Chapter 60: First phase

BOOM! BOOM! Bunch of loud firecrackers goes off in the sky, creating a beautiful colour sequence.

The judges keeps on walking until the end of the carpet. There are three lavish floating chairs made specifically for them. The chairs can be controlled at will. Meaning, the one sitting on them can fly anywhere and easily observe every angle of the dome. The crowd's loud cheering isn't stopping.

A man wearing a full white coat comes on the platform. His face is well hidden behind a red crossed mask. He bows to the crowd and speaks "I shall explain the rules."

Just as the referee utters a word, a giant screen is projected in the middle dome. This same screen is being broadcasted to everyone who is watching the tournament. The screen focuses on the judges then to the referee. "The first phase of the tournament revolves around might and strength. In this phase 10 unfamiliar warriors would be selected to fight in a death cage. The one warrior who has both might and strength to defeat 9 other warriors would be able advance to the second phase. If somehow any warrior steps out of the death cage or admits defeat before the end. That warrior would be disqualified. Then, Lady Treypin. Please do the honours." The man lowers his head like a gentleman.

Malesia takes a short breath before singing out loud. "AJES MJFNA PFAM EFE FU...." She speaks in foreign tongue as nobody is able to understand what is she saying. But her sweet and angelic voice brightens up the mood in the dome. Even Karl feels his head feeling a bit lighter. He is observing the other judges, especially the Chief who closed his eyes and leaned back as if he went asleep.

Suddenly, the dome shakes as large roots emerges from the main platform. The strong roots broke the platform tiles as if they were made of clay. The roots slowly engulf into each other and creates a large wooden cage. In the cage there are many different insects, flowers and vines everywhere as the cage spans over then entire main platform. It looks like a miniature forest.

'When I heard a death cage, I thought there will be a steel cage which has been electrified from everywhere. Not this forest themed kids play area.' Karl sighs as Malesia stops singing.

"The first 10 warriors please come on the main platform as I call your participation code. No.2141, No. 6821, No. 23, No. 4351, No. 712, No. 353, No. 118521-"

Ian's eyes open wide as Karl's number gets called out. 'It can't be. I purposefully him registered this late. So, he can observe few matches and gain some insight.' He looks at Karl and sees him smiling creepily at the window.

Currently Karl's entire focus is on Chief. Just then, Chief opens his eyes and glance at Karl. "Leo-" Ian puts his shoulder on Karl's back. "Don't lose your focus. Remember why are we here."

Karl quickly turns away from the glass wall. "Thanks for reminding." He summons his talwar as he walks towards the elevator.

"Wait." Ian quickly opens the black suitcase on the sofa. Inside, there is an armour which looks identical to Karl's old armour. Along with two short swords.

"Did you repurchase it?" Karl asks.

"Yeah, with some upgrades." Karl takes the armour and wear it on top of his school uniform. The armour feels lighter and more durable than usual and the insignia of Phirsecot house shines on the belt which wasn't there earlier. Karl stretches and inhales mana which got quickly got circulated throughout his entire body. "What the-"

"It has enhanced mana circulation, high resistance to electricity, flame and Ice. It floats underwater too."

"Damn. It's like 100 times better then before."

"Glad you liked it."

Karl glances at the two short swords.

"I wanted you to use these but you found the perfect weapon for you at auction." Ian says it with a sad face.

Karl picks the blades, they seem weightless. There is the same insignia of Phirsecot house on their handles. "I take them. Just in case." Karl summons his magic circle and puts the blades in his storage.

"Yes, use them well." Ian smiles happily as Karl takes the blades.

"And lastly." Ian grabs Karl's hand and puts a ring on his finger.

"What! I-I like girls, dude. I can't accept this." Karl flusters as he immediately steps back and tries to remove the ring.

"What are you talking about? It's an artefact."

"Artefact?"

"Yes. An artefact made specifically to detect spies. It will signal you if any species other than human comes in your 10-meter radius."

"Are those vampires here?"

"Not sure. But wear it for your own safety."

"Sure." Karl keeps the ring and walks to the elevator. Once the elevator comes up, he steps inside.

"Go to the 24th floor and best of luck."

Karl smiles as he presses the button and the door closes. Th elevator is slowly going down. He takes a deep breath and cracks his knuckles.

TING! The door opens to a long empty corridor which leads to the main platform. Karl summons his blade and walks outside. The sound of crowd screaming overtakes his eardrums. The cage which looked quite small from the suite now looks huge. It easily over the centre of the platform which is 700 meters. Just as Karl is looking at the large forest, the referee walks up to him. "Name?"

"Leonard Avaritia. Participation code is 118521." 

"Stand in the line." The referee points to the other side of the platform.

Karl walks in that direction and just around corner he sees 2 other people standing in a line. Both are male. One has dark green hair and the other one has light brownish hair, their body from neck to toe is covered in brownish colour armour. Karl quickly notices that both of them has the insignia on their chestplate.

"Oi! You there! Is your name Leonard?" The taller one asks in a rude tone.

"Yes. I am."

The taller one quickly grabs the great sword from his back and swings it around as he walks towards Karl. Karl takes the stance and pumps mana into his legs.

"Mind your manners." The Chief warns as he floats above them. "I know how it is to be young. But please, mind yourself. You are being seen by the entire world."

Karl quickly looks up and sees himself on the big screen.

"Tch!" The taller kid clicks his tongue and puts the great sword on his back. The screen changes. Karl also puts his sword away.

The Chief slowly floats besides Karl. "Nice sword. Try not to lose early." He taunts. Karl ignores the Chief and stands in the line.

Few seconds later, the branches on the outer layer moves on their own, creating three pathways. "Choose one. As you step inside the cage, the fight begins." The referee explains.

The shorter kid walks up first and takes the middle path. The taller looks back at Karl and moves his hand around his own neck, gesturing that he would kill Karl. He chooses the right path. Now, it's Karl's turn. He walks onto the platform and takes the left path.

Suddenly, the branches move and closes the entrance behind Karl. He takes look around and sees multiple trees and vines extending from the ground, creating a natural barrier. He quickly climbs a nearby tree to scout the area. On top, he sees nothing but greenery.

'This place is bigger than I thought.' Karl stabs the talwar into the tree's trunk and holds the handle tightly. 'I should not move much. Afterall, my current objective is to survive.'

6 minutes past by just like that, nothing really happened besides the ground shaking a few times. Karl is looking ahead, like a predator waiting for it's prey to arrive. Sadly, he is not in a comfortable position. He slowly summons his circle to put the sword away. Then, he leans back. '

Huh?' His back touched something.

'Impossible! There should be nothing behind me.'

Karl pumps mana into his both legs. He slowly turns back and sees nothing but a wall made of branches and vines. 'This definitely wasn't here.'

RUSTLE! RUSTLE! The tree shakes, Karl quickly uses levitating steps and dashes away from the tree. From a distance, Karl sees giant vines coming up from the ground and enveloping everything around into them. It shortens overall area as the wall extends by few meters. 'What the fuck? It works exactly like a battle royal game.'

BOOM! Just as Karl is being fascinated by this magic, a fire arrow comes and explodes on his right arm.

"You missed." The taller kid from earlier scolds his companion.

"You guys have been targeting me for a long time. Did someone pay you?" Karl asks as he stands behind them.

The taller kid quickly swings his great sword at Karl. THUD!

"Let me guess. Susen hired you?"

"Stop running!" The taller kid yells meanwhile the smaller kid is aiming his bow around, trying to find Karl.

"Sure." Karl jumps from above and slashes his sword at the taller kid. He easily overwhelms the kid. The taller kid tries to swing his great sword at Karl but it is not faster than the talwar for obvious reasons. With a calm expression, Karl deflects all the attacks and pushes the taller kid back.

BOOM! Another fire arrow explodes, this time at his right shoulder. Karl quickly uses levitating steps to dash away.

"Brother! Are you okay?" The smaller kid quickly runs to help his brother.

"Don't touch me!" The taller kid pushes his small brother away. The small kid notices that his big brother's hands are still shaking from the impact.

Karl is standing on a tree which is few meters away from the twin brothers. He checks his right arm and shoulder, the armour covering that part has blackened out. Yet, he feels no pain whatsoever.

'Ian thanks for the armour.' He jumps down with a smirk.

The pair of twins are standing opposite to each other, their back touching each other. "You see something?"

"Not yet."

RUSTLE! Both of them quickly face the direction where the sound came from. It's just a broken branch that fell from above. "What th-"

"Brother! Watch out!"

Karl appears out of nowhere and pressure punches the taller kid into the ground. The small kid quickly shoots his bow, at this distance he could never miss.

BOOM! The arrow phases through Karl's head and hits a nearby tree.

"How did y-"

Karl doesn't waste any time and pierces the kid's stomach. The kid falls on the ground, wailing in pain. Karl quickly takes out the sword.

"AGHHH!" The taller is running at Karl with his hands high in the air.

THUD!

Karl uses pressure punch one more time and hits the taller kid in the face. The impact cracked the kid's jaw.

"You should have answered my question." Karl walks over the smaller kid and stomps his face.

"UGH!"

Then, he grabs his hand and cuts a finger of with the talwar. The small kid tries to scream but he couldn't open his mouth because Karl is standing his face. So, he just let out a muffled scream.

"Stoaph!" The taller kid pleads to stop in a weird voice.

"Answer my questions and I might let you leave."

Suddenly the ground shakes as the wall comes closer few more meters. Karl sees this phenomenon. "First! What was that?"

"Whenever a warrior gets kicked out of the cage. The walls from all direction extends to the centre, shortening the overall area."

Karl takes a mental note. "How many did you took out?"

"Twoh!" The kid shows his two fingers.

"And who hired you to target me? Was it the Chief?"

The taller kid goes silent with a complex expression on his face. Seeing the silence Karl immediately cuts on finger off.

"AUHHH! Plewse. Stup. Plewsw." The smaller kid starts to cry.

"I don't know what are you talking about! I swear it on my family's name." The taller kid gets on his knees. "Plewse. Let my brother go. We admit defeat."

Just then a vine emerges from the ground, it wraps itself around the smaller kid's waist and pulls it into the wooden branches. It happened so fast that Karl couldn't even react. He turns back and sees that the taller kid is missing too. 'Does this mean that I eliminated them?'

A spike of pain comes from his chest. The burning pain was so bad that Karl desperately tries to cover his chest. "Hah! Hah. Hah." He loudly gasps for air.

The increase in pain was too significant. 'At this rate I will die by heart attack before my internal organs fail on me.' Karl coughs as he gets up.

"You are going to die." He sees Leonard standing near a tree.

'I am not. Now get out of my head.' Blood drips from Karl's nose.

"You will die without ever completing your goal. Just like last time."

Karl sees the corpse of Zena laying in the grass. Suddenly, it moved. "You could have saved me."

"Shut up!" Karl yells.

"I have seen it. How you died in your past life without accomplishing anything." Karl pressure punches Leonard in the face. It wiped out an entire tree.

"Let me take over. At least, I can save my own loved ones." Leonard says as his hands wraps around Karl's neck. He tries to choke Karl. Surprisingly, Karl doesn't do anything to stop him.

THUD! He falls on the ground.

"Whether you like it or not. The more you use mana, the firmer my control becomes on your soul. Let me take over."

Karl quickly summons his sword and puts it on his own neck. "Take over? Sure. Take over my death body."

Leonard immediately stops.

"You know very well that I can do it. Now fuck off!"

Leonard stares in Karl's eyes before fading away. Everything calms down again. Karl's head hurts as he stands up.

"I know you are here. Show yourself." A figure reveals itself from nearby bushes. It is a male with full dark brown beard and hair. He stands at 6.6 ft tall, easily towering over Karl.

"Who knew that my last opponent would be a drugged kid?"

Karl sees the man's hands and notices black bloody gauntlets which looks similar to Zena's gauntlets.

"Now, you are the obstacle standing before my victory." The man says as he takes a stance. Karl doesn't move and observes him.

"Be honoured. You will be facing my family's special technique." The lad punches in the air and stone fist fires from the ground at Karl. The stone fist phases through Karl's body. The man punches again.

CRACK!

Another fist appears from behind and collides with the first fist.

BOOM!

Lastly, the man claps his hands together which creates two stone walls on both sides. Those walls crash into Karl.

'So, the special technique was a combo? Joselina's attack was much durable and faster than this.'

Unfazed, Karl just simply walks through the rubble. The man is visibly shaken after seeing his opponent coming out of his special technique unscathed.

"WHAT MAGIC DID YOU USE?" The man yells. Karl doesn't answer and uses levitating steps to get close to the man. Once close enough, Karl uses pressure punch.

Unexpectedly, the man blocks pressure punch. He is still blown back few meters. A big crack could be seen on his gantlets.

Karl doesn't stop here and swings his sword at the man. The man deflects each of Karl's attack. This continues with for few seconds. Slowly, the man is understanding Karl's pattern and he creates an opportunity. Suddenly, a small rock emerges just below Karl's foot. This misbalances Karl, taking this chance the man punches Karl's chest. The man goes for another punch but Karl quickly uses levitating steps and creates some distance.

He spits blood on the ground.

The man doesn't even give Karl any breathing room and runs towards him. He knows that he has the upper hand in close combat. This time, the man throws a series of aggressive punches at Karl. All of them get blocked by Karl but he notices Karl's struggling expression.

'Just a bit more.'

The man pushes himself forward. All of the sudden, Karl breaks the flow and performs an upper strike. The man celebrates joyously. 'If I successfully block this then victory shall be mine.' He uses both of his hands to block the strike.

Just as the blade is about to make contact with the gauntlets, Karl pumps mana into the sword. It glows purple. The blade phases through the gantlets and wounds the man's chest.

SWOOSH!

A lot of blood comes out of the man's wound as he falls to the ground. "You were strong. Stronger than the kids I fought earlier. Unfortunately, I was your match."

Karl puts his sword away as few vines drags the man's body out.

After few seconds, the roof opens up and the walls dissipates into the ground as Karl finds himself standing on the platform. Crowd is cheering very loudly. He sees himself on the big screen.

"The winner of the first phase, round one is Leonard Avaritia!"