Chapter 5 : Tournament

Kenshin meditated until morning and slightly purified the quality of his magic. His blood has not improved but it will be done little by little.

"System, why am I at the level of a legendary wizard when I have one of the more powerful Bloodlines and others are stronger than me while they have lower Bloodlines than mine?"

{Answer: These magicians have unlocked most of their potential directly after awakening their bloodline. For example, a Bloodline can be over 50% awake depending on the type. They have practically unlocked half of their strength while you are only 10% of your Bloodline and you are already competing with them.

The blood is too powerful for the body and causes you not to be unblocked all at once. Others were able to do so in exchange for their full potential. You can technically also unlock most of yours but it will break your body and all your potential. The host doesn't need to rush, you will have limitless potential once you become immortal.}

"I see. But that doesn't stop the fact that I'm still weak now...I need my hybrid form quickly to fight against all these arrogant guys. The tournament starts at noon, I should hurry to go register or it will be too late." He came out of his meditation then headed for the exit to register.

«The problem is, I don't have to get spotted or it will be awkward. Registrations must take place in the arena portion.» Placing his hood over his head, he walked towards the magical society using all of his non-magical speed so as not to be noticed.

Currently he was in Ward 5 so the Magical Society was slightly out of the way and was in the center of the base. There were several houses lined up in the same style as his.

After a few minutes, he was in the boundary between Ward 5 and 4. Humans without magic who want to see the tournament will be allowed to use a special route to get there, but Kenshin doesn't have time for that. The boundary was separated by a barbed wire net with a cabin containing a man. Between him and the net was a barrier that prevented individuals from passing and only allowed those with the magician's license to enter.

'I'm just going to intimidate him without saying anything. He will understand that I am a mage only with my aura.' Kenshin walked over to the cabin and waited for the guard to look at him.

He was a middle-aged man with average magic. He found him very weak.

"Your license please..." the guard said, looking at the figure with the hood.

Kenshin lifted his head slightly to reveal his two menacing reptilian eyes with a murderous aura.

"Is it really necessary ? I forgot it."

"N-No...You can pass...It can happen after all hahaha..." the man was afraid of him and let out a nervous laugh.

He opened the barrier and then let Kenshin pass without problems.

'It was easier than I thought. It's just cowardly people working for their ass who know nothing about life. They don't know what it feels like to be looking for food on the streets at age 4 and steal at the cost of his life.' He continued to walk in a bit of a bad mood.

He was observing the houses in this neighborhood. They were not made of wood, but of normal cement like the normal houses he knew. There was also electricity which seemed to power this area.

'The treatment is so different between magician and normal humans...It's hateful but that's how it works here.' He continued to walk towards the magical society without paying attention to the remains.

There were also a lot of people in this area but only non-elderly people. Adults, young, but not old. It is surely because of their old age which is lacking for them and are therefore not accepted.

After a few minutes, he had arrived in front of the magical company. He had seen various magicians walk into it. It was surely for the registrations. The entrance was a large door open directly inward.

When he entered, he had noticed that the interior was like the office desks of a company but without technology. The floor was tiled, several tables were there. There were also several paintings to its right side. In front of him was a queue at a reception.

There were 3 receptions which were not glazed. Each reception had a waiting line for various things. In these receptions were two young men and a young woman in the middle. The two young men were twins who had normal faces. The woman was very beautiful with her brown hair tied back in a braid that reached the middle of her back. Her 1m65 revealed beautiful curves as well as breasts of decent sizes. Her eyes were yellow and contrasted very well with her fair face.

All three wore a white shirt with a black waistcoat over it, including a yellow tie. The men wore black pants while the woman wore a long skirt with tights on her legs.

Most of the people seemed to be in the middle line, surely due to the woman's cheerful personality and her appearance.

Kenshin had no time to waste and just got into the less numerous right-hand line.

He was still looking at his surroundings because there was another floor above them. He had seen a double staircase on his left which led upstairs. He assumed they were either apartments or some sort of small meeting room or something.

His turn had arrived and he found himself in front of the young man.

"I came to register for the tournament." he said calmly with his voice pleasing to the ear.

The young man was slightly surprised by the voice behind this hidden figure but remained neutral and asked for the necessary things for registration

"Registration is free. We just need your first name, last name, age and your Bloodline." said the young man.

'Should I hide ? No, I intend to reveal myself sooner or later. I'm just going to say dragon unspecified.'

"Zakiri Kenshin. 18 years old. Dragon Bloodline." he said calmly but the young man was amazed to see another candidate with a Dragon Bloodline. Even people nearby.

"Very good. You are registered. You can go there and take this document. It will explain the rules of the tournament and the different events. The tournament takes place at noon, don't forget that. Otherwise, you can wait in the hall. Waiting for the arena through the door next to my reception. The hallway will take you to a waiting room and from there you have the option of going into the arena."

Kenshin didn't think much and walked to the waiting room as there was only 2 hours left before the tournament. The waiting room was clearly a men's locker room with lockers and benches. There was also a mid-size television set high up that showed the view of the arena.

Seeing the TV arena, it was pretty basic. There were grandstands with a huge field for the fights. In the high stands, there was a large white rectangular cabin.

He assumed that this cabin was for "Star" magicians as well as the Supreme Magician.

He sat down on one of the benches and then began to read the materials given to him to pass the time.

"Welcome to the Kyoto arena for the 319th candidate, Zakiri Kenshin. This tournament will be split into 2 rounds.

-The first round consists in reducing the number of fighters registered in the tournament. All the mages will be placed in the arena then will have to do a "battle royale" while trying to eliminate all the others. The battle will last 10 minutes and those who survive until this time will move on to the next round. Those who are eliminated before this time will be disqualified.

-The second round will be dueling fights between mages which will be organized according to the number of remaining fighters. Prices will be announced at the end.

For the rules, everything is allowed for the first round except murder and outside help like a beast or a mage. A candidate is considered "disqualified" when he is knocked out or withdraws. Poisons and hidden weapons are prohibited for the second round, weapons must be warned in advance. Good luck."

"They didn't bother with the trials. But more than 300 people in an arena? The arena might be gigantic but putting that much on a lot could get chaotic. Their goal is obviously to eliminate weak mages for it keep the strongest, but there is probably an objective hidden behind this event. Well, I would just have to stand in a corner and then watch the various fights. I will release an aura of intimidation for those who approach, I will don't want to fight weak ones. I'm just interested in how they use their hybrid mode."

Kenshin burned the documents with fire mana then walked to a corner of the locker room from where he was. There were surely other locker rooms to accommodate all the mages, he would just meditate until the tournament in his corner without paying attention to the others.

And so two hours went by, Kenshin had woken up from his meditation and then examined all the candidates around him. There were people with low amounts of mana and then others with high amounts. There were only men in his locker room, which means there is another for women.

Nobody noticed him because of his weak presence. He had sealed his presence to others to avoid getting bothered.

He had also noticed that most of the fighters had arrogant, proud, intimidating or confident faces. He was not shocked given that the true nature is revealed in the apocalypse and the people are confident in their strength by thinking of themselves as these "chosen ones".

He lifted his head slightly to watch TV. He had seen that the stands were filled with locals. He assumed there must be thousands of them. But he was not interested in them, his gaze went to the cabin which was at the top of the stands.

He had felt the aura of the people in it just through the TV, he couldn't see the people inside but it was probably the "Stars" and this supreme magician who were in this place.

"They don't scare me, I can fight them on an equal footing using all my strength. But relying on magic doesn't indicate a person's real strength. In addition, they probably have their hybrid form which can overpower me. in my current state. Guess it's time to go." He got up from his bench and then walked towards the large exit in front of him.

This exit led people directly into the arena, he simply followed the people in front of him while observing the wizards.

After a few minutes, he had finally arrived on the ground. Many mages were there, male or female, adult or young. He thought it was stupid to let young people sign up even if it didn't change the fact that they can be strong. A hologram suddenly appeared in the stadium and showed a beautiful woman in her twenties who had wavy black hair tied in a ponytail with voluptuous curves. She was wearing a white shirt with a long black skirt. She started to speak with a charming voice as well as a smile.

"Welcome to the spectators and candidates who are here for this tournament which will be broadcast throughout the city. Thank you for coming to watch the tournament."

"It's Akemi ! Our goddess is still beautiful !"

"Yeah! She's the secretary of the magical society ! How pretty !"

"Hey man, do you think she's in a relationship ?"

"Don't say anything ! How could she be in a relationship ?"

Men in the audience and even in the arena had fantasies about her. Kenshin was still indifferent and just waited for the rest.

"The candidates already know the rules but I want to remind them. Murder is prohibited and this round will last 10 minutes. Magicians who were able to stand after this time will qualify. Everything is allowed, including alliances. The ordeal. will start in the next 30 seconds, be prepared !"

Some wizards banded together, others were nonchalant or arrogant. Kenshin just stepped to the side of the field with his hands in his pockets and still a hood over his head.

After everyone finished or not their actions, Akemi announced the start of the ordeal.

"You have ten minutes to stand, good luck to you! Let the round begin !"

Magicians loaded onto each other using magic. Others would send spells of all kinds on everyone they passed. Many of them had revealed a hybrid form by taking physical characteristics of the animal to increase their abilities.

Kenshin watched all of this with interest as he tried to find the solution to transform himself. His eyes had unlocked another possibility that allowed him to see the entire magical circuit and blood vessels of the body. This could allow him to accurately determine the quality and quantity of magic in a person's body. He could observe everyone's blood flow and determine the potency of the Bloodline.

'Their blood circulates very fast, I would even say that their heart will explode at this rate but they manage to keep the rate always at the same speed. Could this be the key to form ? No...There is something else, it would be much too simple otherwise.' He continued to think before seeing a wizard running towards him with fire in hand.

"Get out of here, weak !!" the tall man was going to push Kenshin forcibly before noticing the reptilian eyes which gazed at him indifferently but which were very dominant and threatening.

"I advise you not to touch me." Kenshin's voice was weak but audible enough to the man who was looking at him with sweat on his face.

'Shit ! This kid manages to intimidate me just with his gaze ! I'll leave him alone, I'll take care of him later.' the tall, tanned man finally turned around with a grimace on his face.

'There are a lot of foreigners here. English, Japanese, Americans, Europeans too. I haven't seen a wizard at my level, there are a few below me but their hybrid form can maybe fill the gap.'

He was looking at the field filled with unconscious people with about twenty people standing. He hadn't noticed that the time had already passed.

"Finished ! Congratulations to the contestants who remained standing ! Our staff will take care of removing all disqualified persons. The winners will have to draw a number from a box that will determine when you will play."

After removing all of the unconscious magicians, the remaining fighters lined up and then waited for someone to walk past them so they could pick their number.

Kenshin was last being on the far left. He didn't care much for the mages here, he was confident in his power even though there was always a possibility that a guy with a hybrid form might be able to do something about it. He didn't know the power of the hybrid form, he wasn't completely underestimating his opponents.

Arrived in his turn after the others had chosen, he plunged his hand into the box and then took out a cube with the number 2 on it.

'I start first so...' He was trying to find the person with the number 1 among the participants.

He had seen a young man about his age. He had short light blonde hair and was 5'8 tall. He was a "handsome" young man, the bloodline changed people's aesthetics to make them look a little more handsome or beautiful. He had a haughty aura around him and that look of contempt for others.

'One of those arrogant guys I guess.' The other participants walked to the stands and then left the two fighters.

"The numbers were awarded, the first two participants concerned remained on the field. Number 1 is the famous legendary magician Alex ! Known for his good looks and strength, he is popular in the top 5 of perfect men and also for his attempt to conquer the Star-class blood queen Vanessa. Number 2 is...Zakiri Kenshin. A wizard of whom we have no information..." Akemi was surprised when reading the information in his document.

'An unknown magician who survived the duels ? Interesting.'

"Hidden weapons and poisons are prohibited, Mr. Zakiri Kenshin, you must take off your hood so that we can see if you have any hidden weapon. Your face must be so visible to all so that you can be checked in." Akemi's hologram said.

"Do I really have to take my hood off ?" Kenshin's voice echoed through the arena.

"Oh...yes, you have to show your face and drop all the hidden weapons you have on you on the ground." Akemi was surprised by Kenshin's sweet and charming voice.

He just sighed and then took off his hood. His clear face with perfect features as well as those emotionless reptilian eyes of a different color that were both threatening and dominant. His black hair with blue undertones fell down.

'To my god...He's prettier than those top 5 boys... Those eyes are surely due to his dragon bloodline. But all men are the same, appearance doesn't mean anything.' Akemi had a slight trace of blush but quickly dissipated.

"Tch, he's just a peasant a little more handsome than the average. No need to make a drama of it." Alex was mad at this stranger who looked better than his own even though he didn't want to admit it.

"Surrender, I don't like taking on weak people. Especially an unknown guy with that level of magic, what if you have a dragon bloodline ? You're weak." Alex was arrogant with his words.

"Judging people by their appearance is pretty silly, I won't use my dagger against you. Melee and magic will be enough for your kind of people." Kenshin said indifferently, infuriating Alex.

'I won't even use {Divine Vision}, it's not necessary and it wastes my magic unnecessarily. His magic is abundant in his body, his blood is also high I guess ? But it is weak. I also noticed that Bloodlines of Mythological Monsters are present. This guy may have blood from one of those beasts, but it's useless in front of me.' His dragon eyes watched Alex's body intently, the magical circuit and the blood flow fully visible to him.

"Alright, the fight begins now !! Good luck to you !" Akemi announced the start then Alex charged directly on Kenshin.

'He will pay for his impudence and arrogance !!' Alex was confident in his sword abilities and his magical strength.

He swung his sword in a direct vertical blow at Kenshin. The boy still had his indifferent gaze then simply grabbed the blade with his magically reinforced palm.

Kenshin started to exert his force on the blade and then snapped it in half, which shocked Alex.

'Shit, he only smashed my artifact with his hand...

I have to go melee with him.' Alex clenched his fists with magic then charged on him.

Kenshin figured out what he wanted to do, he simply grabbed the fist that was heading towards him with his palm facing down. He then squeezed his grip and then spun Alex's body with one movement. He then gave a rotary kick directly to his abdomen and sent him waltzing about ten meters.

'He is incompetent in melee, his martial arts are weak. I have a stronger physique than him.' Kenshin watched as Alex's face stood up with blood flowing from his mouth.

{Wind Spiral !} Alex made two crossed hand movements then a tornado of wind of about ten meters moved towards him.

'Using wind magic to slice me is pointless. I just have to make a magic barrier around me.' He has formed magic around his entire body to create a barrier that prevents weak spells from hitting him.

He headed straight for the wind tornado and walked through it normally without injury then landed in front of Alex.

Fire was emitting from his right hand, his hand landed on Alex's stomach then released more fire magic.

* BOOM * a huge fireball exploded on Alex's stomach and was propelled a great distance. He caused an explosion directly on the skin of his enemy to give serious injuries.

The trail of dust hid Alex's face. He was currently in a bad state with the top clothes torn with wounds on his body, blood was flowing from Alex's wounds.

'I clearly underestimated him...This guy is a monster in every way. But I won't lose to an unknown guy ! I have to conquer Vanessa, this guy is an enemy for my conquest !' Alex started to roar as a lot of pressure was exerted on where he was standing. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction of his body, blowing through Kenshin's hair.

'Coming out of the hybrid form so early ? It will allow me to see a high level hybrid form.' He was looking at the figure of Alex which had grown to a height of 8 feet with two eagle wings on his back. Her hair lengthened to her back and then turned white. A lion's tail had also grown on his lower back.

'Does he have a Griffon bloodline ? Interesting, but I am the strongest dragon as well as the king of the heavens. His current condition is stronger, I'm going to get a little more serious.' He began to circulate his dragon blood at a very rapid rate through his body. His canines had lengthened and his pupils had narrowed even more.

His {Dragon Aura} had become more effective thanks to the dragon blood that had integrated into his body. The effect increased to 40% instead of 30%, his current state was enough to beat Alex.

"Hahaha, I activated my hybrid form for someone like you! Consider yourself lucky to be able to see my majestic form." Alex had grown even more proud of himself. He started to fly away then discharged wind magic on him in the form of a slash or balls.

Kenshin dodged them all without blinking, he watched Alex's figure fly high and then started charging magic into his mouth.

'I'm going to end it all at once, I have no time to waste.' He had finished charging his magic into his mouth then threw an {Elementary Beam} directly at Alex.

He did not have time to dodge the attack then took it on him. He naturally couldn't resist an attack like this and fell unconscious to the ground with wounds all over his body.

'The hybrid form disappointed me immediately, but I think these forms are not mastered. It is surely this point that made him so weak and incompetent. It is not in a few months of apocalypse that you become an expert in combat.' Kenshin thought as he deactivated his aura then put his hood back on as he walked towards the stands.

"The mysterious individual, Zakiri Kenshin, wins this first duel against the magician Alex ! His strength is still unknown since he has not revealed any hybrid form or all his strength! This new individual is incredible !" Akemi said while the audience was still in shock but they started to cheer and cheer.

The men cursed Kenshin in their minds when they saw that he was a very powerful, handsome young man but still admired him. The girls, well...You could say they got pretty excited. Kenshin had a god-like physique, needless to say he was above the top five guys. If they knew that Kenshin was also a very good cook and good at household chores, it would have been a torment for the men.

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In the grandstand booth, the Stars and the Supreme Magician watched this fight with some interest or not. They were curious and at the same time shocked that there was a magician of this caliber in this competition.

Sazaki Shun, the supreme magician and also the ruler of the magical society, was very curious about this boy. Kenshin piqued her interest after all.

He is a handsome man in his thirties with short, messy white hair. He wears glasses and has yellow eyes. A rather muscular body but not too much either, he was thin and he was 1m80.

"Surely an interesting person...I want all the information you have of this 'Zakiri Kenshin'. He must become our ally and this force could be of great use to us." he said calmly to his men.

The interior of the cabin consisted of a large circular table in the middle with all the "Stars" seated. Shun was placed in the center of everyone by being at the side of the table.

The Stars watched Kenshin with interest. Some wanted to fight him, others despised him in their heads.

"Ken-san is a really interesting person to be able to beat this pervert who was chasing Vanessa-chan so easily !" a young woman finally spoke first.

She is Nakami Yumi, one of the current stars. It is a Japanese beauty of 1m65 with straight black hair that went down to the middle of her back. She had amethyst-colored eyes with fair skin that contrasted very well. Her hips were neither very wide nor very thin but large enough that supported her rather thin stomach with a big enough bust exposing her chest neither too big nor too small, but perfect. Her nickname was known as "The Tigress".

She was curious about this new guy who came out of nowhere. He was quite handsome, she didn't deny it, but it wasn't appearance that mattered to her. Behind this appearance may very well hide a perverse, lewd or psychopathic man.

"Said Vanessa-chan, how do you find it

Ken-san ?" She asked with a tone of amusement.

Vanessa was also one of the stars. She is the most beautiful girl in the Kyoto district even if she was not from Japan. She has silver hair that runs down to her lower back. Her eyes were very clear red and piercing. Her skin was white with no tan. Her breasts were quite large with a thin stomach. Her legs are long and wide coupled with her 1m75, which gives a view to drool for lustful men or not.

Her nickname was known as "The Blood Queen".

"He's just another man with some skills, that's all." she said with a stoic expression. She was not a very social person and hated men with dark hearts. She could feel everyone's hearts and know a person's emotions through her eyes. Kenshin had piqued her interest slightly because she felt no lustful and perverse thoughts from him. He had a pure bloodstained heart with pain and sadness deep inside.

"Hmm...Vanessa-chan didn't look at a man in disgust for the first time ! He interested you, didn't he ? Come on, you could answer honestly you know..." Yumi teased her on this subject but seeing her silent, she dropped the case.

"Hmph, he's just a weakling with a few skills. Nothing amazing." a young man spoke.

Okami Jinbei, one of the ten stars and one of the most powerful today. He is a man in his early twenties, 1m78 tall with long red hair that goes down to his back. He is a very handsome young man who has an arrogant air with lustful eyes. He has a slim body with very well defined muscles.

His nickname was known as "Red Emperor".

He coveted all the beautiful girls in this neighborhood, especially Vanessa who was the best. She had paid him no attention and even looked at him in disgust. He was angry that a simple guy below him had managed to pique his interest.

'I swear I'll get you Vanessa! You will be on your knees in front of me having you as my personal toy! I'll kill this guy if he gets in my way.' Jinbei had dark thoughts on Kenshin, which was noticed by Vanessa who appeared to be indifferent.