271 It was about time!
They went not directly into the arena, but around it, waiting on the sidelines for their fights. All the others who would take part in the tournament did the same.
Arthur and his students weren’t the last ones to arrive. In fact, they were one of the first ones! When the crowd saw them walking up to the arena, all of them lost their breaths after an intense round of screaming.
“The One Hundred Thunder Academy is here!”
“These youths look fierce. I am glad I am not their opponent.”
“Who is the youth leading them? Don’t tell me his an Official Mage already?”
“Don’t you hear? He is a friend of Brook, and even got a VIP card from him!”
“What? Brook was the rank 2 mage? This kid must be incredible. Could him be Brooks’ grandson?”
The crowd went insane, mostly talking about Arthur, who had become a sensation inside the city.
Laura was beside him, tapping Arthur using her elbow. “Look, they love you.”
Arthur rolled his eyes at that, and remain still, siting on the comfy stuffed chairs. It took some time for all the schools who would take part in the tournament to arrive with their students, especially the first ranked school, which obviously was the last one to arrive!
The black-haired youth Arthur met back at the entrance of the Icy Cave was the Official Mage in charge of the students from the first ranked school. He ignored anyone except Arthur.
Every time they met, both exchanged glances, and this time they even nodded to each other. It was as if both of them knew they were strong, which was the reason for the respect both had.
An old man floated above the ring, catching the attention of everyone present. It was Brook! He was the person in charge of the tournament that year, so he would be the one announcing the fights, and watching everything in case anyone tried something funny!
“Everyone, please, attention!” Brook said, making the entire crowd go quiet after his intense aura swept across the building.
“This is an important moment for all of us. A moment to see which school is walking in the right direction, and which is not.”
“We have twenty-five schools taking part this time, and just like always, the event is divided into two parts.”
“First, the schools ranging from the 11 up to the 25 rank will faced against each other to see who goes up, and who goes down in the ranking.”
“Then, after that is settled, the most important part of the tournament will begin, and that is the fight between the top ten schools of the central continent!”
Even though the crowd was silent, trying their best to keep it that way, they got excited after hearing those words coming from Brook’s mouth, making them cheer up and scream once again!
Brook did not mind it, and waited a few seconds before making some hand signs for them to turn silent again.
“I know most of you want to see the best schools go up against each other now, but first we need to see the lower ranked schools. But bear with me, as I am sure these kids will entertain us with great fights. Also, the food here is great, so even if the fight is bad, we are still enjoying every second, HAHAHA!” Brook said.
Everyone wanted to see the top schools, as it was more exciting for them, but of course, that would be the last part of the tournament or else everyone would leave right after it, not watching the lower ranked schools.
The entire thing had turned into a festival, so a lot of profit was involved as well, making the rich people want to keep them there the whole time!
Brook knew all of that and still got a few laughs from the crowd and increase their excitement regarding the lower-ranked schools.
“This old man is a fox. No wonder he has a lot of hotels spread throughout the continent!” Arthur thought.
After a few more words, Brook sat on his chair as well, allowing another Official Mage take the lead. Not only Brook was taking care of the tournament, but there were 8 rank 1 judges who would watch all the fights, counting the points each school had, as well as interfering if anyone broke the rules!
“The first fight is between the Heavenly Sword Academy and the Yellow Fingers!” one judge said.
“Heavenly Sword? Aren’t those guys specialized in melee combat using swords? Weapons are prohibited here!” One man from the crowd said.
The Heavenly Sword school was ranked at 12, being close to the top ten schools! Not only that, but they got that ranking taking part in these tournaments which had a weapon restriction, meaning they could not even use their full potential!
“Impressive. This Yellow Finger is ranked at 18, so it should be a one-sided fight.” Arthur thought.
First, the ninth circle of students would go into the arena. Just like Arthur had imagined, the Heavenly Sword Academy only lost one of their fights!
They could not use proper weapons, but it did not mean they could not cast them using spells, which still turned to be deadly at the hand of an experienced swordsman.
Arthur watched all the fights, but most of these fights weren’t intriguing for him. He was not at the same level of those mages anymore, and there wasn’t much he could learn from them.
Still, it was the best thing he could do to pass the time until it was finally time for his students to fight.
~~~~
Two days. The first part of the tournament took two whole days to be over. It turned into something boring for Arthur, yet, unexpectedly; the crowd loved every second!
“The level of this year is higher than in the previous years!”
“Right? This just seems our entire continent is progressing to reach greater heights!”
After those two days of agony, it was finally time for the top ten schools to fight against each other. Arthur hoped that the losers he trained would be the first ones to go up into the arena to prove their value, yet it was not their turn.
The first school of the top ten to go was the Phoenix Blood Academy, up against the Burial Sand. Arthur knew little about the strength of those schools, but he knew those from the Phoenix Blood were usually assholes.
He leaned toward his students and said, “watch and gather as much information as possible from the other competitors. Remember, you cannot enjoy the fight! They are your opponents, too!” Arthur said.
Arthur reminded his own students that they weren’t there as a crowd to enjoy the fight, to be entertained. Everyone who stepped inside the arena from now on would be their opponents as well, so it was important to watch everything!
Not only them, but Arthur himself would watch everything, and try his best to give his student insights about their opponents, as it was one of the few ways he could help.
“Ah, I wished there was a tournament with the rank 1 Official Mages. I would kick the ass of these losers, one by one!”