NOVEL NEXT Book 5: Chapter 164: Commencing Second Round
The tournament rules are currently being imported. The rules for this tournament are as follows:
1. This tournament is strictly for individual participation; team entries are prohibited. Any attempt at team play will result in immediate disqualification upon discovery by the monitors.
2. Each participant will receive a Holy Dragon’s Heart at the start of the tournament. Participants may obtain additional Holy Dragon’s Hearts from others through means such as snatching, stealing, or swindling (Note: Holy Dragon’s Hearts cannot be purchased). Losing a Holy Dragon’s Heart for more than one hour will result in disqualification.
3. Alongside the Holy Dragon’s Heart given to participants, unclaimed Holy Dragon’s Hearts will be scattered throughout the arena, totaling thirty-six pieces. Holy Dragon’s Hearts will react to each other when in proximity, although this can be prevented by a storage ring or spatial power.
4. Every twenty-four hours, a one-hour bounty will be put on the participant with the most Holy Dragon’s Hearts. During this period, participants will be unable to shield themselves from Holy Dragon’s Heart sensors. Their storage rings or spatial powers will be disabled, and their location will be exposed every fifteen minutes. Those who successfully hold or defeat the bounty will be rewarded with five Holy Dragon’s Hearts.
5. The tournament will last for ten days, at the end of which the top ten owners of Holy Dragon’s Hearts will advance to the next round.
6. Participants above the Saint Realm are prohibited from participating in this round. Additionally, the use of weapons, formations, magic scrolls, and all supporting tools above the Saint Realm is strictly forbidden.
7. The tournament will be conducted under the protection of the Immaculate Tree Domain, so participants are encouraged to give their best effort.
Note: The tournament environment may contain native beings up to the middle stage of the Saint Realm, so caution is advised during exploration.
Rules have been successfully imported. Teleporting participants now.Warning: Side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and dizziness may occur during teleportation. This is a normal phenomenon associated with spatial movement and should not cause alarm.
Upon teleportation, participants will be granted a half-hour period for acclimatization and exploration of the environment. Launching attacks during this period is strictly prohibited.
Best of luck in the tournament.
The cold, automated voice faded from Lilith’s ears just as the expected disorienting sensation and distortion effects of spatial teleportation enveloped her body.
Lilith merely frowned but quickly adjusted to the discomfort. Compared to her mother’s wrath, the side effects of the teleportation felt like mere child’s play.
Shortly after that, Lilith found herself lying on soft grass, basking in the pleasant breeze. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the super warm sunlight.
“Where have I been transported to?” Confusion clouded Lilith’s eyes as she surveyed her surroundings.
As she had sensed, she found herself lying in an endless grassland. Gazing into the distance, she was met with a sea of bright green illuminated by sunlight, occasionally punctuated by splashes of white, red, purple, and yellow. Yet, amidst this vivid scenery, the green seemed even more pure and dazzling.
The breeze carried the faint scent of grass and flowers, weaving graceful waves through the half-human tall grass. Its rustle felt like a lullaby, capable of lulling one to sleep at any moment.
“This is…” Lilith’s surprise was not due to the beauty of the landscape. “A complete small world?”
Despite the sun, sky, grass, and breeze, Lilith instinctively knew she was not in the real world. The flow of magic power was too abnormal for that to be the case.
“The concentration of magic power is roughly twice that of the outside world, but the purity is abysmal.” Closing her eyes, Lilith focused on the magic power permeating the air. “There are too many impurities in the magic power. It cannot be directly absorbed; it needs refinement!”
Opening her eyes again, she confirmed her suspicions.
“I knew it, this truly is a complete small world! It appears the founding emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire was indeed a genuine demigod expert. But why did he… perish or vanish without a trace? And why is there no mention of him on the continent today?”
“The likelihood of a demise due to conflicts among demigods is exceedingly small. Even the Demon King, battered by her own mother, is rumored to be alive and well. Or perhaps, it’s just as I suspected…”
Lilith casually retrieved Cornelia from the small world she had created. The child was sleeping soundly with her exclusive doll, Lacey, unaware that she had been pulled out of her nest.
Holding Cornelia up, Lilith observed the child’s fair skin shimmering in the sunlight with a divine luster of jade.
“Even foreign deities huh…? It seems this world is not as simple as I presumed,” Lilith mumbled to herself.
Perhaps even her mother… wasn’t merely a demigod, considering she wasn’t bothered by Lilith bringing Cornelia, a genuine deity, around.
“Mmmm… Mommy… I want milk…” Cornelia mumbled in her sleep, her words barely coherent since she was sucking on her thumb.
Lilith sighed inwardly.
Perhaps her mother considered Cornelia too naive to pose a threat.
Worried that Cornelia and Lacey would cause trouble, Lilith returned them to their space. She then shook her head, dismissing her speculations.
Anyways, someone would take care of things if the sky came crashing down. There was no use for Lilith to worry about it when she still lacked the strength. For now, she had her own priorities to deal with.
If those behind the scenes intended to act, this second round of the tournament in this small world would provide the perfect opportunity.
“So, what should I do next?”
Lilith retrieved a quail egg-sized bead that she had been sitting on. The transparent bead shimmered with brilliant colors under the sunlight, with a hint of dragon’s blood seeping from its center, resembling ink diffusing in water.
“A glass bead with a drop of super diluted dragon’s blood sealed into it huh? Holy Dragon’s Heart is quite a grand name for it,” Lilith remarked with a disdainful snort before casually slipping the Holy Dragon’s Heart into her storage ring.
As per the rules, no one should be able to track the Holy Dragon’s Heart that was in her ring now.
The tournament was slated for a full ten days, which was a long time. The weather was sunny, the scenery was beautiful, and the fragrance of flowers and grass filled the air—this was the perfect setting for a good nap.
“Whatever it is, it can wait until I wake up,” Lilith murmured as she lay on the soft grass, surrendering herself to the embrace of deep slumber.
◆◇◆◇◆
“Ugh, this tournament system is so annoying. I’m forced to separate with my dearest Master Lilith,” Luna grumbled as she squeezed the Holy Dragon’s Heart in her hand, her gaze scanning the dense jungle around her vigilantly.
“This is a really big jungle, how long will it take for me to find my way to Master Lilith?”
Whether it was luck or misfortune, Luna found herself teleported to this ancient jungle, where the boundaries seemed nonexistent. Every tree appeared to have stood for millennia, their massive trunks resembling ancient castles.
While the dense foliage offered ample hiding spots, it also made navigation exceedingly difficult. Luna had utilized the half-hour protection period allotted by the tournament to explore and ponder Lilith’s whereabouts, yet she found herself going in circles.
The notion of forcefully carving a path was quickly dismissed by Luna; the precautions were clear—there may be native beings in the middle stage of the Saint Realm living in this jungle, and provoking them could lead to swift elimination.
With that thought in mind, a distant beast’s roar sent shivers down her spine.
“No, I need to approach this differently.”
Finding a way out of this primordial jungle required a marker, but where would one find such a thing in the wilderness?
Luna glanced at the Holy Dragon’s Heart in her hand, recalling the tournament’s rule that would put a bounty on the owner with the most hearts for an hour each day.
During that time, the location of that participant would be broadcast to everyone—essentially making him or her a ready-made marker.
With this realization, Luna settled into a shady spot, plucked some wild fruits for a snack, and calmly awaited the appearance of the marker.
◆◇◆◇◆
The storm howled, the snow swirled in the air, and the towering mountains were blanketed in pure white.
Princess Estelle found herself alone in the midst of the endless blizzard, her gaze lost in the white expanse. She had lost her way. It wasn’t her fault though. Anyone suddenly transported to this all-white world would find themselves similarly lost.
After a futile attempt to find her bearings and watching as her footprints were swiftly swallowed by the wind and snow, she gave up.
Constructing an igloo on the spot, she quickly sought refuge inside, kindling a warm flame to stave off the biting cold.
As she rubbed her hands together, feeling the warmth seep into her bones, Princess Estelle resolved to keep vigil, hoping that today’s bounty would eventually appear and lead her out of this snowy labyrinth.
◆◇◆◇◆
With hands clasped behind her, Myre swept her gaze over the clouds and mist shrouding the towering mountain peak.
“Another small world. I loathe them. It reminds me of many bad memories,” she muttered.
“Hmph, let’s be real here. Sure, this place might not be ideal, but it beats constantly hiding and living in fear of that old crone finding us out.” Behind her, Moore was roasting a rabbit he had caught, his tone laced with mockery.
“Quit with the pretentious act. It’s just you and me here. No need to impress the rabbit. It’s too dead to be able to watch your performance,” Moore taunted between bites of rabbit meat.
“Why don’t you play along for once? I’ve acquired a near-perfect vessel, and I intend to indulge!” Myre retorted.
Moore snorted and said, “You should be thinking about how to take care of her instead.”
“Her? Let’s bide our time for now,” Myre replied, her demeanor once again veering into the brooding solemnity of a high-ranking being.