Macnadix City, the capital of the Manasvir Empire, the residential area in the northern part of the city. In this tryouts for the Olsylvia Academy’s Qualifying Tournament, the students were sent to three independent spaces via the teleportation array – the Forest of the Wild, Dusk Valley and Cloud Sea Basin to accumulate points. After three days of accumulating points, the top three thousand students entered the tournament.
The Forest of the Wild was the gathering place for the Goblins, which made up for most demons. The fighting capacity of these Goblins wasn’t very high. They were the primary demons killed by Warriors during expeditions in the Other World as their average strength was equal to an F-class demonic beast. Aside from Goblins, there were other demonic beings in the Forest of the Wild, which were slightly stronger than the Goblins, such as the Forest Porcupines.
Dusk Valley was the gathering place of the Demon Imps, which were stronger than the Goblins. Since Demon Imps were good at smelting ore, their equipment was made of metal since the overall quality was better than that of Goblin Race, which usually used stone and wooden tools. There were many minerals in Dusk Valley, making it a rather profitable location. Mining was a must-do when visiting Dusk Valley. However, the degree of danger was much higher due to the demons hidden under the mountains and mines. Many of these dangerous demons remained unknown.
Cloud Sea Basin was the most dangerous place among the three, but it also had the most benefits. It was said that countless treasures were hidden within the fog, and only the bravest and luckiest of explorers would come across them. The main demonic beings in the Cloud Sea Basin were Slime, but that only consisted of demonic beings visible to the naked eye. As for those invisible, they remained unknown as well.
Apparently, all three locations had hidden areas with more powerful demons or demonic beasts. If found, students could choose to fight or leave based on their own strengths. Risks and opportunities coexisted. While these hidden areas were dangerous, the rewards were worthwhile.
The hidden area of the Forest of the Wild was said to be in Thunder Canyon, where Thunder Lizards and the legendary Thunder Dragon lurked. The Thunder Dragon’s treasure itself was huge. On the other hand, the hidden area of Dusk Valley was called Crystal Dragon Lair, where the Demonic Amethyst Dragon laid, covered in treasures. There were two hidden areas in the Cloud Sea Basin – the Darkness Temple and the ruins of Ancient Loule City. These two places were legends. People might have visited the first two hidden areas but not the Darkness Temple and the ruins of Loule City. No one was sure if they existed or not.
All the participating Olsylvia Academy students were dressed in the same style, with special masks to cover their faces and circular number tags on their right arm. When the next tournament would begin, there would be special demonic beasts with these students during the live broadcast. Because there were rewards for betting, the students covered up their true appearance and names to increase the game’s fairness. They used numbers instead, thus effectively avoiding the embarrassing situation where the rewards were bestowed upon famous students while the unknown ones received nothing.
Bella wasn’t concerned with this. She had two number tags – Duchess Bellina, Holy Knight 606, and Duchess Baize, Mage 608. Her two teammates were 607 Priest Isaman and 609 Swordsman Princess Kriss. Before Bella had arrived here, she had summoned a shadow puppet similar to her that temporarily acted as Duchess Baize, Mage 608, who walked beside Princess Kriss while she was beside President Isaman.
President Isaman’s heart was filled with indignation. Before the start of the tournament, she had looked forward to Bella teaming up with some mediocre girl, but those thoughts were soon swept away by Princess Kriss and the others. But who would have known just how lucky Bella was? Even under random grouping, they managed to end up in the same team. It seemed they were ill-fated.
Bella and her puppet could easily switch positions. Additionally, the two locations where she and the others were heading to weren’t far apart, making it convenient for Bella to switch positions and accumulate points. Because the students were all wearing masks, no one would be able to see through the disguise of her new substitute body. President Isaman wished she could report such blatant cheating, but the teacher who presided over the tournament, Dragon Knight Ingrid and Imperial Envoy Amy were fascinated by Bella. It was useless to report her behavior.
Of course, Bella had her own plans as the members of the Rose Society were given a map of the Forest of the Wild beforehand. Every student in the Rose Society secretly stuck a small red rose petal on her chest, a symbol of their team. When hunting for points, the girls in the Rose Society could secretly take care of each other.
The teacher responsible for checking the girls for cheating was Supreme Magic Mentor Catalina from the Interdimensional type and Supreme Magic Mentor Melvira of the Chaos type who had long been taken by Bella. They pretended not to see the little affectations between the girls of the Rose Society. From the start of the pre-selection, the members of the Rose Society had an advantage in this hunting tournament.
“Bella, did you do something? Miss Ingrid and the other teachers… and Imperial Envoy Amy as well as Prime Minister Anna who have always been famous for their impartiality in the empire… The way they’re looking at you…”
“Isaman, you look like a jealous wife. Just thinking about…”
“W-who’s your wife! Bella, there you go again… We’re both girls…”
“Isaman, I don’t mind dating girls… if you mind, I will stick to you until you don’t!”
“Hmph… I refuse to talk about these things with you. The teleportation array will begin soon.”
The special magic array was set in Crofts Square in the northern part of Macnadix City. It was a huge square that could accommodate hundreds of thousands of mages at the same time. Even with tens of thousands of Olsylvia Academy students, Crofts Square looked rather empty with vacant areas all around.
This special magic teleportation array was the same as the teleportation array between ordinary cities, but it covered a larger area. Many magic artifact shops were set up around Crofts Square, which provided all sorts of artifacts necessary for the participating students or treasure hunters.
“Emergency magic potion and healing potion! If they don’t work, we’ll refund you! Hurry up and get them while you can! Buy three and get one free!”
“Cheap outdoor tents! For singles, doubles, and multi-person! Come on in and have a look! We have all kinds of colors, rose red, gold, green…”
“Welcome to Gallan, written by Jube – a great explorer of the SF Union from a thousand years ago! 233 coppers! Get it while you can! It records the skills of surviving in the wild on Gallan Island, a magical island. Full refund if you don’t like the book!”
Bella took advantage of the spare time while waiting for the teleportation. She grabbed Isaman and wandered around the magic shops along the street. She picked up a copy of Welcome to Gallan and flipped through it. It was quite interesting, written by Jube, a great explorer of the SF Union from a thousand years ago.
She didn’t want any of the magic potions since the promise of refunds was essentially useless. If these potions didn’t work, that meant certain death for explorers. How could anyone ask the seller for a refund? Bella purchased the biggest multi-person tent. With Kriss and President Isaman, the doubles weren’t suitable.
During the participants’ teleportation, not a single member of the Manasvir Empire’s royal family attended. Instead, they appointed several high-ranking civil servants to monitor the event. None of the Empress’ trusted aides showed up. After they announced the teleportation order, they placed Bella in the Christian Hotel’s secret room for the time being while waiting for the situation outside to improve.
All the teachers of the Olsylvia Academy were here as well, led by Bishop Stanley. Bishop Stanley looked rather solemn. Macnadix City, the capital of the Manasvir Empire, felt strange to him as if some bizarre demonic atmosphere had enveloped the imperial city. He hoped it was merely his imagination!
In the center of Crofts Square was a magic broadcast platform similar to the broadcast newsrooms on earth. The next tournament would be broadcast live from here. The three large display screens would show the top ten teams in the three locations. Even teams with points less than the top ten would be allowed a few minutes of camera time to receive encouragement from the audience’s rewards.
The anchor’s script had already been prepared, much like that on earth. Part of the anchor’s dialogue involved “expert commentary.” This expert group mainly consisted of the Vice Presidents of major professional trade unions, such as the Knights’ Union, Mage’s Union, etc. Bishop Stanley was invited as the expert priest. However, nothing was interesting about these experts. They were old men who resembled the experienced teachers of the Olsylvia Academy’s Magic Department. Unfortunately, there were no beautiful women.
The most eye-catching ones were the hosts – a man and three girls. The three women were from the Antoinette Academy, all of whom were beautiful and glamorous. These girls knew how to dress up, so they instantly attracted all the eyes in the square. The hosts didn’t use their real names. After all, they were students and required privacy. The beautiful girls wore butterfly masks that covered half their faces and used aliases, “Sasha,” “Nana” and “Yaya.”
Bella looked at the magic broadcast platform, not far away. Those hosts were really beautiful, though little could be said about their ability to think up names. It appeared these girls were the beauty queens of the Antoinette Academy next door. If the opportunity ever arose, Bella planned to visit the academy.
“Dear students, the teleportation array is about to open. I wish you all luck! In this tournament, the top three students can go on a date with the three of us if they’re boys!”
“Yaya, stop with your nonsense! What if they’re all girls?!”
“Well, if they are girls, they can go on a date with this handsome guy…”
There was a glimmer of wickedness in Bella’s eyes. She would definitely pull these three flirty girls into her secret room in the Christian Hotel, strip and tease them after winning the tournament. President Isaman, who stood beside Bella, seemed to have sensed Bella’s wicked thoughts. She looked at Bella as if she had seen through the true face of this problem student.
In the Hall of the Imperial Palace within Macnadix City – the capital of the Manasvir Empire, a blond man was sitting on the throne, watching the magic display screen before him. It showed the scene of the broadcast platform. He held a goblet full of red wine in one hand and rested his chin in the other as if he were thinking about something.
Around the throne were more than a dozen enchanting beauties lying naked, each with a black metal collar around their necks. The other end of the chain on the collar was attached to the throne. They were the concubines of the former Emperor of the Manasvir Empire. After the Emperor was killed, they were enslaved by the evil mutated demons.
Compared to the ladies-in-waiting, these concubines were given much freedom. At least they didn’t have to be imprisoned in the cold palace. But the little advantage in treatment was nothing. They were currently being used as objects. The blond man randomly pulled a chain as one of the high-ranking imperial concubines fell to the front. He stretched out his hand and began groping her.
Looking at the three beautiful hosts on the live broadcast platform, his handsome face was full of dissatisfaction. Aside from their faces, he seemed unhappy with everything else. The claws on the imperial concubine’s chest unconsciously tightened as the beautiful woman started screaming again. The other ladies buried their heads so low that their foreheads almost touched the floor. They were afraid it would be their turn for the next, so they didn’t dare make a sound.
“Those three girls aren’t any good! What’s there to appreciate about a little girl. Those bodies aren’t even fully developed. Aren’t I right?”
“Your taste is really….. How can you like married women? Tell me, why have you asked to see me!”
“You’ve never had a taste of that man’s wives… Forget it, let’s get down to business. Our beliefs are not exactly the same. It makes no sense arguing about this!”
Just as the imperial concubine was about to reach climax from his touch, a dark-haired man appeared behind the throne. The other concubines quickly retreated to one side and made way for him. These two men were the behind-the-scenes masters who controlled the palace for more than ten years. The blond was perverted and liked to abuse the girls in various ways, slowly corroding their will. Though not abusive, the black-haired treated his inferiors like a tyrant. They couldn’t say for sure who was more terrifying, but it was best to avoid both of them.
“Were you the one who told the Four Cardinal Warlords that the Emperor was dying? These are special times. My substitution plan is the best strategy. Do you want to destroy the Four Cardinal Warlords? But Vianne, the Creator of Light, is currently in this Other World. If you do this…”
“I don’t know. If you’re here for this matter, then this is my answer to you… Go on then, I have other things to attend to!”
“The attack on the Empress’ palace attack was also arranged by you, right? Although the woman has no power, she is still of great use. You…”
“So what? Your progress is too slow. I’m just teaching you how to speed things up!”
Before the blond God could finish speaking, the dark-haired God disappeared completely. It seemed there were differences between the two. The blond God remained silent as he pressed an organ on the throne. Countless chains instantly fell from the ceiling. The secret door on the floor opened as special triangular devices and strange instruments of torture appeared.
The beauties around the throne turned pale with fear. They climbed up the triangles one by one with trembling legs, closing their eyes in despair. If they didn’t behave, only worse things awaited them. Enduring this was much easier than the other punishments.
“How obedient! Diablo is really pissing me off! Always doing his own thing and can’t be persuaded. Use your bodies to please me. Make me happy, or you’ll be demoted to a palace maid and imprisoned in the cold palace.”
The blond God’s handsome face revealed a sadistic smile. He pulled out a black whip and walked up to the wet, trembling ladies. Soon, the sounds of whipping and strange moaning filled the Imperial Palace.
The black-haired God was still nearby. On his palm, a virtual magic image showed the three locations of the tournament simultaneously. On the whole, the demonic beings in the three locations were weak, except for those in the legendary hidden areas, so it was necessary to add special reinforcements.
Right then, a demon appeared before the black-haired God, half kneeling on the ground as he asked for instructions.
“Master, what are the orders? I’ve already completed everything you asked.”
“Very good. I will give you a new task. Add some of our demons to these three areas, any type, even those extraordinarily powerful ones.”
“Powerful ones… I understand. I will get to it immediately!”
After the darkness in the teleportation process faded, Bella and President Isaman were finally transferred to the Forest of the Wild. The environment here was as lush as Bella expected; the air was filled with the smell of greenery. Kriss and Bella’s mage substitutes were located not too far away behind them. With a bit of tinkering, Bella managed to send all the girls of the Olsylvia Academy to the Forest of the Wild.
As soon as they appeared on the grass, they saw a few Goblin warriors patrolling in front. Upon seeing these adventurers, these low-level demons of little intelligence charged towards them with wooden spears in their hands. Charging without a plan was all that they knew how to do. They simply couldn’t sense the difference in combat power between the two sides.
“President Isaman, let’s officially begin our partnership. Let’s make it to the finals! Don’t we have a bet?”
“Bella, can you… Nevermind, it’s unlikely you’ll win…”
