Chapter 67: The Group Matches

Kyle stood among the other successful contestants in the coliseum.

The day had finally arrived for the group stage of the elective battles, and everyone felt tense as well as excited. Stay immersed with m_vl_em_p_yr

The students who qualified from Alchemy, Beast Taming, and Forge Mastering stood alongside the Rune Makers, who didn't have as much difficulty participating. All waited for their moment to shine.

It didn't take long before Instructor Dan stepped forward into the center of the coliseum, his voice magically amplified to reach everyone's ears.

"Welcome to Day 2 of the Electives Battles, young mages!" Dan's voice boomed, silencing the growing whispers of the spectators.

"Today, we begin the group stage of the competition. There are 128 of you from four different disciplines: Rune Making, Alchemy, Beast Taming, and Forge Mastering.

Each of you has trained hard and earned your place here, but only 64 will advance to the knockout rounds!"

"The group stage will be conducted as follows: You've all been divided into 32 groups of 4 contestants.

Within each group, you will battle three opponents from different classes.

Except for Group 32, which will feature three Beast Taming students and one Alchemy student.

As well as Group 31, which will consist of two Forge Mastering students, one Alchemy student, and one Beast Taming student."

Kyle did a quick mental calculation. There were 128 participants in total: 32 each from Alchemy and Forge Mastering, with 30 and 34 for Rune Making and Beast Taming, respectively.

With 32 groups of four contestants each, it made sense—the structure seemed fair, and the number of battles didn't look overwhelming.

Dan gestured toward a large display that hovered in the air the coliseum, a projection showing the match-ups.

"For every victory, you will earn three points. If your battle ends in a draw, both contestants will earn one point, and a loss will earn zero points."

"After all matches have been fought, the top two participants from each group—64 contestants—with the highest points will advance to the knockout stage.

From there, the competition will intensify. Losing a match will mean you go back home, and winning will see you face off against another winner."

A murmur swept through the contestants as they glanced up at the groups.

Kyle looked at the screen, quickly finding his name listed in Group 9, alongside a familiar face.

'This is bound to be interesting,' he thought with a smile.

"To prevent excessive time consumption, multiple battles will take place at once across various stages of the coliseum.

You will all fight one match every day for the next two days until the group stages are over," Dan explained.

"Each stage is enchanted to isolate individual battles, so don't worry about distractions or interference. Your health condition will also be monitored, and all injuries will be treated immediately.

Remember: this is an individual competition, so fight with everything you've got!"

Kyle could feel the weight of Dan's words. The excitement was evident among the crowd already.

"Now, without further ado, let the group stages begin! Contestants for the first matches, please step forward!"

The display shifted again, showing the initial lineup. Kyle scanned the names, seeing that he wasn't fighting his 'friend' just yet.

"Let's give them a show," Kyle said with a confident smirk, walking to the stage to face his first opponent.

The Electives Battles were quite simple. They were required to fight against their opponents with the advantages of their different Electives.

Beast Tamers were allowed to fight with their companions.

Rune Makers could use formerly self-prepared runes.

Alchemists could enhance their strength and heal themselves with formerly self-prepared potions and elixirs.

Forge Masters could use their self-crafted weapons and armor to fight.

Practically every advantage of the students' Electives could be used in a fight, as long as it all fell under the tier limitations that were placed.

From an outsider's point of view, it looked like the Beast Tamers had a massive advantage. That was true, but the gap wasn't as huge as it seemed.

Kyle might not have seen a massive improvement in his cultivation recently, but he had made significant strides in Rune Making.

He could now craft battle-changing runes that were sure to help him win, even without relying on his mana advantage.

He was ready to show why he should be the contestant to beat in this tournament.

As Kyle walked toward his designated stage, he couldn't help but feel the massive difference between here and the arena.

The spectators, mostly students who failed to qualify and Instructors, sparsely occupied some seats surrounding the arena.

The setup was vast, allowing the audience to pick and choose which battles they wanted to observe.

Giant magical screens hovered around the coliseum, projecting the different matches from each stage, so no one would miss a moment of the action.

Kyle reached his stage—a circular platform magically elevated and enclosed by a shimmering barrier. Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It isolated the combatants from distractions and ensured the fight could proceed uninterrupted.

On the opposite side of the stage stood his opponent: a Beast Tamer with a Tempest Falcon.

The tamer had a confident look on her face, his brown eyes filled with confidence. Her Falcon hovered slightly above her, flapping its wings with pride.

'This won't be easy,' Kyle thought, as he looked up at the flying beast.

He had experience fighting flying opponents at Yurigur, but this would be the first here.

[Tsk! That chicken is nothing compared to me]

Void couldn't help but say within Kyle after hearing his master speak so passionately about the falcon.

'Haha... I see you're jelly!'

[Jealous?! How dare you?]

'Don't worry, I'll win,' Kyle said sharply, changing the conversation.' It won't be a problem.'

[W...]

"Ladies and gentlemen," an amplified voice boomed, interrupting Void and drawing the attention of the very few spectators.

"We now begin the match between Kyle, representing Rune Making, and Lila, a Beast Tamer.

The announcer continued, building the suspense. "Rune Makers rely on their prepared inscriptions, while Beast Tamers have the power of their companions. Who will come out victorious in this glorious showdown?"