Chapter 32: First event
"Hahah... You're a little piece of shit," a man impeccably dressed in a tailored black suit that exudes sophistication and elegance, hugging his lean and well-proportioned body.
His sleek black hair was neatly combed, complementing the darkness of his attire, framing a chiseled face, highlighting his sharp jawline, high cheekbones, and the fairness of his skin.
But unlike the elegance of his appearance, he continues to spit crude and insulting words. "You lump of fat."
The president of Marcoos, Andrew, smiled with his mouth, his eyes were not amused. His tone dripped with sarcasm.
Malik, the oversized middle-aged man with a broad frame and a large body that bore the marks of a life well-lived wore traditional tribal attire consisting of worn earth-toned trousers and a simple, intricately woven shawl draped over his shoulders.
The lines on his face seemed to deepen as he struggled to maintain his composure.
His cheeks puffed up in anger and humiliation, making his light brownish eyes smaller.
He, who had been insulted, the 5th Elder, one of the tribal leaders in Tamil, turned red like a tomato.
"HMPH. Tamil has already promised to open one of its trading routes to Marcoos for the next 10 years for free," he said through gritted teeth. "HMPH. How can you Marcoos people be so petty?"
"Huhuhu. Excuse my rudeness," Andrew smiled, propping his tilted head up with his hand. His eyes held undisguised mockery.
"You shit little bastard, that was a comical joke from you. 10 years for a 20-year-old debt," he said with no slight respect in his tone. He has every right to be angry and wasn't planning on letting things end just yet.
The old greasy veins popped on Malik's forehead, and the wine glass in his hand had been cracking for a while now.
"Haha, Tamil has nothing to hide from Marcoos now," he said with an irritated and mad tone.
Not only was he unwilling to give up on the trade route's fee, but this president had been insulting him for an hour now.
He couldn't scream back at him, and that was restraining the elder's true nature.
"5 billion platinum coins, that would have been able to sustain my army for ten years straight in a state of war," thought a massively bulky framed bald male, wearing a military uniform impeccably pressed on his defined muscular body adorned with medals of honor.
He patted Andrew's back, his deep blue eyes staring at him pitifully, trying to console him.
Andrew pushed his hand away in disgust and rolled his eyes at him.
Adam, the president of Situstan, was a rigid and serious person, and despite the two's personalities being polar apart, the two were famously known as best friends.
"What are you even talking about? We're friends now. All the past grudges need to be forgiven and forgotten. Let's open a new page and forget that we once messed each other up," the blinding white-haired Crown Prince Adis of Dorigan smiled like a holy ray of light, his red-colored eyes calm and gentle, bringing a sense of comfort.
"Drop that smile; it looks disgusting," Andrew said disgruntled, wiping his goosebumps.
"I don't like you either, Adis," said Adam stoically.
"HMPH, If it wasn't for your father being sick and tired, I wouldn't even talk to a brat like you," Malik said, flicking his sleeves.
"Ayya," Adis smiled helplessly, shaking his head. "Ahh, it's nice that we could be honest with each other once in a while."
It was the first time the four representatives had a peaceful meeting like this, not filtering their words.
Everyone sipped their wine peacefully, sitting in a luxury closed box with a one-way mirror looking at the field below.
"Wanna make a bet?" Andrew spoke, breaking the silence, sipping his wine. "Let's raise the stakes, no grudges if you lose," he said with a gleeful smile as he pointed at the screen.
The stadium seats of all levels were filled to the brim with people and reporters coming from all around the world, not wanting to miss a single moment of this legendary, first-time-in-history competition.
[Attention, everyone,] the MC's thunderous voice sounded.
A/n MC: Master of ceremony.
[Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in history, the first-year tournament that decides the best out of the four academies would begin,] the MC dedicated to his job screamed louder than the mic.
[Not only that, celebrating the unification of the four nations starting next semester, academies will open their doors to all applicants from all around the planet.]
CHEERS
Cheers erupted, and applause rang out, cameras flashing, shaking the Island. It was the news of the century.
[Now, now be quiet, you people, and let the first event begin,] the MC was excited like never before.
Standing in an underground area, Ryan wore comfortable black sports clothing and a mask with the symbol of the academy, an eagle holding a castle.
He looked around in a closed lounge where he stood, with another nine students from the different four academies standing separately, sending each other wary glances. None of his usual friends were around.
The MC's voice sounded again from the loudspeakers.
[The rules are simple. You would run from where you are now in the underground arena, climb up the mountain, and retrieve a virtual flag that can be scanned using the device on your wrist outside of the ancient castle,] the MC was enthusiastic as he explained while pointing at the large screen.
[There are four different flags: The black flag represents Erou Academy, the green represents Soma Academy, the beige represents Yarden Academy and the blue represents Cloo Academy.]
Each flag holds the academy's symbol.
Erou Academy - An eagle holding a castle.
Soma Academy - A mountain of gold.
Yarden Academy - Lion sitting on a throne.
Cloo Academy - A sword surrounded by five pillars.
[After retrieving the flag, you have to come here to the stadium and enter through the front door.]
[Before you start, two things to keep in mind: only the first 120 students will be able to move to the next stage, and don't kill anyone,] the MC grinned.
[Now, are you ready to go?]
[1 - Get Ready,]
The doors of the lounges opened, yet still, the students didn't move.
[2 - Make a stance,]
The students straightened up.
[3 - GOOOOOOOO.]
Nobody moved even after the MC gave the signal. It was the same in every other 24 lounges.
Everybody looked at each other, wary of who was going to make the first move.
'Three from Cloo, four from Soma, and three from Erou.' Looking at the outline of their badges, Ryan could easily tell. 'Hmm, can I simply turn around and dash away?'
[Ohhhhhhhh, Slumbering Crown from Erou is the first to make a move. He turns around, leaving his competitors behind, but why aren't they following?] The MC shouted.
'I can't simply turn around if any of them are stronger than me,' Disabling the flow of radiation in the lounge was easy. Ryan thought as he activated body enhancement and raised his speed.
[Oh my god, all the top ranks in Erou are taking the lead in the competition. Are the rumors true? Is Erou the best Academy out of the four? Is Erou going to dominate the first-year matches just like they dominated the Second years? Let's watch and find out.]
"Yahoo~~ I'm taking the lead now." Amanda sent a V sign to Ryan before going past him.
"Wait for me... Huh." Ash exhaled, leaving behind a lounge filled with sleeping bodies. His cry stopped lots in their tracks; his ability could be used to control sound waves and cause confusion.
"As If we would." Kevin and Steve skated on Ice, turning the lobby into a refrigerator and making people stumble.
The lobby, which was five meters long, was getting narrower until only one person could go through.
Students were fighting to stop the others from advancing, ganging up to ensure their Academy took the lead.
Damion fired explosions from his hand behind his back, pushing himself forward, while Astin simply hid in the shadows, both not interested in taking part in the fight.
Using invisibility to avoid getting noticed, Ryan went past Tracy, who was having a hard time fighting with another girl from Cloo, and Leo, who instead of trying to get out, was looking for people he could fight.
"RYAN, WHERE ARE YOU?" and Josh, who seemed to have a grudge against him.
"Where is Jacob?" Ryan wouldn't have been concerned normally, but he had known him for three months now, and he would be lying if he said he didn't care one bit, especially when he had noticed Jacob behaving out of the norm throughout the past month.
'Thinking of which, I still don't know his elemental magic yet. Is it a transmigrator's privilege?' Ryan wondered as he avoided people.
'There is a possibility that he got wind magic, the original's element.' he shook his head.
'But if so, Jacob wouldn't refuse to use it for long under the guise of not knowing how to use it. It was a pathetic excuse, but no one wanted to force him.'
Ryan left the tunnel-like lounge behind and dashed familiarly toward the top of the mountain, taking a secret route that nobody knew about. His feet pounded against the stone and dirt of the path.
As he reached the top, he caught glimpses of the battlefield down below, now far away.
He sighed, leaning against the stone wall at the back of the castle looking out at the view.
"It's not like I'm trying to win or anything...," he said out loud as he entered, jumping over the wall, he had planned to go to the front of the castle grab a flag, and go back the same way he came from unnoticed by anyone, "let's lose moderately...???"
"...Jacob???" Ryan's voice trailed off, he was stunned speechless, not because he encountered Jacob inside the castle, but because Jacob was holding a familiar 'Humanoid shape.'
"The Reincarnated Demon King, an ongoing novel where the protagonist is absolutely evil." Jacob threw the corpse aside.
"I guess you and Noah failed to get rid of the corpse, or maybe you totally forgot about it," he spoke, a voice filled with bitterness and acceptance.
"Killing Professor Mia is indeed an excellent choice," Jacob continued in a defeated voice and smiled bitterly.
Drip--
"It turns out I'm the stupid one. Looking back at it, you never attempted to hide it. So stupid, I'm really terribly stupid," Jacob stated in self-deprecation and asked, "When did you know?"
"...When Mia said your name in the first calling," Ryan said after some silence.
"H-How?" Jacob asked in a choked voice, barely containing his sobs.
"My... sister wrote that novel, and Jacob Duncan is a character that appeared later in the unpublished chapters," Ryan answered, taken aback.
He didn't expect this kind of reaction, for Jacob's aura to be so heavy with sadness and grief.
'Where is Hiro?' Jacob had a lump in his throat. He sniffed and blinked away tears in futility. His mouth opened and closed. 'What right do I have when I took Jacob Duncan's life.'
"Jaco...?" Ryan paused.
Jacob abruptly disappeared from his vision, leaving behind a distortion where he stood.
'Did he teleport?' Ryan's thoughts swirled in his mind as he descended the mountain, the cheers and applause of the crowd in the stadium barely registering in his dazed state, his gaze fixed on the huge announcement screen.
[1st place - The Mysterious Mage.]
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone