*Two Hours Later*
"Urgh!" Clutching his head, Ingrid rose to his feet, his head aching as he inspected his body. The edges of his clothes were lightly burnt, stained with dirt and ragged.
[{Congratulations, you have managed to achieve 18,000 points}]
The notification stoked him before looking around. He was alone, the heat above mercilessly drenching him in sweat. Crawling to a nearby shade, he looked for how long he was knocked out. 'Two hours!' Callista!!' As much as he wanted to yell at her, he couldn't argue with the results that she gave.
'It looks like she's got this.' Realizing that she was better off on her own, he made his own way through the forest only to run into a small hoarde of students. The air tensed and crackled with rage. "There he is!" One of them shouted pointing at his figure. His mind quickly piecing it all together and his heart racing, he began his run through the woods.
...
[{You have managed to amass 19,300 points}]
Brose looked at the figures, his face flat as he wondered what Jarren had at the moment. "That's an impressive figure. And in just two hours at that." Orissa however seemed more cheerful and lively. "It's not bad but given that we are facing a beast uncatalogued by gods it would make sense that he's higher."
With a heavy sigh, she put her hands on her hips. "Look can we have a moment when you won't have yourself so focused on him." Brose paused, a witty smile forming on his face. "You sound like a friend of mine." Taken aback by the comment, she went on. "Well you friend is clearly the smarter of the two."
Nearly choking on his own spit, he let out a laugh. "Don't flatter yourself so much." The two broke into jokes, recalling how their lives came to be. The cosy and lively air was interrupted by a hoarde of students yelling through the forest. It wasn't long before they realized why.
"Brose! Thank god I found you!" Out of breath, he crashed onto the campsite. "What's wrong Ingrid?" With a look of worry, he looked at him before his attention drifted to the mob. "Do you mind explaining the meaning of this?" His tone stern and his aura filled the air.
It was enough to ward them off. "It's because that man is a thief and a bully. He stole all of our ball points for his own benefit!" One of the students commented, his attitude filled with crass and anger. "Wait! Did you steal from these animals?" Orissa asked, her brows knitted.
"Of course I didn't, it was Callista. And who are you?" Brose let out a frustrated groan as he held his nose bridge. Raising his hands, he tried to defuse the situation. "Look! As much as I know that you all were attacked by Callista, my comrade over here had nothing to do with it!"
Still the anger lingered. "What are we going to do? He must at the very least pay!" It was clear at this point that these people weren't after justice but to use him to vent their anger. "When Callista attacked you, I wasn't there because she knocked me out after disagreeing with her idea of stealing your ball points!"
Ingrid made it clear and the more they thought about it, the more their anger died out. "Well what are we going to do about it? Not to mention that Jarren is also doing the same." Hearing this, Brose's stomach dropped. "Just how many has he robbed?"
Unsure murmurs broke out before an answer was given. "So far, he's stolen five ball points in the past hour. Three last night. As for Callista, she has stolen three ball points." The three fell silent. 'He has eight ball points?!' They could only dread how many points he had now.
"Damn it! I think that we should form some sort of alliance to help curb their success." Ingrid proposed however his statement was shortly criticized. "Why would you bother when you're a beneficiary of Callista's work?" Ingrid looked at the student, his face stern. "Because I'm aware of being selfless. Not everything has to be done with the idea of self profit."
This made most present admire him. Pleased with his friend, Brose stepped forward." Okay, so it would be better for us to form four groups consisted of four people. This way if we run into him then then we can hold our own and possibly take your ball points back." Orissa noted his words. 'Possibly not surely.'meaning that even he had no faith in winning against him.
However the rest of the oblivious contestants have shouts of joy. "That's a great idea. This way we can stop them from robbing other students." From there they formed their own parties before parting. "Do you think that the professors intentionally let out such a vague rule for the trial?"
Ingrid couldn't help but wonder. So far what they have similar to Jarren's actions weren't actively wrong. Maybe they knew that those two would do something like this." Orissa sighed as a notification rang through her bracelet. She was confident in her skills however facing Callista or Jarren, the uncertainty shit through the roof.
However lucky for them they had managed to gain a golden ball point.
*An hour later*
"There it is!" Exclaiming with joy, Kaelin grabbed the golden ball point and put it in her satchel.
[{Ding}]
[{You have found a golden ball point. You have been rewarded with 1,000 points}]
[{This ball point cannot be taken away from you and will individually regenerate twice as many points as a regular ball point}]
[{Your total points are 34,600 points}]
They already had a total of ten ball points, five acquired within the past, three past night, their original ball point and now the golden ball point. It was safe to say that it would be hard for anyone to catch up to them.
With a smile on her face, she was pleased with what she saw. Recalling his words about ambition, she vowed to be get out of her comfort zone and strive for the top. "There's no way that anyone can catch up to us." Her gleeful exclaims were met with silence.
Realizing her mistake she cupped her mouth with her hands. "Come on out my kitty." Jarren posed which made her knit her brows.
*Whoosh*
There she was, gracefully falling to the ground. Callista Vaewlyn. Her dead eyes met hers before locking with Jarren's. "Such a playful kitty, I wonder whether I should reward you or not." Stretching out his hand, he lightly pat her head like a dog before jiggling her bells.
'Wait! The Callista Vaewlyn is what?!' In her mind, she couldn't imagine what she was seeing. "I've played well." Her tone melting from her cold demeanor into something that of longing. "You have and for it I'll have to reward you for it." In his hands two ball points flashed, held like coins between his fingers before handing them over.
[{Ding}]
[{Your partner Jarren has lost two ball points}]
The notification flashed however she couldn't say anything. They were already far ahead in the competition, losing two now that they had gotten a golden ball point wasn't that much of a loss now bringing their total amount of ball points to eight. One golden and seven silver ball points.
"Thank you." Rubbing her cheek on Jarren's palm, a light purr escaped her lips. "You should expect some form of resistance now so stay out of trouble. I wouldn't want to ilk your fur." And with that he nestled a kiss on her forehead, brushing her bangs up.
'So they are lovers!' It wasn't just her but the professors who couldn't help but come to such a conclusion. And with that her figure was bathed in a dark light and vanished from the scene. Kaelin's lips remained pursed, her eyes avoiding his playful gaze.
"You can ask." His tone light as the two walked through the dense fauna. A pause followed as Kaelin mustered all of her strength to ask the question on her mind. "So are you two in a romantic relationship or what?" Halting, he shot a look of interest at her. "What do you think?"
The branches swayed in the light breeze, sounds of small critters filling the scene. It was now that she realized how quiet it really was. "That you are." Her voice meek hoping not to agitate him. Pocketing his hands, he kept on walking. "It's something else but not quite."
Uncomfortable with the topic, she remained silent for the rest of the walk.
***
Seeing the notification, rather than happiness Ingrid grit his teeth.
[{Ding!}]
[{Your partner Callista has received two ball points}]
"We have to move fast. She just got two more ball points." Ingrid urged, the party of four navigating before coming to a small clearing. "Look! Other students!" A voice echoed to the them. Much to their shock, it was a blend of both assailants and defenders.
The looks of hostility directed at Ingrid wavered after some explanation.
***
"Should we stop them or not?" Esdora asked, her voice skeptical of the results that she saw at the moment. "If this keeps on going then there is no way that the rest can catch up let alone beat these two." A Vorthmere professor mused.
[{Jarren Velros and Kaelin Morren have a total of 34,600 points}]
[{Brose Ember borne and Orissa Jademly have a total of 21,100 points}]
[{Callista Vaewlyn and Ingrid Rotrare have a total of 20,400 points}]
The list went on however they were more of the same. Average with a select few with two ball points. "Why would you want to stop them? After all this is going to affect them in the third phase of the tournament. Help boost the morale of the students." Timothy quizzed, his eyes focused on the pair walking through the woods.
Sure if the student managed to put them down it would help boost their morale for the third section of the tournament however if they failed then it would no doubt work against them.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of competition." A chuckle escaping his lips, most cast him weird glances. "As comfortable as you may get here Timothy do know what to say." A light aura filled the room, most unaffected however Timothy could feel the pressure.