Events seem to happen randomly but some things can be predicted. If by chance a debt collector comes to collect his debts from a debtor who has a gambling addiction in a period of time when that debtor is working on completing his own part of a big project that both of them are working on. Is it a thing of chance if the debtor chooses to bet again since it already bet on who will finish their part of the project earlier and it also has a good chance of winning?
It is not by chance. Gambling addiction plus the need for money plus the opportunity to bet plus a high chance of winning is equal to a definite possibility of betting. As the maths have shown, it is not by chance. It was carefully engineered. Either way, that gamble escalated into betting on the outcome of Project DISPLACEMENT. Now the battle sage can win 6 times the amount of the previously humongous debt. That is of course if his side wins.
He nodded in satisfaction after reviewing everything. It looked down in its hands where is holding 6 sheets of paper.
Then he said, "I guess 6 is my lucky number. I have been encountering it lately and I will be encountering it soon."
This event happened many years ago before the meeting with Soverick.
The Present. Competition Time.
Time went by and the time for the competition drew near. It has been named the Unified Skill Index League. It is an opportunity for greatness. More than that, it is supposed to be an equal and fair opportunity for greatness.
Everyone between transcendent and king of law can participate and test their mettle against each other. The ranking of the competition will determine the placement around the tower of trials. The better the performance, the closer the participant will be to the tower of trials.
The number of people that chose to participate in the competition increased in size once the news that the child of the plane will be participating was announced. The number of participants increased from a hundred thousand to more than 3 million in less than a year after his participation was announced.
Many people just want to see him up close while others have less pleasant aims. His participation will give numerous people the chance that they have been waiting for to compare themselves to him or to humiliate him. The plane became abuzz with excitement as the day drew near.
The racial council is more than prepared for the number of participants. They have put special pillars in different places within the plane which will serve as entrances to the competition ground. Rules and regulations of the competition have been announced to the populace too so people know how to join the competition and how to prepare for it.
The day finally came. A sound like the ringing of a very loud bell spread throughout the plane and signified the start of the registration for the event. The special pillars placed all over the plane lit up and created a pillar of light that reached the sky. The light show revealed their positions to make it easier to find them throughout the plane. Participants will then make their way to the pillars, touch them with their divine sense, complete their registration, and be whisked away to the competition location.
Some families were able to get a pillar for their personal use so that their family members won't have to wander around looking for pillars to use. The Ghastorix family was able to get one too. They are influential enough to get one but they got this for free thanks to a certain special someone. The perks of having the child of the plane in the family just keep on coming.
Most of the Transcendents of the family are going to participate in it, especially the ones that haven't become accepted adults yet. There is a tradition in the Virut plane that requires transcendents to attend the trial of heaven and return alive for them to become accepted members of the family. This tradition weeds out the weak and helps to keep the population down. It is a tradition that achieves two things.
Only those that have returned alive from the trial of heaven can be accepted into the family as adults and will have the privilege that comes with it, such as the right to bear children. If you bear kids without permission, then your kids won't be allowed to use some of the family's amenities like free schooling, accommodation in the main city, protection, and many more unless your kids have an awakened royal bloodline.
Becoming an adult is a very important matter in the Virut plane but it isn't time for the trial of heaven yet. The last trial of heaven was a few thousand years ago so there are still more than 80 thousand years to go. This Unified Skill Index League has been endorsed by the racial council to be used as a substitute instead of the trial of heaven. The best 30% will be endorsed for adulthood.
This announcement made most families that don't need Origin energy take the competition seriously. The competition has become more useful than simply gaining access to plots of land with high concentrations of Origin energy. Transcendents prefer the Unified Skill Index League to the trial of heaven because there will be no death.
The world gods of the racial council assured everyone that there will be zero casualties. Every participant will be saved from death by a rather innovative system put in place on the competition ground. The racial council did not tell them how it is done but everyone believes them.
The promise of zero casualties is all it took for the ones that want to confront the child of the plane but are still wary of him to decide to participate. No one wants to be a part of another Calamity of the Child of the Plane but now they have nothing to worry about since they can't die.