A Bug In Fate

People watched as, behind the two students of Nebulon Academy, monsters followed one after another without showing any resistance.

All the monsters wore bracelets similar to the ones on the participants’ limbs, but the resemblance ended there. While the participants’ bracelets worked as a safety measure, the bracelets on the monsters did the opposite. They suppressed the monsters’ mana, and it seemed their minds were being affected too — though not enough to erase their will completely, since hostility still radiated from their eyes.

"That’s insane..."

"Isn’t that too much?"

"Are you sure they can even survive?"

The crowd watched with bewildered expressions as they threw out their questions, but no one answered, since everyone was thinking the same thing.

Before their eyes, monster after monster walked into the arena as their guides led them to the center, where Round 2 would take place.

All the monsters stood there without struggling — or maybe they were struggling, but at some point had simply accepted their situation.

"150."

Someone said it out loud, his voice filled with surprise and amazement. The number obviously referred to the monsters.

"All of them at peak Rupture realm, too," another person muttered, feeling the pressure radiating off them.

People snapped out of their daze as Alice’s voice reached their ears. She was smiling with amusement at their reaction, like a mother watching her children.

"Now, as you can see, it’s just 150 Rupture realm monsters for five participants. Easy, right? Hehe." She smiled deviously as she watched people stiffen at her choice of words.

The crowd went silent. For the first time, they weren’t just shouting for their own entertainment — it seemed some common sense had kicked in, telling them their host was insane.

Meanwhile, inside a VIP room where the rulers of the five cities participating in the tournament sat, the room was sealed off from the outside, so no sound could escape.

"Even if it’s Nebulon Academy, they’re asking for the impossible," the ruler of Grayhaven City said, staring at the monsters below.

"Haha... did you really think the Academy opened its doors to everyone out of kindness?" the head of the Ashcroft family said, clearly convinced the Academy had some hidden intention behind the whole tournament.

"Hehe... even if they do have a hidden intention, it doesn’t matter. What can they really do with children? As long as they learn something from the Academy, I don’t see the problem — and we, as nobles, know some risks are worth taking," the ruler of Windmere City, Elara’s mother, joined in.

To her, the fact that the Academy was allowing people from other continents to enter was enough. Before this, only high-ranking nobles had ever been given the chance to study there.

"Haha, you’re only saying that because your daughter got the chance to learn there," the head of the Blackwood family laughed.

"Hoho, is that jealousy I smell?" Elara’s mother smiled, raising a hand as if to wave away a foul odor. Her movements were elegant, as expected of a noble.

"Hah, jealousy? If you’re thinking your daughter has already secured her place, stop daydreaming. There’s still that blue-haired boy — look at him, he looks almost bored," the man replied. He hated that the boy was from Ravenhold and not his own city, but he had to bring him up, since the boy was the only one who could stand in Elara’s way.

"So what? Elara has been trained to fight multiple monsters at once. Even if that boy has some special ability, it doesn’t mean he has experience," Elara’s mother said, revealing the reason behind her confidence in her daughter’s victory.

"You’re right. This round is based on points, so whoever collects more than him will automatically put him out of contention," the ruler of Grayhaven City said, finding sense in her words.

"Not to mention, he hasn’t taken a single step. Maybe he’s simply not suited for close combat."

The others in the room nodded in agreement — all except one.

"What do you think?" Elara’s mother suddenly turned her gaze toward the ruler of Ravenhold.

The man remained silent for a moment before a mysterious smile formed at his lips.

"I don’t want to spoil the fun... let’s just see what happens," the man answered, smiling outwardly. But inside his mind, he was screaming.

*..Fuck. Don’t ask me. I don’t even understand him myself... young man, I’m counting on you.*

He kept his smile steady, giving nothing away. He then picked up his wine glass, taking a sip, as if he knew some secret the others didn’t.

While the conversation was taking place inside the VIP room, the participants on the ground were having their own discussion as they stared at the monsters they were supposed to kill.

"Hey... isn’t this over the top?" Rain, who had recovered by now, muttered as he stared at the monsters.

"It is for us, but for Nebulon Academy students it might be the minimum requirement," Elara said. She came from a noble family, so of course she had some knowledge about the world and its top powerhouses.

"She’s right. The academy is said to be the best in the world, so they’re not going to let just anyone enter without a reason," Liam added, agreeing with Elara. Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine. Following his instinct, he turned toward a direction where Mina was smiling at him from the other side of the arena.

He didn’t know what that smile meant, but he followed his instinct and stayed silent.

Suddenly, Alden, who was in disguise, smiled. Unlike the other participants, he wasn’t worried about anything — he had already survived worse because of Ravenna’s test.

To him, it was just a hassle and nothing more. He had already killed 200 monsters back when he was at the Spark realm. Now that he had unlocked his affinity and developed his own technique, he wasn’t even sure how many seconds these monsters would last.

Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he turned toward the others, who were still discussing how they were supposed to fight the monsters while staying wary of each other.

"Hey... has the final round already started?" he asked curiously.

The others were confused, but they answered anyway.

"No signal’s been given yet, and there are still 15 minutes left for us to rest," Elara said. "Why are you asking?"

Alden smiled as his eyes met the other four participants, and with a slow motion, he gestured toward the center.

The others followed his hand, and what they saw made their breath hitch, their eyes going wide in horror.

Because at the center, the monsters they were supposed to fight in the final round were already coming toward them — on their own.

"I guess the final round has started."

Alden smiled as more than a hundred monsters stared at him with clear bloodlust in their eyes."

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