Inside the Class A auditorium, Ross and Julia were sitting in the front role seat, looking at the massive display in front of them. They all listened to what the instructor said to the competitors and knew it was going to be one hell of a battle.
Just like everyone, they had expected a huge coliseum-style fight with no obstacles and the like. But the academy seemed to have different plans. This made them think about what the contents of the actual competition would be like. Will it have a similar format, or will it be completely different? Only time will tell.
Ross and Julia exchanged knowing glances and knew Alex was in deep trouble, but there was nothing they could do and just had to watch and pray for him.
Once the instructor finished and the countdown began, the students in the auditorium received their own special announcements.
[All seeded students, the main display will always project the scenes with the most activity and can quickly be changed. However, if you have a student you want to focus on, link your devices to the main display.]
[Once linked, in the search icon type the name of the student you want to focus on, and your own devices will focus only on that student.]
The students promptly followed the instructions. This method of observation brought smiles to the faces of all the students. Since there were millions of students in the battle, it would be challenging to focus on everyone. Therefore, while the main screen displayed the areas with the most activity, their devices would show the feed of the student of their choice.
This presented the opportunity to observe the action on the big screen when their chosen student was otherwise not engaged. For the students of Class A, the choice was already clear: Alexander Gray.
They all typed in his name and immediately saw his situation.
"Eeish, that can't be good." One student commented when he saw a surrounded Alex. "Well, being famous does that to you. Hopefully, he doesn't get eliminated." Another said and the class agreed.
The timer was close to its end, and everyone quieted down and watched. Julia held her breath seeing Alex already in a bind, 'Please be careful.' She prayed in her heart. While this was not a death sentence, she did not wish to see Alex eliminated as soon as the fight began. Ross silently watched without a word. No more words were needed at this point, they could only watch and hope for his success.
...….
The countdown reached its last seconds and tension rose. Some of the students around Alex had already departed and did not wish to involve themselves in the chaos to come, but the remaining ones were already ready, their weapons and abilities rearing to go.
Alex swallowed the lump in his throat. While he did have a plan, that didn't mean he wasn't nervous. For all he knew, someone might see through it.
'Let's not think about that. Out of everyone here, I'm the fastest. Outrunning them shouldn't be a problem.' He thought to calm down his nerves. His heart had already begun rising in beats. He stood still, not making any attempt to reach for the short staff attached to his back.
However, his right hand was already gathering his mana and his gaze shifted quickly, observing his competitors and noting the area with the least number of students.
Once the countdown reached zero and the signal for the battle royale to begin resounded throughout the landscape, chaos unfolded.
Using his superior speed and reflexes, Alex raised his right hand and released an extremely bright light that took everyone by surprise. The light was more than they were used too, and this stunned everyone.
"Ahhh! My eyes!"
"Fuck!!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Students began to scream in pain and agony from being hit by the various abilities going off. They were blinded and didn't even know where the attacks were coming from. And the attacks carried so much power that it looked like an actual war with grenades and missiles going off.
The sound of discomfort resounded in the area with students flying every which way, some already turning into light particles and disappearing. Within the first second of the start of the battle royale, tens of students, if not hundreds, were already eliminated!
This was not the only area either, all around the continent, in various landscapes, explosions and abilities went off, eliminating students who were unfortunate to get caught in them. The smart ones who moved away from the crowded areas were the only ones to be spared from the ongoing destruction.
After the explosions subsided and their vision cleared, they realized that Alex was missing and many of their group had been hurt or killed. Some were seriously injured and in pain, but no one helped them. They frantically searched for Alex but couldn't find him.
"Did anyone see where he ran off to?!" Someone asked in a loud voice. He seemed to be the most pissed about losing Alex.
"Don't know. Maybe he was eliminated in the explosions?" Another said.
"Unlikely. Remember, he was the one who blinded us." Another counted the reasoning of the other student and most of them agreed with his take.
"So what now?" Another said and immediately silence settled among them. Suddenly, allies became foes as they looked at everyone vigilantly. Some were already backing away to create some distance in case another round of abilities went off. They were lucky to survive the first one and were not willing to risk it again.
But the pissed-off student still wanted to go after Alex, "I say we band together and find Alex." He said with a serious glint in his eyes, but not everyone agreed.
"Yeah, you do that. We're on a clock and I'm not going to waste my time searching for someone we may not come across again." The person said and quickly disappeared into the surrounding trees.
The others agreed and slowly and vigilantly disappeared, leaving only a few looking around, not sure of what to do. They were like lost lambs in need of a shepherd. The injured students who were most likely out for the count were quickly finished off by some of the students before also disappearing. No one minded as they watched them do so. This was just the beginning.
Besides, the more people someone eliminates, the better for others.
"Tch"
The pissed-off student snorted and left. The first round was over and when they encountered themselves again, they would be enemies.