Chapter 67: The Dark Horse

"To explain the rules, we have 10 groups of 4 fighters each, with the winners advancing to the Round of 16. From there, it's a single-elimination format until we reach our top 5. And, of course, we have 2 wild card spots chosen by the organizers."

"Let's meet our first matchups! On platform 1, we have Kaito vs. Serena. And on platform 2, Rab vs. Ken... on platform 3, on platform 4...

on platform five," the announcer went on to call all.

"And now, without further ado, let the battles begin! Remember, folks, this is a mock tournament, but the stakes are high, and the competition is fierce! Who will emerge victorious and represent our barony with pride?"

The crowd erupted in cheers as the matches began, and the announcer continued to provide play-by-play commentary, analyzing the fighters' moves and strategies.

Nyx was among the first fighters, and she had easily dominated her group by defeating all her opponents lightning-fast within five seconds, stunning all the viewers. They knew she was strong, but to deal with two opponents within the span of 5 seconds was very impressive.

If there had been a slight deviation in time, they wouldn't have been this shocked, but to do the same thing in both fights.

Even the commentator was stunned. To do something like this, it only meant one thing: she had the fight under control. In fact, the five-second victory seemed to be deliberate. Coughing lightly, he announced her as the winner of her group and advanced her to the next round.

As she walked down from the stage with an emotionless expression, the crowd finally came out of their stunned state and roared at the top of their voices.

"Nyx, I love you!!!"

"Five seconds! This girl is not human!"

"My future wife!"

"Bro, aren't you like 60?"

Although the crowd was chanting her name, Nyx's head was full of thoughts.

'Five seconds... it's still slow. The reason I was able to win was because these guys lack proper training. The only person that could give me a worthy challenge is her.' Nyx looked at the spectator seats, spotting Wendy, who waved at her with a carefree smile, unaware she was being scrutinized by Nyx. Sёarᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The organizers had made their decision and granted Nox and Wendy the wild card spots. Wendy earned her place because she was ranked 500th among the school's students, placing her in the top 500 strongest out of over 2000 students.

On the other hand, Nox earned it because he had awakened his class, and his levels surpassed all the others.

'Even if I don't meet her now, we'll certainly meet in the Round of 16.' Looking away, Nyx started to leave the arena because it would take a while for the others to finish their fights. She wasn't upset about the organizers not giving her the wild card; instead, she was glad because with each fight, she would improve more and more before reaching the finals.

Although the aim of the mock tournament was to select the top 5 representatives, Nyx wanted to know how far she could push herself, especially when there was a student from the Vermilion Royal Academy participating.

"Strange, is she beefing with me?" Wendy turned to her mother, Celine, beside her with a worried look.

"No," Celine replied. "Nyx has been strange for as long as five years. She's very mature, responsible, and competitive. Since you're the dark horse of this tournament, I think she was checking you out, maybe to know how she'll fare against someone from the academy."

"Ah, I see." Wendy nodded her head in realization. "But couldn't she just wave back? I mean, we can have a healthy competition in case we meet."

Hearing this question, Celine bitterly smiled. "That's because unlike her silly, easy-going twin brother who gets along with everyone, Nyx is a bit detached... it's as if things don't excite her that much."

The competition proceeded unhindered. Even Serena and Rab, the boy that had bumped into Hendrix, won their respective groups, entering the Round of 16. Although she had struggled to win her two fights, the citizens hadn't expected her to put on such wonderful performances as she was known to be a lazy bum.

"That's my baby girl!" Camila even flicked a drop of tea; she was really proud of her daughter.

On the wall, Elvin and Eve were keeping a close eye on their allocated positions, but so far they hadn't spotted anything unusual to be worried about.

A few hours later, the group stage came to an end, and the Round of 16 kicked off in full swing. The roars of the audience became much louder, to the point that Nox, who was silently observing the fights, felt even his blood boil with the desire to fight!

At first, he wasn't enthusiastic about this tournament because it wasn't the real thing, but it seemed the crowd's enthusiasm was beginning to rub off on him.

Just then, the announcer came up to announce the first participant in the Round of 16.

"And that's it for the group stage, folks! Now, we proceed to the Round of 16! The rules are simple: each match will be a one-on-one duel, with a best two out of three wins format. The winners will advance to the Quarterfinals, while the losers will be eliminated," the announcer stated.

A few minutes ago, the organizers had cleaned up the other fighting platforms, leaving only one because the Round of 16 matches were very important, and they needed to focus on one fight at a time.

"And now, folks, please put your hands together for the first fighter in the Round of 16, one of the mysterious wild cards... Nox!"

If not for the appearance of Wendy, Nox would have been the dark horse of this competition because he was the first kid to awaken; even his level was much higher than the rest. Then there was the recent news of him saving the lives of Elvin's strike team from being killed by the Blue-Fanged Snake.

All this combined got the crowd on the edge of their seats at the mention of his name.

"Nox!!!!!"

"Nox!!!!!"

The entire crowd exploded with cheers; their chant was so loud that even the neighboring towns could hear their voices.

The commentator had no choice but to wait a little for the crowd to calm down. Nox was loved by the entire barony; somethings couldn't be helped, so he just let it be.

When they eventually calmed down, though, he continued. "And now, his opponent for this round... is a fighter who's been gaining momentum and surprising everyone with their skills... her name is..."