To be honest, it was kind of surprising that the second round came so soon after the first one.
Originally, Zaroth thought it would take a month until they managed to get it sorted out. After all, we were talking about more than 30,000 matches.
"Or maybe I have been thinking about it the wrong way," he muttered as he slowly walked towards his assigned apartment.
He had already noticed that, even though he was in the second round, there were spectators watching with interest.
Maybe the plan was to get through the uninteresting matches quickly and, after reaching round 10 and beyond, showcase the might of the strongest students in the empire.
Maybe, by the end, there would be so many people wanting to watch the finals of the tournament that even the grand arena would not be able to accommodate them all.
"And if he charged them for watching the fight, the emperor could very quickly recover the money he has used to make the tournament possible in the first place. It seems that the man had thought about everything and was winning in every possible way," Zaroth muttered, having to admit that the emperor was much smarter than he originally thought.
But this was still far in the future—Zaroth had to focus on the present now.
If he was right, and the later matches were going to be held like a grand event, it meant that the earlier rounds would be fought as quickly as possible.
In other words, even though he had just passed the second round, the third one was rapidly approaching.
"Stronger…" he got lost in thought. How could he become stronger?
Yes, true, he had become stronger, but this tournament had an element of luck in it. His next opponent could be the weakest student in the empire who had managed to enter the tournament—or they could be the strongest. Zaroth wanted to be ready for any situation.
"Beasts… there's no avoiding it anymore. I'll get some supplies and enter the forest. Until I manage to tame a third beast, I won't be coming back."
This was the plan he came up with. But first things first, he needed credits. For the supplies he was planning to buy, he had already spent most of his credits. Luckily, he knew just the person to ask for more.
-----
Zaroth: I need more credits, and I'll be outside the capital for some time.
Elysia: You really are burning through them like paper, huh? Where are you going?
Zaroth: After winning the second round and advancing to the third, I realized I need even more strength. So, I'm going out to tame another beast.
Elysia: I see… By the way, that test you did before? You failed. You have a second chance to take it and correct your grade. The second test will be held in 5 days from now. Don't miss it.
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[You have received a transfer of 200 credits]
"Fuck! I failed? I thought I would have at least gotten a passing grade." Zaroth massaged his forehead in frustration.
Honestly, failing the test hadn't even crossed his mind, but it made sense considering that he hadn't spent much time studying the boring—or in other words, useless—subjects they taught at the academy.
'Seriously! Why can't they just teach the important stuff and leave the useless crap aside?!'
"No matter. The test can wait. First, I have to stock up on supplies," he muttered as he headed toward the market.
*****
"Let's see, what would I need for the expedition?" He observed all kinds of products for sale.
"Water is a must. I don't know if I'll find a clean source. Also, it's not a bad idea to get some food. Even if I can hunt and eat beasts, it doesn't hurt to be well-prepared."
He bought a few bottles of water that would last him at least 5 days and about 2 kilos of jerky. It was a good source of energy while also being unable to go bad.
"Next, shelter…"
After thinking for a while, he bought a tent big enough for two people. He was sure that Luna wouldn't want to stay in his soul while he was exploring the wild.
A backpack was in order, as he had to carry everything, after all.
And in the end, he bought something that many people neglected until it was too late, a few spare sets of underwear. Even though he had lived a large part of his life like a street rat—or perhaps because he had—he knew how important hygiene was.
Checking if he had gotten everything, he headed toward the gates of the capital once more.
The guards at the gates didn't say anything as always, just looking at his uniform was enough to be left unbothered.
Entering the forest, he walked a few kilometers, keeping away from the main roads. Once he confirmed that he was far enough, he summoned Luna and Silverfang.
He could have summoned Luna much earlier, but he didn't want to risk letting some strangers try to hit on her, so keeping her concealed was much safer.
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"Finally, I can walk a bit," Luna spoke with a grin as she stepped forward.
This irritated Zaroth a bit, as he had let her out quite literally yesterday, but he didn't want to waste time arguing, so he let the matter go.
This was the third time Zaroth had gone outside the capital in search of a beast, and he was planning for it to be the last. As such, he had devised a plan.
No matter how much he wished, if he killed a beast himself—or if one of his beasts did it for him—he wouldn't be able to resurrect and tame the killed beast. The creature wouldn't want to submit to the person that had brought about its doom in the first place.
But what if he found a pack of dangerous creatures, like wolves or even bears?
If he quietly followed their movements, hiding his presence as he did, he would eventually witness the pack hunting for food.
Once they managed to bring down a creature, and if Zaroth felt the energy coming from it—ready to be resurrected and tamed—he could quickly get rid of the pack and resurrect their prey.
And, considering that he would have killed the creatures responsible for its downfall, the beast would surely be more likely to want to serve Zaroth.
While it wasn't a perfect plan, Zaroth didn't have a very good grasp of what was needed to resurrect and tame a creature. So, this was the best he could come up with for now.
He made sure the backpack was securely strapped to his back as he walked forward, searching for any kind of clues.
During the hunting competition, Roran was usually the one who managed to find traces left behind by beasts. After observing him for a bit, Zaroth had been able to pick up on some hints on how to spot them himself.
It didn't take long for a wide smile to appear on his face as he looked at the ground. It seemed he had found a few footprints—wolf tracks, to be exact.
He had found the pack he was going to quietly follow from now on.