As Micheal summoned the golden sword, its bright light almost blinded him. He felt a strange power in the sword, but couldn't quite figure out what it was.
Just as Micheal was intensely examining the sword, he heard his name.
"Micheal, thank God I finally found you!"
He turned around, his gaze shifting to the speaker. - it was Alex!
Micheal retracted his sword, his eyes fixed on Alex's disheveled appearance, sizing him up curiously.
Alex surprisingly had wounds on his body.
"What happened to you?" Micheal asked with concern.
Alex shrugged, "Nothing, just a few scrapes. I went out of the city with some friends to practice our skills on some monsters."
Micheal's eyes widened in alarm. "Out of the city? Is it risky out there?"
Alex nodded grimly. "Very risky. The monsters are bold and more aggressive than we thought. We were ambushed by a group of them. I managed to escape, but...it was a close call."
"What about the others? Did they make it back?" Micheal asked with a serious expression.
By now he knew what it meant to die in Elyria. It was like a part of your soul died with you.
Alex's expression turned somber. "I don't know. I got separated from them during the fight. I've been searching for them since I got back, but...no luck so far."
"And why I escaped was because of my shield, I could control subtle wind and earth elements since I awakened my weapon, so it helped me run fast enough and we were lucky because we only met the bronze level monsters if not it would have been another story entirely" Alex continued.
"Bronze level mosters?" Micheal asked confused. Was there a rank to monsters?
"Yeah, I learned about it today. There are five grades: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond in Elyria. Each grade has five stars, like a one-star bronze level is equivalent to a level one human and two star bronze is equivalent to level 2 and so on" Alex explained.
"So I was lucky today because what we encountered was a cluster of star one bronze level monsters" Alex continued with a acared face as he recalled what happened.
As they approached the Tower, A sea of people were gathering at the tower
"Micheal!!!" A familiar melodious voice called out.
Turning around he spotted Aina and Kaida, who were walking towards him.
The crowd made way for them, while wondering who was Micheal.
Alex mouth opened wide as he saw the beauty of the twins.
"Is it your Micheal or another Micheal?" Alex asked as he really doubted Micheal knew anyone this beautiful.
They are too beautiful
Micheal just rolled his eyes at Alex, Alex loved beautiful girls too much. Not like he himself was any different.
The crowd's attention shifted to Micheal, their faces filled with a mix of admiration and jealousy. Who was this person?
Micheal on the other hand enjoyed the attention he got.
"Hi" Before Micheal could say a word Alex walked forward with a smile.
"I am Alex, Micheal's best friend nice to meet you guys" Alex stretched out his hand towards Kaida.
Fuck up.... Micheal thought
If it was Aina that Alex stretched out his hand for, then maybe just maybe he would have received a handshake but....
Kaida did like she didn't see Alex and just passed him leaving Alex hand in the air.
Alex felt awkward, really awkward
"What's up" Aina asked Micheal with a smile.
"I am fine, what about you guys" Micheal asked looking at the two girls
"We are okay." Aina replied.
Just then a voice boomed through the atmosphere silencing the murmurs of the crowd. "Hello everyone, I am Kelvin, the head judge of this competition." He was direct.
All eyes turned to the speaker, a young man in his mid-20s with a stern expression and a ponytail, falling down his back.
Kelvin swept his eyes across the crowd.
"The competition, initially open to those between 15 and 20 years old, has been expanded due to the recent monster rampage. Now, everyone is welcome to participate."
He paused a little before continuing. "The competition will be based on a point system. Monsters have monster cores inside them, which will be used to grade your progress. The point system will be based on the grade of monster you kill. If you're a level 1 and kill a star 1 bronze monster, you'll receive 1 point. If you kill a star 2 bronze monster as a level 1, you'll receive 2 points, and so on."
Kelvin gestured to the judges stationed around the room. "I'm not the only judge; there are seven of us in total. When you collect monster cores, bring them to us for recording. This competition will last two weeks."
"Next is the rewards." Kelvin said.
Everywhere suddenly became more quieter.
Kelvin took a deep breath before announcing the rewards. "First place will receive $1 million, be taken in by the Adventurers Alliance Tower, and be invited to the city head office for special grooming. Second place will get $500,000 and similar perks. Third place will receive $300,000 and the same opportunities."
His eyes sparkled as he continued. "The rest of the top 7 will receive $100,000 each and be taken in by the Adventurers Alliance Tower. The top 90 will receive cash prizes ranging from $50,000 to $10,000, depending on your points and access to the Adventurers Alliance Tower's library to claim a silver-level art based on your level."
"You will have access to the Adventurers Alliance Tower's library to choose a bronze-level art based on your level, which you can sell for cash if you wish, but I advise against it."
With a final glance around the room, Kelvin concluded, "That's all for now. Please head to the judges to register your name and begin the competition. Good luck, everyone!"
Silence enveloped the whole hall, as everyone was stunned into silence.
The competition was bigger than what everyone thought.
"Bro this is huge" Alex almost shouted after Kelvin's voice died down.
Micheal couldn't even talk, his mind was reeling with shock, the money was the big deal.
A million dollars? That was a fxxcking million dollars.
There is something about this Elyria we don't know yet.....Micheal was convinced.
Micheal couldn't just believe that such huge amount of money was given out by the government just for a game.
"One more thing, note that a huge leaderboard will appear in city showing the first 1000 throughout the competition, and once you have registered, your registered name will always appear on top of your head" Kelvin's voice boomed once more.
Damnit...this just got more fierce.