Thud!
Basil dropped the lifeless body of the blonde whose name he didn't know to the ground. Fiddling with the blonde's participant tag for a while, he kept it in the next moment. He swiped his gaze to the surrounding people, and most of them shrunk back in fear.
Xiu Li was gaping his mouth. His slanted eyes widened to the point it made his eyes looked normal. He hadn't expected Basil would kill someone in a heartbeat. He knew it wasn't breaking the rule. But still, he was baffled with Basil's decisiveness.
"Brother Basil..." Xiu Li tried to reach out to Basil, however Basil had already turned his head at him even before he finished his words. "Struggle, survive, and overcome." It was the start of the chaos in the room.
"Bang!"
A young man with magenta hair shouted playfully while pointing his index finger at someone's head. His index finger glowed briefly, before the head his index finger was pointing to was blown to pieces.
Splash!
"Holy crap!"
"What the heck is happening?!"
"Darn! Is killing allowed?!"
Everyone turned frantic as the situation was escalating too quickly. While most of them tried to scurry away from the crowd to avoid losing their lives, some of them were actively reaping souls here and there.
"These psychopathic bastards! Don't they know how to not kill?!"
A red haired young man shouted indignantly at the people who were trying to cut his head. Still, even though he was saying that, he was doing the same to his assailants.
"This.. this is not right. There will be many people die this way!"
"You're right and you'll be one of them!"
Xiu Li who had just shouted in frustration had to dodge to avoid getting cut by a sword. The person who had swung down his sword clicked his tongue before casting a [Reinforcement] on himself.
"Battle Mage!"
Xiu Li exclaimed in surprise. He quickly distanced himself from the Battle Mage as he knew he would be doomed if he was too close with him.
Boom!
Both Mages displayed their Magic Circles. All of them had three Magic Circles. When the Battle Mage looked at Xiu Li's Magic Circles, he had to do a double take.
"A Grand Circle! There's such a monster participating in this tournament?!"
The Battle Mage clicked his tongue in irritation. Luckily, Xiu Li had only one Grand Circle. Therefore, the gap in power between them wouldn't be that much as the Battle Mage had three Major Circles.
At least, that was what he thought.
Boom!
"Tsk! He's got some skills!"
Knowing that he was attacked, Xiu Li didn't stay idle. While the Battle Mage was pondering over the best way to defeat him, Xiu Li initiated the first attack. A barrage of [Wind Bullet] was sent toward the Battle Mage.
He had no choice but to dodge the attack quickly. He was showcasing his skill as a Battle Mage in that moment. If not for the Magic Circles floating behind him, people would take him as a Knight instead.
It was the advantage of a Battle Mage. On top of being able to use Magic, they could show might that no ordinary Mage could display. They could fight in long distance and close distance. However, they were by no means invincible.
The only absolute thing Battle Mage was good at was running away. They were the weaker version of Mage and the incomplete version of Knight. Luckily, they didn't have to be afraid of Knight in a close distance fight or Mage in a long distance fight.
When things got too much for them, they could just run away. Surely, it was the case when the gap of power wasn't too big.
"Crap! This guy, does he have an unlimited Mana Supply?!"
The Battle Mage who was fighting with Xiu Li exclaimed in frustration. He couldn't close the distance between them. In result, all he could do was dodging the attacks pouring down on him.
"Ah! Darn it! I have no choice! [Enhancement Art: Boiling Rage]!"
The Battle Mage's body temperature rose continuously. His body started to let out steam and his skin turned redder in each second. His heart beat so fast it was unimaginable for it not to explode.
[Enhancement Art: Boiling Rage] was an Art that was derived from one of the Knight [Lesser Technique: Burning Heart]. It was an Art where the user forced their heart to beat faster while infusing it with Mana.
In result, their blood would flow faster than it should be, causing their blood vein to expand and their skin to redden. Due to that, their physical ability would increase dramatically. However, due to their high body temperature, they couldn't think straight.
Therefore, they tend to lose control over their body. To sum it all, it was an incomplete technique that had too many parts to be improved before being usable. It was the reason why the Battle Mage had been reluctant to use it at first.
"Grrr... I can't think straight..."
Although he could feel his power had increased, the side effect had started to take effect.
"Have to end it quick...!"
Swish!
The Battle Mage swung his magic sword forward. Due to the power the swing possessed, it parted the air and produced a condensed Mana out of it.
Xiu Li who was on the receiving end encased his body with an [Earthen Sphere]. To further the defense, he even infused his Mana to the sphere protecting him.
Boom!
Roar!
The Battle Mage didn't stay idle, he dashed toward the [Earthen Sphere] that was protecting his enemy. It was the purpose of his attack, to stagnate his enemy. Upon arriving in front of the sphere, he infused his Mana and swung down his sword.
Boom!
The sphere exploded as a blinding light from the sword encapsulated it. In the middle of this happening, a person was thrown out of the sphere like a bullet. It was none other than Xiu Li.
Surely, it was his attempt to distance himself from the Battle Mage. It had been planned all along.
Skid!
Xiu Li stopped his launch by planting his Mana infused feet to the ground. It took a couple of seconds for him to really stop. Once he stopped, he looked at his rabid assailant. The Battle Mage was giving him the most savage look he could see on a person.
"He's damaging his entire body. He will die if he keeps activating his Art."
Xiu Li mumbled under his breath. Exhaling deeply, he looked at the Battle Mage once again. He was determined to stop the Battle Mage. He didn't want the Battle Mage to die uselessly.
"[Master Of The Land]!"
A spell was chanted and the ground in the vicinity of the rabid Battle Mage turned into soft soil. [Master Of The Land] was a spell that allowed the user to control the land on their whim for a short range.
It was the highest Earth Element Spell a Third-Circle Mage could use. It easily proved that Xiu Li was indeed a prodigy.
"Rise!"
True to his command, the ground surged upward. The Battle Mage was quickly trapped in the earth, hindering his movements. Surely, the Battle Mage was trying his best to get out of the earthen trap.
Roar!
"You have to stop! You will die if you don't!"
Clasping his hand, Xiu Li tried his best to suppress the Battle Mage. The amount of Mana he was using was tremendous and it started to burden him. At this rate, he might exhaust his entire Mana.
"Ckckck. What an unsightly scene to look at."
On the other side, the magenta haired young man who had started the chaos earlier clicked his tongue in lamentation. He was observing the fight of Xiu Li and the rabid Battle Mage from afar. No one dared to go for him as he had blown too many people's heads.
"Very well. Let this I, Belen Kingsbury, to end this unsightly scene." Pointing his index finger at Xiu Li, he raised his thumb before making a motion as if he was pulling a trigger. "Bang!" He uttered softly.
Boom!
"Hm?"
The expected head explosion didn't occur. Belen frowned his handsome face. He scrutinized the person who had just made his attack failed, then clicked his tongue in irritation.
"You are Basil, aren't you?"
"..."
"Tch! Not answering, huh? Fine with me. Now, scram! Don't disturb my.. fun...?"
Belen instantly turned silent. He couldn't speak anymore. He felt a touch of a cold steel on his neck and he knew whom the weapon belonged to. Looking at Basil with widened eyes, he opened his trembling mouth.
"Y-you.. a Mentalist?"
"Why do you think so?"
"Are you doubting my intelligence?! You can use [Telekinesis]. Of course, you're a Mentalist!"
In response to Belen's indignation, Basil merely snorted softly. He glanced at the fighting Xiu Li from the corner of his eyes, then returned his eyes back at Belen.
"How many tags have you gotten?"
"If you want to take it, you can. I have seven of them."
Basil shook his head lightly before saying, "Why did you kill that many?" He knew Belen didn't attain those tags peacefully. "Do you think it was unnecessary? Ridiculous!" Belen laughed before saying, "I am weeding out the weak, so the tournament will be more fun."
Basil hummed quietly to himself at the answer. Looking around him, he could see many of the participants forfeited their participant tags willingly to another participants. Still, there were still some people with a few screw loose in their heads killing the participants indiscriminately.
It caused the participants to fight back or forcing their way to the exit door. Surely, the latter was useless as the door was sealed with a powerful Magic that Basil's almighty [Heaven Piercer] couldn't even pierce.
Of course, it was the case for now. Basil's power wasn't even sufficient enough to use it properly. He had to be at least a Seventh-Circle Mage to be able to use it properly.
"Bloody hell! What is happening? I have amassed five of the participants tags, but I still can't get outside?!"
"Hahaha! Fool! The object is not to amass those stupid tags. It is to survive!"
"What are you—!"
The young man who had amassed five tags couldn't continue his words as the speaker, who had replied him, sent him an attack.
Boom!
"Ahhh!!!"
Fire engulfed him, entrapping him in the middle of a firestorm. The assailant cackled in delight at the scene before proceeding to hunt for another people.
"Heh... It seems the tournament will be as interesting as I have wanted."
Basil looked at Belen who had just spoken. He recalled the rules the committee had announced at the start of the Selection Stage.
—The committee will not be responsible for any deaths occur in the process.
It was intended to trigger people like Belen, who had no qualms about killing and loved doing it. Basil also had no qualms about killing, however he didn't have any obsession over it. He only killed when it was necessary.
"Hey, will you be okay standing here watching over me? Although, as that person has said earlier, the goal of this stage is to survive, you have to collect the other participant tags, no?"
"I have one."
"Just one? Pfft! You won't pass that way."
In response to this, Basil merely looked sideways, at the people who were killing the others in eagerness. Extending his right hand over them, he spread his five fingers apart. Then, it glowed briefly, before the light was sent right to the unfortunate five people.
Splash!
Five people's heads exploded just like that.
"If I can have one, I can have more." Basil said to no one in particular.
The people who had been attacked by the late five people looked at the scene in horror. Brain mush and blood alike covered their heads. They looked at their saviour, however their heart was filled with fear rather than gratefulness.
"Bring me the tags over."
Nodding dumbly at Basil, the four people who had been attacked by the five people Basil had just killed brought the participant tags the five dead people had accumulated to Basil. Basil took the tags presented to him and counted it quickly.
Tossing four of the tags to the four people he had accidentally saved, he said, "Do your best to survive." The four people nodded weekly before scurrying away far from him.
Basil didn't give the five people even a single glance. He turned his head and was met with the gaping mouth of Belen. He smirked faintly yet condescendingly.
"H-h-how?! My Art! H-how?!"
"Child tricks."
"W-whatt?!"
Belen was befuddled, enraged, and awed by Basil's showcase of power. He had thought his Art solely belonged to him, and no one could ever imitate it. However, he was wrong! He was met with a reality he couldn't easily accept.
Someone, a stranger that he had only known his name, could use HIS Art even BETTER than himself! How could he take it easily? His mind was in a state of denial and he couldn't think straight.
Basil ignored Belen whose mind he had just unintentionally disturbed. He observed his surrounding and could say the chaos was closing to an end. As he had expected, most of the survivors were Third-Circle Mages.
There was a reason why he had called them 'survivor' instead of participants. He was referring to the people who had lost their participant tags, but still managed to survive. Most of them were Third-Circle Mages.
In the other hand, all of the participants who would advance to the next stage were Third-Circle Mages.
"Surrender! Give me your tags, and I will let you go!"
Xiu Li's fight hadn't ended yet. He was currently suppressing the Battle Mage he had been fighting since the start who was currently bloodied from head to toe. The Battle Mage looked at Xiu Li condescendingly.
"Kill me."
"I won't. I won't resort to killing as long as it can be done peacefully!"
"Stupid bastard..." The Battle Mage sighed before saying, "Alright, you win. Loosen the restrain of my hand and I will give you my participant tag." Xiu Li's eyes brightened, before he nodded his head cheerfully, "Very well."
Xiu Li did what he was told. Sadly, the Battle Mage didn't do what he had said. Instead of throwing his participant tag to Xiu Li, he threw a dagger at him instead.
!!!
Xiu Li who was seeing the attack, acted reflexively this time. Swiping his hand horizontally, the ground below him spiked upward to block the dagger. However, it didn't stop there as the spike also skewered the Battle Mage on the ground.
"Kuaaakk! Kuhuk...!"
Gurgle.
By the time Xiu Li realized what he had done, the Battle Mage he had unintentionally skewered had lost his life. Blood was pouring down from the body parts where his spikes had punctured. Xiu Li gulped dryly. He was mortified.
Clack!
The participant tag of the Battle Mage he had killed fell to the ground, producing a sound in the weirdly silent room. However, he wasn't elated at all.
[Ding-dong!]
[The selection stage is over! Congratulations, for the survivors! Those who fulfill the qualification will be able to compete in the arena. Please, move to the door and let the committee check your qualification.]
Thus, the Selection Stage was over.. The tournament could finally start.