“It is 14:00,” the announcer said pleasantly his voice booming. He was nowhere to be seen. “And that means the start of the second day. I bid everyone here a good afternoon and welcome back. I’m pleased to see that most of you are here. Though I see some of you still have your cheeks filled.”

The crowd laughed at his passing remark.

“But I’m not here to judge,” he said. “Enjoy yourself as we provide you with the entertainment for you meal. Think of us as your television for the day.”

They cheered.

“Today’s program is round two of the Annual Academy Tournament. And I’m sure you’re all dying to know what today’s round is going to be.” The crowd voiced their agreement loudly. “Then allow me to satisfy that curiosity.”

A flash and the announcer appeared in the middle of the arena, hovering in the air. His wore a form-fitting suit with his arms spread apart as if he was posing for a picture.

“Yesterday was the hunt. Today, is a race,” he said grandly. “And our competitor’s course? This entire arena.”

He clapped his hands, the sound reverberating throughout the entire arena. The ground shook and Yuki felt mana surging through it. Pillars of earth rose from it. Platforms floated upwards towards the sky. Twenty circles flared on the ground, forming a larger circle that surrounded the base of the course.

“Allow me to introduce the Sky Way,” the announcer smiled. “An obstacle course that we have designed just for this.”

Yuki watched the holographic screens that hovered in the center of the arena. A camera seemed to be going through the course, displaying it from multiple angles. 

“The goal?” the man said, raising an eyebrow. He thrusted his hand up, pointing. “To reach the top!”

The camera angled upward and accelerated as it zoomed through the course until it touched the top where a giant circular platform hovered. There were ten circles that flared brightly on it.

“Only ten teams can pass. From the bottom, these fifteen teams will race each other to grab one of these spots. But that doesn’t mean that there will be ten teams that continue. That’s only the maximum. Would each team please make their way to one of the starting rings.”

A few staff members led the teams around, guiding them to a circle. When a team stepped on one, a circular platform rose a foot, lifting the team up and a barrier formed around them. 

“The competitors will have two minutes before the race begins,” the announcer explained. “Once those two minutes are up, the barriers will drop and they can begin the ascent. However, the moment the race begins, the floor automatically becomes a kill zone. Anyone that touches it during the race will be considered out. Do the competitors understand?”

Yuki looked at the other faces around him and saw no disagreement. Only apprehension and determination.

“Perfect. Then allow me to tell you all one last thing,” he said with a small smile. “Combat is allowed during this race. But don’t go too crazy.”

He pointed upwards to the giant screens that hovered in the air. A timer appeared, the time set to two minutes.

“The round begins now. Good luck, and may the gods be with you.” He gave them a small salute before disappearing in a flash.

“So which strategy are we using?” Yuna whispered beside Yuki.

“The first one,” he replied, peering over the edge as he looked at the ground about two yards below him. “There are too many unknowns for me to safely say that we can speed run this thing.”

“Understood.” She reached into her pockets and took out a pair of gloves similar to the ones Yuki received. 

“Using them?” Yuki asked.

“They seem to be good quality gloves. Should help me grip the platforms and such better,” she explained.

“I see. Remember, I can’t use wind magic so if you fall, you need to save yourself.”

“I understand. Are we trying to keep a low profile for now?”

“In the beginning stage. Then we’ll break out.”

“Ok. Thirty seconds left,” she muttered, looking at the timer.

Yuki stared at the platforms above him and the pillars around him as he scouted out a pathway up. He channeled mana into his eyes and examined the air.

‘Barriers in some places, hmm. To deter wind elementalists from just shoot themselves upwards. Should I look deeper?’

He considered it before shaking his head. Now wasn’t the right time to do that.

‘Then. Let’s gets ready.’

He gathered mana into his palms and calmed his mind. The crowd began to chant, counting down the last seconds. He ignored them, envisioning what he needed. 

“ONE!” the crowd roared. “GOOOOO!”

Yuki’s eyes flashed upwards and watched as the other teams began their ascent. They leaped onto the pillars and small platforms around them, some platforms barely wider than a plate. They swarmed up the course, getting closer and closer together to each other as the course naturally tightened. Yuki and Yuna stayed on their starting platform.

 

“Should we start?” Yuna asked, looking up with a little worry on her face.

 

“No. Just wait a little. You’ll know why I wanted to wait in a few seconds,” Yuki replied quietly. 

As if his words were a command, a scream rang out and Yuki watched as a black body rapidly approach them. It passed them, Yuki momentarily catching the persons terrified expression before they disappeared in a flash of light right before they hit the ground.

“I was waiting for that,” he said nonchalantly.

“Oh.”

Yuki looked up as more and more people began falling, some heading straight to the ground while others caught themselves. 

‘The fighting has begun. We should make our way up soon. I’ll wait another minute. Let’s see if this “surprise” will show itself.’

As he continued to watch the chaos ensuing above him, chains formed around his arms, concealed by his long sleeves. He muttered a few words beneath his breath and magic circles formed around his hands. 

“Yuna,” he said. “Get ready. We’ll start the climb soon.”

She nodded, flexing her fingers. He turned to her and grabbed her hand, his fingers interlacing with hers as the circles flared.

“Enhance,” he whispered.

Mana flooded between the two of them and enveloped them as it entered their body. Like a breath of fresh air, Yuki felt more refreshed and focused. Strength filled his limbs and his body felt lighter. Yuna’s eyes brightened as she felt the effects as well.

“A combination enchantment?” she asked, her hand still gripping his.

“Something I was working on,” Yuki replied. He let go of her hand. “Let’s start.”

He stared upwards and found a route that he had mapped out before. Jumping, he launched himself into the air and landed lightly on a small platform. Without skipping a beat, he leaped again and again as he made his way upwards.

“Yuki,” Yuna said below him. 

“Hmm?” he replied, carefully considering his next move.

“Why are we going slow?”

“There’s a surprise of sorts planned for the tournament,” he said. “You already knew that but I’m waiting for it to happen. Then we can really start the climb.”

“I see. When do you think that’s going to happen?” she asked, landing beside him on a large platform.

“I’m not sure. That’s why I decided to just start climbing now.”

Yuki glanced to the side and noticed that the holographic screens were displaying the progress of everyone that was on the course. Only seven people had fallen so far, but with all of the fighting that was occurring, progress was slow.

‘They’re almost to the halfway point though.’

A timer caught his eye. Previously, the timer had been counting upwards as it recorded the speed at which the competitors were ascending the course. Now it was counting down. And only a few seconds were left.

‘Sometimes I wish that they allowed us to hear the announcer. I would have noticed that sooner.’

“I would like to interrupt out competitors with a little announcement,” the announcer said, his voice echoing through the course abruptly. 

‘Oh.’

“I might have forgotten one little thing,” the man said. “There’s a small surprise that I didn’t mention. That timer—oh it already hit zero—is the countdown to the surprise.”

A thunderous roar rocked the arena and a shadow swept over Yuki. He looked up and saw a giant beast with huge wings that was flying directly towards the course.

“And there it is. Have fun out there,” the announcer said, his smile apparent in his voice.

‘Oh. So that’s the surprise.’

A wyvern. And it seemed that its role was to make life as difficult as possible for the competitors climbing. As Yuki could see from the group it just blasted down with a gust.

‘It’s time.’