Preliminary Rounds (Part 2)

"U-uwahh!"

A loud noise echoed in the vast hall, followed by a heavy thud. A man had just been pushed off the platform's edge and fell to its base—the first of many similar incidents to come. 

Before long, the platforms devolved into chaos. 

It became a battle royale in the left platform, with people either teaming up to consolidate their strength or individually fighting anyone around them while doing everything in their power to remain on the platform. As one would expect, those who relied on teamwork had a much better chance than the loners.

They could focus on both offensive and defensive maneuvers, covering their backs at every turn, making it the optimal strategy. However, in a stage filled with strangers, it would be difficult for people to trust each other—especially since it was within everyone's best interests to reduce the number of participants by an indiscriminate amount.

No one knew the limits.

They didn't know what the 'maximum capacity' was, so they had no choice but to keep fighting until the time ran out. Moderation was a foreigner in the game, and the platforms had taken the shape of 'survival of the fittest' in its purest form.

Kaycee and Liyah were in the same platform, so they naturally worked together to repel enemy forces around them. They didn't actively seek out enemies to throw off the platform, but anyone who dared to attack them regretted their actions almost instantly.

At some point, they stopped being targeted—for very obvious reasons—allowing them the opportunity to focus on matters beyond themselves. For the first time since the round started, they glanced in the direction of the right platform. There, they saw a similar occurrence taking place.

Chaos… constant chaos.

They managed to spot Theo amidst everything, and he was not even participating actively in the brawl. Not only did he refuse to throw anyone off the platform, but even when he was attacked, he would simply evade strikes and dash away.

His eyes shone with a certain kind of emotion—determination mixed with curiosity.

There was also hesitance locked inside.

However, before they could fully understand Theo and investigate the meaning behind his actions, a deep, commanding voice echoed in the right platform.

"This is a waste of time…"

A sigh echoed at that moment, followed by the crackling of lightning.

ZZZZTTTTTZZZ!!!

In a flash, a burst of electricity coursed through the platform, sending a rupture of violent blue and white lighting dancing in all directions. What followed this was screams and heavy thuds from the people on the platform, as many were thrust out of the platform by the blast, while others collapsed right where they stood.

Smoke wafted in the air as an aftermath, and tiny sparks of electricity still buzzed as sheer silence echoed in the entire hall.

Even those in the left platform ceased their conflict, their eyes wide open as they all looked at the sheer scale of damage performed by a single individual—the only person who walked amidst the dissipating mist.

The boy had a slightly tall stature, with purple hair that danced with every movement he made and matched the color of his irises. His tinted glasses mildly obscured his eyes, but perfectly matched the formal attire he had on—a perfectly woven black suit, with a purple tie and a golden brooch that perfectly matched the earring he had on one ear and the lining designs all around his distinguished wear.

Without a doubt, this boy was some kind of noble.

If his pristine apparel was not sufficient to convince everyone, then the object shaped like a stave which he held in his right hand proved beyond capable of such a task. Everyone could see the remnant energy that danced around the wand, as well as the electrical surges it gave off, so there was no mistake about what it was.

—An Arcane Instrument!

This boy, appearing no older than seventeen years old, was in possession of an Armament.

He ignored all the stares centered around him, simply proceeding to kick the unconscious people who remained on the platform off. He did this nonchalantly for a few seconds, slowly returning the wand to his jacket's inner pocket before being halted by a sound.

No… a voice.

"What have you done?"

The growl came from amidst the clearing smoke, and a boy stood amidst it—seemingly untouched by the same attack that had eliminated everyone else on the platform. His dark hair fluttered with the stale wind as he glared at the boy with the wand.

"THEO!" Liyah's voice cut through the silence, evidently relieved that he was fine despite the devastating attack. Kaycee silently heaved a sigh of relief at the sight, joining Liyah in her smile for their friend's safety.

"I thought I got rid of everyone, but it seems one managed to remain…" The boy with glasses whispered, his voice as deep as it was calm.

"Do you seriously want to eliminate everyone?"

"Why not?"

"You already got rid of over half the contestants." Theo growled. "Why do you need to kick the others off the platform?"

"Does it matter? The fewer people are on the platform… the higher my chances of success."

"You…"

"I don't know how you managed to evade my attack, but I would have stayed silent and be grateful if I were you."

Theo's glare intensified. "Why would I be grateful to you?"

"Because…" The boy glanced around. "… I just did most of the heavy lifting and eliminated all the competition for you."

"What?"

"You're welcome, by the way."

"…." Theo was dumbfounded by the words of the boy before him.

"Now, if you help me throw all of these bodies off the platform, I'll consider leaving you be. At the very least, you can be assured that I won't attack you until everyone else is kicked off."

"…."

"What do you say?"

Theo's eyes narrowed as he stared at the perfectly composed boy.

His words were most definitely sincere, since he had no reason to resort to cheap lies and deception, but none of that concerned Theo. He had a completely different perspective on the round, and this boy's words did not shake his convictions in any way.

"Since the proctor has not yet disqualified you for using that, I guess we can assume that the use of Armaments isn't against the rules." Theo frowned at the wand, and then glanced at Claudius, who silently nodded as he enjoyed the exchange.

"There are no rules against resorting to an Arcane Instrument—except one is using it unlicensed, which he isn't. Armaments can also be used during the Evaluation Exams, as long as they are screened before the event begins." 

After hearing those words of confirmation, Theo sighed and nodded.

He was right, after all.

He was tempted to protest the unfairness of the situation, but Claudius was sure to respond with something along the lines of "Life isn't fair." 

Because of this, Theo swallowed his annoyance and chose to focus on the situation at hand.

"If you have any Armament up your sleeves, it's time to use it." Claudius added. "Balance the scales… or spare yourself the pain and give up while you ca—"

"Be quiet." Theo suddenly said, glaring deeply at the proctor.

"Excuse me?"

"What? Telling you to shut up isn't against the rules, or is it?" Claudius' eyes twitched as he heard Theo's brazen words. He opened his lips to respond, but no words came out, so he simply maintained his smile.

"Interesting… I guess your tongue is just as sharp as your eyes."

The boy with purple hair shook his head, sighing as he ignored the exchange between Theo and the proctor, proceeding to kick another person off the platform. Theo noticed this and returned his full attention to him, both of his fists clenched.

"You should stop that."

"Why should I?" He shrugged. "What does it matter to you? Do you care about the wellbeing of these strangers more than yours—enough to risk failing so you can preserve their qualificatio—?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Theo interrupted his words with a growling response.

"Hm?"

"There is no threshold to reach… no diminishing maximum capacity. The only accurate condition he gave was probably the time limit. All of it was made up so that guy could watch us fight and struggle against each other until ten minutes were up."

Everyone gasped, turning their attention to Claudius as he watched Theo in amazement.

"Or am I wrong… dear proctor?"