Author’s note: this was the weakest week of the novel in Stones ): this week the bonus chapter is only 15 stones away
In the center of the coliseum, Locke and some of his subjects were seated around a table. The discussion seemed to be heated, but once they noticed Kayden’s presence, they fell silent until he arrived.
"Hello," Kayden greeted everyone friendly. He didn’t know everyone at the table, so he sat next to Locke and waited for them to continue. Over the next few minutes, they filled Kayden in on all the nuances of his team.
Their strengths and weaknesses, the specialty of each student, and how this was being done to be used to the maximum advantage. The discussion they were having was to see who would lead the team.
Most thought Kayden would take the reins as the strongest. At the moment, Locke was in charge. Whether out of envy or spite, not everyone there had the best feelings towards the prince.
Kayden looked at some faces he knew. The first one that came to mind was Sirius, the boy tried at least twice as hard as anyone else. Ever since Kayden defended him, Sirius had given him his goodwill. But when he started receiving a large amount of money and was still able to bring his family close to him to enjoy a life of luxury, Sirius gave his undying loyalty to Kayden.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
All your effort was rewarded. He was at the base of the ninth realm, his progress in just one year would make anyone doubt reality. Not only that, but he learned two concepts and interconnected them.
Another subject was Amy, a girl who specialized in sneak attacks and assassination. Her level was only at the peak of the eighth realm, but before the trial, she would advance. Unlike Sirius, her loyalty was only to herself. But as Kayden reached out to her, Amy wasn’t going to throw that opportunity away. At the moment, she only had one concept, but it was high-level. The concept he learned was called shadows.
Luan also reached the ninth realm and had two interconnected concepts. He didn’t say much and just followed Locke. He knew he owed Kayden a great debt, but if he had to die for Locke against Kayden’s orders, he would do it.
Apart from the four that Kayden knew, there were only two other people who came from outside. They were the ones asking for Locke to remain in charge, while Sirius was the voice that supported Kayden in every way.
"Locke will remain in command. I don’t seek glory or anything like that, I seek victory and I recognize that I can’t command." Recognizing one’s deficiencies was an attitude that few could take, but Kayden didn’t even blink to expose his weakness.
"What’s the plan of attack?"
*********
The big annual competition was also in the capture the flag model, the difference was that instead of just two classes participating, there were four, and in addition the students who helped the most earned corresponding merit points.
For example, a frontline warrior should knock down other opponents, while a healer should heal. The means of evaluation for each of them was different and each one should only be concerned with their task.
Another difference is that there was a fifth barrier in the center that gave the equivalent of 3 flags in points. She was the main focus of the students because if they managed to get her the game was practically won.
The merit points earned in this competition would define the prize that each student would receive. The more points you get, the more benefits you can obtain, but they would only be for the items available in the competition.
"Welcome everyone. Today we will begin the last test for freshmen. Each of you already has a team and knows what to do." Leonardo was floating in the center of a stadium before the eyes of ten thousand students and all those invited to the event. The number of people easily reached half a million, but as the dean spoke not even a peep was heard in the crowd.
"First of all, I will present the prizes to you as a boost in your desire for first place." Since everyone signed silent contracts, there was no problem showing the prize to strangers. The dean took a transparent pot out of his pocket and there was a golden liquid in it. "This is known as the ambrosia of knowledge. Just 1 ml is capable of making you learn a latent concept and connect it to what you already had."
If someone already had two concepts, they could learn one more and connect them, becoming a three-concept wizard. This realization caused a wave of murmurs in the crowd. It was simply too unbelievable to be true.
"Everyone who tries hard enough will receive a milliliter, but with merit points, you can get more. You will have to use it right after the competition ends in three days. This is not optional."
This meant they only had three days to come up with a concept that balanced what they already had. This information took everyone by surprise. Kayden even saw Locke drooling next to him.
"That came from Eden." This was the only explanation for the fact that the prince of the kingdom had never used this nectar and did not even know about it. Kayden didn’t know what concept he should learn now and decided to put it aside for now.
He had already decided to swim against the current and would not advance to the rank of mage yet. His goal was the four concepts and even if he had to spend the entire next year as an apprentice, he would do it.
At this moment, he had to be cool and not lose his head for momentary gains. His opponents were the true geniuses. Kayden wanted to be out of the curve even among the best and just three concepts would make him special, but only special among geniuses and weak among the geniuses of geniuses.
The stadium was large enough for several teams to fight without interfering with another’s fight. About 20 teams could fight at the same time. The stadium was just a rectangular stand on one side and a long field in front.