Wei Xiu Li, a citizen of Hua, a failure in Daoism, a prodigy in Magic, looked at his hands. They had never been tainted in blood, nor had they forcefully drawn someone's blood. However, today, was the day they were colored in red. Although it was figuratively, he could almost see the blood covering his hands.
He kept looking at his hands intently as if he could clear the guilt if he did so. He knew, and he was aware it was useless. Therefore, in the next moment, he covered his face with his hand before sighing helplessly.
"I tried so much to save his life though..."
Contrary to anyone's belief, Xiu Li wasn't as naive as he showed. He knew how the world worked. He knew how harsh the reality was. He knew it was normal to kill. However, even knowing so, it didn't mean he had to do just like what others did.
He preferred to do things peacefully. Therefore, he was scolded a lot by his Senior Brother back then at the land of Hua. Xiu Li bent his body down and took the participant tag of the late Battle Mage whose name he didn't know.
"I failed. Not only in preventing a useless death, but also the tournament."
The minimum requirement for one to pass the Selection Stage was taking five participant tags that belonged to the other participants. Xiu Li failed to do it quite miserably. For someone who was hailed as a prodigy in Magic, he was ashamed of his performance.
"At least you have the conscience to feel ashamed of yourself."
"Brother Basil..."
Xiu Li had least expected Basil would come to meet him after the Selection Stage. Basil's eyes at the start of the Selection Stage was forever etched into his mind. Those cold eyes didn't show any remorse or emotion. He could instantly deduce Basil didn't think much of the deed he had done.
Therefore, he was quite surprised when Basil reached out to him after the Selection Stage was over. People like Basil tend to dislike people like him after all. He could say it due to his own experience.
"You have survived. Congratulations." Basil's face was as stoic as ever, however his eyes weren't as cold as they had been. Xiu Li was taken aback. He was about to open his mouth when Basil extended his hand, "Do better in the tournament."
Xiu Li's hand unconsciously extended itself and took the things Basil had offered. When he saw what he was given, he quickly widened his eyes before calling, "Brother Basil, I can't accept.. this..." However, Basil was already gone.
Once again, Xiu Li looked at his hands dumbly. In his hands were his qualification to pass the Selection Stage. Basil had given him four participant tags to him. With the participant tag he had just collected from the late Battle Mage, he had attained the qualification to join the tournament.
—Do better in the tournament.
Xiu Li was reminded of Basil's words earlier. He inhaled deeply, before exhaling it slowly. Grasping the participant tags in his hands, he determined himself, "I will pay this debt by fighting you in the final, Brother."
With passionate eyes, he gazed at Basil's back that was furthering away.
Surely, Basil wasn't aware of this. He didn't care much about the tournament if he were to be honest. His action earlier wasn't intended to motivate Xiu Li. He just thought it would be unfortunate for someone as talented as Xiu Li to lose before the tournament.
Therefore, he had lent Xiu Li a hand. Surely, he didn't do that without any payback. He did that for his own amusement. He was curious to what extent someone like Xiu Li could push himself. Sometimes, we only need to give people an equal opportunity to produce an unexpected result.
Basil was expecting the unexpected out of Xiu Li. Just like him in the past, he decided to give Xiu Li an opportunity to show his worth.
"Fairfax Stafford. Score: 5. Pass!"
"Harvey Lecter. Score: 5. Pass!"
"Harrison. Score: 5. Pass!"
Each name of the participants who passed the Selection Stage and the amount of participant tags in their hand was announced by the committee. While most of them were Nobles, there were also commoners among them. It was understandable as Nobles were blessed with better equipments.
"Belen Kingsbury. Score: 7. Pass!"
"Woah!"
"He got 7? That is crazy..."
"Hey, that is the dude who has blown people's heads."
Gasp of amazement and disbelief resounded through the room. The requirement for the participant tags they had to amass was only 5. However, Belen had successfully amassed 7 of them. It was quite unbelievable.
Surely, the amazement was short lived as the people saw the face of the person named Belen. Looks of fear and disgust quickly entered their eyes. They remembered the gruesome scene Belen had already created.
"Tsk! I could have taken more than this if I were not hindered."
In the other hand, Belen wasn't satisfied with his result. He was slightly enraged as he couldn't show his full might due to Basil's intervention. Still, he didn't dwell in his resentment that much. He could settle it in the tournament.
Quickly passing the exit door, Belen entered the Arena.
"Kimberley Bulmer. Score: 7. Pass!"
"Oh! Another one with 7 score."
"Who is it?"
"That girl over there? I don't recall I have seen her."
Another gasp of admiration resounded through the room. The difference this time was it lasted longer. However, the people were confused by the one named Kimberley as they had never seen her before.
The girl who was the center of attention didn't bat an eyelash at the crowd. She merely stepped forward and passed through the exit door. Her beautiful strawberry blonde hair swayed when she walked.
"Ahaha! It's now my turn! Yo, check my score!"
"Jackson. Score: 9. Pass!"
"Kuhahaha! Look at how amazing I am!"
The people also gasped this time, however not as loud. They knew even without seeing the person's face who the voice belonged to. They were familiar with the voice. It belonged to one of the people who had a few screw loose in their heads.
This grey haired young man was too dangerous to be approached that people distanced themselves far away from him. He didn't care about fighting one on one. Once he had seen a gap, he would charge at whoever it was.
Luckily, he had attacked people with participant tags only. He had no interest in killing those who didn't.
"What the heck is that guy? How can someone like him enter the tournament?"
A red haired young man moved his feet forward before stopping in front of the committee. He had a sturdy build and a tall body that towered over the committee. His gait was nonchalant, however the aura he exuded was the exact opposite. His overall look was suited for a Knight instead of a Mage.
"Can you check mine, sir Committee?"
The red haired young man asked politely before presenting the participant tags he had amassed. The Committee did a quick counts before announcing it with a clear voice.
"Kinsey. Score: 13. Pass!"
"Bloody cow! This guy, is he a monster?"
"Hey.. that guy, wasn't he the one who butchered those guys over there?"
Everyone turned their heads at the direction that was referred, and the cheer quickly died down. Instead of being awed, they gulped instead. Another one with a few screw loose in their heads had just passed the Selection Stage.
Kinsey had been the one who had protested how the psychopaths had been aiming for his throat when the Selection Stage had been ongoing. However, he had been the one who had acted more like a psychopath.
"Basil Pacifer. Score: 18. Pass!"
The crowd hadn't recovered from the earlier shock when they were busy with another shock. This time, they couldn't react properly. When they saw the one named Basil, there was nothing they could feel aside from dread.
Although compared to Kinsey Basil was rather tame, the ferociousness he had shown had been incomparable to Kinsey. Some unfortunate people had dared to charge at Basil and had been met with their doom.
All of them had the common way to die. They had lost their heads. Compared to Kinsey, this kind of death was considered normal. However, no one could say so if they had seen how Basil had done that.
He didn't even move a finger to kill his enemy!
This time, a sane person passed the Selection Stage and entered the tournament. However, the danger he could inflict to others was no less if not higher than those psychopathic bastards.
...
When Basil had just passed the Selection Stage, Blake was frantic. He was running through the corridor to meet the one who led the Regional Tournament. Once he arrived at the place he could find the person, he quickly barged into the room.
"Lawson Lansdowne!" He yelled on top of his lungs. The person who was on the receiving end, a grey haired fit elderly man was taken aback. "Blake? What are you—?" He couldn't finish his words as Blake interrupted him, "What in the hell is the rule you have just set?!"
At this, Lawson Lansdowne stayed silent. He gazed at Blake silently and a staring contest ensued among them. Blake was livid. It could be seen by his burning eyes. After some time had past, Lawson sighed to himself.
Fixing his glasses with his finger, it glinted briefly. "It is a new policy set by the Magic Institute and has been approved by the King himself," Lawson said calmly.
"Ridiculous! You are encouraging the act of killing among youngsters! We have never done this before."
"Even so, don't you think they are bound to kill people soon anyway? We are just accelerating the progress."
"You..!"
Blake wanted to retort, but he couldn't. The logic was sound. Killing wasn't uncommon among Mages. They started doing that since young. Blake had been so. He had killed people since he had been 13. Therefore, he couldn't properly retort.
Surely, Blake didn't plan to back down just like that. "Just because old people have experienced it, doesn't mean the young have to experience it too. They can still show their might even without killing people!"
"Blake..." Lawson shook his head, "The older you get, the softer you become. Where is the Blood Demon of The Battlefield has gone?" Blake didn't answer Lawson. He merely looked at Lawson with the same heated eyes.
"Listen, I know how much you value young people due to their 'potential' as you have always preached. But, it's time to let them spread their wings. Natural selection always produces good results. Just look at us!"
At response to this, Blake just sighed in disappointment while shaking his head. Lifting his head to look at Lawson, he said in a deep voice, "To expect the unexpected, we can give an equal opportunity to everyone."
Lawson clicked his tongue, "Tsk. You and another one of your philosophy. That is a good thought to be honest. However, you have to realize you have just said 'to expect the unexpected'. Failure is also among the 'unexpected'."
'Then, what is your point?' was left unsaid. Lawson didn't need to point that out. Blake was smart enough to know that. Contrary to his expectation however, Blake didn't back down on this one.
"I have once had the same thought as you. It was all due to my arrogance, thinking that I was always the best. However, one day I realized that all of the things happened to me was just an 'opportunity'. Say, if you weren't let into the Mage Corps back then, will you still be able to reach the same height as of now?"
This time, Lawson was silenced. A pondering look adorned his wrinkled face. He had been deemed as nothing more than a dead weight in his youth. It had been to the point where the Mage Corps recruitment team had rejected him once, when he had registered himself.
The reason? They had been afraid he would have been nothing more than a dead meat. Luckily, after some persuasion, he had managed to get admitted. Since then, everything had been going up for him. His life had changed, and it had been a good change.
He had thought it was all due to his tenacity to be on top. However, when he had heard Blake's words, he was forced to think once again. At last, he sighed. While looking at Blake, he muttered softly.
"You know how it is. Some hands are controlling this tournament. I can't say much."
Blake could only sigh as he had expected this to come out too. Shaking his head in helplessness, he was about to leave when Lawson called him.
"Why are you leaving so soon. Let's have a tea. It's been a year since the last time we met."
"Very well..."
Blake just accepted the invitation and sat himself down on a sofa. Lawson stood up from his seat and was about to prepare the teamaking set when another interruption happened.
"Excuse me, Vice Headmaster! I have something to report!"
Lawson's mouth turned into a thin line. He looked at the person who was standing in front of his desk with a helpless gaze. "Iliana... How many times have I told you to announce yourself before entering, and not the other way around?!"
"I am sorry, Sir. As I predicted you had nothing to do as always, I entered the room directly!"
"You predicted? And what's that with I have nothing to do as always?!"
"It is called a fact, sir!"
"This lass!"
Blake was surprised as he had never seen Lawson so riled up by someone, a girl nonetheless. It was quite funny to see him that way. When Blake looked at the girl, he was reminded with Basil somehow.
"Huuh... What is the report, then?"
"The list of the participants who passed the Selection Stage, Sir!"
"Very well, you can tell me."
"The highest scorer of the Selection Stage is Basil Pacifer, with a score of 18."
Before Lawson could response, Blake stood from his seat and looked at Iliana in bafflement. The two people were mildly startled due to his action, however Blake didn't care a little bit. He was thinking about another matter.
Just who is Basil Pacifer?!
