Atticus's gaze, together with the other youths, slowly fixed their gazes on the form of a red-haired boy standing at the third row of the second-year column, Dell Alverian.
His whole form was currently shaking, his legs trembling and struggling to keep him from falling as he stared at Atticus's figure in absolute horror.
A few months had passed since the incident with Dell, and considering his current reaction as he saw Atticus, it was obvious that it was still very much in memory.
A large space had long since been created between Dell and the rest of the people on the line, each of them staying away from the pool of urine.
Atticus focused on Dell for a few seconds before taking his gaze away, completely ignoring him and started walking towards his designated spot just across the platform.
Apart from the initial glance, Zezazeus, Gerald, and Sonorous hadn't turned to look at him again, but some of the other third years still kept on throwing subtle aggressive stares at him.
Before Atticus got to his spot, he swept his glance around the area, noting down each one of the higher year rankers and of course giving a nod to his allies.
For the third-year column, Atticus could see the form of a purple-haired handsome youth radiating peace, standing at the front of the line, unmistakably a Starhaven.
He didn't ponder on it too much and shifted his gaze. The Starhaven youth was followed by a blue-haired one, Zezazeus, followed by the white figure of an ember who was smiling at him, and just beside ember was… Orion, Sirius' son.
Orion simply greeted Atticus with a small bow.
Atticus responded with his own nod and carried his gaze away, noting down the orange-haired youth behind ember, Gerald, and then the green-haired Sonorous.
The second-year column had Arlo at the front, who still felt completely ashamed about his loss and didn't dare to look at Atticus, and then another bulky youth with steel-like muscles followed by the trembling form of Dell, who clearly didn't want to be there.
And at the 9th row, Atticus saw the bowing figure of Hogan and then… Sophie. Unlike Hogan, Sophie's excitement was palpable as she waved at Atticus with intense fervor.
If not for the current situation, Atticus had no doubt that she would have rushed in for a hug by now.
Atticus smiled slightly, he had missed those times at the Raven camp.
Responding to both of them with a small nod, Atticus and Aurora finally reached the first-year column, and with Atticus flashing Zoey, who rolled her eyes while muttering 'show off,' and Kael, whose intense gaze was fixed on him, a smile, they both stood at their designated spot.
He was already well aware of the first-year rankers and had only noted each of their subordinates instead. Each of them came with their family members except Kael, who had come with an unknown female.
Atticus's walk had only happened in the span of a few seconds, and throughout that time, the whole coliseum maintained its quietness.
Gon shook his head profusely. He too had been completely lost in the moment and had forgotten himself there for a second.
'What a fucking kid,'
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU READY!"
Gon roared at the top of his lungs, snapping the millions of youths out of their daze.
At the next instant, the coliseum trembled as the students all resumed their loud cheers.
Feeling the excitement in the air, Gon continued,
"Good, good! But before we can begin, as per tradition, our honorable vice-principal would like to say a few words!"
Gon's words were followed by the sudden appearance of a man in the sky, his intense aura immediately silencing the crowd.
Atticus's gaze immediately became icy as he fixed his eyes on the man who had just appeared, Harrison. But rather than making a scene, Atticus took in a subtle deep breath, his expression returning to normal in the next instant. 'Now's not the time,'
Harrison, with his figure suspended in the air, gazed down at the participants calmly and spoke.
"I'll be brief. The leader's summit has been a tradition carried out every year for decades now, and during this competition, we aim to make you all experience and overcome challenges, all in hopes of making you find your path to becoming warriors."
Harrison's tone suddenly shifted, becoming intensely more serious.
"The real world can be cruel, and sometimes we have to be more cruel in order to survive."
Atticus could feel Harrison's gaze on him as he said that last part. He didn't have to be a genius to understand what was happening; Harrison had been talking to him.
'Expect that cruelty in the future,' Atticus thought coldly.
"I wish you all good luck," the figure of Harrison abruptly disappeared from the air. The coliseum still maintained its silence for a few seconds before the sound of an explosion woke the crowd up from their sober mood.
Each of them turned their gazes upwards to witness the beautiful sights.
A beautiful fireworks display showcasing the number 98 in the sky.
"THIS MARKS THE 98TH LEADER'S SUMMIT OF THE ACADEMY!"
Gon's roar was immediately followed by the sounds of deafening cheering that lasted for a few seconds.
After the crowd calmed down, Gon turned his gaze towards the participants and addressed them.
"The theme of this year's summit is Hunter and Hunted, and the rules… well, I'll leave you all to find that out yourselves. LET THE LEADER'S SUMMIT BEGIN!"
Each of the participants only had the time to show confused expressions before the platform they were all on suddenly lit up with an intense golden glow and as abruptly as light, they each all disappeared.
The crowd screamed in complete fervor as multiple massive screens suddenly started appearing in the middle of the coliseum.
…
Atticus felt the surreal and amazing feeling of space envelop his form.
This lasted for just a second before it abruptly vanished, and Atticus suddenly felt the mana in his body reduce to staggering levels, his form becoming considerably weak.
'What the…' Atticus didn't even have time to ponder about this sudden change before the pitch-black darkness suddenly receded, and Atticus felt an intense rush of wind against his skin, followed by the sensation of weightlessness as though gravity was pulling him downwards.
Atticus's eyes snapped open, his gaze sweeping around the area, immediately comprehending that he was currently thousands of feet in the air, descending downward with speed.
Before he could formulate his next move, Atticus suddenly felt a wave of heat coming from behind, and as soon as he turned around, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat as he saw the staggering amounts of massive fireballs blazing towards his form at supersonic speed.
Atticus's gaze turned icy.