Chapter 150: Gold Mine

Érica left her room very early in the morning.

Walking down the hallway to go down to the hotel lounge, she ran into Leslie, who was being followed by Niels.

“Do you want to go for a walk? Go for breakfast? Take a break? Visit the city? Or go to the start of the tournament together?” asked Niels, being completely ignored by Leslie.

Érica didn’t know how to react, seeing how insistent Niels was and the cold stare Leslie was giving.

Usually, her partner was serious, but this time her look was frightening.

“No. I’m busy,” Leslie replied, trying to be as polite as possible.

Only that level of ‘politeness’ was cold and distant.

“How about another day? It’ll be a date, will you?” Niels asked, and giving a serious look out the window, he pointed. “They say people from the Latin American continent are the most passionate. Maybe we should try their culture.”

It was a very serious look, as if he wanted Leslie to believe that was the reason he was inviting her, wanting her to accept.

Érica couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, as she couldn’t deny that despite Niels being pushy, it was entertaining to see his flirtatious manner and, better yet, the seriousness of Leslie’s rejection.

Because of her laughter, they noticed she was close, and Niels was not embarrassed and only gave a smile.

“I’ll leave you for now. Another day I’ll come and invite you again,” Niels said, and giving an animated smile, he happily walked away.

They both approached and Érica couldn’t help but be the one to break the silence.

“I didn’t know you had a suitor,” Érica said, having difficulty hiding the smile.

She was having fun at Leslie’s expense, who was not so easily annoyed and more so when it came to this kind of romantic matter.

“He’s a pushy jerk...” Leslie muttered, giving a sigh that made Érica laugh.

Despite those words, her tone didn’t sound like he really bothered her.

Niels, despite going unnoticed, was young and slightly handsome, who wasn’t afraid of rejection and showed confidence.

Heading to the nearby arena to train, Leslie shivered at Érica’s smiling gaze.

“I’ll leave the romantic stuff for the future. Right now, I just want to focus on training,” Leslie finally revealed.

Those were her true thoughts, and Érica agreed.

She didn’t deny that romance intrigued her, having a boyfriend and a partner to try that part of life, but if she were honest, she would rather train.

Train, study, and get stronger.

That was her goal for now, and she was sure the others had that same goal as well.

“So, let’s train. Our academy is in a tough group...” Érica muttered with a sigh.

The authorities were quick to inform the groups and although the combat was starting today; they were not the first.

However, they were among the group that had the Aetherium Psionic Academy of Asia.

That meant that hidden among their A-Ranks was an S-Rank... Just like them.

Because of how the authorities divided the fighting and the groups, they belonging to the fourth group would start the next day.

While the Hero Academy had a strong opponent, the other academies also had their own difficulties.

In the first group were the Merlin Academy and the South American Military Academy, in the second group the Cernunnos Academy and the Adventurers Academy, in the third group was the Druid Academy.

Leaving them in the fourth group was the Academy of Psionics Aetherium, which was the most important.

At the end of the fifth group was the Zerzura Academy.

The third and fifth groups were the ‘lightest’, but that didn’t mean much when all the academies were powerful in their own way.

So no one knew if from an unknown academy could surprise them.

“We have an hour of training before the tournament starts,” Érica said as she checked the time.

They got up very early to train, but since the tournament was starting today and they had to be present, their time decreased.

It wasn’t too much of a problem, as some of them wanted to keep an eye on their opponents and the best method was to watch the bouts.

******

Emperor Victor looked down from the stage at all those present.

In the center were all the students from the different academies.

Twenty academies in all with over four hundred students, with support students and teachers, were included in the total.

Among them were twenty S-ranks.

The criteria for an academy to join the International Tournament were simple.

They had to fill all the taking part slots that the international tournament required.

That meant they all had to have ten B-Ranks, five A-Ranks, and one S-Rank, along with the students for the extra tournament.

The S-Rank students were a problem and left several prestigious academies out of the tournament.

Looking at the thousands of people who were gathering around, including tourists and families coming to watch their children, Emperor Victor gave a smile and moved forward to give his speech.

Like any event of great magnitude, he needed an opening act, and this was his, a rather large one.

The opening act was being broadcast to the world and the people who were here, while they could not all enter the coliseum, could watch the tournament from the plaza, bars, or their own hotels.

Technology allowed them to watch the tournament anywhere with the best quality and from the angle they preferred, very different from watching it from an open place.

Since the coliseums couldn’t host everyone, Victor wanted everyone could watch the tournament from wherever they wanted with the best quality.

“Today we are on an important day,” Emperor Victor said, taking the microphone and looking at those present he commented. “Humanity is on edge before the abyssal portals. What will it be about? What will it bring? Where will it take us? How will it be solved?”

People and the entire world had questions in their minds about the Abyssal Portals, and very few of those questions could be answered with certainty.

“So many questions and so much anxiety that it makes us all uneasy.”

His words were not lies.

He knew what normal people felt in the face of an unknown and unimaginable event.

As the ruler of a vast nation, he listened to reports on the situation.

Maybe the fear was not shown by the heroes, adventurers, or mercenaries but the common people... Those who lived day by day were the ones who suffered the most.

Those people who had no powers, abilities, or talents and were ‘normal’ humans.

Those individuals suffered the consequences of the announcement of the Abyssal Portals.

Not fear, as there was a large number who were former players, but helplessness.

They could know how to fight thanks to Terra nova, but in the end, without skills or magic, they could only suffer when cornered.

That helplessness was more terrifying than fear... Because if pushed, people would break their boundaries and, if necessary, would sell their soul to the devil to protect their family and what they cared about.

And the Devil was real.

Maybe not in the old traditional way of humanity, but it was an even more terrifying ‘Primordial’ existence.

Smiling as he felt the silence for his heavy voice, Victor looked at the academies.

“But the students are here,” Victor said, looking at the students who were lined up and giving a serious look, he announced. “The young people who will be our future. Who will fight by our side and keep this world safe!”

While the best academies did not always give the most prestigious and strongest people, it was undeniable that they polished young people, leading them to be able to reach new heights.

“They always say that youth is the future, and it’s true. Here present are the best students from the greatest academies. They will be our future and our pillar not of a country, but of the world,” Victor said, raising his voice, causing those listening to tremble.

He didn’t need a microphone to make his voice go far, just the force of his own magical energy made it work.

The monsters did not differentiate ‘nationality’ or ‘country’, so his words were accurate.

Maybe some of those students would sometime later become some abusive power lunatics, but even those lunatics had to protect the planet if they wished to continue living.

After all, ‘Chaos’ never differentiates an ally or enemy.

“They will be the ones who in the future will become the pillar of humanity!” He announced, raising his voice and giving a smile he declared. “Today we will see these students show their abilities.”

Applause rang out and Victor, without further waste of time, left the platform and walked down the stage to the elven woman who was waiting for him.

“Ersin, did you like my speech?” Victor asked with a smile.

“Pleasant and hopeful with enough emotions to be believable,” Ersin replied, nodding professionally and not caring about the Emperor, she added. “Even though some of them may end up being the worst scum of humanity.”

Emperor Victor laughed in amusement at that response.

Cruel and certain.

Strength and power did not make students into good people, it was quite the opposite, as it filled them with arrogance and false, meaningless superiority.

It was a pessimistic look, but assuming the worst in every situation was the most basic thing to do.

“Well, it doesn’t matter too much,” Victor replied and, with a shrug, added. “It’s not like I’m leaving humanity to some kids.”

Who in their right mind would leave humanity in the hands of ‘young people’ whose age did not even reach twenty-five and whose strength did not exceed S-Rank?

It wasn’t as if he was a person who thought about humanity, but certainly, if he was in that situation he wouldn’t leave it in the hands of those people... To be precise he wouldn’t leave it in the hands of anyone else.

“I didn’t think His Majesty was a heroic emperor,” Ersin said in a simple tone.

Victor looked at her immediately and shook his head at Ersin’s serious and professional look.

Ersin’s look was serious, so it made it hard to tell if he was joking, but the Emperor knew her very well and for such a reason, he gave a smile.

“The nice thing is that other idiots wouldn’t leave humanity in my hands either,” Emperor Victor commented, and with an amused laugh, he signaled and ordered. “Let’s go watch the combat of the first group. The only thing I have to take care of now is this tournament and the cleanup.”

******

Aurora scanned the giant coliseum with a watchful eye.

With room for about a thousand people and a few dozen oversized magical beasts, this coliseum was ready to welcome the students in a fantasy setting.

There were also private boxes for VIP visitors, next to the main private box where the Emperor and other important individuals were located.

Tourists and students occupied all the spaces while drone cameras filmed both the audience and the arena in full.

Aurora was sure that millions of people were watching this fight and the other fights that were taking place at the same time.

“I want it to start,” Rupert growled, giving an exciting look.

That big, thundering gorilla that was about three meters tall was sitting near her in the guest section with magical beasts.

He wasn’t lying that the coliseum was set up so that some magical beasts could attend.

The seats were set up in such a way that made it so that ‘big guys’ like Rupert could sit next to the beast tamer, but there were other different seats as well.

Beast Academy students and some beast tamer tourists were occupying several of those seats next to their hired beasts.

These special seats ruined the artistic look of the coliseum, but once the tamers were seated next to the magical beast, it made anyone feel impressed.

Different types of magical beasts, from birds, wolves, tigers, or a huge gorilla.

This colosseum also showed how Emperor Victor looked at magical beasts.

He was treating them on the same level as an ordinary human... That was what was showed by these seats.

This was a small section for those with magical beasts who wished to see the combat up close and not holographically or by video.

“Oh, here it comes,” Rupert muttered with a rather animated, low growl.

Many glances were directed in his direction and Rupert ignored everyone, practically focusing his attention on the stage.

In the center of the coliseum stepped out a young woman next to a three-meter long eagle, whose talons were sharp and beaked with dark lines.

“A silent eagle. A terrifying opponent.,” Aurora said, nodding softly.

That magical beast’s claws were affiliated, and the body was large, but the biggest advantage of that magical beast was that it could use air magic to attack or hide.

It was called ‘Silent Eagle’ because it could hide its movements.

“Exactly. A tough opponent and the two of them make an excellent team,” Elder Kernen pointed out.

The preparations for the tournament were already transmitted, and they were looking for two days to finish the first round.

That meant that from the three groups on the first day, with four academies in each, twelve academies would face each other.

It was a very high number of fights, which were carried out in multiple coliseums, and although the S-ranks had to fight individually and in groups, the organizers gave them time during the day to recover.

The Hero Academy would have their participation only the next day, which meant that the students were spread out watching all the fights and learning from their opponents.

Aurora, for her part, came here not only to see the students of the Cernunnos Academy but also at the invitation of Elder Kernen, specifically...

“My little ones will show you how capable they are,” Rupert announced proudly.

The invitation came from Elder Kernen, but it was given by Rupert, who invited her basically to show off his students.

Since she was a supporting member, Aurora accepted, as she could give information to her classmates when they will face the beast tamer academy.

“We’ll see if it’s true,” Aurora muttered, and when the thundering gorilla looked at her seriously, she laughed and pointed to the student who was entering. “Her opponent is a student from the Scandinavian Hunter Academy. We’ll see how they do.”

If the Cernunnos Academy and the Adventurer Academy were the principal focus in the second group, the Scandinavia Hunters Academy took the third spot in that group.

They were called ‘hunters’ because they learned how to deal with aggressive magical beasts or monsters... They were the specialists in hunting creatures.

Their opponent was an archer who looked seriously at the magical beast.

The coliseum had a space of about fifty square meters, giving freedom to the participants to face their opponents.

It was designed in such a way to best allow for combat on both sides, and this space allowed the two students to demonstrate their strength, in the air or on the ground.

If viewed more strictly, there would always be disadvantages no matter the size of the arena, but if they began to criticize such matters, they would learn nothing in the end.

One archer against two opponents, this was a clear disadvantage for the archer.

The host gave the typical introduction of an A-ranked bout and after seeing that, the two opponents were ready announced the start of the battle.

“GYAAA!”

Letting out a shriek, the ‘Silent Eagle’ took flight and flew towards its enemy at a high speed.

The archer fired an arrow directly at the beast tamer, which she dodged by rolling away.

“Attacking the beast tamer, an excellent tactic...” Elder Kernen muttered.

“But predictable,” Rupert pointed out with an amused grunt.

As both experts mentioned, the archer tried to take down the beast tamer as she tried to escape with all her might, all until the silent eagle caught up to the archer.

“Ugh...”

The archer shot an arrow at his nearest enemy and the eagle dodged it in splendid flight, slashing with its talons at the ground where the archer who had dodged had been.

Both of them were A-rank, and the archer seemed to be at a disadvantage, but in reality, they were specialized in fighting beasts.

Firing several arrows into the air, these arrows exploded, creating small whirlwinds of air to prevent the eagle from flying as it wished and giving it a chance to finish it off.

“A good tactic, but now it doesn’t have a single opponent,” Aurora said, as she saw the beast tamer rapidly approaching behind the archer’s back.

The eagle was flying in front of the archer, pressing him for his full attention, while her companion was sneaking up from behind.

In this fight, the archer had two opponents and the young woman proved that she did not depend on her beast alone.

“[Air slashes]” murmured the young woman under her breath, throwing dozens of slashes at the young archer’s back.

The muttering warned the archer, who had sharp senses and could activate the barrier of his armor, but the eagle made his move and swooped down to slash at his opponent, cutting through those whirlwinds.

In the end, the archer used a smoke arrow and hid, leading the eagle to stop and flap its wings strongly, launching a flurry, along with dozens of slashes with air magic.

Managing to disperse the smoke and lightly hit the archer.

“He lost the advantage because of a terrible choice,” Aurora commented, shaking her head.

Now the archer was surrounded on both sides and it didn’t matter if he had good equipment, he would be pressured.

Even if he attacked the young beast tamer, she also had her own combat suit, and worse, she was a B-Rank air mage.

Without giving the archer a chance to prepare, the eagle pressed forward and the young mage began to circle him, waiting for her chance.

If the archer attacked one, the other would strike... That was the scary thing about fighting a beast tamer.

“Many see us as individuals who depend on our beasts, but at Cernunnos Academy, we teach to fight alongside our partner,” Elder Kernen commented, nodding at the young student’s combat.

Inexperienced people thought a beast tamer was weak and their strength came from their beast, but it wasn’t that way.

They too trained hard and looked for methods to help their magical beast, trying not to be a hindrance.

In this world where magic seemed to have no limits, the methods to support their magical beast were innumerable.

An obvious example was Oscar, who, despite not being a beast tamer, made a contract to be able to transform himself into a big bear.

While it was not at that level, there were other methods that could help both the tamer and the partner.

Sometimes, some rituals could synchronize the tamers with their partner and help the human receive the affinity that the magical beast possessed.

Other times, the rituals allowed the magical beast to share its lineage and helped their human companions receive some of their strength.

The knowledge brought by the players of Terra nova was impressive and their methods many.

The elves, druids, dryads, nymphs, and countless other races in that world made possible many ways to connect with their magical beast.

In this case, the young tamer received an affinity for air magic.

“Their relationship is impressive,” Aurora murmured, watching as the tamer won.

The archer had risked attacking her, causing the eagle to press down hiding all traces of movement, and managed to bring the archer down with its sharp talons.

Leading him to defeat.

The rituals and different ways to improve the strength between the tamer and his magical beast were numerous, however, the cost of materials and preparations were not everything.

What mattered was the relationship between partners that made these rituals possible and led to success.

Only a deep friendship in which the magical beast wished to share his destiny and his ability could lead him to perform the different rituals.

Rupert laughed proudly at those words.

“It’s only the first fight. I’m sure the students of the Hunter Academy will adapt and learn to deal with their prey,” Elder Kernen said, giving a half-smile.

How could they beat two opponents?

It was a tough question and even though it sounded complicated, the reality was that many students were highly experienced and able to adapt quickly.

It had to be shown that the Cernunnos Beast Academy did not have the full advantage, and it was possible for some students to overcome two opponents.

And if Aurora was honest, there was no lack of motivation, and more so when the Cernunnos Academy students counted for two points.

One was from the magical beast and one was from the student, so they in the eyes of their opponents were like gold mines.

Though ‘mining’ them was going to be very difficult.

Aurora was sure of it.