Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 333: Finals; Competitive Spirit

In one of the many sections of the battlefield within this strange world created for the sole purpose of staging the finals of this grand tournament, a young man with dark brown hair could be seen coldly regarding the incoming wave of enemies.

His deep hazel eyes were calculating; sometimes they would flicker with a pale blue light. This young man wore a mage's outfit and held a seven-foot-long mage's staff, which seemed to be made out of diamond crystals, which released a faint buzz of magic that rippled in the air.

When the enemies entered a certain distance away from him, he raised his staff and drew an arc above him, leaving trails of mystical shards of blue-silver energy that immediately turned into projectiles that pierced the vulnerable spots of his enemies.

Of course, it was inevitable that he would miss some enemies since they had different means to protect themselves. The young man didn't panic though; he calmly slammed the butt of his staff on the ground. This caused several shards of blue-silver crystals to burst out from the ground, piercing those who were left.

The young man then noticed a projectile heading towards him at a blistering speed. He didn't do anything against it on the surface, though. Yet as soon as the projectile hit, the young man wasn't injured because a pale blue barrier flickered to stop this projectile from hitting his body.

With another wave of his staff, he killed the last few enemies left and released a sigh of relief, especially after seeing the confirmation from the system that he had cleared this round.

The young man sat down and peered at his fellow finalists. He blew air on his bangs and muttered.

"I didn't even notice that there were only a few of us left."

Rupert Lockheart—this is his name. The young disciple of Headmistress Lissandra and a budding Moonlight Sorcerer.

Due to his status, Rupert had high expectations for himself. Ever since he was accepted as Lissandra's apprentice, he swore that he would do everything in his power to not let her down. He knew just how much she valued him—even a blind man would see it. Nobody has cared for and pampered him as much as she did, so he was determined to repay his efforts.

Actually, Rupert joined this tournament on his own. His teacher never pushed him or even suggested it. For her, so long as Rupert is doing well in his studies, it's all good. She didn't care about what others would think; she only cared about him.

Rupert joined to let everybody know that her decision wasn't wrong, and as a young man, he has his pride too. He wanted to prove that he, too, was a genius and that the efforts of his teacher weren't useless.

He was recovering his mana as he rested. He's doing this while also watching his fellow participants.

His attention was mostly focused on his senior classmate, Henry Taylor.

Henry, like Rupert, came from a civilian background. Unlike him, though, Henry's class template was only a common one: Red Mage. But what truly made Rupert admire him was his hard work and talent.

Nobody would've imagined that all of Henry's spells are at least Level 20, and none of them were upgraded through the use of Essence Souls. Just in terms of effort alone, Rupert had nothing on him.

Those fireballs of his had temperatures that could instantly vaporize a lake. They might look small, but they're compact. A single one of those fireballs could set an entire city ablaze. Henry could also control other elements just as well as he does with fire, but fire was his favorite.

He and Rupert weren't from the same batch, but they're close. They often spar with each other, and most of the time, Rupert loses. It's mainly due to the difference in experience and skill level. The only reason it isn't one-sided is because Rupert's class template gave him a lot of advantages.

If Henry held a class template of the same rarity as Rupert, coupled with his talent and hard work, their fights would've truly turned one-sided.

Others might think that Henry was arrogant and conceited. Rupert won't blame them for that since he too had the same impression; moreover, Henry looks and speaks like one. In reality, though, he isn't like that. Henry was approachable most of the time; he just doesn't like being interrupted in his practice.

Both of them are considered to be the first of their respective batches. The two of them being here was truly giving the Starlight Royal Academy a lot of face.

Currently, Rupert is about to face the 15th wave of enemies. Meanwhile, Henry was facing the 25th. Others were mostly on the 20th wave still. Powered by m|v|l|e|mpyr

The difference is caused by declining the grace period in between waves. Participants could choose to either take a rest or continue right away. In the first few waves, Henry and Rupert chose to proceed immediately; the former did it more than the latter; that's why they're ahead of the curve.

However, this doesn't really give them any visible advantages. It saves them time, yes, but that's about it. Doing this wouldn't give them any bonus points in their final rankings; it's merely a choice that's available to them, as the system said.

"Man, Big Brother Henry's really monstrous." Rupert chuckled bitterly as he continued watching.

Rupert will never get tired of seeing Henry's effortless way of weaving spell after spell. Even his teacher could only sigh in amazement at this. And to think that Henry was only two years older than him makes this even more mind-boggling.

He then shifted his gaze to the others. His eyes fell on the guy named Christopher Miles and the girl named Rachel Summers.

Christopher, or simply Chris, was a Spear Saint. Despite his lackluster appearance, his fighting instincts were top-notch. The way he seamlessly weaved through his opponents while lifting that heavy overlord spear of his was admirable. He's quick, efficient, and lethal.

Rachel Summers was good, too. Not a single enemy managed to even get close to her. The moment they enter a certain distance from her, they turn into dust particles that are scattered with the wind. It's such a weird sight, especially since all Rachel did was just stand in the middle of her arena. Her performance looked even more effortless than Henry's.

Rupert didn't see Henry as competition simply because he's not; Henry's way stronger than him, and they were from the same camp. The same couldn't be said with these two, though.

There's no way he'd let these two easily surpass him, especially because they're of the same age as he is and their talents are even. Their being here evoked Rupert's fighting spirit. He wouldn't let himself be outdone by those at the same age as him.

As for what those two thought about him, that is on them. Rupert doesn't care if he's seeking a one-sided competition. He just wants to prove something.

'Maybe after this is over, the teacher will allow me to enter level up again. I really want to feel the difference between the Superhuman Realm and the Planar Traveler Realm,' Rupert thought to himself.

If Lissandra hadn't prevented him from leveling up too fast, he would've probably been competing in the Planar Traveler bracket right now. With his class template, the concept of 'bottleneck' simply didn't exist in his path. As soon as his realm was stabilized, he could almost immediately pursue another breakthrough, and he would be fine.

The reason why Lissandra told him to slow down was because she wanted him to purify his mana. She taught him a way to compress and refine his mana to bolster his foundations. This allowed his mana reserves to grow to an astounding level, allowing him to use spells that were at least a realm above his current strength with little to no backlash.

That said, Lissandra also asked him to solidify his basics, just like Henry did. So long as he levels up his skills the same way as Henry did, these basic spells are enough to solve most of his problems.

Rupert followed her suggestion, of course. And his hard work paid off. Most of his spells are at level 10, but only the more complicated ones are at a level lower than that. However, if he really wants to catch up to Henry's progress, he would have to work harder than this.

Of course, Rupert was aware that Henry wouldn't make it any easier on him. After all, like Rupert, Henry was also postponing his breakthrough to polish his foundations, and he's not new to this concept; he's been doing this since he became a superhero. It's one of the main reasons why he became the #1 in his batch, after all.

"Okay, my mana's full again." Rupert stood up and patted the dust off of his buttocks.

He looked at the system interface with a determined expression and held his Moonlight Crystal Staff tighter, causing it to buzz with magical power.

"Start the next wave!" He declared, and the enemies came pouring in.