CHAPTER 46: BATTLE ROYALE [1]

The top ten students from both the warrior and caster categories gathered in the massive central arena, their expressions a mixture of excitement and anticipation.

The air buzzed with tension. They stood across from each other, twenty in total, each waiting for the signal that would begin what might be the most important fight of their lives.

It was time for the battle royale.

Unlike previous matches, where students were separated by their class type, this would be an all-out war.

Casters, warriors, hybrids all thrown into a single chaotic contest.

The rules were simple: the last person standing wins.

Second to tenth place rankings would be determined by a points system based on endurance, eliminations, and combat effectiveness.

An announcement echoed through the sky, amplified by the arena’s array system.

"All participants are to use only the weapons and equipment they have acquired during their time at Dawn Academy.

Personal items or heirlooms from home are strictly forbidden. This rule ensures balance, as not all students hail from noble or resource-rich backgrounds."

Kaelen frowned. "Wait, wait, wait. What’s the prize for the winner? If there’s none, I’m out."

There was an audible chuckle from the instructors’ viewing platform.

Vasra placed a hand over his face, inwardly face-palming.

The host replied smoothly, "The winner shall receive experience equivalent to twenty levels. The rest of the top ten will receive ten levels’ worth of XP."

Kaelen’s eyes widened. "Alright then. What are we waiting for?"

The mood shifted in an instant. Tension became fire. Motivation surged. Those who were hovering at level 30 now had a shot at hitting 50, a monumental leap, opening the gate to Silver Rank territory.

Without a word, Vasra raised his hand and swiped it through the air.

A silver rune expanded beneath the feet of all twenty contestants. A brilliant flash enveloped them.

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

When the light cleared, they found themselves in a different arena, one forged of shifting terrain, random elemental bursts, cliffs, forests, and open plains all in one.

This was the Heart Domain, a chaotic battlefield generated by the academy’s most complex array.

Kaelen barely had time to react.

A green-gold flaming fist blazed toward his face.

BOOM!

He vanished in a blur.

"Fool! What do you think you’re doing?!"

He reappeared a few meters away, scowling.

Jered stood with his fist still burning.

"Pussy, wasn’t it? I’m gonna show you who’s boss now."

Before Kaelen could retort, a burst of white-hot solar energy streaked toward them.

Neal.

"Well said," Neal smirked, his arms outstretched as a beam of golden light charged toward them.

Kaelen’s eyes twitched. "Are you two seriously ganging up on me?"

The crowd watching from the observation decks roared with laughter.

The Dean had made it very clear. "The academy’s protective seals will ensure no permanent damage or death. Fight without restraint."

This was it. A rare opportunity.

And Jered and Neal? They weren’t about to let it go.

Neither of them wanted to kill Kaelen, of course, but oh they absolutely wanted to beat him into the dirt.

A fair fight.

A no-holds-barred contest. One chance to humble the mouthy prodigy.

Kaelen vanished again, using Blink to reposition.

"You’re wasting mana!" Neal shouted, launching another volley of searing beams.

Kaelen was fast, dodging most of it, but Neal’s beams exploded in a wide radius, leaving scorch marks and molten craters.

Jered leapt into the fray, a blazing comet of green-gold flame. He crashed down where Kaelen had been a moment ago, pulverizing stone and soil.

Kaelen blinked again, now appearing on a tall rocky spire.

"Idiots! There are other enemies here!"

Too late.

Dozens of other contestants joined the fray. Some aimed for the trio. Others battled among themselves.

The field descended into chaos. One student summoned a wind type monster. Another formed a dome of water, trapping two warriors inside.

But Kaelen, Neal, and Jered?

They were locked in a beautiful, ridiculous, three-way grudge match.

Kaelen’s mana thread whipped out, disrupting Neal’s casting for a moment.

Jered grabbed the opportunity and struck Neal square in the chest, sending him tumbling back into a boulder.

"Thanks for the assist!" Jered called.

Kaelen didn’t reply. He was calculating.

He knew his mana wouldn’t last forever. Unlike the other two, he didn’t have a massive internal mana pool, and Blink cost too much if spammed.

He landed and slowed his breathing.

Neal rose from the rubble. He looked amused.

"You look tired, Kaelen. Running out of juice already?"

Kaelen narrowed his eyes.

"Nope. Just getting started."

He formed a thin, focused mana blade a precise, needle-like weapon made entirely from his own energy. He slashed forward, directing it at Jered, who caught it in his palm with a grin.

Jered’s armor flared, burning the blade away.

Then all three of them turned.

Another contestant, a caster named Yeol, had decided to try her luck. She launched a flurry of shadow bolts at them.

They didn’t even discuss it.

Kaelen blinked behind her floating in the air midway and gave her a good slap in the head with a mana disrupting spell as if reprimanding her to mind her own business.

Jered blasted a ring of fire that scorched her retreat.

Neal unleashed a mini solar nova.

BOOM.

Yeol was eliminated. Her body faded into light as the system teleported her to the recovery area.

The trio turned back to each other.

"Just a shameless bitch"

"Right"

The trio laughed together.

Neal with a grin "Then shall we continue."

The incident at the forest had made Kaelen and Jered lust for power ever more.

They had been training secretly behind the other’s back. They had no free time .

Well for Neal he was a hard worker after all.

Round Two began.

The battlefield around them raged. Explosions. Screams. Beams of mana. Flying fists. Elemental storms.

Students dropped one by one, their system marking them as eliminated and whisking them away.

But Kaelen, Neal, and Jered?

They were having fun.

They had been holding back their actual strength all this time.