They were in a room taller than open, longer than wider, that could be described only as the midway between a room and a tunnel.

Inside of it, a series of steel hangers and a wooden table barely held the equipment and supplies Specter had told them before.

Bare and gritty, they had taken everything they could, till they striped the hall naked, waiting in a callow mood.

When the redhead jumped on top of the supply stand, as they had been calling the table, there were only fifteen minutes left for the hour set to the beginning of the next stage.

— Hear me out, everyone —

He said, calling everyone's sight onto him

— There is a rumor running out there about this year's Tournament —

Then, a silence took the room.

— It's said that this year's tournament would be an Elimination Game —

A few whispers filled up the silence, and the boy's foxy sight started crawling around the room.

— That means that this year there would be more than one winner if not many of them —

There, everybody looked at each other, doubting but especially, hoping that his words were true.

— You don't know me yet, no one does, but during the next days... you will —

Shady, his voice became rougher as he spoke.

— Cause I'll be the only winner from this year's Tournament —

And as if a light had been taken away on a breeze, suddenly the mood changed to a darker one. Even more thicker than it was the moment before. When Specter entered the room, the boy was still on top of the table. The Agent looked at him harshly.

— Who are you? and what are you doing? —

Fully committed to his teacher role, the voice came out of his mouth judgemental.

— My name is Riot —

Said he, simply getting out of the table and walking again into the crowded room.

Specter stood there asking himself why everyone looked at him in such an eerie mood. But he immediately decided to don't mind it.

— Ok, we're going to leave that aside for now —

Taking a look at his notes, the Agent walked into the center of the room and searched carefully the floor, standing on top of a stoned circular tiles pattern.

— Now, raise your hands if you feel unable to continue —

He stopped for a second and looked over the top of their heads, continuing his reading way before anyone could raise a hand.

— Right, so let everyone know that there will be no time off till the beginning of the next stage —

There, he might have done a false step, cause one of the tiles of the floor moved under his weight, making the whole room elevate with them.

— Oh, so that's what it does... Anyway, is there any question? —

He asked, as the roof opened, showing a thousand stars illuminating the night sky.

— What... was that from before? —

— Clearly, an asshole —

Answered Kiki to Oliver, as they ascended through the tunnel.

— But... why? —

Kiki sighed and looked Oliver in the eyes. The boy was fully clothed with armor, iron breastplate, gauntlets, and a helmet that only had a thin slot for the eyes.

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— The point of this Tournament is to show your strength to others, Oliver —

Said the girl taking the helmet off Oliver's head in a quick move

— Hey! —

He protested.

— Listen to me, you're not going to get to the end if you go like that —

She was serious, which made Oliver listen.

— This is a challenge for yourself —

She said, right in time to hear the voice of the crowd coming from up the ground.

— I need to show them, and myself that I'm not less than Park, or anyone else —

She said looking up to the torches of light spilling over the platform.

— Two years ago, they had a Last Man Standing game during his freshman year's Tournament —

Oliver got quiet

— He was the Last Man Standing, and I can't expect less from myself —

— Hold on —

Oliver asked immediately.

— You mean that something like that is possible? —

Kiki watched him with a frown

— To beat everyone at the Tournament? yes, there are four types of games in the Tournament, and that is the hardest one —

There, as the platform stopped abruptly, the lights of the torches and howl of the crowd blinded them.

Holding a hand in front of his eyes, Oliver threw a look into the crowd, all sat on wooden stands. They were in a space similar to the Hauptigesquare Garden, the lake, willow and everything else seemed to be there, only different, a little bit off. Torches of every imaginable color hung in the air, and circles over circles of sparks, similar to the ones Park used for his Hexes covered the ground, now made of sand like in a baseball field.

When Oliver looked front, the sharp sight of Ardeen III gave him a look back. The white-haired man stood in the middle of the crowd filled with both students and outsiders alike looking at them as a judge from a stand. Around him, sat under a roofed section, were the rest of the Professoriate and other members of the board. The purpose of it was to let them watch and surely comment on what they'd see. Oliver felt shiverings running through his body.

There, as the bearly man raised his hand, a tremor shook everything, from the field under the participant's feet to the stand in which the crowd sat. And they listened to him.

— Welcome to the 274th Edition of the Second Son's Tournament —

He said with a dry voice, muting the audience.

Oliver noticed instantly, it was Allure, but not like the one Kiki or Blackwood used, it felt strange, it felt odd.

— As in every year, we gather here a tiny portion of the new entry students, they, carrying this year's will, are tested in order to prove their courage, skill, and wit —

As he talked, Oliver approached Kiki.

— Is that... allure, right? —

Kiki gave him a surprised look.

— Can you feel it too? —

— It's not like yours, or that teacher... —

Kiki thought to herself, turning back to Charles

— It's like is coming from him, not 'out' of him —

She said as Charles continued his speech.

— This year, 24th students will participate in a Hunt, where only a few ones would come back grown, from their cub's skins to a Tiger one, proving themselves worthy among their peers —

There, the crowd howled, like receiving a familiar champion, a cheer that even some of the twenty-four shared.

When Oliver looked at Kiki, she had already an answer prepared

— The Tiger's Hunt, that's an old child's game —

— I don't know it —

Answered Oliver quickly

— It doesn't matter, here it comes —

Then Specter stood in between them and Ardeen, who took the crowd Howl as an opportunity to come back to his seat.

— All right, then —

Started the Agent while clearing his voice.

— This year's Tournament would be an Elimination Game, the Tiger's Hunt would be divided into three stages, after which the winner's crown would be shared among those still in the hunt —

The eyes of the crowd got fixed on each one of the 24th participants.

— Each stage would have its own rules, that would be laid down for everyone at the start of every new stage —

The Agent kept his sight fixed on his script, as the same sort of Sympathy that had boosted Krahen voiced before.

— General rules are simple, participate with sportsmanship for both your peers and those watching, malicious behavior spotted of any sort would be punished with expelling or worse, and of course... killing is completely out of the rules —

The air froze as Specter pronounced his last words.

— Apart from that, let us begin with the first trial —

There, after a wave of Ardeen's hand, the circles on the field started to shine again, much like it had happened before out of their sight, the Hauptigesquare Garden reshaped itself under his will.

What had been before a recreational Park mashed with history and museum-like sculptures, was now folded over itself in a thousand diamond-like structures that reflected light from the torches, stars, and those reflecting the lake. Suddenly the space in between the Stands and the Field multiplied itself, and they were on a space as big as two Roman Colossiums.

— The first Stage would be Surviving Trial, the goal of this stage is to get as many points as you can, being one the minimum to pass, with no roof —

The Participants, spread across the field during Ardeen's feat, looked between amazed and frightened at the ground behind them.

— During this stage, the only way to get points is by hunting Preys, the points distribution is made at random, which means that one Prey can drop either one point, many of them, or none —

The attention then flipped to the edges of the field, where the light of the torches didn't reach.

There, from the nightly dew, a silhouette appeared panting between the shadows, then another came, and another one. They were all full grown-up, stripped tigers, big enough to overthrow an adult Visson with ease. Gazing at them, Specter keep speaking with his voice amplified.

— Points will be indicated through strips, each strip worth a point, now, without further ado... —

Raising his hand, the Agent let it drop with a tired eye.

— The First Trial... has officially started! —