Crimson Eternal - Book 6 - Chapter 1

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Don't mind this fluff. It's so that free readers can't click on the link.
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Table of Contents and Weekly Schedule

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Click on the following link for the 1385 word chapter 1:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X5og3uoITI3zY7ZsF4khzmvfVxztI2lSgqlg0gj-UgE/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

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Aria

I find myself tapping my finger against my throne’s armrest in my private booth feeling more than a little irritated as a certain occupant of my booth blabbers on and on about some sort of weapon I’ve never heard about. All while making a mockery of the name ‘private booth’ thanks to his status as ‘uninvited’.

But War doesn’t care about how I feel as he continues his blabbering.

“-and have you seen the sharpness of its blade?! It’s magnificent!” War drones on while animatedly moving his hands as if to demonstrate something. “It’s one of the sharpest weapons I’ve ever seen in my life! And that’s saying something, Little Red!”

The guy just straight up waltzed right into my private booth through a gate and didn’t bother with the security that he’s literally treating as flies despite them all very clearly grinding their teeth in anger around the booth. And to make matters worse, he’s just been talking nonstop since entering.

First it was about his last war before our agreement for him to not go to war again for a year. Then it was about the war before that.

And the one before that.

Then it was about his favorite weapons. Both hand held weapons and large cannon-like stationary weapons.

His favorite warships.

His favorite types of planets to conquer regarding their military, followed by his favorite types of planets to conquer regarding their geography.

He just never shuts up.

I tried to ask him to be quiet at one point, but he just says ‘Sure’, then continues talking a few seconds later. Irritating me even more.

The only thing salvaging this in my mind is the fact that he keeps bribing me with different types of wine throughout the conversation. Almost like he knows exactly when I’m going to lose my temper and suddenly brings in a new type of wine I’ve never seen before.

What’s even more surprising is how he never brings me wine that I haven’t tried before.

He just somehow knows every single type of wine I’ve had and avoids those to give me new ones.

Which is kind of creepy.

But the wine is good enough to ignore it.

Anyway, putting War aside, the tournament is actually pretty interesting. With a lot of great battles to watch.

As for Ruby and Ryan’s turn to compete? They won’t be competing for a while. Since they will be competing in the junior brackets.

The tournament itself is set up with youth, junior, senior, and championship brackets. All to separate people out by their general power and levels.

After all, it would be boring to watch someone who is at level ten thousand absolutely destroy someone at level a hundred.

So there’s the youth bracket, which is for children and anyone under level one hundred. Then the junior bracket which is for people who are around a hundred or more years old and at least over level one hundred. Followed by the senior bracket which doesn’t care about age and goes straight to level one thousand or higher.

As for the championship brackets?

It’s for champions.

Anyone who has won the senior bracket in the top one hundred at some point in their life may participate in the championship brackets. With said brackets being the main event of the Eternal Championships.

Grands are not allowed to participate in any of these brackets, hence their exhibition bracket before it all.

And apparently I’m included in their number since I’m not allowed to participate either. Not that I planned on participating anyway.

There are ways to pass by the requirements for each bracket, though.

Every bracket’s winners can participate in the next higher up bracket without meeting the bracket’s requirements.

So anyone who has won the youth bracket before, even if it was a past year, can participate in the junior bracket without meeting the requirements. And anyone who has won a junior bracket before can do the same for the senior bracket.

It’s apparently a matter of letting the lower level, younger users prove their right to participate with the higher level, older users by marking themselves as the best in their generations.

Overall, it’s an interesting system.

Not that it really matters much in terms of the age requirements. Considering how many years between each Eternal Championships there are.

By the time the next one comes around, they’ll be old enough for the next bracket anyways.

It’s more a matter for the slower people when it comes to leveling up.

But mostly, it’s just for people from this tournament who want to compete in the next higher bracket during this same tournament.

Hence why the brackets are held in ascending order.

Well, that and to build up hype.

Although, from what I’ve heard, the championship brackets get over ten times as many viewers as the other brackets. Sometimes even over a hundred times.

Which makes sense, since the championship brackets are the deciding brackets for the most powerful users in the universe. Outside of the Grands, that is.

I glance at War, who is still blabbering on about some other weapon now. Then I focus on the arena down below again as some death mage arrives for their battle against another death mage. Piquing my interest ever so slightly in the process.

Death mage battle.

One of the death mages is from the Eternal Dynasty while the other is from the Rex Dynasty. So the one from the Rex Dynasty should have the edge, what with their far advanced death magic there.

But who knows what’ll happen.

I sit back and watch while drinking wine and petting Asher, who is snoozing on my lap. The cat having strongly disapproved of War ever since the man started bothering me.

In fact, Asher disapproved of him so much that Asher actually jumped up and scratched at War’s face when War tried petting him.

Not that it did anything, since Asher’s claws can’t pierce War’s skin. But it was amusing to watch, nonetheless.

It was also one of the few times I’ve seen War genuinely shocked into silence.

It was a good few seconds of quiet.

Of course, he just acted like nothing happened afterwards. Ignoring the cat entirely at that point.

Asher seems to be happy with being ignored by him, so it’s fine.

And I agree with the immortal cat on that.

It’s best to just ignore the chatterbox Horseman.

The two death mages in the arena clash using nothing but death magic. And I can’t help but notice them glancing towards my booth. Almost like they’re trying to show off for me.

Albeit with the Rex Dynasty death mage doing it a lot more blatantly than the other one.

Which is kind of amusing since they can’t even see me in the booth.

It is a private booth, after all.

People can’t see inside of it from outside.

These aren’t the only death mages to try and show off for me since the start of the tournament. It’s happened numerous times now.

No doubt people hoping for a blessing. Because, as it turns out, just like how I can take away someone’s ability to use death magic, I can bless them to make their death magic stronger.

War has done the same for war magic amongst his armies. Although Pestilence has never blessed anyone before.

Not even a single soul.

Which isn’t really surprising.

There are also war mages down in the arena from time to time that are trying to show off just as much as the death mages. All to get a blessing from War.

Too bad for them that War is ignoring them entirely to blabber on about random stuff. And to bribe me with wine.

I find it rather ironic how many people fear the Horsemen, yet at the same time also try to ingratiate themselves when it comes to trying to get a blessing.

After a few seconds watching the battle, I lean back in my seat as the death mages clash. And without a care for the battle, having lost interest at this point, I close my eyes and take a nap.

Just deciding to enjoy this peace with Asher on my lap.

Still tuning out the blabbering Horseman beside me.