Rei stood proudly at himself as he stood at the side of the waiting room along with the other students that were participating in the event. The bloodlust that was directed at him was obvious as he could feel their mana waves emitting from them as if they were declaring him as their enemy. He didn't care about them as he focused on what he needed to accomplish since this was the first time he participated in any school events that involved the use of prowess. He could feel the excitement in his veins as he wondered if he could go all out but soon to diminish those ideas as he wanted to reserve his energy for any important matches.
"Hello everyone!!! Welcome to Kamigami Academy's 32nd Anniversary!!! We are pleased for everyone attending this event!!!"
A loud noise emitted from the speakers as Rei tensed up for a bit before calming himself. The announcer from the speaker continued as he processed everything that they were announcing.
"Today we are celebrating once again for our academy's growth and success. And as well, to commemorate those who we have lost from the unfortunate ends after graduating or still studying at this school from such a young age."
Rei understood the feeling of what they were trying to imply. To give their respects to the people who were in the academy before them.
"Let's help them rest in peace by showing them our pride and strength within our academy!!!"
Their words resonated with everyone as half of the students, staff and every person who attended the event screamed at the top of their lungs to express their gratitude. "We are Kamigami Academy's pride!!!" Their shouts filled with pride and honour as Rei couldn't help but admire their will for their academy. The doors opened as Rei was met with a terrain that was similar to a landscape that had not been visited for a long time by how many trees, plants, hills and waterfalls there were. Rei could only assume that they were somehow in a transformed barrier to have been able to mimic all of the terrain. Rei clenched his fists as he waited for further instructions of what he had to deal with.
"For our first event!!! Survival of the fittest!!!"
Rei raised an eyebrow of such an event but let them continue to understand what he needed to do.
"The event will start with 500 to 800 students that will try to last for a week in the barrier. Time works differently in there as 10 seconds here means 1 hour in there! Food will be provided by hunting what you need to survive!!! And let's not forget, participants are allowed to fight with each other to eliminate them out of the match!!! Only 300 to 400 participants are able to win this event!!!"
Their explanation and rules gave Rei an idea how to survive, especially with the knowledge he had with his survival skills since he had gone camping a lot with his father before. Teaching him all the skills to survive in the wild without the use of prowess. He couldn't help himself but be excited on how everything would go down since he wanted to go all out especially when this was his first event that he has ever attended in his entire school life. His reaction time was quick as he immediately sprang into action upon hearing the speaker come to life with such an energetic voice.
"GO WILD!!!"
While everyone else was still struggling to get a head start, Rei had already dashed deep into the terrain as he hopped on every branch after getting up on the tree. His plan was to try avoiding a fight for a day or two before fighting once to secure his spot. He had ventured somewhere safe to scope out the surroundings and what he can use to his advantage to secure his victory. Gathering some woods and food that was safe to eat such as the apples and berries that he had found in the process. He thought to himself whether he should start hunting for meat but he decided not to for the moment as he will just lose it if he were to encounter someone in the process.
He had ventured around to find somewhere he could use for a base. Rei found a cave that had a decent space area while the surroundings outside had shades that could blend his hideout perfectly. He had adjusted the layout of the cave as he had carved some stones with his mana to shape out a tool like spears, arrows, pickaxe and axe. The woods that he had gathered moments ago now used to complete the tools and left over materials for what he'll be using for the rest of week such as fuel for the camp fire or supplies. He eventually went to collect more materials for his needs in order to survive the first two days without resorting to fights to secure his spot.
All he needed to do was to wait out, plan and do what he must need for now. He first trained himself physically as he didn't want to attract others by flaring out his own prowess to train in which could easily get his location leaked. Rei only knew that there was a technique that every sorcerer can use to detect one's mana waves and signature. Soul Transmission, a technique that has been passed down through history and generation for sorcerers to use to track one another. It's a simple technique yet efficient although its major flaw was the fact that you can only sense them when focused on the tracking as Rei's passive could already detect one's mana through mana waves passively and already can tell how strong the individual is.
"Time to hunt…." Rei muttered to himself after stretching himself as he picked up his actual weapon. The scythe that he had brought with him ever since Eunji warned him about potential death threats that was pointed at him due to being the Fallen's vessel. He went out quickly as he had killed a wild boar, some birds and fishes that he luckily somehow caught with his scythe.
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On the spectator side, a big projector was projecting the entire match as some had angles of other students that were already fighting. Hinata and Erika somehow managed to team up as they performed a combined technique which formed a glacier that defeated at least ten participants either shoved off or frozen inside. Another highlight of what got the crowd ruled up as a male with white hair while wielding a sword ruthless defeated his opponent with a slash.
"Looks like the prodigy of the Sasaki Clan really does live up to the name." A male with white hair looked at the feed. "Tengen… How rare for you to visit us." Sho called out as he sat next to them. "Anything that catches your sight for this year's students?" He asked as Tengen thought for a moment before looking over another highlighted scene of Rei that had just finished hunting and gathering his supplies. "Him… I know his status but it's impressive that his survival skills are already at this level." He said as the headmaster curiously looked at him as if he wanted to know more about his reasoning but decided to let it go since this male was a high ranking sorcerer next to Eunji except he was more illogical and carefree.
Tengen Nagasaki, a graduated student from last year's batch had a promising career that could potentially start a war with his power if it weren't for Eunji who just happened to provide balance in the sorcery world. His existence was equivalent to the fallen if it weren't for his arrogant pride and personality that set him apart. Tengen has a side that cares for people naturally as he preferred protecting or saving someone out of harm's way. Like a noble hero that's supposed to save the world except he doesn't do it for show but his inner kindness despite his personality.
"Young man… you grew so well…" the headmaster muttered as the latter heard them as they smirked to themselves. "How's junior Eunji? Is she still the same as last time I saw her?" He asked as the headmaster sighed. "Yes. Except a certain individual managed to poke through her shell…" his tone was rather unsettling that he noticed before letting him continue.
"The Fallen had managed to get a reaction out of her despite that icy and cold exterior of hers." Tengen was surprised by the revelation as he proceeded to ask him. "Really? That's surprising… Especially for a being like him… either way… What did he do to make her like that?" Headmaster Sho looked rather conflicted before responding back. "A bit of flirting and extreme harassment…"
An awkward silence filled the two before Tengen broke it as he changed topics by pointing at the stadium which projected the event. "Anyways, look at Rei! Looks like he got some competition ~" Headmaster Sho looked over as he witnessed the participants. Rin, Haku, and Nimura surrounding Rei. The trio were of course from a noble family judging from the flashy prowess they were showing except that was their mistake as Rei immediately copied it as he threw a powerful combined technique which knocked the trio out of the match in a matter of seconds.
"Damn. I know he can copy one's prowess but I never knew he could use it better than the user themselves." Tengen commented as he eyed Rei's performance. Rei's usage of their prowess proved his statement right as he witnessed him perform better than the original user themselves as he had already dashed through the forest either gathering supplies or eliminating other participants by knocking them out cold.
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Eunji stood on another side of the spectators view as she watched the event, her eyes glued to one particular student that had been causing lots of gossip. The white haired male who Tengen had looked over a while ago before focusing on Rei was now using their prowess. The black flames which burned the participants to the point they were already sent back to the infirmary to reduce the casualties. "Black flames… Amaterasu…" Eunji muttered as she watched the student coated his blade with flames before slashing it upwards which made a giant flame clashing down onto the poor participants. "Haru Sasaki…" Her eyes observed at how he was perfectly controlling his mana output in each technique whenever he used his sword.
"Him again?" Rinka called out as she sat next to her. "I know he's the prodigy of the Sasaki Clan but can't they put some precautions or limits on him? He's basically just killing everyone at this point." She wasn't wrong as the next participant needed to have staff to intervene to rescue the poor people who got in the way of Haru's sight. Their injuries are worse than what they had to deal with last year. "If he's trying to mimic the legend of all people then he should have some sympathy and respect to those who are participating along with him." Rinka uttered as Eunji agreed by nodding her head. "I know I've almost put people in the infirmary but I never went this far." She added as Rinka agreed on her statement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!!! Here are the results of day 01!!!"
The announcement made all the spectators anticipate. All of them expected to see the white haired male to be on the top of the board but to their surprise even Eunji and Rinka were surprised.
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[Day 01 Top Survivors]
[Rei Nishimura] Total Eliminations: 28
[Haru Sasaki] Total Eliminations: 24
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They were all surprised on how much Rei had eliminated others since half of them were focused with their own heirs, family or friends when spectating. Tengen, however, looked calm as if he had predicted the results. "Have you expected this in the first place?" The headmaster asked as he was intrigued with the performance of Rei's survival in the event. "Of course. The fact he's the vessel meant that there are people for different families or clans putting a bounty on him." Tengen explained as the headmaster understood that he needed to make more precautions in the future without resorting to favoritism.
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Hinata and Erika were surprised at the announcement while they were resting somewhere safe inside the waterfall they've managed to locate after a couple of scouting. "Man… I know everyone still doesn't like him but to this much?" Hinata uttered before gasping as Erika tightened the wrappings on her arm. She checked the wrapping if it was secured tightly before giving a thumbs up to Erika.
"Well, he is the vessel of the fallen. Of course, everyone is up to get him… although I wonder…" Hinata looked at Erika as she continued. "Would he survive against Haru?" Her question strike a hard punch into Hinata's guts as she realised what Erika was trying to imply. "No way… You think Haru would even dare?" She responded back before Erika looked back at her with a gaze that gave her a sign that someone would dare to try. "Fuck… I just hope Rei can handle himself…" Erika nodded at Hinata's statement as they started to take a break by checking their supplies on their foods before making rations for their dinner.
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Haru clenched his fists as he saw the scoreboard. Frustrated as he burned the tree he just punched before it immediately turned into ashes. "That fucker… You dare… To steal my spot?!" He exclaimed before the other participants who happened to pass by started to run away. "Fuck! It's Haru!" One male screamed before turning around and dashing off the spot. "It's the Flame King!!! Run for your lives!!!" Half of them already ran away while Haru only fumed in rage as he couldn't get his hands on them. "Rei Nishimura. I don't care if you're the vessel or not but I'll make sure to crush you til I can finally achieve reaching his level." He stated as he imagined himself standing proud and next to the legend of his clan's legacy.
The one who becomes the shadow and darkness, one with the authority of power and overwhelming strength. The Black Reaper. The legendary SS rank sorcerer who had achieved the ranking and title by slaying his opponents with no mercy and hesitation. A lot of sorcerers and youngsters idolised him to be someone cool or up to his level. Eunji is one of the rare people who idolised him for his mentality and duty to protect others despite of her cold personality. She almost copied his style if it weren't for Rinka telling her the obvious fan girl signs she was showing which she immediately got rid of by implementing her own sense of identity while still using the Black Reaper as her idealisation for a sorcerer.
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Rei took his resting period comfortably as he was preparing the ingredients for his dinner. Potatoes and duck meat that were placed properly as he prepared to cook. The smell of the meat cooking made Rei proud of his survival skills that he had honed during his camping trips with his father. "Looks like I managed to steal someone's spotlight that I didn't even mean to…" he muttered to himself while glancing at the moonlight from the hole he had made when adjusting the cave for his base of operations.
"Either way… it's either me being eliminated completely or me getting them out." Rei said to himself after picking up his cooked meat and potatoes before he started to dig in after letting it cool down for a bit. Each bite he took, he made sure to savour it despite not having that much seasoning for a better flavour but he had to appreciate what he had for now as he continued to dig into his meal. He started to formulate a plan for the next couple of days while making backup plans if it goes bad.
After eating, he disposed of the remains by throwing it somewhere that could not leak his location. Rei thought to himself if he could win the event without any help since he had a lot of people after his head since his status as the Fallen's vessel. Despite the odds, he thought positively to himself as he could use this to his advantage to increase the fear factor due to the fact that he could eliminate others to secure his spot. Eventually, he soon follows himself to slumber, not before setting up traps to alert if a surprise ambush will be attempted during his vulnerable state.
Meanwhile, Keith, who was observing everything through his vision could only yawn and mumble to himself. He enjoyed watching the fight that Rei was involved in as he could see each improvement of his skills. "That brat… He started a bit weak before but now he is keeping up to them." He uttered as he continued watching over him before reminiscing the memory of the sudden mana wave that emitted when Rei finished his supply run. A sensation of extreme heat and an aura of a powerful technique.
Keith could see the exact colour of the mana wave through Rei's eyes, his golden yellow eye scanning the mana wave that was emitting from the direction of Rei's perspective. It was black, an absolute hint of darkness and total void of the mana wave. "Amaterasu…" He uttered before grinning to himself. "I wonder if you can match up to that Sasaki brat…"
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Outside of Rei's hideout, a group consisting of four to eight people looked over at his direction as one of them was touching the ground beneath as if they were trying to sense his presence. "He's there for sure." The female said as she lifted herself up from the ground. "There's some traps wired around it but can be easily avoided if we're using our prowess." She stated while the rest of the group started to activate their own before proceeding to prepare their ambush to Rei.
As they were nearing his hideout, two of their members were suddenly knocked out by Rei which surprised all of them. Rei smirked to himself before sprinting towards them as he took out his scythes. "You thought I would be that carefree?" He asked mockingly as he activated his prowess before eliminating a guy that rushed to him which ultimately became a mistake as he already predicted their move.
The remaining members looked troubled as they were backing off slowly before five more figures appeared from the darkness, all resembling Rei as some of them had realised their mistake. Each of them being eliminated by Rei in such various ways that none of them expected. A barrier closure to crush them, a crystallised glacier piercing in multiple areas that couldn't be dodge, Hinata's wind technique that he taught her by slashing them with nowhere to run, a water vortex that swallowed one of them and lastly his favourite from his highschool days by using the traditional demon claws by stabbing them from behind.
"I'm gonna need to thank Rinka for the technique!" He exclaimed to himself before the other Rei dissolved into a liquid state as the blood seemingly disappeared from sight.
It was nice that this trap was simple yet effective.
Maybe he could survive by himself.