BOOM BOOM CLACK
BOOM BOOM CLACK
BOOM BOOM CLACK
"Dad… What is that?"
Just like his son, Norcet, the mage and all those near them had surprised expressions on their faces as they heard the drumbeat which was only now audible as they were on the way to their destination.
It was a long walk from Olympia to the stadium, as the area between them was meant for those who did not have tickets to sit.
What had been a boisterous atmosphere with people talking animatedly among themselves while looking forward to the events had changed into one of solemnity as they got to the point where they could see the edges of the massive canyon which was said to hold the stadium.
They knew that it would be grand, but they had never expected that it would be this stunning of a spectacle.
The drumbeat set the mood, making each and every one have serious expressions on their faces as they stepped forward and froze in place, their minds unable to process the image in front of them.
The biggest stadium in the continent was finally in front of them.
Although they still couldn't see it in its entirety, most of it was visible because of the downward slope. Someone sitting here would easily be able to see what was happening on the ground, although the problem was that it wouldn't be very clear as the distance was very far.
Yet, the stadium itself was the thing which was most shocking. Eight hundred thousand was a number which none of them had been able to clearly wrap their heads around, and it was only now that they understood just how much of a feat of architecture it was to construct a building that could hold so many people.
It was all made of what looked like a yellowish rock, making the stadium stand out in stark contrast to the surrounding canyon which was more of a reddish shade.
Different people shook off their shock at different times, stepping forward with the urge to see more.
With each step, more and more of the grand scale of the stadium became clear to them, making each person marvel at the tenacity that had definitely been needed by the one who had embarked upon this project.
The volume of the drumbeat also seemed to be increasing the closer they got the stadium, and as they neared the spot where there seemed to be a round mirror placed on the earth, the sound completely dominated them and made the pace of their heartbeats increase steadily.
As they got to this mirror, each of them was asked to show the ticket again after which the official touched some sort of control on the mirror before asking them to step through.
Most of those who had been able to obtain tickets were people who were learned about the world, so they weren't very puzzled about what these objects were. They were fixed teleportation portals, just like the ones outside the capital city of the Kingdom of the Elves which were used to teleport those who wished to enter it upward as the city was located on a flat cliff.
These were supposed to be so costly that they weren't even used in cities around the continent for quickly getting to important places. This was because it just didn't make sense to deploy them both because of the initial cost and the additional maintenance that had to be regularly done, and also the fact that a mage needed to be present in order to drive them.
Of course, the Olympics was THE most special event, so it only made sense that these trinkets made an appearance here.
They seemed to be handled by elves who were standing nearby with their hands outstretched, with their expressions set into ones of seriousness.
As all three of them stepped through, they couldn't help but stop in place again.
They were now standing in a large corridor from where the ground was clearly visible, and it seemed to be somewhere inside the stadium.
"Please step forward."
Hearing this from the official who was standing nearby, they nodded and quickly walked forward to the guardrail from where they could see the entire stadium.
Rows and rows of seats greeted their eyes, where people were slowly finding their places and sitting down with anticipation clear on their faces. Hawkers were selling some kind of trinkets and there were also many food stalls in the large corridors, just like the one where they had just entered.
Each corridor could have 20 people standing side-by-side, making them the perfect spot for people to put up stalls.
The structure of the stadium was such that there were corridors like these at equal intervals all around. Each corridor ended with a place like the one they were standing in where there was a guardrail stopping people from moving forward. From here, if they moved to the side, they could access the steps which led to each row.
Hence, each corridor catered to each section of the stadium, making it so that no one would be left unattended.
Impressed by the thoughtful structure, Norcet looked down at the ground once again where he now saw at least 500 soldiers sitting in front of drums and making the sound which they had gotten used to by this point.
The opening ceremony was still two hours away, but it looked like a lot of people had made a similar decision like them to arrive early.
Smiling wider, Norcet approached the official once again and showed the ticket to find out their seat numbers.
After doing so, he led the other two to a row which was very close to the ground.
The seats also seemed to change with the kind of ticket, as Norcet had clearly seen that the normal seats only had very bare cushions.
Their seat, on the other hand, had high-quality plush ones which felt great to sit on.
There was also ample leg space, making it so that there was no discomfort whatsoever.
After the three took their seats, a hawker who had noticed them walked over and said, "Welcome to the Olympic Stadium, distinguished VVIPs! Would you like to buy some zoom trinkets? Just put them in front of your eyes, and you'll be able to zoom in how much ever you want! Perfect for getting a close up look at all the exciting games that are going to take place! The cost varies with the amount of zoom and the clarity you want, with the costliest going up to 1 Gold Lan. Any currency is accepted, and the standard conversion rates apply. You definitely don't want to miss even a single moment!"
In an excellent mood, Norcet fished out three Gold Lans from his pocket and bought the trinkets for all three of them.
The trinket was like a rectangular box which one placed in front of their eyes. He could see the other models, and the cheapest ones were just unadorned boxes. The one they had bought, on the other hand, had leather strings to tighten the trinket around one's head and also had some handgrips to hold them. One thing which was in common with all of them was the logo of Lanthanor.
Putting them in front of his eyes, he was amazed to see that just like the hawker had said, he could zoom into any spot he wanted using a dial on the side of the trinket.
"What are these? They haven't been on the market before, have they?", asked Norcet, astounded at the practicality of these devices.
"They are a new invention of Lanthanor's, made specially for this event! Please enjoy everything, and visit our stall in the corridor if you need anything else! Thank you for your patronage!"
Saying so, the hawker left them, while the three started exploiting the trinkets and watching everything around the stadium with wide-open eyes.
As the time to the opening ceremony approached, people started trickling in more and more until the entire stadium was filled by the sound of hundreds of thousands of people talking at the same time, almost overpowering the drumbeats which were still continuing.
Finally, it exactly 10 AM, one final drumbeat which was louder than all the rest silenced everyone, indicating that it was time.
Along with that sound, a single man appeared in the air above them, facing east.
As everyone who had bought the trinkets used them to see that this was the King of Lanthanor, they realized that the host had arrived to begin the opening ceremony, as was his right.