an extra layer of danger. They could eliminate participants just as effectively as another student might. Arthur knew that in the fourth year of the Sovereign's Tournament, these beasts would cause a massive incident. But for now, that was a distant concern.
The Horned Rat posed no immediate threat to him, and attacking it would only draw unnecessary attention. Arthur made the calculated decision to remain hidden, allowing the chaos around him to whittle down the competition. After all, survival was the key to this round, and staying unnoticed was a significant advantage.
His thoughts drifted to the future. He knew that both Ren and Lucifer would likely be waiting for him at the end of the tournament. They were formidable opponents, but Arthur was determined to face them when the time came.
Jin Ashbluff moved with the silence of a shadow, his twin swords barely reflecting the light as he approached his targets. The two girls stood too close together, their relaxed posture betraying their sense of safety. They had found an ally in each other, but that trust made them vulnerable.
Jin had learned early on that the key to victory was not just strength but also the element of surprise. His mentor had drilled into him the art of masking his intent, to become invisible in the moments before a strike. Now, he was a master of that art.
In one fluid motion, Jin struck, the flat of his blades tapping against the girls' backs before they even realized he was there. A flash of surprise crossed their faces, and in the next instant, they were teleported out of the arena, eliminated from the battle royale.
Jin didn't linger to savor his success. There were still many opponents left, and each one required the same precision and caution. He melted back into the shadows, searching for his next target.
As Jin slipped back into the shadows, Arthur's words echoed in his mind.
"Reach the semi-finals, Jin."
These were not just instructions—they were commands, obligations tied to the secret his family held. His thoughts drifted to Arthur Nightingale, the enigmatic figure who had become a focal point of his life.
On the surface, Arthur appeared unremarkable—a knight captain's only child from the Slatemark Empire. Yet, he had been born with a talent so exceptional that it propelled him into Mythos Academy's elite Class 1-A. But talent alone wasn't what made Arthur stand out.
There was something else—a relentless drive, a fervor for strength that bordered on obsession. Jin had seen it in Arthur's eyes, in the way he trained, in the way he fought. It was as if Arthur believed that failing to maximize his strength would lead to his death. That kind of desperation was foreign to Jin, who had been raised to value strength but not to this extreme.
This madness intrigued Jin, made him see Arthur in a different light. Arthur wasn't just another talented student; he was something more—someone worth watching, worth studying.
As Jin moved silently through the arena, searching for his next target, he couldn't help but wonder just how far Arthur's obsession would take him. And whether it would be enough to bring him to the very top of the Sovereign's Tournament.
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