I’m in the middle of the Tournament’s arena. This was, naturally, not held in our academy. Instead, a huge dome-like structure with an open roof—which had been set up and used for all the previous tournaments too—was used for this year’s tournament.
The Tournament will go like this:
There will be three stages. The first stage was the qualifiers. For the first stage, swarms of monsters will be released in waves in the arena once every fifteen minutes. All the hundred or so participants will be thrown into the arena to survive, starting from morning until midnight. The participants’ lives wouldn’t be in danger as the administration changed the codes of the system in such a way that it will release healing enzymes into our blood streams (it seems like the system is somehow connected with our body’s mana) when our health drops to a life threateningly low level. The enzymes, once released, would cause the participant to fall asleep indicating their failure to pass the stage.
Then after two months, the actual tournament begins at the second stage. In this stage, the people who passed the first stage would be assigned to fight each other until the top ten remained.
Then, finally the third stage. The top ten would be handicapped and thrown into a forest with artificial mutant goblins created by the state’s most renowned scientists.
These mutant goblins would be a lesser version of the real ones, but still nothing to scoff at.
I’m currently in the third stage.
The first stage was easy. I didn’t need to practice any strategies or battle tactics. My high stats and skill level helped me pass it with no sweat. In addition, I had experience in fighting monsters due to all the dungeon divings. The academy got their supply of monsters from the Dungeon Agency which made it even easier.
In the second stage, I had to fight three people. Two of them had contradictory attributes such as ice and dust, so it was easier to defeat them as fire was superior. The third person’s stats were choppy. I think it was averaged to 20 or something. He was like an elephant—no speed but immense strength. People don’t plan and upgrade which leads to instability during fighting. You have to balance things in all areas.
Now, onto the present. I’m in the middle of a thick, dense forest. The light from the sun is blocked off by the thick leaves of the gigantic trees. The handicap placed on me was poison. I was afflicted with poison. It made it difficult to breathe and the strength in my muscles gradually waned away. My head was becoming heavy and there was a slight headache in one part of my head which felt like a needle piercing, growing consistently.
Even with my level 40 stats, it was this worse. I got unknown shivers when I imagined what would happen if my stats were averaged to 10.
There are ways in which you can counter or worsen the symptoms. There were many things hidden in this stage. But, their effect was a mystery.
I avoided fighting as much as I could, as I walked around the forest to find some mystery consumables.
“Ugh..” I squeezed my chest tightly.
[2,800 coins have been consumed, Endurance: 40 —> Endurance: 47]
[Coins: 200]
“Sigh..” Increasing the endurance helped a bit.
I was sneaking around the forest using the tree barks as cover while searching for the hidden mystery items or consumables. But, things don’t always go according to plan…
Three mutant goblins spotted me and ran towards me rapidly while growling. It seemed that they were kept hungry just for this event. I had no choice but to fight these things now…
I raised both my hands and began firing fireballs, starting small. I experimented with the minimum firepower required to kill these creatures, so that I could use my mana more efficiently. And to my surprise, it wasn’t that much of a difference. Only a bit more than what was normally required to kill off a normal goblin was required to kill the mutant goblins.
However, during this time, something else popped up…
A creature so massive that I had to raise my head all the way to the back to see its head. It could be identified as a goblin only because of its green color and protruding ears. It was even taller than these trees reaching the height of a skyscraper. Multiple cries could be heard from all over the forest. It looked to be a mutant goblin because of its orange mixture with green skin. Its eyes were distinctly red unlike the normal goblin’s green eyes.
This thing… I didn’t see this before.. Did it get summoned? Yeah, that must be it. There’s no way a creature this big could just walk around the forest while being inconspicuous.
I can’t kill that thing.
I couldn’t dream of it. Not in my current state. It was a pain to even just hold on.
The giant mutant goblin let out a wild, ear-shattering scream which echoed through the forest. I reflexively stepped back. No matter how high my stats were, I couldn’t kill it.
At this time, rustling sounds could be heard from the nearby bushes. A few people armed with magic staff and swords appeared. One person was even holding a shield.
Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about it. This stage was not about eliminating the other participants ‘directly’. The main goal was to eradicate the mutant goblin population completely from the forest. Your teamwork, patience and leadership will all be monitored by the administration. So, some people formed alliances to survive longer and clear out this stage.
The boy at the head of the group spoke towards me, “We’re planning on attacking that thing over there and are collecting allies. How about joining us?”
Certainly, joining a group would ensure my survival against that thing, but I’m in no state to attack. Plus, once the giant mutant goblin was killed, the so called ‘allies’ would with no doubt betray each other. It was due to the end of this stage. In this stage, there were no multiple winners. Instead, there were only first, second and third ‘survivors’. The rewards, too, will be awarded based on that.
I politely replied to the head of the group, “No, I’m not interested.”
He looked at my body from the bottom to the top and flashes a ridiculing smile before saying, “Are you sure?”
I replied, flashing a smile of my own, “Yep.” While these guys divert that thing’s attention, I’ve got something else to do. Sure, I would miss out on the experience and the coins, but it is not enough to fail the tournament after coming this far.
Two of the six group members launched themselves into the sky, meeting the mutant goblin face-to-face and attacked it using their swords. The three mages accumulated magic in their wands and cast it at the giant mutant goblin. The boy who spoke to me just now, silently watched me leave the area.
I ran as fast as I could. There were explosion sounds, something being pierced and flesh being torn apart. I already knew the outcome of that battle, so I ran without paying any heed to it. At least, they wouldn’t die.
Something shone golden near a tree’s roots. I finally found the thing I had been searching for. It was the hidden item — the mystery consumable. A golden, shiny mushroom was planted near a tree. I quickly got hold of it and tossed it into my pocket. I’ll need this sometime later for sure. Or at least that's what my instinct tells me.
[A Greater Mutant Goblin has been defeated!]
[The master of the third stage has been killed!]
[All surviving participants will be teleported to the final arena in some time.]
A system message popped up. It seems like those guys managed to kill that thing off.
[Number Of Participants Remaining: 5]
“…”
[Number Of Participants Remaining: 4]
..Huh?
The number of participants just went down in real time. It was a bit eerie.
Originally, there were ten of us who advanced to the third stage, but only four of us remained. Did everyone from that group fail to clear this stage?
Then, a brilliant white light flashed before my eyes and I found myself in the middle of an arena once again. But this arena… I looked around and found some trees sticking out from the top of the arena’s outer walls. Hmm, so we were still in the middle of the same forest.
There were three people other than me here. One of them was the boy who had asked me to join the fight against the Greater Mutant Goblin.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
I walked over to him. “Hey. What happened to your group members?”
He glared at me for some time before opening his mouth, “They all failed to clear the stage.”
“...” I didn’t say anything to that. I just nodded. Indeed, it was just as I expected. Them attacking against the Greater Mutant Goblin was suicidal.
The boy looked at my forced expression of sorrow and smiled. “Hey, you look stupid. You’re so bad at acting.”
I just laughed. “Well, you may be right.”
“I knew that attack was suicidal. That is precisely why I did it. They were just some random pushovers, so I wanted to eliminate them. But, you here, are interesting.”
“I’m Elias Raymon. It’s a pleasure. May the worthy win.”
“I’m Selphonse Consilion. Same here.”
After the brief exchange, I looked at the other two participants. They were also looking this way. Wait… Don’t they look familiar now…
After squinting my eyes to get a clearer image, I took a few steps in their direction.
“Alvina?” At my words, a pretty girl looked at me.
“Oh, it’s you Elias!”
“And..Lucas! Oh my god, where were you guys the entire tournament?”
“Uhm, we were also participating. We searched for you but you weren’t there.”
Selphonse cut into our conversation. “People you know?”
“Yeah, they are my close friends.”
[Ahem. Congratulations to everyone who has made it up to here.]
Our principal spoke with a microphone.
[As you all know, only the top three ‘survivors’ will be given the rewards. There are four of you here.]
The principal paused before adding on.
[We initially hadn’t expected so many to survive at this stage, so we would be having one last trial for all of you.]
One last trial…
[It is ‘sudden death’.]
Sudden death? I hope it’s not some psychotic torture thing.
[We would be increasing your handicap’s effect. Whoever activates their healing enzyme first, will lose this stage. We’ll keep going until there is one left to determine the first, second and third positions.]
“Okay..”
“Alright, bring it on.”
“I've come this far. This should be nothing.”
Avina, Selphonse and Lucas were all fired up. Meanwhile, I was unsure if I could handle it.
[Now, whenever you're ready, press the button appearing on the screen.]
Then shortly afterwards, the system screen popped up.
[Increase the handicap’s effect?]
Below that, there was a button.
[Yes]
I clicked it. Then…
“Argh!! My head! My head!”
I fell down and struggled. I dragged my body in circles on the ground. Why didn't my stats help me?
[Oh one more thing. Your stats’ level has been reset for this stage.]
Fuck.
I looked around to find the others on the floor.
“Kuheok! Blergh..” Lucas was barfing all over the floor. Maybe he had a nausea handicap or something.
“Eurgh..”
I need to focus on myself. I couldn't afford to be spectating when I, myself, am suffering like this.
[0:20]
[0:34]
There was a timer going on the system screen.
[0:50]
Only 50 seconds?! It felt like an hour!
[2:03]
Fuck my life.
[3:42]
Do I really need the 20,000 coins, the skill and the perk?
Then it finally happened at [4:00].
Both Selphonse and Lucas lost consciousness at the same time.
Meanwhile, I was barely holding on. Blood trickled down from my nose and ears. Is this even a side effect of poison?
I looked over in Avina's direction.
She resigned and lost consciousness after confirming that Selphonse and Lucas had lost consciousness. It seems like she just wanted the second position. I felt a sense of relief as I looked at the unconscious people.
[4:20]
My time, which was ticking not too long ago, stopped now.
[Ah, it seems like we got to know our first position holder now.]
Then, my body suddenly regained its vitality. My head was no longer heavy and blood no longer flowed from my nose and ears. My dry eyes also regained their moisture. The lost strength, once again returned to my arms and legs. It seems like the healing enzyme had been released now that the ‘sudden death’ event was over. My stats have also seemed to have returned to normal.
Ten minutes passed and we all stood before the principal.
[You all may already know your positions by now, but I'll begin announcing your positions from the bottom.]
[The third position is taken by two people. Lucas Ulosen and Selphonse Consilion.]
“What..?”
“Impossible..”
The two people were dumbfounded and stared in disbelief at the principal.
[Well, you both wouldn't know. That makes sense since the both of you fell unconscious at the same time. This is a first in the history of the academy haha.]
He added on.
[The second position is taken by Avina Bellerus.]
“Yes!” Avina clenched both her fists and exclaimed with joy.
[And lastly..the first position goes to Elias Raymon!]
Yep, that's me.
[You may collect your respective rewards at tomorrow’s Tournament Prize Ceremony.]
All of us nodded.
The next day. Just like yesterday, the principal called out our names, but this time, it was accompanied by thunderous screams and claps. My popularity skyrocketed in the academy.
Starting from the fifth position, the top five positions were called onto the stage. Although the fifth and fourth positions don't get a skill or a perk, they were still called onto the stage and given 1,000 and 2,000 coins respectively.
When I went into the stage, the principal transferred 20,000 coins to my system. Then, something popped up.
[Choose a skill]
It was a screen which appeared for Avina, Lucas and Selphonse.
Below the title, there were a few options.
–Fire Swarm
–Invisible Outbreak
–Dark Eruption
–Flame Storm
–Hurricane Flare
Man..all of them seem good. But, one thing caught my eyes.
Dark Eruption. That is the only thing which seems unique.
So I chose it.
[You have acquired a new skill!]
[Dark Eruption Lv.1]
Then after that, another screen which did not appear for Avina, Lucas or Selphonse appeared.
[Choose a perk]
–Goblin’s Shield
–Double Coin
–Recovery Boost
There were only three options in the perk selection. It was enough because all the available perks were just wow. It was a tough choice.
I needed the [Goblin’s shield] in a few months from now when the all-out war would occur.
The [Double Coin] would help me upgrade stats faster.
[Recovery Boost] would help in faster recovery, but I didn't need to worry about that right now because if I went dungeon diving then the Dungeon Agency would take care of that.
So, the most needed right now was…
[Goblin’s Shield]
[You have acquired a new perk!]
Hmm..it seems like perks don't have levels.
Then, I got off the stage. It was weird to choose the skills and perks on stage. No one got bored and watched me while being mesmerized.
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Individual Information
Name: Elias Raymon
Unit: Combat
Attribute: Apprentice of Fire
Level: 33
Exp: 287/1582
Stats:
Strength: 40
Stamina: 40
Defense: 40
Agility: 40
Endurance: 47
Magic Power: 40
Skills:
Blaze Lv.10
Dark Eruption Lv.1
Perks:
Goblin’s Shield
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