Guardian Of The End

"So we are taking him with us too?" Jason whispered while passing his eyes over Alex.

"I don't think knocking him out and then locking him inside a room will do anything good. We will think of the problems later on." Risa replied as she adjusted her position a bit.

She was standing right between Jason and Alex, where the latter wasn't visible to anyone for unknown reasons.

All four families were currently making their way to the arena in a huge group with the family heads moving in front.

But since the Syrward family only had six members, all of them were walking in the front alongside Alex who seemed shocked by the huge mansions and posh nobility area around them.

Jason would have also felt fascinated by this if not for the fact that he was nervous about the ceremony.

The arena in itself was a terrifying place to look at but the thought of hundreds of thousands of people sitting inside it would make anyone's nervous jingly.

[ Let me distract you with something nice. ] The system had already anticipated this and was ready with something to counter Jason's nervousness.

< New quest assigned! >

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< Tournament Of Prodigies >

- Get a place in the top 3 in the upcoming tournament to prove that all the blood, sweat and tears you spent in training wasn't worthless.

Reward: ???

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'System, have I ever told you that you are the best?' Jason asked with a sudden shift in attitude as the system chuckled.

[ No need, host. I already know how awesome I am. ] It boasted yet Jason was no longer paying attention to it.

Jason's eyes were focused on the entrance of the arena which was a huge 40 meter  opening in the middle of the structure.

Two guards dressed in glossy black hooded robes stood on each side of the gate. Their faces were hidden by black masks which made Jason wonder how they were able to see or breathe.

However, he didn't have too much time to think about it as they stepped inside the gates.

"Make sure to follow me closely or you might get lost." Risa ordered both Jason and Alex as the two children nodded and trailed behind her.

The other family members also told the same thing to those behind them and the order reached the back of the crowd.

Jason's eyes examined the interior of the arena yet there weren't a lot of things to see as they were walking through a huge hallway.

Three different paths had been present in the arena yet all of them ignored those paths and continued to walk straight towards a brightly shining opening at the end of the hallway.

[ Host, not everyone ignored it. Look behind. ] The system told as Jason turned his head back to see that all of the members of the other three families had vanished.

He then looked around to see that only the family heads, their children and their grandchildren remained behind. Jason noticed Amber and Andrew walking behind Ariana as well.

He suddenly changed his direction and went to talk to the twins.

"Feeling nervous?" Jason asked aloud since both the twins seemed lost in their own worlds.

"Duh. We are the heirs of such powerful families and if we mess up, the others will see us as stepping stones. We have to make sure to give our best out there." Amber replied calmly yet Jason could tell that her mind was in chaos.

Andrew didn't speak anything and instead nodded to agree with his twin's words.

"You are right," Jason sighed in agreement. "I wonder how the other children are feeling."

"There are feeling more or less the same but the real pressure is on those who are considered the future of the family." Ariana suddenly interrupted. She had been listening to the conversation for some time and it reminded her of the time she had appeared for the ceremony.

"You guys don't have to worry too much. Just throw a few kicks and you will be done."  Ariana reassured them as the remaining group suddenly took a right turn.

The exit to the hallway had only been a few hundred meters away yet they had taken the last turn in the hallway instead of going there.

They continued to walk through the new pathway, Jason felt slightly more relaxed.

It was similar to how he used to get anxious before an exam but when the time to give the exam came, he would be extremely focused and would be able to finish it with full focus.

After a few minutes of walking down the corridor, they finally reached the exit.

"Damn…" Jason's  jaw immediately dropped down when he saw the exit open up into the highest spot in the arena.

Everything below looked extremely tiny yet what shocked him even more was the amount of people present below.

There were hundreds of rows with sits for the people to sit on and watch the match with comfort, each row being separated from the other with the help of railings.

The noble families as well as the lesser known sects and institutes had special places for them which were visible due to the special seats created for them.

However, all of them had a flag dropping down from the railing to showcase which group they belonged to. Jason also noticed that none of them were wearing matching clothes like him and the others around him.

His gaze shifted forward to see that they were moving towards a glass bow created right beside a cut out place.

'That's where the members of the royal family must sit,' Jason thought as he saw numerous thrones placed in the cut out area.

It also had a banner hanging down from the railing which had the symbol of a sword surrounded by clouds drawn on it.

It was the symbol of the royal Vancouver family.

Jason wanted to observe it for some more time but he was forced to move towards the box. It was a structure made from blue glass panel which was completely opaque from the outside.

"Its a place where the heads of the top 3 academies, the sect masters of the top two sects, the heads of the highest noble families and other important people of the kingdom sit." Risa explained after seeing the expression of curiosity on Jason's face.

"Then why-" He began asking but was immediately cut off by Risa.

"All of them can bring their family members as well as some prodigies of their respective group with them to the box. That's why you all are coming with us." Risa pointed toward the adults and children other than the family heads.

Jason also followed her hands as he saw five more children traveling with them, ecluding the twins.

Two of them were sticking close to a man and woman who looked like their parents while two others were walking side by side with a bald man in his fifties.

[ He is the head of the Anvilone family. I don't know about that man and woman, though they belong to the Bloodthorn family. ] The system commented.

The two of them could see that both the couple and the two children were wearing Bloodthorn family coats.

"Grandma, who are they?" Jason asked in a voice that was only heard by Risa.

"They…," Risa was about to answer Jason's question when she suddenly realized who he was pointing at. "That woman is Brain's ex wife and those two are their children. The man is the woman's new husband."

Jason opened his mouth slightly before closing it when he heard Risa's words.

"That's… unexpected." He replied while staring at the woman and children.

"That's life," Risa replied while shrugging. "Also, quicken your pace. We have started lagging behind."

The duo then caught up to the others by increasing their pace while Alex quietly trailed behind them. His was still in shock at the scenery and the amount of people present there that he decided to just focus the duo

'Who's that though?' Jason curiously asked as he looked at the last unknown child in the group.

[ I think he is also a member of Brian's family… ] The system muttered but that was obvious seeing how he was also wearing the purple coat of the Bloodthorn family.

Jason's attention then shifted forward as they reached the box. Jason saw a door in the glass pane which opened on the inside. The others had already moved inside and only he, Risa and Alex remained.

The moment Jason entered the glass box, almost every single pair of eyes inside turned towards him. He was able to maintain his cool this time but Jason could tell that all those looking at him were no common people.

"He is my grandson." Issac informed while settling down amidst a group of old men who seemed to be emitting weird auras.

"Hmm, why don't you introduce him to us?" One of the men suggested as Issac gestured for Jason to make his way to them.

Jason obliged as he walked towards the group while feeling multiple gazes watching him.

"Jason, this here is my old pal, Gus Breserk, the duke of the duchy of Morgar," Issac pointed to the man from earlier as Jason observed him carefully.

Gus was a man in his forties with sleek black hair combed to the right side. His eyes were hazel brown and were observing Jason with a curious look.

Jason also saw two other men  sitting beside Issac and Gus who were soon introduced by the former.

'System, just recognize their faces and titles…' Jason muttered as he knew that he would likely forget their names if they didn't play major role in his life.

"Now that we are done with the introductions-" Issac began to say something but his voice was suddenly cut off by a buzzing sound echoing through the entire arena.

"Ah, sorry for that!" A voice suddenly echoed around the entire arena as Jason walked over the edge of the glass pane and looked outside.

"Now who is that…" Jason muttered as he saw a man flying right in front of him.

The man had curly blond hair and shining rust colored eyes which were roaming through the crowd below. He was also wearing a red coat with the same sword symbol drawn on the banner etched near the heart and the back of the coat.

"He is the prime minister." Risa suddenly replied as she came to stand beside Jason. "He will be hosting this event."

"Wait, a prime minister?" Jason asked in a confused tone as he hadn't expected to see a prime minister in a monarchy kingdom.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the arena of Troyalias. As most of you might know, I am Zilan Vancouver, the prime minister of the kingdom," Zilan introduced with a smile. "Also, I am going to be the host of today's event. So without further delay, let's start the Crystal ceremony!"