Time passed and introductions ended after all the teams appeared on the ground while holding their respective banners.
From the start of the opening ceremony to the end of the introductions, two hours went by in a flash.
…
VVIP Area.
"Which team do you think has the best chance to make it to the next stage?" (Ryul)
Ashtel smirked at Ryul's words and replied:
"Hmph, do you even need to ask?" (Ashtel)
Ashtel's eyes directly fell on his son who was holding the banner and a look of pride appeared on his face.
"Of course, Team Astra has the best chance…" (Ashtel)
"Cough, I mean beside them, I wasn't including them…" (Ryul)
"You should have properly explained then… hmm, besides them… I would have said that the elven team might have the best chance earlier… but now that I have seen all these candidates… it's different…" (Ashtel)
Ashtel's eyes narrowed for a moment and then said in a doubtful tone:
"Hmm? The rank of all the candidates of this year is quite high for some reason…" (Ashtel)
"So it might not be so easy to distinguish between them without actually seeing them fight…" (Ashtel)
Ashtel's doubt was indeed reasonable.
In the previous tournaments, the rank of most of the candidates remained around 'C+' to 'B+', rarely ever A rankers appear in this competition as most of them were just young students who had awakened for only one and a half years now.
But things are different in this tournament from the previous ones.
There's no candidate who is below rank B, the talent pool for this tournament is from 'B-' to 'A' rank.
This means the overall talent of the whole younger generation has improved in the past decade.
'Is this also the result of the increase in mana density during the last decade?' (Ashtel)
Thinking about this, Ashtel remembered that the first SS-rankers appeared only after the mana became denser during the previous mana wave.
'Could it be that more SS-rankers will be born in the future due to the rapid increase in mana density?' (Ashtel)
This thought alone caused a lot of worry to Ashtel.
Everyone knows that the beings who reach rank SS are very strong and the reason why the alliance puts so many restrictions on them is to keep all SS-rankers in check.
But if the number of SS-rankers increases, managing them all and keeping track of them will become extremely difficult.
Usually, most SS-rankers are sensible and mature people, they have a soft spot for their hometown thus they don't do anything to harm the planet.
Thus the general populace usually lives in peace as no SS-rankers disturb the mortal world without any proper reason.
But if too many SS-rankers appear then some immature people may also appear.
And if they tried to harm the planet, it would cause massive casualties and major trouble for all races.
Worst case scenario, if some criminal ascended to rank SS then massive tragedies will likely happen.
'This mana wave… I have a feeling that things are going to become chaotic in the near future…' (Ashtel)
A peak SS-rankers intuition is no joke, their perception never betrays them most of the time.
As the holders of 'World authority' their perception gets enhanced by the 'laws' of this world, thus they often can predict threats that may create major troubles for them.
(This phenomenon depends purely on luck and is very random… it's not a proper 'foresight', but a mere speck of it…)
The Ashtel's eyes fell on Link again.
'Perhaps the reason why I have been training him for so long is because I subconsciously knew that things would become chaotic in the future… I wonder if he will able to manage the situation in the future…' (Ashtel)
Ashtel has always been strict with Link because he wanted him to grow up into someone who could surpass him one day.
His intuition has subtly told him, that Link has the potential to surpass him one day and pioneer a new path for the human race, that's why Ashtel must help Link out as much as possible.
The suggestion of making this tournament into a public event also came from Ashtel himself.
He wanted Link to establish a reputation for himself early on.
Others currently refer to Link as 'The Son of the strongest man' but Ashtel doesn't want Link to always live in his shadow.
Instead, he would be happy if he gets overshadowed by Link's brilliance in the future.
'With this tournament, I guess Link will be able to gather a decent amount of reputation for himself… at that point, it would be much easier to handle the situations in the world once his reputation is high enough…' (Ashtel)
Personal strength is indeed the most important, but you can't do everything alone either, eventually, you will need allies too.
But to make stronger allies you need a reputation to match those strong allies, without that reputation you will never be able to keep your grasp on the world.
As someone who has worked his way up to the peak from the bottom levels, Ashtel knows the importance of reputation and strength the most.
(Fun Fact: All the wealth that the Rex family holds today, has been created by Ashtel himself. Before he ascended to power, the Rex family was on the verge of bankruptcy…)
…
Ryul shook his head and said:
"Your evaluations are so strict, now I know why your son was able to grow up so fast, your standards are just too high…" (Ryul)
Ryul figured out that Ashtel wasn't too optimistic about the Elf team as other candidates were also showing excellent aura.
Ashtel nodded his head at Ryul's words and said:
"Well, if the students under are too talented, your standards get higher and higher… my opinions on the teams might indeed be considered flawed…" (Ashtel)
Gradba who had been listening until now while sitting on the seat right behind the two finally spoke:
"Hmm, in my opinion, the team sent by the Beast folk has a promising leader, they might not be too far off your team level Elf King…" (Gradba)
While Saying that Gradba glanced at Miki who was standing with a proud expression on her face among her fellow teammates.
Her presence was overshadowing the nearby teams easily.
Listening to those words, the representative of the beast folk shook his head and replied to Gradba in a calm tone:
"In our team, only the leader is strong rest are average, but I think your team has a higher chance as nearly all of them are at the same level…"
"Being at the same level improves coordination after all…"
Ryul tilted his head in doubt and said:
"Sigh, all of them are such talented children, I think aside from my daughter, others might not be able to contend for long with them…" (Ryul)
A heated discussion started between all of the SS-rankers, But none of them praised their own teams, they were praising and pointing out the feats of other teams instead of talking about their own.
This is obviously a friendly gesture to show respect for the dedication and efforts put in by everyone.
Each one of them has gone through their fair share of battles and difficulties before achieving their current levels.
Thus, all SS-rankers have a tacit understanding between them, none of them belittles each other and none of them creates infamy for the other party as they all know, that each SS-
ranker holds the sentiment of their respective race.
Jin, who has just recently become an SS-ranker was quite astonished after seeing all these SS-rankers being so respectful towards each other.
'D*mn, the difference in the thinking process of the people at the peak of the world and those who are below rank SS is really huge…' (Jin)
Jin has been an S-ranker for a long time, and he has fought hundreds of thousands of battles over the years, he knows just how dark the hearts of the people can get when in battle.
Seeing the strongest being in this world being so humble and respectful was indeed a shocking sight for him.
Jin can feel it from his intuition that none of them were putting up a façade either, they were genuinely appreciating each other's teams as if it was their own.
(Fun Fact: Except when in battle with someone of equal strength, SS rankers barely ever use underhanded tactics as it's near impossible for someone of lower rank to defeat them…)
'Comparing the thoughts of the people at the lower levels to them feels like comparing sh*t with pure water… today is really an eye-opener for me…' (Jin)
That day, Jin's mentality matured quite fast after being in the presence of so many SS-rankers.
Perhaps today's events may affect his future decisions greatly.
As they say: 'If you stay with excellent people long enough, some of their excellence eventually rubs off your face too…' (Source: Trust me bro…)
…
…
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here!
It seems when you ascend to rank SS, 'mentality' and 'ambitions' might play a major role in it, perhaps being an SS-
ranker itself is a 'mentality'…
Question of the day.
What could be the reason for SS-rankers being so humble?
They have seen the world's true colors, they have seen through the facade of 'Evil' The experiences they gathered from their path to ascension, made them humble as they understood how precious 'life' itself is… Others (Tell me in the comments.)
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.