My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

”Yeah... we should actually thank him. He just accelerated what was already going to happen.”

The audience was divided. Some called Nova cruel, while others praised him for forcing the battle to move forward — after all, they had paid for tickets to see real action.

High above, Vaorak burst into laughter once again. ”Hahahaha!! I like that boy... he’s really smart!”

Draeven turned toward him with a frown.

”What do you mean?”

From the side, Lyra clicked her tongue.

”Tsk... you dragons really are all brawn and no brains.”She then looked toward Aurora.

”Lady Aurora, would you mind explaining to him what that boy is doing?”

Aurora normally avoided speaking whenever possible, but this time she could not completely ignore the request. Without turning her head, she replied in a calm, quiet voice.

”He forced them into a free-for-all. Their strength is similar, so the stronger ones will naturally eliminate the slightly weaker ones.

In a chaotic fight like this — with enemies attacking from every direction — no one will be able to properly form groups or coordinate.”

”They will simply keep killing each other for their own survival. By the end, they will thin themselves out far beyond fifty... until only a few remain, most of them already heavily wounded or on the verge of elimination.

That guy never intended to stop them at fifty. From the beginning, this was his plan — to let them destroy one another completely... and then take the final spots himself. Once that happens, the first round will be over.”

”Why would he do something like that?” Draeven asked, still not fully understanding. Was the boy simply bored because no one was moving, and cruel enough to force such a massacre?

Aurora remained silent. This time, Lyra answered instead.

”It’s exactly what you’re thinking. He was strong from the beginning. Seeing the round drag on endlessly because no one wanted to move, he came up with this method.

It may seem cruel, but they aren’t truly dying... and because of him, we’ll see the top hundred much sooner.”

On Platform 4...

Nova watched the brutal, chaotic free-for-all with a completely bored expression. It was clear the slaughter would still take some time to finish, so with nothing better to do, he turned toward the nineteen contestants he had spared.

”Hey, you nineteen. Come here.”

The moment they heard his voice, the nineteen trembled slightly. They had just witnessed the madness he had caused and were quite grateful they hadn’t been forced into that ”game.”

Now that he was calling them over, they couldn’t help but wonder if he intended to change his mind. Still, none of them dared ignore him. They quickly approached.

”Y-Yes...”

Nova looked them over casually.

”How many of you are from the Imperial Kingdom?”

The group exchanged glances, clearly not expecting such a question in the middle of all this. After a brief moment, three of them raised their hands.

Nova wasn’t surprised. Those three were also the strongest among the nineteen, their levels ranging from 1550 to 1590.

”Who are the top geniuses from the Imperial Kingdom participating in this tournament?”

Across the entire human continent of Kaelor, the most prosperous and big kingdom was the Imperial Kingdom itself — the capital kingdom of Valedyrn, where the Human Emperor resided with his Imperial Everhart Family.

It was both the central and northernmost kingdom of the human continent.

Although the Emperor’s authority extended over the entire continent, the most influential region remained his capital. Naturally, the most outstanding geniuses would have come from there.

The three contestants awkwardly began answering Nova’s questions.

Meanwhile, the audience was thoroughly baffled by his behavior. In the middle of a brutal slaughter, the black-haired youth was casually chatting as if nothing unusual was happening.

”I told you... that guy is definitely crazy. Haha, this tournament is getting more and more interesting.”

”That’s what real geniuses are like. They’re not even thirty yet and already in the King Realm... while people like us are still stuck at Grandmaster even at forty-five.”

Nearly one and a half hours later, only two contestants remained standing on the platform. Both were heavily wounded and on the verge of collapse.

They turned toward Nova with bloodshot eyes and forced out broken words.

”Y-You... b-bastard... y-you won’t... d-die a g-good death...”

They had finally realized what he had done, but all they could do was curse him. Nova looked at them, and his expression suddenly shifted into one of exaggerated guilt.

”Oh... sigh... I got busy discussing something important with these guys.”

”I forgot to stop you all.”

His voice wasn’t particularly loud, yet it clearly reached the entire audience. Countless people immediately rolled their eyes.

The shamelessness of this young man was truly unmatched. Even those who had been praising him earlier felt a slight pang of sympathy for the two remaining victims.

The nineteen contestants wisely kept their mouths shut, though they were all thinking the exact same thing.

Nova continued in a mild tone,

”Ah... but what can we do now? The two of you are in no condition to fight me. It’s better if you just give up.”

”Y-You mothe—!”

Nova didn’t let them finish. Instead, he casually pointed toward one of the nineteen.

”Hey, you there. Go finish them. I’m feeling a little sad right now... I don’t think I can do it myself.”

The nineteen rolled their eyes in perfect unison, as did most of the audience. In the VIP section, Nyxara was barely holding back her laughter.

Jenna didn’t even know what to say, while Edward could only shake his head with a helpless smile.

Maria was thoroughly amused by the shameless display. A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she muttered,

”Hehe... he’s become even more fun.”

Beside her, Darius asked in a calm voice, ”Do you know that young man, High Priestess?”

Maria glanced at him and answered politely,

”Not personally. We only met once during the Awakening Ceremony.” For some reason, she felt it was better not to reveal too much to him.

”I see.”

Darius said nothing more and simply returned his attention to the platform. Maria, however, thought to herself,

What a weirdo...

Then she looked back toward Nova.

The contestant Nova had pointed at — a somewhat timid, almost girlish-looking young man who was still level 1520 — blinked in surprise.

”Me?”

”Yes, you. Go do it... before I decide to give one of them your place instead.”

The young man didn’t dare hesitate for even a second. His figure blurred, and in the next moment, the last two contestants were eliminated.

DONG!!

The bell finally rang.

[LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... THE FIRST ROUND IS OFFICIALLY OVER!]

Slickmouth’s energetic voice rang out across the entire continent the moment the final bell sounded. The audience erupted into cheers and applause, filling the Colosseum with pure excitement.

The first round had truly lived up to expectations.

[We especially thank all the contestants for making this round so thrilling... and of course, a special mention goes to Platform Number 4!]

Everyone immediately understood what he was referring to. Although watching contestants eliminate one another across the platforms could be considered cruel, the truth was simple — the audience loved it... as long as they weren’t the ones being eliminated.

That was the true purpose of the first round. The weaker contestants had been filtered out, the participants now understood the level of the tournament, and the spectators had been thoroughly entertained.

[We finally have our Top One Hundred! With that, we will end today’s events here, as it is already evening. The second round will begin tomorrow!]

The hundred remaining contestants finally relaxed as Slickmouth’s voice echoed across the arena.

Passing the first round was already a significant achievement — they now stood as the one hundred strongest youths of the human continent.

Yet none of them could afford to celebrate for long. The second round still awaited them, and one thing was already clear...

The competition would only grow far more difficult from here.

**

Thanks for reading...