Chapter 15: Let the Tournament Begin!

When the starting bell rang, everyone dispersed into groups. Teaming was never addressed in the rules after all. Anything goes once you're in the arena. The death course stood there menacingly, nobody dared to approach it, and nobody was stupid enough to try. When the participants did the registration process, they all agreed to enter the death course at their own discretion. In all of the years it had been up, nobody had so much as attempted it, so they kept it up for aesthetic. But suddenly, one person began to approach the death course. A short-looking boy, most of his skin was covered, his face, his hair, his arms, almost everything. He entered the enclosed tube of the death course, designed so the crowd doesn't see or hear the gruesome death of the participant. He casually walked in, without a care in the world.

"What an idiot! Everyone knows it's a death wish entering there! Even if you get free entry into the next round, it's still not worth the risk!" Laughed one participant. He was tall, with orange hair, and wore his clothes like a delinquent. He had notched his eyebrows, and he had some piercings on his face.

"Well anyways, you sorry ass punks! Hurry up and give me your coins! I didn't sign you bitches up to stand there!" Yelled the man at the people in his group. 3 scared looking smaller men handed the man their coins, meaning that he now had 4 coins, enough to pass.

"Alright then! I'm gonna be the first to finish! That means I get that sweet bonus reward!" He laughed hysterically. As he went to bank his coins, someone passed him and made it to the bank before him. The masked man who was just thought to have died was standing there unscathed banking the 1 Dol coin from the death course.

"We have our first winner!" The announcer proclaimed.

"The fuck?! How the hell'd you survive, you piece of shit! I was supposed to be first!" Yelled the delinquent, clenching his fist. The crowd went wild. This was the first time someone had attempted and survived the death course. After this stunt, the executive committee of Ranger Academy decided to get rid of it, in case that action inspired others to enter.

"Sir, you have an extra coin from the death course. Please throw it at someone still in the arena." Said the announcer to the masked man, who did indeed have an extra coin. He looked around at everyone in the game. His gaze stopped at a certain point, wound up his arm, and yelled.

"You with the white hair. Catch!" Rein caught the coin, bewildered. Why did this guy give him his coin? But that was the least of his worries; everyone's attention was now fixated on him, the one who just got a free coin.

"Hey! Those two fuckers were in on it together! Everyone target the white-haired guy!" One of the participants yelled.

"A second participant has qualified!" The announcer once again proclaimed for the furious delinquent man.

A wave of people raced towards Rein, leaving him with little room to react. He began running away, devising a plan to take all of these people at once. He stopped running and turned around, holding one of the coins in his hand. He flicked the coin up, catching the attention of the crowd for only a split second, but it was enough. Rein ran towards the crowd and lodged a punch into one of their faces, aggravating the rest of them. He continued battling the crowd, dodging incoming attacks from behind and dishing out his own.

Through his intense training in the forest, he grew to be very adept at fighting large groups of enemies. At least 10 people were on him, meaning that 3 people could qualify if all their coins were stolen. After further punches, kicks, and dodges, Rein's legs suddenly felt incredibly slow, and he stood there dodging, unable to move his legs. Some among the crowd had Springs, yet Rein persevered, using his battle sense to avoid danger without using his System.

After a hard-fought battle, Rein's legs were freed, and he had incapacitated all of the people after him. As he was going to collect the coins, a new foe appeared. He wore a long, brown coat with blue pants. He had long, black hair and orange eyes, with an x shaped scar on his cheek.

"Impressive… You managed to neutralize a large group of people without the use of a Spring. What is your name?" Asked the man.

"It's rude to ask for other's names before stating your own." Rein retorted.

"My bad. My name is Clyde. I'm a swordsman who hails from eastern Orthlys." Proclaimed the long-haired man.

"The name's Rein. I'm… Also from Orthlys. So, what'd you want?" He asked, standing straight from kneeling down to pick up coins.

"I want to challenge you to a duel, the winner gets these coins. How does that sound?" Proposed Clyde, assuming an unarmed fighting stance.

"Well, if you're gonna fight me for them either way, I don't really have much of a choice," Rein responded by assuming a fighting stance of his own. They both stood there, patiently waiting, studying each other's stances.

"And we have a third qualifier!" When they heard that, they both rushed at each other, engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat. They were both almost evenly matched, with neither of them landing a clean blow. This continued for a while until they dispersed.

"Hehe, you're pretty good at unarmed fighting for a swordsman." Said Rein, not tired at all.

"You're a swordsman as well aren't you? Dual swords perhaps?" Deduced Clyde, which slightly surprised Rein.

"Oh? You could tell just by fighting me? Well, color me impressed." Rein loosened his shoulders, and cracked his knuckles, getting ready to go all out.

"Get ready Clyde, I'm not gonna hold back anymore." He ran full speed, landing a direct hit on Clyde. Rein was now dominating the fight, batting Clyde like a ragdoll, punching and kicking him until he was satisfied. After a severe beating, Rein held Clyde by the hair.

"I guess I win then. I'll be collecting my coins now." Suddenly, a fist flew into Rein's face, so fast that he had no time to react. Clyde followed with multiple other barrages, and no matter what Rein did, he was unable to block the attacks. Somehow, Rein was able to break free of the barrage, moderately damaged as he was protected by his high defense stat.

"I assume that was your Spring. Interesting." Said Rein, spitting the little bit of blood out of his mouth. He glanced over at his health, he lost 50 points out of 1350.

"I suggest you reveal your own ability now. It's impossible to defeat me without using one. Anything you do, I see in slow motion…"