44. NET {3}:- Day One.


    Everyone instantly raised their heads up and turned around to see what caused the explosion.


    The explosion didn’t destroy anything within the hall but when everyone turned around, their eyes noticed arge magic circle glowing on the raised tform and within seconds, twenty elder elves emerged from the magic circle.


    One of the elders, a male elf, took three steps forward while all the remaining elders stood behind him.


    The male elder elf had the appearance of an adult human in histe fifties, but he was more agile and better looking than an average fifty year old human.


    The male elder elf stood before the gathering with grace and elegance before addressing everyone in the hall.


    “Greetings, esteemed nobles, I am Elder Jang and I wee you all with great pride and joy to the Junior Noble Elf Tournament. I know many of you have heard about the previous tournaments and how gory it used to be. In the past, the tournament was used to single out talented elven warriors who would be rewarded a high rank in the elven army. They would also be rewarded withnds, golds, artifacts and the right to be a noble. All these were used to inspire more elves to participate in the tournament. During the time of war, our primary goal was to build strong warriors, capable of protecting the kingdom and the royal family, but now, the war is over and a new age has begun. A time of peace and prosperity now reigns between kingdoms across the world,”


    Elder Jang continued. “Our goal still remains the same and we intend to make sure the kingdom’s future rests in safe hands. And now, this brings me to the activities you will be asked to do. The tasks you will be asked to do today will be divided into three phases,”


    “The first phase will be centered within a forest, your goal is to track and hunt horned rabbits in the forest to earn a maximum of hundred points. Each horned rabbit will earn you ten pointed . Please, take a look at your magical card,”


    With Elder Jang’s instructions, everyone took a look at their cards. At the bottom right of everyone’s card, everyone could see [0 point,] written on the card.


    “You will have an hour to track and hunt ten horned rabbits, however, there will be ze rats lurking around the shadows of the forest,”


    Right after Jang said this, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise and fear, and a murmur erupted within the hall.


    Everyone in the hall were within the rank of Rank One to Rank Three Mage or Knight, so they knew what a ze rat was. It was a Rank Two forest beast, capable of harming a Rank Two knight or mage.


    The ze rats were one of the strongest Rank Two forest beasts in the kingdom. They were strong enough to decapitate an experienced Rank Two or Rank Three knight or mage, but this wasn’t the only reason why they were extremely formidable.


    The reason why many elves in the hall feared these rats were because ze rats hunt and attack in groups.


    This means that it will be extremely difficult for a Rank Two knight to fight against a group of ze rats on his or her own.


    “You will be permitted to fight in pairs if you wish but know that, regardless of the choice you make, we can’t guarantee your safety,” Elder Jang revealed and the murmuring continued once again.


    Within seconds, the entire hall was as loud as a marketce. There were a lot of young elves within the ages of thirteen to fifteen who were beginning to have doubts about their desire to continue the tournament.


    These elves were Rank One Mages and knights, but most of them were from humble backgrounds, so they knew they won’t be able to take down a single ze rat on their own.


    The same goes for if they were to form a team of four or five elves to share the burden of fighting against the ze rats, the results would still remain the same and they would simply be walking towards their death beds.


    The only option they had left was to forfeit from the tournament, thereby abandoning their goals and dreams of bing a noble and the privileges that came with being a noble.


    The noise within the hall continued to grow louder by the second until Elder Jang pped his hands once, causing everyone to cover their ears as the sound pierced into their ears.


    A smile spread across Jang’s face and his gaze swept across the hall. He could see a lot of elves who were already disheartened about the idea of facing against the ze rats.


    Most of them were Rank One and Two Mages and knights who happened to bemoners participating in the tournament. A few others were Rank Two knight or mages who happened to be nobles.


    Their minds were set on forfeiting the tournament.


    They might be nobles with a higher mana capacity than those from humble backgrounds but they prioritized their lives more than anything else and if the elders and other tournament officials weren’t able to guarantee their safety, then they were better off not participating in the tournament.


    Aside from those who weren’t interested in the tournament anymore, there were a lot of elves who were still eager to test out their strengths against a group of ze rats.


    It would be the first time they will be facing against a Rank Two beast as dangerous as the ze rats, but they were still eager and excited to get to the forest right now.


    The elves who were a lot eager to participate than others were Rank Three Mages, so they believed they were strong enough to handle a ze rat on their own.


    Others were also open to the idea of pairing with other Rank Three Mages and knights because of unexpected circumstances.


    One could never be too careful when facing against a group of ze rats.


    “If anyone would like to forfeit from the tournament, please signify and make your way towards the next hall,” Elder Jang instructed them on what to do but many of them were reluctant to move to the next room.


    No one wanted to be the first elf to give up on the tournament.


    Jang released a sigh before encouraging them to make a decision. “If anyone walks into the next hall, you’ll see a variety of food and juice for you to choose from, so you’re free to eat and drink as much as you want. Just make sure to drop your card to any of the staff and officials you see there,”


    The room remained silent with everyone stealing nces at each other, waiting for who would be the first to walk into the next hall first.


    This continued until a young male around the age of seventeen suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist before mming it against his palm, as though he had suddenly realized what Elder Jang was trying to say. “Oh, so, you’re saying there’s food and drinks in the next room?” He asked.


    “Yes, that’s what I was trying to ----,”


    “Oh, so, that’s what he was talking about,” Another young male smacked his palm on his forehead as though he too had just realized what Elder Jang was saying. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner, Elder Jang, just wanted to make sure we won’t be hungry when fighting against a group of ze rats,”


    “Huh? That’s not what I was----,” Elder Jang tried to exin what he was trying to say but no one wanted to listen.


    “Oh, yeah. That makes sense,”


    “Indeed, Elder Jang will never want any harm toe to us,”


    “That’s why he wants us to eat and gain even more strength before facing against the ze rats,”


    “After all, we can’t fight on an empty stomach,”


    “He cares a lot about us,”


    “Why wouldn’t he, we are the future of the kingdom, he has to care about us,”


    “Elder Jang is so nice,”


    “Actually, I was not---,” Elder Jang paused mid-sentence when he noticed the reduced number of elves remaining in the hall.


    Everyone had used him as an excuse to forfeit the tournament.


    ‘Children, they never cease to amaze me,’ A smile appeared on his face when he noticed those who remained in the hall were still around two hundred elves.


    He turned around to signal the other elders to begin chanting the teleportation spell and they began to chant the spell.


    While they were chanting the spells, a female elf raised her hands up to ask a question.


    Elder Jang permitted her to speak and she asked. “What will the remaining two phases of the tournament be about?”


    Since the first phase will be testing the contestants on their abilities to track and hunt, many wondered what the second phase will be about.