Chapter 175: Round of Sixteen
Thud!
The sound was not particularly loud. Still, it echoed through everyone’s ears like thunder.
The next moment... Arthur’s voice rang out.
"The Sorath contestant has lost the ability to continue fighting. Winner — Helen Magnus."
After a brief moment of silence...
BOOM!!
The entire Human section exploded into an unprecedented celebration. Countless spectators leaped to their feet simultaneously.
Deafening cheers shook the entire Central Arena. Some frantically waved the flags of humanity.
Others shouted Helen’s name at the top of their lungs.
Many young players became so excited by the hard earned victory that their faces turned bright red.
Before the battle had begun, very few people had truly believed Helen could defeat a Sorath on a battlefield transformed into an icy domain.
Yet through flawless control of fire and through careful preparations laid out step by step since the very beginning, she had completely overturned what had seemed like certain defeat.
Not only inside the Central Arena, viewing centers throughout the real world also erupted into thunderous celebration. Countless Human players stood before giant projection screens shouting excitedly.
Discussions surrounding Helen’s name and this battle swept across every major player forum within an incredibly short time.
Even those who had doubted her before were forced to admit that the daughter of the Players Association President had not reached this stage because of her father’s reputation.
She possessed the genuine strength required to advance.
On the floating commentator’s platform, Mithrash could no longer hide his excitement.
His amplified voice echoed throughout the arena.
"Unbelievable! Helen has won! She actually defeated a member of the second strongest race in the First Layer!"
Dragon Count slowly nodded. Even his usually calm eyes showed unmistakable admiration.
"Her victory was anything but easy. In fact, had that ice spear not exploded, the one lying on the ground would have been her."
Arthur displayed none of the obvious excitement shown by everyone else.
He simply leaned back into his seat, once again becoming the composed and dignified President of the Players Association.
However, the hand he had kept tightly clenched finally relaxed completely.
Even the faint trace of worry hidden deep within his eyes quietly disappeared.
"Well done," he whispered softly in a voice that only he could hear.
Soon afterward, the medical staff entered the arena and carried away the unconscious Sorath youth.
Helen, after receiving simple treatment, slowly returned toward the contestant area despite her obvious exhaustion.
As she approached step by step, the contestants who had been discussing the battle gradually fell silent.
Many now looked at her with genuine respect.
Even among the Top 32, they had to admit that the level displayed in that battle far exceeded an ordinary contest between young players.
Braka was the first to grin. He forcefully slapped his broad chest.
"Nice fight. At least it was a lot more interesting than those guys who went down with a single punch."
Helen merely glanced at him calmly without replying before continuing toward her seat.
Just as she was about to pass by Zich...
The young man, who had remained silently reviewing the entire battle in his mind, suddenly looked up.
His calm eyes rested upon the still pale blonde girl. Then he spoke in an even tone, though it was unmistakably filled with recognition.
"That was a beautiful fight."
Helen clearly hadn’t expected Zich to speak first, as it was so unlike him.
She paused briefly before turning toward his usually expressionless face.
When she realized the admiration in his eyes was completely sincere, the fatigue that had made her expression seem cold softened into a faint smile.
"Thank you."
Zich simply nodded before returning his gaze toward the enormous projection screen that had already begun preparing for the next round of drawings.
After returning to her seat, she closed her eyes and immediately began recovering the little mana she had left.
With the highly anticipated battle between fire and ice finally over, the remaining matches quickly continued one after another.
Compared to the prolonged and intense clash between Helen and the Sorath contestant, which was undoubtedly the main event of this round, the following battles, while still featuring many talented contestants, no longer generated the same overwhelming excitement.
Not long afterward, Jayden’s name appeared upon the giant projection screen.
As he calmly walked into the arena, another wave of thunderous cheers erupted from the Human spectators.
Those connected to the Smith family proudly raised their family’s banners high into the air, seemingly never having considered the possibility of Jayden’s defeat.
Reality unfolded exactly as expected. His opponent was a dual axe warrior from the Verhari race.
From the very beginning of the match, the warrior unleashed overwhelming physical strength, swinging both gigantic axes in a relentless barrage.
But Jayden never once moved from where he stood.
He casually raised one hand, effortlessly blocking every devastating strike capable of splitting solid rock and iron.
Then, before the astonished eyes of the audience, he casually delivered a single palm strike.
The towering Verhari warrior was blasted dozens of meters away.
Jayden advanced to the Round of Sixteen with overwhelming ease.
Even after the match ended, little emotion appeared inside the Smith family’s VIP box.
Neither Michael Smith nor the elegant woman seated beside him seemed remotely surprised.
To them, an opponent of that level had never possessed the slightest chance of threatening Jayden.
Next, Mira entered the arena. Unlike Jayden, who overwhelmed opponents with absolute strength, from start to finish she never engaged in a direct physical clash with her opponents.
She relied only upon her vines and seeds, making the fights not only difficult but also extremely tiresome and annoying for her opponents.
Finally, the moment her opponent exposed an opening after making several consecutive mistakes, she calmly placed her slender sickle against his throat.
The match ended without either side suffering serious injuries.
"She was controlling her opponent’s movements from the very beginning," Mithrash couldn’t help but applaud. "Her fight was not the most enjoyable to watch, but everything was well planned and executed."
The remaining matches continued one after another.
Lucien likewise defeated his opponent with ease.
And as expected, all four Nullborn contestants also advanced without incident. Every single one of them won their fights in the same manner as the first had.
They had all dispatched their opponents through bizarre and astonishingly swift methods.
Every contestant who had still harbored hopes of relying on luck was forced to admit that the fact that all four members of the Nullborn race had advanced was absolutely not a coincidence.
Even the main representatives from the other shelters successfully advanced. However, except for the First Shelter, no Human shelter had more than three people advance to the next round.
Only after the final battle concluded did the enormous projection screen floating above the Central Arena slowly begin to change.
The thirty two contestant names gradually disappeared.
One by one, the names of the sixteen successful qualifiers appeared before everyone.
[The First Elimination Round Has Ended.]
[Sixteen Advancing Contestants Confirmed.]
[Zich]
[Helen Magnus]
[Jayden Smith]
[Mira]
[Lucien]
[Braka]
[Alden]
[...]
...
As all sixteen names lit up one after another, thunderous cheers once again shook the entire Central Arena.
After sixteen completely different battles...
The Top Sixteen of this year’s Chosen One Tournament had officially been decided.
From the next round onward, none of the remaining contestants would have the luxury of facing an easily defeated opponent.
Everyone standing here was a true young genius of the First Layer.
And the upcoming Round of Sixteen would undoubtedly be even more brutal than the first elimination round.
Inside the contestant area, Zich slowly raised his head.
His gaze swept across each of the advancing names displayed upon the projection screen before finally settling upon the four Nullborn contestants quietly standing among them.
In the next match, he would learn just how truly shitty his luck really was.
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