Chapter 10 – Tournament Round Two

"And now, a word from our sponsors: Ryko Corp."

"The Ryko Corporation, a leader in progressive attitude, diversity, and global peace, has taken its role as a premier sponsor of the Great Dungeon Party because of viewers like you." Scenes of smiling workers shaking hands and rural scenery filled the commercial.

"Here at Ryko Corp, we care. Through our generous donations, we were able to secure five spots with the Great Dungeon Party as expert consultants."

CEO and Head Chairman of Ryko Corp, Evaris, took the screen next,

"As CEO and Head Chairman here at Ryko Corp, I have helped spread Ryko Corp into almost every business sector: real estate, banking, transportation, shipping, and much more! Although we've succeeded in recent years, the Shade War devastated Radon." Scenes of destruction and poverty played solemnly.

"We can't sit back and watch. Our responsibility here at the Ryko Corporation goes above and beyond; I and my team of experts will serve as expert consultants with the Great Dungeon Party!" Experts with crossed arms appeared behind Evaris.

"Together, we will conquer the Dungeon!"

"Remember: Ryko Corp cares!"

***

"And, we're back! Welcome to the second round of the Dungeon Selection Tournament! I am your host and announcer Jasper,"

"And I'm his co-host Ruby,"

"And we're bringing you the latest coverage with the remaining 128 participants. Remember everyone: only fifty people can join the Great Dungeon Party through the Dungeon Party Selection. Getting this far is quite the achievement don't you think so Ruby?"

"Oh yes, getting this far will push everyone closer to their dreams of being in the Final Roster! If they get out during the first three rounds, a consolation prize of the official Dungeon Selection Badge will be given out. I hear fetch for quite a high price!"

"Boy I'll say, Ruby! I heard one already sold for over 10,000 aura credits!"

"No kidding, Jasper. Well, let's get back to the action!"

"For sure, Ruby. It looks like the talk of the town are still Abel, Job, Dregey, and the three Dungeon Shades."

"Don't forget the masked numbers and the vile sage Jing, Jasper!"

"How could I forget them? It looks like the Pyrite Faction still has quite the foothold in this second round still even after their heavy losses in round one."

"There were so many of them that it didn't matter how many got out, Jasper!"

"How many rounds do you need to be guaranteed a slot with the party again, Ruby?"

"That would be winning at least two to three rounds. The third round has 64 members, but there are only 50 spots! The High Mage Council themselves will select the standout candidates from the 18 not placed in the top 32. Actually, technically, anyone can still dropout even if they win the finals and any person from the 256 could be picked for the final roster instead."

"That doesn't seem fair does it, Ruby?"

"Well Jasper, the Council has been orchestrating all sorts of things behind the scenes. Remember when we thought the Voidlands disaster was real? Some sneaky contestants have also dropped out, so some losers have done consolation matches during the downtime as stated in the official rules. I'm sure the masterminds behind this Selection have a plan in mind..."

"I sure hope so Ruby. Now let's talk about the matches here today. Last round, it took place over three days, but this week, it will take place over two.

Our first match today is between Wandering Sage Mite and another Wandering Sage named Danbur. Last round, Mite left a profound impression, but I don't remember Danbur too well. Either way, both are highly skilled contenders, and I expect a great first match!"

***

Mite and Danbur took the field. Danbur, a Sage affiliated with the Seven Path's Church specialized in light magic. He loved to blind his opponents to catch them off guard. It was a terrible matchup for Danbur going against someone who previously closed their eyes while they fought.

As soon as the match began, Mite closed his eyes once again. As if his reflexes already knew where to go, Mite dodged the flashes of light energy meant to smite him down. On paper, Mite was at a huge disadvantage. Mite was known to fight in close combat while Danbur attacked at a distance with magic. In reality, Mite closed the distance quickly with his eyes closed.

"There's no way your aura manipulation skills are this good!" Danbur cried out helplessly. Usually, aura manipulation could be used to see nearby surroundings, but it was a highly advanced skill that required years of experience at any realm. Plus, Mite's movements were too fluid. The probability of using aura manipulation to dodge light-based attacks is already low since light is too fast to be sensed by the naked eye.

"I refuse to believe your prophetic skills are this good. If it really is this good, why didn't you stop Lavilin before he opened up Hell?" Danbur conjured whips of light and smacked them in a frenzy at the approaching Mite. The whip's speed was ludicrous, but Mite's dodging grew improbably complex. Just like his last fight, Mite fiercely pulsed Dandur's vital points and incapacitated him within five minutes.

"Winner! Wandering Sage Mite!"

***

Stern was nervous for his next match. His opponent, a Galeon mage, was a bad matchup for him. As an aspiring runic and fire mage, Stern was good in both long and short distance matchups. One on one, he was versatile. The Galeon mage was a summoner, however. Although he was great in individual matchups, summoners trade in their individual power for a leadership or a support role for their respective summons or party.

Nervous, Stern paced back and forth in the tunnel as he awaited his fate. Behind him, a young-looking man came up to him, smiling.

"Huh, I thought people weren't allowed in the colosseum tunnels besides the guards," thought Stern.

"Oh, don't mind me Wandering Sage Stern, I'm just a traveler. I just so happened to be in the area, and I thought I'd stop by."

"How do you know me?" Stern asked.

"Well, you are in the 128, but I guess you're right; you aren't a frontrunner. Yet, I'm a fan, nonetheless. Allow me to introduce myself. I am 21, a Wandering Sage and a prophet."

"21? Are you a fan of the masked numbers? And a prophet too? Do you know Mite? Did they let you in early for your next match?" Stern shot out a series of questions, probably because of his nervousness.

"Ha, yes I am fans of all of them, but also, yes, my name is actually 21. Would you like some advice, you look a little frazzled?"

"Sure, why not." Stern turned around and looked at the current battle taking place for a brief moment.

"Your opponent is not technically a summoner, but an illusionist. He uses clones to attack, but the clones aren't real. If you want to win, always attack the clone on your right."

"What? Are you sure?" Stern turned back around, but the prophet was already gone.

"How strange…" thought Stern.

Soon, it was his turn. Walking out, the Galeon mage mocked Stern.

"You can't win this fight! Your fire magic is good against summoners, but you fight with runes and fire. Better luck next time!" Alex, the summoner, conjured dozens of clones around him.

The clones lurched at Stern, and every single one of them were threatening. Stern blew them away with fire and dodged quickly with his body strengthening runes, but he was slowly being overwhelmed. At this rate, he would lose stamina and succumb to the horde after ten minutes of hit and run.

Aventi and Clico were worried. Alex the Galeon mage arrogantly harassed Stern while having him on the ropes.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Alex laughed like a stereotypical villain.

Thinking back to his short conversation with the mysterious '21', Stern instinctively started to attack the clones on his right. In this matchup, any of the clones could be the main body, but if it were him, he would stay close to the back of the crowd. The whole fight, he fought off the closer ones and shot out at the back, but now, he kept focusing his righthand side.

"What is he doing?" Aventi muttered.

"Can't you tell? The real one is right over there." Omira said and pointed to the mid righthand side of the clones.

"Her mana sense is above all of us because of her realm. Clone tricks don't even phase her." David remarked from behind the Clico, Aventi, and Omira.

"How does Stern know?" Clico wondered out loud. Suddenly after five minutes of strategic combat, Stern recklessly attacked his righthand side. It was too strange.

The tide of the battle shifted slightly. The clones were more on edge than before. Everyone in the audience was stunned. What was happening?

Meanwhile, Stern forced the crowd back. 21 was right. The summons were actually illusionary. As he made his way closer to the main body, he realized the clones were getting stronger. The only explanation was that the skill Alex was using was either directly tied to the main body, or the attacks were actually all coming from the main body. Either way, Stern ferociously attacked his right side until the main body got damaged. Around the horde, some clones apparated into thin air. As the damage got worse, more clones dissipated until only the final body was left.

"Next time, don't gloat until you've actually won." Stern mocked smugly, sending a fireball right into the Sage's face.

"Winner! Wandering Sage Stern!"

***

As the second round of the tournament continued, the trends of the first round continued. Even matchups kept the matches interesting, but it appeared like the relatively even matchups would end after this round. Starting in the third round, the stomping of the mortals would leave only high-end sages and kings for the remainder of the tournament.

Some unlucky participants were already starting to get unfair matchups. The audience enjoyed it at first, but a few matches started to become more one sided than others, almost painfully one sided.

For example, Omira was paired up against a relatively strong Sage in the first round, but this time, she was paired up against a mid-level Sage, around the level of Samcyra and Aventi.

"Stop running and fight!" Omira cried out at a poor wandering sage. Her opponent was a wandering sage of another professional party like Clico or Mite's, but the difference in aura was too much.

"Leave me alone!" the poor girl heaved as her brown hair waved in the wind.

"I want to fight someone strong! What's up with this matchup?" Omira grumbled.

"Hmm, I might as well have a bit of fun…" She schemed. Starting at the Royalty Realm, the magical skill, Flight, became easier to use in combat. Hovering into the air, Omira cosplayed Murdoc.

"A Sage challenging a Queen? Pathetic." She grabbed the sage telepathically from the air and dragger her next to herself. Omira considered snapping her neck, but then she remembered killing wasn't allowed. Instead, Omira continued her cosplay,

"Let's end this charade, shall we? With your defeat, I shall ascend to the next round!" Omira choked the sage until she passed out. Throwing her to the ground, Omira looked into the cameras.

"Who's next?"

***

Similarly, Cheptah, Gileon, and Samcyra got extremely lucky, all facing lower tiered adventurers. As elite adventurers themselves, the battles all looked even but were pretty one sided. The rest of Mite's party also got lucky this time around as well, facing lower tiered mages.

Clico, David, and Aventi had yet to fight and were slotted in for day two, but their matchups were not as easy.

***

"Thank you everyone for coming out and watching the second round, day one, of the Dungeon Selection Tournament! We had some great matches today, and tomorrow, I'm sure there will be great ones as well."

"You've got that right Jasper! It was unfortunate so many adventurers were eliminated today. Besides the Pyrite Faction, I don't think any other faction apart from the Adventurer Faction had more people than them. Although they weren't as vocal, the adventurers had almost just as many participants as the Pyrite people! A sad end for one of the largest factions indeed."

"You got that right Ruby. Everyone, please tune in tomorrow for your latest updates on:

The Great Dungeon Party Selection Tournament!"