Parallel Memory

Hiro had come on top.

Turning around, he checked to see if his friends needed his assistance. However, they also won as expected.

Zion had a complete victory over Harper. Zion was at the peak of Rank-C + while Harper was a newly ascended Rank-C -. In addition, with Zion being more talented, Harper stood no chance against him.

On the other side of the battlefield, the situation was more tragic than the Harper case. Students in Rank-D had to fight with Sylvia and Misha, who are in Rank-C+. They stood absolutely no chance and were easily annihilated.

On the other hand, other Ace Academy participants also had victory over their opponents. With Lisa's strengthening skills, they had become much stronger. They were already stronger than their opponents and with Lisa's skill, they were basically unstoppable in Rank-D.

Even in case they got injured, Lisa would immediately heal them as if nothing had happened. As such, Landon's allies soon found themselves being annihilated.

"Guess I was late!"

Hiro murmured in embarrassment. He thought that others might need his help but in reality, others had already won and were waiting for him to finish his battle.

Anyway, Ace Academy once again won.

They continued with their objective of getting the token. But they were more cautious than before. Although they had managed to secure victory, most of their mana and stamina had been spent. Even Hiro had only a half-mana reserve left.

In the event that they encounter a similar type of group, they might find themselves in deep trouble. However, it was just them overthinking stuff.

There was no other group as powerful as Landon's group. Most of the strong students were already recruited by Landon. Even if there were another hundred students ambushing them, their strength would not measure up to Landon's group.

In addition, even if another group as powerful as Landon's appeared, they would suffer the same fate against Hiro and other Rank-C individuals of Ace Academy. As long as they don't have the plan to keep Ace Academy Rank-C and Hiro in check, the same thing will keep happening.

Ace Academy, however, proceeded with caution. In that forest, there were not only students to be cautious of; there were also strong monsters.

The location of the tokens was quite close to where they fought Landon and his allies. It seemed that Landon knew that token locations were closed. He knew that Ace Academy would need to pass through there to get tokens and therefore, laid an ambush there.

Anyway, everyone had received the tokens. Now that they had gotten the tokens, they needed to go back to Luminia Stadium. However, they were in no hurry as no other team except theirs had gotten the tokens.

The only group would have been Landon, however, they had already been wiped out. There were no other groups of students that had taken the tokens.

When they were coming back they saw multiple students eyeing them. But they knew better and didn't dare to rob Ace Academy.

However, not everyone was as calm as them. Some school participants got greedy and made the decision to steal Ace Academy's tokens. Though as expected, they all got defeated before even getting one token.

The monsters they encountered also became weaker as they got closer to Luminia City.

"I guess here is where the race starts."

Sylvia said pretty excited. She stretched her body as she positioned herself to run.

Ace Academy participants had reached the edge of the city. Basically, there was no danger as fighting was prohibited inside the city. There was also no danger of them being eliminated as they were in the first place.

Only the competition for the Top position was left which would be among them. Now the real race has started.

-WHOOSH!

They started running with all their might. With their only concern being who would reach first, they could go all out. This time they didn't hold anything back. Using whatever movement skill they had, they tried to surpass each other.

At the front, most of them were fighters. In general, mages are slowest because of their low-speed stats and lack of movement skills.

Among the top 10 racers, only Sylvia and Lisa were Magicians and Archers. Everyone else was a fighter.

Though the most surprising thing was that Hiro was not in the first place. He was placed second. The one who was running in front of him was none other than Misha Kanon.

Among her stat, the highest stat was speed which was Rank B -. She was as fast as Hiro if they only compared speed stat, however, she was more advantageous. She had even more powerful movement skills than Hiro's Star Swift, which is called Shattering Flower Style: Petals in the Wind.

Moreover, compared to Hiro, Misha still had much more stamina and mana left. In the battle against the enemies, most of the time, Hiro would take on the toughest opponent, which made his mana and stamina lower than Misha's.

As for Zion, while he also had a good amount of mana and stamina left, his speed stat was only at C. Unlike Misha, Zion's strongest stat was his strength rather than speed. Therefore, while he was quite fast, he was still behind Hiro and Misha.

Misha continued to rush to the finish line with everything she got. She used every bit of mana to increase her speed and stay in the first place.

Hiro was not far behind her, using his movement skills to close the distance. Others were also not far behind as they used everything they had in order to reach the finish line first.

As they approached the finish line, the crowds cheered them on, excited to see who would come out on top. Among the many people cheering for Misha, Misha's parents and Eleonore were the most enthusiastic.

"And there you have it, folks! Misha Kanon from Ace Academy has done it! She is the first to make it across the finish line, with an incredible display of speed and skill!"

The referee announced. In the end, it was Misha who crossed the finish line first, followed closely by Hiro and Zion.

The other Ace Academy students soon followed, all were happy for Misha but also a bit sad about losing. They did great, and their school was first in this round. Still, they wanted to be the one to grab the first place.

Tournament Of Academies is the most popular event for schools in the world and many people around the world watch it. If they could at least have come first even if this was just the first round, they would have gained fame all around the world.

-CLAP! -CLAP! -CLAP! *CHEERS!

"Misha Kanon! Misha Kanon!"

"Ace Academy! Champion! Champion!"...

Crowds erupted in cheers and applause. However, their excitement could not be compared to Misha's parents and her sister, Eleonore. Her mother was tearing up as she saw her daughter get first place in this tournament. It was a proud moment for all of them.

Even Zero's parents who came to accompany them clapped in excitement. However, there was also a trace of sadness and longing. They thought that if their son, Zero was here, he might have been there just like Misha.

"Let's not forget about the rest of the competitors, who all gave it their best effort. Now let's wait for the other participants. There is only an hour left on the clock before the round ends."