Murmur, murmur.
Whispers spread as the participating teams appeared one by one, from the academies of Calamity, Meteor, and Ocular Light, to teams such as Earth Spirit, Mother Tree, Melody, and Three Hands.
Of course, there were also the three teams from the top three academies, Blue Light, Gray Wall, and Gate. Among them, Gate Academy had held the number one position for five consecutive years.
The representatives of each academy stepped forward, but the most striking among them was from Gate.
Curly blond hair, emerald blue eyes, an air of nobility befitting a high ranking aristocrat.
She was a precious gem, not only in appearance but in talent and elite status.
The princess of the Monsoly Empire, Janeus Phereous, the Daffodil of Gate Academy.
A single glance from her was enough to silence everyone who had been talking in the stands.
"Top tier aura farming, huh?" I clapped at her entrance. I mean, compared to the fact that she was the only second year among the nine academies and still made a more impressive debut than anyone else here.
"Wow, look at her. She really is beautiful, isn't she?" Marcus reached for some popcorn and adjusted his sunglasses. Without the uniform, one might have mistaken him for a tourist.
"You do know we're competing tomorrow, right?" I looked at him, tilted my head, and added, "You're not planning to prepare at all?"
"Well, a few hours of prep is enough. I'll get to it later." Marcus took another sip of water and ignored me.
"Suit yourself." I left in frustration. Talking to him was pointless.
Wandering around the stands, I looked up and surveyed the place.
A massive arena capable of holding around 150000 people, excluding staff, teams, and participants.
Strangely enough, this was considered a standard arena in this world. Which meant either the demand for watching people kill each other was extremely high, or the population here was enormous. I had no idea which was correct.
Looking at the eyes that were impatiently waiting for the introductions to end and eager to see the fighting begin, I chuckled softly and recalled a few things from my old world.
Roman era slaves, or criminals with nowhere to go, forced to fight for others' entertainment. Blood spilled alongside tears, all exchanged for a few coins and roaring cheers.
And now, here we were. Educated students, people of status, many nobles, even royalty, putting on a show just for rewards. Not much different, really.
I smiled faintly as I passed through the crowd heading to their seats and moved toward the exit, where I encountered a guard on duty.
Our eyes met. No greeting, no gesture, just passing by.
Thud.
I accidentally bumped into the door, adjusted my stance, then continued on.
In my hand was a small chocolate bar about the length of my palm, which soon vanished into my spatial ring.
With a strange smile, I walked through the dense crowd, preparing for the week ahead.
"Hello, have we met somewhere before?"
I froze for a moment, then turned around. The one who spoke was a young man with golden blond hair and a set of sports clothes.
I was about to greet him and excuse myself when I suddenly realized that everything around me had turned into an ocean.
Yes, an ocean where I could not breathe and where I was sinking.
"I know you."
The young man walked toward me. More precisely, he stepped forward as if the surrounding seawater meant nothing to him.
"Right?"
That was what I wanted to say but could not. Yet there was something else I could still do.
Click.
Suddenly I realized I was still standing in the same place as before.
And I had just punched him.
I grabbed his collar and whispered softly.
"Your name is Promet, right?"
"Yes."
He clearly held himself back because we were in a crowded place, but the look in his eyes carried extreme suspicion.
"Hmph. Someone the same age as me, yet possessing the strength of an entire squad. The heavens are truly unfair."
I lifted him with one hand. Even so, strangely enough, no one around us seemed to notice anything unusual.
I was about to say more when I noticed something glowing in my hand.
"Tch. Are you planning to kill everyone around here?"
I let him go and turned away, though not before leaving one last remark.
"Oh, congratulations on subduing a Leviathan. It will be quite useful."
I walked away, leaving the person behind me.
That was the protagonist, Promet.