Chapter 1819: First Round - 1
The giant randomizer above the arena began to spin.
One hundred names appeared within the vast screen of light, each one glowing with a different intensity according to the participant’s aura, identity, and pillar mark. The names moved so quickly that most people could not follow them with their eyes. They circled, crossed, separated, and merged again like golden stars caught inside a heavenly wheel.
Angelina Valerius stood calmly above the central stage, her silver-white robe moving softly in the air. She raised one hand, and the randomizer slowed down slightly.
"The first main round will now begin," she said clearly. "There will be fifty battles in this round. Fifty participants will advance, and fifty participants will be eliminated."
The moment her voice fell, the atmosphere around the one hundred pillars changed.
Even the relaxed participants became serious.
This was no longer the chaotic first round where people could retreat, hide, ambush, or wait for better chances. Here, a name would be called, a person would appear on the stage, and the result would decide whether that person continued in the Cosmic Ascension Conference or left completely.
The randomizer stopped.
Two names shone brightly above the arena.
[Battle One]
[Calder Vayne vs Mirella Thorn]
Angelina glanced at the names and spoke calmly. "Calder Vayne. Mirella Thorn. Enter the stage."
Two beams of light descended from separate pillars and wrapped around two participants.
One was a tall young man wearing black armor, holding a heavy axe covered in flame markings. The other was a green-haired woman holding a thin spear, her body surrounded by faint wind currents. Both appeared on opposite sides of the central stage, and the transparent barrier around the arena brightened at once.
[Battle One Begins.]
Calder Vayne acted first. He stomped forward, and flames rose from his axe as he swung it down with brute force. Mirella Thorn did not meet him head-on. She moved like a shadow carried by the wind, avoiding the axe by a narrow margin before thrusting her spear toward his shoulder.
Calder roared, turned his body, and let the spear scrape against his armor before countering with another heavy swing.
The battle was fierce but not shocking compared to the monsters everyone had seen before.
After nearly a hundred exchanges, Mirella finally found a gap in Calder’s defense. Her spear pierced through the joint of his armor and stopped at his throat before he could lift his axe again.
Angelina’s voice rang out.
[Winner: Mirella Thorn.]
[Calder Vayne Eliminated.]
A beam of light swallowed Calder before he could say anything, removing him from the stage. Mirella returned to her pillar, breathing heavily but smiling with relief. The first battle had ended, and the number of participants who could advance had already begun to shrink.
The randomizer spun again.
[Battle Two]
[Varun Eclipsar vs Thalia Mooncrest]
A young man covered in dark blue starlight appeared on the stage opposite a woman with moon-white hair and silver daggers. Their battle was much faster than the first. Varun used long-range eclipse spells, trying to force Thalia to keep her distance, but Thalia’s movement technique was strange. She stepped in and out of moonlight, closing the gap again and again until her dagger touched the center of Varun’s chest.
[Winner: Thalia Mooncrest.]
[Varun Eclipsar Eliminated.]
The second battle ended cleanly.
The randomizer spun again.
[Battle Three]
[Gorath Ironhide vs Elian Vale]
This time, the fight drew more attention.
Gorath was a massive beastman with bronze skin and a body like a mountain, while Elian Vale was a slender young man dressed in scholar-like white robes. At first glance, many people assumed Gorath would crush him quickly, but once the battle began, Elian revealed terrifying control over runic chains. Each time Gorath tried to charge, golden chains rose from the stage and slowed his movements.
Gorath endured three rounds of binding and finally tore through the runes with raw strength, but Elian had already prepared his final technique. A formation circle opened beneath Gorath’s feet, and countless chains wrapped around his limbs, neck, and waist at the same time.
Gorath struggled violently, but he could not break free before Elian’s palm stopped in front of his forehead.
[Winner: Elian Vale.]
[Gorath Ironhide Eliminated.]
On the pillars, many participants began whispering.
"These battles are not weak."
"Of course they are not weak. Everyone here survived until the final hundred."
"But the randomizer is clearly avoiding the top monsters for now."
"That is normal. If Damian Voss, Orion Starfall, Rakan Thorne, Kaiden Voidmere, Ervin, or Max Morgan meet each other in the first elimination stage, the final ranking will become strange. The real monsters should collide later."
Max stood on his pillar and listened quietly.
He had also noticed the pattern.
The randomizer did not seem completely ordinary. It called itself random, but there was likely some hidden rule preventing the most famous top-tier geniuses from encountering each other too early. That made sense. The Cosmic Ascension Conference wanted a proper final ranking, not a situation where several peak monsters eliminated each other before the final twenty-five even formed.
Angelina Valerius showed no reaction to the whispers.
The randomizer spun again.
The sixth battle came next.
[Battle Six]
[Toren Ashguard vs Bellara Sain]
This was a battle between a shield user and a healer-type combatant who used light-based restraints. Many people expected it to last a long time, and it did. Toren’s defense was extremely strong, and Bellara could not break it easily, but Bellara was clever. Instead of trying to destroy his shield, she used her light restraints to bind his feet, then his arms, then slowly forced him into a position where he could no longer move properly.
In the end, Toren surrendered with a helpless expression.
[Winner: Bellara Sain.]
[Toren Ashguard Eliminated.]
Rakan Thorne yawned from his pillar. "These fights are not bad, but when are they going to call someone interesting?"
Orion Starfall smiled from a nearby pillar. "Be patient. The stage is warming up."
Damian Voss stood silently, eyes half-closed as if none of these battles interested him. Kaiden Voidmere watched calmly, while Ervin seemed to be studying every participant’s habits without showing much emotion. Princess Rosaline observed the flow of battles with a thoughtful expression, perhaps memorizing who might become troublesome in later rounds.
Rose stood on her own pillar in the distance. She had not been called yet, but her expression was serious. She knew she had survived the first round mostly through careful movement and good judgment. In a direct battle, luck would not help her as much.
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