Chapter 150: The New Student Competition Officially Begins
A new day.
I had already finished my morning routine early, as today marks the official start of the new student competition.
The opening ceremony of this competition was set for eight in the morning, but anyone with a bit of awareness knew they couldn’t just arrive right on time.
I put on my snug athletic outfit and tied on the flesh-hugging ring that Sister Bai liked. Then I stepped out into the morning sunlight.
Of course, before that, I also brought my witch ensemble and wrist guards.
These items are alchemical, and the wrist guard that Sister Bai gave me is particularly powerful.
The witch ensemble may not feel significant when worn casually, but using mental power brings out its effects.
The large witch hat helps to stabilize mental power to some extent and solidifies effects similar to a waking spell, allowing me to maintain a peak mental state.
The badge is needless to mention, as it solidifies a spell, though I can’t use it now and it’s stored away gathering dust, marked with my class number from Class 14.
The witch cloak is a simple defensive item that can reduce the power of spells to some extent, and it is also very durable, not prone to damage from sharp objects. Additionally, it has a self-cleaning spell, meaning it automatically cleans itself if it gets dirty, which is very convenient.
As for the magic wand, it stabilizes spellcasting, amplifies spell strength, and can even speed up spell release to some extent. Some wands even have spells solidified on them to enhance the user’s combat strategies.
In fact, I’ve hardly used this wand since I acquired it; I usually cast spells bare-handed, so using it feels a bit unfamiliar, but I can quickly adapt once it’s in my hand.
After mounting my flying broomstick, I looked down from the sky and could feel that even in the morning, the Witch Academy did not seem the same as before.
Centered around the distant outdoor arena, the atmosphere was bustling!
From afar, I could see a huge projection of the earth vein in the sky, playing the information of the new student competition along with cheerful background music.
In the air, I checked the group chat on my phone, and even in the morning, there was a large number of people chatting away in the group.
Many probably didn’t sleep well last night or might have even stayed up all night.
Some were sharing the live stream link for the competition even at this time.
Of course, I also received well-wishes from Sister Bai and the seniors, and even those I met yesterday, Annie and Erica, were asking if I wanted to join them.
It seems girls really like to travel in groups, even inviting friends they’ve only known for a day.
However, I politely declined, as I was about to arrive soon.
At this moment, the outdoor arena was already packed with people, which shows how lively this competition is going to be. This also sadly indicates that most of those still outside likely didn’t manage to get tickets.
However, those outside can see the huge screen outside, so there isn’t much difference between that and live streaming.
Thus, the atmosphere was extremely lively, with the crowd overflowing.
Even I, who had just come down from above, was influenced by this energetic vibe.
The numerous people had completely filled up the space outside the arena, and I nearly couldn’t find the contestant entrance.
Fortunately, I spotted some seniors in volunteer vests, and with their guidance, I found the dedicated entrance.
I could feel that as I walked into the special channel with the Class 14 number tag, I attracted many gazes; if it weren’t for the volunteers holding back the crowd, I might have been overwhelmed by them.
Along the way, I even saw many people holding custom banners and stands—it seemed they were prepared for their class leader.
Some were even holding half-body stands with humorous photos that must have been taken secretly; I wonder what that class leader will feel when seeing those.
“Yang Yuelan! Over here!”
“Class leader! Go for it~”
“Yang Yuelan, class leader, you can do it!”
“Yeah, we’ll cheer you on from outside!”
Familiar voices called my name, and amidst the crowd, I saw people from my class, with our vice class leader right at the front. She was a bit reserved and didn’t shout out those embarrassing words like everyone else, but rather looked at me with a somewhat confused expression.
“Tu Xingyue, you came here specifically to welcome me?”
“Make sure to get in early; be careful you don’t get squeezed out later!”
After a simple exchange with them, I followed the seniors into the arena.
At this moment, Tu Xingyue was surrounded by classmates as well.
“Hey? Vice class leader, you actually got a ticket?”
“What? Really? Aren’t you going to live stream it for us?”
“Yeah, live stream! I’ll send you gifts in the stream!”
“Okay, okay, this entry ticket was given to me by the class leader; it’s for contestants only. Anyway, I will live stream it and send it in the class group later.” Tu Xingyue revealed the truth under the crowd’s questioning, and everyone cheered.
After all, that ticket possessed a great location for a contestant; the live viewing experience would be exciting.
At this moment, I arrived at the front desk for identity registration, and after a formal check for prohibited items, they led me to the contestant area.
After a short while, it would be time for the opening ceremony, where all contestants would go on stage, and the guiding director of this year’s events would also give a brief speech.
Once all this was over, it would be the tense and exciting participant allocation.
As time passed, the contestants in my waiting area had all gathered; everyone was taking this very seriously, with many arriving even earlier than me.
Although I didn’t know most of them well, I politely smiled back at every class leader whose gaze met mine.
It was a very harmonious interaction without any trash talk, which was nice, and I could tell that many of them recognized me, some even calling out my name directly and approaching me to chat.
I was very enthusiastic in my responses.
But time waits for no one.
With a change in the background music of the arena and the images on the gigantic screen in the sky shifting to cover nearly the entire outdoor area, the opening ceremony of the new student competition officially began.
The camera on the screen focused on Teacher Lina, who was dressed in a crimson formal dress.
“Good morning everyone! I am Lina, the host for this opening event. As we start this new semester, we proudly hold the 1019th sports festival of the Witch Academy since its establishment. On behalf of the Witch Academy, I warmly congratulate the smooth commencement of the sports festival!”
“Next, please welcome our 1145th new student contestants to enter!”
As Lina finished speaking, the students who had been preparing backstage were already eager to go.
With a shift in background music, the contestant passage opened, and the guiding volunteer seniors quickly sprang into action.
When Tan Han, as the class leader and first contestant, made her entrance, it triggered the first wave of excitement in the audience.
Tan Han, as the predicted top student of this cohort, naturally had a lot of popularity; even the seniors in attendance shouted passionately for her, raising her name.
Following her, each contestant continued to come out one after another, each of their entrances eliciting cheers from the audience. One could only imagine how awkward it would be for the last contestant to enter, given that there were over three hundred participants, and it would be tiring for the audience to cheer all that time.
Fortunately, I was set to enter 14th, which also drew a wave of cheers, and only at that moment did I realize my popularity was quite high. I even vaguely heard someone call me “Godly Hand.” Is it not embarrassing to be called that in such a setting?
As the contestants entered, the counselors and various teachers for this year’s new students took their seats. The teachers mostly occupied designated seating; after all, they couldn’t just squeeze in with the students.
The teachers in the stands laughed and chatted as they found their seats, with many positions remaining empty—likely those who could not come or didn’t have the time.
Some of the seats were clearly taken by students instead of teachers; presumably, the teachers had given their tickets to their students to watch the competition on their behalf since leaving a seat empty was unproductive.
However, those new students sitting among the teachers looked very awkward, but there were still some teachers who would cozy up to these students for some lighthearted teasing, after all, they must hold a certain significance to the teacher to be allowed to represent them.
As all contestants entered, the 364 participants on the enormous field surprisingly didn’t seem too many anymore.
The entrance was mainly to liven up the atmosphere and give each contestant a moment to appear on the big screen; each entry was met with a close-up shot.
Standing in the center of the arena, the edge seats were packed with people, and from a distance, it was hard to make out everyone’s faces.
But I could also see some audience members holding banners; after a quick glance around, my attention returned to the arena.
I lowered the brim of my hat; after all, it was my first time participating in such a large gathering, and it was inevitable to feel nervous. Not just me, many others were as well; I even saw someone whose legs were shaking uncontrollably.
Most of the audience were wearing their witch ensembles, as they were the most easily accessible alchemical items, and the wide-brimmed witch hats could help block vision and lessen anxiety.
I gently stroked the wrist guards Sister Bai gave me, calmly waiting for the next moment to begin.
“Alright! All contestants are in position! Now we will enter the next segment!”
“We will hold the first competition this morning! Next, we will draw lots for contestant allocation.”
With Teacher Lina’s announcement, the enormous Earth Vein Operating System above us began to operate.
Even without spirit vision, the astonishing sight could be seen.
Huge identity cards constructed from earth veins, sporting numbers and names, were scrambled in the air and paired randomly.
After a high-speed jumble invisible to the n*ked eye, the final matchups emerged.
I lifted the brim of my witch hat slightly and looked at the great screen in the sky.
It wouldn’t be a lie to say I wasn’t nervous; I still didn’t know who I would be facing.
As I searched for my name on the already paired lists, a gasp rose from the audience.
And my smile froze at that moment.
First row, first match, I, number 14, was up against number 1, Tan Han.
In the end, the unfortunate soul in the first match turned out to be me?
At this moment, I felt as if fate was mocking me, taunting me as if to ask: Surprised, unexpected?
It was indeed a surprise, and certainly… unexpected!
