--- Divinity: Part 3
--- [Lett’s perspective] Six months later, in Adamas where the battle festival is held
“Ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally come!” – Announcer
The crowd cheers loudly, and excitement is through the roof.
“The once in a century event is finally here! We have contestants ranging from D-rank all the way to B-rank! You’ll never again in your life see an event as big as this, an event with more hunters gathered in the same place than any other!” – Announcer
“Damn right! And they’re all gathered here for the same reason… To win the ultimate prize!” – Second Announcer
“That’s right! Now, why don’t you go ahead and explain the rules of this first round to all the fine folks watching, Barbara?” – Announcer
“Will do, Bob! As you all probably know, the main event is a 16-man tournament where the winner takes it all. To make it fair, it’s split up by rank. The first tournament will be for all the D-rank hunters, followed by the one for the C-rankers, and at last, the one for the B-rankers… But the problem is that there are too many contestants! So, before the main tournament is held, we’ll need to weed out the weak! The hunters will be divided into 16 teams. Each team will have massive free-for-all battle, where the winner gets to compete in the main event!” – Barabara
“Awesome! With the help of a hunter working with the organizers, they have set up massive screens that let you see the battle more clearly! It’s all thanks to his amazing power! He can even show things in slow motion or replay the most exciting moments! Now let’s stop wasting time and get show started already!” – Bob
Once again, the crowd cheers so loudly you could probably hear it from the neighboring cities.
They yell, they chant, they clap, and they stomp.
The once-in-a-lifetime show is about to start…
But all I can think about is Shin and Alex.
I know it’s not saying much since the crowd is so insanely large, but I haven’t seen them all day.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Alex said he’d be here before he left on that day, so I have to trust that he’ll show up…
Shin however…
He failed the exam and couldn’t rank up, so he’s still E-rank.
He can’t participate, but I hoped he would show up to watch us at least…
I haven’t seen him since that day either.
After finding out Illian betrayed us, it was already the worst day of my life.
Then everyone left me…
I don’t know where they are, what they have been up to, or if they’re even still alive…
They just…
Left.
If it wasn’t for Victor and Luna, I’d have no one.
But I know I have to get over it…
They both promised they’d return, and I believe them!
They wouldn’t abandon me forever, they just wouldn’t!
“Guys, let’s get a move on! They’ve opened the gates to where the preliminaries are being held.” – Victor
“Right!” – Lett
“Sure.” – Luna
It’s been months since I ranked up, but it’s still mind-blowing to think that I’m the same rank as them now…
My brother whom I’ve looked up to since I was a kid…
I’m on equal ground with him now!
The same applies to Luna.
She was always so much stronger that I couldn’t even dream of competing with her, but today might be the day when we’ll know for sure if that’s still the case!
We get into the room, and immediately see 16 doors, each leading to a different area.
With a soulless voice, one of the employees explains what to do next.
“Go pick a random team from that urn over there, then go through the corresponding door…” – Employee
There’s a giant urn with thousands of folded pieces of paper, all with numbers written on the inside.
One by one, we all draw from it.
“I got 10, how about you guys?” – Luna
“11.” – Lett
“7 here.” – Victor
“Good. None of us are in the same group, that means all of us has a chance at reaching the main tournament.” – Luna
“Chance? Speak for yourself! I’ll make it no matter what!” – Victor
“Yeah, yeah…” – Luna
She walks through the 10th door without even saying goodbye to us…
“Well then, you better make it too! Let’s meet again in the finale!” – Victor
“May the better sibling win!” – Lett
We make our way to our respective doors and push them open…
Behind mine is a road leading to one of the many arenas.
I get to the arena, and hundreds of other hunters are gathered here, with more pouring in every second.
To think this is just a fraction of the total number of contestants is insane.
A few minutes pass, and eventually people stop coming.
The doors to the arena close, and the announcers start talking again.
“Now then everyone… As stated before, you will now fight in a massive free-for-all! But remember, this event is for fun! It’s a chance to show off your skills, win massive rewards, and entertain millions! Killing is not allowed. There are high ranking hunters always watching over you to make sure it doesn’t happen, don’t forget that. Other than that, don’t worry about being a little rough! There are dozens of healers stationed at every arena. After the preliminaries are over, everyone will get healed, even the winners! Again, this is NOT life or death, so relax, and do your best!” – Bob
“And with that said, let the preliminaries begin!” – Barbara