After finishing a simple breakfast with Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in, I headed not to the classroom but to the arena.

It was because the tournament was set to begin today.

On the way there, Go Hyeon-woo who looked more excited than usual opened his mouth to speak.

“It’s not easy to stay calm. I must’ve been looking forward to this more than I thought.”

“What’s your goal for the tournament?”

Even if he lagged slightly behind the promising students in terms of raw specs, I felt he could climb pretty high in the fixed zone bracket.

Go Hyeon-woo thought for a moment before letting out a bitter smile.

“Until just recently, I was fairly confident… but honestly, now I’m not so sure.”

It was probably because of his loss to Jegal So-so during last week’s underclassman-vs-upperclassman match.

He must’ve realized that the second- and third-years included fighters on her level or perhaps even stronger.

I glanced at Go Hyeon-woo’s expression.

“You say that, but you still seem pretty fired up.”

“Haha, win or lose, this is a rare chance to test myself against high-level opponents. Even if I lose, I’ll learn a lot.”

As always, Go Hyeon-woo carried a positive mindset. The mindset of someone who genuinely enjoys the challenge.

Soon, a massive domed building came into full view.

Nearby, Ahn Jeong-mi was waiting, and upon spotting us, she approached and gave a respectful bow.

“Young miss, Kim Ho-nim, Go Hyeon-woo-nim, I wish you all great success.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

We returned the gesture with a slight nod and entered the arena.

The spectator stands were packed with people.

While special guest seats were arranged in the best viewing spots, the student seats were mixed without any real separation.

First-years, second-years, and third-years were all jumbled together.

So the three of us simply found an empty row and sat side by side.

Students kept pouring into the arena after us, and the stands grew even more crowded.

The chatter and murmuring from all directions reached a level loud enough to give you a headache.

But the noise gradually began to die down when the stage at the center of the arena started to glow with a soft light.

Soon, a temporary podium was set up on the stage, and several faculty members took their positions nearby.

Among them, of course, were Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong.

Finally, the principal appeared, stepped up to the podium, and began the opening address.

“Hello, everyone. The 86th Fixed Zone Tournament has officially begun. I would like to express my gratitude to the honored guests who have come a long way to grace us with their presence, to the many faculty members who worked hard in preparation, and most of all, to the students participating in this tournament.”

Following that was an explanation of why this tournament, specifically the Fixed Zone Tournament, was being held rather than any other.

To summarize the key point: Fixed Zones exist not only within dungeons but all over the world, and because they are far more dangerous than most locations, there is a heightened need to prepare for them.

Considering the principal’s overlong speech during the entrance ceremony, I expected him to ramble on for quite a while. But surprisingly, he ended the opening remarks there.

“I hope the efforts you’ve all made bear fruit. Thank you.”

Clap clap clap clap—

Thunderous applause filled the arena as the principal stepped down from the podium, and the vice principal took his place, grabbing the mic.

“Now, I’ll explain the tournament prizes. Rewards will be given starting from the main rounds, with increasing value based on placement: Top 32, Top 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Third, Second, and First Place.”

As the explanation continued, a display stand rose in front of the stage, revealing the prizes.

My eyes first landed on some tightly rolled magic scrolls.

Rank-Up.

The default prize was C-rank, but from 4th place and up, B-rank scrolls were included.

Next to them were wooden tokens with rank indicators written on them.

Exchange Tokens.

These could be used at the item vault managed by Dragon Slayer Academy to redeem B-rank or even A-rank items.

For example:

– 1st place received two A-rank exchange tokens and a B-rank Rank-Up scroll.

– 2nd place got one A-rank exchange token and a B-rank Rank-Up scroll.

– Lower rankings received fewer and lower-rank prizes accordingly.

The prizes are definitely tempting…

But right now, it would be wiser to let go of that temptation.

I pulled up a newly arrived side quest.

[Side Quest: Fixed Zone Tournament] (In Progress…)

▷ Objective: Participate in the tournament

▷ Reward: Varies based on performance

The highest achievement for this quest is reaching the main rounds.

In other words, any placement above Top 32 doesn’t give extra quest rewards.

Since it’s a first-year-specific side quest, the ceiling is set pretty low.

Of course, the higher I go, the better the physical prizes but…

The real issue is whether it’s worth exposing [Mutual Destruction Eye] and [Copy] to the world.

While fighting in front of hundreds of onlookers, it wouldn’t take long before people realized that just making eye contact with me could inflict a debuff.

Once that happens, any future opponents would start coming prepared with countermeasures.

If I wanted to keep milking Mutual Destruction Eye for all its worth, it’d be smarter to think long-term.

And Copy posed its own set of problems.

From the main rounds onward, each opponent would be a formidable one and not easy to take down. That meant I’d inevitably have to reveal over ten skill/trait slots during fights.

Naturally, that would make people suspicious and eager to dig into my secrets.

They probably wouldn’t immediately guess it was Copy, but attracting that much attention isn’t exactly beneficial.

After all, gaining powerful allies had also increased the number of enemies I’d have to worry about.

It’s not like placing in the tournament is the only way to get what I want.

I’d only just started building my deal with the principal, hadn’t I?

So my goal was to reach the Top 32, maybe the Top 16, depending on my opponent and draw the line there.

Soon, the vice principal finished explaining the prizes and moved on to the detailed rules for the preliminaries.

MAP: [Circular Arena]

RULES: [Death Match] [Fixed Zone (C-rank)]

[Slot Limit] [5-Minute Time Limit]

“The rules for the main rounds may differ, so please keep that in mind.”

It was similar to the duel format used last week, but this time the environment was restricted to a relatively small circular arena, and the time limit was reduced to five minutes.

The goal, clearly, was to move through the preliminaries quickly.

Even better.

Instead of running around dodging debuffed enemies for ten minutes, now I’d only have to last five.

The vice principal continued.

“Next is the schedule for the preliminaries. With this many participants, it would be far too chaotic to have everyone fighting at once. Therefore, we’ve divided the matches into four groups, which will proceed sequentially.”

And from the four groups, eight participants from each which made 32 in total would move on to the main rounds.

“Your assigned group has already been sent via message.”

Sure enough, a brief message had arrived.

[Group 2]

I glanced at Seo Ye-in. She was also in Group 2.

I turned to Go Hyeon-woo and asked,

“What about you?”

“I’m in Group 1.”

He answered quite cheerfully.

His body had been itching for action anyway, so it made sense he’d be happy to get started right away.

Elsewhere, similar conversations were happening.

– Which group are you in?

– I’m in this one…what about you?

Before the audience could get any noisier, the vice principal wrapped up his explanation.

“Then, we’ll begin the preliminaries. Group 1, please move to the stage.”

At that, students all around the stands rose in unison and began making their way down.

Naturally, Go Hyeon-woo was among them.

Before leaving, he gave us a quick smile.

“I’ll be off.”

“Bring back a spot in the main rounds.”

“Haha, thanks for the support.”

Before long, Group 1 was lined up in front of the stage and began stepping onto the teleportation magic circles in turn.

In the blink of an eye, two contestants appeared at opposite ends of the circular arena.

The same scene was unfolding in several places, and here and there, familiar faces stood out.

So they’re in Group 1 too.

[Park Na-ri vs Yang Ji-hong]

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

As soon as the match began, Yang Ji-hong kicked off the ground with explosive force, charging forward spear-first.

But when the big tiger Bum leaped toward him and swung a huge forepaw, it struck him cleanly, snapping his head to the side.

Oof… that’s gotta hurt.

Even from this far from the arena, I could almost hear the thwack echo in my ears.

He wasn’t down for the count just yet, but his consciousness was clearly wavering.

Still, Yang Ji-hong desperately tried to regain his footing. But Park Na-ri didn’t look like she planned to give him any more time.

A huge eagle swooped in from above and circled once before diving. It was the Eagle Chammy.

When it had shrunk down to sparrow-size before, it hadn’t seemed particularly threatening, but now, at nearly the size of a large dog, its beak and talons were nothing short of lethal weapons.

Yang Ji-hong rolled frantically along the ground to avoid the two beasts, but in the end, he couldn’t hold out and collapsed.

The scoreboard displayed the result.

[Park Na-ri Win]

vs

[Yang Ji-hong Lose]

While Yang Ji-hong was carried off on a stretcher, Park Na-ri returned to the line for her next match.

Meanwhile, in another circular arena, Dang Gyu-young was also in the middle of her preliminary battle.

Thin tendrils shot out, wrapping tightly around his opponent.

It was the Shadow Vines of the Vine Queen.

Then, with the target immobilized, the Shadow Bat went to work and started whacking away with sharp rapid blows.

Bat Gyu-young’s still got it.

[Dang Gyu-young Win]

vs

[Hwang Hyuk Lose]

One of the arenas, however, was shrouded in a black barrier and the interior was completely hidden from view.

A closed match, huh?

It had the advantage of letting you hide your abilities from other contestants, but the downside was that it failed to attract the attention of outside guests.

Catching their eye could lead to more opportunities later. Whether when taking on commissions outside Dragon Slayer Academy or after graduation. So giving that up felt like a bit of a waste.

Of course, which option was better ultimately came down to personal choice.

As for me, I already had solid backing, so if my opponent agreed, I planned to keep my match closed to the public.

I was scanning the various arenas when a playful voice sounded in my ear.

“Well, well, look who’s here.”

I turned my head…and sure enough, Shin Byeong-cheol was standing there.

With an enormous snack stand slung over his shoulders.

“You never miss a chance to make a sale, do you?”

“Gotta cash in while the moment’s hot. So, what’ll it be…care for a little something?”

I glanced at Seo Ye-in, and with just a look, we reached a silent agreement.

“Caramel popcorn and cheese nachos.”

“Much obliged, customer-nim~”

After handing us the popcorn and nachos, Shin Byeong-cheol then set his stand down and plopped into the seat next to us. He apparently decided to take a short break.

Then he began in a low, conspiratorial tone,

“Hey, you two… feel like making some points?”

“Out of nowhere?”

“It’s not out of nowhere. We’ve got a little business in the works.”

“And ‘we’ means…?”

“Me, a few of the family guys, and a couple of upperclassmen.”

“Smells suspicious already.”

“Come on, just hear me out.”

He grinned and jerked his chin towards the stage.

“Watching the tournament is fine and all, but don’t you think it’s a little dull on its own? You gotta have popcorn, nachos… and bets.”

“Bets, huh? What’s the game?”

Seeing my interest, Shin Byeong-cheol’s grin widened.

“The preliminaries, of course. No explanation needed. Who’s gonna make it to the main rounds. So… how about it?”

I glanced at Seo Ye-in again, and this time, we nodded at the same moment.

“I’m in.”