237 Pre-elimination

I woke up to the faint glow of the early morning sun seeping through the curtains. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up on the bed, feeling a mix of anticipation and nerves churning within me. Today was the day of the trials for the Mage's Gambit.

'Nervous?.....you?' Blaze jumped off the table.

"I'll be disqualified for killing," I said a single sentence.

'....makes sense that you are nervous,' atleast he agrees.

***

After a hour, I stood in front of the arena gate and it was a chaos.

Tud*

"Move dude," Someone bumped past me saying this, by the robe he looked like he was a third year.

The crowd was the mix of the each year and it made it hectic as fuck for everyone around.

Well since this is the first day it- I just backed off of the crowd.

'Not in hurry?' Blaze asked as he perched on my shoulder.

Well not really because - it's not like I won't get my chance if I am not in front, this sense of urgency makes no sense to be honest.

I saw the cattle like students pushing eachother till a group of teachers came along and began sorting them out, hurling away the ones who were pushing the juniors teaching em' a lesson.

I saw one of the professor giving a wind blow to hurl back Aron as he was- quite literally beating those who were standing in the row.

Well he's also participating by his year I guess and he'll lose anyways since he's in competition with Isolde and another person from the student council.

Which'll trigger him further - I don't know why but in the game he acted as if his world ended when he was not able to win.

'Skill issue,' Blaze pointed.

As three individual lines were made with each respective school year and yeah, I just stood at last of the lines.

Welp second last atleast, I turned to see who was behind me- only for me to flinch a bit.

"Damn," I blinked a bit and pulled back a bit

"H-hello..." said the guy as he fixed his glasses on his nose bridge, it's the same guy from yesterday.

"you following me around?" I asked casually.

"Um, no, I mean, not at all! It's just, you see, I didn't intentionally... I got pushed by the guy in front, and the professor, they didn't believe me, so I ended up here, and then, well, you were here too, and I wasn't following you, I swear! I was just, you know, looking around. Sorry if it seemed otherwise-" He seemed scared.

"Pffttt! Hahaha," It made me chuckle loudly,"chill dude it's not that deep." I brushed the corner of my eyes,it was funny.

"Y-yeah," he awkwardly looked down.

I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to the front, where the lines were steadily moving forward.

The atmosphere buzzed with a mix of tension and excitement as students eagerly awaited their turn. Each line progressed slowly, guided by the supervising teachers and staff.

"So... what's your name?" I asked the guy behind me, trying to break the ice.

"It's Erik," he replied softly.

"Ren," I introduced myself.

The line shuffled forward inch by inch. As we got closer to the entrance, the energy among the students heightened. Everyone was eager to showcase their skills and make it through the trials.

"I hope I don't mess up," Erik muttered, a hint of anxiety lacing his voice.

"Just relax, do your best," I reassured him. "It's all about showing what you've got."

We finally reached the entrance where several teachers were overseeing the registration process.

"Next!" one of the teachers called out.

I stepped forward.

"Mr. Hilton, surprise seeing you here," said the professor; it was Elgara from potion making class.

"Is it?" I responded, placing my hand on the grimoire that she held in her hand.

"Quite a bit," the elderly woman smiled as she directed me to enter.

Inside, it was just like the illustrations in the game - a chaotic mess.

The arena seemed chaotic as I stepped inside. The illustration in the game didn't capture the disorder and the loud buzz of students.

The large metal arena door closed behind with a loud bang, silencing everyone. Professor Devereaux walked past me; she was everyone's favorite professor.

She stood in the center and announced, "Today the Arena is divided into three different parts for each year. Matches and tests will be happening simultaneously. Everyone can see the board of professors at the corners of the arena; they are the ones who will be evaluating each one of you." Her hand went to her hip— which was quite seductive because of the way she held her long leg out of the robe.

As Blaze started barking in my mind— isn't he a cat?....

"You all are going to participate in multiple matches until we choose two from each year. The number of times you fight will be chosen by us, not you. You are allowed to use whatever weapon you want, and it'll be provided by us if we have it. Beast Mastery and skill convergence are allowed, but you are not allowed to cause fatal harm to anyone."

The word "death" made everyone go silent for a while. Well, I couldn't blame them as they were still not used to such things.

And yeah, the criteria is unfair too, but who's going to complain? Not me, at least.

Glancing around, I noticed familiar faces from the academy - Adam, Mary, and a few others among the sea of students. They were gathered with their respective classmates, discussing strategies or maybe just trying to calm each other's nerves.

"Erik, you coming?" I asked, noticing him a few paces behind, his eyes wide with a mix of nervousness and excitement.

He nodded and quickened his pace to catch up. "Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed," he confessed, a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

"Don't worry, take it one step at a time,..... you might be the one who'd represent our year who knows." I reassured him, patting his shoulder before we merged into the crowd.

I know it's a false hope but it won't do any harm.

After that the tests started, and the format was like this:

First, they called dozens of students on the platform and told them to form the biggest spell they know.

Later, the same batch was told to hit the .... why does this remind me of the training I had with Marylin back in Sephra?

It was the same - the amount of mana and control over elements type of training.

As for me - yeah, since I didn't want to be left behind in this, I just made sure not to hold back in these small things.

I strengthened my body for a straight 30 minutes, which was already way above average for my year, and stopped when I thought it was enough.

Targets weren't missed. The biggest spell I made was a fireball half my size, which raised some funny reactions from professors and students simultaneously.

'...FUCKER!!!! YOU ARE JUST SHOWING OFF!!!! THE WAY EVERYONE LOOKED AT YOU WAS AS IF YOU ARE SOME KIND OF MIRACLE....MAYBE MORE LIKE A GHOST!!!!' Blaze shouted. Well, I don't need his help at least.

I looked around and saw that Erik wasn't around..... maybe he left after he didn't get selected.

Poor guy.

Everything took about three hours to complete all of this.

As the tests concluded, a profound hush descended over the arena, broken only by murmurs and scattered sighs of relief from those who had managed to pass the preliminary rounds. The tension was palpable, anxiety gripping those who anxiously awaited their fate.

A teacher, clad in the academy's emblematic robe, stepped forward with an air of authority. Their voice boomed across the arena, commanding attention.

"Students of the Imperial Academy! The preliminary rounds have concluded. It is time for the results!" their voice reverberated through the arena, echoing off the walls.

The students, divided into groups of winners and eliminated participants, glanced nervously around, awaiting the verdict.

"First years, step forward!" The teacher's command echoed.

The crowd stirred as the first-year students shuffled in anticipation. The air was fraught with unease as the teacher unfurled a scroll and began reading aloud, announcing the names of those who would progress to the next stage.

The professor began reading the list, announcing the names one by one.

"...and Ren Hilton." For some reason, my name was listed last.

A mix of emotions erupted across the arena – cheers, sighs of relief, and disappointed murmurs. Those whose names weren't called turned despondently toward the exits, while the selected few gathered in a designated area, their eyes betraying a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

The process repeated for the other years. Those who had made the cut found themselves amidst an arena scattered with a handful of successful participants, a far cry from the initial chaotic assembly.

"Now, audience, get ready for the first round of matches!" The teacher's announcement filled the arena, drawing the attention of both the selected participants and the seated audience.

In the stands, the onlookers prepared for the ensuing spectacle, while the participants braced themselves for the trials ahead. The stage was set for the thrilling battles that would unfold within the Arena's boundaries.

"I got selected!" Erik exclaimed, clearly excited.

"..... no you did not," I replied, looking at him.

".... I did, maybe you missed my name in the announcement." He fell silent.

'You were too focused on your name that you didn't hear a thing other than that.' Blaze reminded me.

"Oh! I remember, man congrats." I shook his hand and turned my attention forward.

]A/N: Phew sorting the bad fruits in done.]