Chapter 259 - Almost Late

"..."

"... wake up…" 

"Yo, boy, WAKE UP!!!" 

Trembling to the frequency of the booming voice, Oli was stirred awake. He rushed to his feet and blinked, startled to see King Zelsh standing in the doorway.

While two servants exited the room, Zelsh stepped inside to let them through. "What's wrong with you? You cultivate while you sleep?"

"Sometimes…" Oli nodded, having been caught in the act.

"That's great for you, but don't make us late!" shouted Zelsh, swinging his arm emphatically for Oli to follow him. "We've got no time because you missed your wake-up call. Now hurry up!"

Oli complied. He left his room with the king and was led to the nearby formation. There, Oli was surprised to see another familiar figure, that of the enormous Rot Wyrm. Beside the wyrm were two others, a human man looking to be in his late twenties and a large tiger with icy blue fur.

"Kraz, keep an eye on him. He's not to say a word to anyone or anything about his cultivation, affinities, or origin. Am I clear?"

Without batting an eye, the wyrm bowed his head. "Consider it done, Father."

"Good. Then let's go!"

Stomping his foot into the formation, A flood of black mist poured into the formation's lettering and geometry. And to Oli's surprise, that black mist was absorbed and replaced with purple, spacial energy, immediately consuming everyone on the formation.

As they reappeared elsewhere and Oli shook his body to regain his comfort, he was baffled to see himself in a vast, open courtyard.

"Line up!"

The moment King Zelsh shouted, Kraz and the others took action. 

"Line up behind me, Oliver." Kraz politely guided Oli, following after the tiger and human in their group. 

At the same time, Zelsh leaped into the air and landed on a raised platform. Joining four others, Zelsh chuckled lightly, "Sorry we're late… Did we miss anything?"

"No, but even a minute later and you would've needed to answer to the lord." The man who spoke had long black hair and well-trimmed scruff for a beard, wearing simple black and gray robes. His jovial tone got a laugh from the others and allowed Zelsh to sigh in relief. "Hmm… Two humans this time?"

"Yes."

"You previously reported a Tundra Tiger, a human man, a Mountain Grizzly, and a Rot Wyrm. But now the bear is missing, your son has been promoted in the line-up, and another human has joined in. What's that supposed to mean, that you dismissed the bear for someone weaker?" the man asked in a teasing, sarcastic tone.

"Of course not. I'm well within reason to bring on Oliver, the newest addition," answered Zelsh. "Master Uutrai, Oliver is someone that I'm sure will one day startle you and Lord Treeda more than anyone else in the prefecture qualifiers. For now, his cultivation is lower than everyone else here, but that will only prove how astounding he can be in the future."

"Oh… What confidence is this? I thought you were dead set on Kraz upsetting everyone?" Uutrai laughed heartily, placing a hand over his abdomen. "Then what about your son? Will he only claim second place?"

"You'll see eventually…" Zelsh shrugged and sighed, showing even more confidence than anyone could expect.

Below the platform, Oli was now in line behind Kraz and the others. He was trying to taking in as much information as possible while attempting to deduce what was about to happen. But there was one thing Oli just had to ask. "Kraz..."

"Yes?" Kraz responded quietly yet aloud with telepathy.

"King Zelsh is your father?"

"Yeah."

Getting such a casual response from the massive wyrm left Oli feeling both comfortable and uncomfortable. He wasn't sure how to feel about the scenario just yet but was making the most of it. "Then, he also uses earth and death essence?"

"Of course. As the leader of the Rot Wyrm Clan, my father is a shining example of blending essences in battle. And thanks to our natural affinity to death essence, that makes our clan feared among the entire prefecture, even by mid or high-kings," Kraz proudly boasted, attracting the gazes of other competitors. 

The two others in their line were more focused on Oli, shocked to hear that Oli didn't know something so basic despite being chosen for the day's tournament. 

To the sides of their line were other cultivators, two rows on the left and one on the right. Each line had four contestants and it seemed that humans weren't very prominent among them either. Two lines had one human while one line had none, showing the natural advantage that beasts boasted among the mortal class. 

Looking around and mostly ignoring the strange looks he was receiving, Oli asked Kraz, "So I'm the fourth human, yet everyone up there are humans. Or are those king beasts like your dad, using a human form?"

"That's right. Only one of the kings is naturally a human, the woman who's in charge of the region we're currently in," answered Kraz.

"And why exactly are we here?"

"No one told you?" Blinking in astonishment, Kraz chuckled and whispered, "Today there's a rival tournament between our prefecture and a neighboring prefecture."

"What?"

"Dad said it was just for the prefectures to show off before the mortal championship, but it will also give us some great experience."

"... What other prefecture are we facing?"

"I'm not sure." The giant wyrm shook his head. "Dad never told me that much."

"Great…" Oli rolled his shoulders to help him loosen up. With that much info, Olii immediately understood why he was getting strange looks from the other competitors and the kings above. That brought up another question in Oli's mind. "Then how strong are the other competitors here? They're not peak-elders, are they?"

"No, I don't think any are."

"Good."

"They should mostly range from early to mid-elder at the highest," Kraz continued, causing Oli to show a strange expression. "There's a chance that you and I are the only adepts here. That's what Dad said."