novelAlta Chapter 343: Fifth Round
Chapter 343: Fifth Round
The massive Galaxy Fall Arena trembled for a moment, deep vibrations echoing through the ancient stone as a towering, transparent barrier of concentrated energy rose violently from the ground. The crystalline ward locked into place, flawlessly separating the surviving students from the elite Audience, ensuring the catastrophic crossfire of the final battles wouldn’t decimate the stands.
"Now! Please listen up. The fifth round will have five stages, and it’s an elimination match... The academies will pick six members each to participate in this round... There will only be one winner." Davy said, his voice amplified, and continued:
"Now listen to the rewards for first placeholder." He said, his words instantly shifting the atmosphere, dropping the ambient temperature as sheer, unadulterated anticipation stunned everyone present. Even Mirabella, who usually viewed the rewards with indifference, got entirely serious, her posture straightening.
"The first place winner will gain a full set of God class armor, skill scroll, and a weapon, all God class. Not only that, he or she will also receive one billion gold coins, one million awakening stones, and one million academy points." He said, his words stunning all the students present, including Mirabella.
The silence was deafening. In the progression hierarchy of the three empires, a single God Class artifact could trigger a planetary war. Awakening stones were the fundamental currency for evolving bloodlines—a million of them could forcibly push an entire guild into higher levels.
’A God class skill, that is my target... In my previous life, I was too useless, always hiding behind Ethan, and the others... So I didn’t even get to the fourth round. I will gain this skill scroll in this life, and add to my collection of God class skills.’ Mirabella thought. The dark, pathetic memories of her regression flickered in her mind—the helplessness, the betrayal, the weakness. She banished the ghosts of her past, smoothly moving her long, radiant blue hair off her face, and purposefully styling it into a tight, battle-ready ponytail.
"It seems, Big Sister is serious." Carl whispered, feeling the sudden, suffocating spike in her aura.
"That skill scroll must have gotten her attention... But I need that one billion gold coins." Grace whispered back, her eyes practically turning into golden coin symbols, completely traumatized by her recent financial ruin in the marketplace.
"Yeah, you own me." Carl added, nudging her side, refusing to let the debt go.
"I know that, you don’t have to repeat it."
Standing a few paces away, Hitachi stared quietly at the two, then shifted his profound, crimson gaze at Mirabella. His mind, ran the combat simulations. There was absolutely no mathematical way he could gain that first position against a anomaly like her, but the secondary gears would be immensely beneficial to his blade style.
’Forget it, I can’t take that from her... No one can.’ He thought, his pride peacefully bowing to absolute, undeniable supremacy.
_
On the other side of the staging ground, the battered remnants of the Eagle Academy processed the announcement.
"A full set of God class armor, this competition is really worth it!!" Eve said with a small, strained smile, trying to inject morale into her team.
"I hope you can get it, Captain." Blade said with a loyal, confident smile, firmly believing in her prowess, but Eve realistically shook her head:
"Our opponents are too powerful... But we should try our best, and fight to the end." Eve said with tightly clenched fists, her gaze drifting past the Dragon team and locking directly onto the Sword Academy’s ranks. She was staring at Jessica with a raw, bleeding killing intent.
"Calm down, Captain, she killed Justin. We can’t do anything about that." Stellar said In a calm, heavily suppressed tone, staring carefully at Eve’s trembling fists. The fourth round’s betrayal had cost them dearly, and the logic of the tournament offered no justice for the slaughtered.
"Yeah, I get it." Eve nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and unclenched her fists, forcing the grief back down into her core.
"All of you, be careful... Thanks to Mirabella, there is a no kill rule, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get injured... So be careful." She said, her eyes softening as she was staring at the five who were ready to move directly into hell with her. The new rule was a leash, but an opponent could still shatter bones and permanently cripple spirit energy pathways without technically registering a "kill."
"Yes!" They nodded in unison, their resolve hardening.
_
Davy moved his sharp gaze on everyone’s stunned, greedy faces, a highly satisfied smile on his face:
"Now, the second rewards: second place gains a full set of Legendary class armor, ten million gold coins, five hundred thousand awakening stones, and academy points." He said, his words still completely silencing the arena, letting the sheer economic weight of the systemic treasury sink in.
"Although this is lower, a Legendary class armor is still powerful." Nirvana said, adjusting her goals, staring intently at Davy.
"Maybe one of us can win this." Honky added, his massive frame shifting as he was crossing his thick arms on his chest.
"That’s what I initially thought at the beginning of this competition, but the Dragon team prove to be a bigger headache that the monsters." He said, his arrogance completely humbled by the catastrophic scores of the previous rounds.
"What do you guys think about this new rule?" Nirvana asked, looking toward their top combatant.
"She placed the rule to protect her members." Jessica answered in a cold, meticulously calm tone, easily seeing through the application of the restriction, and the elite group solemnly nodded their heads.
"Okay, the third place gains a full set of Epic class armor, one million gold coins, three hundred thousand awakening stones, and academy points. Anyone below top 3. Take note, I am referring to the top twenty in the competition ranking, will receive good coins, awakening stones, and academy points determined by their ranking place." Davy explained, perfectly detailing the trickle-down economics of the Galaxy Fall, and effortlessly floated into the air:
"Now students, let’s see the competition board. Please, the matchup is completely random. The first two people on the board will step forward." He yelled at them, pointing upward.
Above the arena, the massive holographic display shattered into a storm of data, rapidly cycling through the eighteen names before locking in with a heavy, digital chime.
"First stage in the fifth round begin... The two, place stepped forward."
With his authoritative words, Stellar from the Eagle Academy, her aura humming with readiness, and Ethan from the sword academy, his pride severely fractured but his aura simmering just beneath the surface, stepped forward. They walked past the shimmering ward, both taking their positions and standing dead at the center of the vast Arena, with a precise, 100 meters difference between them.
Two invincible students from their academies.
"Okay team, in the fifth stage, everything goes, summon Beasts, weapon, anything you can use to secure your victory, go ahead! But take note, you can’t kill, if you do; you’ll be instantly disqualified." With those absolute words, he raised his hand and brought it down, his voice tearing through the tense air:
"Begin!!!"