Chapter 1642: Gratitude [1]
There were around eighty people left in the elimination round when August first entered the forest.
It was around half the number of those who entered, but it was still a decent amount.
If things went as they were meant to, the battle would continue for another hour at least as these geniuses started confronting each other in single combat and abandoning their groups.
It was especially so since Valerie had stepped away from the battle to find August.
The only ones left with immense power in the arena were Lucas Stroll, the ice user, and Ophelia Bannar, the fire elementalist.
And they barreled through their opposition.
It was hard for anyone in the arena to stand against them, and with their power, they could wipe out every single one of them in a minute if they wanted to.
The only reason they weren't using the full extent of a 4th class dragon's power was because they were testing their fellow participants.
They didn't just want to destroy people weaker than them.
They wanted to preserve the sanctity of the heir wars tradition by only allowing geniuses to pass.
In fact, of the eighty who were still in the arena, five of them had been spared by the duo and deemed worthy.
Those five were standing behind the line they created, not really sure what they were meant to do.
After all, they'd lost. They weren't supposed to remain, but they had.
The arena itself looked strange now.
The entire middle was split by a triangular area of forest that Valerie had created.
Tremors and explosions shook the very foundation of that forest. Occasionally, one could feel a burst of power or see something peek above the canopy to indicate what was happening inside.
It intrigued not just the crowd, but also those fighting in the arena. Ophelia and Lucas were deeply curious about who Valerie had met that could make her fight on such a level, but they'd find out when the round ended, so they didn't fret over it.
On each side of the forest, fire and ice raged as they continued their attack, somehow not affecting the trees in the slightest.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
ROAAAAAAR!
Ophelia was extremely aggressive.
Her fighting style was similar to what the Ignis Clan and other fire dragons preferred.
Flames were king. Fire was above all else. In order to prove the strength of their element, they didn't focus too much on making their techniques fancy and filled with intricacies.
It was the most basic form of power.
She slashed her claws out and created huge billowing flames that enveloped countless people. She roared with her entire heart, letting loose beams of fire that incinerated even the arena grounds.
Lucas was her polar opposite in many ways. Even humans were influenced by their elements, so it was unsurprising that dragons, who were born far closer to them than humans, would have similar tendencies.
The conflict between fire and ice users had presented itself countless times through Damien's century of adventure through the universe. Except for unique cases like Feng Qing'er and Lunaria Snow from the 3000 Beast Mountain Range, almost all fire and ice users formed rivalries or feuds solely based on the views they developed through their abilities.
In this moment, they were united, but they'd been dying to fight each other since the moment they met.
That would have to wait until they were on a bigger stage. Currently, they had different goals.
There honestly weren't that many people who could meet their standards. Even the fifteen who were left by the time they were done were only standing because the announcer managed to stop the two wild geniuses before they could eliminate everyone in the arena.
Nobody did anything noteworthy. Aside from the original five, the rest were quite literally just lucky.
That included Melania.
"STOP! THE BATTLE IS OVER!"
The announcer's mildly panicked yet incredibly stern voice resounded through the arena.
It barely made its way over the crowd's cheers, but Ophelia and Lucas still stopped as he asked. They couldn't offend the administration running the competition when they were participants themselves, could they?
To them, it was a bit of a shame that the last ten people were still conscious, but to Melania and the rest, it was heaven's gift.
'Could I have survived?'
They saw the waves of fire and ice that approached closer and closer to them.
They saw as people tried their best to defend themselves, only to end up in corpse-like states riddled across the ground.
How many of them were able to even think of formulating a counterattack?
Not a single one.
Only those five who stood behind them. They had passed precisely because they tried to put up a fight before losing.
Melania wasn't certain if she could do it, especially with her current fighting style.
She wasn't afraid to try. Her mentality was there.
But, with today's event, she learned what real geniuses looked like.
August was, at least, still a 3rd class being. Even if his talent was unbelievable, the strength he'd reached at his age wasn't too far away from her.
These two, or rather, three, on the other hand...
Could she ever match up to them?
It was a serious doubt that plagued her mind.
On top of that...
'...where is he?'
She hadn't forgotten about what she wanted to do here.
She had been looking everywhere for August, but after being unable to find him despite truly making use of the entire battlefield, she was forced to believe that he'd been eliminated.
"Contestants, please come forward!"
Everything was a bit jumbled from the perspective of those in the arena. Only when the announcer said those words did their perception of the world return to what everyone else had been seeing.
It was also when they began paying attention to the announcer, who'd actually been speaking through the entire battle.
He'd highlighted the parts that people would be most interested to see so that the crowd didn't have to figure out what was happening on their own.
Though, his job became redundant when the battle became more of a fight for survival.
That was beside the point. The most important part was that the crowd was absolutely enamored with what they saw. That was the original goal of having an announcer in the first place, so he didn't take too much offense.
The geniuses stepped forward as he asked.
They all put away their mana and walked to the center of the arena.
The forest that once inhabited that space was fading, dispersing into mana.
Left in the center were two people.
When others saw them, they were immediately shocked.
Valerie had shown her skill before she started fighting August.
She sat in the forest without even showing herself, yet, she took out enough geniuses to match Ophelia and Lucas.
Those who saw August rush into the forest thought he was going to lose for sure. However, they'd been proven wrong multiple times already.
This moment stuck the nail in the coffin.
August and Valerie were both still standing. Covered in wounds, sure, but they were in good enough condition to fit in with the geniuses around them.
Ophelia went to August's side while Lucas stood next to Valerie. They both eyed the boy they'd never seen before as the other geniuses lined up next to them, facing the head of the arena.
"Everyone, do you see them?!'
The announcer yelled, his draconic voice echoing and booming off the walls.
"These are your geniuses! These are the youths who will represent the people in the coming heir wars! They are fifteen, not fifty, however...their might has already been proven!"
WAAAAAAAAAAH!
The rush of cheers overwhelmed a lot of them.
August, Melania, and most of the other commoners had dumbfounded expressions on their faces when they finally realized how many people they'd been fighting in front of.
It wasn't a number in the mere hundreds or thousands.
Tens of thousands of people were crowded into the stands, roaring with their hearts to support the geniuses who would represent them.
"Do you want to see them fight again?! Do you want to see them rise and face challenges beyond anything they've ever faced before...?!"
The announcer grinned as he heard the crowd's affirmation.
"...then you won't have to wait long."
He finished his sentence, pausing for effect.
"The heir wars, the event you've all been waiting for..."
"Huu..."
August took a deep breath, closing his eyes and reopening them.
He scanned the crowd until he felt a certain aura calling for him. Turning his eyes in that direction, he saw the person he wanted to see and grinned.
"...it officially starts now!'
The first stage was over. Originally, there would have been a few months separating the elimination round and the true heir wars, but all of that had changed.
The heir wars would begin as soon as possible. The announcer had just officially confirmed it.
And, to be one of only sixty-five people who had the qualifications to participate...
August had to admit.
He really loved this feeling.