(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don't hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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-> Final Advisory

The Elimination Trial is not designed solely to reward strength. It is intended to measure judgment, restraint, adaptability, and clarity under chaos — the qualities that define the future of the Chronos lineage.

Remember that each decision made within the field reflects upon your discipline, family, and heritage.

The whole arena fell silent, not a single murmur, not a single word. Like everyone had forgotten how to speak.

Instead of mouths, eyes were at work; the rules were long and elaborate, with fancy words and a unique setting.

For many, it would seem, passing the trial wasn't the only difficulty; memorising and storing the rules long enough to finish the trial was a headache in itself.

Even the spectators had fallen silent, their eyes silently dissecting the ordeal.

After a while, sharp breaths started being released; some had come to understand the gravity of what was required of them.

Orion's eyes had scanned the rules a million times over, his mind dissecting the intricacies and understanding them.

It wasn't overly difficult; of course, it would be hard to pass, but it wasn't difficult; the test itself was well laid out, no hidden traps of the sort to spring out on you when you least expect.

The average mind would be able to put together a plan to get through, but they weren't dealing with the average mind; they were dealing with ten-year-olds.

Orion turned his head around, his eyes studying the expression of his mates before resting on his group.

"Problem?" Orion asked.

"None." The three replied simultaneously, their eyes glowing with certainty.

'I guess they aren't dealing with average ten-year-olds, ' Orion thought with a smirk.

The next few minutes passed in tension; those with alliances had already started communicating and planning their next steps.

As for Orion's group, the third point under Conduct and Restrictions successfully wiped away any thoughts of cooperation; there was no mutual benefit in alliances apart from banding together to take down a greater foe, but to them, they were the greater foes.

They might look the other way when encountering each other, but sticking together would only stifle them, so they were going solo.

Orion turned to someone else he was looking forward to facing, Erevan.

He was tempted to use ETF on him, but he resisted. For some reason, he wanted a real challenge from the boy; there was something about him that screamed risk, but he wanted that risk and seeing whatever was in him was only going to ruin the surprise.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by their proctor.

"You have half a minute left before departure. I hope you've thoroughly memorised the rules because there will be no pardon, that is, of course, unless you believe we're in the wrong," He said, pointing to the Post trial Review section.

The ground soon started glowing, signalling their imminent withdrawal.

Orion turned to his friends.

"Break a leg," He said with a smirk.

The serious look on Seris' face shifted.

"What, what do you mean 'Brea-" And they were gone, the light swallowing them.

The last words from their proctor's mouth were, "Best of luck".

Orion simply stayed still, waiting for his orientation to stabilise. The instructor's last words echoed in his mind.

Soon enough, he felt his leg touch the ground, his eyes opening to witness the residual spatial mana fade off after carrying out its job.

His spatial senses deployed immediately, eyes scanning the horizon and his immediate environment.

He was in a forest, his senses brought back information on nothing but trees. He looked up, noting how the sky was blue and how the sun still brought down its rays; he was surprised.

The general overview mentioned it was magically constructed, but this place didn't look artificial or like something someone made.

But he looked away; that was a question for another time.

He noticed the absence of a ring on his finger; it seemed they hadn't approved of his ring, but his sword was inside, and that was as plain as any other sword, but considering they want no lethal force, it probably had to go.

He felt something in his pocket, his hand moving to retrieve it.

The sigil stone, now this was just like he expected. It glowed faintly and had a number written down on it, in an ancient font.

On the side, he found a small button and he pressed it.

{RANKINGS}

Aalaya Chronos- 1 Abigail Chronos- 1

...

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'The rankings, ' He thought.

It seemed nobody had managed to secure another sigil point, but that won't hold for long.

He returned the stone to his pocket.

'Considering I haven't picked up any individual within my range and we're about 10k, this place has to be pretty damn big,' he thought.

'No matter. ' Orion rolled his shoulders lightly, grounding himself. His body felt fine, no spatial backlash, no dizziness. Everything was as expected.

He picked a direction and then he exploded off, his legs moving at a pace unexpected for a child his age.

His senses drafted every outline of trees or obstacles in his path, his mind already working on his manoeuvre before he got there.

He moved like a spectre through the forest, his every motion screaming finesse.

His mind made landmark after landmark, just in case. He could be in a maze for all he cared about.

He kept his pace steady, scanning the area. No sound, no movement except his own. His mana flow was stable.

And then he felt it, not a person, not mana, subtle, something many would have ignored.

'Footprints, ahead.' He thought, increasing his pace.

He arrived there and decelerated sharply, the wind tussling strands of his hair.

His eyes took in the footstep; it was subtle, very subtle, and that told him his prey was smart and covering his tracks, but he was quite unlucky; Orion's spatial senses could detect the most minute of things.

He crouched briefly, touching the soil. It was firm and dry.

'Oh, you're mine, ' Orion thought with a smirk, his eyes glowing.

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