Chapter 169: Championship Stage

The proud morning sun slowly rose from its slumber and from it, came warm golden rays of light that purged the darkness of the night, piercing through a certain glass window.

Blinding warm lights touched Shye's eyelids, waking him up, and prompting him to yawn as he groggily got up from his bed with a slightly heavy heart.

Yesterday's scene of his favorite blacksmith, Meido Chan's defeat replayed in his mind and he couldn't help but feel slightly bitter.

It was like watching your favorite sports team lose in the grand finals.

Still, his Meido fanboy heart didn't waver. If anything, being able to fight neck and neck against Doran at such a young age strengthened it.

Yesterday was the battle of the blacksmiths, but today, it was the representatives' turn.

From what he heard from the deans, all 200 blacksmiths who joined the competition would be among the spectators this time, scouting for a student to advertise their brand.

Remembering this news cured the bitterness in Shye's heart.

Although it would be hard to land a deal with his favorite blacksmith, Meido, he would try his best to get her attention.

He had a slight advantage, after all, except for his platinum-tier weapons, his entire body was clad in Meido brand armor.

Hopefully, this would help him garner Meido's attention.

He didn't know how partnerships with blacksmiths work but he was sure that it would help him in his career as an adventurer.

After stretching his limbs for a good few minutes, Shye took a quick bath, donned his representative uniform, and equipped his armor on top of it before striding out of the room to meet the other people from Colzen in the inn's luxurious dining hall.

Upon arriving, he saw that most of the students were already in the hall so he quickly grabbed a plate, chose the dishes he wanted, and sat down beside Shirley and Maia to enjoy his meal.

Subsequently, once everyone was done eating, the deans stood up and led the entire Colzen group as they walked towards the majestic Colzen carriages waiting for them outside the inn.

With a dignified aura, the grand Colzen convoy proudly marched towards Valenzia Arena.

"Will this year's three dark horses cause chaos to the three kings' domain?! Only time will tell!"

"Speaking of time, I shall not delay things further so let me introduce to everyone this year's championship stage participants!"

"Hailing from Newfort City, these guys blasted their way through hard-fought battles and knocked out numerous competent academies to earn a spot in the championship stages. Everyone, please give a round of applause for...Newfort Academy!!"

...

Bart masterfully told tales of each academy's journey and summarized it in a few groundbreaking sentences as he patiently introduced every single one of them

His pace was neither too fast nor too slow, perfectly capturing the attention of the audience and igniting the flames of excitement in their hearts.

Finally, after a skillful introduction of 28 academies, it was Colzen Academy's turn.

It was unknown whether the organizers arranged for it to be this way but Colzen was introduced right before the three king academies.

"And now!! Introducing the darkest horse in the entire history of the competition! Deemed mediocre in every single way possible, this academy fought through the heaps of scraps on the first day. In the beginning, nobody believed in them except themselves as they demolished their opponents in an unbelievable streak of 3-0s, leaving a trail of mass destruction in their wake."

"Even the well-known Amarantha Academy fell victim to their absurd prowess and not a single academy exuded such a menacing rebellious aura in the past. Are they the destined academy that will topple the three kings' rule?! Give it up for Colzen Academy!!"

A mix of thunderous cheers and applause resounded in the entire arena as the Colzen supporters cheered their hearts out, surprising even the supporters of the three kings.

Astoundingly, the cheers went on for five whole minutes, sending chills down Bart's spine.

He didn't even notice that Colzen was already that famous.

If he knew then he could've introduced them a little more appropriately.

Finally, once the cheers died down, Bart once again took control of the proceedings and introduced the top three academies who definitely needed no introduction due to how famous they already were.

Subsequently, once the introductions were done, it was time for Valenzia's City lord, the head organizer of the event, to talk about the rules of the championship stage.