Chapter 143 - Introduction
"So, this is our group huh!" Mike was standing with three girls and a boy. They were Olive, Tori, Alena, and Andrew.
"Yep! We have already registered your group. Your group is also participating in the first round. It will be interesting so get ready for the Five on Five Match." Mad Beast Emperor smirked and explained him standing behind Mike.
"This is more like a survival match instead of five on five." Mike corrected after hearing the title of the third stage.
"You could say indeed say that. But, you will be fighting one team at a time, so it will still be five on five matches unless you are an idiot to face multiple teams at the same time." Mad Beast Emperor nods his head but indeed up correcting Mike in return.
"So, do you know anything about our opponents?" Mike asked as he touches his chin.
"Nope! Although we learned about our round, we couldn't find a single piece of information about other teams. They will be revealed the moment you jump from the airship. And more importantly, they will only be revealed to us."
"You will be kept in a complete dark." Mad Beast Emperor shook his head and answered.
"Oh! Then, what about the assembly before entering the Virtual Space? Don't tell me that everyone will attend the battlefield even if they are not in the first round?" Mike asked him with confusion upon hearing his answer.
"It's not compulsory but you don't want to reduce points, do you?" Mad Beast Emperor mysterious smiled giving him an answer which was supposed to be a hint.
Finally, Mike nods his head and glances at his teammates. He extended his clenched fist and said "How about we introduce each other with a fist bump?"
Everyone was surprised to hear that but still nodded their head with a smile on their face. Since Mike's fist was first, he spoke "My name is Mike Tyson. My cultivation is the same as yours. Since I have nothing to hide. Dual Innate Abilities with a space gene."
Most of them already knew that so they nodded their head. Tori extended her hand and bumped on his fist, speaking "My name is Tori Pratt. I am sixteen and my favorite hobby is admiring cute things. My innate ability is Nine Tail Fox Spirit"
"Oh!" Except for Andrew, others were surprised at her introduction.
After Tori, Andrew joined them and spoke "My name is Andrew Matt. My cultivation realm is the same as everyone. As for my innate ability, it's Undying Flames. I can heal almost every wound."
Saying so, he released his innate ability which was in the form of blue flames with faint yellow stripes. This flame was burning around them but it wasn't hot.
"Cool!" Feeling the flame all around him, Mike was genuinely impressed. It can't hurt him but who cares if it can heal him. In the battle, healing can be a powerful resource especially in a battle like this one.
"But, you must have some offensive moves, right?" Alena asked as she looked at his flames.
Andrew nods his head and spoke, "Although my innate ability can't help me during the battle, I can still fight on my own."
Alena nods her head and spoke "My name is Alena Babbage. My innate ability is Age Manipulation. I can make someone younger or older. With my current strength, I can only manipulate age by ten years. Of course, my ability is not permanent at least not if I change you within twenty-four hours."
"In other words, I can turn some ten years younger. Then, they will lose their capability to fight. Unfortunately, I can't use this ability more than ten times. So, I can only use it against two groups."
Her ability brought an immense shock to everyone. Her ability was overpowered and it could only be countered with Spirit or Blessing. If someone without a spirit fights her, then it would be a one-sided slaughter.
Though, her ability has many restrictions.
Finally, Olive extended her fist and said "My name is Olive Xavier. My innate ability is Berserk."
Her introduction was short but it didn't bother them. Finally, Mike tilts his head and says "Let's go!"
All four nodded their head and walked towards the battlefield. Unfortunately, it was just a simple ground for today. Since they won't be fighting here. Along with Mike, nearly five two thousand five hundred participants stood together in the ground.
Meanwhile, MC walked onto the main stage, and with the microphone on him, he shouts "Hello Everyone! Welcome to the third exciting stage of the Genius Tournament. This time we are being a little creative by separating the tournament into several stages."
"As I have already explained the rules, we should bid farewell to our first round participants with a round of applause."
But even before they could react to the claps, thousand people disappear at the same time. There were three rounds. The first two rounds include thousand of people participating in ten different forests. Since this battle would go on for ten hours, it would be unwise to send a hundred participants at once.
This also maintains mystery as it would be hard to guess the opponent that you will face. After Mike and his disappearance, they appeared in the middle of an airport. Surprisingly, they were wearing a bag.
Mike looked around and saw airspace on the right side. There was a man standing near the plane.
Once they reach there, the man suddenly became active and greeted them "Hello Participants! Would you like to take this airship?"
It was a small airship. All other airships were small as well. Mike nods his head and the man took them behind. Upon opening the door, five of them entered the airship while the man entered the pilot seat.
In an instant, the airship took off. Mike and others looked at each other but none of them spoke.
"So, what plan do we have?" Alena broke the silence with her words.
Mike hurriedly put the bag in front of them and opened it. Just as he predicted, he found a huge map of the forest. The map had lots of trees and nothing else. Though there were some lines dividing the forest into several parts.
"Alright, our plan is very simple. We will drop at the middle." Mike pointed his finger at the middle of the forest and spoke.
"But, won't other teams drop at that same place as well?" Andrew asked when he heard Mike's words.
"Yes, but it doesn't matter. Our main priority is airbags. If we need a good score, we need more bags. So, once we land on the ground, Andrew will climb up the tree and search for the airbags. Since we would be in the middle, we can cover a large area."
"Currently, my speed should be the best among us. With my speed and teleportation, I move around and take away the airbags the moment they fall on the ground." Mike explained as he looked at Andrew with serious eyes.
"Your teleportation must have some kinds of limitations, right? What are you planning to do about them? And, what if the airbag falls in other teams' zone?" Alena looked at him and asked with seriousness in her voice.
"That's even better, isn't it? I can drag other teams and you four can plan an ambush. If we succeed, we can take down an entire team, making it easier for us. As for my teleportation, I can teleport anywhere within hundred meters. And, yes I can only teleport for less than ten times due to the stamina consumption." Mike nodded his head with a smirk on his face.
"You are right. But, we don't want to be tired during this battle. After all, this is a ten-hour-long survival battle. So, we must consider everything carefully. There are twenty teams. And, we can also be ambushed by other teams, so we must keep this in mind and plan carefully."
"If you outright fight other teams, then it will only cause destruction. And, it might get the attention of other remaining teams. So, we can only attack the team if we secure the surrounding. More importantly, we can't necessarily win every time. After all, personal strength doesn't matter much in this kind of battle." Alena nods her head and directly refuses his plan.
"Ehh!" Mike was startled by her words. He could only look at her speechlessly. But, she was indeed correct. He never considered those points since he doesn't like using his brain too much. If I can punch you to death, why should I think more about it?
Confident in his own strength, this is one of the attitudes he needs to grow. Since he hasn't included using his brain during battle attitude, he really doesn't think too much. But this doesn't mean he does what he pleases, at least not in a dangerous situation like this.
So, he agrees to her plan. Suddenly, a voice rang from the pilot seat "We have reached the edge of the Forest. Please choose your destination!"
Hearing this voice, Mike nods his head at Alena. Landing in the middle of the forest doesn't matter much to her, so she agreed on it as they registered their destination.