Mirik's POV-
Only the participants were left in the waiting room. I could see nervousness and excitement on faces present. But some presents were calm most probably the seniors. The door of the waiting room opened again as some men entered and set a table. One sat behind it and opened a register. He skimmed through the register as he came back to the first page again.
"Hmmm... There are 128 of you participants..... 2 elimination rounds before the seeded participants join... Ok everyone all ears on me. " The man sitting shouted and gathered everyone's attention. He looked into the register and started calling the number And the name after it. Every participant here was getting a number from which they were called into the fighting rings. This was my first time here so I didn't know that something like this happened. But my queries were cleared by the man.
"I have been participating in the class tournaments for years. There was no such thing as giving a number to the participants." All the new participants agreed as the seniors stayed calm. The man with the register giggled a little and then he sighed.
"Every year... Every year you fuckers ask the same thing. Do you think you deserve to be called by the name? Only when you clear the first two rounds will you get your name to be called by the announcer. Dream on." He said. The older participants had a look of understanding while the younger ones were confused. The man started calling names.
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".... 123 Mirik Diman... " My name came fairly late so I was ready to observe all the participants who would fight before me. Everybody started to get ready in the waiting room. All kinds of armor and weapons could be seen on the participants. Voices started to come from the other side of the door where the arenas were. It sounded like the crowd had arrived and were waiting for the fights to start.
But who were the people in the crowd? I was sure the students were not allowed in the open tournaments. And as this was all done away from the eyes of the public it was weird to hear the sounds of the audience as if the stadium was packed.
"Everyone get ready to move out. Your first fight is going to take place. Leave through this door and stand in the arena where your number is held by the referee. " The man said pointing towards the door which led to the arena. Mumbling began after hearing his words.
"Do you mean we all have to enter to gather? " A girl asked shocked. The man looked tired as he rolled his eyes.
"Yea now fuck off. The audience is waiting for you." He said as he left through another door. The room was left silent. Everyone looked at each other waiting for someone to move.
Even the seniors didn't want to be the first to move. The kids were hesitant as everyone was anxious. The first to leave would have been the most eyes on them. It could be nerve-racking. Nobody made a move until a small girl wearing glasses moved and entered the stadium leaving all of us cowards behind.
As she opened the door I for the first time realized how big this stadium was. All the seats were full of shouting and clapping resounding as the girl walked slowly through the entrance.