Chapter 54. NET {13}:- Coliseum 2.


    "I knew you would definitely be among the top ten in the ranking, but I wasn''t expecting you to reach the top so soon on the first day. At this rate, you might actually win the tournament." Adrian said with a deep respect in his words.


    "Maybe you''re right, maybe you''re wrong. However, we won''t know until we get to thest day of the tournament. Wait, don''t tell me you''re beginning to doubt your chances of winning against a ten-year-old?"


    Adrian chuckled before making a serious expression. "I''m definitely going to win this tournament."


    Orion smiled back. "That''s the spirit."


    The room became silent for a while but after a few minutes, Adrian spoke up.


    There was something that had been bothering him sincest night, and Adrian thought it would be better to hear Orion''s opinion about it rather than remain silent.


    "Um, I''ve been thinking."


    "About what?" Orion asked.


    "Well, since our battle in the arena will require everyone to go against each other, do you think everyone here in the room will want to fight against you?" Adrian asked and the room became dead silent.


    Although they didn''t want to, everyone couldn''t help but listen to the conversation Adrian was having with the prince.


    Most of them had doubts about fighting the prince of the kingdom, and they didn''t want to anger a member of the royal family, especially a royal member who was currently the heir to the throne.


    A few whispers emerged behind Orion and Adrian, and Orion could hear them all.


    He knew a lot of them wouldn''t feel eager to fight against him if they discovered that he was their opponent.


    Some had even made up their minds to forfeit the match if their opponent was the prince.


    "I don''t think anyone would want to go against you." Adrian continued.


    "Is it because I''m the prince?"


    "Hmm," Orion sighed a bit before replying. "I understand that during a match, some opponents might hesitate to engage me fully because they don''t want to offend a member of the royal family," Orion said, subtly adding mana to his words so that everyone within the room would be able to hear what he was saying.


    "Well, yeah. Many contestants will hesitate to fight the prince of the kingdom, but what will you do if your opponent suddenly drops out from the match because you''re the prince and they do not want you to lose?" Adrian inquired, eager to see how Orion would react to his words.


    "Hmm," Orion sighed a bit before replying. "I understand that during a match, some opponents might hesitate to engage me fully because they don''t want to offend a member of the royal family," Orion said, subtly adding mana to his words so that everyone within the room would be able to hear what he was saying.


    He continued. "But, the truth is that I find no honor in winning by default. I entered this tournament to test my skills, to push myself to the limit, and to earn the respect of everyone including the contestants in the tournament, and I believe this is why most of us participated in the tournament." He paused, allowing his words to sink into everyone listening to him.


    "If anyone forfeits without a fight, I''ll be disappointed, because I want to earn my victory; I want to be challenged, to be forced to grow stronger, and if anyone is afraid to face a ten-year-old because of his status, then I''ll never respect them as a warrior."


    "But what if they choose to fight?"


    Orion turned to Adrian with a smile on his face as he replied. "If they choose to fight me seriously with all their might, then I''ll consider them worthy opponents, regardless of the oue. And who knows? Perhaps we''ll be close friends, just like us, after exchanging blows and learning from each other."


    Everyone''s eyes were still wide with shock after hearing Orion''s words.


    Most of the contestants who qualified for today''s battle were males and it would be a lie if they said they weren''t a bit jealous to see Orion talking to Adrian.


    They, too, wanted to be friends with the prince, and they were even eager to help the prince by forfeiting their match if he ended up being their opponent, hoping the prince would be pleased with their actions.


    But now that Orion had expressed his thoughts on how he would feel if they forfeited their match because of him, no one wanted Orion to be disappointed in them, they wanted the prince to respect them as a warrior.


    Now, their minds were made up. They would do as the prince wanted and try their best to earn his respect with the hope that they, too, would be close friends with Orion just like Adrian.


    Adrian noticed the sudden mood change in the room, and his lips instinctively widened into a smile.


    He wouldn''t want his best friend to easily reach the final just because he was the crown prince.


    He would rather see Orion work hard like everyone else, trying to reach the top, because he knew it was what Orion wanted as well.


    Adrian respected and admired Orion a lot. Their years of sparring had made his admiration of Orion grow stronger, but hearing Orion''s words just now helped to solidify his admiration for him even more.


    The room remained silent for a few minutes before Orion and Adrian noticed someone walking towards the center of the arena.


    "Isn''t that tournament official Ganesha?" Orion asked.


    Unlike what Ganesha wore yesterday, he was currently dressed like a diator, making it a bit difficult for Orion to recognize him


    "Yes, he is the one. I think he''ll be the referee of all the battles today. Did you know he is also an Earl?"


    "Really? I didn''t know."


    "Yes, but that''s not all. He is also the current guild master of the Kingdom''s guild and he''s the husband of one of the tournament officials, Miss Hilda."


    "What?"


    "It''s shocking, right?" Adrian chuckled as he noticed the surprised look on Orion''s face.


    Orion had heard about the kingdom having a guild just like the fantasy world of the novels and video games he used to y in his previous world.


    However, he hadn''t expected Ganesha to be the guild master, and he also hadn''t expected him to be the husband Hilda mentioned to him yesterday.


    Orion reclined on his seat and watched as Ganesha spoke to the spectators while enhancing his voice using mana.


    "Ladies and gentlemen!!! Are you ready?!!"


    "Yeah!!!" The crowds roared in unison.


    "For action?!!"


    "Yeah!!!"


    "For entertainment?!!"


    "Yeah!!!"


    "Then sit back and rx as we bring to you, a tournament like never before. A Livestream battle broadcasted throughout the kingdom. So, without further ado, I bring to you, the contestants of today''s junior noble elf tournament!!"


    "Yeah!!!"


    Everyone cheered and watched as the huge scoreboard disyed the list of the contestants taking part in today''s battle.


    "As you can see, we have a total of one hundred and twenty contestants in the Junior Noble Elf tournament. Each of these lucky contestants will be taking part in the knockout battles. Their goal is to make sure their names are included in the final twenty contestants who will be qualified to continue the tournament tomorrow.


    The rules are simple. Contestants must stay within the designated fighting arena at all times. A match ends when a contestant yields, is knocked out, or their training dummy is destroyed," Ganesha exined, but a murmur erupted within the coliseum because no one was familiar with the concept of having a training dummy in the arena.


    "I understand that some of you might be confused as to why I mentioned a training dummy just now, but this is one of the few modifications we''ve made to the rules for the Junior section of the tournament.


    A drop of each contestant''s blood will be ced on a training dummy. During a fight, any damage a contestant sustains will be immediately transferred to the dummy. It helps to indicate when a contestant is close to defeat and it will also reflect a contestant''s physical condition, like injuries. Please, contestants should keep in mind that while any injury and pain you feel during a battle will be transferred to a dummy you will still feel the pain inflicted on you.


    Our goal is to provide a tournament where contestants will be allowed to push themselves without risking their death, while they are still experiencing the intensity of the battle."


    In other words, this meant that contestants could get shed by a sword, but they wouldn''t see the sh on their bodies.


    It would be sent to the training dummy instead.


    However, they would still feel the pain in their body, almost as though the sh remained on their skin.


    When the crowd finally understood what Ganesha was exining to them, everyone cheered excitedly with even more energy.


    This was the Junior section of the tournament, so everyone understood why the tournament officials would adopt this approach.


    With this new method introduced into the tournament, young nobles could fight safely without worrying about their death.


    They might get injured, but the injury wouldn''t appear on their skin. Instead, it would be reflected on the dummy. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    However, they would still be able to feel the pain inflicted on their body, and if the pain became unbearable, they were allowed to surrender.


    Also, if any of the contestants were knocked out, their opponent would automatically win the match.