Atheline floated back to his position after the talk. Helther on the other side, left for another direction his worry still nagging at the back of his mind but his trust in his brother won over.

At the top, Atheline’s gaze moved to the main participants his mind wandering a bit.

"Who among them was sent to kill me," he mumbled to himself then shrugged," They were going to attack me anyway. "

Sighing, he started whistling instead of thinking about it.

Seven.

"What should I do when I enter the forest, should I just run to the outskirts of the centre or just continue forward," he touched the stud in his ear," This should be able to ward off most of the monsters... I just hope only one of the participants will be sent to kill me. I really don’t want to fight monsters and assassins at the same time. Maybe I could use them as bait."

"Or should I just attack them the moment I identify them or wait?" He said to himself, "Hope they’ll reveal themselves early."

"Since it will take them more than a day to reach the centre without rest and if they do rest... I should have enough time to prepare and learn the layout of the forest."

Snickering to himself, he descended closer to the portal that was just a few feet below him.

The moment he touches the swirling portal, he will be transported to the Spitting Harrows directly.

Six.

"Guess I should check all my equipment."

.

.

.

Five.

Caius gingerly touched the new armour he had been given by the king. After the journey from the islands, he had finally been given a rank as an honorary knight.

He adjusted his new armour, it felt heavy on his body but he had eventually gotten used to it.

"Do you wish to win?" Yander who was beside him asked.

He nodded.

"I want to respect the trust that has been put in me by the king."

Her gaze moved to Atheline’s direction. At that moment, his image flickered again on the screen.

"How about his highness?"

Caius was quiet for a moment. " I’m still going to win regardless, to prove I am not a child."

Yander didn’t respond but Caius didn’t mind. Even though he was the youngest among the enormous whales around him, it didn’t mean he was going to lose hope. He has never lost a fight and he didn’t plan to.

The several adventures he had gone through were enough to help him grow and mature.

Four.

He will prove to everyone that he is the winner.

.

.

.

Igrad Neill, the human flame manipulator, took a deep breath as he grabbed his spear and raised it to the air. He could hear the loud shouts from his fellow humans but he wasn’t as enthusiastic.

His chest tightened as he was saddened by the fact of what he was about to do but there was nothing else he could do to change that.

This was for the good of Gladia and as its crown prince, he would do anything to ensure humans rose above all the other species.

He had to kill a person who was definitely innocent and was being used as a pawn just like him, but he wasn’t about to let himself be dragged around on the board.

He would rather move himself to the most lucrative position.

"I do apologise, your highness. But it must be done for the good of humanity," he whispered in sadness.

His spear hit the ground, leaving mirades of jagged cracks on the ground. He circulated his aether furiously but still within his capacity and not enough to destroy his core.

"Flames of damnation."

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.

.

Three.

"What in the world," Athelines almost shouted out loud.

From the southernmost gate a burst of Fire magic, strong enough to send heat towards him erupted and slowly started to scatter across the Spitting hallows as though it was trying to burn the whole forest down.

He could feel the magnitude of the power from where he stood.

"Double S huh, he sure is strong but what on earth is he doing? Showing off."

The cheers could confirm that his show was working. It had also made the other species spectators request their own show.

Atheline almost dismissed it when he felt a burning gaze. He searched for it discreetly and the two locked eyes.

Igrad’s eyes were cold as though facing an enemy while on the other side, Atheline was left confused with what in the world was happening.

He had never met the man and there could only be one reason.

’So you revealed yourself ’

He looked up at the fire display.

’Do they plan to trap me here by any chance.’

He silently questioned as he lowered himself to avoid the flames that burst right above his head. He was now standing beside the portal with a malicious grin.

"Let the games begin then," he added almost to himself as he reached out to the shimmering portal.

Once his finger touched it, it seemed like he warped and found himself inside the forest.

Trees towered over him and he couldn’t see properly because of how dark it was. The density of the trees was so high that it covered the sky.

He was still observing his surroundings when his bow and arrow materialised. His grin never left his lips. He swung his free arm the moment a burst of flame erupted before him, but he was quicker. A wind barrier surrounded his body protecting him from the flames.

"So you used your flames to find me."

Two.

"That almost burnt my most precious asset, " he angrily said while touching his face.

"We’ll you’re not the only one who can do that," he mummbled to himself.

Once he felt it was silent enough he nocked his arrow. Atheline smirked as he stretched the arrow and pointed it to the sky, his wind surrounding it, where the obvious signs of flame still floated..

Then...

THWIP

One.

The whole dark elven kingdom only heard one sentence ring out.

"LET THE HUNT BEGIN!"