Book 5: Chapter 49: A Surprise


    <strong>Scarlet</strong>


    <strong>Now that our resident prince and princess duo are awake again, let me truly set off the tournament, </strong>Oberon says as I watch him spread his draconic wings out to his sides. <strong>The firstpetition is officially over and the tournament begun, but we are nowhere near the heart of the tournament yet! So make sure you keep up, because the secondpetition will be beginning momentarily!</strong>


    Already?


    <strong>I know some of you may be surprised, after all, this is only the first day of the tournament and there are already twopetitions, </strong>Oberon says, almost like hed read my mind. <strong>But dont worry, for all of thepetitions after this will be on separate days, with somepetitionssting for several days instead of the several hours this first one took!</strong>


    Oh. Okay.


    I hold myself back from yawning again, feeling more than a little sleepy still from my nap.


    <strong>The secondpetition of the tournament will be a monster hunt!</strong>


    Monster hunt?


    My eyes narrow slightly.


    Thisll be interesting.


    The Fae King goes on exining about the nextpetition for a little while before putting the rules up for everyone to see. And as it turns out, the rules are actually incredibly simr to Demon Hunt from the tournaments back on Earth. Where we go and hunt demons to get points.


    Just that instead of hunting demons, were hunting monsters.


    And just like the firstpetition of the tournament, this one ends up rather boring as I spend the whole thing surfing around on a tidal wave of Red gue, devouring all of the monsters I find. Although I cant sleep this time, unfortunately. Because the monsters are all different. And Id rather not identally devour someone with my Red gue.


    That would be awkward.


    By now though Im fully awake, no matter how much I want to go back to sleep killing.


    <strong>Did you just say sleep killing? </strong>Tar asks, sounding more than a little bbergasted at my thought. But I ignore him as I continue devouring monster after monster with ease.


    Time passes, I asionally pass by otherpetitors including Amelia, and eventually thepetition draws to a close just like the first one. And to my surprise, Im actually not the one who got the most points this time.


    Huh I mutter in surprise at the sight of Amelia being at the top this time.


    Then again, now that I think about it, Im pretty sure I saw a bright sh of light at some point.


    <strong>It looks like the current first ce in the tournament has somepetition nipping at her heels! </strong>King Oberon deres as he flies up to the leaderboard for thatstpetition. Only for the leaderboard to change to show the overall tournament points instead of just the points for thatstpetition. <strong>But its not enough to knock her from her throne just yet. Will anyone be able to defeat the Warden and her Red gue in thebatpetitions?!</strong>


    Yeah, just like he said, Im still first overall. And I have a four hundred point lead still.


    <strong>Well see in the future if she keeps her lead in the skill and intelligence basedpetitions, but so far she seems to be the most likely to win the entire tournament! </strong>the king continues, and despite the fact that hes offhandedly talking about how they arent winning, Amelia and Leonidas look incredibly proud from the towers theyre standing on. And theyre not the only ones, considering the smug looks on Grampss face. <strong>However! This will all have to wait as the nextpetition of the tournament will begin tomorrow!</strong>


    Nice. I can go take a nap now.


    <strong>Whats with you and sleeping right now anyways? </strong>Tar asks, but I just shrug as spotlights begin shining on me and the otherpetitors. Likely to give us onest moment in the limelight before King Oberon closes out the day ofpetitions.


    Not sure. I just feel really sleepy.


    Maybe its because of how much Ive leveled in just the past week? Ive heard some people develop something called leveling sickness. So that could be it.


    <strong>Hmm </strong>Tar hums. <strong>I guess that would make sense. Never really thought about it before since youre mostly demon now, and demons arent anywhere near as susceptible to leveling sickness as humans are.</strong>


    Well, I did raise my level by several hundred in just a week or so.


    <strong>True, </strong>the tanuki nods from my shoulder.


    Our inner conversation is interrupted when the fae king continues speaking over the roaring audience, finally taking the attention off of thepetitors, <strong>However, for those of you who havent had enough excitement yet, I have a special little event for you all!</strong>


    I blink in surprise at this.


    Hes not closing the day out?


    And Im not the only one surprised, considering the moring in the audience.


    <strong>Im sure you all noticed the other four stadiums around this one, </strong>King Oberon says while snapping his fingers, making images of said four stadiums appear above his head. <strong>Well, since youre all contractors yourself, dont you think itd be a waste? To have you all gathered here during these months and not have youpete in your own little games?</strong>


    The crowd is beginning to grow more than a little excited as he speaks, showing that most people seem to agree with him.


    <strong>Just for the duration of this tournament, any duels undertaken within one of the four arenas and overseen by a fae prince or princess will grant the winner of the duel the EXP they would be awarded should they kill the loser! But dont worry! The anti-death use will always be active during these duels, so even if you die in them, you wont be losing anything! </strong>King Oberon deres, making the crowd instantly shoot to a loud roar in volume, everyone showing extreme excitement and enthusiasm for this new event. <strong>Before we begin that, I should introduce the rules for these duels! </strong>He pauses for a second, following which numbers appear over each stadium representing the sses. <strong>ss I and II Guardians and demons will be dueling in the gray colored stadium, ss III Guardians and demons will be dueling in the green stadium, ss IV Guardians and demons in the purple stadium, andst but certainly not least, ss Vs will be dueling in the ck stadium! Only four duels can be undertaken at the same time within each stadium, and they will be held in unique arenas determined by the fae royal and their contracted partner currently hosting the arena! Meanwhile every arena will have the fae royal and contracted partner swapping out to give them all rest between thepetitions.</strong>


    I nce at Tar with a scowl on my face.


    Can I punch your father?


    <strong>What?! No! </strong>he practically shouts in my mind. <strong>Dont go punching people because they took away your naptime!</strong>


    I let out a huff of air and turn back towards the air.


    <strong>And why dont we start things off with having our current first cepetitor hosting the first ss V arena! </strong>King Oberon deres with a mischievous tone of voice as a spotlight shines on me again.


    So I turn back to Tar again with my scowl only growing on my face.


    <strong>No! </strong>Tar repeats himself, even if his denial is less enthusiastic this time. <strong>No punching!</strong>