In the Pinhurst mansion, the Jetlensrs, Pinhursts, and Sanfords nervously sat on the edges of their seats, watching with bated breath as MyrkLys entered the capsule room.

Surprisingly, unlike the previous two streams, where the commentary team consisted of a Sixth Year student from VSFA and Romeoville, a standard practice, two familiar faces took over.

Cesar: “Welcome back, viewers; I know some of you expect us to cover the battles in the top bracket. However, the time has come for Cynrik Jetlensr, the Tier-3 Captain of VSFA’s Team, to take the stage.”

Roni: “After the thrilling interview he conducted yesterday, there has been no shortage of support and contention to Cynrik’s boastful words. And from the looks of it, things aren’t looking great.”

Cesar: “That’s right, Roni, it seems that Romeoville completely shut out the Tier-1 and Tier-2 teams by achieving a perfect score, and although Tier-3 teams conduct the “real” Competition, it isn’t a good look for VSFA to have their early Tier teams eliminated in the first round.”

Roni: “Well, it seems we won’t have to wait long; here comes VSFA, making their first appearance at the event; they sure are showing a level of confidence unseen by any first-year team.”

Sitting on the couch while clutching Rikard’s hand so tight the blood couldn’t circulate, Cinyah inhaled shakily as her two boys entered the room and posted up side by side in Red Capsule One and Two, a sign that they would be joining the first event together.

Gabby and Benny’s parents weren’t any better, especially after noticing their daughter was lined up in front of Red Capsule 6, indicating she was a contender for the Accuracy Event.

Collectively, the two mothers unknowingly began chanting “Good luck” in their minds.

—

Back in the Arena, in the stadium seating, Jason was sitting with an open laptop resting on his legs; on screen was the Livestream for VSFA; when he saw Cynrik enter the room, he immediately pressed record on the computer. There was no way he would miss the opportunity to keep tabs on his one-sided rivals’ combat style and skills.

Glancing over the top of his computer and off to the left, Jason met the fierce gaze of Leelan, who also had a computer on his lap, recording everything. They were doing things this way because the website streaming the Competition had multi-view options, so it was possible to change camera angles and not miss anything constantly.

—

Within the black-walled room, Cynrik slowly turned his head and nodded upon noticing everyone was in their proper positions. Which capsules they chose was vital since it was how the referees determined who competed in what event.

The Team that entered the room first was given five minutes to decide on their placement, and once they stood beside their VR Capsules, their position was locked in and could not be changed. It was simply part of the extensive list of rules which Cynrik had committed to memory.

When the members of MyrkLys were lined up, and the five-minute timer expired, only then did the seven members of Romeoville’s Tier-3 Team enter the room.

Unlike MyrkLys, who was stoic and professional, the Romeoville team was riding the high brought about by their Tier-1 and Tier-2 teams winning the round.

Wearing a smug grin, the Captain, a skinny young man with silver hair, lined up his Team, mirroring Cynrik by taking the first open capsule across from his. Unlike his counterpart, the Romeoville Captain took his time arranging his Team correctly.

His actions were part of an elaborate mind game that had thrown off his opponents in the past. No one liked being primed and ready to go, only to be told they had to wait. As such, it was a cheap scheme that would have worked if his opponent wasn’t MyrkLys.

Having been subjected to Cynrik’s frequent and torturous “conditioning,” no one was bothered by having to wait; in fact, everyone stared blankly at Romeoville, reversing the roles and making the opposing Team uncomfortable.

Keeping track of the timer, one of the referees, a man with sandy blond hair, raised his hand and counted down from five on his fingers.

“That’s time. The First event is Swarm; in this event, two of you from each Team will be thrown into a location simulating an Egress Break. There is no time limit to the first event, and there is a last Team standing win condition.”

“The enemies will spawn in waves, with the number of creatures increasing by a factor of two each wave. There is also a boss creature that will spawn every ten waves. The goal is to survive the longest and kill more creatures than the opposing Team. When both a team’s players are eliminated or forfeit, the winner will be decided, and the event will be paused.”

“At this time, you are given one minute to decide if you wish to continue and attempt to beat the National Record or concede and accept the 10 points allotted for victory.”

“Competing in the Swarm event are VSFA’s Cynrik and Brance Jetlensr and Romeoville’s Derrek Lancaster and Paul Easton.”

“Remember, any restoration items, such as Potions, Pills, or Herbs, are banned during the Competition, and last, but not least, if you have a Beast companion or pet, you must have them in the capsule to use them. Competitors, you may enter your capsules.” Making a gesture indicating it was time to go, the referee wrapped up his speech, causing the four to tap their Watcets on the capsule, expelling a pressurized wave and causing the hatches to swing open.

Derrek and Paul moved separately and climbed into the capsules, leaving Cynrik to Smirk and watch. When the two Romeoville students were in place, only then did Cynrik and Brance move in seemingly practiced unison.

Once settled in their capsules, the referees split up and walked over to seal the capsules. With that done, the world went dark. Knowing there was a 30-second countdown timer before his consciousness would be transported, Cynrik closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

Then through Mana Sight, he watched as the referees motioned for everyone in the room to turn their attention toward the wall, where the event would be projected for them to watch.

The moment we are transported, swap your loadout to full combat gear, and get ready, the first wave begins the instant we touch down. Using the previous Team’s experience as a baseline, we can conclude that we will be dropped into a massive field with nothing except grass as far as the eye can see. Without looking over at his Brother, Cynrik began explaining things, even though he felt Brance already knew what to expect.

Conserve Mana until the first boss fight, rely on physical ability, even if we get overwhelmed, which possibly will happen, and keep skill usage to a minimum, including Mana sight.

Shields, no skills, beat things up, got it, anything else you worrywart? Rolling his eyes, Brance broke into a smile and shook his head lightly.

Hm, yeah, hey Tobs, do we gain anything from the kills? I don’t know if you know yet.

-You will obtain XP, the regular type, but that is all; no item drops or Stat points will be gained.-

Tsk, I guess even muddy water hydrates you if you drink enough. Alright, Tobs, hit me with that background music. Hmmmm~ How about The Enigma TGN’s Vegeta and Goku Train Together?

Sigh, there you go again, at least it’s DBZ related this time. Brance complained when hearing his brother’s quirk acting up again.

-Now playing “DBZ – Vegeta and Goku Train Together” by Saiyan Enigma.-

**Link to the song in discord under the ref-pics-and-music channel. **

–JOIN US, JOIN US IN THE DISCORD, https:

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/dcxKNJEMwg–