Elder Veylan Lie simply raised his hand and the crowd. They fell silent in that unique way crowds do when the excitent of waiting transforms into the reality of the mont—not a total hush, but a noticeable drop in sound that shows everyone is now fully engaged.
He discussed the final rule of the competition that had not been disclosed to the crowd yet: beast core scoring.
Each beast core carried a point value determined by the beast's rank at the ti of collection—verified by the Grey Shadow Hall personnel at the extraction point through standard core assessnt at the competition's conclusion. The values were fixed and not subject to interpretation.
Rank One beast cores are worth one point each. These are the most common cores found in the outer zones of the forest, making them easily accessible for any pair participating in this competition at the required cultivation levels.
Rank Two beast cores are worth five points each and can mainly be found in the middle areas of the forest. You will need so real combat skills to consistently gather them.
Rank Three beast cores—twenty points each. Found in the forest's deeper zones. Rare. Dangerous to pursue at any cultivation level present in this competition. One Rank Three core was worth four Rank Two cores and twenty Rank One cores.
Rank Four beast cores — one hundred points each. Found only in the forest's deepest accessible zones. No pair at the cultivation levels present was expected to reach those zones. Grey Shadow Hall had not excluded it from the scoring structure. They had simply noted it as a category that existed.
In the stillness that followed, the crowd absorbed the point structure. Robert, on the other hand, had a different take on it.
Rank One cores were just background noise. Rank Two cores were where the real competition took place. And Rank Three cores? That is where the actual competition would be decided.
He quickly tackled the math. If a pair spent three days hunting for Rank Two cores, they could realistically gather around eight to ten cores each day in good conditions, ending up with between one hundred twenty and one hundred fifty points. On the other hand, a single Rank Three core would net them twenty points.
A set of three Rank Three cores was valued at sixty points, the sa as twelve Rank Two cores. What is really cool? You could get that done in a fraction of the ti, as long as the pair could manage what was needed to produce them.
The competition was not about volu. It was about depth. How deep were the other pairs willing to go?
He already knew his answer to that question. Elder Veylan Lie lowered his hand.
Brown Clan — first entry. Conner Brown stepped forward from the Brown group's position with the grounded, unhurried quality that characterised his movent through everything.
Dustin Brown ca with him—his quicker energy visible even in the walk toward the boundary stakes, the contrast between the two of them producing sothing that looked like genuine complentarity rather than coincidence of pairing.
They arrived at the Grey Shadow Hall, where personnel were stationed at the boundary stakes. Without any fanfare, a sealed docunt was handed from the official to Conner Brown—it contained the location of the extraction point, the internal forest marker they would head towards once the competition wrapped up. Conner slipped it into his robe without taking a peek. He would wait to open it until they were inside the forest and had secured the position they wanted.
They passed through the stakes. The forest took them imdiately — the dark interior closing around both figures within ten steps of the boundary line, the tree canopy pulling the light down to a fraction of what it was on the open ground outside. The crowd watched the entry path for a mont after they disappeared. Then the noise returned low and waited for the next clan.
Ten minutes. The crowd was buzzing. The speculation that had been brewing since the Osborn announcent rippled through the viewer platforms, now more intense than ever—voices were comparing the point structure to the cultivation levels that had been revealed, with people crunching the sa numbers Robert had but coming to different conclusions based on their own assumptions about what each pair would try to accomplish inside.
The dominant opinion forming on the platforms was visible in the direction the conversations kept returning to—the Walker Clan's numbers sat above everything else, and the point structure rewarded depth, and the Walker Clan's cultivation levels gave them the best access to depth of any pair present.
Standing in his clan's designated spot, Harvey Walker looked out at the entry path, choosing to remain silent.
Clark Clan — second entry. Rachel Clark and Evan Clark moved toward the boundary stakes with the functional economy that the Clark Clan had brought to every movent since arriving in Magical City.
Rachel took the sealed docunt from the Grey Shadow Hall official without slowing, tucked it away, and passed through the stakes with Evan Clark at her right shoulder.
The forest closed behind them. The crowd's response was warr than the Brown Clan's entry had produced—the Clark na carrying recognition that expressed itself in a sustained low sound from the platforms before settling.
Ten minutes. Brooks Clan — third entry. Max Brooks and Miller Brooks. As Max made his way toward the boundary stakes, he exuded that sa essence that characterises him—a subtle power, like soone who could easily show more but chooses to reveal just enough for those watching to take notice.
The crowd's response to the Brooks entry was genuine—voices rising, a sustained acknowledgent that lasted longer than the Clark entry had generated.
They passed through. The forest took them. Ten minutes.
The energy on the platforms shifted. The Walker Clan was next. Everyone present understood that. The conversations dropped in volu—not ending, just pulling inward as collective attention began its forward lean toward the mont that most of the crowd had made the journey to the Magical City to see.
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