The robed figure at the platform raised his staff slightly, and a quiet pulse of mana radiated outward, commanding full attention from the sea of students below.

“Good morning,” the man said, his voice calm yet authoritative. It was magically amplified to reach across the entire open field. “I am Auron Veylan, Advisor to His Majesty of the Stellara Kingdom… and one of the presiding judges of this year’s Dominion Ring.”

A few surprised murmurs rippled through the crowd. Even among the upperclassmen, that name held weight.

Auron Veylan looked down at the field with mild amusement, as if watching children prepare for their first hunt.

“I’ll keep this brief,” he said. “You are not here to play. This round is designed to test your teamwork, judgment, and ability to survive in the wild while under pressure. So listen carefully.”

He raised his staff again, and a glowing projection formed above the platform, a slowly rotating view of a massive forest, sectioned into five concentric zones.

“You will form a team of up to ten members. Once you have formed your teams, you will be teleported to a random location within your designated zone.”

The map zoomed in on the outermost ring, marked in blue.

“This is the first-year zone. Each year has their own section, separated by magical barriers. These barriers are placed to prevent stronger beasts from straying into lower-level sections… and to prevent unwanted accidents between students of different years.”

Arthur caught the emphasis. It wasn’t just for show, what had happened in the previous tournament must’ve been more serious than most knew. So they are taking more precautions this time around.

Auron continued, “Scattered throughout your area will be tagged magical beasts. These beasts will carry sigils embedded into their bodies.”

He gestured toward a floating token, similar to the ones they’d been given the day before.

“These tokens, which you’ve all received, are your point collectors. Simply place them against the beast’s tag to collect points. You are not required to kill the beasts, you can tag them by subduing them, but it is up to you to find the easiest way to collect points. But be warned… if your token is damaged, your team will be disqualified.”

Gasps ran through the crowd. Arthur frowned slightly, mentally noting that the token’s durability might be a vulnerability worth guarding.

“Point breakdown is simple,” Auron said. “For first-year participants, subduing an E-Rank beast with equivalent power of a 1st Circle mage earns you 1 point. An early D-Rank beast earns 5 points. And a peak D-Rank beast… earns you 10 points.”

More murmurs followed after the announcement. Even for ten people, taking down multiple peak D-Rank beasts was no joke.

“You will have ten hours to collect your points, and at the end the team with the most points will be crowned as the winners.”

He then lowered his hand, and the projection shimmered away.

“I will make this next part very clear, killing another participant is strictly forbidden. You may fight among each other for points, but if any of you deliberately take a life or cripple someone, your team will be expelled from the competition and you will be punished accordingly.”

Arthur nodded to himself. The tournament might be brutal, but at least it had lines that couldn’t be crossed.

Auron’s tone shifted as he moved to the final part of his speech.

“Now… the rewards.”

Silence fell like a curtain, and even the most distracted students were now laser-focused.

“The top ten teams will each be granted a high-grade artifact of their choosing… and an Elixir capable of assisting a breakthrough in cultivation.”

Gasps echoed across the field.

“The next twenty teams will be awarded the same Elixir, and the twenty after that, a mid-grade artifact.”

Arthur’s mind immediately went into planning mode. ‘High-grade artifacts weren’t just rare, they were near impossible to obtain without noble status or major contributions to a kingdom.’

“But more important than the artifacts,” Auron said, his eyes sweeping over the crowd.

“The top twenty teams… will be granted access to an ancient realm. A pocket dimension from ancient time. There are both riches and danger inside. The gate to the pocket dimension opens every three hundred years and those who return become the backbone of their kingdom.”

That got the reaction he wanted. Gasps, cheers and shock spread among the students like wildfire.

Arthur’s eyes lit up faintly. ‘Now that’s worth fighting for.’

Auron gave one final nod. “We will discuss more about it with the winners of the tournament. For now form your teams, the staff members are waiting to guide you to the teleportation arrays. First-years, your phase begins immediately.”

After the first year students were guided towards a different area, he started to address the senior students.

…

“Dibs on Arthur,” Finn said the moment the announcement ended, raising his hand like a kid in a classroom.

Leon crossed his arms. “So we’re sticking to the same ten?”

Eva nodded. “They must have selected ten students from each class thinking we will form a team. There’s no need to complicate things.”

They then formed their team and registered it with the staff. Their team included Arthur, Finn, Leon, Eva, Natalya, Sophia, and four other first-years from their class.

Then they quickly gathered and followed the staff’s directions toward a separate stone path leading into a fenced-off clearing where large teleportation circles were set up.

Arthur counted at least two hundred teams just from the first-year division alone.

Dozens of glowing arrays were spread out in rings, each manned by a pair of staff members wearing enchanted robes.

“Team A-117,” a voice called. That was their group.

Arthur stepped forward with his team, the ten of them forming a straight line.

“Stand within the boundary of the magic circle,” a staff member said, waving a hand.

As soon as the last foot touched the edge of the glowing ring, the magic circle activated with a soft hum, then a sudden blinding flash, they disappeared from there.

Arthur felt a tug, like space itself warping around them. He had experienced similar sensations, whenever Selene teleported them.

And in the next second they found themselves inside a vast forest, with tall trees and shrubs surrounding them.

…

The world around Arthur and his team stabilized with a ripple of residual mana as the teleportation ended.

The forest was vast.

Thick-trunked trees rose like ancient guardians into the sky, their interlocking branches forming a green canopy that filtered the sunlight into small patches on the forest floor. The air was cool and smelled of moss, leaves, and soil.

“Everyone okay?” Arthur asked, scanning the group.

Leon gave a curt nod. “All in one piece.”

“Teleportation nausea?” Finn asked, looking at Sophia.

“I’m not that delicate,” she replied, though her hand did linger near her stomach.

Eva was already surveying the terrain. Her fingers brushed across the bark of a tree, eyes narrowing as she studied the claw marks. “There are faint trails ahead. Several beasts passed this way recently from how fresh the trails are, they’re likely close.”

“Then we should move,” Arthur said. “I’ll scout ahead. Leon and Finn, take the rear. Eva, prepare to use your vines, that might be the best way to subdue the beasts. And you six take the centre position.”

They moved quickly but carefully, navigating through shrubs and uneven terrain. Their boots made little sound, thanks to a sound-dampening spell Eva had cast on the team before entering the forest.

Then, Arthur raised a hand in signal from his elevated perch.

‘Visual,’ he informed his teammates with telepathy from the tree’s low branch. ‘There are eight hostiles. Three early D-Rank… probably some kind of wolf-dog hybrids. Five E-Rank, definitely lesser forest hounds.’

The beasts roamed in a loose pack across a clearing, some lapping from a shallow stream, others pacing lazily near moss-covered stones.

‘They’re not alert,’ Leon noted. ‘Looks like we caught them mid-rest.’

‘Good,’ Arthur transmitted. ‘Take your positions. We’ll go on my mark.’

Eva’s eyes glowed faintly green as she pressed her palms to the earth. Dozens of thin, finger-width vines began slithering out of the forest floor like silent snakes, curling behind trees and burrowing into the grass.

The team fanned out. Finn took to a nearby branch, crouched like a coiled spring. Sophia began murmuring a soft chant under her breath, readying a gust spell to corner the hounds if needed. The rest also fell into their roles with practiced ease.

Arthur raised his hand, with three fingers pointing upwards.

Two.

One.

‘Now.’

Finn was the first to move, launching forward from his perch like a cannonball.

“Gale Step!”

A surge of wind rocketed him into the clearing, slamming directly into one of the E-Rank hounds and knocking it out cold before it could even bark. Another turned sharply, only to be slammed sideways by Leon, who landed from above with a glowing hammer of light.

Sophia released her spell, “Gale Blast!” sending two more E-Rank hounds tumbling into the base of a tree, dazed from the impact.

Meanwhile, the D-Rank beasts growled, baring their fangs as they tried to regroup.

But Eva was faster.

The ground beneath the beasts exploded. Dozens of thick vines burst from beneath the beasts’ paws, snatching two of the D-Rank creatures mid-leap and slamming them back into the dirt with an audible whump.

The third tried to retreat, but was met by Natalya’s ice blasts, peppering it with precise blasts to its limbs, freezing it in its place.

“Over here,” Arthur called, drawing the beast’s attention as it charged him.

He dodged to the side with ease, and vanished from its line of sight only to reappear beside it. His palm slammed into its ribs, pressing it onto the ground.

Boom.

The beast twitched slightly as it tried to rise, but was unable to fight against Arthur’s strength.

“Tag now,” Arthur called.

Each teammate moved toward their assigned targets.

The enchanted tokens they carried began to glow softly as they touched them against the sigils etched into the beasts’ skin, faint blue marks that pulsed with mana.

After five seconds, the sigils began to dim. Then, with a faint ding, numbers appeared on the tokens’ surface.

They accumulated a total of 20 points from this hunt for their team.

The sigils on the beasts’ bodies faded into nothingness after the points showed up on the tokens.

“They vanish after the tag completes,” Arthur muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“That means no double dipping,” Leon said, already scanning the forest again. “Each beast is worth exactly one chance.”

Sophia huffed as she returned to the group. “Well, that was easier than expected.”

“These beasts were weaker,” Eva replied. “Still dangerous in numbers, but we should stay cautious if we encounter Peak D-Rank beasts.”

Natalya crouched beside the subdued D-Rank beast, still immobilized. “Should we leave them like this?”

Arthur nodded and said. “We should leave this area, the noise might attract other participants here.”

The team regrouped, and left the area to explore the forest and accumulate more points.

***

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