Chapter 37 Battle Royal [1]

"Ladies and gentlemen. Boys, girls, and whatever you specify as, I'd like to welcome you to the Entraaaaance Ceremony!" A man with a floating microphone announced, causing the crowd of millions to cheer simultaneously throughout the star system.

"Today, we have over 300,000 contestants participating from all over the star system. They will be divided into 30 groups of 10,000 contestants based on their talent and class.

Those who have already gotten several invitation letters do not have to participate. However, we do have a few that chose to participate anyway, so stay tuned for their challenges to see the best of the best from the new generation."

Cheers erupted once again before dying instantly as the man raised his hand to silence them all.

Everyone watched in anticipation as the man broke out into a grin.

"However, 300,000 is a number much higher than the number that we wanted, so we'll just have to filter them out with a mini-challenge of out own. Call it challenge number 0, the filtration system." The man shouted with excitement and vigor in his voice.

"We will be placing all thirty groups in different unconquered planets and waiting to see how and if they will survive. If they do happen to 'die', they will be sent back here and disqualified." The presenter explained while having his hands to create a dramatic effect.

Fireworks and different spells seemed to explode behind him to add to the effect, yet it was as if no contestant saw them as they were too focused on what he was saying.

On the other hand, the audience felt thrilled as they cheered once more as, vigor filled them to the brim and excitement washed over their being.

***

"You nervous?" A boy no older than 16 turned to his right and asked a specific black-haired boy wearing sunglasses despite being indoors.

The sunglasses were tinted purple, matching the rest of his clothing varied from black to dark grey. The interior of his jack also seemed to be made out of a bright halo violet that shone whenever the boy moved.

"Why do you ask?" The black-haired boy questioned while looking up at the other.

"Sitting their all silent and gloomy. I know that most of here are rogues, assassins and what not, but we're all in this together, you know?" The boy scratched the back of his head while Lloyd simply sighed at the stupidity of the child before him.

Lloyd saw through almost everyone in the waiting area. Everyone was trying to find out more about their opponents by acting like each other's friends while manipulating one another into doing what the other wants.

However, Lloyd could tell that the boy before him was not trying to deceive him but was just oblivious to these happenings.

'How naive...' Lloyd thought to himself, yet he did nothing to help the boy. This was a world where the weak and innocent were eaten alive, and he must be ready for that before committing to an academy filled with other students who simply wanted to be better than the person next to them.

'If he goes to the academy at this state, he'll be eaten alive.' Lloyd thought to himself before looking away.

"Hey man, if you don't wanna talk, it's cool. Just tell me to go away-"

"Go away." Lloyd cut him off without a shred of sympathy.

"Whatever suits you." The boy shrugged and moved on to the next set of people. However, unlike all the other people he had talked to, they looked rich from their outfits alone.

Looking away from the scene, Lloyd continued to daydream for another 45 minutes before he finally looked at th tv screen when a certain announcement hit his ears.

[Top 25 Warriors Division 2]

[1. Zack Varlen Glade | Berserker | 1992 Points]

[2. Jane Fisher | White Knight | 959 Points]

[3. Felix Alemio | Lancer | 687 Points]

[...]

[...]

[25. Tuco Salamanca | Arcane Monk | 314 Points]

The moment the results hit the screen, everyone in the waiting hall burst out in a fit of chatter.

"Holy shit! 2000?! That guy doesn't even have to do any of the challenges. Anyone will have him!"

"Zack Varlen Glade... Where have I heard that from?"

"Oh crap! That guy is a glade! A f*cking glade!"

"Glade? Of course, he is. That entire family is filled with monsters from the start to now."

On the other hand, Lloyd simply smiled before looking down again and waiting for his group to be called up.

20 minutes of silence passed in the blink of an eye

"Oi, you!" A voice entered Lloyd's ears again, yet he felt that the words said had been directed at him this time.

Looking up, he looked into the eyes of the 5 boys looking at him before replying-

"Yes?"

"What's your name?" The boy at the front asked with what seemed like a genuine smile, on the surface at least.

"You'll know my name when you look at the top of the leaderboards. Now if you don't mind, leave me alone." Lloyd replied, his eyes flashing purple with a tinge of coldness within them.

If the human race was scared of anything, there would be three things that would take the top spots.

One: Humans are terrified of extinction. As if it's in their genes to avoid it at all costs.

Two: Being controlled. No one likes to be told that they are manipulated, and humans seem to be the most terrified when it comes to being controlled.

Three: Void walkers.

Seeing Lloyd's eyes flash purple, the boys could not help but flinch and take a step back, as if it was in their genes to be terrified of the color purple.

Due to the Void Walker attacks all those years ago, not only have people with purple eyes been discriminated against and outcasted, but the color purple itself has become taboo in nature.

No one would wear purple, and no planet's flags would have purple, and no houses would have even a tinge of purple. Of course, as generations went on, people began to forget the meaning of the color, and therefore the taboo on it had weakened.

Yet the feeling of despair still held on, going from generation to generation in the form of bedtime stories and films. Purple was almost like the new red. It meant danger to everyone who saw it, and multiple planets had already begun using it in traffic lights and signs.

Lloyd knew this. It was how he was brought up and what he was taught, so he chose to take advantage of it. He knew he couldn't change the color of his abilities nor the color of his eyes, so why not embrace it as it is?

"Is that understood?" Lloyd asked in a low and monotone voice. The boys before him felt as if the hall had dropped in temperature by several degrees, while the minute amounts of killing intent that Lloyd had released caused the hair on the back of their heads to perk up.

Their instincts told them to run. Run! Run as fast as they can. Their instincts screamed out in fear and told them to bow to the monster before them. Kneel and beg for forgiveness. Yet, right before they could do so-

"Is there a problem here?" A mature feminine voice struck their ears like thunder and snapped them out of their condition.

"W-What?" One of them muttered.

"Is there a problem here?!" The woman asked again, frowning deeply as she rested a hand on her hip while tilting her head to the side.

"No, ma'am, Not trouble here. These guys were just leaving." Lloyd replied with a genuine smile as the coldness in his eyes disappeared in an instant.

The woman, however, did not seem totally pleased as she turned toward the boys, who nodded their heads.

She could see fear in their eyes and was slightly surprised since she knew they were pretty rich and arrogant, yet she could do nothing in a situation like this, where it was obvious that the victimized party were the ones to engage the assailant.

Looking at Lloyd one more time, she sighed and walked off. Once she had left for more than 10 seconds, the rest of the boys also turned around and left the scene.

*"Rogue Class Types Division 1, please ready yourselves to be transported to unexplored planet 195CH 11. The challenge shall begin in T-300."*

'So, 5 minutes?' Lloyd thought to himself before standing up and checking his gear.

​

Since his katana had been damaged beyond repair when he used the void-walker-style technique, he was forced to buy a new one. Despite that, the new blade was much better than the old one, which was to be expected.

After all, Grisha might be an arcane mage with knowledge about runes that far surpassed Lloyd's, but she was still a beginner when it came to fixing or enchanting gear.

Taking out his blade, Lloyd held it tightly within it hands since he didn't have a sheath to put in.

Looking at his clothes, he could not help but smirk at the workmanship done to create such a masterpiece.

He had asked his parents to make him some gear that would easily disguise himself as normal clothes.

The clothes he was currently wearing could be considered first commandment armor, yet they also had some additional features that made them so much more powerful than the regular first commandment armor.

It was a known fact that you could not use weapons or gear 2 or more commandments above the user, so there was no need to make any rules against it since whoever does such a thing did it at their own risk.

Lloyd waited a few more minutes before finally-

*"3"*

*"2"*

*"1"*

*"Teleportation shall commence"*

When Lloyd heard those words, a bright flash of light seemed to surround him while a warm, almost tranquil energy wrapped around him and submerged him within it.

The feeling of bliss lasted for what felt like less than a dozen minutes, but eventually, Lloyd and the rest of the Rogues found themselves on a flying ship above an enormous forest that spanned out for what felt like miles.

Looking at his watch, Lloyd raised a brow in surprise before looking at everyone else, staring at the same thing he was.

A large screen floated above their watches with the display of a map showing an island the size of England... Well, the old England, to be precise.

*"Looking at your maps, you can click anywhere on the screen to be transported to the exact location. There are three ways to earn points.

You can complete the missions personally associated with you and the area you decide to land. You can kill monsters and send their bodies back to us. The better shape they are, the more points you will get. A core will get you 10x the amount of points of the corpse.

Finally, you can hunt your fellow competitors for their accumulated points. Those in the top 10 will have their locations shown at all times."* The voice explained through the intercom.

However, since it didn't say anything else, everyone froze for 10 seconds before they first chose to tap onto their screen before disappearing into a bright flash of light.

Flashes of light continued to illuminate the ship as several hundred disappeared simultaneously.

While some chose to go on their own, others found someone to go with, making a group in order to be most efficient.

Before long, there were fewer than 50 left, including Lloyd himself, yet despite the emptiness in the room, they all looked like they knew exactly what they were doing.

Looking at the map, Lloyd narrowed his eyes at a certain point on the map before a smile stretched across his face.

Strolling to one of the windows, Lloyd looked at the direction of the location he was looking at on the map, and after a few seconds, he confirmed his suspicions.

*Tap*

The instant his finger touched the screen, a voice only he could hear entered his ears.

*"Would you like to be transported to [Central City]?"*

*Tap*

*"You will now be transported."*

*Zoom*