My Elf System - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: 44. NET {3}:- Day One.
Everyone instantly raised their heads and turned around to see what had caused the explosion.

The explosion didn’t destroy anything within the hall, but when everyone turned around, their eyes noticed a large magic circle glowing on the raised platform, and within seconds, twenty elder elves emerged from the circle.

One of the elders, a male elf, took three steps forward while all the remaining elders stood behind him.

The elder elf had the appearance of an adult human in his late fifties, but he was more agile and better-looking than an average fifty-year-old human.

The elder elf stood before the gathering with grace and elegance before addressing everyone in the hall.

“Greetings, esteemed nobles, I am Elder Jang and I welcome you all with great pride and joy to the Junior Noble Elf Tournament. I know many of you have heard about the previous tournaments and how gory they used to be. In the past, the tournament was used to single out talented elven warriors who would be rewarded with a high rank in the elven army. They would also be given lands, gold, artifacts, and the right to become a noble. All these were used to inspire more elves to participate in the tournament. During the time of war, our primary goal was to build strong warriors, capable of protecting the kingdom and the royal family, but now, the war is over, and a new age has begun. A time of peace and prosperity now reigns between kingdoms across the world.”

Elder Jang continued. “Our goal remains the same, though, and we intend to make sure the kingdom’s future rests in safe hands. And now, this brings me to the activities you will be asked to do. Your tasks for today will be divided into three phases.”

“The first phase will take place within a forest; your goal is to track and hunt horned rabbits in the forest to earn a maximum of a hundred points. Each horned rabbit will earn you ten points. Please, take a look at your magical card.”

With Elder Jang’s instructions, everyone took a look at their cards. At the bottom right corner of everyone’s cards, they could see [0 point] written on the card.

“You will have an hour to track and hunt ten horned rabbits, however, there will be Blaze rats lurking in the shadows of the forest.”

Right after Jang said this, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise and fear, and a murmur erupted within the hall.

Everyone in the hall was within the Mage or Knight rank of Rank One to Rank Three, so they knew what a Blaze rat was. It was quite a powerful Rank Two forest beast.

The blaze rats were one of the strongest Rank Two forest beasts in the kingdom. They were strong enough to decapitate an experienced Rank Two or Rank Three knight or mage, but this wasn’t the only reason they were extremely formidable.

The reason why many elves in the hall feared these rats was because Blaze rats hunted and attacked in groups.

This meant that it would be extremely difficult for a Rank Two knight to fight against a group of Blaze rats on his or her own.

“You will be permitted to fight in pairs of twos if you wish to, but know that, regardless of the choice you make, we can’t guarantee your safety,” Elder Jang revealed and the murmuring continued once again.

Within seconds, the entire hall was as loud as a marketplace. There were a lot of young elves between the ages of thirteen and fifteen who were beginning to have doubts about their desire to continue the tournament.

These elves were Rank One Mages and knights, but most of them were from humble backgrounds, so they knew they wouldn’t be able to take down a single Blaze rat on their own.

The same went for if they were to form a team of four or five elves to share the burden of fighting against the Blaze rats, as the results would remain the same, and they would simply be walking to their deathbeds.

The only option they had left was to drop out from the tournament even before they had begun, thereby abandoning their goals and dreams of becoming a noble and the privileges that came with being a noble.

The noise within the hall continued to grow louder by the second until Elder Jang clapped his hands once, causing everyone to cover their ears as the sound pierced their eardrums.

A smile spread across Jang’s face and his gaze swept across the hall. He could see a lot of elves who were already disheartened about the idea of facing off against the Blaze rats.

Most of them were Rank One and Two Mages and knights who happened to be commoners participating in the tournament. A few others were Rank Two knights or mages who happened to be nobles.

Their minds were set on forfeiting the tournament.

They might be nobles with a higher mana capacity than those from humble backgrounds, but they prioritized their lives more than anything else, and if the elders and other tournament officials weren’t able to guarantee their safety, then they were better off not participating in the tournament.

Aside from those who weren’t interested in the tournament anymore, there were a lot of elves who were still eager to test out their strengths against a group of Blaze rats.

It would be the first time they would be facing a Rank Two beast as dangerous as the Blaze rats, but they were still eager and excited to get to the forest right now.

The elves who were a lot more eager to participate than the others were Rank Three Mages, so they believed they were strong enough to handle a Blaze rat on their own.

Others were also open to the idea of pairing with other Rank Three Mages and knights in order to avoid unexpected circumstances.

One could never be too careful when facing a group of Blaze rats.

“If anyone would like to forfeit the tournament, please signify and make your way towards the next hall,” Elder Jang instructed them on what to do, but many of them were reluctant to move to the next room.

No one wanted to be the first elf to give up on the tournament.

Jang released a sigh before encouraging them to make a decision. “If anyone walks into the next hall, you’ll see a variety of food and fruit juices for you to choose from, so you’re free to eat and drink as much as you want. Just make sure to drop your card with any of the staff and officials you see there.”

The room remained silent with everyone stealing glances at each other, waiting for who would be the first to walk into the next hall.

This continued until a young male around the age of seventeen suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist before slamming it against his palm, as though he had suddenly realized what Elder Jang was trying to say. “Oh, so, you’re saying there’s food and drinks in the next room?” He asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I just sa…”

“Oh, so, that’s what he was talking about,” Another young male smacked his palm on his forehead as though he, too, had just realized what Elder Jang was saying. “Why didn’t I think of this sooner, Elder Jang, just wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be hungry when fighting against a group of Blaze rats.”

“Huh? That’s not what I was…” Elder Jang tried to explain what he was trying to say but no one wanted to listen.

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”

“Indeed, Elder Jang will never want any harm to come to us.”

“That’s why he wants us to eat and gain even more strength before facing against the Blaze rats.”

“After all, we can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

“He cares a lot about us.”

“Why wouldn’t he? We are the future of the kingdom; he has to care for us.”

“Elder Jang is so nice.”

“Actually, I was not…” Elder Jang paused mid-sentence when he noticed the number of elves remaining in the hall.

Everyone had used him as an excuse to forfeit the tournament.

‘Children, they never cease to amaze me,’ A smile appeared on his face when he noticed that those who remained in the hall were still around two hundred.

He turned around to signal to the other elders to begin chanting the teleportation spell and they began to chant the spell.

While they were chanting the spells, a female elf raised her hand to ask a question.

Elder Jang permitted her to speak and she asked. “What will the remaining two phases of the tournament be about?”

Since the first phase was to test the contestants on their abilities to track and hunt, many wondered what the second phase would be about.

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A/N:- Thank you so much for the gifts, golden tickets and power stones, you guys are simply the best. I thank you so much once again.