Vampire System- The Last Mystic Swordsman
Chapter 34 The Hillbily Forest

The Rampage phase of the graduation tournament finally started, and all of Obedin City was stoked for one of the most exciting parts of the tournament.

Of the 96 students that qualified from the first phase of the tournament, only 8 students would get to qualify this time which increased the competition.

To some spectators who had been following the graduation tournaments yearly, the 2nd phase of the tournament was the most exciting.

Unlike the first phase where the 200 students were separated to face each other in 1 on 1 elimination battles, the format of the second phase pitted all 96 survivors in 2 different large-scale battle royals.

While the first phase was all about individual shows, the 2nd phase of the tournament focused more on rampage, it was like a war between 2 armies which at this moment were the 2 groups instead of a champion against a champion.

With the technological prowess of this era, a battle arena big enough to accommodate thousands of mystic warriors could be built but Obedin City didn't have the financial prowess to build something of this scale.

The second phase of the graduation tournament would be conducted outside the Obedin Mystic Academy. The location was the Hillbilly Forest located in the southern part of Obedin City.

This forest was renowned in Obedin City as a controlled ground where commoners without mystic energy got to admire mystic beasts up close. It was like a game reserve, and the government had full control of it.

The Hillbilly Forest already accrued a good reputation for recording 0 casualties each year despite the number of tourists that visited it.

This wild but safe forest was the perfect battlefield for the students.

This was where the 2nd phase of the tournament would take place.

The Black group that had Rex and Cassandra and the Green group that had Ben would be battling that morning by 9:00. By 6:00 am, Rex and his 2 friends arrived at the Obedin Mystic Academy.

The 48 students that would be taking part in the battle that morning arrived at approximately the same time that Rex and his friends arrived.

"See you in the forest".

Rex and Cassandra could only say this to their friend as they were separated. In this phase of the tournament, they were unfortunate not to be on the same team.

Once they were separated from Ben, Rex and Cassandra were escorted to a hall in the academy where about 10 other students were already gathered.

They waited only 5 minutes in which time the remaining students of the Black group came before their orientation finally entered the hall.

The Intermediate mystic master who entered the hall had blonde hair, dropping uninterested eyes, and a casual expression on his face. On entering, he did not waste time as he went directly to the point.

"In a few hours, you will fight the defining battle of your lives".

"My name is Minamito Cage, I'm your orientator about the more detailed rules that are relevant to you as a contestant in this tournament".

"The Black Group, your current group, let's just say that it is a name, it doesn't mean anything since only 2 of you will be qualifying from this group".

On hearing that, the atmosphere turned stifled but Mr. Minamito didn't care as he had the same casual expression on his face.

"The group does not matter is not a ticket for you to act as fools out there, at least you and I have a dignity to uphold, you are all students of the Obedin Mystic Academy and you have to prove it out there".

"Here are the detailed rules of the 2nd phase of the tournament".

"Apart from how to get points that have already been explained by the principal, the main rule is to do anything that you can to get points and qualify".

"If you are fine with being real teammates, good, but beware of a backstab. In this tournament, we need only 2 qualifiers from this group, backstabbing your teammates is allowed and can be done".

On saying the last sentence, Mr. Minamito's face finally turned serious. "The graduation tournament is not just a tournament".

"The same way that humanity was betrayed by some vicious humans, though we hope against it, mystic warriors should always be prepared for the possibility".

"This tournament also serves as a training for you".

"You'll understand after the tournament ends".

"The second rule is that…, there is no second rule". Mr. Minamito finally smiled. "All that is required from you is to qualify, do anything to achieve that".

"But remember something, no matter what happens, you all are warriors!"

"Now, before your faces turn as rigid as stone, you have a few hours, spend it wisely and grind your final preparations for the showdown".

"Good luck, warriors!"

Once Mr. Minamito left, the students fell into a deep silence as the words of the orientator sank into their heads.

On entering this hall before, due to their all-black uniforms, they originally felt a sense of closeness to each other but now all that already turned into competitiveness.

They became exposed to a cruel truth, they were all teammates in name, but in reality, they were all competitors for the same goal.

They all stood up and left to finish their preparations.

Rex and Cassandra regrouped like expected, they prepared together using the resources available in the school before they were finally called to leave.

A double-decked bus ferried the 24 students of the Black Group to the Hillbilly Forest. On getting to the entrance of the large forest, the bus stopped as all the students were led into a fortified government building.

Inside this building, Rex saw a teleportation portal for the first time in his life. He had heard of it before, he had seen pictures of it, but finally seeing the portal glowing with blueish white light left him fascinated.

For this phase of the tournament, the students were to be transported inside the Hillbilly Forest in random locations through teleportation.

Rex could only admire the portal from afar until it was his turn to leave. On getting close, he still couldn't admire much as he was given instructions.

"Relax, try to keep your head straight when you enter".

"What…"

With a nudge from the soldier, Rex entered the teleportation portal.

Bzzz!

Rex felt like he was floating in the skies without balance, he felt like he was riding a horse without any stabilizing pads or ropes, and he felt like he was stuck in a washing machine, this first-time teleportation felt horrible.

Bzzz!

When he finally appeared out of the hazy world of white, his vision was dizzy as he could not stabilize himself, falling on his butt.

"Ouch, that hurts…"

Rex complained for a moment before he recovered his memories, he sprang up immediately the next moment as he unsheathed his sword from his scabbard.

After the exposure of Berserker, he no longer kept it inside his head when going outside, he always made sure to keep it inside his scabbard to avoid questions that he could not answer.

On standing up, Rex still felt dizzy but he forced himself to stay focused as he watched his surroundings alertly with his sword in his grasp.

"This is the Hillbilly Forest?!" As a high-tier tourist game reserve, Rex never really had the opportunity to visit here so of course he was awed by the sight.

At this moment, Rex saw himself in a world that was surrounded by greenery from all sides. The Hillbilly Forest looked extremely similar to the Obedin Beast Sanctum with all the tall rubber trees, palm trees, and bamboo trees.

The only difference was that whereas Obedin Beast Sanctum was a complete wild forest, Hillbilly Forest was a tamer version.

Rex observed all that he wanted in a few seconds, and on seeing no danger in sight, he finally relaxed slightly.

Creak!

Only shortly had he relaxed his guard did he hear the sound of a twig breaking, Rex paused as his grip on his sword tightened.

After silently counting to 3 in his mind without any further movement, he abruptly turned around in the direction of the sound while raising his head.

The intruder also finally emerged, he was a fellow contestant, a student on a black-on-black combat uniform like those of a boy's scout.

"Hey, we're in the same group". The boy yelled before Rex could attack.

On hearing that, and confirming through the color of the combat uniform, Rex heaved a sigh of relief as his rapidly beating heart calmed.

"Stop making so much noise while moving next time". Rex casually gave a tip as he turned around to leave. "Follow me, we need to scout the area first and understand it before attacking those from the other group".

"Ok, thanks, bro…"

The blonde-haired kid spoke only halfway before his hands moved. Hidden in his left hand was a Kunai knife, once Rex turned his back, he started speaking and mid-sentence, he finally launched his sneak attack.

Whoosh!

Rex felt his hair stand on end.