The final ceremony wasn't too complex. It was something that would be done after every round of the competition, so it couldn't be too much work to do.
The top three would be placed on a podium and celebrated as they were, and the next round would be announced.
That was the end of it.
The cheers of the crowd never seemed to fade, though.
August, Valerie, and Eris were led out into a separate tunnel from which they could covertly leave the arena. The rest of the geniuses also followed.
All the way, they listened to those cheers.
For some, it was motivation. For some, it was envy. For some, it was hatred. And for some, it was joy.
Their mixture of emotions would become the norm as the heir wars continued. The disparity in points would become larger and larger until only a select few could hope to feel the more positive emotions connected to this departing moment.
Unfortunately, not everyone could be happy with what they had.
Valerie, Eris, and August were respectively rewarded with ten, eight, and five points according to the heir wars system.
There wasn't a huge gap between them, but they were far ahead of anyone else.
And, they were the first podium finishers of the entire event.
This was huge for all of them, however, Eris was too caught up in what happened to feel any joy.
She had been thoroughly humiliated.
Even after using so much power on a mere third class dragon, she still finished only second.
It was unacceptable.
And it was all the fault of the boy who she just learned was a commoner.
Eris wasn't one to care about the class divide. It didn't matter to her at all.
But, she couldn't stand the fact that someone of that level, someone who had far fewer opportunities and resources than her, was able to make a fool out of her.
It didn't make sense.
No, it couldn't be allowed.
"You're dead."
She muttered it under her breath as they walked through the tunnel, but said it loud enough for August to hear her.
He didn't say anything in response.
August and Valerie glanced at each other as if understanding each other's intent.
"She's probably just talking big, but it's true that we'll be under a lot of pressure," Valerie said through sound transmission."
"Yup," August responded with the same method, "we don't really have the means or the time to deal with Holy Clans right now. I don't even think we can deal with noble clans yet."
August had performed above his means and naturally attracted attention.
Valerie was not only associated with him, but also the first-place finisher. Whether it was a product of her own efforts or outside help didn't matter.
If she wasn't valuable, then she would've never been in that last corridor at all.
Some people would try to recruit them, while others would do everything possible to make sure they couldn't repeat the same scene again.
At the end of the day, to most nobles, the commoners were only participating in the heir wars to show crowds how great their own geniuses were.
For commoners to actually win was never part of the plan.
"So, basically…" Valerie said.
"Yeah. We're running."
August finished her thought matter-of-factly.
Eris hadn't taken her eyes off of them for even a second.
They would part when they made it out of this place, but she'd likely send people out to find them instantaneously.
They had to escape before that happened, and luckily for them, the method was already in their hands.
It happened just like that.
The geniuses were led to an isolated area where several people were waiting.
Those people would be responsible for transporting them anywhere they wanted to go.
Eris gave the two common geniuses a final glance before taking a portal back to her clan.
August and Valerie, on the other hand, took a portal back to Arragon.
It was just a temporary stop.
The instant they arrived, they found an isolated alleyway and teleported again, this time to the training island Damien had gifted them.
This was the perfect place for them to hide away until their turn to participate came again.
They could get all of the information they needed through the emblems anyway.
There wasn't much different about the island when they arrived, but there was one specific change that they noticed instantly.
Melania was gone again.
"It's starting soon, huh?" Valerie commented.
August nodded.
Now that the first round had ended, it was time for the second group of geniuses to show their worth.
Melania had another two weeks before her turn to compete, but she'd already left the island.
The two of them had no idea where she went, but after seeing how Melania had been changing in the time that they watched her train, they didn't worry in the slightest.
Melania was a different animal and the same beast.
She had blossomed into a heavenly genius on her own, and, needless to say…
Neither August nor Valerie could wait to see her on the big stage.
***
Those last two weeks; Melania spent them well.
She didn't return to the training island because it couldn't give her what she needed. She spent all of that time in the world Damien gave her, a place where she could torture herself without interruption.
It was a brutal way to phrase her training, but that was the truth of the matter.
Melania had spent the past month enduring torture for the sake of growth.
She mimicked the boulder problem. She fought the deep seas and the depths of depravity as she starved and suffocated in a desert.
Melania was a case of someone who had an extreme desire for power.
As she had been living, she didn't have the opportunity to discover it. All of her actions had to be taken for the sake of others.
However, now that she was in this place where geniuses ran amok, where training was above all else, she was able to unlock her full potential.
After first hearing that she only had a month, she was perturbed, unable to see herself at a higher level in that time.
That opinion only changed when she experienced it.
As August and Valerie returned to their training on the island, Melania completed her own and returned to Fort Halleya.
It was now her turn to enter the arena, to compete against geniuses who stood above anything and everything she'd known until a few weeks ago.
Just as her comrades had done a few weeks before, Melania stepped through a portal and arrived in the arena.
She also saw her opponents on a screen in the small room she was provided. She also heard the announcer's voice introducing them.
And soon enough, she was also transported into the arena with the rest of her group.
The announcer's voice became clearer as she and her opponents observed the arena they'd entered.
It wasn't a labyrinth. The challenge was also completely different.
The reactions were mixed, as they always would be when the geniuses heard what they needed to do.
But for Melania specifically, the only thing she heard was good news.
This challenge…it was as if it had been perfectly tailored to her.
If it was like this, then she was confident in finding a way to the podium.
That was a thought that she never believed she could have before today.
The final ceremony wasn't too complex. It was something that would be done after every round of the competition, so it couldn't be too much work to do.
The top three would be placed on a podium and celebrated as they were, and the next round would be announced.
That was the end of it.
The cheers of the crowd never seemed to fade, though.
August, Valerie, and Eris were led out into a separate tunnel from which they could covertly leave the arena. The rest of the geniuses also followed.
All the way, they listened to those cheers.
For some, it was motivation. For some, it was envy. For some, it was hatred. And for some, it was joy.
Their mixture of emotions would become the norm as the heir wars continued. The disparity in points would become larger and larger until only a select few could hope to feel the more positive emotions connected to this departing moment.
Unfortunately, not everyone could be happy with what they had.
Valerie, Eris, and August were respectively rewarded with ten, eight, and five points according to the heir wars system.
There wasn't a huge gap between them, but they were far ahead of anyone else.
And, they were the first podium finishers of the entire event.
This was huge for all of them, however, Eris was too caught up in what happened to feel any joy.
She had been thoroughly humiliated.
Even after using so much power on a mere third class dragon, she still finished only second.
It was unacceptable.
And it was all the fault of the boy who she just learned was a commoner.
Eris wasn't one to care about the class divide. It didn't matter to her at all.
But, she couldn't stand the fact that someone of that level, someone who had far fewer opportunities and resources than her, was able to make a fool out of her.
It didn't make sense.
No, it couldn't be allowed.
"You're dead."
She muttered it under her breath as they walked through the tunnel, but said it loud enough for August to hear her.
He didn't say anything in response.
August and Valerie glanced at each other as if understanding each other's intent.
"She's probably just talking big, but it's true that we'll be under a lot of pressure," Valerie said through sound transmission."
"Yup," August responded with the same method, "we don't really have the means or the time to deal with Holy Clans right now. I don't even think we can deal with noble clans yet."
August had performed above his means and naturally attracted attention.
Valerie was not only associated with him, but also the first-place finisher. Whether it was a product of her own efforts or outside help didn't matter.
If she wasn't valuable, then she would've never been in that last corridor at all.
Some people would try to recruit them, while others would do everything possible to make sure they couldn't repeat the same scene again.
At the end of the day, to most nobles, the commoners were only participating in the heir wars to show crowds how great their own geniuses were.
For commoners to actually win was never part of the plan.
"So, basically…" Valerie said.
"Yeah. We're running."
August finished her thought matter-of-factly.
Eris hadn't taken her eyes off of them for even a second.
They would part when they made it out of this place, but she'd likely send people out to find them instantaneously.
They had to escape before that happened, and luckily for them, the method was already in their hands.
It happened just like that.
The geniuses were led to an isolated area where several people were waiting.
Those people would be responsible for transporting them anywhere they wanted to go.
Eris gave the two common geniuses a final glance before taking a portal back to her clan.
August and Valerie, on the other hand, took a portal back to Arragon.
It was just a temporary stop.
The instant they arrived, they found an isolated alleyway and teleported again, this time to the training island Damien had gifted them.
This was the perfect place for them to hide away until their turn to participate came again.
They could get all of the information they needed through the emblems anyway.
There wasn't much different about the island when they arrived, but there was one specific change that they noticed instantly.
Melania was gone again.
"It's starting soon, huh?" Valerie commented.
August nodded.
Now that the first round had ended, it was time for the second group of geniuses to show their worth.
Melania had another two weeks before her turn to compete, but she'd already left the island.
The two of them had no idea where she went, but after seeing how Melania had been changing in the time that they watched her train, they didn't worry in the slightest.
Melania was a different animal and the same beast.
She had blossomed into a heavenly genius on her own, and, needless to say…
Neither August nor Valerie could wait to see her on the big stage.
***
Those last two weeks; Melania spent them well.
She didn't return to the training island because it couldn't give her what she needed. She spent all of that time in the world Damien gave her, a place where she could torture herself without interruption.
It was a brutal way to phrase her training, but that was the truth of the matter.
Melania had spent the past month enduring torture for the sake of growth.
She mimicked the boulder problem. She fought the deep seas and the depths of depravity as she starved and suffocated in a desert.
Melania was a case of someone who had an extreme desire for power.
As she had been living, she didn't have the opportunity to discover it. All of her actions had to be taken for the sake of others.
However, now that she was in this place where geniuses ran amok, where training was above all else, she was able to unlock her full potential.
After first hearing that she only had a month, she was perturbed, unable to see herself at a higher level in that time.
That opinion only changed when she experienced it.
As August and Valerie returned to their training on the island, Melania completed her own and returned to Fort Halleya.
It was now her turn to enter the arena, to compete against geniuses who stood above anything and everything she'd known until a few weeks ago.
Just as her comrades had done a few weeks before, Melania stepped through a portal and arrived in the arena.
She also saw her opponents on a screen in the small room she was provided. She also heard the announcer's voice introducing them.
And soon enough, she was also transported into the arena with the rest of her group.
The announcer's voice became clearer as she and her opponents observed the arena they'd entered.
It wasn't a labyrinth. The challenge was also completely different.
The reactions were mixed, as they always would be when the geniuses heard what they needed to do.
But for Melania specifically, the only thing she heard was good news.
This challenge…it was as if it had been perfectly tailored to her.
If it was like this, then she was confident in finding a way to the podium.
That was a thought that she never believed she could have before today.
