46. NET {5}:- Mama Believes In Her Baby.
"Well done, Your Highness. Please step toward the magic circle, and you'll be teleported instantly to your next destination." The tournament official informed Orion.
"Okay," Orion replied with a nod but hesitated as to whether he should ask his next question. "Um, s-sir?" Orion called out to the tournament official.
The tournament official noticed that Orion had something to say, so he raised his head to pay better attention. "Your Highness, is something wrong?"
"Um, you're one of the tournament officials, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Then, please stand. We're not in the castle right now and I'm currently not the prince, but a contestant like everyone else in this tournament."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on the male Elf's face and he bowed once again. "You're right, Your Highness, I'll remember to act as you have requested."
"Thank you," Orion smiled, and the tournament official wondered how the young prince he was looking at right now could look so innocent and naive, unlike the elf he had seen a few minutes ago.
While he had been watching Orion from a safe distance, he never expected him to kill those Blaze rats in the most gruesome way imaginable.
Currently, there was blood scattered outside the magic shield Orion conjured a few minutes ago to protect himself.
The strong smell of blood also lingered in the air, and if the tournament official hadn't witnessed Orion facing the Blaze rats on his own, he never would have imagined an innocent prince could cause such a horrific scene.
He could see why the prince was related to the Queen and princess of the kingdom.
Orion was every bit as talented and scary as his mother and aunt.
The tournament official was certain that it was only a matter of time before everyone in the kingdom noticed and acknowledged the prince's monstrous strength and capabilities.
The male elf vowed to work harder and to try his best never to anger the royal family… ever!!!
"Um…," Orion's voice dragged the official's thoughts away from his daydreaming.
"Is there something you would like to ask, Your Highness?"
"Yes."
"Please, what would you like to know?"
"Do I get points for killing the Blaze rats?"
"Yes, you do. You earn ten points for every Blaze rat you kill, however, you will not receive additional points if you choose to hunt more Blaze rats rather than move on to the next phase of the tournament."
Orion nodded his head in understanding. "I understand, thank you," Orion replied gracefully and walked towards the magic circle.
"You're welcome, Your Highness," A smile appeared on the tournament official's face.
He really liked how Orion treated him with respect, and this made him think even more highly of the prince of the kingdom.
He had heard a lot about Orion and how cute and adorable the little prince was, but never would he have imagined that the young prince would have such a kind heart and demeanor.
His smile broadened even more as he watched the young prince step into the magic circle before he was instantly teleported away from the forest.
======
About half an hour ago, before the tournament officially began, when Evelyn, Elena, and Mia said goodbye to Orion and followed the dark elf to the castle reserved for the royal family.
Upon entering the castle, they noticed two butlers and eight maids bowing in front of them.
Evelyn acknowledged them but she swiftly returned her gaze to the dark elf and asked.
"You said there was something Hilda wanted us to see."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please, follow me."
Right after they left Orion, the dark elf told Evelyn that there was something Hilda wanted to show her.
"What exactly does Hilda want us to see?" Elena asked while they walked through a long corridor of the castle.
"It's a crystal ball, Your Highness."
"A crystal ball?"
"Yes, Your Highness. The crystal balls were part of the magical items the tournament officials brought over from the Witch Kingdom. The officials intend to carry out a widespread broadcast of everything that is happening during the tournament.
It will be the first time something like this would ever happen, but we hope this will enlighten the current and future generations of elves about what the tournament is really about."
After hearing this, a smile appeared on Evelyn's face.
In the past, not everyone had the luxury of watching the tournament.
Aside from battles in the arena which were viewed by hundreds of elves in the coliseum, no one else witnessed the other activities the contestants in the tournament engaged in aside from the contestants themselves.
But now, the tournament officials had provided a means to give everyone in the kingdom a front-row seat of what usually happened in the tournament.
Several crystal balls had been distributed to various locations across the kingdom.
Each of these locations was a place where a congregation could gather and watch the events that would unfold during the tournament.
"It's in here, Your Majesty," The maid curtsied and gestured for everyone to walk in.
Evelyn, Elena, and Mia walked into the room to find a huge plush cushion in the far corner.
The crystal ball sat on a table in front of the cushion as it projected the live footage of what was currently going on in the hall of the castle where Orion and every other contestant were.
They could hear everything Elder Jang was saying to the young nobles, and they could even see the faces of the contestants as though they were watching a movie on a television screen.
Evelyn, Elena, and Mia sat on the couch and listened attentively to everything Elder Jang had to say about the first phase of the tournament.
"They're about to leave," Elena said after noticing the huge magic circle underneath the feet of everyone in the hall.
She knew Orion could easily take care of a Blaze rat on his own because he was a Rank Three Mage, but she couldn't help but worry about her adorable little nephew, because the Blaze rats were Rank Two beasts and it would be difficult for Orion to fight against a group of experienced Rank Two beasts with a natural innate killing instincts, compared to a single Blaze rat.
"I hope Orion will be able to handle a group of Blaze rats on his own," Elena uttered with a worried look on her face.
Evelyn appreciated the concern Elena had for her baby, but she knew there was nothing to worry about.
She knew how hard her baby had been training for this tournament, so she knew small fries like Balze rats couldn't possibly stand in the way of her baby achieving his goal.
"Of course, he will. Don't you know who my baby is?" Evelyn replied with a huge smile on her face while puffing her chest, making her huge breasts look even bigger.
"He's the son of a powerful elf queen."
"Exactly, and this elf queen believes in her adorable little baby, so Auntie needs to do the same as well."
Elena replied with a smile on her face. "I will."
"Good, now sit back, relax, and watch how my baby is going to make those vermin regret ever going against him in the first place. Then, everyone will acknowledge my baby as an amazing elven warrior, and once this happens, who do you think they'll praise for raising a genius?" Evelyn asked confidently while winking at her sister.
"They'll praise you, of course."
"Exactly!" Evelyn replied with a giggle.
Elena rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Since Evelyn had a strong belief that nothing would happen to Orion, Elena decided to have faith in Orion just like Evelyn.
After all, Orion had been going through some fierce training for the past decade, so he should be more than capable enough to take care of a few Blaze rats on his own.
However, while Evelyn and Elena conversed with one another, Mia's gaze remained fixated on what she was watching.
She could barely even hear what Evelyn and Elena were talking about.
All she wanted was to see Orion's face on the screen.
Whenever the crystal ball displayed Orion's face, Mia would instinctively smile with her tails wagging excitedly behind her, but she displayed a completely different attitude towards anyone else that was shown by the crystal ball.
Evelyn also noticed this as well.
She smiled and patted the little vixen on her head before returning her gaze back to what they were watching.
"Someone is done with the first phase," Elena noticed the name of the first candidate who had successfully hunted ten horned rabbits.
At the top right corner of what they were watching, there were ten empty slots of names available for the first ten elves to finish the first phase of the tournament, but surprisingly, the first elf to complete the first phase was a young forest elf.
He used exactly five minutes to complete the phase, and his name was displayed on the first slot while other slots remained empty.
[Tournament rankings and names]
[1st:- William Ramsbottom.]
[2nd:- ???]
[3rd:- ???]
=======
A/N:- All chapters have been successfully edited. Thank you so much for being patient with me.