Chapter 21: The Rising Ceremony [3]
"Luna, let me explain to you again about the plan to rob the royal treasury," I said as I looked at Luna, who was sitting on the couch. This room was given to us by the royal family. We are still in the Royal Palace. The first day of the Rising ceremony is over, and on the second day, I am planning to make my move when all the heads are present in the stadium. I have already confirmed that no one is listening to us, thanks to Luna.
"When I give you a signal, you have to enter the royal treasury. I have already told you the location. Do you remember it?" I asked Luna as I looked straight into her eyes. This mission is very dangerous, and I don't have any trust in Luna as of yet maybe Lily will cause some problems. She nodded her head in response.
"Okay, Lily, please don't do anything. If you spoil this plan, I will never talk to you," I pleaded with Lily, knowing she has the potential to ruin everything.
"NO! I will not do anything," Lily shouted, afraid of losing her best friend. Her reply gave me some confidence in them.
"So, when you enter the treasury, you have to find a ring which has a blue stone on top. It's very easy to locate, as all the artifacts are arranged in an orderly manner," I continued, explaining her about the only space artifact in the novel. That blue stone ring is the only space artifact in this world that can store items in another dimension. This artifact was created by the only space ability user in history. The artifact can only be used by a space ability user, but Luna can do that as she can control mana itself.
"Then, you have to store all the items in the royal treasury within that ring. To use the ring, you have to manipulate the mana inside the ring. I hope you can do that," I continued, explaining how she can use the artifact. I don't know if she can use the artifact, but if everything goes well, I will hit the jackpot.
"That's all. I hope you can complete this mission," I finished my explanation. I took a step forward towards the mirror and looked at myself. I wore all black, but this time the dress was not a luxurious one; instead, it was a dress for training.
It's already the last day of the Rising ceremony. I was so tired yesterday that I just slept and didn't even talk with Luna about the plan. On this day, we have to fight with the monsters, so I just wore my training outfit. I nodded my head as I admired my looks. After staring at my reflection for a while, I turned towards the exit door and started walking towards it.
Olivia followed behind me. She didn't talk much these days. She is taking her personal maid duty very seriously. I wasn't brought up in the novel in this part; maybe at that time, I didn't understand my ability, I thought as I exited the room and moved towards the royal stadium.
...
'So large,' I thought as I looked at the size of the arena. The arena is approximately 1 kilometer in radius. Well, fighting monsters requires space, and it can accommodate more than 10,000 people. It's more than sufficient to accommodate all the people from prominent families.
I walked towards the VIP room allocated to the Blackthorn family's participant. I entered the VIP room on the top floor, where we could see the entire arena through glass walls that had some sort of automatic zooming technology. It was like a giant TV screen. It could be the ability of a user with a mirror-like ability or something similar. I wasn't sure about it.
I sat on the couch and offered Olivia a seat, but she declined and chose to stand beside me. She seemed to be taking her job very seriously, I thought as I saw her standing beside me. I turned my attention towards the arena as I heard a sound. I looked at the person who appeared to be the commentator. He was floating on some sort of rock and was dressed in all white. He was bald with jet-black eyes.
"Everyone, this is the second day of the Rising ceremony. Today, we will witness the power of our future generation. So, let's not waste any more time, as the heads of the great families are here, and their time is valuable," he said, pointing towards the most luxurious section with eight thrones. I spotted my father sitting on one of the thrones. He looked just as he always did, with his expressionless face and empty eyes.
"Let's begin with the first contestant, our Princess," he announced, pointing towards a spot in the arena. I saw Isabella standing in the middle of the arena. As soon as the commentator mentioned that the contestant was our Princess, the crowd erupted in cheers. It wasn't that everyone was a fan of the Princess, but rather, they wanted to impress the royal family since the king was present in the stadium. I gazed at the grand throne at the center of all the thrones, where a man with blond hair and golden eyes was seated. The Princess resembled him greatly, I thought as I studied his facial features.
"She will be facing five <level two> monsters," continued the commentator after the cheers died down. The stadium fell silent. Up until now, nobody knew about Isabella's weak ability. They probably assumed that Isabella possessed some kind of powerful ability. After an awkward moment of silence, the commentator spoke again, "So, please cheer for our Princess."
When the commentator made the announcement, everyone started cheering even louder than before. I could even hear some young masters shouting, 'Thank God!' Well, this was to be expected. Now they had the opportunity to marry the Princess and form a good relationship with the royal family.
Shortly after amidst of shouting, the monsters entered the arena. There were five <level two> monsters that resembled dogs, emitting black smoke from their bodies. They were about 10 feet in size. They looked intimidating, but they were considered to be among the weakest monsters. As the monsters entered the arena, some young masters started shouting things like 'Please, be safe, Princess' or other similar phrases. They were really trying to get her attention, I thought as I heard their voices. The glass walls of the VIP room didn't muffle the sound, as cheers and shouts made the game more entertaining to watch.
When the monsters spotted Isabella, they began running towards her like hungry wolves eyeing a piece of meat. The entire stadium fell silent, as if everyone was watching the climax of a thrilling movie. When the monsters were about a meter away from Isabella, they suddenly stopped and started scratching their faces and heads with their paws. They scratched so hard that their skin began to peel, and some even started banging their heads on the ground with such force that their heads exploded like balloons.
This caused a commotion in the stadium, as it was the first time anyone had witnessed such an ability. Unfortunately, it could be considered a weak ability. Isabella had the power to create a painful headache that some low-level monsters couldn't handle, leading them to kill themselves. Yes, it was a pathetic ability, but the way Isabella used it in the novel and how it helped the MC was truly outstanding. She was truly a genius, I thought as I evaluated Isabella's ability.
All the monsters in the arena had killed themselves within about five minutes. When the last monster died, the stadium erupted with cheers and applause. I didn't even clap, as I didn't appreciate this pathetic display of power.
When Isabella exited the arena, she was drenched in sweat from head to toe. It truly was a pathetic display of power. She was incredibly weak at the moment, I thought as I watched her leave the arena.
After her, more participants entered the arena and showcased their abilities. All of them performed better than Isabella, even that girl from the Firestone family outperformed her.
Finally, the time came for the MC to enter the arena, I thought as I looked at Olivia and nodded. It was a signal for Luna to make her move. I glanced at the commentator, who was ready to announce the next participant.
"Next participant is Lux Stormborn. He will be facing…" The commentator paused for a second, then continued with a confused expression, "50 <level five> monsters." As he completed his sentence, the stadium fell silent. It was as if everyone was trying to process what they had just heard. One thought echoed in their minds: 'Does he have a death wish?' It was absolutely insane to fight 50 <level five> monsters in the Rising ceremony. It was unheard of. No one had ever attempted such a feat in the Rising ceremony. The most talented participants would typically face one <level four> monster, and that was considered a significant achievement. Now, here was a kid, not even from one of the great seven families, who wanted to take on 50 <level five> monsters.
People started shouting, saying things like, 'Go die somewhere else!' or 'Why commit suicide, man?' or various other comments. Amidst all the noise, Lux stood tall in the center of the arena. His golden eyes, blond hair, and muscular body looked impressive, but the most striking thing about him was his unwavering determination reflected in his golden eyes.
The monsters, standing around 10 meters tall with human-like structures and emitting dark smoke, were considered one of the strongest monsters in <level five>. They possessed the ability to use their own powers and displayed a certain level of intelligence. They surrounded Lux, eyeing him like a piece of dead meat.
All the monsters began charging towards Lux, channeling their abilities. Some released short beams towards him, while others rushed at incredible speeds. The stadium fell into silence. Nobody wanted to witness the death of a child during the Rising ceremony. Yet, Lux remained standing tall, watching the monsters and their attacks approach him with unwavering determination.
"It's so typical. Now the MC will astonish everyone," I thought as I observed the beam nearing Lux. Just as the beam was about to touch him, his body emitted a brilliant light. It was as if the sun god himself had descended upon this world. The spectacle became even more captivating, with two suns seemingly shining—one in the sky and the other within Lux. The brightness was so intense that some people averted their gaze. I did the same, thinking, 'Fuck, it hurts like hell.'
As the radiant light subsided, the beams that had been approaching Lux vanished, as if they had never existed. Lux swiftly moved in one direction, breaking free from the encirclement of the monsters. With a meter's distance remaining between him and one of the monsters, he raised his hand and shot a beam of light towards it. The beam surged towards the monster at an incredible speed, causing most of the monsters to instinctively close their eyes due to the blinding light. As they reopened their eyes, they witnessed the beam heading towards them before they could dodge it. Some of them were struck by the beam, although the damage inflicted was minimal due to their tough skin.
Lux took a step back and unleashed more beams, eventually causing one of the monsters to collapse lifelessly after receiving 5-6 hits. However, the remaining monsters were already closing in on Lux. Once again, he used his radiant light to create a gap between himself and the monsters. The onlookers were too stunned to utter a word. They couldn't believe what their eyes were witnessing—an extraordinary feat accomplished by a mere child. It was unheard of in human history for a 7-year-old to slay a level-five monster. Everyone watched as Lux employed guerilla tactics to eliminate the monsters.
He struck the monsters and used his bright light to create space repeatedly. This continued for hours, even as the sun began to set. Not a single person made a sound. All attention was consumed by the spectacle of Lux vanquishing the monsters. Only two monsters remained.
Despite his body being drenched in sweat, blood, and bruises, Lux stood tall, his eyes unwavering, filled with the same resolute determination as before.
The remaining monsters charged towards Lux, while he stood motionless, unable or unwilling to move. He lifted his hand, and beams of light shot towards the monsters. As the monsters approached within a foot's distance from Lux, both fell lifelessly to the ground. Lux then tilted his head towards the sky and exclaimed, "I did it," before collapsing to the ground. The sun set alongside Lux's descent.
Everyone remained silent, the echoes of Lux's final words etching themselves deep within their hearts. He had truly made history. The sound of applause shattered the stadium's silence. The king initiated the clapping, and everyone followed suit—the heads of families, spectators, and even myself. I, too, was captivated by this awe-inspiring scene.
After a while, the commentator exclaimed, "What an astounding performance! Lux has etched his name into the annals of history. There is no doubt that his talent is unparalleled in this world. Now, it's time for the final participant."
Pausing for a moment, the commentator continued, "Asher Blackthorn, the Third Lord of the Blackthorn Family," his gaze fixed on the thorn where my father, Maximus Blackthorn, was seated. All eyes turned to my father. His expression remained unchanged. He still harbored no hope for me, I thought as I observed him.
"Asher Blackthorn will be facing..." The commentator paused, his expression confused. Then, he completed his sentence, "50 <level five> monsters," causing an uproar throughout the entire stadium. All eyes locked onto my father, even the heads of families directed their attention towards him. His raised eyebrow signaled a rare change in expression. With a mere nod of his head, everyone averted their gazes.
"It's showtime," I whispered, rising from my seat and making my way towards the arena entrance. I had chosen the same number as Lux, not seeking too much attention but aiming to outperform everyone. However, I knew that after the end of this ceremony, I would become the center of attention.
***
Author's Note:
Having a good time? Honestly, I'm not. So, if you could kindly send some power stones my way, it would definitely brighten my day.
Thanks for reading!
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