"Mr. Hiel. How do you think your people will do now?" Asked one of the company leaders to Daniel.
Daniel seemed a bit distracted. Only half of his attention was directed at what was happening around him, while the remaining half, was focused on what had happened earlier that morning.
"They will do fine.." Responded Daniel casually, while feigning a faint smile.
The test of lightning essence was identical to those conducted for the various other elements. They would be asked to produce a constructed lightning sphere, have the finished result evaluated, and finally, they would be tested on their defensive and offensive capabilities.
The reason why lightning essence had been separated from the rest of the elements, was because the test conducted on defense and offense were slightly different. There was really no way to defend against electricity, therefore, they had to prepare a different setting for the test.
Instead of defending from a direct lightning attack, the master of lightning would discharge an electric current into two metallic orbs at the top of two wooden poles deeply buried in the ground.
The participant would then need to touch both metallic orbs, and by using their own control over lightning essence, they would have to try to avoid creating a circuit that would send the power of the master of lightning right through their body, leaving them fulgurated.
The result of the event was similar to the previous. Only a few of the participants possessed a perfect comprehension of lightning, causing Jerigh and Roley to end up in relatively high positions.
The following tests, were about the four most common and hardest essences around. These essences, were space, time, sound, and finally, light.
Except for the tests for spatial essence, neither Jerigh nor Roley were able to shine, and there was a good reason for that.
The general comprehension of sound and time which the two of them possessed, was the one that they had acquired from the cultivators that lived within Daniel's city.
People which were called expert in the field once, and yet, were only able to boast a slightly better than basic comprehension of those two essences. In fact, the most knowledgeable cultivators within Daniel's pocket dimension, possessed a comprehension of forty percent for time essence, and about forty-five percent of sound essence, which was much less than what some specialized people from this world could boast.
Despite their lack of knowledge in the matter, they demonstrated as much of their ability as the could.
-----
One hour after the other slowly passed, and finally, after half a day, the event was over.
It was now early night, and during the past hour, Daniel and the rest had seen a small procession of company heads deliver one ring after another to them.
These people were those who had placed a bet with Daniel. The only couple of people missing, were those that had bet that the two of them would have not managed to get within the top two hundred.
"Mr. Hiel.. wouldn't you rather give up now, and pay half of the bid?" Asked the green-robed man with a visible grin.
Daniel turned to look at him, and after smiling, he looked back at the stage, and said "I'll pass.."
"Confidence only takes people so far.." muttered the man before turning to look at the stage as well, and quiet down.
In the middle of the arena, there were only twenty-one people standing. The twenty-four hundred participants were standing at the edge of the arena in silence, observing, and listening.
Twenty of those twenty-one cultivators, were the masters of essence that had been in charge of evaluating the comprehension and control of the numerous participants during the tests.
They were divided in couples, and each couple would represent a specific type of essence.
The last person in the arena, was Klem Roah, the nine-fingered man.
He was currently giving a speech about the importance of the research of different types of mana, about the values on which the collective had been founded, and about how important it was to be a cohesive and united group in the joint objective of furthering their companies into the years to come.
"..to stimulate our minds into advancing into a brighter future, and creating new things, objects that will throw us into a new era. This is why we do it.. But enough with the inspirational speech, I can see in your eyes that you want to know the results of the games.. Which company surpassed all others in preparing their next generation!.. Please! WELCOME THE PARTICIPANTS!" Shouted Mr. Roah at the end of his long speech.
He then pointed his hand towards the crowd of participants, and invited them to move back on the stage, where once again, they took the original position which they had taken at the beginning of the event, and were joined by their teachers.
"These people have spent years in learning, observing.. Practicing. They embraced the workings of the universe, and now, they are putting their results to the test.. And all for a chance to further their knowledge! There is no one more worthy of admiration." Said the nine-fingered man with a righteous and passionate tone.
He then turned towards the participants, and said "Now, let's find our champion! Masters, please.."
The moment the masters heard Mr. Roah's signal, the two masters of wind took a few steps forward. The first master opened a small parchment, and started to list various names.
"Kua Lum of the 'Gentle Breeze' company.."
"Ikka of the 'Bloody Typhoon and Feeble Rain' company.."
"Roley of the 'Golden Karma' company.."
The master kept listing the names of the participants, and the company to which they belonged. The sound of chatter could be heard from everywhere. Be it the spectators, the company heads, or the administrative members.
".. of the 'Wind of Destruction' company.."
"Lue of the.. Company..."
The master went on for fifteen more minute, until finally, he stopped after calling the hundredth name.
After the master of wind finished listing the hundred names, the people he called took a step forward.
The masters then gave each of them a medallion with their personal result engraved on it. This medallion also possessed the mark of the two masters, which worked as confirmation that the result was granted by the two masters themselves, and wasn't forged.
After obtaining the medallions, the cultivators went back in line. The two masters of wind then left, leaving the stage for the two masters of water.
"Ren Mao of the 'Waterfall of Truth' company."
"Roley of the 'Golden Karma' company."
Once again, name after name was called, and in between them, were Roley's, and Jerigh's.
For the following couple of hours, one master of essence after the other assigned the points to each participant just like the two masters of wind had done. By giving them a medallion with both the participant's score, and their immortal essence contained in it.
The more time passed, the more the last few cultivators that had yet to pay Daniel felt nervous.
They didn't know the scores yet, but the fact that both Jerigh and Roley had been called over and over by most of the masters of essence, that could only mean that their score was more than simply above the average.
Once the masters of light finished handing over their results to the participants, the nine-fingered man appeared once again in the middle of the stage, and said "Those who have received a medallion stay on the stage. The others can leave."
After the many disappointed participants left the stage, only about four hundred people remained.
Most of them had received more than a single medallion, as they had participated in more than one test, performing at a high level.
The nine-fingered man turned to look at the various spectators, then, took a five meters long already unrolled parchment out of his spatial ring. In it, was the final ranking of the various cultivators, which others could not see.
"From the two hundredth position, Nitio, from the 'Blue Sky' company. Nine hundred and fifty-five points." Said the nine-fingered man with a plain, yet loud tone.
One after the other, the nine-fingered man started listing the various cultivators from the fiftieth position, to the eleventh.
The cultivators that were called showed no displeasure, as even if they were unable to win the final prize of the games, entering the top two hundred was already a result worth being proud of.
Within the reserved floor, the various heads had calmed down significantly. They had no doubts that Roley and Jerigh would ultimately not be able to reach the top fifty, therefore, they must have ended up out of the top two hundred.
These people were also those company heads whose participants had already left the competition long ago. They had almost no interest in the result, except for what regarded the result of the bet they had placed against Daniel's participants.
In their mind, they were already getting used to the idea of having won the bet.
"Mister Hiel, you should have accepted our kindness. Hehe.. Of course, I'm not going to reject your wishes of making my company wealthier." Said the green-robed man with a dirty grin on his face.
As the green-robed man said these words, the nine-fingered man had already started to list the top ten competitors of the entire event.
"In tenth position.. Sumo, of the 'As Metals and Minerals' company, with one thousand and seven hundred points."
Daniel turned to look at the green-robed man. He then smiled politely, and said "From the way you speak, it almost seem that you have already won.."
"Don't be a sore loser Mr. Hiel.. Even if your participants are prodigies, even they would not be able to enter the top ten.. They are too young." Responded the green-robed man with a displeased tone.
"In sixth position.. Kiara, of the 'Prickling Golden Needle' company, with one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-one points."
Daniel sighed deeply after hearing the green-robed man, and said "Fine.. as long as you don't refuse to pay your debt because you didn't hear the announcement."
The face of the green-robed man twisted in confusion for a moment. He was about to say something, but before he could, he heard the nine-fingered man say "In the fourth position.. Jerigh, from the 'Golden Karma' company, with one thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five points."
The green-robed man froze in place. The fact that someone as young as Jerigh had managed to obtain such a high position in the rankings was beyond anyone's expectations.
It took a few seconds for him to wake up from the shock. He then said "It is still not over.. As long as your other participant isn't part of the top three.. It is still our loss."
"In second position.. Bruga, of the 'Secrets of Time and Space' company.. With one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight points.." Said the nine-fingered man before looking at the first person in the ranking, and suddenly showing a dumbfounded expression.
He took a brief pause, then, he said "The first in the ranking of this edition of the games of the 'A World in the Palm of Your Hand' collective.. Is Roley.. From the Golden Karma.. With one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine points.
A cold shiver run down the back of the green-robed man, and the couple of other company heads that still owed money to Daniel. Just the green-robed cultivator owed him about seven hundred and fifty perfect crystals, which for his company, were essential at the moment.
Not only because he needed crystals to cultivate, but also because after paying the participation fee to the collective, the company was almost broke.
Hugely relieved, Daniel walked up to the green-robed man, which had yet to leave his shocked state, and said "Feel free to deliver my winnings to your convenience."
He then turned towards the stage one last time, where the nine-fingered man was personally congratulating Roley for winning the games, and giving him his prize.
