Hero of Darkness

The meeting carried on in a room protected by various isolation barriers that prohibited the sound and anything happening during the meeting leaving outside. 

Szayel was still explaining how the whole competition came to be and why it was deemed as the most honorable and prestigious competition in the history of the empire from the past millennia. 

The Emperor's Chosen... A competition held once in 50 years. Set by the first emperor, Rathnaar The Conqueror. 

After forming the empire, the first emperor started this competition once every 50 years to encourage and find truly talented individuals amongst the younger generation. Anyone with enough talent in fighting regardless of their rank, species, levels and origins had a fair chance to compete in this competition. 

And the true prize was so attractive to everyone that even the most powerful noble clans would drool after thinking about it. And naturally, it overtook the entire empire by storm. 

The only restriction set by the first emperor was that only people under the age of 30 were allowed to partake in this competition and there was no need for a powerful & influential background. 

But as the centuries passed and the first emperor died, it became a power game for the noble clans and the general populace became sure of one thing... 

That no matter how talented one was.. The one to win this competition would always be someone amongst the noble clans and factions who had their young generation trained since the age of five and numerous resources provided so they could rank up and increase their levels before crossing the age of 30.

And that was exactly why all the noble clans and factions prioritized training their heirs and potential leaders. Not only for strengthening their respective clans but to find a hidden gem who could potentially win this competition. 

And the main reason being the mind-blowing reward that the first emperor set for every winner. 

Under the Imperial decree.. The winner of this competition would get the most alluring reward that hundreds of powerful noble clans could only dream of. And the reward was.. 

A FIEFDOM! 

A section of the empire that the winner could choose and then rule for the next 20 years as their own regardless of their experience in ruling a land. The imperial family would even aid the winner in running and learning about how to rule and prosper the fiefdom. 

This was an ironclad decree which was also followed by the successors of the emperor because not only it helped them maintain an image of kind rulers who offered everyone a chance of rising in ranks and changing their fates but also control the powerful noble clans and factions who would choose to side with them in order to win the competition or becoming close to the imperial family. 

But even after throwing away the imperial rule a hundred years ago in the Great War, this tournament was still kept by the newly formed government. Naturally, they should've abolished this tradition but at the end of the day, the various government sectors themselves were run and controlled by these noble clans and factions. 

And hence, the top powerful forces would still get a chance to gain a new land every 50 years, providing them a legit and unquestionable reason to rule a land and use its resources and money to build their own strength. 

But as things stood, everyone knew how only the noble clan representatives such as their chosen heirs or the genius individuals who are the strongest of their generation will always get the prize like the previous competitions. 

So to the normal population, it was more like entertainment and nobody actually believed that one day, a commoner like themselves would come to become the chosen champion. 

Still, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them and also this competition helped many people go from a beggar to a tycoon whenever it was held. 

And the main reason was something everyone living in this empire had the access to. And that was.. 

The Betting System. 

Betting was legally allowed in this competition and many people rose in wealth while many lost their entire life's fortune during this competition. The notion of lady luck turning a person's fate was indeed applicable in this competition so everyone welcomed it with open arms. 

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After Szayel explained everything to Kahn, who qualified to participate in this competition, the two of them had a thoughtful conversation. 

"Father said that this is an opportunity for you to not only rise in fame, you also will get recognized in the entire empire for the decades to come. 

Many influential figures of the three factions including some of the saints once participated and are still renowned. 

Even we had some of our ancestors win the competition in the past and now you know how strong our clan has become thanks to them. 

So he told me to specifically contact you and give you this…" elaborated Szayel and took out a golden tablet with an emblem of two swords and a shield in the center. 

This was the emblem of the Vandereich clan to be precise. 

"What's this?" asked Kahn. 

"This is a Token of Recommendation. This was a rule applied from the previous competition. 

It allows you to skip the basic and normal city level qualifying rounds and directly fight in the district level qualifiers throughout the empire. 

So in other words, instead of competing from round to round like 80 million people, you will start fighting right from the matches made for the top 10 thousand people. Trust me, it will save you tons of hassle." said Szayel as he handed the recommendation token. 

"Thanks. I appreciate the help." said Kahn and put the token in his space ring. 

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When Kahn returned to his manor in the evening, he sat on a sofa in his bedroom while holding the recommendation token in his palm. 

"My Lord.. Are you sure? Wouldn't participating in this competition create unnecessary risks and enemies for us?" asked Omega who stood like a guard on the side. 

"I only said that in front of Szayel to not raise suspicion. But I think there's more to all of this. This competition.. This token… 

Something is definitely going on behind the curtains." replied Kahn in a calm demeanor. 

The next second, his eyes turned resolute and a cautious expression appeared on his face as he spoke in a solemn voice... 

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."