“Ladies and gentleman! It is my absolute honor to introduce our next set of platinum-ranked challengers! Give it up for The Unnamed Team!” Announcer Drew said. He was using a magic item to project his voice for all to hear. Once he stated the team’s name, everyone roared with applause. They couldn’t wait to see the group that saved the city three times. Bets were being placed on who would win among platinum-ranked challengers, the strongest of all tournament participants. Of course, The Unnamed Team was far from acting as the underdogs of the fight. In everyone’s minds, they were easily the strongest, second only to another group that came across the country to participate.

Xander, Rex, Robyn, and Nicholas all walked out side-by-side. Each of them was waving to different sections of the audience, taking in the moment for what it was. None of them had ever dreamed of stepping into a colosseum like this one. It was ginormous, to the point that it needed to be constructed far from the city. This central hub may as well have been its own town during this time of year. The structure was built between numerous cities and along the border of a neighboring country. Regardless of ongoing politics, everyone agreed to take a step back and come together to watch the strongest fight to decide who was the best.

Naturally, the Autumn Festival Tournament was a sight to behold, but it was far from the only instance of its kind. Contests like these were happening across the globe. The winners of those fights would eventually duke it out with the victors of other tournaments, and an overall champion would be decided. This particular instance was much grander than what was usually held because multiple monarchs had come. They were all interested in seeing the team that vanquished three sins, monsters that terrified all nations of this world.

The Unnamed Team may have not been powerful, but it was becoming increasingly harder to convince the masses of that fact. This tournament would probably be the last time people viewed them as the strongest team. After soaking in the limelight for enough time, the four took their place by the other competitors. The flood of participants was divided into multiple groups based on their assigned ranks. As one would expect, there were significantly fewer platinum-ranked fighters than those with no ranks or copper ranks. Only four others stood with The Unnamed Team.

“Looks like we aren’t going to catch a break,” Xander said. He glanced back to see Rose and Damian, who stood directly behind him and Rex. All participants were instructed on where to stand to better organize the countless people in the area. Even with his brief glance, Xander could tell the team’s allies were prepared for war. Stern looks were all that could be seen. Both of them were ready for the upcoming fights.

“No kidding. Rose and Damian are tough enough, but these other two are different.” Rex said. The team had prepared as much as they could, but fighting the paladin and huntsman would still be a serious challenge. Rex decided to peek at the other two competitors. There was a high likelihood they’d have to fight them as well.

The one who stood behind Robyn was an interesting-looking man. He wore loose clothing and had an uncaring aura around him. He likely only joined the tournament for attention, but one couldn’t overlook the fact that he was platinum-ranked. A lute was strapped to his back, and he had no visible weapons. His charms were his main weapon. A song or two often helped him in situations where looks didn't matter. This man, Peter Knight, was a bard.

The person that stood behind Nicholas was another man, but he was nothing like Peter. He stood at nearly half the height of the other competitors and only wore shorts and a single shoe. This was Gerhki, a halfling. He was the first person of another race that the four had ever seen. Actually, they had always assumed that only humans occupied this world. To their surprise, the halfling carried an impressive battleaxe. Gerhki should have toppled over from the size and weight of his weapon, but his strength never wavered.

“Let’s just look on the bright side. At least we aren’t fighting anyone super serious.” Robyn said. She also saw the two men behind her, but she wasn’t worried. Both of them wore jovial expressions. This was probably their first tournament as well. Knowing that eased everyone’s minds. It seemed Rose and Damian were the only two that yearned to win. At least… that’s what everyone thought. There was still one more set of platinum-ranked fighters to be introduced.

“Why would you say something like that?” Nicholas asked his friend. It should have been common knowledge at this point that Genesis was always listening and jinxes were real. Saying statements like the one Robyn did only invited trouble. The team was better off standing in stark silence, but that would take the fun out of things. Unfortunately, the world seemed to have something in store for them regardless of what was said.

“I hope you’re not done cheering, folks! Because our last set of platinum-ranked challengers are the one and only…The Heroes of The Voice!” Announcer Drew said. He shouted the team's name at the top of his voice. Magic probably wasn’t even necessary for such a roar. The crowd was equally excited. This was a team that rivaled The Unnamed Team in terms of strength, feats, and numbers. The four-member team, The Heroes of The Voice, had arrived.

Starting from the left of the lineup was a blue dragonborn. He stood well above the others, and his muscles could barely be contained beneath his armor. A longsword hung from his back accompanied by a javelin. Both weapons glowed a soft blue, matching the dragonborn’s scales. This was James, the powerful swordsman of The Heroes of The Voice.

Next was a woman wearing studded leather armor. She appeared relatively normal if the viewer ignored her flaming head and charcoal eyes. This fire genasi had no hair, opting to use her ever-burning fire instead. She carried no weapon, so it wasn’t hard to see that she was the team’s mage. This was Lizzy, the god-like caster of The Heroes of The Voice.

Sticking out the most was a kobold. He stood around the same height as Gerhki, but he clearly lacked the unexplainable strength. Instead of a comically large battleaxe, the kobold was equipped with a bow. Light armor didn’t offer much protection, but he preferred the increased mobility. This was Davis, the peerless sniper of The Heroes of The Voice.

Last in the lineup was a dwarf with an impressive beard. He walked with confidence, and his metal boots clanked against the ground. Though he wore full plate armor, there was something off about him. The metal was hardly scuffed, much like the one-handed axe that hung from his hip. This was Brandon, the unrivaled druid of The Heroes of The Voice.

“At least they're not hellbent on beating us?” Robyn said as she stared at the obvious heroes. She tried her best to save face. Hopefully, these four would also have relaxed attitudes like Peter and Gerhki. Unfortunately, Genesis was forced to shatter that hope.

“NOTICE. YOU HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY CHALLENGED BY OTHER PARTICIPANTS OF THE GENESIS PROGRAM.”