It was a late autumn day, and the academy’s grounds were unusually busy. Several hundreds of students were gathered in the main yard waiting for the preliminary phase of the tournament to begin.

Ana and Ethan were among the crowd wearing long black and white trousers, long sleeved shirts, and matching gloves. They stood out among the crowd, but not in the way one might imagine.

“A sword here, an armor there. Safety doesn’t seem to be part of the curriculum.” said Ethan with a chuckle.

“That would be correct.” A voice was heard from behind. From among the sea of commoners, a single noble had come to greet them.

“Arthur?” Ana was wary of the teen but maintained a pleasant smile. “I was starting to think only commoners attended this part of the tournament.”

“That is also correct. Nobles are automatically accepted into the main event.

There’s a side tournament through which commoners can pass their exams. However, for those who want to enter the nobles’ competition, it’s mandatory that they all attend these… preliminaries.”

“So, why are you here?” asked Ethan out of curiosity. He had never seen a tournament and Ana was too busy to go watch one either.

Fortunately, Arthur did not mind their questions. They wouldn’t affect his chances of winning, so he decided to be cordial.

“The Academy is supervised by the Brown, Davis, and Bell families. Those three also run the largest alchemical herb growing operation in all of Last Heaven.”

“So, they’re your main suppliers.”

“Pretty much." said Arthur. "Of course, the gathering season is already over. But, there should be plenty of herbs still left within the mountain, the one where we’ll be conducting our preliminaries.”

It was Oliver who insisted he participate in this part of the event. In exchange, he would help him prepare for the competition. ‘Give and take.’ It was the Hunt family’s way.

“Attention please!” Finally, a middle aged teacher walked onto the stage accompanied by 2 younger ones. “

“My name is Dominic Spencer, your host for this part of the event. Welcome to the preliminary stage of this year’s youth tournament!”

Most of the crowd cheered in excitement. The more sensible amongst them raised their attention.

“As always, this part of the competition will be held on Sunshine Mountain.” He pointed towards the peak that could be seen right behind the Academy.

“You will each receive a token from my assistants and climb up the mountain one by one. From the moment the sun sets tonight, you all have 2 days to gather 4 tokens and return to this area. Any questions?”

The yard was silent. Almost everyone knew the rules already, but of course, there were exceptions.

“So, it’s a battle royale?”

Arthur nodded at Ethan’s question. Though it was more of a culling operation than a battle, the result was pretty much the same.

“Before we begin, I must warn you that murder will not be tolerated.” said the teacher in a disinterested tone. “If you bring back the token of a dead student, you will be disqualified.”

Numerous displeased expressions were seen amongst the crowd. Ethan was particularly miffed.

“What if you take someone’s token and another mage kills him?”

“A mana beast might kill them too.” Arthur pointed out. He wasn’t sure whether helping them was a good idea, but at least for now, he wanted to maintain the peace.

“Will there be any teachers watching over us?” asked Ana.

“Does it look like they care?” The boy pointed towards the stage. Just three people were sent to deal with more than 300 students. It showed how little this part of the tournament really meant to them.

“If there are no further questions, then everyone get in line!” Dominic pointed towards the door which led further into the Academy’s grounds. Several gates later, the city’s wall came into view.

“Well then, if you don’t mind, I shall take my leave.” said Arthur before running ahead. As the only pureblood noble among the crowd, nobody tried to stop him, not even the teachers.

“He could’ve taken us with him.” complained Ana.

“No, his move was correct.” Ethan was rather amused by all of this. “It won’t matter. At the end of the day, it’s just one more reason to teach him a lesson.”