SAINTESS [Chapter 147: The spot for the unlucky one] (Patreon)

The students who had come out of the Trial Grounds all had eyes full of wariness and vigilance, each gripping a weapon. Without any warning, they'd been forcibly pulled off the battlefield. None of them had even figured out what had happened yet, still stuck in a combat mindset, guarding against anyone else making a move on them.

At this moment, their gazes were like jackals on the grasslands. Their clothes were all a bit torn, and quite a few students even had damage on their belts, clearly they'd run into many formidable opponents.

Just one preliminary round had put every last one of them into the zone.

“Congratulations to all of you for passing the preliminaries.” The instructor congratulated the students coming out of the Trial Grounds, raising a hand to signal them to lower their arms.

Only then did the students realize they were back in their seats before the temple, and finally eased up their guard.

“Up next is the opening match of the main event. Everyone who remains on the island has successfully cleared the first preliminary round. From this point forward, the academy will stamp the first page of your qualification certificate. Make sure you keep your certificate safe,” the senior instructor announced.

“Alright, everyone, the battle is over. Take a moment to catch your breath and relax. There’s no need to keep your nerves on edge anymore. You’ve successfully passed this round. Remove your belts and rest. The next match will take place in three days. You can leave the altar now, but remember to have the instructors stationed at the bottom stamp your seals before you go.” Accompanied by several attendants, the senior instructor gave the students their final instructions.

The students looked at one another, silently putting away their weapons as they walked toward the altar steps, studying the others who, like themselves, had cleared the preliminaries.

There were still a lot of people, but with the preliminaries over, more than half the contestants had already been eliminated. At least, Winnie remembered that when they arrived, there hadn't been this many empty seats.

Winnie was being sized up by others, and he was also sizing up everyone else.

His gaze searched the crowd for a familiar figure, but with so many people still here, he didn't find who he was looking for.

Shikondell had been beside him when they entered, but now she wasn't. That didn't mean she'd been eliminated, though, Winnie had noticed that the seating order upon arrival and the order when leaving were completely different.

The seats on departure were obviously random, so even if Shikondell had passed the preliminaries, she wouldn't necessarily be with him.

When they arrived, the people around Winnie had clearly all been second-years. But now, clustered around him were mostly third-years and fourth-years, people he didn't recognize at all.

When the upperclassmen noticed Winnie’s second-year emblem, a hint of surprise flashed across their faces. They glanced at him a few more times, but soon dismissed it, assuming he had simply gotten lucky and hadn’t encountered any stronger upperclassmen along the way. With that thought, they quickly turned their attention elsewhere.

Clearly, they were somewhat surprised that a second-year like Winnie had managed to clear the preliminaries.

Winnie glanced around and felt like he understood why, once he came out, he was surrounded by third-years and fourth-years.

With that look, it was obvious: upperclassmen made up at least eighty percent of the crowd. A rough sweep and he could hardly spot any second-years at all.

So it wasn't strange.

This was only the preliminaries, but after just one run, the second-years had already become an “endangered species.” Those third-years and fourth-year seniors who passed probably each eliminated no fewer than three second-years in the Trial Grounds.

In the Chosen One Tournament, second-years really were like speed bumps, pure cannon fodder running alongside, getting completely crushed.

Third-years and fourth-years could casually roll over second-years with no pressure at all. Most second-years couldn't beat the upperclassmen and could only fight other second-years. In that environment, it was only normal that second-years suffered the greatest losses.

Still, even though he hadn't seen Aesphyra and the others, Winnie wasn't worried about them in the slightest.

After stepping down from the altar, Winnie lined up and handed his qualification certificate to the instructors waiting at the foot. One of them used an exquisite seal to stamp the first page, then returned it to Winnie.

Winnie glanced at the first page and found the stamp was a phoenix, moreover, a magical stamp. He didn't know whether it was some kind of optical illusion or something else, but no matter what angle he looked from, the phoenix seemed to move, its burning feathers scattering sparks.

After the preliminaries came the main event. The main event schedule consists of two matches, with six people per match.

In other words, it went from an unrestricted full-field melee to a six-person brawl. Whoever lasted to the end without being eliminated was the winner.

Back in the temporary single room the academy had arranged for him, Winnie reread the rules.

The preliminaries were a single match. After that would be two or three six-person main-event matches, eliminating the number of participants down to fewer than fifty. The location was still the Trial Grounds.

These main-event matches were special. After the draw, you'd be matched with five opponents and sent into a sealed, relatively narrow zone. That zone will also contain environmental hazards.

For example, as the rules illustrate, the main event could even assign a volcanic terrain, real magma, bubbling and popping. If you got pushed in, you wouldn't die, but you'd still be eliminated.

According to the rules, extreme environments were a defining feature of the main event. There was no point in hoping to get lucky and escape the harsh terrain. Nine times out of ten, you were bound to encounter one. The only uncertainty was just how severe the conditions would be.

All one could say was that this place where the ancient Emperor Cantarius II of Carillian had once achieved enlightenment truly was useful, able to randomly generate so many terrains. The Trial Grounds lived up to its name. Not using it as a trial ground would really be a shame.

Over those three days, Winnie rarely went out. Aside from meals and walks, he stayed in his single room meditating, recovering his energy and keeping himself in condition.

Training at a time like this would be the dumbest thing possible.

Besides, the temporary lodging was huge, Winnie had no idea where Aesphyra and the others had been assigned.

It was worth noting that the food here was exceptionally good. They seemed to have everything imaginable, even offering desserts like ice cream after meals. Winnie ate to his heart’s content, thoroughly enjoying the feast.

And just like that, three days passed.

Well-rested, Winnie left her room, lined up, and drew lots for the first main-event match.

It was still in front of that hall.

There were many drawing stations, and it didn't take long before it was Winnie's turn. He drew number eighteen.

The instructors called for the students to take their seats in order according to the number they had drawn.

Winnie found a bluestone chair whose legs were marked with the number eighteen. Now he understood why each chair base had a number.

After Winnie sat down, it wasn't long before others took seats to his left and right.

Winnie glanced over. The numbers on the legs of the bluestone chairs on both sides were also eighteen.

Looks like these were his opponents.

The others sat beside him noting the same detail. Each took a look and said nothing.

“Everyone, please take care of me?” Just as they were exchanging silent looks, a slightly playful female voice came from nearby.

Along with Winnie, everyone who had drawn the number eighteen turned their attention toward a girl with brown hair tied into a single ponytail. She had drawn the same number as well. Once she took her seat, she smiled and greeted the five of them.

Her sudden friendliness caught the others off guard. After all, they had never met her before, and they were about to face each other as competitors. Still, ignoring her greeting would have been rude, so they simply nodded in response.

Winnie gave her a friendly smile, then withdrew his gaze and leaned back, head tilted, reclining on the bluestone chair.

When the girl saw Winnie actually smile back, and saw that he was a second-year, she couldn't help feeling a bit surprised.

Once everyone was seated, the instructors came around one by one to check, preventing anyone from sitting in the wrong place.

After confirming everything was correct, the senior instructor swept his eyes over the students. The other instructors stood at corners in several directions, watching the seated students.

Nervousness was inevitable, but not a single person showed it.

The students of Carillian Academy were already regarded as the most talented and elite young people across the entire Terraria Continent. After another round of eliminations, those who remained were exceptional in every respect. Many of the students nearing graduation had already developed enough strength and experience to stand on their own.

Each of them had their own story. To reach this point, the hardships behind it, only they themselves knew.

There would be nerves, but more than that, there was refusal to lose.

They understood better than anyone what they'd gone through to get here. By what right would someone else be stronger than them??

These proud students all disdained cheating. Before the match even began, none of them would stop to use underhanded tricks that violated the rules to deal with an opponent.

“Young people truly are impressive. Looking at all of you reminds me of my own days as a student at Carillian Academy. You’re just as energetic and full of life, with not a trace of gloom in your eyes. Instead, there’s nothing but hope and endless possibilities for the future.” The senior instructor surveyed the students and nodded approvingly.

“Sir, it's time.” An instructor repaired at the sand in the hourglass, approached the senior instructor, and whispered.

“Very good. Then I announce the first main-event match begins now!” The senior instructor turned to the instructor in front of the temple. “Begin.”

At that, the instructor activated the magic dais.

“Everyone, sit tight. Be careful you don't lose your feet when you arrive.”

The magic patterns carved into the bluestone chairs surfaced once more. As space twisted, everyone disappeared from where they were.

It wasn't his first time experiencing it. Winnie's tolerance for it was much higher now. The instant he landed, he began paying attention to the terrain.

But the moment he lifted his head, the wind blew so hard he couldn't even open his eyes.

A bone-chilling gale pressed down on him, making it impossible to take a step.

What the hell is this??

Winnie immediately recognized the terrain he had drawn. It was a frozen world buried beneath ice and snow, an extremely cold region caught in the midst of a raging blizzard.

This environment was brutal.

But for Winnie, it was actually advantageous terrain. He had [Excellent]-grade ice-element affinity, giving him some resistance to low temperatures and ice elements compared to others.

Without hesitating, Winnie immediately summoned [Frost Fang] to prevent someone from sneaking an attack.

As he adjusted a little to the blizzard, he searched for traces of his opponents.

The snow was too heavy, blocking his vision, but he could faintly see ice mountains encircling the area from all sides, meaning the six of them only had this much space to operate in.

Winnie turned around and saw another ice-covered mountain standing not far behind him.

Although the terrain was advantageous to him, Winnie quickly realized that his current position was far from ideal, as he could be attacked from every direction. The safest spot would be to place his back against an ice mountain while facing his enemies from the other sides, preventing anyone from launching a surprise attack from behind.

No, it wasn't just bad.

Once he could see his opponents clearly, Winnie quickly realized just how dangerous the spot he'd spawned in was.

Four people stood on four sides, surrounding him. There was another person in the middle as well, fairly close to him, but even that person's position wasn't as dangerous as Winnie's.

Damn it.

Winnie cursed inwardly.

Holding an ice spear, he stood in the wind and snow, alert for sudden attacks.

Fortunately, although his position was the worst, his excellent ice-element affinity let him stabilize his footing first and gather positional information on the other five first.

After the others had their faces and eyes battered by the fierce storm, they finally regained their senses.

Unlike Winnie, the other students relied on fire magic to shield their bodies, protecting themselves from the biting wind, swirling snow, and freezing cold.

Clearly, none of the others possessed an ice-element affinity as strong as Winnie’s. After all, the ice element was exceptionally rare.

While all five students relied on fire magic to protect themselves from the freezing environment, Winnie stood alone in the center without using any magic at all. Seeing this, the others couldn’t help but feel surprised.

Only Winnie knew the real reason he wasn’t using fire magic. It had nothing to do with showing off his superior ice affinity. The problem was embarrassingly simple: he didn’t know a single fire spell. What else could he do? Use [Sixfold Hell] and blast himself in the head just to stay warm?

Including Winnie, the six contestants in this match were four men and two women.

Aside from the female student who had greeted them before the match, there was also another female student with long hair. The blizzard whipped the hem of her pleated skirt so it flapped loudly.

Winnie stayed calm.

He knew that in this situation, the first target of the other five would probably be him.

The others only had enemies approaching from three directions, while Winnie was surrounded on all four sides. Naturally, when everyone attacked the nearest target first, Winnie became the obvious choice for all of them, since he was the closest opponent within reach.

This position was practically “heaven-chosen.” Whoever struck first would most likely strike him.

But none of them moved rashly. Everyone present wasn't a fool. They all knew that if they attacked the unlucky bastard in the middle, wouldn't they just expose an opening to the others??

So everyone waited for an opportunity. The safest tactic was to wait for someone else to make the first mistake.

And in that process, Winnie's pressure was naturally the greatest, bearing the pressure of five people at once, guarding against attacks from all directions.

Winnie wanted to counter later, but these people all understood the game. Each of them had only hunger for victory in their eyes. Not a single one took risks. They were all waiting for someone else to make the first move, to make someone else spend the stamina, then decide based on the situation.

So, as long as the enemy stays put, Winnie stays where he is.

It didn’t take long for Winnie to realize that, in the strategies and calculations of the other five, he had already been treated as the first person to be eliminated.