"Welco!!"
The collective gaze of the thousands of students in the arena lowered, focusing on Monica, who stood confidently at its center.
"The rules for this friendly competition will mirror those of the actual academy competition," her voice resonated clearly. "This will ensure none of you freshn look like clueless newcors when the real event begins."
Christopher, Advika, Mariana, Mitchell, and the other six freshn—three boys and three girls—simply nodded in acknowledgnt.
"We will have three rounds," Monica continued, her tone authoritative. "In the first round, two participants with the lowest points will be eliminated. The sa will happen in the second round. Finally, in the third round, another two will be eliminated, leaving the final four as our representatives. Rember this: in the academy competition, you function as a team, not as individuals. Understood?"
A chorus of nods confird their understanding.
"Good..." Monica nodded in satisfaction. "Now, for the first round... Each of you will be targeted by an enraged Beast. Don’t fret; we will ensure fairness by having each of you face a Legendary-stage beast."
"What?!" A girl exclaid, her voice laced with mild horror. As a Novice Tar, the prospect of facing an enraged Legendary-stage beast seed insurmountable.
"I sense your fear," Monica acknowledged calmly. "All you need to do is survive for a certain duration. One second of survival equates to ten points."
"Survive? As in, we could actually die?" another student asked, apprehension evident in their voice.
"Nope... Now I understand your apprehension." With a snap of her fingers, a holographic tiger materialized beside her. "This Beast will be the one attacking all of you. It cannot be killed or tad. Your objective is simply to survive. A word of warning: if you step outside the designated safe zone, you lose. If the Beast catches you, you also lose. Understand?"
The group exchanged nervous glances before nodding in unison.
"You will each face one individually. Good luck." Monica turned and strode away, leaving the ten freshn alone in the arena.
As soon as she was gone, the 1.5-ter tall holographic beast beside where she had stood flickered to life and instantly multiplied into ten identical tigers.
WHOOSH!!
The holographic beasts surged forward, directly towards the ten students, who reacted instantly, leaping to the sides to evade the initial onslaught. They quickly regained their footing and scattered in different directions, each pursued by one of the now-divided beasts.
"So, all I have to do is avoid these things? Is it just , or does this test seem surprisingly easy?" Christopher muttered to himself, glancing over his shoulder at the holographic tiger stalking him.
"AHH!"
"NOO!!"
"So fast!" Christopher turned his head to see two students already pinned to the ground, each held down by a holographic tiger’s massive paw.
’These novice-level students would typically stand no chance against a Legendary-stage Beast in terms of speed, but what about a Supre-stage?’ A faint smirk touched his lips. With a sudden sonic boom, he propelled himself forward, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake, the holographic tiger behind him montarily obscured.
Whoosh!
Christopher’s eyes widened as another holographic tiger lunged at him from the front. Reacting instantly, he slid low to the ground, the beast soaring harmlessly over him. The holographic tiger that had been pursuing him harmlessly passed through the one he had just evaded, righted itself, and continued its chase.
"I don’t get it!" Christopher exclaid, turning his gaze towards Mitchell, Advika, and Mariana. He observed that two holographic tigers were now relentlessly pursuing each of them.
’So, when a participant is eliminated, their beast joins the hunt for the remaining ones?! Isn’t that rather crucial information that should have been provided?!’ He brushed the dust from his clothes and smirked. "How about we go for a little run?" he muttered, beginning to hop lightly from side to side, waiting for his pursuer to draw closer.
"AHHH!!"
He glanced to his left, seeing Advika fall to the ground, her holographic tiger looming over her.
"She’s out... At least she secured fourth place," he muttered, noticing Advika’s holographic tiger now turning its attention and charging directly towards him.
"What is your brother waiting for? Shouldn’t he be running?" Chloe asked Katherine, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"I honestly have no idea what he’s doing," Katherine replied, her own face mirroring Chloe’s bewildernt.
GRAAAA!
The three holographic tigers converged on Christopher’s position and lunged simultaneously.
...Instantly, Christopher executed a powerful leap backward, landing effortlessly at the very edge of the designated safe zone.
’Can soone even jump that high? That had to be more than twenty ters!’ Chloe thought, a wave of mild shock washing over her.
The holographic tigers skidded to a halt at the edge of the safe zone, their holographic eyes widening in apparent confusion. Then, with renewed holographic roars of rage, they surged forward again.
"SHIT!!!"
Christopher whipped his head towards Mariana, seeing her also on the ground, three holographic tigers now nacingly close.
"Okay... One more to go," he said, his gaze locking onto Mitchell, who was desperately trying to evade a relentless pack of seven holographic tigers.
In less than ten seconds, the seven holographic tigers surrounded Mitchell, and in the next instant, they had him pinned.
"Finally."
Christopher muttered, settling down to sit at the edge of the safe zone, his eyes fixed on the ten holographic tigers that were now all charging directly towards him.
"What is he doing?" An elderly man with a long white beard asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
"I’m not entirely sure myself, Dean..." Monica replied, standing beside him, her gaze intently focused on the arena.
WHOOSH!
"....."
"Huh?"
A collective gasp rippled through the stunned audience as a dense wave of life force erupted from Christopher. They watched in disbelief as he slowly rose to his feet and extended a single finger.
"I waited, but no one else seed inclined to do this... So, I suppose it falls to ," he stated calmly, his eyes fixed on the ten holographic tigers that were now dangerously close.
"Destroy."
With that single, understated command, the dense life force radiating from him expanded outwards in all directions, crashing into the ten holographic tigers. The impact was instantaneous and absolute. The holographic beasts shattered into countless shimring particles, dissipating into nothingness.
"What the—?!"
"This?!"
Chloe and the entire audience were utterly stunned into silence. Advika, Mariana, Mitchell, and the remaining eliminated students stood frozen in disbelief.
"Hahahaha! This kid is indeed interesting!" the Dean exclaid. "Can’t wait to see what he’ll do in the next rounds... Besides, Monica, why did you even bother putting him in this competition? You must have known he would win."
Monica smiled knowingly. "I did, Dean. But if he were exempted, the others would likely feel unfairly treated. Besides," she added, her eyes twinkling, "it will be far more beneficial for them to witness his strength firsthand and understand precisely why they were defeated."
"Hmm... You make a valid point," the Dean conceded, nodding thoughtfully. "I just wonder if he would be anable to becoming my disciple. Both he and Chloe are exceptional geniuses!"
"Indeed," Monica agreed with a nod.
__
Christopher casually walked back to his original spot and stood silently.
"You?! Principal Monica explicitly said we couldn’t destroy or ta the Beasts! Why did you destroy them?!" Mariana hissed in a low, urgent whisper.
"She also didn’t ntion that the beasts would continue to hunt the remaining participants after eliminating soone," Christopher countered calmly. "And while Principal Monica stated they couldn’t be destroyed, she never said we couldn’t try."
"You—!"
Mariana sputtered, finding herself utterly speechless.
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