It might seem strange, but the sudden announcement of a tournament actually brought a sense of normalcy to Xue Mengli. The past couple of years had been downright crazy for her. Back in her homeworld, she had learned that humans were actually losing the war against the Ghosts and Demons and they were soon going to lose their world entirely. Lem Yan and Xiao Yan gave them a way out and very quickly her entire clan had moved to this new world. This new world likewise made her head spin. Humans had befriended supersmart versions of Beasts (called Wilds here) and they bonded as Comrades. They used strange devices that used a weird power called technology that relied on physical qualities instead of Qi formations or arrays. Mengli herself had learned a bit of their ‘education’ and had to admit, learning technology arts was far more complex than learning martial arts. Both were endless oceans of learning, but on this world, Qi was thin and so technology was more important.

In a world where most humans still hadn't heard of calculators and were only just starting to figure out electricity, the appearance of electromagnetic weaponry seemed to be a very big jump in technology, but while most humans on Sorrel II were stumbling around the industrial age, the Woofers had brought the wolfcats, wolves, foxes, and other canines of the Wildlands straight into the information age with smartphones, tablets, eye-tracking, microcameras, wireless communication and wireless charging ports all paw-and-bark compatible with heavy claw protection. Whether they used their paws, noses, barks, or tongues to interface with these relatively high-tech devices, the canines and semi-canines were rapidly developing over each generation (which, for common Tier 3 wolfcats breeds, only took two years, thus an entire generation had already matured and birthed their own children in turn since the Mice Raft Project began. Bigger Tier 4 wolfcat breeds, however, took 6 years to fully mat

Kae-Taur was the minotaur boy in an orange-and-black t-shirt. Sal-taur was wearing the sleeveless khaki vest. Chi-taur was the girl in the tube dress. All three looked very bulky and easily twice Remian’s height and four to five times his size. Being children of the prestigious Banner clan of the Bison tribe, the Taur children put on good, dignified behavior in front of Remian. “Welcome to Sorrel II.” Remian cleared his throat. “We’ve done our best to prepare accommodations and refreshments for you. Please let us know if there’s anything specific you need or have trouble with.” “Indeed, we do have to trouble you for a few things.” Bak-taur nodded. “I brought my children out for experience and tempering. They need to see the world, and face many challenges and seek their own opportunities. I understand that some sort of tournament is to be held soon?” “As your captain requested, yes. It’s become something more of a mixed contest, including a Forest War

It turned out the urgent call managed to gather 200 youths who suited the requirements for the Forest War. A simple fitness test disqualified almost half of them. Some basic sparring and a short obstacle course weeded out half of those who remained. A quick run through the forest with a few planned surprises and traps along the way left only twenty-three names on the list. Xiao Yan nodded to herself. She knew most of those people. Darian, Mindy, Tim and George were obviously there. Alani, Juni, Jamie, Gary, Isabella and Siti... the whole Class 2 was there too. Eriane made it just fine even carrying a railgun the whole time. Raven was there with three siblings; Swift, Swallow and Sparrow. Izak and Izhan the two Sand People brothers were there, but Talia didn’t sign up. Sandra and Gammie made the short list too. There were three others she wasn’t familiar with who were members of Darian’s adventurer team during their jaunt at the Three Pines Ruins, the Navigator scout Ron, Lil

It took exactly three seconds for Mindy and Gary to subdue Admirer 2. He went down unsconcious with a lump on his head too. Seeing all her admirers defeated, Brittany also gave up with both hands raised. Remian made the Referee Announcement. “Boar Tribe, all five participants, out.” With the walrus and boar tribes out of the fight, and George back on his feet, the full force of the human youths closed in on the remaining five Tuskans. As if in a world on their own, Ghurk and Darrian exchanged blows while Heila and Kae-Taur were slowly pummeled into oblivion by Alani, Juni and Jamie. On the other side, Chi-Taur was shrieking. “Ow! OW! Stop! Stop I say! How dare you! Do you know who I am?!” Tim didn’t really bother to reply, too busy tangling and whipping both her and her brother at the same time. Mindy and Gary returned, with Raven’s and Lily’s squads at their backs. Eight of them surrounded Kae-Taur, clearly the most fight-capable opponent rem