Chapter 575 The Tournament of Champions - First Round (1)
Dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dun dun dun.
A loud heaven-shaking drums echoed across the vast land of Moon City.
The audience shook in their seats as the whole arena trembled. After a short while, the drumming stopped, and the lights enveloped the arena.
Creak... One of the tall and mighty doors opened. The arena ground, covered in cobblestone, rumbled as hundreds of horses galloped out of the open doors. No one rode them except one. At the back of the horde, a man clad in golden armor rode a white horse adorned with battle armor.
The audience watched with fascination while the Gods and Goddesses watched with curiosity. After the horses galloped across the whole arena, they exited through another pair of tall and might doors.
Only the man clad in golden armor stayed behind with his beautiful horse. The horse galloped to the middle of the arena, and the man pulled out his golden horn.
After placing his lips on the horn, he blew loudly and mighty.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The single blow caused the horn to release a sound so deafening that even the farthest corner of Moon City heard it.
Everyone watching from the Four Seasons felt their seats shake as a result of the horn.
After the horn, the man clad in golden armor removed his helmet. A handsome face with black skin and dreadlocks appeared in all his glory. Everyone recognized him.
Heimdall, the Watchman of Asgard.
''Everyone!'' With a single shout, the Moon City silenced, ''Welcome to the Tournament of Champions.''
CLAP, CLAP!
Resounding applause echoed across the thin air.
Heimdall caressed the horse's mane and said, ''Today, there are 99 competitors, but, after today, there will be only 32.''
The audience's breath got stuck in their throats. A large portion of the contenders would be thrown away from the competition after only a single day.
The residents of Four Seasons felt an even greater shock. They didn't know the event spanned several days. However, after thinking further, it made a lot of sense.
''The first event is rather simple. One Vs. One, a battle in a different environment.'' Heimdall showed the blank cobblestone ground. It looked lame without any special characteristics, ''This ground below me will change to a whole different environment. Forests, oceans, volcanoes, and even deserts. It can change to everything, and the contenders have to adapt.''
''After the event, there should be only 50 left. One lucky contender will get a free pass from the first event, and now, we will have a lottery. Luck is also a talent.''
A holographic wheel dropped down from the fake starry sky. The wheel had the names of 99 contenders and an arrow that would declare who would be lucky enough to stay out of the first event.
Heimdall touched the cold holographic wheel. Everyone watched with short breaths as the wheel started slowly spinning around.
The wheel started spinning faster and faster until each name was blurry. However, some of the sharp-eyed Gods and Goddesses could still see the names.
The wheel started slowly slowing down until the arrow finally stopped it. The arrow pointed at a single name, the person who was lucky enough to get a free pass.
[Darth]
''The player who gets the free pass is Darth from Guild Black Arrow!''
Inside one of the waiting rooms, Darth watched the TV screen with a shocked expression. The other contenders in the room looked at him enviously. There were around nine other people in this room alongside him.
After deciding the one who got the free pass, the wheel disappeared, and Heimdall shouted, ''Now, all the fights will be fought separately. Thus, everyone will only know their match-ups when the match is about to begin...
''Now, let's decide the first match-up!'' Heimdall snapped his fingers, and the large arena screens shone before revealing all the names. They started shuffling around before two names appeared.
[1. Sorcerer Vs. Queen Eliza]
The Gods and Goddesses raised their brows in surprise. Queen-titled players were always on their radar, so they knew a lot about them. They also knew Eliza, one of the most important members of humanity.
Sorcerer, on the other hand, was quite a black sheep. He was infamous among the players but quite low-key in the eyes of the deities.
Queen Eliza watched at the screen with a frown, 'Sorcerer... How troublesome.'
''Good luck!'' Alice patted her shoulder softly.
Queen Eliza smiled and stood up, ''Thanks, I will win this!''
Alice watched as she left the waiting room. Immediately after the door closed, she held her beating heart. She felt an immense amount of pressure and nervousness. Her class, the Priestess, wasn't the strongest in terms of fighting ability.
Also, knowing that millions and millions of people were watching her made her very nervous.
Inside another waiting room, a silence lingered in the air as one of them stood up. Sorcerer looked around the silent room in silence and left the room. After he left, the noise returned to the room.
It was like the silence was the result of his presence. Sorcerer wore a trenchcoat with a skull mask. His reputation was always controversial. Rumors of him killing New-Gen Humans still lingered in the minds of others.
No one knew whether it was true. Did he actually commit those hideous murders?
Sorcerer touched his mask and made sure it aligned with his face perfectly. As he walked past the open windows, he could see the sea of people cheering loudly.
His expression didn't change. Not even the rhythm of his heart. It was like he didn't feel any nervousness or anxiety.
Sorcerer soon arrived at the waiting area for the fighters. It was at the bottom floor. There were men clad with silver armor waiting for the signal to open the enormous door. The room itself was quite majestic, with silver columns holding up the sky.
''Everyone, let's introduce our first arena change!'' Heimdall's shout echoed in the arena. After his shout, the cobblestone ground started crumbling and crackling. The environment was changing!