Chapter 177: Worst Draw Ever
[Match One]
[Jayden Smith — Human Race]
[Carlos — Velhari Race]
The moment this pairing appeared, loud cheers erupted from the Human spectators, while the Velhari section answered with equally provocative roars.
Carlos was not only one of the Velhari representatives who had reached the Top Sixteen, but was also famous for his savage close combat fighting style.
Many had already begun wondering whether he could finally force Jayden to reveal more of his true strength.
Soon afterward, the second matchup appeared.
[Match Two]
[Helen Magnus — Human Race]
[Mira — Human Race]
The instant both names appeared together, the entire Human section first fell into brief silence.
Only then did a far more complicated wave of shocked cries erupt.
Whether it was Helen, who had just defeated the Sorath genius with overwhelming flames, or Mira, who had advanced through exceptional plant manipulation and flawless tactical planning, both were among humanity’s most promising young talents.
Moreover, they were also from the same shelter!
Helen slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes held a complicated look.
Mira also returned her gaze, though hers was more neutral, with even a small smile touching the corners of her lips.
"It seems humanity’s luck isn’t particularly good," Dragon Count said with a trace of regret. "Two contestants who possess completely different fighting styles, yet are equally gifted tacticians, have met far too early. No matter who is eliminated, this won’t be a satisfying outcome for the Human Race."
Mithrash could only smile helplessly.
"This is the cruelest aspect of random matchmaking. The tournament will never deliberately avoid same race battles simply because one race hopes to preserve more contestants."
The third matchup.
The fourth.
The fifth.
One after another, more white crystals stopped rotating.
Increasingly more names appeared upon the projection screen.
Each new pairing triggered entirely different reactions throughout the spectator sections.
Some races celebrated after drawing comparatively weaker opponents. Others sighed with regret as two powerful contenders were forced to eliminate one another ahead of schedule.
[Match Three]
[Lucien — Human Race]
[Noel — Sorath Race]
[Match Four]
[Braka — Human Race]
[Helros — Velhari Race]
[Match Five]
[Ainos — Nullborn Race]
[Alden — Human Race]
When the mysterious Nullborn who had effortlessly defeated a Sorath contestant through his terrifying speed appeared once again on the screen, numerous contestants visibly changed expression.
As for Alden, one of the most promising human contestant , his face instantly turned pale as if all the blood had drained from it. If one looked closely, they might even see the biter smile on his face.
Zich continued staring silently at the projection screen.
There were very few names remaining.
Besides himself, there were still three members of the Nullborn Race.
One Sorath contestant and two Human representatives from other shelters.
The moment he realized this, an extremely ominous feeling suddenly arose within his heart.
The next pairing appeared.
[Match Six]
[Jacob — Human Race]
[Inviticus — Nullborn Race]
Then came the seventh.
[Match Seven]
[Garon — Sorath Race]
[Trey — Human Race]
As soon as the seventh matchup fully appeared, only two blurred names remained on the enormous projection screen.
Without waiting for the system to officially reveal them, Zich already knew which race his opponent belonged to.
Because the only people left unmatched...
Were himself...
...And the final member of the Nullborn Race.
Buzz—
As the final two white crystals stopped spinning simultaneously, two dazzling pillars of light descended from the sky, enveloping two figures standing at opposite ends of the contestant area.
At the same time, the final matchup of this round slowly appeared upon the enormous projection screen.
[Match Eight]
[Zich — Human Race]
[Nameless — Nullborn Race]
For a single instant, the entire Central Arena fell into absolute silence before an unprecedented uproar swept through the arena.
Whether it was Zich or the four mysterious contestants of the Nullborn Race, both had already become some of the most closely watched competitors in this year’s Chosen One Tournament.
Now, these two unknown monsters had been matched together in the Round of 16.
Everyone instantly realized...this battle would very likely become the most anticipated fight of the entire round.
"Zich against a Nullborn!"
"He actually got matched with them!"
"And it’s the last Nullborn Race contestant!!"
"Wait... why is his name displayed as ’Nameless’?"
More and more spectators noticed the unusual name displayed on the screen.
Unlike the previous three Nullborn Race contestants, whose identities at least possessed recognizable names, this final participant’s designation consisted of only one simple word.
Nameless.
On the commentator’s platform, Mithrash slowly lost the smile on his face.
Looking toward the black robed figure standing silently in the farthest corner of the contestant area, he spoke far more cautiously than before.
"It seems the true highlight match of this round has finally appeared. Zich, one of the most mysterious newcomers of the first stage, has likewise never revealed his full strength. His opponent, meanwhile, is the least documented among the Nullborn Race contestants, as even in the first round, his opponent, a Keth, had forfeited before the match even started."
Dragon Count’s expression also became unusually serious.
"The other three members of the Nullborn Race at least displayed portions of their fighting styles during the previous round. But this contestant marked as ’Nameless’ has left virtually no public battle records since the beginning of the tournament. No one knows what weapon he uses, what class he possesses, or even how he passed the thinning stage. The outside world has not been able to obtain a single complete recording."
As those words rapidly spread, countless viewing centers scattered throughout the real world descended into complete chaos almost simultaneously. Players from every race and faction immediately opened their intelligence networks, frantically searching for every piece of information regarding the Nullborn Race contestant known as Nameless, hoping to uncover even the slightest bit of useful intelligence before the match officially began.
However, no matter how many channels they mobilized or how many databases they searched through, the results were almost identical.
Aside from knowing his name and the shelter he belonged to, every other piece of information about the Nullborn was completely blank.
It was as though he had never truly fought in any public setting before.
No one knew his class, his abilities, and no one knew just how powerful he really was.
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