Chapter 59: The Tryouts (2)

"W-Wait!"

Eden held her securely in his arms.

Sophia’s face immediately turned bright red.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hold on tightly."

"What—!"

Eden bent his knees.

Sophia instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

He jumped.

The world dropped away beneath them.

Sophia gasped.

They shot upward, high enough for Eden to see over the sea of people.

’There.’

’The entrance.’

’A clear line.’

Eden smiled.

"Got it."

Sophia looked down.

Then looked at him.

"What are you—"

[Burst Step]

The world blurred.

For an instant, Eden felt the familiar compression of Essence.

A burst of movement sent them across the crowded approach in a single violent flash.

People screamed.

Several reporters spun around.

Cameras immediately followed them.

Eden landed smoothly near the entrance.

Sophia remained in his arms for another second.

Then Eden carefully lowered her onto the ground.

She stood there completely frozen.

Her face was still red.

Eden looked at her.

"You okay?"

Sophia stared at him.

"You could’ve warned me."

"I did."

"You said ’hold on.’"

"That was a warning."

"That was not enough!"

Eden shrugged.

"You agreed to the stunt."

Sophia opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

"...Unbelievable."

Behind them, the crowd had erupted.

"WHO WAS THAT?!"

"Was that the Burst Step skill?!"

"Get a picture!"

"Interview!"

"HEY! C-RANK!"

Eden looked over his shoulder.

Several reporters were already rushing toward them.

He sighed.

"Oh, come on."

A familiar voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

[You’re quite popular, Master.]

Eden’s expression tightened.

’Don’t start.’

Sylvia’s amusement was unmistakable.

[And not only with the ladies.]

’You’re not helping.’

[I merely made an observation.]

Eden ignored her.

He turned toward the entrance.

"Let’s go."

Sophia nodded quickly.

"Please."

They hurried inside.

Association staff members were waiting just beyond the entrance.

One of them handed each participant a yellow badge.

Sophia examined hers.

"Number 317."

Eden looked at his.

"642."

"Think those numbers are random?"

"Maybe."

The staff member instructed them to attach the badges visibly to their clothes.

Then they were directed deeper into the stadium.

It didn’t take long for them to approach the main hall.

Eden eventually stepped into the main hall.

He stopped.

Sophia stopped beside him.

Neither spoke.

The hall was enormous.

No.

That word wasn’t enough.

It was absurd.

Several square kilometers of reinforced stadium interior stretched before them.

Hundreds of Awakeneds stood across the massive space.

Some talked among themselves.

Some stretched.

Some sat against walls.

Others stood completely alone, quietly observing everyone around them.

Eden’s eyes slowly traveled across the crowd.

There were hundreds.

Maybe more.

Most were F- and E-Rank.

That much was obvious from their Essence.

There were also quite a few D-Ranks.

And then...

A handful C-Ranks.

Eden’s eyes immediately began searching.

"Ah, My friend is already there!"

Sophia hurried off.

"Good luck, Eden."

She gave him a small smile.

"You too."

Then she disappeared into the crowd.

Eden stepped forward.

His senses spread through the hall.

So many different Essences.

So many different people.

And yet, only a handful stood out.

Sonne.

Luvian?

"That guy might be trouble again."

Lucy.

She spotted him almost immediately.

Her face brightened.

"Eden!"

She waved enthusiastically from across the crowd.

Eden raised a hand in response.

He could practically feel the excitement radiating from her.

Sonne noticed him shortly afterward and gave him a small nod.

Luvian, however...

Eden couldn’t see him reacting.

’Good.’

He’d rather not deal with him yet.

He could be real trouble.

But Luvian wasn’t the person Eden was most cautious about.

It was the person standing right beside him.

Eden slowly turned his head.

A young man stood only a few feet away.

Silver hair.

Calm purple eyes.

An expression that suggested absolutely nothing about him bothered him.

Eden subtly focused his perception.

His Essence was...

Strange.

Powerful.

Very powerful.

For some reason, it reminded Eden of Seraphina.

The sensation and density of their Essence was disturbingly similar.

’Is this guy really newly awakened?’

Eden studied him for another moment.

’He feels like...’

He stopped himself.

’He’s a B-Rank. Maybe even B+.’

’Absurd.’

’There’s no way a newly awakened participant should have Essence like this.’

The young man suddenly tilted his head.

His purple eyes shifted toward Eden.

"You’re staring quite a lot."

Eden blinked.

"Sorry."

The man smiled faintly.

"It’s fine."

Eden extended his hand.

"Eden."

The young man looked at it.

Then shook it.

"Elio."

Their hands separated.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Elio glanced at Eden again.

"You’re a C-Rank."

"Yeah."

"Interesting."

Eden raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Your Essence."

Elio’s expression remained calm.

"It’s unusually powerful."

Eden stared at him.

Then smiled.

"Funny."

"Why?"

"That’s exactly what I was thinking about you."

For the first time, Elio’s calm expression cracked slightly.

A small smile appeared.

"Then I suppose we have something in common."

"Apparently."

Eden studied him.

"You’re B-Rank, aren’t you?"

Elio didn’t deny it.

"Yes."

"At your age?"

"I’m 19."

’A guy like this would without a doubt become an S-Rank in the future.’

’No.’

’Perhas even a SS-Rank.’

’So why is it that I never even heard of him in my first life?’

Eden brushed that thought away and let out a low whistle.

"That’s impressive."

"You’re not exactly ordinary yourself."

Before Eden could respond, the entire stadium suddenly darkened.

The hundreds of conversations stopped.

A massive magical hologram appeared above the center of the hall.

A familiar blonde man appeared within it.

Neville.

His expression was unusually excited.

"Welcome!"

His voice echoed throughout the enormous stadium.

"To the Awakened Tryouts!"

Cheers erupted.

Eden looked up.

Neville waited for the noise to settle.

"You’ve all come here for different reasons. Some of you want your licenses. Some want recognition. Some want to join guilds."

His grin widened.

"And some of you probably just want to beat the crap out of someone without legal trouble!"

Several participants laughed.

Neville continued.

"Whatever your reason may be, today you’ll have the chance to prove yourselves."

Three large symbols appeared beside him.

"These Tryouts consist of three rounds."

The first symbol illuminated.

"Each round will test something different."

The second.

"The third round, however, is special."

The third symbol became brighter.

"Only the top eight scorers from the previous rounds will be allowed to participate."

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

Neville raised one hand.

"However, don’t panic if you don’t make it that far."

The hologram changed.

"Anyone who successfully completes the first round will receive their Awakened License."

That caused an immediate reaction.

The license was more than a piece of identification.

It was permission.

Without one, an Awakened could not legally raid Gates.

"Pass the first round, and you’re officially recognized."

Neville smiled.

"Simple enough, right?"

Eden crossed his arms.

’So this isn’t just about the rankings.’

Even if someone failed later, passing the first round meant they walked away with something valuable.

Neville’s expression suddenly became more serious.

"Now..."

The hologram behind him changed.

A massive timer appeared.

"Let’s talk about Round One."

The stadium became silent.

"It will be a free-for-all battlefield."

A few participants exchanged uneasy looks.

"There are only two rules."

Two fingers rose.

"Rule number one."

His smile disappeared.

"No killing."

A second finger rose.

"Rule number two."

"No special potions or weapons."

Eden glanced at his empty hands.

’Sure.’

’I probably won’t need one anyway.’

Neville continued.

"When you entered this stadium, each of you received a badge."

Everyone looked down.

"To pass this round, you need five badges."

Several participants immediately looked around.

Their eyes changed.

Eden noticed it.

The atmosphere was shifting.

People were beginning to assess one another.

Neville continued.

"If you have fewer than five badges when the timer reaches zero..."

He smiled.

"You fail."

A massive 60:00 appeared above the hologram.

"You have one hour."

Silence.

Then Neville grinned.

"That’s it."

Eden felt the corner of his mouth rise.

This was going to be interesting.

Neville raised his hand.

"Ready?"

The crowd tensed.

"Then..."

He snapped his fingers.

Snap.

The hologram disappeared.

For half a second, nothing happened.

Then the entire stadium shook.

Boom!

The floor beneath the hundreds of Awakeneds cracked apart.

People shouted as enormous sections of reinforced flooring suddenly tore free and rose into the air.

Walls shifted.

Platforms separated.

Massive chunks of concrete floated upward, completely ignoring gravity.

The enormous hall transformed before their eyes.

What had been a flat stadium floor became a chaotic landscape of floating platforms, broken walls, elevated islands, and enormous gaps.

Eden’s eyes widened.

Neville’s voice echoed one final time through the stadium.

"Begin."