At this point, there was nothing that Hutchin could do. The three Organizations hadn't broken any of the rules, there was nothing that said they couldn't hide their seeded geniuses. Valiant Heart would have tried to do the same thing if it wasn't for the fact the last two years exposed all of their cards to their enemies. It could be said that right now, the only true trump card they had was Leonel.
"Ai, how embarrassing. I'm not even seeded."
Leonel chuckled lightly, his expression still carefree.
Stretching out his back, Leonel's bare toes curled along the stone floor. For a moment, it even seemed as though he would tip over and fall. Yet, he was able to snap back up like a rubber band, his body feeling light and springy.
In these two years, Leonel had never stopped training his flexibility. But now that he had reached Tier 9 of his Metal Body, it was likely that he would need a new yoga-like technique quite soon.
Head Hutchin turned back to the group. Seeing Leonel's casual appearance, he somehow felt a bit of worry drop from his heart.
"You all have to be careful." Hutchin spoke, his tone solemn. "We won't be able to interfere in this round, even if you should lose your lives, so you must take care of yourselves and each other.
"This round will be both a race and a competition. Do you see those thinner pillars in the distance?"
Everyone looked off toward Hutchin's gaze. There, through the harsh winds and dense fog they could see a number of thin pillars that were exceptionally tall, some even taller than this roof they stood upon, but only about two feet across.
In these hurricane force winds, these tall pillars waved back and forth. Given their height, it was only an incremental movement relatively speaking, showing off a level of great engineering. However, due to their narrow thickness, it felt like a great distance nonetheless.
The sturdiest of the pillars had a movement radius of one meter for a full range of two meters in any of the cardinal directions. The most 'flimsy' though, had a movement radius of upwards of five meters for a full range of ten.
The pillars bounced back and forth from their limits so quickly that they left blurry afterimages in the air. It was a speed even someone nearing the Fifth Dimension wouldn't be easily able to deal with.
Seeing such a scene, the youths suddenly got a bad feeling.
"Those pillars are the best transportation option Planet Vincero has outside of flying shuttles. They're structured with several valuable ores, so it isn't necessary to worry about them snapping. But, their movement is an inevitable part of their design. If they were too rigid, they would snap…
"Your task is to use those pillars toward a destination marked ten kilometers from here. There is both a time limit and a ranking requirement.
"Only 20 of you will be allowed to move on to the next round and you must reach the end destination within an hour. Do you understand?"
Hutchin gave the youths all a deep look. But, not a single one of them didn't have a serious expression on. It was clear that they weren't failing to take this seriously. They had already seen through the unwritten rules. This was most definitely not a simple 'race'.
Leonel took in Hutchin's words and looked back toward the waving pillars.
'What a fascinating Craft… Usually, if a construction was oscillating so quickly it would only be a matter of time before it reached its limit. It's clear that these pillars aren't simple. But, I guess a Two Star Disaster World is worth the investment.'
The participating youths began to gather. It was then that the unfairness of it all became quite obvious.
With so many participating youths from the other organizations, many of whom were clearly here just to fill in the numbers, the problem of jostling for position became very obvious, very quickly.
Though there were more than enough pillars, the real question was whether there was enough in the particular direction they needed to go. And, the answer to that was obviously no.
This was the headquarters of the Third Party they had enlisted the help of, so of course there would be plenty of pillars in the immediate surroundings. But, they would definitely split off into numerous paths and become sparse very quickly.
And yet… There were over 200 youths participating and only about 20 of them were from Valiant Hall. The bloodthirst in the air was practically palpable.
"Milady! Please give me the honor of introducing myself!"
At that moment, the somber atmosphere filled with mostly murmurings was cut by a booming voice.
A young man with a tall rusted blade on his back, just one meter short of his Head's, practically glided over to Aina's position on a single knee.
He had a hand placed over his heart and the other rose off to the side and into the skies as though he was bearing his heart and soul. He truly looked as though he had been copied and pasted out of a romantic comedy.
His looks weren't bad either and could even be considered to be quite handsome. He had a strong jaw, partially wet jet black hair and sparkling green eyes. On top of that, his body was well built. Given his strength, he definitely had many suitors amongst women.
Having seen Aina's figure from a distance, even with the mask she wore, he had long since decided that he would have to have a chat with her. But, waiting until the race was over would be too boring. He had to make his confidence known.
Leonel, who was watching this scene from beside Aina raised an eyebrow. However, the amused light in his eye didn't fade.
"I am Rafthin! Head Student of the esteemed Rusted Blade! I would like to dedicate this race to this lovely lady for all to see! I will claim first place as a professing of my heart and soul!"