I lost my Copy System and awakened a Plundering System - Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Academy Contest Begins (2)

All the students had gathered at the arena. Each academy’s students stood side by side, making it easy to differentiate between them and ensuring there was no mingling.

Each of their eyes glowed with confidence. This was the moment to make themselves known. Citizens of Calonia were watching; their opportunity had arrived.

“I am here to announce that a total of 84 academies are participating in this contest,” the old man declared. “Each academy has 30 students participating, making a total of 2,520 students.”

Fortunately, the arena was large enough to accommodate over 5,000 people, so the student population occupied only half of its capacity.

“The first round is called Survival of the Fittest. An arena will be created to contain all the students, but the task is to eliminate students from the arena until only 1,000 remain. Any method is allowed except the use of weapons. Additionally, if a participant’s legs or body do not touch the ground outside the arena, they will not be considered eliminated,” the old man explained.

Everyone who heard this was shocked. Cutting over 60% of the participants in the first round was brutal. It was clear they intended to weed out the weak. This contest was meant only for the strong. Moreover, the rules were strict; unless a person’s legs or body physically touched the ground outside the arena, they would still be considered in the game.

Draco felt a surge of excitement. He appreciated the Royal Academy’s approach. Even strong participants could be eliminated if they were careless. With no rules other than the restriction on weapons, any tactic or skill was fair game.

“My name is Gratt, and I will be your referee for the YEAR 3225 Academic Contest. I hereby declare the beginning of the YEAR 3225 Academic Contest!” the old man announced. The arena erupted into a cacophony of noise as everyone cheered for their favorite academies.

This excitement spread across Cerulean, where the competition was being broadcast live. Families with access to watch cheered loudly, their hearts filled with hope for their loved ones participating in the contest.

Gratt ascended into the air, hovering mid-air to observe the contestants.

“ACADEMY CONTEST ROUND 1 BEGINS IN,” a robotic voice echoed.

“3…”

“2…”

Everyone prepared, circulating their Originat energy.

“1!”

BOOM!

Chaos erupted as the contestants began to eliminate one another. In less than a minute, over a hundred students had already been disqualified.

Draco and the group of Lumunari Academy students stood together. A few students attempted to attack them, but they ended up being eliminated instead.

Draco found the opponents attacking them too weak—so much so that he was almost yawning. He hadn’t even needed to lift a hand; Adrianna, Blum, and the others were handling the situation with ease.

“It’s you,” a voice called out. Draco turned to see a young man in a Royal Academy uniform approaching him.

“It’s time to teach you not to underestimate the Royal Academy,” the young man said, sneering as he charged toward Draco.

Draco watched calmly. “I guess it’s time to move,” he muttered. His eyes began to glow with a red light as he took a single step forward, unleashing a massive wave of pressure.

The young man charging at Draco suddenly felt the weight of the world pressing against him. He collapsed to the ground without realizing it, overwhelmed by the sheer force of Draco’s aura.

It wasn’t just him. Most of the students in the arena felt the pressure and found themselves falling to the ground.

“What’s happening?” a shocked male voice echoed from the audience.

“A young man just suppressed more than half of the students!”

“What power!”

Not far from the arena, three men were seated, observing and commenting on the match. Two were identified as Red and Blue, while the third was a green-haired young man.

As Draco’s pressure filled the arena, reactions varied. Some were shocked, some amazed, while others maintained neutral expressions. Those who were suppressed stared at Draco in shock and horror. Even the Lumunari Academy students standing beside Draco were astonished by the magnitude of his power.

Without wasting time, the students who could still stand—those unaffected or only slightly affected by the pressure—took the opportunity to eliminate the suppressed participants.

This was exactly what Draco had intended. With such a large number of participants, it could have taken much longer to complete the first round.

As a result of his actions, 20% of the students were eliminated. Those who were disqualified felt a wave of anger. If not for Draco’s overwhelming pressure, they believed they wouldn’t have been eliminated so easily.

As Draco withdrew his pressure, he felt a strange movement in the air beside him—a punch aimed at him, intending to send him out of the arena.

Noticing this, Draco snorted and countered, striking the hand of the assailant with a punch of his own. As he did this, two more punches came toward him.

Draco’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t bother defending against the two incoming attacks. Instead, he focused solely on countering the first strike.

Everyone watching noticed this peculiar move. They were surprised that Draco didn’t defend against the two punches. Was he truly confident that he could remain unscathed?

The cameras shifted to capture the moment, and the audience watched intently.

Draco grabbed the first hand that had punched him, while the other two punches landed on his body.

CRACK!

The sound startled everyone. The hands that had struck Draco fractured upon impact with his body.

Those who had punched him were stunned. Draco took advantage of their shock and grabbed them. “Hmph, your strength is so weak, yet you dare attempt a sneak attack on me?”

Draco sealed their movements and sent them out of the arena.

The Luminari Academy students were not particularly surprised, nor were those who had previously fought against Draco. However, the live audience watching from various locations was shocked.

In Mercenary City, Adrian, who was watching the broadcast, smiled. “As expected of my master,” he said proudly.

Meanwhile, Draco was momentarily distracted by something Xylara said.

“I can feel the aura of the Seat of Demon. I’m not sure if there are two or just one,” Xylara remarked.

This revelation surprised Draco. He hadn’t expected to encounter a Seat of Demon during the contest.

“Where is he or she?” Draco asked.

“I can’t pinpoint their exact location,” Xylara admitted.

Draco didn’t feel disappointed. There would be plenty of opportunities to meet them during the contest—it was just beginning, after all.

The battle continued with students eliminating one another by any means available. Some even turned on their fellow academy members. The commentators added humor to the event, highlighting various battles as they unfolded.

After more than six hours, the first round finally came to an end. A total of 1,000 students remained.

Some academies had only one or two students left, while others had as many as ten. There were even academies that had been completely eliminated. The weak had been weeded out.

For Luminari Academy, 25 students remained, with only five having been eliminated. None of the first-year students were among those eliminated, which surprised the second- and third-year students. It seemed they had underestimated their juniors.

Draco, too, was surprised—not by the fact that the first-years had survived, but by their aura. Even he couldn’t gauge their depth. It seemed each of them had experienced some sort of fortuitous encounter.

He smiled. “As expected of those chosen by unique systems,” he thought. He hoped to meet others like them during the contest.

A/N: Support this author, your support is my greatest motivation.