My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

More importantly, he now had far greater confidence in himself... and the ability to protect those he cared about.

He calmed himself. Whatever happened, he would face it when the time came. For now, he would focus on the tournament while keeping his guard up.

[As I have already said, this year we have many great talents and far more outstanding youths across the human continent. With registration now complete, I can officially announce that a total of five thousand contestants will be participating!]

The crowd continued to cheer wildly as Slickmouth pressed on.

[Many applicants failed to meet the qualifications, so after a strict selection process, we are left with five thousand youths who will compete against one another!]

Discussions immediately broke out among the audience.

”Damn... five thousand this time? That’s a huge number!”

”Let’s see how they plan to cut them down so quickly. What kind of rounds are they preparing?”

Slickmouth’s voice rose with clear excitement.

[Since we have more contestants than expected, we decided to do something different this year. The Empire’s Grand Youth Tournament only needs the best among the best... so in the first round, the contestants will have to prove their strength!]

Every contestant in the arena listened carefully. A bad feeling began to rise in the hearts of those who had barely qualified, while even some of the more confident ones started to feel uneasy after seeing the levels of the others around them.

[This first round will be called the ’Proving Round’. All five thousand contestants will be divided into five groups!]

Across the entire continent, people leaned forward to listen. Nova immediately understood that this would be some form of elimination round.

He wasn’t particularly worried about himself, Asia, or Rieka — but he was slightly concerned about Bai Chen.

[The division will be completely random. If your luck is terrible, you may end up in a group filled with strong opponens. If your luck is good... you might find yourselves surrounded by weaker opponents.]

[Why am I saying all this? It’s better for you to see for yourselves. All contestants, please leave the center of the arena and gather along the sides!]

Following the host’s instructions, the thousands of youths moved to the edges of the arena, leaving the vast center completely empty.

In the next moment, five enormous platforms began rising from the ground.

Both contestants and audience members watched in surprise as the structures fully emerged. Each platform was several times larger than a normal fighting ring and easily capable of holding a thousand people at once.

[These five platforms will be your proving grounds. Each group will enter one of them. What follows will be an all-out battle royale.]

[You may kill, form teams, hide — use whatever method you wish — until only twenty contestants remain on each platform. Those twenty will advance to the next round!]

”What the fuck?!”

”Did he just say ”kill”?”

Even Nova and his group were stunned for a moment. The audience also erupted in shock, with many parents and relatives beginning to worry for their children and siblings.

However, the powerful figures seated high above remained completely calm. They already knew nothing of the sort would truly happen.

[Alright, calm down, calm down! I was only messing with you!]

A wave of curses immediately rose from both the contestants and the audience.

”You bastard!”

”Don’t let me get my hands on you!”

”You nearly gave us a heart attack!”

Slickmouth quickly continued before the anger could grow further.

[Yes, yes, I was joking about the killing part... but I was also serious. You’ll still have to fight, kill, and survive however you can—you just won’t actually die on those platforms.]

As he spoke, glowing mana formations began rising around each of the platforms.

[These are special mana formations designed by the greatest Formation Masters of our continent. Even if you are ”killed” inside, you will not die or suffer permanent injury. Instead, you will be ejected from the platform and disqualified.]

[Although... you will still feel the pain.]

The contestants let out heavy sighs of relief, yet tension quickly returned. Surviving among a thousand opponents until only twenty remained would still be brutal. And with the pain remaining intact, no one would be finishing fights lightly.

Curious, Nova asked Liya in his mind, What’s a Formation Master?

{They are individuals who specialize in the control and structuring of mana to create formations. These can be used for defense, deception, barriers, and many other purposes — just like the ones you see now. It’s a highly valued profession.}

{The sound barrier you create is also a type of formation. You already understood the principle, but you didn’t realize how many different applications it could have. Creating them mainly requires high comprehension... which, for you, is basically a piece of cake.}

I see...

Nova filed the information away for later. He definitely intended to experiment with different types of formations when he had the time.

For now, however, there was a more immediate concern.

Would he, Asia, Rieka, and Bai Chen end up in the same group... or would they be separated?

[Every one of you has a token with your applicant number on one side. From this moment onward, the other side of your token will display your platform number.]

[You will now see which group you have been assigned to. Once everything is ready, your tokens will glow and a number from 1 to 5 will appear. ]

[You must reach your designated platform within thirty seconds — or you will be disqualified before the first round even begins.]

Nervousness spread through the contestants. The distance between their current positions and the platforms was manageable, yet tension alone was often enough to turn a capable fighter into an early failure.

[On the count of three, your platform numbers will appear and the bell will ring. The moment you see it — run without wasting a single second. And for those in the King Realm... flying is prohibited for now.]

Nova immediately turned toward his wives and Bai Chen.

”Be careful. Don’t get involved in unnecessary fights. Focus on surviving first. But if anyone gets too close... finish them brutally.”

Although Asia and Rieka were a little tense, confident smiles appeared on their faces as they nodded. Bai Chen, on the other hand, showed no signs of nervousness.

Nova figured that as long as he didn’t run into any of the stronger opponents, he should be able to pass the first round without much trouble.

After all, this opening round was the perfect opportunity for the higher-level contestants to eliminate as much of the competition as possible.

[3]

[2]

[1]

Dong!

The bell rang.

Nova quickly glanced at his token. Each of them had been placed in a different group. There was nothing he could do about it now.

”Run!”

In the next instant, the contestants surged forward like a tidal wave. Some began pushing and shoving, while others stumbled and scrambled back to their feet.

The audience erupted in cheers — the tournament had only just begun, and it was already chaotic and exciting.

Nova’s platform number was 4.

Although he could have reached it in a single breath, he deliberately matched the pace of the other contestants. Even so, he still arrived at his platform in just under ten seconds... and was the first one there.

Within the remaining time, nearly all of the contestants managed to reach their platforms.

Around eighty, however, were pushed back or delayed by stronger opponents and were immediately disqualified.

Looking around, Nova quickly confirmed the positions of his people.

Rieka had been assigned to Platform 5. Asia was on Platform 1. Bai Chen stood on Platform 2. And he himself remained on Platform 4.

**

Thanks for reading...