Chapter 59 | Requiem of the Damned – 1
"The tournament will consist of 6 rounds. Before you guys complain, hear me out. The first round, as I mentioned, Requiem of the Damned, will be where all participants will be teleported to Sandramoor Wild."
"Here it’s all free; you can kill monsters or other contestants; it’s all up to you. But there is a prize for someone who will come top in this true wild, and that is DIRECT ENTRY TO THE FINAL!!" The host shouted as he announced.
"The rest of the round will discuss it later. Now to participants, you have received a plank made of metal; keep it safe with you. It will count your score."
"You are free to kill each other, but if the opponent surrenders, you can’t kill him but take his points. This is the only rule you have to worry about; now get ready to put your life on the line." He added.
Just as he finished speaking, I felt the surroundings shift, and the next moment I was amidst numerous trees.
Immediately I darted my eyes around but didn’t notice anything. I checked my pocket to confirm the metal stele with me and proceeded to move forward.
These types of wilds are common things all over Aetherionis. They are formed when a realm is not cleared and monsters settle themselves in the surroundings, hence the term "wild."
The main thing about the monsters from the realm is they are from Master Rank and higher. A very rare Ascendant-Rank monster is seen.
As I was sprinting ahead, two master rank monsters lunged at me. I sidestepped and activated my skill, ’Solar Breaker.’ A simple straight punch connected, and both monsters were thrown like rag dolls.
The next second they were incinerated from inside. The steel plate beeped, and I checked to see a ’20’ score in it. However, a system panel also materialized in front of me.
[+10 Origin Points]
"Hahaha..." A laugh escaped my lips.
"Oh...this is the best round ever," I cheered up as I had already decided to kill as many monsters as possible, this was a welcome extra incentive.
– – –
[3rd Person POV]
<The Balcony of Arena of Roxaban City>
The room was illuminated by around 8 screens, a technological marvel of Terrakins. 20 eyes were darting around the screen, like searching for someone special.
This large room was the same where the host had gestured; all 9 lords, along with the Chancellor, were sitting in the room.
Suddenly, an image of a werewolf fighting alone with a group of 5 monsters came into view. Immediately, all 20 eyes became fixated on the same screen.
The screen was increased in size, and the rest of the screen became dwarfed compared to the big screen.
"There’s my guy, just as promised; he is the star of the Kronesthion in the recent years," a werewolf—Solkar Moonken, sitting in a grand chair—cheered up after seeing the image.
The rest of the room didn’t react to his comment; their eyes were still fixated on the guy in the image, like they were evaluating him rather than simply enjoying.
"He is okay; I don’t get why you are making a fuss over him. He is good, but nothing that screams "prodigy of Kronesthion," the voice came from a female vampire, Verrisa Bloodthorn, sitting leisurely on her sofa, sipping red wine.
"Oh...is that so? Which master rank do you know besides yourself that could easily kill monsters of the same rank this easily while fighting in a group? I am telling you he is worth investing in," Solkar defended and praised the guy in the image.
"I have to agree here with Verrisa a bit. He seems okay for having S-rank ability. It would have been better if he were SS-rank; it has been half a decade since we had a cultivator with SS-rank ability." The voice came from the extreme right side, Irelia Nivelle, as she darted her eyes round the other screen, looking for entertainment.
"What does a succubus know about fighting? Why don’t you leave something like that to us?" taunted Solkar.
Instead of getting angry or disturbed, she simply commented, "You want to lick mud that badly, huh?"
"You..." Before Solkar could complete his string of words, a calm voice from the middle pacified him.
"Enough, both of you. Must you fight even in public events, let’s just wait for the end of round 1 before we decide," the powerful but grounded voice of Malachi Strawblood brought attention to everyone.
"What do you think, Nacht?" he asked further.
"Chancellor, there is something weird about that guy. I can’t put my finger on it; we might as well wait, as you said," Silen Nachtveil responded.
A knock on the door broke the tension in the room.
"Enter," Malachi answered. The door opened, and a vampire in formal attire entered the room.
"I greet the Chancellor and lords of the council," she bowed in respect and greeted.
"What’s the matter, Sibhan?" Silen asked.
"Apologies, lord." She answered with her head still bowed and produced a piece of paper in front of Silen.
He took the paper and said, "Dismissed." Sibhan greeted once again and left the room.
As he read the written information on the paper, a curious smile appeared on his face.
"What is that news that brought a smile to your face?" Malachi asked.
"Well, this round just got a lot more interesting, or someone has just too much money," he answered.
"Tell us the news already; don’t hang us in suspense," spoke Vor’Kul, the one-horned demon.
"A contestant has put a decent sum of money in bet on his own winning," Silen shared.
"So what’s big or interesting about this? Many cultivators put money on themselves, especially those that are in way over their heads. Let’s not disturb the viewing more and focus on the star of the show," Solkar interjected and tried to bring the attention of the room to his pawn, Marion.
"That’s not enough to bring a smile out of you. What’s the juice?" Vor’Kul asked.
"Well, the sum is 50 S-rank stones: 30 on the first match and 20 on the finals," Silen shared.
For a moment, everyone’s attention shifted from the screen to Silen’s words. Those that were silent till now also raised their brows.
"That’s more than a decent sum, unless you are a ruler like us or the owner of a big trading guild," Irelia mentioned; everybody agreed.
"I like to meet this guy, even if he is foolish. That’s some bold move, what’s his name?" Verrisa asked.
"Aiden Origin, he is human at Ascendant-Rank," Silen shared the details.
"Oh...this tournament just got a whole lot interesting, or maybe it’s just a foolish errand, but we will still make money. It’s a win-win for us," Verrisa commented.
"Sibhan," Silen called out, and she entered the room within moments.
"Yes, my lord," she spoke while bowing.
"Find everything you can about Aiden Origin. Is he just some rich fool or someone who can really give a tough fight to Marion?" Silen ordered.
"As you command, my lord," Sibhan spoke and left immediately.
Now there was a bit of excitement in all the eyes except one pair. Everybody wanted to find out the man behind this kind of guts.
However, Solkar was the only one burning with rage with a tightened fist. He had tried so hard to put his chosen pawn at this stage, and now some nobody was stealing all the limelight.
He also couldn’t wait to find out who this nuisance was.