“I don’t know,” I reply honestly.

After that our conversation moved on, with them telling me all they know about the other participants they thought could threaten my path to number one. As this happens, the room continues to fill up, until half an hour later when the massive TV comes on.

A man wearing a Teacher’s green robe appears, holding his hands behind his back and wearing a small smile on his face. “Hello, everyone in this room is someone who has passed their exams and becomes a Pre-protector. First of all, congratulations. Next, I would like to apologize for the rushed nature of this event. Normally, we would have given you a day or two to prepare, but… certain circumstances forced us to make this happen sooner.

“For those of you who are yet to know the purpose of this event, there are three reasons why they are held every year. First, to give the Scouts a feel of the strength of each of you, second, to reward those who have worked exceptionally hard this year and manage to get the top three positions, and lastly, to show those of you whose performance this year leave much to be desired what you could achieve should you be willing to work harder. Now, this is how things will be done.”

His image gets a bit smaller as a list of sixteen names divided into groups of four appears on the side of the screen. “The sixteen names on the screen are, based on our judgment of your fights with the Azzure, the strongest among you. They will be competing for the top sixteen positions tournament style. As for the rest of you, you will be assigned temporary ranks.”

At his words, numerous murmurs fill the room as confused expressions appear on more than a few faces. On the screen, another list of names appears, much longer than the previous.

A reassuring smile appears on the Teacher’s face. “I understand this is not the way things are usually run, but a lot of things are different this year. For instance, it's not only the top three that will get prizes, instead every position has a prize attached to it, and the higher you reach, the better your prize. So, I am going to have to advise you all to fight hard. The Rankings will be divided into two parts. First, those with position seventeen to thirty-seven can challenge anyone they think they are stronger than, but you only have three chances to do so. If you defeat your opponent, your positions will be exchanged. And yes, when I say you can challenge anyone, I meant anyone, even those in the top sixteen - though I won’t advise it.”

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The moment he mentions that every position will have a prize attached to it, the room breaks out into noise, as those who previously were uninterested suddenly become keener. The hubbub dues down a few seconds later as everyone listens on with determined expressions on their faces. He continues on, listing the rules of the fights to come. Then he begins to explain how those in the top sixteen will fight.

“For those in the top sixteen, you have been divided into four groups. There will be two rounds of fights within each group, and only the winners of each round will move on. After that, there will be two more rounds with the winners of all four groups competing for the first four positions. Once that is done, we will release a list of the top sixteen positions and then all of you in that list will have one chance to challenge anyone you wish if you don’t feel content with your position.”

After that, he goes on to list a few more rules. Finally, he says, “Now, the event starts in five minutes. When your name appears on the screen, pour your Uua into the chairs you are sitting on and you will be teleported to where you need to be. I wish you all good luck.”

And with that he disappears, leaving the names to take up the rest of the space on the screen. I begin to go through it when I spot my name. I am the first person on the top sixteen list. Beneath my name is two unfamiliar names, followed by Roy and then Keldin.

Spotting my name, Tobi says, “I knew it. There’s no way you wouldn’t enter the top sixteen. You’d better make sure you get first.”

“I’ll try.”

A familiar voice shouts. “Old man!” It is Keldin. When I look at him he draws a hand across his neck as he asks, “Ready for the second round of getting your ass kicked?”

I blink blankly at him before turning away. I am not ready for his shit right now.

Five minutes pass by quickly and a name appears on the screen, taking center stage as the rest disappear. Among us, a girl disappears, followed a few seconds later by a boy. Then the name on the screen disappears, replaced by an image of the Colosseum I had seen earlier. The seats all around are packed with Laen of different ranks, each of them having their eyes trained on the two people at the center. On the stage are the two people who just disappeared, looking tense as they face each other.

A familiar face wearing the Wranth robes appear on the stage. Gabe. It seems fights in the Arena aren’t the only ones he referees. He calls for the fight to begin and then vanishes, leaving only the two combatants.

I watch with rapt attention. Sooner or later it would be my turn to fight, by watching others I might learn something that could be the key to me winning a fight of my own. The two on the stage begin fighting. In the end, the girl wins the fight and two more people are called to the stage.

A few fights later, I lost all interest in what is going on on the stage. Some part of me even wonders how some of these students managed to defeat the Azzures. That isn’t to say they are horrible fighters, they are good enough, but that’s it. None of them is particularly exceptional and a result the fights quickly turn dull. Maybe it's because I have seen too many exceptional fights, like PM against Jade, Drew with the Majin, and so on. Thankfully, the fights don’t last long, most being between ten to thirty seconds and some outliers which almost reach a minute.

Turning away from the TV, I see that most of the people in the room aren’t paying attention to the ongoing fights, even Tobi and the rest are just discussing with each other. Soon it is Tobi’s turn. He wins his fight and returns, receiving hearty congratulations from the rest of us. The better he does, the better the prize he later receives. The event continues.