Chapter 52: The Competition Begins

As a whole, the distribution of group members was fair.

The students who were around the same levels in strength had been grouped together.

As such, no one would complain even if they were to place dead last within their groups.

The rules of how one earned points was also rather simple. If they won, then they would earn one point, and if they lost, they would lose one point.

However, they found that the new student, Locke’s, group to be rather unusual.

In this group of four, other than the relatively unknown Locke, the other three were all “celebrities”!

Hughes, a year 2 student of the academy, had hailed from a well-known family.

Alexander, one of the most hardworking students, had reached the Diamond class all the way from the Silver Class via these competitions.

Lastly, there was Jonathan, who was known as the genius Beastmaster who controlled the Forest Series beasts.

These three students were all ranked in the top ten within the Diamond Class!

Although Locke had a rose-gold divine rank Battle Beast, no one seemed to think highly of him.

“It’s okay, I’ve entered the Gold Class playoffs before. There aren’t many experts in the Gold Class…”

“Hughes likes to play dirty, you’d better surrender when you face him…”

“Jonathan has a bad temper, take care of yourself…”

A few “kind” students gave Locke some advice while walking past him.

‘What are they talking about?!’

Locke was really mad. It seemed like he had to prove his strength to everyone!

After all, no one wanted to be looked down upon!

Moreover, he also realized that there were a few people staring at him from afar.

It was Adrian and his vicious sister, as well as the other three people who were in the same group as Locke.

‘It seemed like they’re about to carry out devious acts on me again.’

“It’s you again…”Locke threw a provocative look at Adrian.

Adrian responded with a cold smile while making a throat-slitting gesture at Locke.

“Listen, I’ve already arranged for the strongest person in the Gold Class to wait for him in the playoffs. You don’t have to show him any mercy. Go all out and chase him out of the Diamond Class!”

The three of them looked as if they were listening to an imperial edict. They were nodding their heads non-stop.

Meanwhile, Alice and Instructor Ollie were exchanging glances.

The instructor was in cahoots with the White Siblings.

After all, it was the White Family who had nominated him to teach in the academy.

Before long, the judges had arrived. They were in charge of judging the matches for the groups.

Meanwhile, the students were already in their assigned areas and were preparing for the competition.

Adrian dominated Group A. He had defeated three opponents in a row and he was considered to be the top of his group. He sat on the chair that his underling had prepared for him, and sipped on red wine as he waited for the winner of the other groups.

Alice was equally successful in group D. Instructor Ollie had arranged those who were infatuated with her beauty as her opponents. As a result, it was an easy win for her.

At this moment, on the combat grounds of Group B…

“The first match! Alexander versus Jonathan!” The judge signaled for the two of them to get into the ring.

The two of them had a lazy expression on their faces. Without even making his way to the ring, Alexander raised his hand and said to the judge, “I… Admit defeat!”

Looking at this scene, Locke frowned slightly.

“Are you being serious? If your results are poor in the later matches, you’ll have to participate in the playoffs!” The judge asked, confused.

“Really! I surrender!” Alexander declared again.

Seeing how determined he was, the judge no longer insisted and announced Jonathan’s victory.

Following that, it was Hughes and Alexander’s turn to battle. However, Alexander announced his surrender once more.

In short, as long as their opponent was not Locke, they had no desire to fight.

The judge was also helpless. After all, surrendering was not against the rules.

Locke finally understood what they were planning.

To put it bluntly, the three of them had already discussed it beforehand. They were saving their mana to deal with Locke.

As long as Locke lost three times in a row, he would be relegated to the bottom of the group and he would need to participate in the playoffs.

“The next match is between Locke and Alexander! Please come forward!” The judge signaled once again.

Many students who had finished their matches in the other areas surrounded group B’s ring. They wanted to know how Locke would fare.

Locke went forward with Lil’ White already wrapped around his arm.

Alexander retracted his lazy expression and immediately summoned his Battle Beast — a Blazing War Chicken!

“COO…”

As it was a Battle Beast, the Blazing War Chicken was different from ordinary poultry in several aspects.

First was its size. Blazing War Chicken was at least ten times the size of an ordinary chicken!

Its fiery red feathers and crown seemed to glow slightly as it breathed. It was quite a beautiful specimen.

Locke concluded that it was a fire-type Battle Beast.

“Level 9, Stage 2. I believe it’s strong enough to deal with you…” Alexander said confidently.

“This chicken is pretty good-looking, does it lay eggs? I want to buy one from you and give it to my mom to raise…” No one expected had expected Locke to reply in such a manner!

“Pfft…”

“Hahaha!”

A few students who were watching their match laughed.

Alexander’s eyelids twitched!

Even Blazing War Chicken was furious. “Coo Coo Coo!!”

“Hmph, so what if you own a rose gold beast? It can only deal with a Level 6, Stage 2[1] enemy at most!” Alexander said.

The Blazing War Chicken’s eyes started to flicker!

The temperature around the ring began to rise!

Soon!

Balls of flames appeared in front of Locke!

An explosion immediately followed!

Had it not been for Lil’ White’s Spatial Movement, Locke would definitely have been injured by the explosion!

“Attention! You broke the rules just now! You can’t hurt the Beastmaster himself!” The judge hurriedly shouted.

“Don’t worry, I was just joking around. I can’t hurt him since he has a spatial skill anyway!” Alexander said with an evil smile on his face.

Following that, the Blazing War Chicken spread its wings and charged towards Lil’ White!

Locke could clearly see the Blazing War Chicken’s beak becoming sharper. It was like a bayonet!

Lil’ White had transformed to its seven to eight-meter-long form. Its two heads hissed. It was ready for battle!

Although the Blazing War Chicken looked a little plump, it was actually very fast. It constantly thrust its sharp beak at Lil’ White!

Locke responded by activating Freezing Arrival!

The dense icicles did not cause much damage to the flaming chicken.

Instead, they melted upon contact with it, and it had greatly reduced their impact!

“So, this is the advantage of the fire element!”

“That’s right, it can suppress Locke’s icicles!”

Some students realized Alexander’s Battle Beast’s advantage over Locke’s.

Following that, the Blazing War Chicken’s eyes flickered again!

Another ball of flame that appeared out of thin air and exploded in front of Lil’ White!

However, Lil’ White responded quickly, and it teleported once again!

“Let’s see where you can hide!” Alexander shouted. The Blazing War Chicken’s eyes flickered rapidly, and five balls of flames quickly surrounded Lil’ White.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions rocked the scene! Before long, smoke had enveloped the battlefield.

“It’s over! Locke is finished!”

“Even with a spatial skill, there’s no way he’ll be able to escape!”

Although they could not see the situation clearly, the students were certain that it was Locke’s defeat!

[1] He’s referring to the Netherfiend Tiger

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