CHAPTER 160
I'M A GIFT FROM THE GODS (1)
Finally, on the eighth day, the day of the junior league's Main Event, the Battle Rounds had arrived. The colossal arena bustled with an excited crowd, eagerly awaiting the start of the awaited junior league.
Hodges, Vanir's parents, students from Concordia, and many other citizens were eagerly watching the event. Vanir's parents, who had already been startled by Hans's earlier outburst, were also hoping for a favourable outcome, with Vanir's father remarking, "It's all good as long as he treats our son well." His friend's words still weighed on him. However, his wife suddenly gripped his shoulders and exclaimed in excitement when she saw their son on the screen. "Look, there's our son! He's with... why is he there? Is he going to participate too?"
Vanir himself was also puzzled, wondering why he was standing alongside Chris and Delimira on the representative stage and where his so-called mentor was. “They are making quite a fuss, aren’t they?” he commented and Delimira responded promptly, “Of course, their entire elite group has gone missing.” She looked directly into Vanir’s eyes, stressing “You still think, it's not related to your MENTOR.”
No, that would be utter chaos, and Senior Hans is clever. He wouldn't just act recklessly and throw himself into this.…whatchamacallit…mess, yes a bloody mess —”
“Then you don’t know your mentor very well. I can bet my whole savings, that no one is alive there.” The mention of a bet caught Vanir's attention, briefly entertaining the idea of how much Hans would appreciate bringing him money.
“Don’t bother,” Chris stopped him from taking irretrievable steps, “You'd have to bet your entire family fortune just to compete with her pocket money. But I agree with you... Hans may be reckless, but he's not an idiot.”
All were waiting for the sole person to appear. To know what exactly happened in the Heat Riddance. However, the expected person was nowhere to be found. This silence started to concern even the people from Concordia. They were seated beside the Parvians in the audience, and, having received their assistance, many had formed a friendly acquaintance with them.
Eugene attempted to reach out to Hans but found his connection requests repeatedly denied. Meanwhile, Lux, a mage from Concordia, grumbled about recent changes to the Junior League. Due to the tight schedule, the main event, known as the battle round, was shortened to three participants per team.
The screens lit up, shuffling the pairings of the nine qualified participants from the Knight Association, Mage Tower and his own Concordia. “Come on, captain hurry.” He prayed for Hans to be not selected for the first round since his absence would disqualify him instantly but as Lux’s close friends knew, there was no worse jinx than him. The first battle was announced - Hans of Concordia vs Ricardo of Knight Association.
Round 1
Round 2
Semi-final
Final
Delimira (CC) vs Manard (KA)
Chris (CC) vs Obi (MT)
???
???
Gunnier (KA) vs Omar (MT)
???
Hans (CC) vs Ricardo (KA)
??? Vs Arlin (MT)
The roster of Battle rounds shown in the air, “So Hans is fighting the extra round. Hey! loony,” Rudolf asked Dijkstra, sitting beside him, not by choice of course, “I'm really curious, just what did you give to Norwin earlier? I mean the paper…” His sudden words not only attracted the subject in question but also everyone else sitting on the elevated platform. All were staring at Dijkstra. “Oh, don't make me blush—”
“Just tell us already,” Arat interjected. He tried asking the same question, but Dijkstra was avoiding the topic like the plague. However, this time, it finally looked like he was going to tell, so Arat pushed him further, and it worked.
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“Fine! Fine! I’ll tell you,” Dijkstra spoke, whispering, “I wrote, or it was more of a challenge - If you are not a bastard of six fathers, then try stopping our prince.”
“Then all this mess is your doing —”
“It's fun, isn’t it? Norwin is easy to provoke and it fills an excitement to this mediocre shitshow—”
"You have no idea how many death warrants you've signed with that joke, do you?" Rudolf almost shouted, clenching the palm rest of the seat into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Chris commented looking at the match pairing, "What kind of pairing is this?"
"Who knows," Delimira answered, pointing above as she continued, "Maybe someone above wants to do some justice for us?"
"DING." The bell for the battle rounds rang, and the familiar circle, the Judgment artefact, resurfaced over the arena. The examiner came forward, asking for both candidates to step up.
"Ricardo from Knight Association, present," a tall boy marched forward from the other side. The examiner then turned towards Concordia's side. "Hans from Concordia, present." A sound came, not from Concordia’s stage but from the audience, and a figure jumped into the arena.
He removed his cape, revealing a dusty face, reminiscent of a street beggar, and greeted the crowd. His eyes scanned the audience, searching for familiar faces, and landed on Walter, who stood with Delimira and Chris, both looking fine.
“What the hell is he doing up there.” His eyes couldn’t ignore the jumping Vanir by their sides. Finally, his sight led to him on the scoreboard. “We are quite lagging this year, aren’t we?”
Higher league
1st - Gwen starlight (Mage tower of Sunfall)
2nd - Jordan kale (Concordia)
Senior League
1st - Tywin (Devildom)
2nd - Gemini (Devildom)
Junior League
1st - ???
2nd - ???
“Devildom, these upstarts really need an exorcism.” He mumbled. Meanwhile, Chris was baffled, and muttered, “I was near the SpaceDoor all night, just when did he come—”
“Who knows? He is here that matters.” Walter, coughed, instructing Delimira and Chris, “Don’t lose, I’ve betted my entire fortune on you three—” All three stared at Walter like some disgusting thing so he defended himself, “Hey! I’m an adult. Can’t I gamble a bit?”
Far from the noisy side of Concordia, the examiner wasted no time and addressed both candidates, confirming, “This is not a spar or a duel; it's a battle for the honour of your institutions, but you are not allowed to kill.” Pointing to the Judgement artefact above, he added, “It won't permit any artefacts or foul play, and it restricts anyone from interfering. This means we can't stop the battle once it begins. So if any of you kills one, you will be barred from Glory Wars forever. To win, you must either knock out your opponent or make them submit.” He looked at both again, “If either of you wants to opt-out, say so now.”
“I know,” Hans grinned, stealing glances at the powerhouses seated high, “That’s why, I showed in the exact moment, so none can ask me what happened.” Taking a long breath, he answered the Examiner’s question. “No,”
Ricardo from the Knight Association gave the same response, and the audience erupted in cheers. They remembered how Hans had subdued a Devildom member, the dark horse of this year's Glory Wars, with just a glare. Their expectations were soaring, as they had paid big bucks to be here. To see Concordia trampling on high horses of tower and Association, but nothing worthy of their spent money was seen. They expected a little from the junior league, but it was all that they could pin their hopes on.
The examiner signalled the artefact to be activated and stated, “Fight with honour —”
Hans interrupted the examiner, remarking, "There's no need to involve Mr. Honor in Miss Revenge's business," as he stared wickedly at Ricardo, like a predator looking down on its prey.
"Whatever. Introduce yourselves and begin," the examiner declared before stepping aside, leaving them in an awkward staring contest. The young knight, Ricardo, decided to break the silence by introducing himself first, saying, "I'm Ricardo, a grade 28 Knight and the second son of Viscount Klegor of Utar." He drew a fancy sword and pointed it at Hans, taunting, "And who are you, peasant?”
"I'll tell you later," Hans replied, his gaze fixed on the calm and expectant audience. "Let's give them a battle they'll remember for a lifetime." He then bent down on one knee and gently touched the ground.
"What?" Ricardo, surprised, began to mock him, saying, "Bowing out this ear—drrr...dr..thud." Suddenly, the ground started shaking, with Hans at the epicentre.
“You see, I reached the capital early. So I had a lot of time preparing.” Hans mumbled, maintaining a sharp gaze on confused Ricardo, “This whole arena, I‘ve rigged it from below. It's my territory, and you're in for a nightmare."
Yesterday night Hans had tunnelled several wood gems and mana stones he robbed from the corpses of proctors, his vines had dug like a mole, concealing their entire wealth on this very grounds.“It's not that using mana resources was banned but the Chairman said the more intimidating a spell looks more psychological damage it does. Can’t believe I’m doing this just for show.”
The tremors began to intensify, prompting even Warlords in the audience to stand up, not because they felt threatened, but because individuals of their calibre understood what was unfolding. "Even if it's Hans, this is simply not possible," one of the students commented, surprising those seated nearby. Another student had been about to ask him what he meant when Hans interrupted with a shout.
~WoodGolem: Giant Serpent~
Raising his hand, Hans slammed the ground, and the earth responded with tremors, sending a huge shockwave through the arena. Spectators rose from their seats as they witnessed the ground crack open. A massive serpent-like creature, made from wood and foliage, its jaws wide and fiery red eyes glaring, erupted from behind Hans, towering over him and fixing its gaze on his trembling opponent.
To those familiar with alchemy, it was recognized as a golem. However, to many others in the audience, it seemed as though the young boy on the screen had pulled a creature out of nowhere. The crowd cheered, seeing something incredible for a change while Arat commented, “He is like an onion,”
He was genuinely surprised by the fact that they were seeing an alchemist in junior league and the boy was even more proficient and quicker than what Devildom people shown off in Senior league. He was filled with pride and listening to him, Dijkstra, sharing his sentiments, supported his words, “Yeah, no matter how many layers you peel, he’ll always have something underneath.”
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