Next Round
A man, wearing one of the complete black, futuristic suits, took to the platform that had been erected during the first round.
As he approached the microphone, his helmet cracked apart but in an organised way. These different fragments then pulled across his head and down into the remaining parts of his suit.
"Welcome, everybody. As you know, the 1st round has ended. Our winners are Elias and Clark!" He announced, making the crowd clap powerfully and meaningfully.
Some even turned to look at these supposed regal figures with massive smirks across their face. Brandyn was one of the only ones who didn't turn but also didn't even clap.
"Silence…"
"…"
"Unluckily, not everyone will pass on to the next round. Out of the 134 students that took part in this tournament, only 64 will make it through. Based on your performance in the test, we have ranked all 134 students from top to bottom."
As he swashed his arm sideways, a red bar appeared under the name of the 64th place performer.
"I'm sorry to all of those below the red bar with their name highlighted in red but you are not progressing to the second round. As for the rest of you, you have proceeded to the next and final round! For those who haven't made it through, you are not required to listen to what I'm about to say. You can enjoy the luxuries of this G-11 and simply wait for us to make it to our next destination." The teacher explained, making many people promptly exit the room.
Many were very annoyed and frustrated that they didn't proceed so decided to leave and get some alone time. Also, some of the higher-ups would be bound to find them and bully them so some were preparing for that to happen by simply sitting in the common room.
Brandyn looked at the large billboard and he couldn't find his name. His vision was better than fine so he could even see the outline for the pixels on the screen but he couldn't seem to find his name below the red line. However, once he looked above it, he found his name at #60.
Brandyn Santiago.
"Yes! Yes! I made it to the next round!" Brandyn thought to himself, uncontrollably smiling.
"Well done to the lot of you that have made it through. Now, I'll have to explain the rules of the next round. This round will be a tournament with 64 players. The brackets have been made fair so first and second place are on opposite sides on the bracket, next to those who are close to them in terms of skill. Weapons will be banned, unlike the last round. You are able to win by either knocking out the opponent or making them submit. This round will take place in the Sandy Arena, less than 50 miles from here. All we have to do is get onto one of the G-11 roads and ride across them to get to our destination. The use of the seatbelt quarters won't be needed."
[NEW QUEST!]
[Quest: Second Round]
[Make it past the Round of 64 in the tournament.]
[Rewards: 1 Skill]
"That should be easy enough. I hope I can get some sort of punching skill this time." Brandyn thought to himself, while watching this teacher.
"And that's about it. The rest of the information will be revealed once we get to the destination. Stay seated, we'll be there in around 15 minutes."
As he said this, his futuristic helmet made weird clicks and movements until it was fully formed as a helmet that covered his head.
The G-11 aircraft slowly rumbled across the flat drylands and made it to a long, wide road. The road must've been 100 metres wide and tens of miles long. It was perfectly paved with bright yellow lines to signify the edge of the road and the middle of it.
*BRRRR*
4 of the smaller streams blasted outward, launching the G-11 forwards at around 150 miles per hour. For the students on the aircraft, it felt like nothing much at all.
In a few minutes, around 15 minutes, the G-11 gradually slowed its speed as it approached the destination. Brandyn, currently alone in one of the dormitory rooms, peered out the window to see the moderately sized stadium. It was around 25 degrees celsius and it seemed as if they had entered a completely different terrain.
The platform to enter the aircraft came down from the edge of the aircraft and the dusty breeze zoomed into the plane.
*whoosh*
*Fooo*
The wind could be heard as a quiet, dull whooshing sound and several tumbleweeds scattered across the coarse, orange surface below.
"We're here!"
The stadium had a dirty, white exterior and there was graffiti littered across the wall. The stadium had a large area beside the fighting ring and this could be accessed by two large wooden doors on the front of the stadium. There was some lighting across the top of the stadium but these were currently off as it was bright as day.
In the distance, there was the bright, shining sun with a blue sky that was partly covered by thick, bumpy clouds. There were also rocky hills across the horizon and near the stadium, that were a deep orange in colour.
"We've reached our destination. For those competing in the tournament, follow me. For those who aren't competing in the tournament, follow our kind invigilator here."
The invigilator was the same invigilator instructing the students to the hall back at their school in Primos and he said no word, simply walking towards the stadium. Brandyn hadn't a clue where he was going to take him or what they were going to do once they got there but he just assumed that he would learn as they entered the building.
*creak*
The two wooden doors creaked open and the students all entered, behind the invigilator.
"Greetings. We have reserved a slot for the Sandy Arena. We are Salham High School." The invigilator spoke, for the first time of the day.
"Ah, yes. Of course, go ahead." The man at the till explained, directing the invigilator to the locker rooms.
The teacher, walking up beside this invigilator, began to direct the clueless students.
"Walk down this hall and look at the displayed billboard. Each fighter will be given a location to where they should go and you can search for the tournament bracket on your wristwatches. We will be here for assistance so come back to us if you need any help."