章 152: 5.5. Royal Feelings
"Good luck Reese!"
"You can do it!"
First phase of the tournament involved an alternating battle royale to shrink the number of participants from the hundreds down to the top 32 which would proceed into the second phase.
Reese had been selected to fight in the first battle royale round for today.
Each round of the battle royale consisted of twelve participants. Points are only given to those in the top 6 for each bout. Throughout the duration of the first phase, the participants would fight multiple times with different opponents. So if one were to mess up accidentally on their first battle, they had other battles to make up for the loss.
"Yep. I'll definitely do my best!"
Reese's smile stunned Harvey and Eugine in place.
She hopped onwards to the field.
"Do you think she's going to win the competition?" Eugine asked.
"I have a feeling she just might.." Harvey responded in a mutter.
"Then.. if that happens, wouldn't she get to be with the hero?"
"Isn't that great? With her strength, there's no way they wouldn't say no."
"That's not the point."
"..The point?"
Eugine leaned in, "You know, I heard that she talked about a lot of lewd stuff when she talked to the instructors about the hero."
"What?!"
"There's also a rumor going around that she had a chat with the hero, and then she said something about having his child– I'm not sure if it's really the case but.."
"Where the hell did you get all this?!"
"Look, it's not like I'm happy about it either okay? If she wins, great, but we'll be left behind by her at this rate.."
["All participants please get ready! We will be proceeding into round 16!"]
Both their expressions contorted. A conflicted feeling of jealousy sprung in their hearts, one they would likely not be able to do anything about.
===
Slipping in and out of shadow, moving in cadence to the irregular movements of the attacks. A beauty dance weaved from the motion of dodging blades.
[Barrier Magic: Box]
Reese was suddenly confined to a semi-transparent region.
Taking this chance, her foe spun her whip sword towards her. The blade sunk into the ground and caused dust and rubble.
"Got you finally.. geh?!"
The girl quickly moved out of the way to dodge an incoming sword intent.
"Ora!" The cause of it, a brawny male participant, began his assault.
Reese reappeared from the shadows. Using the dust as a cover, she distanced herself from the center of the field.
When it came to group battles, she was at a major disadvantage owing to the fact that she did not wish to abuse her [Charm Magic: Transient Servitude].
And as amazing as [Shadow Magic: Shadow Empress] was, it lacked a strong offensive.have many offensive abilities to it.
"What a pickle I'm in," Reese chuckled.
She took out a silver tag from her pocket, formed a wind intent, and swung it behind her.
The camouflage from the unsuspecting assailant dispersed, a collection of floating ice blades which floated around him shot towards her at once.
She twisted her body to dodge the tightly woven attacks. Parts of her uniform torn, blood trickling from the graze on her arms and lower torso.
She pointed the silver tag towards the assailant.
"Checkmate," he said.
Reese merely smiled. And in the next moment, his figure disappeared with bits of glowing particles.
"Don't play misdirection with someone better than yourself," Reese said, blowing on the silver tag. There were visible ice stakes on the ground where he last stood, the black shadow beneath was where it grew from.
Shing!
Reese leaned forward with a twist as a blade narrowly flashed past her neck. Performing a complete rotation, she dodged the pierce of the bladed spear and sank into the shadows.
He smashed the ground with his spear, as would most people when they saw her disappear into a black mass. However, as a shadow, she was unscathed no matter what people did to the terrain around her.
The only concern which she had to be careful about was her mana usage. Staying in the shadow domain, while providing excellent cover and maneuverability, ate away at her mana reverse quite intensely.
Reese reappeared further to one side of the field. The shrinking bubble field was forcing the participants to fight. Reese was no exception as a spear user attached his focus on her.
It was also at this time that the previous sword whip user swung her weapon at her. Reese jumped– the spear user charged forward with a strike.
[Barrier Magic: Box]
[Activated Trait: Clout Paroxysm]
Pinched by both sides, the silver tag which Reese threw into the sky..
[Shadow Magic: Shadow Empress]
.. turned black alongside her melting figure.
The skill-assisted spear strike ruptured the air, causing a shockwave to spread across. It forced the tag into a whirl higher into the air.
With a glint in his eyes, he didn't waste another second and continued with an upwards sweep to sever the tag into two parts.
Making contact with half the bit, the entire spear turned black as a mass moved from one point to another. Reese formed a shadow underneath him to trip his balance while herself appearing behind him.
He quickly regained himself and swung the spear overhead in a full revolution. The strength from the continued gift use caused the air to burst, sending Reese tumbling backwards. Not wasting this opportunity, the spear user quickly pierced towards her direction, hoping that the shockwave would send her out of bounds.
A gust of wind blew towards the end, Reese disappearing to her next destination.
He clicked his tongue.
A sword shot towards his flank, immediately forcing him into defense. The girl from earlier was now targeting him.
An intense fight occurred between them, Reese titling the power balance by tripping the spearman in a puddle of shadow.
"Huh?"
While the sword user remained confused by the slip up, Reese grabbed the broken tag which she had dropped on the floor and dusted the dirt off.
"You..!"
Reese took a few steps backwards. Just as the girl shifted her focus towards her, the CQC mage specialist on the field ended her with an almost invisible projectile.
He turned towards Reese as the last person left on the field besides her.
Pointed his staff down towards the ground in a dramatic fashion. "I'll give myself a handicap," he said.
"Oh? A handicap? Do tell me the details," Reese found it silly how much of a gentleman he was trying to be.
"I will not move from where I stand," a crude box was drawn on the earth.
Reese's eyebrows wiggled in surprise. Her lips curled into a scheme-ish smile.
"I think second place is good enough."
She took a few steps back and left the permitted field of the arena, forcing the bout to an end. With Reese in second place, the mage in first–
["The champion of this battle royale goes to Saint's Academy yet again!!"]
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, he walked up to Reese.
"I will see you in the finals," he said with an indifferent expression.
"I look forward to your attempt to force me into submission," Reese jested with a chuckle.
He nodded and left the field. Reese noticed that his pointy ears were a tad red. She turned to the glass enclosure perched near the emcees' stage– the premier viewing seats.
===
"It does feel kind of boring," Shiro muttered.
"Doesn't it?" Risa followed up quietly.
They were seated in the premier room enclosed in glass. The battle royale was happening far below, one could barely make out what each person was doing without using some magnifying device.
Moreover, the frequent dust clouds and explosions only did more to make things difficult to see than it did to create that exhilarating 'effect' they were hoping for.
As individuals who grew up in a world where entertainment was but at the touch of a finger, Shiro and Risa didn't find it exciting. As for the majority of the population of this world, it was one of the biggest events they've ever seen.
"Hey look. Doesn't that girl look familiar?" Risa pointed to one of the small figures.
"Which one?" Shiro, who didn't have Risa's kinetic vision, could only see dots.
"Black colour hair."
Shiro made a circle with his index finger and thumb.
[Scientific Magic: False Physics]
Altering the trajectory of light, Shiro was able to zoom in on said person as if he were using a telescope.
"It's that girl.."
"That girl?"
"Yesterday, the one that said she wanted to win my heart.." Shiro showed a grimace.
"Really? Then she'd better lose!"
"You can say that again."
One moment she'd be there, the next she'd be gone. Even when sandwiched between two fighters, she was able to slip through.
The ending was even more mysterious, with her volunteering to give up the first seat to the other party. At this rate, Saints Academy would gain the advantage moving into the true duel round coming up in the second phase.
As the applause came to its conclusion, he saw Reese stop and wave at him. Shiro felt a chill shudder down his back.
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