'Nothing special so far.'
Hailey, the Chief Administrator of the guild ‘Ataraxia,’ crossed her arms and thought this from the audience seats.
It was an understandable reaction, as the talents she wanted to see—Neike, Aisha, Andrew, Eshild, Max, Noctar, Seria, and Theo—mostly belonging to the hero departnt, hadn't fought yet.
'But they'll soon show themselves.'
Starting from the round of 128, the 2v2 tournant that she had been waiting for would finally begin.
With that thought in mind, Hailey took a sip of coffee and stretched, scanning the audience.
'That man is the vice-commander of the Blue Falcon Knights. That woman is the Chief Administrator of the Rustica Guild...'
They were all familiar faces.
As they were her competition, she knew their appearances very well.
While surveying the audience, her eyes stopped at one place.
'Who is that man?'
A sharp-faced man, resting his chin on his hand, was glaring at the arena.
She had never seen him before.
However, his aura was not to be taken lightly.
'A person of that caliber shouldn't be unknown to ...'
Thinking this, Hailey stared at the sharp-faced man for quite so ti, unaware that his true identity was Maitri, one of the thirteen main executives of ‘Turning White.’
The Knight Departnt's 2v2 tournant had finally begun.
I calmly observed the waiting room.
A student taking deep breaths to calm himself; another wearing a pleased expression, thinking that making it to the top 128 was a miracle in itself; and so who seed completely at ease, relaxing comfortably.
'It's only just beginning.'
Though this was the 'real' beginning, it was not 'the' beginning.
The round of 128 and up were fought 1v1, but they didn't attract much attention.
Since there were ti constraints, there was no particular comntary from the announcers' seats, and three matches were conducted simultaneously.
It was worlds apart from the practical skills evaluation held three weeks ago for the first-year students of the Hero Departnt, where every match had been broadcast.
This reflected the longstanding bias within the academy towards the heroes, a notion that they were superior to others.
Well, at least the rules were similar.
No, they were exactly the sa.
The ti limit was five minutes, and only practice weapons could be used.
Riding mounts were not allowed, and of course, wearing and using artifacts was prohibited.
During the practical skills evaluation, it didn't matter, but now it was a bit of a problem.
Without [Amplification Orb], my strength would diminish drastically.
[Amplification Orb] not only enhances traits and magic but also boosts the power of [Overload].
To increase the chances of victory even slightly, it was obviously essential.
So I considered it an investnt and opened the shop window to purchase an item for the first ti in a while.
●Camouflage Scroll [Grade: Rare]
: When used, camouflages the target item & artifact.
If the camouflaged item & artifact move a certain distance, the camouflage state is released. [More details]
In simple terms, the camouflage state prevents the item or artifact from being detected by artifact detectors.
Since the [Amplification Orb] is neither a weapon nor armor, there's no need for it to move a certain distance.
I can just keep it inside my pocket as I do now.
Depending on its usage, this effect can be highly useful. However, it cos with a cost.
Its price is a whole one shop gold coin, and its duration is a re three hours.
‘Haah, it can't be helped.’
The [Amplification Orb] is very helpful to .
'I should think of it as an investnt to get five shop gold coins.'
Without the [Amplification Orb], I would likely lose not only to Neike's team but also to Aisha & Julia's team.
As I was lost in thought,
"Theo, are you nervous by any chance?"
Irene, who was sitting next to , looked up at with a sly smile, as if she found the idea surprising.
"Why would I be? I was just reviewing our strategies for each team."
"Heeh, I see. Even though I said we should win earlier, don't pressure yourself too much. We might lose, especially since there are many teams with top-ranking Hero Departnt students. You're growing fast anyway, so even if we lose, don't be too upset."
"······That won't happen, Rin. I intend to win no matter what. We will not lose."
I spoke with sincere conviction.
I invested as much as a precious shop gold coin.
And products purchased from the shop are non-refundable.
But it wasn't a reckless decision. I invested because I saw potential.
I will win this tournant, earn five shop gold coins, and at the sa ti, improve my reputation.
I'll need to recruit an Aide soon to work with for over three years.
Reputation is important.
Irene seed to understand my thoughts and just chuckled.
"That's right, such an attitude is indeed fitting for the successor of the esteed Waldeurk family. But don't overdo it. Honestly, Theo, I'm excited just participating in this tournant with you."
"Is that so."
I responded indifferently.
I don't feel the excitent she's talking about.
Though my appearance is that of a 16-year-old teenager, my mind is not.
Unlike young students, I've lost the youthful emotions and romanticism long ago.
If a goal is set, I must run towards it without hesitation.
My goal right now is victory.
Irene wore a lonely expression.
"······ I guess I'm the only one excited. I kind of thought this was a da······ate, but it seems you didn’t."
Irene looked as crestfallen as a fire Pokémon who had lost its tail fla.
I turned my head, frowning.
'A date? What's she talking about!'
This is a tournant.
If we don't win, I'll be losing the gold coins.
But encouraging team mbers is also an important elent in this 2v2 tournant.
"······No, I'm excited too."
"Really?"
Irene's eyes widened as she stared at .
I nodded faintly.
"Yes."
"······It doesn't seem like it."
Irene narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly, a flashback of past situations flashed through my mind.
Yes, this was similar to situations I'd experienced several tis with Aisha.
But a fitting response did not co to mind.
I blurted out whatever ca to my head.
"Wow, I'm excited."
“Tsk, fine. Heh."
Irene smiled again, as if regaining her lost tail fla.
"······."
It seems to have worked, but it was baffling.
‘She got .’
A woman's heart is truly incomprehensible.
If only it had an answer like a math problem, how wonderful it would be.
With these thoughts, I looked again at the large poster on the waiting room wall.
[Knight Departnt 2v2 Tournant Round of 128 Teams List]
.
.
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[Neike & Cyrus - Hero Departnt 1st & Knight Departnt 12th]
.
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[Noctar & Gulrik - Hero Departnt 71st & Knight Departnt 199th]
.
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[Theo & Irene - Hero Departnt 181st & Knight Departnt 1st]
.
.
[Aisha & Julia - Hero Departnt 6th & Knight Departnt 3rd]
.
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[Max & Locon - Hero Departnt 53rd & Knight Departnt 11th]
.
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[Andrew & Sally - Hero Departnt 9th Place & Knight Departnt 117th Place]
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[Travis & Jacob - Hero Departnt 188th Place & Knight Departnt 48th Place]
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[Jamie & Seria - Knight Departnt 8th Place & Magic Departnt 1st Place]
There were many nas to take note of.
It seems the academy's bias towards the Hero Departnt was showing again: even though the tournant was hosted by the Knight Departnt, the nas of the Hero Departnt students were listed first.
'They've put the Magic Departnt's na at the back, how pathetic.'
Just like in the original ga, Seria is also participating.
Seria, one of the main heroines in the original ga and the top student in the Magic Departnt, is powerful.
She's not in the Hero Departnt, but she can compete with most of the top-tier students there.
'Hmm... The top four teams must be Neike's team, Aisha's team, Andrew's team, and Seria's team.'
Excluding the insurmountable Neike, they all have unique characteristics.
Cyrus, who is on the sa team as Neike, is ranked 12th in the Knight Departnt, but he's no different from Theo in the original ga, a third-rate villain.
But he's good at appealing to emotions.
Neike finds it hard to say no.
Perhaps Cyrus begged to be on the sa team.
Originally, Neike would have partnered with Irene, but now she is on the sa team as .
Aisha's team has good synergy.
In the original ga, the combination of archer and warrior was referred to as 'rice soup,' a reliable choice in most situations.
'Next is Andrew's team.'
I heard that Andrew was participating in the tournant, but I didn't know he would be on the sa team as Sally.
It's an incredibly unbalanced combination.
Sally.
With her naive innocence and eye-catching smile, she's not a heroine in the original ga but was quite popular.
So users of the original ga even clamored to have Sally included among the main heroines like Irene, Aisha, and Piel.
It's really strange.
How did Sally end up on a team with Andrew?
...I'm curious.
I want to ask about it, bad.
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