P.S. Thanks to ssShandianss, Zombie Turtle Immortal, and Gudan Shenling for the tips, and to Ziyou a Feixiang for the monthly vote! Whew, just one vote today. At least I didn't come up empty. Tips and monthly votes, please—help me avoid a shutout!
Dark City Nilok, No. 169. On the arena platform at the heart of the city...
Boom!
A burly man went flying under a blow from a beautiful young woman.
She was lovely and youthful, but her strength was nothing to scoff at.
A wave of noise swept through the crowd as the human spectators cried out in amazement.
"Contestant No. 1 from Dark City Nilok, Anastaria, advances! She is appointed captain of Nilok's team!"
The Magic Network's mechanical voice sounded in the air.
To Anastaria, though, it sounded wonderful.
"Yes!"
She pumped her fist and swayed her slender waist for the crowd below the stands.
They did not let her down. A horde of overexcited men answered with wolf whistles and howls!
After fighting for weeks, Anastaria, the top seed, had finally claimed first place.
The Magic Network would reward her handsomely, and even the city's administrator would send a gift and congratulations. More importantly, as the city's number one, she would lead its top ten competitors against teams from other cities at the final tournament in the Holy City. There, beneath the gaze of His Majesty Baal, the great Demon God, they would fight for their final ranking!
That ranking affected the city's honor and the interests of every human who lived there. It also determined whether the team could join its chosen Destruction Squad as a reserve!
Rumor even had it that the highest-ranked cities would receive a mysterious reward from Lord Baal!
Such as...
The right to campaign across the Starry Sky!
And as