Chapter 150 : Chapter 150

Chapter 150: The Newcomer Competition Officially Begins

A new day.

I had already washed up early in the morning.

Today was the day the Newcomer Competition officially began.

The opening ceremony for this competition was set for eight in the morning, but anyone with a bit of sense knew you definitely couldn't arrive right on time.

I dressed myself in a tight-fitting suit convenient for exercise, fastened the thigh strap that Big Sis Bai liked to have bite into the flesh, and then went out to meet the morning sun.

Of course, before that, I also brought my Witch Four-Piece Set and wrist guards.

No matter what, these things were alchemical items, especially the wrist guards Big Sis Bai gave me, whose effects were even more powerful.

The Witch Four-Piece Set might not feel like much when worn normally, but their effects would manifest once activated with mental power.

The large Witch Hat could stabilize mental power to a certain extent and had a solidified effect similar to a sobering spell, allowing me to constantly maintain a peak mental state.

The badge, needless to say, had a solidified spell, but I had no use for it now, so it could only gather dust in storage.

In its place, I had pinned the serial number insignia for my Class 14.

The Witch Cape was a very simple defensive item.

It could reduce the power of spells to a certain extent, and it was also very sturdy itself, not easily damaged by sharp objects.

Moreover, it had a solidified self-cleaning spell on it, which meant that if it got dirty, it would automatically clean itself, which was very convenient.

The Magic Wand was even more self-explanatory: stabilizing casting, amplifying spell intensity, and even speeding up spell release to some extent, and so on.

Some magic wands even had solidified spells on them to enrich the user's combat methods.

Actually, I had rarely used this magic wand since I obtained it.

I always cast spells bare-handed, so using it now felt a bit unfamiliar, but holding it in my hand, I could adapt quickly.

Riding the flying broom, looking down from high up, I could feel that even though it was morning, Witch Academy had become different from before.

And with the distant Open-air Arena as the center, extending outwards, it was extraordinarily bustling.

From afar, one could see the huge Earth Vein projection in the sky, broadcasting information about this Newcomer Competition accompanied by light-hearted background music.

In the air, I looked at the group chat on my phone.

Even though it was morning, a large group of people were already chatting idly in the group.

Perhaps many people didn't sleep well last night, and maybe even pulled an all-nighter.

Some even started sharing the live stream link for this competition at this time.

Of course, in the morning, I also received blessings from Big Sis Bai and the seniors.

Anni and Erica, whom I met yesterday, also asked if I had arrived and if I wanted to go together or something.

It seems that girls really like to travel in groups, even inviting new friends they just met a day ago.

However, I politely declined, since I was about to arrive anyway.

At this moment, the Open-air Arena was already surrounded by people, which was enough to show the liveliness of this competition.

Of course, this also pointed to a sad fact: most of the people still outside the venue were likely those who hadn't managed to get a ticket.

However, they could also see the huge light screen outside the venue.

In a way, it was just separated by an arena; ignoring that, what was the difference from a live broadcast?

So it was very lively here, so crowded that it was impossible to get through.

Even I, who had just descended from the sky, seemed to be infected by such a lively atmosphere.

The large crowd completely filled the open space outside the arena, and I almost couldn't even find the contestant passage.

Luckily, I saw the senior students wearing volunteer vests, and under their guidance, I found the special passage.

I could feel that as soon as I walked into the special passage wearing the Class 14 serial number, I attracted the gazes of many people.

If it weren't for the volunteer seniors on both sides holding them back, I'm afraid I would have been drowned by these people.

Along the way, I could even see many people holding up custom banners and display stands.

It seemed they were specially prepared for their own class presidents, right?

Some of them were even carrying half-body display stands, which looked like embarrassing photos that had been captured and cropped out.

I wondered if that class president would faint from anger after seeing it.

“Yang Yuehan! Over here!”

“Class President! You can do it.”

“Yang Yuehan, our dear Class President, go for it!”

“That's right, we'll be cheering for you from the outside!”

Familiar voices called my name.

Among the vast crowd, I also saw people from our class, and at the very front was our vice class president.

She was reserved and didn't shout embarrassing words loudly like the others, just looking at me, somewhat at a loss.

“Tu Xingyue, did you specially bring the class here to welcome me?”

“Get inside earlier later, be careful not to get squeezed out.”

After a simple greeting with them, I followed the volunteer seniors into the arena.

And Tu Xingyue was now surrounded by her classmates.

“Eh? Vice Class President, you actually managed to get a ticket?”

“What? Really? Why not give us a live broadcast from the scene?”

“Yes, do a live broadcast! I'll send you gifts, Xingyue!”

“Okay, okay, this is the admission ticket the Class President gave me. It's a privilege for contestants. Anyway, I will do a live broadcast, and I'll post it in the class group then.”

Tu Xingyue, surrounded by everyone, revealed the truth, and the crowd immediately burst into cheers.

After all, the seat for the ticket that contestants possessed was excellent.

They could experience watching the match live through the broadcast.

And at this moment, I had arrived at the front desk to register my identity.

Then after a formal check for prohibited items and such, I was led to the contestants' area.

After a while, the opening ceremony would begin.

All the contestants would take the stage, and the director of the newcomer grade, who was organizing this event, would also come on stage to give a brief speech.

After all this ended, it would be the tense and exciting matchup allocation chart.

Time passed bit by bit.

All the contestants in the rest area where I was had arrived.

Everyone naturally took this very seriously, and many people had even arrived earlier than I did.

Although I didn't know most of them, I was very polite and returned a smile to every class president whose gaze I met.

This was quite harmonious.

It was good that there was no trash talk or anything.

And looking at many people, the way they looked at me clearly showed they knew me.

Some even directly called out my name and even came forward to strike up a conversation and make friends.

To this, I naturally responded with great enthusiasm.

But time waits for no one.

Following a change in the background music inside the arena, and a change in the image on the huge light screen that almost covered the entire open-air area.

The opening ceremony of the Newcomer Competition officially began.

The light screen's camera at this moment focused on Lina, who was dressed in a crimson formal dress.

“Good morning everyone! I am Lina, the host of this opening ceremony. At the beginning of this new semester, we are grandly holding the 1019th Sports Meet of our Witch Academy since its establishment. Here, on behalf of Witch Academy, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on the successful opening of the sports meet!”

“Next, let us welcome the contestants of our 1145th batch of newcomers to enter the arena!”

As Lina finished her words, the students who were already prepared backstage were eager to go.

Along with the change in background music, the contestant passage was opened, and the volunteer seniors in charge of guiding quickly reacted.

When Tan Han, as the class president and contestant of Class 1, was the first to appear, it triggered the first climax of the event.

As the study god predicted to be a sure first place this year, Tan Han's popularity was naturally not low.

Even the senior students at the scene would shout passionately for her, holding up Tan Han's name.

And the people who followed in a line after her did not fall behind.

Every person's appearance would cause a wave of cheers from the crowd.

It was foreseeable how awkward it would be for the last person to appear.

After all, with over three hundred people in total, it was very tiring for the audience to shout like this.

Fortunately, I was ranked 14th to appear, and my entrance also triggered a wave of cheers.

Only at this moment could I clearly feel that my popularity was actually so high.

I vaguely heard someone calling me “Hand of God”.

Isn't it embarrassing to be called that on such an occasion?

And while the students were entering, the counselors and various teachers of this newcomer batch also took their seats.

The teachers were basically in designated seats; otherwise, you couldn't have the teachers squeezing for seats with the students, right?

The teachers in the stands also found their seats, chatting and laughing.

Many seats were still empty, looking like they either didn't come or didn't have time to.

And some of the seats were occupied by people who were clearly not teachers.

Unsurprisingly, it should be teachers who gave their tickets to their own students, letting the students watch the competition in their stead.

Otherwise, if no one went, the seat would be empty anyway, so it was better to give it to a student they favored.

However, those newcomers sitting directly among the teachers appeared very restrained.

But there were still teachers who would come over and tease these students.

After all, being able to come in place of their teacher meant they were students valued by that teacher.

There was no harm in chatting, what if they could poach them?

With all 364 contestants having entered, they didn't seem that numerous on this huge central field.

This entrance was mainly to liven up the atmosphere of the scene, and also to let every contestant appear on the big screen for a moment.

Everyone who entered would get a close-up shot.

Standing in the center of the field, the seats on the edge were packed with people.

Looking from afar, you could hardly make out anyone's appearance.

However, I could also see some spectators holding banners.

After a quick scan, my attention returned to the field.

I pulled down the brim of my hat slightly.

After all, it was my first time participating in an event with so many people, so it was inevitable to be nervous.

It wasn't just me; many others were the same.

I even saw someone whose legs were trembling uncontrollably.

The vast majority of people here were wearing the Witch Four-Piece Set.

After all, it was the most accessible alchemical item, and the wide Witch Hat could also block the line of sight to a certain extent, reducing nervousness.

And I was gently stroking the pair of wrist guards that Big Sis Bai gave me, quietly waiting for the next moment to begin.

“Alright! All contestants are in position. Then we will proceed to the next segment!”

“We will be holding the first round of the competition this morning! Next, we will draw lots to allocate the matchups between contestants.”

Following Teacher Lina's announcement, the huge Earth Vein Operating System above our heads began to operate.

That was an astonishing sight that could be seen even without Spirit Vision.

Giant identity cards constructed from Earth Vein, marked with numbers and names, were shuffled in the sky and then randomly paired.

After a round of high-speed shuffling invisible to the naked eye, the final rankings appeared.

I lifted a corner of my witch hat with one hand and looked at the big screen in the sky.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous.

I wonder who my opponent will be?

As I was searching for my name on the rows of paired lists, a wave of gasps came from the crowd.

And my smile froze at this moment.

The first one in the first row, number 14, me, was up against number 1, Tan Han.

In the end, the unlucky one for the first match turned out to be me?

At this moment, I felt like this was fate's mockery.

It was laughing at me, seemingly asking: Aren't you surprised, isn't this unexpected?

Indeed surprising, indeed…

Unexpected!