Ace sat comfortably in a train carriage. Beside him, Silas was practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Across from him, Stellis and Bell were engaged in deep conversation about something that he couldn't quite make out.

The week until the tournament had passed quickly.

He spent the mornings and afternoons with his team as they created multiple strategies for a plethora of scenarios. This was made easier by each member already being familiar with everyone's Notches.

Sharing such specifics would have been a bigger deal under most circumstances, but it was simply out of necessity. Two weeks of being beaten down by Larcet without much progress had forced the team to reevaluate. In the end, sharing Notch abilities was the conclusion Ace came to. In light of that, he revealed his ability first, keeping only one aspect of it a secret. Stellis and Silas followed, with Silas's ability being perhaps the most unfair.

He could slow down his perception of time in short bursts and even move with super speed. It was the secret to how he was able to constantly disappear from people's vision. He just waited until they blinked before he moved. This maneuver was made even more ridiculous by the fact that his increased perception didn't cost Sever Energy but was instead incorporated into his physique, much like Ace's ability to sense balance points.

After some game-planning, the team would fight Larcet everyday, seeking to find more efficient paths to victory... Ones that wouldn't involve them being on their last legs afterwards.

In the evenings, Ace would practice incorporating his Notch into the basic swordsmanship style he had learned. With each passing night he discovered unique ways to both increase the power of swings and strike from unnatural angles.

His innovations made him feel more comfortable about the style's lack of defensive options, but he couldn't help but feel that he was still missing something.

Then, there was the rock. Ever since its balance point had become green, Ace made time to practice moving two balance points simultaneously. The first few days yielded little progress, but eventually he managed to figure it out. He couldn't muscle it with a jarring force but instead had to move it with sustained pressure, something made easier by his Heart of Steel technique and his ability to turn shards of Sever energy into fine streams.

Ace felt ready. He had spared no expense in his preparations and held no doubts that his teammates did the same. They would win. They had to. If not, the residents of the slums would be completely decimated in the fifth wave.

Deep down, Ace wondered why he cared so much about the other slum dwellers. It wasn't like he was a hero... In his fifteen years of life, he had only cared about one thing. Now that it was gone, he had one purpose, and he was going to see it through to the end.

After a long journey, the train finally stuttered to a halt. When the team climbed the stairs to the lobby of the train station, an unnamed Sentinel was already waiting for them.

They followed the man through a dark tunnel lit by only a few light strips on top. Turning a few corners, there were eventually led to rectangular room with two doors on the side. At the far end of the room were a water fountain and a table which had a bowl of snacks placed on top of it.

In the center of the room was an elliptical outline on the ground. It was a few feet wide and had enough room for four people to stand on it. Directly above it was a similar outline engraved in the ceiling.

The Sentinel waved his hand.

"Female changing room on the left. Male changing room on the right. Feel free to help yourself to the other amenities. When ready, stand on the platform with the rest of your team. You have one hour."

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He disappeared afterwards.

Without much deliberation, the team split and walked into the changing rooms. Taking off his pack, Ace laid out the cases that held his armor and weapon. Silas did the same.

Opening the first case, Ace pulled out his armor.

He liked having maximum range of movement so he opted for a light armor set. It contained only four pieces including one bracer, two grieves, and a breastplate. Just like he requested, they were all colored a deep purple that matched his eyes. Underneath the pieces, he wore linen pants and a black gambeson.

To complete his outfit, he wore the Dark Adamantine cloak. It obscured most of his armor and came with a hood which he planned on using instead of a helmet. Earlier in the week he had tested the cloaks durability by striking it with his sword. Despite the fact he was using a sizeable amount of his strength, the attack was repelled. Seeing that, Ace realized adding it to his armament was a necessity.

Clasping on the cloak, he flipped the hood, up feeling ready.

Next to him he finally got a look at Silas's armor. He had opted for even less pieces than Ace, wearing only a breastplate and a helmet. For a finishing touch, he had included a scarf. It suited him well.

Without heavy armor to weigh him down, he could focus his insane strength on swinging his ludicrously large sword.

When Silas finished prepping, Ace signaled to him to step back out into the main room. In response his friend jumped and pointed to him while waving his hand in front of his face. Unable to make out what he meant, Ace walked out into the main room where Stellis and Bell were waiting.

Stellis wore the same silver armor as always while Bell wore a medium plate armor set that was colored bronze. When they saw him they both reached for their weapons.

"Ace?"

"Yea, guys what's wrong?" he asked, feeling confused.

"Prove it!" They both said.

Now perplexed, Ace lifted his cloak to show he only had one arm.

Getting off the bench, Bell ran over to him and yanked on his hood to pull it down. For some reason it didn't budge.

"What the?"

Just as confused, Ace pulled down his hood without resistance.

Perplexed, Bell grabbed a piece of his cloak. While she analyzed its texture, Stellis spoke up.

"When you had your hood up, we couldn't see your face, only your eyes... which were glowing. Your voice was also distorted. It was clear, it was just hard to tell it was you."

Ace shrugged his shoulders.

"That's weird... Should I not wear it?"

Stellis contemplated for a brief while before answering.

"No, you should. Many fighters conceal their identity with helmets. I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do the same."

Ace nodded his head and flipped the hood back up. When he did so, a notification screen appeared in his vision.

---

Dark Adamantine Cloak

New Function Discovered : This cloak conceals one's identity. The hood can not be removed unless it is the will of the user.

---

'hmm'

Having sorted out Ace's strange clothing item, the group sat in the waiting room until an announcement from the ceiling told them to get in position.

Standing on the elliptical outline, they waited patiently. Before long the outline in the ceiling opened up to reveal the bright afternoon sunshine. Next, the platform they were standing on lifted them up until they had ascended through the ground and dozens of feet into the air.

Floating alongside them were dozens of other platforms, each carrying a team of four.

Surrounding them on all sides were tall walls. At the top of them were hundreds of rows of graduated seats. They were in an arena... a massive one.

Suddenly a loud voice pierced the air.

"Residents of GQC-1, welcome to 10th Annual Selection Tournament! Please give these brave youngsters a round of applause!"

Because of their distance from the crowd, Ace and the other contestants could barely hear anything. Their applause sounded like a faint pattering. After it stopped, the voice boomed once more.

"As you all know, the 60 teams before you will battle and compete until there are two teams standing! The arena is one square mile in size and hosts a multitude of environments including a forest, a small mountain, and even a lake with a waterfall! Too encourage earnest participation, the borders will slowly converge towards the central plain. Now, lets see what these youngsters are really made of!"

At his command, the platforms lurched in the air and moved towards random locations. As Ace's platform approached a wooded area, the announcer spoke one final time.

"Our contestants will now be dropped into the arena at random! May the best Houses win!"

With those words, the platform beneath Ace's feet melded into the ground and disappeared entirely.

They had been set down in the middle of a small forest clearing. There was a small stream running along right next to them with little pebbles acting as the river bank. On the other side of the stream, a small hill protruded upwards, crowned by a large rock. There looked to be no one near by.

Still, Ace readied his sword.

"Alright guys, lets stick to the plan. W-"

He was cut off as Silas jumped at him, pulling his head down.