"Grandma, Iris, Eiko, I'm going," Lux said after he finished giving each of his family members a kiss on the cheek.
"Do your best, Lux," Vera said as she rested her hand on Lux's shoulder.
"Goodluck, Big Brother!" Iris said before kissing Lux's right cheek with a blush on her face.
"Pa!" Eiko jumped on Lux's left shoulder and kissed his left cheek as a way to wish him good luck.
A smile was on Lux's face as he gave Iris and Eiko one last hug before leaving the room to head towards the Grand Coliseum where the qualifying matches would be held.
Alicia was already waiting for him in the secret passage that led to an area near the venue of the tournament without being seen by anyone.
"I've already made the necessary preparations," Alicia said as she gave Lux a badge. "Just show this to the organizer, and he will already know what to do."
"Thank you, Alicia," Lux replied as he accepted the badge and entered the passageway alone. Alicia was not going to accompany him in order to prevent anyone from becoming suspicious of his identity.
Everyone in the academy knew that Alicia was Alexander's secretary. They also knew that she had a good relationship with Lux, so if there was someone being personally escorted by her, it would immediately catch the attention of the influential people who were staying in Barbatos Academy for the duration of the tournament.
The moment the door of the passageway closed, Lux steadily walked in the dimly lit corridor.
He took a mask out of his storage ring and placed it over his face. A moment later, the color of his hair changed to black. His lean and toned body became chubby, and the handsome face that Lux had always been proud of became less good looking.
Right now, he didn't look like Lux the Half-Elf.
He looked like Lucien. The chubby boy who was chosen to participate in the Heaven's Gate Project to save a dying world from destruction.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the end of the passageway. Without any delays, he pulled on the torch that hung beside the wall.
Suddenly, a grating sound was heard and the stone wall in front of him parted, opening just enough space for a single person to pass through.
Lux squeezed himself in that narrow passage, and safely arrived at a room that was also one of the storage areas in Barbatos Academy.
Patting the dust off his clothes, the chubby boy walked towards the door with a hint of anticipation in his light-brown eyes. Now that the tournament was about to start, he could feel his blood boiling inside his veins as he opened the door that would lead him to the new battlefield that he was about to face.
"Show me your ticket number."
"Okay, head to Arena 4. Next!"
"You go to Arena 5. Next person please!"
The organizers of the event were busy sending the contestants to their respective arenas where the grand qualifying matches were about to take place.
More than fifty thousand applicants had wanted to join this year's tournament, and the staggering numbers made the organizers busy as hell. As this was happening, a chubby boy quietly queued in one of the lines, specifically the one that led to the organizer that Alicia had told him about.
Lux was also familiar with the person who was going to be in charge of him since the other party was one of Alicia's personal subordinates that handled the logistics of the supplies of Barbatos Academy.
His name was Bruno and was one of the people who were assigned to ensure that Lux didn't die in the tournament.
The organizer was over six feet tall, and he had blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked like a pro wrestler with his bulging muscles that could be seen under his sleeveless shirt. Although Lux couldn't see his rank, he assumed that the man in front of him was a Ranker.
"Go to Arena number 2. Next please!" Bruno said after sending the person in front of Lux to the arena where he belonged.
Lux handed the badge over to Bruno and the latter's reaction after seeing the badge almost made him laugh out loud.
"Um, Sir, please go to Arena 4," Bruno said in a respectful tone. "Oi! Please bring this lad to Arena 4. Make sure he doesn't get lost or I'll ensure that you will lose your job, got it?"
"Yes Sir!" Bruno's subordinate replied as he looked at the chubby boy in front of him. "Sir, please follow me."
Lux just nodded his head as he followed the guard towards one of the pathways that led to the fourth of the five arenas that were prepared for the tournament.
As the two of them walked, the guard would glance at his side to appraise the chubby boy walking beside him
'This might be the son of some Big Shot,' the Guard thought. 'I better not mess this up or I might get kicked out of the academy.'
Surprisingly, It only took them four minutes to arrive at their destination. After safely leading Lux to the right arena, the guard bowed respectfully before leaving, which caught the attention of some of the participants who were already standing inside Arena 4.
Some of the contestants chuckled, while some eyed Lux with great curiosity.
'Interesting. An Oriental is participating in this match,' one of the contestants thought. 'Still, he looks like a spoiled brat. I wonder if his family secretly brought in some people to help him pass the qualifiers.'
'I bet this guy will be targeted by everyone. He looks like someone that is easy to bully.'
'Pfft! This fatso sure knows how to make an entrance. Does he really think that he will be able to pass the qualifiers? Many people here hate those that used the backdoor to enter. I'm sure that he will be kicked out as soon as the battle starts.'
'Just another weakling to add to the loser group later. This place sure has a lot of wannabees.'
Lux may not have the ability to read the minds of the people that looked at him, but he had a vague idea about what they were thinking.
'So many people,' Lux thought as he walked at the farthest corner of the arena. 'I have a hunch that the method they will use to thin the numbers of the participants is a Royal Rumble with only a few people passing through the next qualifying rounds.'
With over fifty thousand participants, it was a no-brainer to use this strategy to reduce the numbers in a short amount of time.
The giant floating numbers that hung at the center of the arena showed the number "892", and it was still continuously rising with every passing minute.
Lux assumed that this was the number of people present in Arena 4.
Of course, it was not only Lux who thought of the possibility of a Royal Rumble. These people had also placed themselves at the far end of the arena, hoping that they wouldn't get caught up in the initial clash that would happen once the battle officially started.
When the number of people reached 1,283, the barriers of the arena activated, and a loud booming voice spread in the surroundings.
"Good day everyone! My name is Bruno, and I will be the one officiating the Qualifying Matches," Bruno's words reverberated in the arena as he used an artifact to magnify the volume of his voice. "Before anything else, I would like to Welcome all of you to the Lionheart Tournament!"
Cheers rose up from the contestants as well as those who were watching them from the stands.
"I will now explain the rules of the Qualifying rounds," Bruno said in a steady voice. "Right now, there are 1,283 contestants inside Arena 4. Because of this, we decided to hold a Royal Rumble match, and the last twenty people standing until the end will move on to the second round of the qualifying matches!
"Take note that there is a time limit of one hour. After an hour has passed, if the number still exceeds the quota of the qualifiers, we will release an Alpha-Ranked Deimos Monster inside the arena. The monster will remain in the arena until the numbers reach our target.
"Killing in any form will not be allowed. Those who are caught doing it will immediately be disqualified from the tournament. However, you are allowed to seriously injure or incapacitate your opponents if you like to make them surrender."
"Feel free to cut their limbs as well, but refrain from damaging the body parts, so that it can be reattached later. Don't worry, we have High-Ranking Clerics that are on standby to patch you up and return you to good health."
Bruno's gaze lingered on Lux's location for a brief moment before continuing his speech.
"If you wish to surrender, just shout 'I concede', and the mages monitoring the battleground will immediately teleport you out of the arena. Lastly, I wish all of you good luck! We will be starting the tournament in exactly thirty seconds. Everybody, make your final preparations!"
After he finished talking, a giant timer appeared at the center of the arena, displaying the countdown which had begun.
Those at the center warily looked at each other. Some even backed away as they unsheathed the weapons to wards of any potential attackers in their surroundings.
Lux remained calm as he stared at the timer. He had already made his preparations the moment he entered the arena, so there was no need for him to do anything but wait.
The crowd began to shout as the final seconds of the countdown took place.
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!'
"One!"
"Battle Start!"
As soon as the start of the battle was announced, the sounds of explosions spread inside the arena.
"Good luck, Big Brother!" Iris, who was watching the battle inside her room through a projection, clenched her fist tightly. Her gaze never left the chubby boy, who was calmly observing the battles that were happening around him with a confident smile on his face.
