Conqueror

The day of the challenge has fallen upon us.

We woke up under the blazing heat of the… sun? I don't even know if that's what they call the star that's up in the sky. We readied ourselves for whatever the challenges hold.

We went outside of the inn and all we could see was the bustling island. Everyone was walking around, doing their jobs and were simply enjoying their life.

I wonder if I was reincarnated here not as a player, but just another non player character? Will I have the same life as them?

"Zieglind. Let's go." Zeta's voice regained my focus.

"Yeah." I replied.

If I did get revived here as another non player character, I don't want this life. Because without power, how can I protect anyone. That's why I'm right here, right now. Fighting to protect for someone's sake. I cleared my thoughts for now hoping that nothing will distract me from the trials set at the Land of Judgment.

All my regrets in my past life, all the wishes I had, other paths I could've taken, it means nothing now. I just need an empty mind. Right now, I will manifest all that thoughts on trying to think of a way to help Greta.

Because this fight isn't just for me. This is war. Billions will encounter the same fate as Greta on this damned world. I will pay this situation right back at 'them.'

...

We went to the Land of Judgment and it seems that hundreds of people came here too. We walked up at the front desk and I asked, "Is this the Land of Judgment?"

"Yes. You're a wanderer?" The man from the front desk asked.

"Wanderer?"

"Oh, my apologies, people who came from below. I just assumed if you're wanderers since you have no wings."

"Ah… yeah. We're exactly like that."

"Good, then just fill up the forms with your sign and you'll enter the Land of Judgment."

Me and Zeta then filled up the forms.

"One more question, when is the Land of Judgment open?"

"Everyday. You can enter anytime you want. There'll always be spectators watching. That's why we turned this event into a daily thing instead of a tradition or ceremonial thing."

"There's that many people who're willing to enter the Land of Judgment again and again?"

"Well… some people just enter the first stage and leave immediately. If we see that your help is below 10%, we will rescue you immediately."

"Ah… so this is a safer way to level up since there are some people that are scared to go into dungeons."

"If you put it that way… then… yes. That's basically it."

"Thanks for answering our questions."

"Do enjoy the trials." He then followed up with a bow.

Our conversation ended there so I proceeded to enter the Land of Judgment. A giant gate blocked the way of us and the hundreds of other contestants there too.

The walls of the entrance to the Land of Judgment were filled with writings. All of them being the rules of the game.

=The one who will receive the winner of the Flower of Zaratria will be the one who kills the monster at the final stage. But if another contender has at least four times more monster kills than the one who killed the monster at the final stage then it'll be passed on to that person.=

=Killing 500 monsters will grant bonus rewards at the end of the trial whether you finish all the trials or not. If you achieved 5,000 kills or more you will have the chance to pick out any treasure at the treasury of the sky island. If you achieved 10,000 kills and completed the trial, there'll be a personal gift handed to you by the queen of the sky island.=

=Hitting contestants is fine as long as the purpose of the attack is to knock that contestant out of the arena or to halt their movements such as slowing movements, binding skills, and freezing their feet. If your attack is deemed to be life-threatening, you will be disqualified and will be ineligible to obtain any rewards.=

=Killing anything other than the monsters inside is fair play. Summoned monsters by the contestants are allowed to be killed but pets that aren't a summon are fully forbidden.=

Those are the main ones that I know that I should take note of. The others are just minor rules that won't really give us a disadvantage or anything.

After waiting for a few hours, the gates to the Land of Judgment has finally opened. All the contestants with us roared with laughter and cheers and rushed in to see who goes first.

We entered the Land of Judgment and it was a giant place. But its appearance looks like the coliseum from my world. A giant arena at the middle and seats surrounding that arena.

Everywhere you look, every seat is filled with people and other different beings watching the contestants like us try the trial.

It was a loud morning here at the sky island. Every people at the stands were shouting and cheering for their own beloved fighters.

"MOVE!" A tall giant man shoved around the other contestants. Everyone was in awe at him. His giant muscles were intimidating, so is his face and the countless tattoos marked on his body. Everything about him screams strength.

"PFFT-" I couldn't help but hold my laughter.

"Is everything fine?" Zeta asked.

"No… no it's nothing." I just laughed because his appearance and mannerism is so cliché.

"ARGHHHH!!! HAHA!!!" He raised both of his fists and the roaring shouts and claps and the stomping of the crowded even got louder and louder. It seems that he's the crowd's champion.

The crowd's roar suddenly gone down when someone suddenly spoke. "Welcome to another day of judgment! For anyone who doesn't know me, my name is, Teral Blanksky, the current prince of the sky island. Today I'll be casting the even for today. For the first trial we have one thousand hellhounds. ELIMINATE EVERYTHING!"

The four gates around the arena suddenly opened and released a thousand hellhounds. They weren't as big as I thought. They looked like your average dogs but they're much faster and more aggressive than before. I can see why people drop out on the first stage.

Teral was casting the entirety of the match, "The people's champion! Gera! With his strong and large muscles, he blows away everything in one hit!"

Gera suddenly generated wind magic on his fists. "SPLITTER!" He conjoined both his fists and slammed it on the ground sending lots of hellhounds sent flying on the sky.

Teral also took interest in the others, "The new rookie, Hidetaka Mizuki, with his gentle but deadly swordsmanship, everything that touches his blade gets absolutely sliced in half!"

That name caught me off-guard. Hidetaka Mizuki, a Japanese name.

Hidetaka Mizuki drew his weapon out. Just as I figured, it was a Katana. "First Act: Eclipse."

"WOAH! EVERYONE! DO YOU SEE THIS!?" Teral's skills as a host for a game made the crowd go even wilder. "When Mr. Mizuki used his skill by the name of Eclipse, the sky suddenly turned dark!"

"Second Act: Crescent Slash." Those two moves managed to shake the entire stadium.

"WHAT!? Mizuki drew his blade just for a second and suddenly, every hellhound around him was suddenly split in half! This is amazing! It seems that the new rookie is strong! Incredibly strong!"

I tapped Zeta's shoulders. "Did you see that?"

He answered, "This will be difficult."

"Yeah. I know I'm fast but that swordplay was no joke."

"We don't have time to pit our strength against these people. We should eliminate everyone here and focus on advancing at the very top."

"Got it. Then I'll leave it up to you. Gazer Form, Come, Death Scythe!"

It seems that Teral has taken interest in me. "Everyone! Do you see this man!? It seems that another rookie here going by the name of… Zieglind! Zieglind Reysh seems to be cooking up on something!"

"Frozen Field!" A wide surge of magic going in all directions, freezing only the feet of anyone that are unfortunate enough to be caught in this spell.

"What an amazing turn of events! Zieglind Reysh froze the entire arena! No… has FROZEN EVERYONE! The contestants can't seem to move!"

Zeta then made his move. "Blow everything away, Violent Tornado!"

Teral then looked at Zeta, "What is this!? Another rookie! And it seems that he has summoned a gigantic tornado in the middle of the arena!"

I then cast, "Dispel!"

"Oh!" Teral just realized what we did. "It seems that Zieglind dispelled the freezing spell he cast on everyone then this means… OHHHHH!!!" The cheers grew louder and louder by the second.

Every contestant in the arena was blown away out of bounds and every hellhounds have died.

"Oh my! Only twenty-three people remaining in the arena! The others were wiped out by only two people ladies and gentlemen! A WIPEOUT! Rising Star Rookies of this day has definitely have to go to Zieglind, Zeta, and Mizuki! What a complete turn of events!"