The Legendary Junkmaster

"Hoh, this should be good!" Harry exclaimed as he gulped down a cup full of wine.

Jason was of a mind to agree with him. As soon as the announcer had said that, those who had signed up for the competition began to exit from various places and make their way onto the stage. Since this was the qualifiers, the first round would feature a massive battle royale format to quickly reduce the number of competitors.

Jason managed to spot Dani and Adam amongst the crowd. It was not hard since most of the competitors were stuck wearing regular clothes. Hardly anyone could afford tailor-made outfits and weaponry, so it was understandable that the pair were drawing a lot of attention from their fellow competitors.

There were a few raised eyebrows amongst the gathering as they noticed the slight similarities between what the two of them were wearing. However, the sharper eyes amongst them brushed it off once they spotted the Star Gear branded emblems on their equipment.

As the three hundred-odd competitors entered the stage, they noticed that there was plenty of space for them all to fight. The rules were simple, if you were forced out of the ring or knocked unconscious, you would be disqualified. You could also quit if you had to, but that was it. Killing during the tournament was not prohibited at all.

This was because the Lord wanted to enlist people as Guardians who were prepared to kill or be killed. Any other kind of soldier would be a pointless waste of resources. Dani and Adam choose to linger near the edges of separate corners. They had gotten to know each other while Jason sorted out their needs and became fast friends.

So they had no intention of getting involved with each other at this stage. Of course, neither of them would hold back if they met at a later stage. Once every competitor had chosen their spot, a loud metallic bell sounded from somewhere to signal the start of the fight!

The whole stage devolved into utter chaos! In less than a minute, at least fifty people had been knocked out of the competition. Jason had no idea where to look, as so many abilities were activated simultaneously. 

One person's ability was truly disgusting. He could fart at will and create a powerful air current of nauseous gas capable of blowing off their feet for quite some distance. Everyone who experienced it quickly chose a different target and refused to go near him again. Another person engulfed herself in a sphere of ice that would produce sharp spears whenever an opponent came close.

A three-meter tall giant wandered through the crowd swatting people left and right with enough power to send them from the central area directly out of the ring. Jason whistled as he watched the diverse selection of Powers go at it. This was definitely a sight worth seeing!

From time to time, Jason even heard those in the stands who had no Power at all complaining about it. They were enjoying the spectacle, but that was nothing compared to being able to do those things. This was the first time Jason could really feel the discontent of the normies who lived in Highrise. He had to admit that it was quite worrying to hear some of the things that they said.

However, no matter how much they complained, the situation would never change. Developing Powers was ingrained in each person's DNA. It was simply impossible to remove that factor from the human race. 

Jason quickly began to ignore those comments as he focused on the competition. Dani waited patiently narthex edge for anyone to try and attack her. Just as they thought they had her, she would teleport behind them and kick them out of the ring. 

Quite a few people in the crowd had begun to pay attention to her. She was not doing anything flashy, but she was displaying excellent judgement. Her approach allowed her to take out her opponents with minimal effort on her part. 

Adam, on the other hand, was proving to be a thorn in many people's side. Jason had been shocked when he learned that Adam's ability made him highly flexible while increasing his natural reaction speed. Simply put, it was basically impossible to hit him in a melee fight.

Ten different people came at him at once. Still, he performed impossible acrobatics and distorted his figure to avoid every blow while inflicting deep cuts on his opponents' flesh using the Orochi. However, Jason knew that Adam was not displaying his full potential right now. His ability hid something else that he was saving for the duels.

Over the next hour, the intensity flared as the numbers dwindled until only ten were left standing in the ring. Besides Dani and Adam, Jason spotted Sam's familiar face down there as well. Up until this point, Jason had failed to notice her presence in the competition at all. 

The reason soon became apparent as two others next to her protected her from the giant's attack. While one managed to match the giant's strength, the other bypassed his rigid body by phasing through his skin only to rip a section of the giant's intestines out. 

The giant thrashed in agony and tried to surrender. However, he died from internal bleeding before anything could be done. It marked the first official death in the tournament, which surprised everyone! So far, everyone had managed to surrender before being dealt a fatal injury.

The expressions on the faces of the rest of the competitors became grim at that sight. Only one more person and to be taken out to enter the next stage and nobody wanted to go near Sam's group now. 

With a determined expression, one of them chose to target Adam! He had been paying attention to Adam's ability and concluded that his speed would be enough to strike him before he could dodge!

The man took off like a rocket and appeared in front of Adam before the latter could blink. The man had to interrupt his ability to strike at Adam since he could only see blurred images whenever he accelerated. Adam's eyes went wide as a fist came towards his face at high speed!

The crowd suddenly leapt on to their feet and cheered! A significant upset had just occurred! At the moment before impact, Dani had teleported over and taken the speedster by surprise! Knocking him out of the ring before he could take Adam out!