"Brave warriors and young spirits of the Cyprus Kingdom, the time for you to fight for your dreams has come. The time to show your strength, the result of your hard work, and the determination to will you has finally arrived."
"It's time for you to shine in glory."
Along with Vice Principal Josh's rousing declaration, majestic music started to play out in Horizon Colosseum.
Ribbons danced in the air as white doves flew towards the vast sky. Flowers were falling like rain from the sky which was created by magic.
Deafening cheers echoed from the spectator's stand, the sound of applause and claps reverberated across the whole stadium.
The stadium or Colosseum which seemed to be empty a few days ago is now filled with a sea of people. It was so full that people had to squeeze themselves to make space for others as more and more people entered the huge dome-shaped Colosseum and flooded it.
After many preparations, the long-awaited Inter-Academy Battle Cup is finally commencing today.
The number of spectators for the tournament was a record high and many of humankind's top-notch powerhouses and figures had their eyes here on today's tournament.
While many appeared to watch the show, many hid in the shadows observing the future powerhouses and analysing them as there are many chances of one of them becoming potential enemies in the future and hindering their goals.
So, they have to prepare themselves for any future trouble from now.
Outside the Colosseum, rows of stalls were present trying to sell things as this was the hot market for them.
Inside the Humongous Colosseum.
The stands for the people were divided into two parts. One was full of luxury with neatly arranged tables and chairs along with a row of servants waiting in line to serve, the nobles Area while the other was plain-looking seats that were arranged for commoners.
Over at the spectator stand, many students refrained from participating and many who have graduated from the academies proudly waved their flags to support their classmates and friends.
In the centre of the Colosseum, Lucas and the nearly ten thousand participants could hardly curb their excitement. They looked at the stage ahead of them and waited with heavy breaths for the allocation of the dungeon for the preliminary round.
All of them stood in rows according to their clubs.
The candidate who will perform well, will not only alleviate his rank but also the status of his club.
The first participants of the preliminary round were the first year and each day one preliminary round for successive years will be held.
The preliminary round was a group battle royale that would be held in many different dungeons having different atmospheres testing the student's adaptability and survivability.
The First years have already been grouped by asking the students to pull out a number and the number they pulled out will indicate which group they would be assigned to.
Lucas was wearing a red colour coat with a black shirt and it was similar to all those who were members of the swords club.
In his left pocket, a pin of the dual swords was pinned which was the symbol of the swords club.
Lucas stood there and his eyes glanced at the sea of spectators, howling, shouting and cheering like a madman.
The scene was quite similar to the environment of football matches where the audience went crazy.
Aaron had informed him that members of the skies and Jay were coming to spectate the tournament but within a sea of the people, it was really difficult to notice them.
On the stage, Vice Principal Josh placed his hands on the crystal ball, causing the scenery to reflect on it to project outward. A holographic projection appeared before our eyes
Everyone stared at the projection scenery quite intensely with burning eyes full of passion and excitement, knowing that it would determine their fate as one of these scenes could be the place of their battlefield.
The Crystal would show the road the place inside each dungeon where they would have to go to qualify. One had to remember and focus on each image the crystal will show as no one can know which dungeon, your group will be assigned to.
Every awakened individual possesses their own set of unique abilities, skills and fighting styles.
Everyone has their own set of advantages and disadvantages in different terrains, so a location change could vastly affect their performance.
In the history of the tournament, there was a time where once a group was allocated to the underwater ruins. Some of the challenges were particularly adept in fighting underwater and having skills adept in water warfare, using the terrain to their advantage, the weaker ones managed to defeat the popular challengers which had caused quite a stir back then.
Popular challenges are those who were picked by the people and were the most likely to perform well.
The public as well as many Noble gambles on those who will perform well and who will be eliminated easily
. That being said, it didn't mean they were bound to do well and win. There were far too many variables in the preliminary round to guarantee that.
Other than, that the complete lack of restriction on the type of equipment, artifacts and spells used could make a huge difference. too.
Other than killing, you can do anything which makes the tournament a perfect place for taking revenge and humiliating your enemies.
"I shall now select the dungeon of the first group." Josh's voice reverberated across the whole Colosseum.
"Ooooo."
"Oooh!" Loud cheers erupted from the audience.
As Josh infused mana into the crystal ball, the projected scenery before the crystals began to change.
Seeing the anticipation in the student's eyes, Lucas thought the situation was quite similar to the slot machines in his previous life, be it the swiftly changing images or the excitement of the crowd.
Gamblers and bettors who have spent a huge amount of money on the tournament had their eyes reddened with worry.
The participants of the first group prayed nervously that the dungeon terrain would be advantageous to them.
In the tense atmosphere, the mana in the crystal finally ran out causing the projected scenery to stop at a dimly lit location.
"First group, Sky Mountain."
"Ohhh!Nooooooo."
"Yeahhh!"
"A mountain terrain, goddamnit!"
"Damn, I am not adept at climbing."
There was a mixture of delight and frustration from thr participating students. Those who had a fighting experience in mountain and on cliffs locations cheered in delight and those who lacked those two skills were visibly worried.
Roan's group got the marshland terrain while Parth and Fredrick both got forest terrain while Charles got a desert terrain.
Such a situation continued for the other groups. Soon, it was time to choose the fifth group, which Lucas was in.
Josh frowned as he looked at the projection and spoke with a silent hesitation.
He stood there for a moment which created an environment of suspense which made many drenched in sweat.
Josh gulped his saliva and looked at a VIP cabin in the Colosseum as if he wanted a confirmation.
Staring at it for a moment, he sighed and finally shouted.
"Fifth group, Sanctum of despondence."
"Holy shit."
"What! How did that place come in the preliminary round?"
Many people who were knowledgeable about it shouted with a worried expression.
