As usual, the students cheered in excitement. A battle royale meant that they would get to see a lot of students in action, and not just two.
"Okay! Participants, step on the teleportation array!" the announcer exclaimed.
At first, there was confusion among the students in the room. After all, the announcer wasn't telling them to pick one of their teammates who would represent them, and some of them had already decided who to pick before.
Putting their confusion aside for now, all the remaining participants in the room, including Ron, Arin, and Tessa, began walking towards the teleportation array.
One by one, they began disappearing from the room and appearing on the battlefield.
A few seconds later, all of them were now on the wide platform. The platform was wide to the extent that even though all of them were present, there was still a large space on the platform.
The students were shouting the name of their academies and the names of the participants representing their academy while swinging their flags that had the insignia of their academy around.
"I can see that some of you are confused!" the announcer said. "But don't worry, the rules will be explained!"
At this point, most of the participants on the platform had already realized what was going on.
In this third and last stage, which was a battle royale, all of them would partake in it, except those who lost in the former stages and had been disqualified.
Though this was just a theory and had not been confirmed by the announcer, if that was really the case, then that meant that an academy that lost in both the first and second stages would only have two participants to fight for them in the battle royale, while those who won in the first and second stages would still have four participants complete, who would fight for the academy in this last stage.
At this point, those who either lost in the first and second stages, or lost in only one of the two stages, were quite worried. After all, those who hadn't lost at all would be at an advantage due to being complete.
"Okay! Before anything, grab your choice of weapon from that handsome man currently approaching you all!"
They took the instruction and began collecting their choice of weapon from the man who was holding a big bag.
Arin picked up a sword, and Tessa also did the same. Ron picked up a spear and joined them.
"Hey, Arin," Tessa said, nudging him on the shoulder.
Arin instantly turned to look at her and was met with her smiling face.
"Let's do our best," she muttered, her smile still present.
'Her smile still has that effect, huh?' Arin thought.
"Yes, we must win this," Arin said, smiling back.
The participants that were teammates each stood at their own side of the platform. Nobody wanted to be close to an enemy.
After picking up their weapons and giving themselves social distancing as if a kind of virus was present, the announcer finally spoke.
"Yes, yes! There are only three rules!" he began. "Rule number one, the time limit is fifteen minutes."
"Rule number two, if your back hits the ground, then that means you've been eliminated! There will be no such thing as surrendering in this round!"
The students all shouted in response. Some were happy about it, while some were against it because it could be dangerous.
"What does that mean?" the announcer continued. "It means that you have to avoid critical hits. If not..."
He didn't finish the statement and instead let the students interpret it however they wanted to.
"Is the king trying to kill them or something?" Hector muttered under his breath as he held Lina's hand tightly, trying to reassure her. After all, she was worried about her twin brother.
'Well, this is going to be interesting,' Alex thought as he relaxed on his chair.
Suddenly, he clenched his chest as he gritted his teeth.
'I have delayed for too long...' he thought as he furrowed his brows. 'It's time to look for the next target.'
Back on the battlefield, the students listened to the announcer, and when they heard that they couldn't surrender, some of them who felt like they weren't strong enough became scared.
But at the same time, it increased their will to fight with all their strength.
They had to win no matter what.
"Rule number three!" the announcer continued. "The last person standing will be the winner, meaning that the academy he or she is representing will be the winner of this tournament!"
"If it's two or more people standing and they are from the same academy, it's the same thing. That academy has won!"
The students cheered again, waiting for the battle royale to finally begin.
"Oh, and before I forget," the announcer suddenly said, drawing their attention toward him again.
"Rule number four..."
The students were just about to cheer, ready to hear the next rule, but then...
The next instant, some of the participants in the battlefield lunged at each other as if they were already expecting the announcer to start the battle.
The sound of weapons clashing and spells being activated instantly filled the arena.
Ron, Arin, and Tessa looked at each other and nodded.
In total, there were about 45 participants currently on the battlefield.
Ron quickly faced the left side, Arin faced the enemies in front of him, and Tessa faced the right side.
This was the strategy they would use, and because they were standing close to the edge of the platform, it would increase the chances of the strategy working because there was a low chance that they would be attacked from behind.
A female warrior suddenly dashed toward Arin, her large sword gripped tightly in her right hand.
She roared as she launched into the air, sword raised high and crashing down with raw force.
"Wrong move," Arin muttered.
He sidestepped to the right, narrowly avoiding the massive blade. But before he could counterattack, a shockwave of energy exploded from the sword's impact.
Reacting instantly, Arin summoned a shimmering water bubble around himself.
The energy wave slammed into the water bubble, rippling its surface before being repelled. But the girl was already charging again, relentless.
She leaped once more, her blade poised. This time, she aimed to pierce the bubble and strike Arin in one deadly blow.
Just as her sword was about to connect, Arin deactivated the water bubble. Her weapon sliced through nothing but air.
The sudden loss of resistance threw her off balance. She crashed into the ground, her sword slamming into the floor as she stumbled forward.
Arin didn't waste a second.
He swept his sword in a sharp arc, sending a water slash towards her.
At the same moment, he suddenly felt something—someone was coming from behind.
The girl quickly recovered, her stance regaining composure, and then—
She slashed rapidly, her blade a blur as she deflected the main water slash and the two smaller arcs that followed, sparks dancing from each impact.
Meanwhile, Arin spun to face his second attacker.
"Sneaky bastard," he muttered.
A boy rushed him, a heavy gauntlet on his right hand, its surface coated in jagged, rock-like armor.
The boy lunged, thrusting his fist straight at Arin's face.
Without hesitation, Arin formed a water shield over his left arm and raised it just in time.
The gauntlet connected—but Arin didn't even flinch. His physical capabilities were just on another level.
The boy's eyes widened in disbelief. Arin hadn't even taken a step back.
Before the boy could retreat, Arin's right leg flashed forward like lightning.
His kick landed cleanly against the boy's ribs, sending him flying across the platform like a broken puppet.
Arin didn't even bother to look if the boy landed on his back, after all, his battle wasn't over.
He spun around and conjured a water wall just in time.
An invisible force smashed into the water wall, shattering it on impact—but it had done its job.
The female warrior clenched her teeth as she launched herself at Arin, even faster than before.
"Just go down already!"
Arin's eyes lit up. Gripping his sword, he locked eyes with her.
He grinned and rushed toward her with immense speed.
With a flick of his fingers, water balls and water spikes materialized behind him, aimed at the girl.
They surged toward the girl in a flurry, but she didn't hesitate.
Her body flickered like a mirage, blurring through the air. She twisted and dodged, parrying with precise slashes.
Booming sounds rang out as the attacks she dodged collided with the floor. Yet she kept moving, a blur in a zigzag path.
But by then—Airn had already closed the distance.