SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

Chapter 147: The First Stage Begins [1]

Inside the dome, there was not only the competition space prepared for the candidates.

At the highest level, far away from the ordinary spectator stands and the candidate passages, there was an observation hall surrounded by transparent crystal walls. From here, one could overlook the entire Simulation Battle Dome, see the competition areas below that had not yet fully unfolded, and also see candidates from different passages entering one after another.

The status of this hall was very special.

It was the high level observation area specially opened by Central City during the Chosen One Tournament. Only race representatives of major factions, guild observers, military personnel, business sponsors, and official envoys from the Second Layer and beyond were qualified to enter.

The hall was divided into different platforms around its perimeter.

On the human platform, Arthur Magnus stood at the very front, with several senior association executives like Arnold, the Shelter Lord of the First Layer, and representatives from different human organizations beside him. Those people normally held high status within their respective factions, but when standing beside Arthur, they would unconsciously lower their voices.

The Velhari platform was on the opposite side. The red skinned elders and young warriors sat upright, the bone ornaments and dark armor on their bodies radiating a wild aura. Their gazes frequently swept toward the human platform, both indifferent and proud.

The Sorath side was shrouded in a faint layer of cold mist. The tall, gray skinned aliens wore heavy cloaks, speaking very little. But the temperature around them was noticeably lower than elsewhere in the hall, and even a thin layer of frost had condensed on the crystal walls.

The Keth representatives sat on a platform equipped with water ripple devices. Crystal recording tablets and transparent water tanks were placed beside these small amphibious race members. Their conversations carried the subtle trembling sound of bubbles. They didn’t look anything like warriors, yet no one truly dared to ignore them.

In the farthest corner sat a nullborn, away from the other three races.

That person was wrapped in a dark robe, their figure seeming slightly blurred. Even though they were clearly sitting there, it was difficult for anyone to remember their exact outline. Most representatives would instinctively avoid looking at them for too long because the feeling was extremely uncomfortable.

A faint neutral barrier of light separated the different platforms. It was not merely a defensive barrier, but part of Central City’s rules. Here, anyone could look at each other coldly or test one another with words, but if anyone released sufficiently strong hostility, then they would be punished regardless of whatever position they held.

So the reason they could sit in the same hall was not because they trusted one another.

It was simply because this place did not allow them to fall out openly.

For the young people below, the Chosen One Tournament might be glory, opportunity, and a ticket to enter a higher stage. But for the true rulers here, it was a selection process.

The First Layer was the foundation.

The vast majority of players would never leave the First Layer. They would be injured here, stagnate here, grow old here, or die in some forgotten region.

But as long as someone could stand out in the First Layer, they might enter the Second Layer, the Third Layer, or even higher in the future.

By then, trying to recruit them would already be too late.

That was why these factions had come in advance.

The human guilds wanted to secure new talent before their competitors.

The military wanted to find talents suited for the battlefield.

The sponsors wanted to invest in the star players of the future.

The envoys from the Second Layer were even more practical. Before certain people became too expensive, they wanted to first determine whether they were worth betting on.

And for the representatives of the various races, this competition carried another meaning.

Pride.

Humans, Velhari, Sorath, Keth, and even the rarely seen nullborn would never admit they were inferior to anyone. To a certain extent, the performance of the younger generation represented a display of each race’s future potential in the First Layer.

A Velhari elder said calmly, "Before every tournament begins, humans are always the noisiest."

On the human platform, a guild representative who heard those words had a slightly cold expression.

Arthur, however, did not speak. He stood at the front of the platform with his hands behind his back, his gaze falling upon the competition areas below that were gradually lighting up. Compared to the obvious emotions of everyone else, his expression was calm, so calm that it was as if he had long since grown accustomed to these exchanges between the races.

Another Velhari representative smiled.

"I hope your candidates this time will be more useful than the last ones. They were very pitiful to watch."

Someone on the human platform frowned and was about to speak up. Arthur merely turned his head and glanced at them.

It was only a light glance. However, the human side immediately fell silent. Only then did he look toward the Velhari platform.

"The competition has not started yet," Arthur said calmly. "Making judgments too early usually only makes people look bad afterward."

The smile on the Velhari elder’s face faded slightly. He did not continue speaking, but the cocky look on his face was still ever present. In his mind, he expected the human race’s candidates to be eliminated in the first round of the tournament.

At that very moment, the enormous holographic screen in the center of the hall suddenly lit up.

[The First Stage of the Chosen One Tournament is about to begin]

The voices on every platform simultaneously lowered. One gaze after another shifted away from each other and turned toward the central holographic screen, which now showed a large hall where all the candidates were present.

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