Chapter 98: The Prestige (1): Surprise! [Bonus]

Author’s Note: If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much! Welcome to Volume 2! The tournament takes place over a two month period so it will also include his [minor spoiler but you should know it] wedding! Please leave feedback below! Also, the smut will continue at it’s regular pace. I have creative ways to make it happen, even during the first event!

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Chapter 98: 2.1 The Prestige (1)

As Tyler and Adam left their final class, they noticed several large buildings on the outskirts of their practical beast taming class. Three of the other university’s living quarters were filling up quickly, causing Tyler to smirk. Nyx teleported to meet up with Sophie, Kass and Amanda, who noticed students with different uniforms walking toward the cafeteria.

"Looks like there are some OEA officials walking around the halls as well. They really ramped up security this year," Nyxara explained to the other girls.

"How many tournaments have there been?" Amanda asked the girls, confused.

Nyxara responded quickly, "This is the nine hundred and ninety-ninth Prestige. They had loads of OEA and other security at last year’s tournament, but this is on a different level."

"That’s amazing!" Kass smiled. "Any idea on what the first event will be?"

"No clue." Sophie shrugged.

"Me neither." Amanda sighed.

"I wish I could give an answer, but my dad has been tight lipped. I recommend we all get some sleep right now though. Last year they had a challenge that started at 2 am." Nyx suggested.

Tyler walked into his silent apartment. Usually there was a television on or he could hear the girls talking or laughing.

’I guess I’ve come a long way in a short amount of time.’ He thought to himself with a small smile.

He turned on the tv and shook his head and let out a laugh. Almost every channel he flipped to had people talking about the upcoming tournament, who the favorites were, what events could possibly happen at Ability Academy and the talk of a new human vampiric prince that no one knew existed until the announcement.

’Least it’s good that Nyxara and the girls get some spotlight.’

The girls finally got home and they decided to nap per Nyxara’s advice. Tyler hopped into bed and they all just got comfortable. They set an alarm for 7 so they could eat and when the alarm went off, they went to the cafeteria, which was now over-crowded. They asked the lady if they could get theirs to go and she made them neat boxes of food and slipped some extra salmon in for Ash.

They made their way back to the apartment and kept the conversation light. They were excited but didn’t know what to expect. At 7:45 PM there was an announcement playing in all of their heads. Tyler never experienced anything like this before, other than his telepathy with Eidolons and familiars. This was different. This was a direct message sent to everyone via a SSS ranked telepathic user.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the nine hundred and ninety ninth Prestige! Will the Forest of Unknown teams please report to the location marked on your phones. Each of you will receive a notification in five minutes. At that time, please ensure you are at that spot by 8 PM. If you are not, you will not be able to participate. Wait for further instruction and do not move out of your designated position. You will find your team captain’s name with your school’s banner. Please place the arm bands on your left arm to show which school you represent. Good luck!"

"Ok, that’s weird. There was nothing like this last year." Nyxara said with a hint of frustration.

"Sounds like fun. 4 teams from each school getting thrown into an unknown challenge, I like it!" Sophie said enthusiastically.

Tyler smiled, Amanda and Kass nodded and they waited until they received a text message on their phone.

"Southwest Entrance: Ability Academy Blue Team Banner 1."

[Ping! Secret Quest unlocked. Win the tournament challenge. Reward: Unknown. Failure results in loss of rank. Good luck!]

Tyler felt a jolt of electricity and immediately pumped himself up. He wanted to make sure his team won and the entire world watched it.

"Well Nyx? Can you just take us there?" Tyler asked with a huge grin.

"Yes, let’s do that!" She said while the group huddled up together.

They landed at the Southwest entrance and saw a large blue magical cube with Tyler Rask displayed on the outside. They stepped into the magical building and the door sealed itself. There was a countdown on several digital displays inside of the box. They couldn’t see anything outside of the cube anymore, which caused them to wonder what was actually happening. Their cell phones were gone and everyone’s weapons and armor, aside from Tyler’s staff and Nyxara’s, were left neatly in a chest for them. However, there were 5 blue armbands for each of them to wear.

"What the hell?" Tyler asked.

"Those are some powerful enchantments. One of my skills says it’s magically reinforced to provide no outside detail until the tournament begins," Nyxara explained.

’System, analyze this cube.’

[Fortified Magical Cube.

Rank: SSS

Traps all users inside until the caster releases them.]

"So when the timer goes off, we just go?!" Kass exclaimed.

"Stay calm everyone. I’m sure we will get rules or an explanation. There’s no way this isn’t going to be all over livestreams, television and the school board of directors will also be watching. Just relax for these last 5 minutes, focus on your Qi energy and get ready because if it’s anything like last year...it’s chaos at the start," Nyxara explained calmly.

"Can any of you leave and go to the Land of Summoned Monsters?" Tyler asked his familiars.

"Yes. That’s still not a problem. Just hang tight, kid. I’m sure everything will be explained shortly." Ash chirped cheerfully.

"You better not lose, Tyler!" Shadow cheered him on.

"You got this buddy! You and your beautiful ladies are going to dominate this thing...whatever it is!" Rex chuckled.

The clock finally struck all zeros and an AI figure appeared on the screen.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to your first event! In this challenge, there is only one rule: Do not kill anyone on the opposing team. If you knock them out of the competition, you will receive bonus points!"

"No rules? Crazy." Nyx muttered.

"Your goal is to collect the mythological crystal heart hidden somewhere in this forest. All additional beast kills will earn you points based on their tier. Additionally, any Eidolons killed will earn you an additional 100 points! This challenge lasts for one week and if you collect the mythological heart, someone can steal it from you. The team holding it at the end will be awarded 10,000 bonus points. Good luck!" The Ai figure explained.

"What the fuck?!" Tyler screamed in a rage.