Depond Island
Surrounded by a large body of water, a small island with thriving vegetation could be seen. Towering trees with long vines filled the island
There was no sign of any human inhabitants and only magic beasts lived here
In the sky near the island, more than a hundred aircraft could be seen. Most of which were private helicopters but there was also an airplane
These aircraft carried the Tournament’s contestants. Since most of the geniuses that survived the first round of the Tournament comes from powerful families and organizations, they could afford to bring themselves to the Depond Island using their own mode of transportation
As for those that don’t have an aircraft that they could use, they were provided by Space Monarch the choice to board the airplane
As for the other helicopters, they are the recruiters from various forced and also the ones that are tasked to broadcast the second part of the tournament
In one of the helicopters, Rezen could be seen. His face was completely emotionless as he stared at the island that was getting nearer to him
Since this is an island not inhabited by humans, there naturally wasn’t a place for the aircraft to land
However, since the mages below the 4th fusion rank were all basically weeded out, their vehicle doesn’t even need to land
As soon as they were close to the island, the contestants along with the ‘audiences’ used their spells to stay in the sky
Space Monarch also showed himself. While the contestants were riding on a sheet of their chosen element, the Space Monarch was simply floating in the air. There was no need to use a magic spell at all
“The second part of this year’s Tournament will happen here on the Depond Island and the rules are simple”
“This island is dominated by the magic beasts called Tentacle Spawns ranging from the ungraded rank upto the 6th rank”
“But fret not, I’ll make sure that the few Tentacle Spawns at the 6th rank wouldn’t be able to display their full power. They would be stronger than a normal 5th rank magic beast but they wouldn’t be able to retain their full power”
“An ungraded rank Tentacle Spawn is worth 1 point. A 1st rank spawn is worth 2 points, a 2nd rank spawn is worth 3 points and a 3rd rank spawn is worth 4 points. A 4th rank spawn is worth 5,000 points, a 5th rank spawn is worth 100,000 points. And the suppressed 6th rank spawn is worth a million points”
The contestants are at least 4th fusion rank mages with a few of them reaching the 5th rank
Even just a 4th fusion rank mage could kill thousands of magic beasts at the 3rd rank and below as long as they plan correctly
It seems like the points system is used so that the contestants wouldn’t just farm the low level magic beasts
As long as one is strong, defeating a mage at the same rank should be easier rather than killing thousands of weaker magic beasts
“And in this round, only a maximum of 50 would be given the chance to proceed in the last part of the Tournament. Attacking a fellow contestant is allowed and defeating one would earn the winner a million points plus the magic beasts hunted by the loser!”
As soon as Space Monarch said that, the contestants looked at each other as if they were rivals ever since they were born
The mechanics of this trial would force the contestants to attack each other for the top 50 spot
There were 6th rank spawns that are also worth a million points but even if they were suppressed, they are still not something that an ordinary 5th fusion rank mage could deal with
It would be safer to just attack a fellow contestant
“However, each of you could only attack mages at the same level as you are. And once you earned a million points for defeating a fellow contestant, you are forbidden to attack any other contestants unless you act in self defense”
“And while there are 50 spots, the top ten contestants with the most points would be given one life on the last part of the Tournament”
Rezen’s eyes flashed. The gears in his mind working. These rules made it so that the number of contestants could drop faster by fighting each other but at the same time prevented them from stopping when they already earned a million points
Out of a hundred contestants, only a maximum of 50 could proceed. As long as they defeated a fellow contestant, they are already basically guaranteed to proceed to the next and last part of the Tournament
The last part of Space Monarch’s Tournament has always been a one-on-one combat between the contestants
Once they are defeated, they would be sent out of the Tournament. But if the top ten is rewarded by a ‘life’ then wouldn’t that mean that even if they were defeated once, they could still proceed?
Rezen can already imagine the contestants fighting each other and also fighting to be the ones to kill the suppressed 6th rank magic beast. And of course, as a participant, Rezen wouldn’t be any different than them
“Once all the suppressed 6th rank spawns died, the tournament would end. If there are more than fifty survivors, only the ones with the most points could proceed”
“Also, while there is a maximum of 50 participants that could proceed to the next round, all of you must still be careful after earning enough points. As long as the second round has not ended, no matter how many points you earned, as long as I needed to step in to save you, you would be disqualified”
“And don’t pull any tricks. I can watch all of you at the same time easily. Mystic Items that have power above your ranks are not allowed. If you are a 4th fusion rank mage, you could only use a Mystic Item that could deal with enemies at the same rank!”
With that, the contestants were randomly sent by Space Monarch on the island to compete with each other
——-
Rezen landed on an unknown part of the island. His surrounding was filled with Towering trees and it wasn’t that long before he encountered Tentacle Spawns
The Tentacle Spawns are magic beasts with the main body of brains with sharp teeth of different sizes depending on their rank and their limbs are fleshy and slimy tentacles
They are magic beasts with disgusting appearances but they are plentiful and just the first group that Rezen encountered already has hundreds of them
On Rezen’s chest, a gold coin with the symbol of a four-leaf clover could be seen
This gold coin is given by Space Monarch and the contestants simply have to pour their mana into it and the gold coin would automatically transfer and mark the Tentacle Spawns as the contestant’s points
“Kraaakk!!”
“Shieekk!”
“Uwaaghh!!”
The Tentacle Spawns emitted inhuman sounds as they used their tentacle limbs to move around and attack Rezen
Since this group’s strongest Tentacle Spawns were just at the 3rd rank, they couldn’t even be considered as a warmup for Rezen
He summoned his nature-type mystic gem before conjuring a magic circle
“[Vampiric Vines!]”
With the help of the magic circle that Rezen created, the nearby vines moved and changes
Sharp thorns grew on these vines as they moved and wrapped themselves on the bodies of the tentacle spawns
The vampiric vines issued a strong binding force and the thorns penetrated the flesh of the Tentacle Spawns
The Tentacle Spawns were soon sucked dry by the vampiric vines, causing these magic beasts to die
Such weak magic beasts are far from Rezen’s match and although there were a hundred of them, all it took to kill them was a single spell
After killing his first group of tentacle spawns, Rezen tapped the gold coin on his chest and sent his mana to it
The gold coin ‘scanned’ the dead Tentacle Spawns and they vanished. The four-leaf clover symbol on it changes and turned into the number 245
It means that Rezen now has 245 points but that number is far from enough
What Rezen has to do now is to either find a fellow contestant or the few 6th rank spawns!
Only when he successfully hunts them could Rezen be part of the top ten. Rezen couldn’t fail and not become a grand winner. For that, he had to grab every chance and advantage that he could!
After dealing with the first group of Tentacle Spawns, Rezen hurriedly moved. At first, he thought of flying in the sky to have a better perspective but chose not to in the end
Not only was this island covered with tall trees that would block one’s vision. Flying high would also turn one into a target for the others
Rezen might be able to defeat one mage at the 5th fusion rank but he might be attacked by more than one mage