Chapter 34: Lurker Zoldia, of the great Zoldia family

That morning, right around half past eight. The Academy tournament arena was already bustling with visitors and outside spectators.

The Academy, of course, wasn’t about to let a moneymaking opportunity slip by. Putting on a show and selling out row after row of tribune seats.

Fortunately, as a student’s guardian, Julian got in without having to pay a single credit. He’d even been provided with his own designated seat.

So the moment he stepped up into the spectator stands, he immediately spotted an absurdly large row of seats, already packed with people, adults and excited kids alike.

"Who do you think’s gonna win the third-year tournament? Since Lirac’s dominated it for years straight now, guess he’ll probably take it again this year?"

"You just answered your own question, haha. But if there’s anyone actually worth wondering about, isn’t it the first-years?"

"Oh, honestly, the first-years are always the most entertaining show, since their fights tend to be pretty ridiculous."

"Yeah, they’re all still amateurs. What can they even do. Shame the Academy always puts the first-years up first, guaranteeing we’ll all end up with sore backs before the third-year matches even start."

Listening to their eager chatter naturally stirred up a certain sense of anticipation inside Julian too.

Watching a good show was, after all, one of the essential ingredients of enjoying life. So he felt genuinely a little excited as he made his way through the stands, searching for his own seat.

His position turned out to be quite decent, right in the front row, no one’s head to block his view.

Since there was still time before the tournament started, Julian glanced around. A handful of hunters had shown up, and over in the staff section, Julian finally spotted a few familiar faces, people who’d clashed with him alongside Eland before.

Then, ’Oh, is that the headmaster of Canelo Academy?’

Julian had only ever seen her online, and he’d figured she was a genuinely beautiful woman for her age. But seeing her in person now, Julian found that her beauty hadn’t been exaggerated in the slightest.

Except, ’Hm... she’s got a strangely familiar look about her.’

A calm face on the surface, but shoulders sagging with exhaustion, eyes slightly narrowed, dark circles hanging heavy beneath them.

Julian mulled it over for a moment, and that look suddenly clicked, it was almost identical to what he’d often seen on his manager, back in his old life.

Someone worked so hard past their limit they’d basically turned into a walking corpse.

"....."

Julian looked away, turning his gaze toward the VIP section instead. The area reserved for special guests. For now, every seat there sat empty, but only briefly, before Julian spotted several figures stepping in.

Every one of them carried an overwhelmingly powerful presence, ranging anywhere from Rank-D up to Rank-B at the highest.

This was the first time Julian had ever laid eyes on genuinely powerful hunters up close. He could feel the difference immediately, their aura radiating something distinctly different from everyone else around.

’Incredible.’

Right as that thought crossed his mind, Julian caught the excited murmurs of the people around him.

"Wow, I never expected VIP guests to show up this year to watch. This is an incredibly rare occasion."

"Maybe there’s a first-year student they’ve been waiting to see? Or could it be a second or third-year who suddenly caught their attention?"

"Who knows? They’re from the Elite District, they’d never bother showing up here unless it was something genuinely significant."

’They’re from the elite region?’

Julian felt a jolt of surprise hearing that. He paused for a moment, counting three of them total.

One was a man ranked Rank-B, while the other two appeared to be his subordinates, ranked Rank-D and Rank-C respectively.

After a moment, it finally clicked for Julian. "Oh, I think I’ve actually seen him somewhere before."

Online, obviously. After all, weren’t they genuinely quite famous?

One of the great families widely believed to be far stronger, or possibly on par with, the Mivelo family, one of the very few great families with an actual Rank-A legend counted among their own bloodline.

And the man who’d shown up today happened to be the son of that family’s current head, Lurker Zoldia, of the great Zoldia family.

"Testing. Testing. Welcome, everyone!"

Julian’s attention snapped back the moment a voice suddenly commanded the entire arena.

He turned toward the staff area and spotted the event’s host, checking their microphone, flashing a wide smile.

"Thank you all for waiting, and thank you for coming to this year’s Academy Tournament!"

"I’m sure you’re all more than ready, so without further delay, I hereby declare this year’s Academy Tournament officially underway!"

***

The spectator stands erupted with the roaring voices of an audience cheering with genuine enthusiasm. The event itself wasn’t anything overly elaborate, but thanks to the crowd’s excitement, it practically buzzed with energy regardless.

The host opened with some light small talk, recalling a few iconic moments from past tournaments, and after a while, the students, having finished their preparations, finally stepped out into the arena.

The arena itself was massive, split into four wide platforms, each overseen by a professor acting as referee.

Eight students were called out at a time, and each pair climbed onto their designated platform. Every match ran one versus one, and the entire process followed a straightforward elimination format.

Lose to your opponent, and you’re out. Win, and you advance to the next round, until finally, a single student, having survived all the way through the final round, would emerge as the sole champion.

The total number of registered first-year students sat around thirty-two, meaning this was likely going to be a fairly long stretch of matches.

On one of the fighting platforms, Kina stood calmly. She hadn’t expected to end up among the first batch of students called to fight.

Since the rest breaks between matches would be minimal, she needed to learn to conserve her Mana and finish her matches as quickly as possible.

Kina’s gaze briefly swept across the packed spectator stands, everyone roaring with excitement. Given the sheer size of the crowd, Kina couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly where her Master was, though she knew for certain he had to be watching from somewhere out there.

As a disciple, Kina had to make sure she performed well, she couldn’t afford to embarrass herself here.

Her gaze then shifted to her opponent, a friendly smile spreading across her face. Strangely enough, her opponent looked visibly terrified.

Well, rumors did travel fast, especially after Kina had beaten Roland senseless, didn’t they?

Once the host finished their opening remarks, each professor stationed at the four separate platforms went through the rules and the conditions for victory and disqualification, and then, they shouted.

"Begin!"