"Good." The instructor said and told him to sit. He then turned his attention back to the class noticing the confused looks on the faces of most.
"The issue of Alex is his and his alone to deal with. If you're interested in finding out, you can ask him yourself." He said to put the curious students on hold. He doubted if Alex would even say anything to them.
"Now, because one of our own will be partaking in the first phase, I will explain what it entails. It's a simple trial actually, something I highly doubt would be a challenge for him. But then again, anything can happen."
Even though they were excluded from the first phase, they were still interested in what it would be. They had already made up their minds to watch.
"The first phase would be a simple battle royale." He dropped the bomb, once again making the students turn to one another and murmuring. The trial may seem simple at a glance but in a battle royale, if you're targeted by everyone else, it is game over.
The students then looked over at Alex with some showing pity and others sheering in delight. Zen on the other hand was not sure what to feel. He narrowed his eyes as he pondered on what that meant.
'His chances of coming out of that battle are slim. If he is eliminated, I will miss my chance to beat him up myself. On the other hand, if he somehow manages to come out, his popularity will skyrocket again.'
Everyone in his class knew just how strong Alex was. And despite what the instructor said about his mana level, they all knew Alex was going to crush the competition. Zen was leaning more on him to win. That way, when he challenged him and came out on top, he would be on everyone's radar. The thought brought a small smile to his face.
"The rules are simple: Be part of the last 5000 students."
That was almost a tall order. Even with most of the seeded students, there were still millions of students. Alex did not show any expression when he heard all of this. His resolve to overcome this challenge only intensified.
"The battle royale will take place tomorrow at 10:00 am. Make sure to be at the combat systems by that time." He said the last piece to Alex who nodded in understanding.
Turning back to the rest of the class, "The actual content of the competition will be made known to you once the battle royale has been settled. You're dismissed." He concluded and left the class.
The class soon went into an uproar as soon as he disappeared. Many of the students quickly closed in on Alex and bombarded him with various questions.
"Yo, Alex, what's up with your level?"
"Yeah, with your strength, you should already be in Class E!"
"Come on, tell us what happened?"
The questions continued to come in and Alex was a little overwhelmed. It's like the hero they looked up to failed them and they wanted to know how that happened. Was he not cultivating at all? Was there something wrong with him that they didn't know about? Or was all this a ploy?
Ross and Julia noticed how Alex was unable to say anything, understanding that he did not want to speak about it.
"Enough already!" Julia heard enough and exclaimed. She stood up and faced her classmates, "Alex has no obligation to give you an explanation. So beat it."
Her tone and expression made it clear that there was no other alternative to what she said, anything who thought otherwise had to take it up against her. The students backed off with their hands up in surrender.
"Okay… Chill, we were just curious." One of the students tried to defend, but a glare from her shut him up for good.
Soon, they began to go their way, but some left their well wishes, "Alex, I believe in you. Make sure to come out on top." Alex heard their messages and simply smiled. The entire time they bombarded him with questions, his thoughts were somewhere else.
He more than anyone knew how much attention would be on him. This would definitely make him a target for the other students, and with him being a loner with only Ross and Julia as friends, he could only rely on himself.
The classroom became deserted sometime later, leaving Alex, Julia and Ross.
"Your name is going to be all over the place again," Ross stated the obvious, receiving a nod from Alex and Julia.
"I know… It's only a matter of time before the whole school finds out." Alex said with an unreadable expression. Everyone already knew his physicals were higher than everyone else's in the first year, but now that they knew he could be taken out of the competition due to his low mana level, it was almost guaranteed at this point.
In a mass of people, unless one had absolute strength, nothing was certain.
"Do you have a plan out of this?" Julia asked, concern written all over her face. The entire situation did not sit well with her. How could the strongest first-year not be seeded simply because his level was low?
"Don't worry, I already have a plan. I was initially planning on using it only during the competition. But I guess now is as good a time as any." He stated with a determined look.
Ross and Julia exchanged looks. This did not escape Alex, "Don't worry too much. This doesn't mean I've lost my place in this class. I'm sure I have enough points to stay in this class even if I don't partake in the competition." He reassured his friends.
"Let's return. I have a busy day tomorrow." Alex said and stood up. Julia and Ross also got up and the trio made their way back to the dorms.
'This just means I have two stages to prove myself.' He decided to look at his situation positively. His expression was that of determination and resolve. A small grin then appeared at the corner of his lips as he thought about how he was going to take everyone by storm.