Chapter 434: Award Ceremony (1)
With its winner decided, the tournant finally ca to its conclusion, yet the air of excitent never left the looming air.
The spark of fireworks followed by the crowd's boisterous cheers and the world-famous band, Baiken, playing its song of celebration marked the beginning of the award ceremony as one by one, in order of status, the top thirty-two fighters of the tournant proudly entered through the main gates.
One would expect nothing but upbeat smiles and a deep sense of pride from these people, however, reality was very different.
So remained rather quiet and reserved like Regrit Oswald and Adam walker, and others did indeed arrive with their heads held high and their spirits over the moon, but in the sa breath, there were people kicking dust with a frown of disappointnt and anger upon their faces, so even with a hint of fear and anxiety.
Nearly every single person within that line belonged to a family with considerable prestige, and a varying degree of tolerance and expectations. And with so many families who had such high regard for their children, there were bound to be several crushing disappointnts.
These expressions of gloom and anger were suppressed for the eyes of the public, yet to their fellow classmates who stood re inches away, it was more than apparent. It was sothing that the victors found great delight in and further boosted their ego and extensive grins, yet even still, all that paled in comparison to the sheer presence one of them displayed— it was as though he possessed his very own gravitational force attracting the eyes of all, and how could he not after such a showing?
Of course, that man was none other than Moby Kane.
With both the grace and rigidness befit of soldiers, they all lined up upon the stage, their hands clasped behind their backs looking up expectantly at the canopy of judges above. And as they did, they could not help but notice there was sothing, or rather soone very crucial missing…
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"Hey, do you have any idea where the supre general is? I get he's supposed to have a dramatic late entrance and all, but shouldn't he have been here by now?" Vilhelm Ortiz, leader of the hunters guild subtly leaned over and whispered towards the chair to his side where the queen of flas, Ashley Orbec sat.
"The hell if I know." She shook her head. "But, knowing the supre general, I wouldn't worry," She casually ignored his plight.
"I agree with lady Orbec here," Yuria interjected. "The general is both a strong and handso man… He shouldn't be too long…" Her subtle smile took over her face as she crossed her legs and adjusted her hair.
"Yeah, I get that! But this is weird… All my ti knowing the supre general he's never been this late… I'm getting kinda worried…"
"Worried for what?" Gray could not help but chuckle. "Supre general Cade Walker is very capable I'm sure you know. What would be able to loiter soone like him?" He casually comnted.
"Hmmm… You know, he hasn't been acting very well lately… It's very… odd…" Principal Rayna Davis suddenly interjected.
"Not feeling well? You an he's sick or sothing!?" Vilhelm blurted, his expression filled with clear worry.
"I'm not exactly sure…" She shook her head, trying to formulate an answer.
"She's right," Ashley sighed, drawing all attention now towards her.
"Right about what!?"
"The supre general has been acting very odd. I've noticed it all day, it's like he's been hiding sothing. And it couldn't have been more apparent than after his grandson lost."
"Ah… Yes, I do admit that was rather out of character for a man like him…" Gray pondered. "But, at the sa ti, it's sothing wholly understandable. A man of high stature such as he must be under much stress, and he kept that hidden away from us all. I assu when his grandson lost so unexpectedly, he let it all out. Also, it is only natural for him, the supre general to have various secrets, I do not see that as any problem." He spoke with a serious tone.
"Think what you wanna think, I know that there's sothing deeper going on and I plan to get to the bottom of it." She shrugged, only to be interrupted by the sound of sudden footsteps and a voice that startled even her from behind.
"Ahh— It seems so lively here now that all the tenseness has faded! What were you all discussing in my absence? From the looks of it, it seed rather interesting."
"S— Supre general! You're here!"
"Hmmm, yes, it does appear to be so. At least I think it's ." He jested, inspecting and patting his body with an open smile before he sat upon his throne-like chair looking down towards the crowds and the victors awaiting their award.
"Greetings to you all! I'm sure you know quite well by now, so I won't bother with introductions. This tournant has truly been a spectacle. In all my years of experience and in all the countless tournants I've spectated, nothing could match the sheer spectacle and calibre displayed today! It was certainly an honour that I could live to witness it! Truly, as the supre general, watching the future generation fight has filled with so much hope for our people! Everyone most definitely worked hard, and it showed! Not even I could have predicted the outco!" He chuckled to himself as he addressed the crowd cheering and clapping, proudly congratulating the contestants.
"Now! Without further ado! Before we judges propose our offering to today's winners, let us present them with the awards they deserve! Let the ceremony begin!" He raised his hands up into the sky, and fireworks once again sparkled in the heavens above before the announcer took over where the supre general had left off.
"ALLRIIGHHTTT!! Ladies and gentlen! I don't know what I can say that's not already been said several tis! So, I'll save you the talk and do what you all ca here for! Give these winners what they deserve!" He pointed one finger to the sky with overexaggerated flair, his blond, gelled back hair wobbling like jello in the breeze.
"First is our prizes for our top thirty-two! Your reward will be sothing very simple but still more than exciting! Each of you will walk away with fifty million dollars!"
A light shined upon the arena, sixteen beams abruptly striking the ground re inches in front of the feet of several students. And as the light faded away, it revealed a table were laid a single ring, encrusted in gold and engraved with red glowing words, mystical in nature.
Clearly, it was a storage ring that housed what they had won, yet at the sa ti, it served as an excellent award of distinction— a unique ring marking them forever as victors, better than any trophy they may have asked for.
In unison, these sixteen students gazed upon their reward and eagerly or hesitantly grabbed it, placing it on their fingers. And as they did, the table that housed what they claid suddenly disappeared as if it were never there.
"Next is our prizes for our top sixteen! Your reward will be a varied assortnt of rare training items to aid you in your training! Keep them safe and use them cleverly! They are extrely rare and nearly impossible to find and buy!!"
Eighth more beams of bright light struck in front of the next eight students, and in its stead appeared a nearly identical table. The only discernible difference was that the ring was coloured ruby red and appeared far more expensive than the last, signifying a superior rank.
"It's ti for the top eights! Not only will you get TWICE as many training items, but you will also have a chance to attend a special training session with the supre general himself where he might teach you so special secrets! This goes for all who ranked eighth or above, not just from eight to four!"
"Now! We have our top four prizes! The two of you who were just shy of the finals! And for you, we have sothing special! Each of you has won a voucher to freely choose a single weapon or item from the military's maximum-security vault housing so of the rarest items in the entire world! We knew you most likely, each of you had different opinions and preferences, so we decided to give YOU the choice! We hope you're satisfied!!"
As expected, there appeared a table before them with a white ring at its center.
The first of the top fours grinned eagerly ogling his ring, puffing out his chest and grabbing his ring with pleasure, yet whilst he did that, the other who stood to his side was unusually silent.
"Tch… Hope you're satisfied huh…" Regrit Oswald mumbled in a voice nearly indiscernible to the ear before for the first ti, taking a single glance up towards the audience and grabbing his ring. It was as though the world was a complete, empty void to him; he was barely aware of his surroundings and the many gazes on him from not only the audience and judges but also his fellow classmates.
"ALLLRIGHHHTTT!! It's ti to award our second place winner! Adam Walker! Not enough good could be said about how overly unexpectedly good and thrilling that finals was! And as such, I think we've chosen a very fitting reward! At least, that's what it said on my script…" He began chuckling to himself in front of the now confused crowd.
"It seems to be sothing top secret only for you. But that is all I know on that end. Still, whatever it is, I'm more than certain you will enjoy it!"
The table that now appeared seed far different from all the rest, gray with blue, liquid-like lights flowing through like several intersecting rivers. And in its center was a pitch-black ring shadowy in nature. It was almost as though it was custom made with him in mind as the wielder.
"I shall humbly accept this reward. Thank you all for your generosity." He bowed before raising his head. "As I was previously unconscious, I did not get the opportunity to address all those who ca to cheer . I will not co here to apologize if I disappointed any of you. Because the answer to that is clear, I tried my absolute hardest, and I did not dissapoint. Moby Kane was simply the better fighter, that is no secret. This… Defeat... was a first-ti experience for , and like all things in life, I shall use it as a learning opportunity. It seems like I finally have sothing to strive for…" He giggled genuinely for the first ti out of battle before grabbing his ring and turning his head.
"I did not have the chance to properly thank you for such an experience. I could never have imagined it, it was truly wondrous." He brought out his hands towards the man to his side going for a handshake, taking the initiative, unlike the last ti.
"Yes, that battle really was sothing to rember. I hope we spar once again in the future. Not as fellow enemies or students, but as rivals or even comrades!" Moby fully accepted and shook his hand, and Adam's grin shone brighter.
"Like-wise."
The crowd joined in unison for such a mont, and even the announcer could not help but comnt. Both sides, previously mortal enemies supporting their party cheering as one voice, truly a sight to behold.
"Now! Is the mont you've all been waiting for! The award for our champion! Moby Kane! It is sothing not physical, nor is it sothing one would be prepared for! His reward will be what has always been given out to every single winner over the history of this grand tournant! A reward usually reserved for heroes of war! You will be allowed to wish for a single wish that lands within the power of the military! Of course, there are limitations that will be deeply specified such as no killing the innocent or no wishing yourself to beco supre general! BUT! If one were to think creatively, this might be worth several tis that of anything else awarded today!"
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