A New Light

Chapter 23

Key took me by the hand, quickly guiding me in the direction of the Colosseum while not even turning her head to see how well her group was keeping up. I had hesitantly asked about how they were, but she answered with, They're boys, if they can't keep up, they won't get anywhere in life. With that phrase from her, I let the issue drop and let her pull me along.

The first thing that hit me when we arrived was a endless line. They were mostly of young adults in the range of their 20's along with a few that were 18 or 19. All of the "children" from different academies were all in their own groups that could be distinguished by their uniforms. Also, keep in mind I am not trying to look down on them, but our academy's uniform design, material, and students seemed to have an aura of higher class. I didn't notice before, because it came across as normal to me, but compared to others Key and the others were extraordinarily attractive.

We got into line to sign up like normal, but I felt that this group of outstanding people was attracting many gazes. Though I suppose that action is understandable, I was feeling a bit left out. While I was making myself feel downcast, Ashton had  lightlypushed me into the middle of the group with Key while all the boys were surrounding us. The formation seemed a bit strange to me, but I didn't question it.

The entire waiting-in-line action actually passed by rather quickly when compared to my past life. During that time if we wanted to have a meal we had to wait at least four hours, along with having satisfactory effort in the 13 hours of labor that day. If did not pass, they might not give you food, or even punish you for even trying to ask for a meal.

While I was zoning out, Key had already registered the group and was handing out the papers with our participant number. As I was studying the flimsy sheet of paper with doubtful eyes, Bane stepped forward to explain. "These numbers are just temporary for the beginning match where they do the major cut down on the participants to make it a more manageable number. When you make it past, they give you a more durable metal badge that will have your new number on it."

Nodding along to everything he was saying, I watch as he points out all the areas he though I should know. After listening to his very informative speech I ask all of them, "How often do you come participate here?"

There wasn't even a pause when everyone -even Grey- said in unison, " Every year."

Tilting my head a bit I confirm with them, "Every year?"

Bane was the one who took the initiative to explain. With a deep breath he began to talk, " It is part of our major grade as elite students to take part in this training camp and tournament. As long as we beat the other academies when facing them, and placing in the top 50, then we can continue to have and use our privileges as special students. This is one of the activities all eight of us must do in order to stay in this group. However, if we place higher in the ranking as top 20 or top 10, then we will receive bonus points that will be added to our cards."

He continues to explain to me all of these rules and activities that I had never heard of before, all while making sure I didn't get lost in the crowd when trying to get back to the Inn. The rest of the night was a rush. Quickly eat, bathe, get ready for bed, and then have a long night rest in preparation for the beginning match.

~•~

The entire stadium was a mess as everyone was trying the find an area to sit down to be able to study their future opponents. Us on the other hand, we already in the center of the seating area and a few rows away from the very front. While the stage of the Colosseum was still empty I really surveyed the layout of the arena. The outside wall and the name of this stadium had gotten me expecting the Roman Colosseum, but it was just a fighting stadium with beige marble that decorated the walls, floor, and outlined the seats. It was a bit disappointing, but this stadium was probably more efficient the Roman Colosseum.

In the stage area below us, there were nine arenas, and in the very center of the stage was the announcer and the nine referees. These people weren't patient at all. Not even half of the people had gotten a seat when he started speaking.

"Come down to the proper arena when called for. The winner is decided when the opponent cannot fight, or surrenders. If an opponent does not show up within 5 minutes, it is as automatic surrender, and the opponent who showed up wins. Try not to kill your opponents, as you may receive a minor punishment depending on the situation. #1 and #28, come down to Arena 1..."

I zoned out a bit, as our numbers were in the thousands. That is, I was dazed until loud impact sounded. Searching for where it came from, my eyes landed on Arena 6. The man on the area floor was only an inch into the ground, but he looked to be in a lot of pain. The man standing up had a faint glow on his right palm and seemed to be proud of his attack. It being that I'm not too knowledgeable on these things I look at around, only to see Ciel at my right. As I wasn't too familiar with him, it felt strange to start asking him questions out of nowhere.

Ciel had probably noticed my heavy staring at him and turned my direction. He didn't even ask why I was staring and pointed at the arena. " That was the beginning attack technique of the Five Fire Palm Attack. It's a decent technique at most, but it's easy for beginners to learn."

Nodding, I come to a dull realization, You can use techniques during the tournament! This is going to be fun. Thinking back to all the manuals I had learnt from, I had learnt way more techniques than I needed. Such as the Empress' Pearl, a technique that helps you gather mana strands by itself. Or Dance Steps, a technique that makes you extremely fast, the last stage of it should allow you to teleport, but I haven't gotten there yet. As I kept sifting through all the uses of what I had learned I had been called.

"#908 and #1043, Arena 5."