With the end of the first phase of the graduation tournament, the students who participated experienced different emotional swings.
Those that qualified were rejoicing, either treating themselves to luxuries that they could not take on normal days or plunging themselves into an even more strict training regime to prepare for the next phase of the tournament.
Those that were disqualified had more varying reactions.
Most students who were disqualified simply sank into depression for a time, indulging themselves with their hobbies to quickly forget the pain.
It worked for most of them, the others who could not get over the pain could only endure it. Their careers as mystic warriors were already partly decided, all they could do now was wait and hope on luck.
Even though half of the students participating in the tournament were already weeded out, there were still about 90+ students remaining.
What this meant was that while some students indulged themselves in luxuries, more of them were involved in highly intensive training.
Activity in the school became more rigorous as the students trained for the next phase of the graduation tournament that would probably decide their future.
While most of the students engaged in intensive training to prepare themselves for the next phase, a group of 3 friends swaggered through the streets of Obedin City as they indulged themselves in the feeling of victory.
Of course, these 3 friends were Rex, Cassandra, and Ben.
Perhaps, if one of them didn't qualify, they would all be feeling downcast but the fact that all 3 of them qualified through the first phase of the graduation tournament was a cause for celebration in their books.
According to Ben, there was no value in life if you could not enjoy it. So, the 3 friends were now together, ready to enjoy life.
As the poor blokes that they were, they would not have been able to afford anything in Obedin City originally but their heroics in the Obedin City Beast Sanctum was still worth a lot, a mystic beast was not cheap.
The sale of the mystic beast pig still left their pockets fat despite so many days already passing. And it played a great role in their tournament performances since they weren't compelled to go engage in menial jobs to feed anymore.
Once all 3 friends agreed to go out, Ben, the outspoken one was the first to suggest a destination. Of course, he gave lewd suggestions like going to a nightclub.
After taking time to trash his friend with words about how lewd his choice was, Rex ended up suggesting going to a restaurant.
The Chicken Paradise was a famous restaurant that was renowned all over Delta State, legends say they have mystic beast chicken for VIP customers.
Of course, just the thought of tasting mystic beast chicken meat left Rex drooling but he knew where he stood, he could not afford a VIP subscription not to talk of the meat itself.
This was why he and his 2 friends went for the basic chicken serve.
"Yum!" "Yum!"
Rex crunched on the chicken meat with gusto, humming to the hit song of a famous artiste in the process as his head bobbed up and down enjoyably.
Of Ben's diverse personalities and hobbies, food ranked at the very top alongside girls. This was the reason why even as a mystic warrior with wind mystic ability, he was a chubby youth with lots of fat on his body.
Ben didn't care though, food made him float easier and run faster.
This was the reason why as Rex crunched on the chicken meat, while Cassandra took occasional bites from it like an Island Princess, he simply wolfed the food down his throat with even more gusto than Rex.
Ham! Ham! Ham!
His teeth went down and down, biting and biting as the chicken soon disappeared. "Damn, I want more!"
"There's no more!" Cassandra stressed through gritted teeth.
"Damn, I'm full, feels nice man". Rex puffed contentedly.
With the chicken devoured, though Ben still felt discontent, he swallowed it as he consoled himself by taking hold of the wine bottle. In his opinion, eating chicken meat as enjoying life was not complete without wine.
Pop!
Once Ben opened it, he poured it into the 3 glass cups, and without waiting for his friends, he raised the cup, downing its contents with even more gusto.
"Nice!" His eyes lit up.
They really splurged money this time which was something they seldom did. The wine was from the largest brewing company in Obedin City, and its brand name was called the sweet diamond.
Ben could not agree more. "Feels spicier than all the diamonds in the world!"
"Lower your voice!" Cassandra hissed.
Ben nodded before his eyes lit up again the next moment as he remembered something ancient, the next moment, he opened his mouth wide and sang.
"Wine that shines bright like a diamond…!"
"Feels spice like a diamond…!"
"So sweet like a diamond in the sky…!"
Cassandra could not take so much cringe again. "You…!"
Pa!
"Ouch!"
Ben rubbed his arm, looking aggrieved at Cassandra who suddenly seemed like a demon with red eyes, 2 horns, and hair blowing without wind behind her.
"Drink in peace, got it?" Cassandra lowered her voice, suddenly feeling guilty about hitting her friend in such a public place.
"Ok".
Ben sniffed, Cassandra was the only girl he could never subdue, he felt sad.
When the atmosphere finally turned normal again with most of the other customers already minding their business, Rex who had his head buried in his plate, ashamed of their public conduct finally raised his head before flashing a smile at his 2 friends.
"H-hi!" He stammered and waved on noticing Cassandra's glare.
"Hi" She replied back.
"Hi". Ben added though he didn't get what just happened. "So, what do you guys think, let's spice the atmosphere and trash talk our classmates?"
Cassandra was about to latch out at Ben again for talking so much, but she paused as the impact of what he said settled in.
She grinned. "Well, I won't object if you say we should do it".
"I'm in". Rex raised his hands.
Ben grinned even wider. "So, who should we start with? Goblin-nosed Jane, Spade-lipped Ann, Needle forehead Rhode, Perfume freak Jessica, or Ugly ice princess Antonia?"
At this moment, hearing Ben call all these names, Cassandra and Rex already forgot that they were in a public restaurant, and they both grinned. "Let's start with Spade-lipped Ann".
"Good!" Ben bumped a fist in the air. "Space-lipped Ann huh? So where do we start? Perhaps, I should start at analyzing her lip shape first".
"I think her lips are actually hot, she…"
With Ben leading the conversation, it never became boring.
For over an hour, the trio of friends remained in the restaurant, basking in all the luxuries that the restaurant had to offer as they took turns trash-talking their classmates with different personalities till they got tired.
On getting home that day, Rex and his friends slept for 5 hours straight. When they woke up, they were fresh, and they finally started training.
They were determined to extend their winning run further.
…
After a whole day of rest, late that same day, the groups for the 2nd phase of the graduation tournament were finally released by the academy.
- Black Group
- White Group
- Red Group
- Green Group
Once the breakdown of the students that made the 4 groups was accessed, Rex and his friends felt their hearts torn apart.
Rex and Cassandra made it into the Black Group, while Ben, unfortunately, fell all the way to the Green Group. The friends felt devastated until they read the rules of the tournament that was written below it.
[Black Group vs Green Group.]
[Time: 9:00am.]
[Tournament Rules: Master Denstein's tournament format.]
…
[White Group vs Red Group.]
[Time: 3:00am.]
[Tournament Rules: Master Denstein's tournament format.]
Master Denstein, a powerful mystic warrior who is rumored to currently be at the highest realm of the mystic warrior rank created this format for battle tournaments that involved such a large number of participants.
It was a group battle, but individual exceptionalism played a great role in the overall scores. Qualification would not be determined by just winning this time, it would be determined by the cumulative points gotten by each student.
Eliminating a student from the opposing team for the first time gave 10 points, and each subsequent student elimination gives 5 points.
Surviving a 2 vs 1 encounter gives 2 points, surviving an encounter against more opposing students gives 10 points. Surviving an ambush gives 3 points.
Surviving a 2 vs 1 encounter, standing your ground, retaliating, and eliminating both opponents gives 30 points.
Surviving a 2 vs 1 encounter, standing your ground, retaliating, and eliminating only one of the opposing students also gives 30 points.
Surviving a 3 vs 1 or higher encounter, standing your ground, retaliating, and eliminating any of the opponents gives 50 points.
Other small parameters like how strong the opponent you fought was also gave points, but the points given for these were so small, in decimals.
A rule written in red was that students were allowed to attack other students from the same group as him/her.
The 2nd rule written in red was focused on the losing group. Every student in the group who lost overall would have 20 points deducted from their overall points.
These were the rules of the 2nd phase of the graduation tournament.
Unlike the 1st phase of the graduation tournament, following tradition, once the rules were explained, the Principal of Obedin Mystic Academy gave the 2nd phase of the tournament a name.
Early morning the next day, the principal addressed the city.
"Today, the Rampage phase of the graduation tournament begins!"
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