Chronicles of Forgotten Extra-Chapter 303: First Day Of Tournament [2]

Did she finally lose it...?

The thought stayed in Alden’s mind as he watched Seles walk away with her slow but deliberate movements.

Or is she planning something strange?

He dismissed that idea almost immediately.

He didn’t believe for a second that she was planning anything strange. She was intelligent and maybe even influential but that was the extent of it.

The Artificial Island was currently a pressure cooker. It was crawling with powerful individuals and was under constant media scrutiny. With so many eyes watching, Alden was confident she wouldn’t dare attempt anything out of line.

With those thoughts in his mind, he turned away and headed toward the Arena.

It didn’t take long before he arrived.

The moment he stepped into the seating stands, the grand arena revealed itself in all its overwhelming glory. Hundreds of thousands of spectators filled the space. It was anything but a small crowd but within the vastness of the structure, they looked no bigger than ants.

Countless massive screens floated high in the air, each one broadcasting battles from the tens of platforms scattered across the arena’s main grounds.

Those with heightened senses could see the combat zones even without the aid of the screens with their superhuman perception.

Still, the displays were there for the unfortunate people, whose eyes couldn’t reach that far.

"Where are they...?"

Aziel had told him they were seated near Entrance Gate Ten and Alden had entered through the very same gate. Still, despite scanning the area, he couldn’t find his friends in this crowd.

Just then, something flew straight toward him.

Alden reacted instantly, raising his hand and catching the projectile midair.

He looked down.

...It was a single popcorn kernel coated in mana.

Alden followed the direction the projectile had come from and quickly spotted Aziel and Cecilia seated a short distance away.

Damn... that’s one creative way to get attention.

Without hesitating, he made his way over and dropped into the seat they had clearly saved for him.

"Why are you so late, bro?" Aziel complained the moment Alden sat down. "Mine and Cecilia’s matches are already over."

Alden glanced at him calmly. "I was busy traveling to another world."

Aziel rolled his eyes so hard it almost looked painful. "Yeah, yeah. Just admit you were sleeping."

"Okay, fine. I was sleeping," Alden sighed. "So... are Zephy, Nyx and Amyra’s matches already over?"

He didn’t even bother asking about the results of Azriel’s and Cecilia’s fights. Their relaxed, cheerful expressions were more than enough proof of how thoroughly they had crushed their opponents.

"Nyx is in the waiting room," Azriel said. "I also saw Amyra heading there a few minutes ago. As for Zephyr, he is already on Platform Twelve, waiting for his opponent."

"Who’s his opponent?" Alden asked, curiosity filled in his voice.

"I don’t know for sure," Azriel muttered. "Some guy from Horizon Academy... I think his name is Ryou." He frowned slightly. "He seems... strange."

"Oh?" Alden raised an eyebrow. "How so? Do you know him?"

Azriel shook his head.

"Nah. But one of my cousins studies at Horizon Academy. He ran into me a few minutes ago and was ranting about how two students appeared out of nowhere and snatched the top rankings like it was nothing."

He paused, then added,

"This Ryou guy was one of them."

Alden narrowed his eyes. "Who was the other one?"

Azriel paused for a moment before answering. "It was a girl named Anna."

Alden froze just for a second. He recognized that name. She was his opponent in today’s match. The very same girl who had bothered him earlier because she hadn’t been mentioned anywhere in the novel.

Back then, he had brushed it off but now... It was clear there was something else at play.

Who were they... really?

—

Meanwhile, on Platform Twelve, Zephyr waited for his opponent, impatience etched clearly across his face.

He had already been standing there for nearly fifteen minutes, and still his opponent still hadn’t shown up. If the match didn’t begin within the next five minutes, he would be declared the de facto winner.

But the thought didn’t bring him any satisfaction.

Instead... it only made him furious.

His sharp gaze swept across the massive arena before settling on the upper stands, where his father stood among the spectators.

Duke Drageon.

His father came here today because of him.

This was his first match of the tournament and the last thing he wanted was to disappoint his father by winning through a no-show.

His eyes shifted again, this time toward the seating area where he himself had been just moments ago.

He spotted Azriel, Cecilia... and Alden.

Throughout the entire tournament, there were only a handful of participants who had truly caught his attention.

...but if there was one person he wanted to defeat more than anyone else, it was Alden.

Ever since his loss to him, Zephyr had thrown himself into relentless training, pushing his limits day after day, all for the chance to stand against him again.

Yet deep down, he knew the truth.

The gap between them hadn’t closed, if anything... it had only widened. Still, despite that, Zephyr wanted to face his friend once more, to clash with everything he had before he slipped too far away to even face. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Just then, Zephyr felt a presence standing directly behind him. He turned around instantly.

A boy stood there with black hair and deep dark eyes staring ahead without the slightest hint of emotion but it wasn’t those lifeless eyes that unsettled Zephyr the most.

It was the fact that he hadn’t sensed the boy approaching at all.

Is he a stealth-type...?

The thought had barely formed when the referee’s voice echoed across Platform Twelve.

"Both participants have arrived, the battle will begin immediately."

"Please stand in front of each other."

"The platform will be enclosed within a mana barrier to prevent outside interference and the safety bracelets on your wrists will activate if you are subjected to a fatal attack."

"You may also surrender voluntarily and loss of consciousness will be considered a defeat."

Once both of them nodded, the referee spoke once more.

"You may begin."