20 This Tournament is Rigged.

During the day of the tournament, at Havian Academy, there were airships at port. That was the main method of traveling for the elite of the continent. People on this continent who had power and background had access to at least an airship.

Multiple airships relating to various factions and organizations of Sky Blue Continent has already arrived.

Most notably, Roxy the so-called Future Supreme Magician was waiting for someone. She had typical blue mage-attire. She smiled as soon as she saw a specific airship that was landing just now.

This specific airship had relations with the Church of Augusta, two important figures left the airship. It was a fully armored knight and by that knight's side was a fair maiden wearing a white robe and hood.

This was Ark Samson and by his side was the so-called 13-years old girl who was known as the Holy Maiden of the Church of Augusta, whose name is Alicia.

"I've been waiting for you two. For at least a day. I thought we would all arrive here together around the same time." Roxy spoke.

"There's no point in going in early, we might as well be only be on time for the tournament. The security of Havian Academy is still untrustworthy in my eyes." Ark spoke.

The Holy Maiden Alicia kept turning her head as she was trying to look for someone.

"Where's Khan? Shouldn't he have been here too? I was hoping for the entire party to get back together." Alicia spoke.

The so-called party was referring to Ark, Alicia, Roxy, and Khan. This was the party of 4 that subjugated the Twilight Zone.

"Doing whatever a barbarian wanting to do, I suppose. A savage like him was only good enough to perform maintenance on my sword and nothing else." Ark spoke coldly.

"Ark! That's rude. Khan is a old man with a big heart. He must have been doing something important." Alicia reprimanded.

"I have to agree with Ark here, Khan probably went to do his previous hobby. Which we all know was blacksmithing. Khan doesn't have much that potential in his lifetime and he probably didn't want too much fame to his name." Roxy explained her speculation on Khan.

"I see. But still, he could at least greet us." Alicia said hopefully.

"Alicia, there's no point of meeting with others. Our time is greater than theirs to begin with." Ark said casually and arrogantly.

"That's no way to say things like that. You were the one who kept telling and reminding me that I need to go here for this dumb event." Alicia cried out.

"Ahem! Ark is right. The event is a tournament that affects the future generations of powerhouses of this very continent. At least publicly speaking that is. Spectate and getting the opportunity to know and associate is a chance that most countryside nobles dream of. Just this opportunity alone could help build their foundation to be greater in the future!" Roxy fake coughed and explained in greater details.

The three begin chatting in meaningless details that are unimportant in the greater scheme of things.

Someone else had also arrived at Havian Academy for the time of this tournament.

A 20-years old black-haired young man had arrived. If Linley were to see this person, he would have been surprised to see a mentally handicapped person somehow arriving here.

This person was Neville. He was carrying a black great sword strapped behind his back wrapped in bandages personally by him just to look cool. Neville had found this sword in a crater in the backyard of his grandma's house at the very same day when Linley insulted him and caused Neville to run and cry to his grandma.

The sword spoke to him saying to him his name was Uncle Baron and that they have to go to this academy because why not and not explaining anything remotely reasonable at all.

Neville clearly agreed just because it was a cool talking sword. Why would he not agree? This was the opportunity he was seeking in life like in the knight novels he had read.

There was only mere hours before the tournament had begin. When these people soon arrived at the academy.

Meanwhile the main character, Linley was sleeping. Even when the morning and even to very last minute right before even the tournament had begin, he was still sleeping.

Zzz.

Linley was dreaming something weird. Linley felt like he was on a bed sleeping next to another Linley who was also sleeping on the same bed.

'What is this nonsense? Have I slept so much that I started lucid dreaming that I was sleeping in the same bed with myself?' Linley thought to himself.

Eventually Linley felt as if someone was pushing him to go do something now instead of laying on his ass.

"Wake up! Wake up already!" A girl was yelling at him.

Linley woke up to the sight of a new girl he doesn't recognize. She had long red hair that reaches to her waist and dark red eyes. She wore a uniform of some kind along with a skirt and stockings. She was good-looking to an extent. Not as good as Melarue. Nevertheless, a beauty was a beauty.

"Who are you?! Where am I?! And why'd you kidnap me?!" Linley bombard the red-haired girl with questions that sprung to mind. Linley also grasped his personally exchanged sword from the system in hand immediately.

"My name is Eris and wait what? Kidnapping? Do you even know where you are?!" Eris screamed back at him.

Linley looked around and noticed he was in a large white room with benches here and there. What first come to sight was the other people in the room. There was bodies littered on the floor and benches. There was also bloodied weapons lying around as well.

"A killer's workshop. Your workshop maybe?" Linley had to ask because he had to know.

"This is the round's winners and contenders' room. You dumb dumb. Your fight is scheduled at the end of round 1. And now it's time for you to fight. Here's the door to the arena! Do you get this and that? Or do I have to speak in language made for idiots like you?" Eris ranted as she pointed at the door.

"Yes." Linley replied calmly and left the room without saying anything else besides leaving quiet steps behind him.

Linley's response and actions in turn had caused Eris to be enraged and screeched incredibly loud within the soundproof room.

Linley soon headed towards the only arena. It had the radius of half a kilometer. The arena seems to made of precious high quality and well-made stone. Linley soon felt shocked and had to take a step back once he saw the huge sea of seats that could easily hold so many people within the audience stand.

There were over hundreds of thousands of seats. But only like a thousand people were actually there watching.

Linley easily spotted Melarue and Cthulhu sitting next to each other. Melarue waved her hand once she had noticed Linley had found her. Cthulhu waved her both of her arms towards him as if she wanted to upstage Melarue in terms of hand waving.

Linley soon truly arrived at the arena as he met face to face with his opponent. His opponent was a blonde-haired man with brown eyes. Linley through his combined senses and system could tell his opponent was a Rank 9 Warrior. A peak scholar.

"The last battle of Round 1 between Linley Arthur and Peeta Everdeen, will now begin!" An announcement that rang through the arena and audience had been made.

Linley unsheathe his sword. It was a Sword of Kusangi, specifically it was Sasuke's Chokuto sword, a straight one-edged Japanese sword. This sword cost a measly 500 EP, according to the system, it was a durable and sharp sword and that was a good enough reasoning for it's price.

Linley also released his shining silver Battle-Qi aura as well. With the two combined, Linley charged at Peeta in an attempt to end this fight before his opponent could even fought back.

Peeta surprisingly through the gland of skins, had released burst of sweats blasted through over his body soaking him him wet.

Peeta then raised his right hand immediately.

"I surrender!" Peeta shouted.

Linley in response almost nearly trip and stumbled as he tried to stop himself.

"Reasoning?" The announcer asked. The announcer was also the referee as well. The announcer's true identity was a member of the chair board of Havian Academy. His name was unimportant to his current role.

"The sun is too hot. I cannot work up a fight." Peeta said his poor excuse with faulty logic and reasoning.

The arena was indeed outdoors. But the weather is cold today even though the sun was extremely bright and there was a lack of clouds..

"Understood, this forfeit is accepted. Linley Arthur is the winner. This concludes the end of Round 1." The announcer believe with absolute certainty that Linley Arthur, a Dragon Contractor, could slap master-level experts to death much less a scholar. The announcer felt bad and gave mercy to the obvious loser. No need for needless deaths.

'A win's a win.' Linley thought to himself as he headed back to where he came from. After all he himself, does not know actually how to leave the arena itself properly and meet back with his maids. There was only one person that would at least help him.

"I'm back." Linley said as he passed through a familiar door and into a large white room.

"What? You're done already. As expected of a contender." Eris spoke with fake praise masking her sarcasm.

"Is that really necessary?" Linley narrowed his eyes at such a response.

"Clearly, you came back here for what reason besides to gloat, you arrogant jerk." Eris insulted.

"What'd I do to deserve this?" Linley asked ignorantly because he felt like he was being blamed for something he clearly didn't do.

"Look at this mess you caused." Eris pointed at the bodies and bloodied weapons.

"I sleep-kill people?! That's incredible. I never knew I can do this." Linley spoke with astonishment. After all, Linley knew already he could kill people by walking.

"No! Your arrogant ass caused all of this. Did you not know that everyone begin stabbing themselves and going to sleep because everyone here saw you have a sword stuck in your stomach as you were sleeping and bleeding out first." Eris explained. "I had to wake you up personally by literally pulling out your damn sword from your stomach."

"Everyone took this as a sign of dominance and arrogance from you. Your maids brought you here personally, and everyone knew that not only do you want to rather waste your precious time sleeping, everyone assumed that you wanted to give everyone a handicap because simply put we're too weak to put in your eyes." Eris further explained.

Linley felt a bit of shock as he looked towards himself and realized he was in a bloody mess of himself. There was blood all over him and his sword. He didn't even realized he was stabbed at all.

Then again. The only reason Linley slept with his sword because he felt like that was the best way to get used to a sword. Linley expected maybe a cut, but not a stab through his stomach.

"Even the primary contender Ark Samson after finishing the first battle of Round 1, saw you were lying on a bench bleeding and sleeping. So he grabbed his sword and stabbed a hole in his stomach and then went to sleep in a corner." Eris said. "Everyone soon after but me, also did the same thing. The only reason why I didn't do so is because-"

"Coward..." A whisper was whimpered through the air creating dead silence as it interrupted Eris's explanation.

Linley and Eris were both speechless for a moment.

"Never mind, the whole everyone stabbing themselves. Why is there practically a small audience? Isn't this purpose a grand once in a century tournament? Please explain in grand detail" Linley asked Eris for an info dump.

"Well. Where to start?" Eris had her index finger placed around her mouth. "Simply put, the tournament is rigged. From Round 1, every contestant purposed to have one-sided matches. Meaning us who are the winning bracket are at least able to with a single fist defeat the opposition with little to no effort. After all, all of us besides you are at all at least master-level experts. The audience is less than 1% percent than of it's peak rate because people only want to watch exciting matches. Therefore this is just boring warm up time or additional break time for us."

"Break time?" Linley asked.

"Between each rounds, there's a half of an hour of downtime to allow people to get their seats or whatever they want before begin watching. Of course this is also to allow people to have a restroom break as well." Eris explaining basic knowledge to the ignorant Linley.

"Restroom break!" Ark the heavily armored knight with a bloodied hole in his body woke up suddenly as he felt the urge and need to go. "Is Round 1 finally over?"

"Yeah." Linley responded casually as if he didn't care much about his opponent anyways. Do not take this as a sign of arrogance as most people would. Linley himself is actually humble and believed he had virtually no chance of winning against such strong people anyways. So why be intimidated about a possible fight when you're already know the outcome.

"I'm heading to the restroom." Ark spoke as he begin leaving through a different door that Linley had used before.

"Wait! I'm coming too." Linley followed after Ark. Linley didn't want to ask Eris anymore unless he wants a verbal beating.