Chapter 187: Appearance (Point Rankings)

Aurora looked at the students who were watching the news.

“Wow, the two countries were putting something big together, and I thought they were feuding,” Cristian muttered in surprise.

“I had even thought about war,” Dalia commented and when they looked at her with surprise, she muttered. “I couldn’t help it. The rumors of Emperor Victor were terrible.”

A tyrant ruling an empire with an iron fist and who had the absolute power to do as he wished.

It was no lie that Emperor Victor had a bad image and to think of the possibility of war was not as strange as it might seem.

Aurora agreed and if she were honest, she thought the situation was very tense.

Although she never imagined that the two nations were secretly carrying out a plan of continental proportions.

It was already afternoon and that meant that only a few hours ago, during the early morning, battles were being fought everywhere on the American continent, apprehending criminals.

“They’ve captured the Queen of the North, but I don’t think they’re going to stand by and do nothing, are they?” Andrés hesitated in a strange tone.

From his tone and look, Aurora knew that perhaps he understood a little more of the situation.

However, she did not express her curiosity and remained silent, understanding that it might be related to Andrés’ work.

“The Queen of the North is in the hands of Emperor Victor, while most of the mob heads have fallen. Even if there are some remnants left, the two giants won’t let them rise again,” Gregorio analyzed, sounding serious.

That was a realistic analysis.

While they may not have completely eradicated it as publicly mentioned, the possibility that the mafias did not have a base to settle and act was high.

At least when talking about the mafias that were under the command of the Queen of the North.

Those mafias or local gangs that the subordinates of the Queen of the North repressed rose, revealing their fangs.

Trying to occupy the places left empty by their predecessors.

However, such a concern was a matter for the authorities of each nation to take care of.

It was difficult not to say impossible to eliminate organized crime organizations and the major reason was that there were always people with high strength who wished to become kings of small hills.

Even in Atlantis City, there were gangs, and that city was in the middle of the sea, with overwhelming security.

“The only thing I hope is that the international tournament is not canceled. We go first!” Marc declared with a slightly nervous tone.

Right now they were waiting for Edward, who was called to speak to the authorities along with all the leaders and representatives of the other academies.

The authorities always kept secret what would be done and now that the challenges were over and this had happened, it was hard to say what was coming.

Edward had gone to find out and for that reason, all the students were waiting in the room.

However, Aurora agreed with Marc’s words.

Hero Academy was first with 161 points!

From the challenges they gained 75 points, thanks to the ‘Endurance Challenge’ they got the hidden prize by beating two S-ranks, getting 15 points instead of 10 points.

The group challenge with its 25 points, the survival challenge with 20 points, and finally the Spartan challenge with its 15 points.

They were not the only ones who got the most points, Cernunnos Academy, Merlin Academy, and Elementalist Academy also got 75 points.

The difference was that they won several tournaments thanks to Vanessa, Taqiyya, Andrés, and Jaxon, managing to get 19 points.

Behind them was Merlin Academy with 137 points, followed by Cernunnos Academy with 124 and Paladin Academy with 120 points.

Druid Academy and Aetherium Academy were a little further behind with a lower point difference.

They had difficulties in the group challenge and, in a sense, were pushed to the limit to the point that many of them were defeated.

It was because of that, if the international tournament was canceled because of what happened with the empire and the mobs, then it would be a big loss for them.

“I don’t think they will cancel it,” Cithrel pointed out and, with a casual smile, commented. “From the news, you can tell they were preparing the plan from before and, at the same time, preparing the tournament. Canceling it now would cause more negative effects than positive ones.”

Her comment carried an analysis from the position of power and what someone as a ruler would do, making her words not only make sense but give confidence.

Canceling the tournament now was like angering all the academies and that was the same, even if the prizes were given.

If it was that way, Heroes Academy would win the first and best prize, but, on the other hand, the other academies that were lurking below would be angry.

So far the Heroes Academy had not shown any errors and flaws, but neither had they faced important academies such as the Merlin Academy, whose strength positioned it among the top academies next to the Cernunnos Academy.

In that tense wait, Edward finally entered the room and when the students saw their leader’s relaxed expression, the nervousness subsided.

“Is everyone here?” Edward asked and when he saw that everyone was looking at him seriously, he gave a smile and commented. “The meeting was quite surprising. Several issues were discussed, and many things were arranged with the authorities and the academies. Getting them to determine the final stage.”

There was silence, and Edward continued.

“First of all, the duels were the most talked about topic. As you know, no academy has held duels because no one wished to explode that dangerous bomb and ruin their development in the challenges,” Edward said and with a sigh, he pointed out. “These duels represented an opportunity for other academies to rise and score higher. They were representing profit and danger, which always comes with opportunities. But unfortunately in the challenges, no one took them, and now the voluntary duels are over.”

Those words were quite surprising, but the students’ expressions were very pleasant to hear.

They were not afraid of inter-academy duels and were willing to welcome them.

They had powerful individuals in each rank and would certainly can withstand whatever came.

Even if that meant dueling during challenges.

However, the duels did not start, and the biggest reason was the rules of the duels.

They could be rejected three times, leading to academies having to ally if they wished to challenge another academy to ‘exhaust’ their rejections.

Then that academy would go through the difficulty of having to endure the mode that those they challenged would choose, and that led to the possibility of them attacking their weak point.

As if that wasn’t enough if they were to lose, it would be reduced by ten points... Basically, it was reduced by two extra tournaments.

It was true that profit and danger went hand in hand, but that danger would be more representative for different academies and in this case, for them, it was more extreme.

If they had started the duels, most likely everyone would attack trying to tear off a piece of their ‘meat’.

For that reason, they waited to see how it would develop and if the others got anxious starting the duels to gain an advantage, then that would be when they would also attack so that no one would steal the lead.

For better or worse, no one started the duels and now they couldn’t help but be surprised to hear that they were over.

“There were many complaints from the different academies that in the end they did not know and were waiting for their moment and that is why the authorities opened two days of duels in a modality of three different sections following the B, A, and S Rank being able to be group or individual for the B and A-Rank,” Edward mentioned and explained clearly.

The duels would take place, but because no one dared to challenge the academies, they now seemed to be something more mandatory.

The two days to come would see the duels take place where, for each day, there would be three bouts representing B, A, and S Rank, taking six bouts in total over the two days.

As the bouts were chosen completely at random, no one knew who they would face.

For the B and A-Rank, the bouts could enter in group or individual mode on both days and that was completely random, being in both cases the same modality.

While you could choose who could take part in the tournament, in the individual bouts of both ranks could not be the same person who participated.

That meant that among the A-Rank, Alice could not participate in two individual bouts, but she could take part in one individual bout and one group bout... Basically, if the A-Rank group had two individual bouts in those two days, Alice could only compete in one.

Leading the others to relax when it came to face their academy.

The B-Rank combat had similar rules, basically preventing the same students from being chosen twice in combat, but this time, it was added in a group or individual mode.

Leading to the fact that, if they had two group matches and the first time they put all their cards in the first team, the second team would surely lose or at least be weak enough to lose.

“At the same time, the third and final part of the ‘extra’ challenges will take place, having its own final competition, but that’s not the most important thing. Once this is finished, the first eight academies with the most points will be chosen to compete in the finals and choose the champion,” Edward announced, leading to everyone getting excited.

That the finals were near meant that the prize was near.

Anxiety, stress, and would rise the closer they got to the finish line.

The first prize, elixirs, was a huge reward too juicy for each of the students.

And that extended to individuals like Clémentine, Leslie, or Érica, whose parents were powerful or had high wealth.

These elixirs were rare, valuable, and this time they would get them for their own work.

And the most impressive thing was that it would help any student of any profession.

The emperor that day who talked about the rewards did it in such a way that he did not talk about the type of elixir.

He only assured the certainty when ascending for the B-ranks and the possibilities that the different ranks had for ascending.

It seemed insignificant, but in this world, students were different from each other and their problems in moving up the ranks were varied, along with their abilities.

The mages, swordsmen, archers, and fighters were different from each other and that difference was even more extreme for psionics whose skills differed from one another.

The idea that was not mentioned at the time was that elixirs would be created from each student’s abilities.

Giving a body enhancement elixir to a psionic who needed to increase the strength of his ability or his mental energy was, in itself, a major flaw.

“Don’t get carried away with our point advantage. The duels will follow the previous rules. That means if we win we get 10 points, but if we lose we get 10 points deducted,” Edward added in a serious tone.

Those were the previous rules, and that is why many did not dare to take risks.

Now it meant that in their six bouts if they lost all of them, they would be deducted 60 points.

Or even if they lost one bout, it was to lose 10 points that could be vital.

“Worse yet, the bouts for the finals, they will be all-out bouts. Literally, the entire academy, including students from the extra tournaments, will participate,” Edward pointed out, giving another piece of bad news.

Taqiyya was not a fighter and Jaxon was not fighters either, the only person who had battle experience was Andrés and Vanessa.

That made it exciting, but at the same time added to the stress and difficulty.

“Vanessa participates in two tournaments. Doesn’t that mean we have one less? Aren’t we at a disadvantage?” asked Niels in a serious tone.

“Yes, that’s what I said, but they answered me that we had an S-Rank and a newly promoted A-Rank,” Edward answered with a half smile, getting Niels to keep silent and with a sigh, he added. “Anyway, the points will allow us to make a place in the final showdown, but from that point on, it will be all about the academy’s ability.”

They had one less member, but in turn, brought in an S-rank and a B-rank promoted to A-rank... In a way, they couldn’t complain about all the advantages they had.

“Having said all that, the authorities mentioned that we might be able to get small extra rewards the more points we have. Being possible that all the academies will have nice prizes if they try hard enough,” Edward mentioned in closing.

While the points were put up to get the top eight academies into the finals, they also served to determine their rewards.

That would even extend to the top eight academies.

“Well, I think it’s time to go about arranging who will participate in the duels and how we can take advantage of the support students in the all-out combat in the finals,” Edward said calmly.

Perhaps it was too premature to believe that they were going to be in the final bouts, but as long as they kept the lead and won several duels, it would be enough to get them into the eight.

Of course, they would try hard enough to win all the bouts and keep the first position. For that reason, they were trying hard and preparing from now on.

Aurora could understand Edward’s intentions and smiled as the other students tried to give their recommendations to the support students.

At that moment, her holographic clock vibrated, and at the same time in her mind a message appeared

—The abyssal portals have appeared.

******

Constanta City, Romania, Europe.

In a restaurant near a square, a couple were enjoying their little date in the evening light.

Constanta City was considered being the largest port in the country and although Romania was one of the few countries outside the European Union, being a country considered having too many shady deals, life was not too bad.

The city was bustling, and even though it was midnight, the nightlife was lively.

With the gentle sea breeze blowing in from the harbor, the aroma of the food was wafting through the surroundings, whetting the appetites of those present.

As the waiter brought their plates of food, the lights flickered several times.

“What’s going on, a creature?” A tourist hesitated.

“No, it must be the power stations. If a monster appears, it should sound the alarm,” replied the waiter, calming that tourist.

Before the tourist could calm down, a gentle breeze swept through the surroundings and an ominous feeling was felt by everyone, making everyone have a shiver.

A slight tremor occurred in the surroundings, but it did not come from the earth, but rather it seemed as if space was subtly distorted.

Though harmless, it discomposed the normal humans as if they were traveling by boat for the first time.

“Look over there! What’s that?”

Someone gave the warning and everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

Those who were certified skill users drew their weapons cautiously as they saw how in the center of the square space distorted, sending a wave pushing people around.

Screams resounded, and those who were near that place began to flee.

At that moment, a black sphere appeared in the center of the place and began to grow until it extended like the entrance of a temporary dungeon, only this time it was all black and gave an ominous feeling.

A name popped into everyone’s head.

“Abysmal Portals.”

Those words echoed through the surroundings.

******

Tournament points second round.

Hero Academy: Before the challenges: 67 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 161 points.

Merlin Academy: Before the challenges: 54 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 137 points.

Cernunnos Academy: Before the challenges: 49 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 124 points.

Paladins Academy: Before the challenges: 45 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 120 points.

Druid Academy: Before the challenges: 41 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 114 points.

Aetherium Academy: Before the challenges: 33 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 109 points.

Zerzura Academy: Before the challenges: 33 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 101 points.

Elementalist Academy: Before the challenges: 23 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 98 points.

Priest Academy: Before the challenges: 26 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 96 points.

Adventurers Academy: Before the challenges: 32 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 87 points.

...

Mechanics Academy: Before the challenges: 39 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 75 points.

Demon Hunter Academies: Before the challenges: 27 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 72 points.

...

Russian Academy: Before the challenges: 21 points. After the challenges and the second extra tournament: 51 points.