The old man turned to leave after leaving the rest of the work on his juniors.
It was only after the old man left that everyone else in the room relaxed. They started chattering amongst themselves.
"I don't believe this kid can stand before the Prince of Internal Flames." A middle-aged man stated, gazing at the rank one participant in the tournament.
"Yeah, the heir of the Rasin Clan is certainly very powerful. It's said his flames can even burn the spiritual bodies that don't exist in the material world. He had really made a name for himself throughout the years, especially when he stopped the uprising last year," Another man agreed. "Even though his methods were said to be a bit questionable, there's no doubt that he succeeded. I believe he can really win."
"Yeah, but you can't ignore the Young Witch of the North, Raayi Nimel. Even though she is given rank two for now, it doesn't mean she is weaker than Mander Rasin. On the contrary, if anyone can defeat Mander, I believe it'll be the Young Heir of the Nimel Clan."
"Also, the third-seeded Candidate from the Ostrin Clan isn't lacking either. He's known as the Warlord of the South. His strength is impeccable, and so is his motivation."
"Yeah, I believe he might've been given rank one at the Start. The only flaw in him is that he's a bit stubborn and doesn't often listen to the commands of higher-ups. If it wasn't for his grandfather, he could've been expelled as well. That's the only reason he wasn't in the first two seeds. Still, he is going to be really fun to watch."
"Those three are going to make this tournament like never before. I'm really excited for it. As for the fourth kid, I don't know what he's capable of, but I'm sure he can't stand before the three seeds."
"Yeah, just look at him. He neither had the dignified aura nor any other specialty except his Bloodline. He might be eliminated at the start as well."
"Yeah, I don't know what the Captain sees in that guy. Who knows. Everything will be clear tomorrow."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt****
Lucifer went into his room and picked up a piece of paper and a pen.
He started writing something, but he intentionally wrote everything in a way that his writing could only be readable to him.
He made something akin to a schedule which was to remind him in the future on what his goals were so he didn't miss them.
He started his goals from winning the Captainship. The next was taking Gabriel from here with the help of Jovana and getting to his own ship.
"After that, I'll go home and inform everything that I'm fine before going to the World of Summons to retrieve the last stone. From that point onwards, I will take a leave from the Star Alliance and go meet that person through the portal and get the answers that I need."
At the end of his goals, he wrote one special line. "Don't Marry the Queen."
He didn't know why he was going to marry that lady, but he had promised himself that he wouldn't do it. As long as he didn't marry her, he might not have to kill her. He also wouldn't make the entire Star Alliance his enemy.
As for what to do after achieving all these goals, he left it all for the future itself to decide when that time came.
He folded the piece of paper and kept it in his pocket before placing the pen back.
****
A new day arrived. This time, Lucifer woke up on his own and got dressed. By the time there was a knock on his door, he was already prepared.
He opened the door to notice it was the same middle-aged man as yesterday. There were a few participants standing behind him. He was here to take them all to the place where their first challenge was going to be held.
The middle-aged man took Lucifer and the others before leaving.
Following the middle-aged man, Lucifer stepped out of the building, noticing the other participants also waiting there. Everyone took a glance at his number.
Lucifer also did the same to get a general idea as to who was the strongest here.
He noticed three people standing in the lead. None of them had bothered to look at him at all. The first was a young man in his early twenties. The man had blazing red hair and hazel eyes. He appeared to be slightly impatient at having to wait for others.
Beside the young man, there stood a young lady. It was the same girl who had arrived at his door the day before yesterday to see his number. She had rank two on her chest.
The third man was the most interesting here. He didn't look particularly strong. There also wasn't any aura around him. Despite that, there was just something about that going man which Lucifer couldn't put a finger on. He reminded him a bit of Tristan back at home. The person who only did what he wanted, no matter what the others said.
The three people took the lead, and the rest of the participants stood behind them as they waited for the others to arrive. There were still some participants who weren't here.
The Rank Fifty Girl Malin arrived well. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Lucifer.
"Good Morning," she greeted Lucifer, but he didn't hear her. Instead, Lucifer advanced ahead.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmRight before everyone's shocking gazes, Lucifer stepped ahead and stood right beside the Top Three Seeded Candidates. In fact, he took one more step, taking the lead instead, leaving them behind.
Not only the other participants, even the three seeded candidates gazed at the young man.
They were amazed that the last ranked person dared to stand beside him. Except Rank 3 Ron, everyone else gazed at Lucifer with judging gazes.
"This isn't the place you should stand. Go stand in the end," Rank 2 Raayi reminded Lucifer lazily. "This place is for the seeded Candidates."
"Is that so?" Lucifer asked as he casually glanced at the young lady.
He tapped his chest, showing his rank. "Do you think a 51st person would be here if I wasn't seeded? Didn't you say last time that I got here due to the mercy of the High Council? Then why do you imagine I wasn't seeded?'
"Which General sent you here?" Rank 1 Mander inquired.
"None."
"Then you aren't seeded. You are just a lucky bloke," Raayi chimed in. "Go back to where you belong. Only people personally recommended by a General can be Seeded."
Lucifer tilted his head in amazement. Generally, he didn't look for conflict, but he didn't want his next two months here to be boring. He wanted to have some motivation to do better and win, so the conflict was needed. That's why he was taunting them.
"Who is Higher Ranked? A General or the Queen?"
Ron gazed at Lucifer in amazement, realizing what he was implying.
"You were Seeded by the Queen herself?" he asked.
"He's bluffing. No way Her Majesty would seed someone. The High Council takes care of these things. He's bluffing to show off," Raayi responded. "If you didn't go back in the next ten seconds, I would be forced to send you back personally."
"Can you?" Lucifer inquired in a calm tone.