293 Ring name

The contestants taking part in the inter military tournament were taken to the arena ahead of time. This was because the participants would be going through some additional checks that the other students didn't need to do. The other reason was so they could be informed of each event's rules and clarify how each event would work.

After all, not all events would be as simple as a knockout tournament.

They were all taken on a separate train that was heading to the arena. A participant only train. Each carriage was separated into each military base full of the second year and the first-year students. Although some of the second-year students had been through this before, there was still excitement that could be felt through the air, it was an event that only happened once a year.

In a way, this was their chance to show their skills to potential factions as well as get a head start if they were to join the military in terms of ranks. Perhaps even find a mentor to train them. Giving them a headstart over others.

Inside the second carriage were all the second military base participants, and sitting at the front seat with two guards by his side was Peter.

The second-year students were also towards the back of the carriage and could see what was happening at the front.

"Hey, did you see that first year?" A student asked.

"Yeah, the guards haven't left his side. Do you think he might be that much of a threat that they need to keep an eye on him all the time? I heard some crazy first years tried going against us this year." Another replied.

One of the second year students was looking for that exact student the others were talking about...Momo. Ever since the incident with Vorden in the assembly hall, he had decided to keep his involvement on the down-low. For some reason, during his fight with Vorden, even though he had the upper hand against him, he had to go all out, even using his soul weapon. Something was telling him there was still a chance he could have lost that fight.

During that fight, some frightening things happened. One of them being Vorden cutting off his arm. When thinking back to the battle, Momo thought if he would have ever been able to decide that, and even if he did, whether or not he could have gone through with it.

There was something wrong with the first-year students that just didn't fit right. Momo wasn't participating in the fighting tournament but was looking forward to seeing the full strength of Vorden. However, when he didn't spot him on the train, he was incredibly disappointed and instead saw Peter taking his place. The student they had bullied and forced to go against Vorden.

"Just what are you planning on doing, Duke?" Momo mumbled to himself. He had a feeling that most likely, Duke was behind this whole matter.

The room was filled with different beast equipment, target tools, gaming equipment, and all sorts. This was a place that allowed the participants to use their abilities freely before they were to participate in their events.

"As you can see, several rooms are leading to this one, the entrance which you have entered form is now locked, and only military personnel who are authorized will be able to pass through." A soldier holding a tablet and containing a scanner over his eye explained.

"You are free to use this room however you wish before the event. The big day starts tomorrow, so you will have plenty of time to practice. To your right, through the doors, are your sleeping quarters. Feel free to rest whenever you wish. Just behind me is the entrance to the arena. In a moment, we will split you up into groups according to your events, and we will have someone explain and go over the rules. Tomorrow when your names will be called, and you will be escorted up to the arena."

The man then pointed to a large display slightly above him that has hooked onto the wall.

"We don't want you to be left out of course, above we will be displaying the event to all of you. If you have any problems or concerns, do not hesitate to ask us."

With that, the man went off to talk to his team to organize the next step, while the students were free to check out the training room. Many of them went to explore the place while others wanted to play around with the equipment.

Some of the stuff they had back at their bases and used it for their training, but some items they had never seen before were excited to test them out and see what they could do.

Layla, on the other hand, was busy trying to locate Logan. When looking around, she could see that Peter was allowed to go where he wished inside the training room, but the two guards from the train continued to follow him around everywhere.

This of course gathered quite a bit of attention, and some of the students even tried approaching Peter. Almost immediately, one of the guards would yell at the student to stand back.

"Hey, Logan," Layla said, approaching him while looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to her. A habit that was forced into her from her training days. "I was wondering, do you have any idea why they are making Peter fight in this tournament?"

Logan looked closely at the two guards by Peter's side. He noticed that the equipment they were wearing wasn't of low quality at all. It was at least the advanced level, maybe even higher. IF they were to go through this much trouble to guard one student, then it would seem like his hunch from before was right.

"I think they're trying to use this event to lure out the rest of Pure. They think he's one of them after the video we made. It would make sense, and if they believe they cared about him that much to try to snatch him from Truedream, then maybe they would do the same at this event." Logan replied.

Hearing this, the sick feeling in Layla's stomach had returned. If that were the case, they would be heavily keeping an eye on Peter, and there might not even be a chance for them to try to save him.

Thinking about this, Layla thought about whether or not she should try to get Pure involved. She knew that Peter wasn't a part of Pure. Still, if she were to put a word to her mother, maybe she would help her.

Although this thought didn't last long, Layla was currently a rank 100 agent, and she had already called in a big favour from her mother last time. It was unlikely her mother would risk the whole organization for this once again. Knowing this, she was too afraid even to ask.

'I'm sorry, Peter, there's nothing I can do.'

After about half an hour of the students exploring the training area, they were called and huddled up once again. This time they were divided into groups based on the events they would be participating as they were told they would before.

Logan was placed into the crafting event, Layla into the arranged event, while Peter into the fighting event. The three of them were now separated from Peter even further.

Each group was led to a different section of the room where a soldier would explain the event's details to them. The three main events had the most participating students since one student was required from each homeroom class.

Ten students from the first year, and ten students from the second year. With the seven schools participating, that meant there were 140 students per main event.

In the fighting event, while the soldier was busy explaining the rules to everyone, everyone's attention was focused on one person. Peter, who still at this moment had the two guards by his side. It was clear to them that he must have been such a dangerous event, but now that Peter was closer to all the participants, they could spot something on his wrist.

The fact that his level on his watch indicated he was only a level 1.

'How is that possible? Wait, How is he even in the tournament?"

The students wanted to question it and ask, but the soldier upfront was busy explaining the rules and processes to everyone, and they knew better than to interrupt.

"Oh, so it looks like Sam didn't misread that name list. There was a level One student in the fighting tournament." Nate said.

Unlike the others, Nate wasn't too interested in the mysterious figure. He was far too busy trying to figure out, out of all the participants here, which one was Larry. The Blood Evolver. Right now, the students didn't have their best equipment, so it was hard for him to tell.

"And that's about it for the fighting event rules. Now what we will do is go around and take a stage name from you all. This name will be used to announce you before you enter the arena. Try to pick a name that will strike fear and be remembered by all. After all, not only military personnel will be watching this. Many top tier factions have been invited to this event as well."

After the explanation was over, several soldiers went around with tablets held in their hands, gathering each student's required information. Finally, one of the staff had arrived at Peter.

"What would you like your ring name to be?" He asked.

Peter thought about it for a while. He too could tell the soldiers around him were of a higher class than their military base. If there was ever a chance for him to escape, he should have done so when he was alone with Truedream and the other soldiers.

Right now, he couldn't escape, and he couldn't even imagine Quinn and the others thinking of a way of saving him. If he were going to be killed after this anyway, he would go down using all his strength. He wasn't just going to throw away the fight.

This meant they would find out about his incredible healing abilities. If he were made into a lab rat, he wouldn't tell them anything about Quinn. He still had respect for Quinn for saving his life, and after betraying them once, he wouldn't ever do it again.

"Are you sure about your ring name?" The man asked. "It's sometimes nice to have a name related to your ability or one that's easy to remember?"

"I'm sure," Peter replied.

Down on the man's tablet, the name ZombieP was written. A name that, when revealed, would shock the other participants.

*****

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