『Semi-Annual Faction Recruitment Tournament (Part 1)』

"The Soulsphere leads to here..."

"Come! Come! If you buy three, you will receive one free! You can give this incredible present to your loved ones for as little as 700 Zeals!" A shop vendor announced.

"It seems these kinds of marketing exist in every world huh...?"

As he walked towards his destination—life in this universe wasn't that much different from his own, he thought. He realizes that even if this was a world where death could exist at every corner—people continue living their lives, for a better tomorrow.

Oddly enough, on his way to the arena, multiple women had given him odd looks—though he didn't mind, he was still curious what that was all about.

"Ara, young boy, are you going into the tournament as well?" A middle-aged lady asked.

"Hmm? Ah, that's right. Was there anything you wanted?"

"To be blunt..." The woman had a troubled look on her face.

They were just outside the arena, where all competitions would be held tonight. The second night of the Crystallite Soul Reunion consists mainly of tournaments for the masses and the recruitment of new blood into the factions of Avery. First, it was a male-only competition—though barely anyone watches it aside to mock the competitors.

"...Go beat up my husband."

"Eh...?"

"He is such a useless man! He just lazes around at home all day and doesn't even clean the house after I arrive home from work! The audacity of men these days-..."

The woman kept on rambling. As soon as Naoki saw the opportunity, he immediately fled and went inside—greeted by a familiar person.

"Pfft! Hahaha! You're surprisingly tactful." She mockingly laughed.

"Well, thank you very much!" An annoyed wry smile formed on his face.

Astria had registered Naoki in the tournament, which is why they separated earlier. It seems that men cannot join unless a woman vouches for them.

"Still... I keep forgetting what kind of world this is." Naoki sighed.

"You'll get used to it. It's tough for us women too."

She referred to her being concealed. Astria's cloak helps her hide her identity and makes her unrecognizable to the general public. It does not work for people with a much higher cultivation than hers—though they know better than to make a fuss.

"Here, your match will start soon." Astria softly smiled.

"This is...?"

"A Cultivator ID, you'll need it going forward."

Apparently, there was an organization in Zenia that helps control and identify cultivators. If one was planning to take cultivation seriously and become included in the Soul Chart, one must get a Cultivation ID. He was further debriefed on its uses as they proceeded onward.

<<----------->>

"We move on to the seventh round of the first stage! We have YouYuu-Kun vs. Naoki Ozawa-kun!" The female caster announced.

Despite the almost non-existent audience, the female caster seemingly was full of energy—truly a professional. She seemed to have used some sort of artifact that made her voice loud and clear.

"A kid...?"

"Make mama proud Yuu-chan!"

"Umm..." The boy timidly charged at Naoki

*thump*

"Gah!"

The boy hit Naoki—but on the contrary, the boy was pushed back and fell to the ground.

"Weak-!" Naoki thought, in utter disbelief at what he just saw.

Naoki didn't even intend to think of it mockingly—it was just indeed pathetically weak. The boy had seemingly bounced back from the recoil.

"Ah... Winner! Naoki Ozawa-Kun!"

"...Ehhhh?"

Suffice it to say, the following matches were somewhat similar. He was a fool to even prepare for this, he thought.

<<----------->>

"Eh-Ah... Then! We move on to the Grand Finals! We have Naoki Ozawa-kun vs The Lazy Jonas!"

"Beat him to a pulp!" The woman from earlier screamed.

"Brat... you should surrender now! Didn't you know? I've already unlocked my second soul node! You have no chance in hell!" Jonas exclaimed, charging forward.

"..."

The man swung his sword down with all his might at Naoki. It was so predictable that even children could dodge it if they could remain calm.

*Clink*

His sword hit the ground.

"Sorry."

"Eh?"

Naoki punched him in the gut.

"No... way." The man fell to the ground.

Naoki did not even use his Dedicated Soul Node. He had just used 2 of his soul nodes to knock the person down.

"Winner... Naoki Ozawa." The caster had lost all her energy.

"Serves you right! you useless of a husband!"

"..."

<<----------->>

"Congrats, now, let's get you registered in the main event."

"...You knew? Didn't you?"

"Whatever could you mean?" She playfully smiled.

Naoki was not even satisfied with winning. It was so unfulfilling that he was more saddened at the fact that he had overprepared for this.

He had gone to claim his prize—which was to his dismay—a Pure Soul Fragment of a Furball.

"Aren't you happy? Isn't it your favorite monster?" Astria tried her best to hide her laugh.

"I'm gonna repay this tenfold later..." Naoki swore to himself.

<<----------->>

"Finally... the 2nd soul node of [Blitz]." He thought.

It seemed like the fight from earlier had dispirited Naoki—to the point that he couldn't even muster his usual excitement when he became stronger. After all, the Pure Soul Fragment had totally opened the 2nd soul node of [Blitz]—which had previously been half unlocked from his... excursion. The pure soul fragment seemingly does not have any Soul Skill—to which he was also disappointed.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Semi-Annual Faction Recruitment Tournament! Various competitors in and out of Avery have come to battle and spectate."

"First off! As I'm sure you already know, we are joined by the five Faction Leaders of Avery—which includes the leader of the Scarlet Shades—also known as our own beloved Lord of Avery, Alexandra Madelaine von Avery.

*Cheer* *Applause*

"All hail lord Alexandra!"

"The faction leaders are all beautiful!!" One fervent fan shouted.

"Without further ado, let's get on to the first match! We have the winner of the male-only competition Naoki Ozawa-kun vs The aspiring Ice swordsman Marie!"

*Chatter* *Chatter*

The crowd murmured, it seems they have already predicted Naoki had lost—after all, it has always been like that for decades.

"...so that's the one huh? Hehe, I hope you make me proud." A woman looked at Naoki, anticipating his match.

"..." Naoki patiently waited.

"Hey! Why don't you surrender? I don't want to hurt a guy as much as possible." Naoki's opponent said.

"I could say the same." Naoki grinned

"You-! I hope you don't regret this!" She summoned shards of Ice around her.

"Heh, Finally!" Naoki flared up.

The match has begun, It was unsure which one would win. Finally, things are getting exciting, Naoki thought. He can now see how much he has gotten stronger—or if he was still lacking.