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Chapter 57: Interclass Competition

The interclass competition was the first major school event for Red Oak Spirit Academy. Although the academy didn’t allow outside spectators, all the non-participating students, teachers, and staff could spectate the event.

There were a few large training fields scattered throughout the academy, and one of the training fields was arranged as the venue for the competition.

These training fields were different from the indoor training halls for each class. Not only were they larger, but they weren’t adorned with stone tiles. There was only flat, natural earth serving as the platform for battle, affording a clear view of the clear, open skies. Earth-attribute and flying spirit pets wouldn’t feel restrained by the terrain here.

There were ascending rows of spectator seats on one side, with an estimated occupancy of ten thousand. If this training field was enclosed on all four sides, it could be considered a stadium.

The sun had only risen for a couple of hours, lazily shining its radiance upon the world, but the entire academy was alive and awake, bustling with activity. The center of all this activity was, of course, the venue for the competition. Ain arrived at the venue with Hugo as they blended into the enthusiastic crowd of students.

“This feels like a festival, happy and fun,” Hugo commented as he took in the surroundings with a wide smile.

“Hmm, I’ve never been to a festival,” Ain replied after some thought.

Hugo glanced at him from the corner of his eyes before continuing with a laugh, “Well, just imagine food and entertainment stalls on the sides, and you’ll have yourself a festival.”

“Sounds fun,” Ain replied as he attempted to imagine that. He decided against telling Hugo that he’d never seen entertainment stalls either. After these two months, he tried to avoid letting Hugo wander off in conversations.

When the pair entered the venue, it was already eight in the morning. Due to the competition, there were obviously no classes, so they directly appeared here.

After entering, the crowd of students split into two directions. One side headed off to the spectator seats, while the other headed towards the open training field.

At the edge of the arena, there was a teacher standing with a row of devices on a table. There were five such devices, with a student standing in front of each one. After fiddling with the screens on the devices for a while, the students moved past the teacher and stepped onto the training field that would serve as the arena. There were students already waiting there.

The day prior, the students had already received instructions on today’s procedures through a message. The students heading towards the spectator seats were obviously the non-participants, only here to watch their peers compete. The ones heading towards the arena were the participants.

Before stepping onto the arena, the students were required to validate their participation. Ain and Hugo completed the sign-up procedure and stood alongside the other students on the arena, waiting for the event to begin.

“There’re so many participants. How long is this competition?” Hugo looked around, wondering out loud. There were already over four hundred students on the arena, and more were appearing every minute.

Hearing Hugo’s pondering, Ain realized the meaning behind his question and replied, “Yesterday’s message said the competition was only scheduled for two days.”

With so many participants, it was difficult to finish the competition in the stipulated time.

“Maybe they have something planned,” Hugo couldn’t think of what method the academy would use to achieve that.

“Let’s wait and see,” Ain nodded in agreement and waited.

It didn’t take long for the flow of students into the arena to stop. The competition was scheduled to commence at 8:30 AM. As that time approached, the remaining teachers and staff also began making their way towards the spectator seats. They were obviously seated closer to the arena.

Right as the time hit the mark, Principal Green appeared in the venue, followed by the two vice principals. His expression was as stoic as before as he approached the most prominent seats, closest to the arena.

Their seats were on a slightly elevated platform protruding from the regular seats. Instead of metal seats with minimal padding, there were leather chairs with soft cushioning on the platform. Some of the students who already felt their bottoms aching couldn’t help but glance at the chairs with envy.

Ain’s gaze swept past the platform, pausing on one of the vice principals. He scrutinized for a couple seconds and recognized Vice Principal Salvian as the old man at the spell repository. The latter had never introduced himself when Ain visited the spell repository the previous two times. Moreover, his aura was vastly different from when he was hunched behind the counter, playing with this hololink.

Right as the principal took his seat, the venue turned silent, awaiting the commencement of the competition.

Seeing that it was time, Teacher Linus, the teacher in charge of Class G, walked up to the arena to host the competition.

Using a microphone, she addressed the venue, “Good morning, ladies, and gentlemen! Today is Red Oak Spirit Academy’s first interclass competition for this school year, and I, Nora Linus, will be your host.

“Combat is inevitable for spirit tamers, and today’s competition is a chance for you to display your talents and abilities in front of the entire academy through combat. Make the most of this occasion and fight passionately. This is a chance for you to let your spirit run wild and enamor the audience with your brilliance!”

Teacher Linus’ excited and magnetic voice resonated through the venue, instantly drawing the students' attention. The ones standing on the arena felt the thrill coursing through their veins, feeling as if just standing on this arena had already set them apart from the rest.

The students in the spectator seats similarly felt the urge to run onto the arena and join the competition. Of course, the teachers just smiled calmly. They witnessed this sight every year.

After letting the excitement simmer, Teacher Linus continued enthusiastically, “Now let me explain the rules and sequence for today’s competition. There are eight rounds and a total of 871 participants. Round one will be a preliminary round, bringing that number down to an even one hundred!”

As soon as she said this, hushed discussions appeared amongst the students, whether they were participating or not.

“A hundred? They’re gonna get rid of over 700 students just like that?”

“How long is this going to take? The competition will only last for two days.”

When he heard this, Ain also revealed a pondering expression. Indeed, eliminating most of the students with such a harsh preliminary round would shorten the time for the rest of the competition while also making it more worthwhile. But the caveat was if there was an efficient method to achieve said preliminary.

Ain speculated that the academy definitely had their means if they scheduled the competition for two days.

The discussions only lasted for a few seconds, and Teacher Linus continued, “After the preliminaries, there will be round two to decide the top fifty, and we’ll end the competition there for today.

“Tomorrow, we will conduct rounds three through eight, and decide on the top ten, top five, and rank the top three until we have a winner! But of course, there can’t be a competition without rewards. And our Red Oak Spirit Academy has always been generous with our students!”

The teachers nodded at the last statement as the students waited with bated breaths.

Some information about the rewards had been leaked, maybe intentionally, but students were still eager to hear about the complete rewards list.

Teacher Linus looked around at the students in the arena before she pressed on a small controller in her hand. Following her actions, large holographic screens appeared in the air on four sides of the venue. No matter where you were seated, as long as one was within the venue, there was a screen clearly visible to you.

At the moment, the screen was titled “Rewards,” but there was nothing else, except for the frame designs and vibrant colors.

When everything was prepared, Teacher Linus finally began announcing the rewards, “The reward for the top one hundred is 10,000 star coins!” As she said this, the rewards for the top one hundred appeared on the holographic screens, along with a vivid animation of star coins.

Seeing the rewards, there were some cheers, but it seemed lackluster considering the size of the entire venue. Teacher Linus didn’t mind and continued with a smile, “The top fifty will receive 10,000 star coins, ten Essence Heart Pills, and a core spell!”

As soon as she announced this, the rewards once again appeared on the screen. This time, in addition to the star coins, there was an animation of a pill bottle as well.

“Essence Heart Pills!”

“Hahaha, I’ve been waiting for them!”

This time, the cheers were louder, especially amongst the participants, as they openly displayed their joy. They were only required to win one more round after the preliminary to obtain the Essence Heart Pills. Star coins were always useful, but Essence Heart Pills were even more so. And compared to the intraclass competition, the number of pills given out was even higher. The academy was generous indeed.

With the same smile, Teacher Linus announced the following rewards before stopping at the rewards for first place.

The top ten would receive 50,000 star coins, ten Essence Heart Pills, a core spell, and a ring spell. The fifth and fourth place would receive 100,000 star coins, ten Essence Heart Pills, a core spell, a ring spell, and a suitable meditation technique. Third and second place rewards were similar to the previous ones, with just more star coins.

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