Manaless Mage
Chapter 196: The Bye-Card

Chapter 196: The Bye-Card

Trent gnashed his teeth in anger, as he stared at Harry who was sitting across him.

His eyes burned with hate, and he felt like storming off the stage.

When he first saw Harry in the competition, the last thing that he expected was for them to end up in the final together.

Just thinking about it made him feel angry and embarrassed, to think he would be in the finals together, with someone who was beneath him.

Meanwhile, Harry simply looked at Trent with a blank expression. However, the sight of Trent’s eyes drilling into him with hate was just quite funny, and he couldn’t stop the slight smile that slowly crept up on his face.

Trent was in group two, so his group members were called in just before group 3.

Harry didn’t know about this before, because he was too busy lost in his thoughts to bother listening to the commentators introduction of the other group members.

Trent rapidly seethed with rage, clenching his fists even tighter to the point where his nails dug deeply into his palm.

Sitting beside him was Wes, who gaze kept darting between Trent and Harry who was at the other end.

’How dare he smile at me? Does this seem funny...’ He thought, boiling with anger.

His frustration was already high enough when he found out he and Wes were in the same group, and to make that worse, they were even sitting side by side!

As if that wasn’t enough, Harry was positioned right across him. It was as if all this competition kept bringing all the people he hated the most right in front of him.

A thought suddenly came into his mind, and his lips slowly curled into an evil smirk.

Perhaps it was better that they were both competing in the finals, at least that way, he would be able to finally proof that he was far better than Harry.

If by any chance they meet, he would make sure to show him his place, which was beneath him of course.

"What the hell are you thinking off? Smiling to yourself like that, I know you’re stupid, but don’t tell me you’ve turned crazy now?" Wes said, lightly tapping Trent’s shoulder with a smirk on his face.

"You don’t have to worry little Trent, I’ll try not to beat you too hard this time. Is it that you’re actually thinking of qualifying?" Wes said, chuckling to himself.

Trent’s body simply kept shivering in anger, as he cursed repeatedly against whoever decided to put him in the same group with Wes Silas of all people.

Unfortunately for him, the group members were generated randomly by a computer, so all his curses simply went down the drain.

The expression on Wes’s face abruptly twisted into a slight frown, and his gaze shifted to Harry, before moving back to Trent.

’Now that I think about it... they kind of look alike?’ He thought, and his lips slowly curled into a sinister smirk.

"Hey..." He mumbled, wrapping his hand around Trent’s shoulder. "Who’s that guy over there, I heard he was quite strong... and very talented also, is he, your brother?"

Hearing those last words, Trent’s expression morphed into a deep frown, and veins bulged at the side of his head.

"Shut up." He said, forcibly removing Wes’s hand from his shoulder.

Unfortunately, his words only brought a smile to Wes’s face, and he kept on taunting him, pouring more fuel to Trent’s anger and frustration.

*

Finally, after a few minutes, all the members of the five groups were called out by the commentator.

The enormous hologram at the center of the stage showcased the list of groups along with the names of their members, attracting the gazes of the audience.

==========

Group 1

Brenda Autumn

Tyron Nolan

Darius Black

Nathan Lane

Umar Titus

—

Group 2

Wes Silas

Trent Morton

Pier Garden

Lance Hutton

Daniel Noel

—

Group 3

David Stein

Harry Ainsworth

Amanda Williams

Lan Duck

Kurt Nadal

—

Group 4

Susan Grey

Yasmine Winston

Stanley Bennet

Kenol Rudolf

Bera Anais

—

Group 5

Sandra Peck

Henry Mack

Olivia Ava

Clara Sinston

Sebastian Charles

===========

As he read through the list, Harry easily recognised some familiar names, like Nathan, Trent, and the current rank one student, Susan.

There were also a few whose power he had witnessed in the competition, most of which consisted of the top ten elites.

All the groups displayed on the hologram had at least two top ten elite students, with the only exception being group three and group five.

The names were arranged based on their ranks, so all the names at the top of the lists were top ten elites.

Group three—Harry’s group, had only one top ten elite, who was David Stein, while group five on the other hand, had three top ten elites.

This was why group five was seen by the audience as the most competitive group, due to having the highest number of elites, and group three as the least competitive, since it had the lowest number.

However, none of that really mattered to Harry. He was more bothered about gaining more skill and stat points from this event.

[As you can see, each group consists of five members! The members of each group would engage in a duel...]

The commentator went on, explaining how the fights would be organised.

Being in the same group, didn’t mean they were teammates, in fact, it meant the opposite.

Basically, a series of one vs one duels would be held among the group members, and only one person would advance unto the next stage.

[All the finalists should tap on their seat handles!]

The commentator spoke, and all twenty five participants immediately followed his instruction and tapped their seat handle.

A small black card suddenly popped out of it, which they all grabbed tightly in their hands.

Harry stared at the card, flipping it over to see if there was anything written on it, but contrary to his expectations, the card was blank.

[As I said before, the members within each group would engage each other in a series of one vs one duels! But as we all know, one vs one duels are impossible since each group members are odd in number.]

[That is where the bye-card comes in!]

While the commentator was still speaking, a dim yellow light rapidly started flashing between each group’s cards.

The light was practically switching from one card to another, until it finally settled on one.

For group three, the yellow light stopped on David’s card, which kept shining with a yellow light.

[If the card in your hand is glowing yellow, then congrats, you have obtained a bye-card! In each group, only one member can get a bye-card!]

The girl sitting by the other side of Harry hissed between her teeth, as she stared angrily at the blank card in her hands.

She had been hoping she’d get lucky enough to get the yellow card, but unfortunately, reality was harsh.

[Having the bye-card practically means you’re excluded from participating in the first set of knockout fights within your group!]

The commentator’s voice echoed through the hall, as he explained the rules about bye-cards.

The card wasn’t a straight ticket to the next round, instead, it only meant the owner didn’t have to take part in any of the first round of fights.

The other four members of the group would be placed against each other in a one vs one duels.

The two winners of the fight would then face each other in another duel, while the ones who lost would be eliminated from the event.

The winner from the last duel would then face the bye-card holder, and whoever emerged victorious would advance unto the last round of the finals.

Harry stared at the card in his hands, before heaving a low sigh of relief. While most would be devastated about not getting the card, he was quite happy that he didn’t.

For him, facing more opponents meant having the chance to accumulate more points. an opportunity he would never pass up.

A slight smile crept up on David’s face, as he observed the glowing yellow card.

’This is good, at least I don’t have to bother wasting time with weak Elementalists like them.’ He thought, with a smug look.

The huge holographic board abruptly lit up once more, displaying the names of the bye-card holders within each group.

—

Group 1: Darius Black

Group 2: Wes Silas

Group 3: David Stein

Group 4: Stanley Bennet

Group 5: Olivia Ava

—

[Displayed on the board are the names of the bye-card holders from each group!]

Meanwhile, seated in another section of the hall, a certain orange haired boy sighed heavily as he stared at the yellow card in his hands.

’What bad luck.’ Stanley thought. Not only was he in the same group with monsters like Susan and Yasmine, but he was also unlucky enough to get the yellow cards.

There was an eighty percent chance that Susan would win in the first series of duels, and since he had the card, he would have to defeat her to advance into the next round.

As for the chances of him winning against her, it was only ten percent, and even that was him being optimistic.

"Are you okay?" Yasmine, the black haired girl who sat by his side asked, to which he awkwardly nodded his head in response.

After finally going over all the rules of the final, the characters on the hologram changed once more, showing the lists of fights that would be held within each group.

***

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In case you’re curious about the names and ranks of all the top ten elites in the competition, check below in author’s thoughts.