"Ladies and gentlemen" The announcer's voice boomed across the field, "The 12th anniversary inter academy regional sports festival is about to begin!"
Cheers and applause followed suite, erupting from students and gathered spectators alike. "Let's welcome our participants, give them a warm welcome"
Students from across the continent filed onto the field, each in their crisp, distinct uniform
Among the students, a grey-haired male student stood out, not because of appearance, but because of what he was doing– nudging one of his classmates, and pointing a finger at the Central academy student vice president. "Hey, look. The regional academic top 1, think you can beat him this time?"
"Stop pointing, you're drawing too much attention, it's embarrassing"
"Sorry about that. But my question?"
"Don't worry. I'll handle him this time around"
"Perfect" he patted his classmate, the ran off. "I'm going to say Hi"
The student watched him run off, sighing and shaking his head. "You're embarrassing us, President"
One of the students, one who was standing with them, couldn't help asking, "Hey, where's Zane running off to?"
"To the Central academy vice president. Seems like he's caught the attention of our president"
"He'd better hope he doesn't get matched against him. I doubt a tier three student would stand a chance against Zane- A end of species class"
End of species class is among the classes that sit above normal strength classifications
Tier one through ten are classes with measurable environmental destruction effects
(End of) classes are those of which cannot be tested, but can only be classified through demonstrated showcases of strength , with end of species being a class below the big three- end of era as number three, end of civilization as number two, and meteor impact as the highest class
Aki noticed Zane approaching, his expression shifted from neutral to intrigued
"Hoshino. Long time no see" he held out a hand, Aki shook it slowly, plastering a fake smile
"Yeah. It has been a while, how've you been?"
"Great. So, Hoshino" he leaned in closer. "No holding back this year, right?"
He smirked, patting his shoulder. "Last year, I chose not to compete when I heard you won't be in the combat team, but this year"
Aki cut him off, his eyes glowed as he grinned. "Don't get salty when you lose"
From the VIP area, The prime minister observed the two interacting, before glancing subtly at the two sisters. Rose noticed him looking, and without saving him face called him out, "What's with the subtle glances our way? Prime minister?"
"My apologies, the young man down there intrigued me, and I couldn't help glancing at those who he possibly could've trained to keep up with"
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Prince has never tried competing with us"
"Oh?"
"Yes, unfortunately so. Regardless of that, I hear you've been stirring up some tension behind the scenes- something to do with mercenaries?"
Sweat trailed down his forehead. "Rumors?"
"Probably. But you'd know if they were rumors or not, wouldn't you?"
"Of course I would" he straightened up, then walked to the door. "But it's never appropriate to spread them without evidence"
After he left. Chloe took the seat beside Rose, then leaned in. "So, its now proven?"
"Yes. He's up to something"
"It might have something to do with mom's research"
"Mom's research?" Seeing Aki walking back to the locker rooms, it clicked for Rose. The super human sampling, capable of enhancing tier three soldiers to staggering heights of tier eight, could the prime minister be mistaking it with Aki's natural potential? It sure seemed so
"Snow" Rose walked up to Snow, holding a pair of red earrings, "I need you to give these to Prince, now"
"Earrings?"
In Rose's mind, she was already calculating. 'If the Prime minister is truly trying to use Prince, then the matches could be rigged- possibly, if so, I can't risk letting his nature activation acting up'
"As soon as the combat matches begin, give them to him. OK?"
"I understand"
The beginning of the academics test was announced, signaling the spectators to watch to overhead screen broadcasting the exam room
The room held 40 students, a total of 20 academies, each with one pair of students participating
"Students, you have 10 minutes to complete as many out of 50 questions as you can– Begin!"
Pens wrestled against paper, ink dancing across with rapid intensity, sweat beaded down most student's foreheads, palms slick
Two minutes went by, Aki on the other hand, was calm, already answering the 36th question
The 37th question- What are the Principles of Series, and how do the differ from Magic Principles
38th question- Explain in detail, the linear product of magic composition and combination based magic
"Only 2 minutes remaining!" The announcer yelled through the microphone
After a brief struggle, the test ended
All the papers were collected, each handed over to the markers sitting in front of the exam room
"Test scanners will be used to confirm answers, while manual review will be used for dissection of suspicious information provided as answers- Brace yourself students!"
Minutes went by before the announcer spoke up. The results are in– first place is, and has been for the last two years- Central academy vice president: Aki Hoshino - at 46
Closest second, beaten by 24 points: Ray Manchester of Dark horse academy‐ at 22
Third, beaten by second, with a gap of 2 points, Milan Britania of Central academy- at 20
"Four points have been deducted from first place taker for generic answering on the first thirty- six answers"
"What does that mean?" He snapped his pen in half, eyes locking on the markers in front of him. "Too generic?"
"Student. Please calm down, the markers are just-"
"I wasn't talking to you." His gaze drifted back to the markers. The air around him shook, and the pressure intensified. "What's so generic about them?"
"Uhm, well. By test taking standards-"
"Which ones?"
He leaned on their desk. Looking down at the one who had spoke up. Slowly, he moved towards the man's ear, before whispering. "Try me"
Gasps rippled through the spectators, the sound system was good enough that his whisper was heard by everyone. Zane was especially intrigued, smirking as he looked at the frozen face of the Proctor, "Don't risk it all for nothing"
The door to the exam room swung slowly, and heels clicked inside, a palm rested softly on Aki's head. He looked up to see him mom smiling at him. "It's fine, forty-six points is still more than enough. Don't worry yourself on four lousy points, its not like losing them shakes your position or anything"
Reluctantly, he straightened up, and left the room. The announcer, recovering from his words, could only hiss under his breath. "Damn brat" before his officiant facade snapped back into place
"Anyway, let's continue. Students, you're given thirty minutes break before the combat tournament begins, make good use of it"
Wanting some fresh air, Aki walked up to the Vip area, everyone turned as he entered the room, suprised by his arrival
"Way to showoff your status, baby brother" Chloe patted the seat beside hers,laughing, Rose just smiled, shaking her head helplessly
"Non of that was actually necessary"
He sat down, covering his face, his hands were shaking subtly, peaceful heat dicipating from them, spreading across the room
His eyes, glowed like a flickering light, brightening and dimming every few seconds. His heartbeat was interval, thumping once every ten seconds
He was clearly losing control, Nature activation was acting up just as Rose has predicted
Suddenly, a figure was seated on his armrest, fidgeting with his ear. He looked up to see his fiancée, quietly putting an earring on his ear
He held no smile, his face remained blank, but the heartbeat picked up, beating at a semi normal rate
Snow took the other earring, and put it on the ear opposite to his. "Come on" she dragged him outside, intending to find a quiet place to cool him down, but on their way out, they ran into one of the students, recognizing who Snow was, the student's face lit up
"Move" Aki's hoarse voice cut through. His command speech activated, forcing the student to step aside without resistance.
In one of the classrooms, the two sat down facing each other, Seeing his vacant eyes, Snow poked his cheek, snapping him out of the daze, he felt his energy, coursing, leaving his body, focusing on an external object, the earring
"Prince" Snow moved her chair beside his, looking at him. "Don't think much of what's about to happen. OK?"
"What do you mean?"
"Close your eyes. It's a little embarrassing"
Catching on, his cheeks flushed involuntarily, his heartbeat a little bit faster then it had been, he closed his eyes and braced himself
A few moments later, the two stepped out of the classroom, both looking embarrassed. "You should head back, I'm going down to prepare for my match"
"R-right"
Aki walked over to a window, leaped off and sprung his tentacles,swinging along till he landed by the back entrance of the locker room
After he left, Snow ran a finger along her lips, brow furrowing, face redening. "Snap out of it, idiot!"
Upon entering, Sam looked up at Aki, a grin on his face. "Try me" he laughed, Clutching his stomach, "VP, you really didn't have to do all that, a simple question would've been enough"
"Don't tease me" he walked over to his locker, changing into the gear prepared for the festival
Just then, the announcer announced the end of the break, signaling the beginning of the combat tournament
"Combatants, make your way to the field. In the meantime, allow me to explain the rules"
Ten academies, chosen for the tournament will be competing in four student one on one matches, each round lasting ten minutes, the matches will be conducted for a duration of two days, the first day hosting the first five matches
"Most of you are probably wondering, how will we make these fights fair? Especially with high talent students participating this time around" the screen flickered to a representation of the gear the students were wearing. "These combat gear they are wearing are designed with special Nature adjacent cores, made to supress and limit output to a controlled amount, by regional regulations, all the combatants will be limited to Tier ten+, with a maximum output of one hundred and twenty thousand units"
Units refer to the effect radius of attacks for combatants, with 120 000 units being the equivalent of 12 kilometers, meaning the effect of a full power tier 10+ at 120k units can eradicate anything within a 12km radius
Rin, Aki and Sam stepped out onto the field, "Central academy only has three students participating? What's the meaning of this?! I bet a fortune on them winning"
The murmurs carried across the spectators, and speculations followed suite, the announcer, hearing the noise, stepped in to answer everyone's thoughts
"Ladies and gentlemen, although it may seem unconventional, the reason is very understandable. Central academy was recently attacked by unknown assailants, so many students were shook, which wavered their resolve for participating in the festival"
"Also, there was never a rule clarifying that an academy explicitly needed four students to qualify, as long as it was more than one"
The first match came
Central academy against Peak Oliver academy