[AN: *Tsun mode* S-shut up and take it!

Alright, a lot of thanks go to Miaowdom-san and nf_zeta-san for PR to bring you real clean version! Applause!]

____________________________________________________________

Mersa's speed was astonishing, as expected from a sub-race that was specialized in hunting. Vorst had to spend several minutes before he could catch up with her. The White Wolf Princess was so focused in running away that she didn't even notice him calling out to her several times. In the end the only thing he could do was to get in front of her and stop her with a hug.

Suddenly being held in his secure embrace, Mersa calmed down.

[Vorst: Seeing Mer-chan running away from me hurt a bit you know?]

[Mersa: I'm sorry Vor-chan... *sob*]

A small line of tears tricked down her little face as she buried her face in his clothes.

[Vorst: It's fine.]

After the wolf girl calmed down they moved to a nearby park. It was quite late so it was completely empty, both of them sat down on a bench next to a lake.

[Mersa: Vor-chan... Does Vor-chan like older girls?]

[Vorst: ...]

[Mersa: Vor-chan does, right?!]

[Vorst: Umm.. a bit.]

[Mersa: ...]

[Vorst: But it mostly depends on a person you know? I won't just like her because she is older.]

[Mersa: Hmmm...]

[Vorst: When Mer-chan grows up I'll be all over her.]

[Mersa: *blush* R-really?]

[Vorst: Yes, I'm sure.]

[Mersa: I see... B-but... Does Vor-chan like Celina-senpai?]

Questions level went up a notch, is this what they call a difficulty level up?

[Vorst: Hmm... Not as much as I like Mer-chan.]

[Mersa: I-I see. *blush level 421*]

Vorst brought his hand and made her head lay on his lap.

[Vorst: Don't worry, I'll never let Mer-chan go, I'll protect you forever.]

[Mersa: Hehe, I'm happy.]

Night time was passing slowly as they both stared at the night sky. That day they didn't return to the party.

______________________________________________________

[Mersa: Vor-chan, good luck.]

[Vorst: Got it, you too Mer-chan.]

And with that both of them entered the VRG capsule and for both of them the [Single Tournament - Lower Division] started.

First day was a Block day. The participants were divided into groups called 'Blocks' each with roughly 1000 participants. In these Blocks pairs are matched and put into fights repeatedly for 10-12 duels (up to 2 loses are allowed), then they advance to the next Block. To enter the main tournament one needs to go through 3 of those blocks.

All the participants of the same block shuddered as they saw the Golden Dragon entering the field. All of them repeatedly watched the video from the last week...

[CommentatorA: Welcome everyone, we are broadcasting from 'Block' #11! Wow! I can't believe we are so lucky! There he is! The Golden Knight that amazed everyone with his incredible performance is here again! Let me put the details on the screen. Whoa! 2nd HST! He is even stronger than before!]

[CommentatorB: His advancement speed is simply unimaginable for a BLow type sub-race. I highly doubt that it is a real case, but official records state so, so who am I to argue? His aptitude number is certainly the lowest in the history, and I doubt the Athena's researchers will make a mistake of that degree, so this might be due to some machine error.]

[CommentatorA: Indeed. Whoa, look at this.]

The Golden claws started emitting light as nano-photons were packed there to the utmost limit.

Dash.

Flash.

A sword strike was directed toward Vorst's right shoulder, but with minimal movement he 'barely' dodged it and did an immediate counter. Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent was out of balance three consecutive claws came at his victim's barrier, and with a swish from his tail he was finished off.

First one was down in an instant. Chills ran past all of the other participants. In the last battle he was using the swords, in this one he didn't even unsheathe them.

[CommentatorB: He is certainly showing off the same prowess that he did a week ago, but this isn't going to be that easy.]

[CommentatorA: How so?]

[CommentatorB: In the last week he certainly took advantage of most of the fact that most of his opponents barriers were worn down after a prolonged battle, this time all of the fighters will start out with their maximum strength.]

[CommentatorA: I see, that's certainly true, besides our Golden Knight there are some real monsters out there too.]

[CommentatorB: But in Block #11 he certainly is the strongest.]

[CommentatorA: Haha, I just got a message from Block #39, The White Wolf Princess is also participating in the tournament! If we are lucky we can see a duel between those two children. Whoa, another opponent down!]

[CommentatorB: That's right, he is just cutting through them without using his swords! Such a show off haha.]

...

[CommentatorA: Finally, we have the list of winners from Block #11. As expected Vorst the "Golden Knight" had the expected score of 10 wins and no losses. ... ...]

...

[Commentator: Here's the list of winners from Block N. The unrivaled and most probably our favourite competitor Vorst the "Golden Knight" with a perfect score, lightning fast wins, with no losses yet again! ... ...]

...

Commentator: Ouch, our White Wolf Princess just got defeated for her third time in Block VI, it seems like we won't be seeing her in the main event. Well, with her talent I'm sure she will do much better in upcoming tournaments.]

...

Commentator: Here are the results from Block III. Vorst the "Golden Knight" with an impeccable record of 30 consecutive wins and zero losses. ... ...]

___________________________________

[Mersa: Vor-chan is amazing. No loses at all.]

Mersa was used to losing, against senpais from class A she lost repeatedly but the next day she challenged them all the same. There was one match that she was sour about but she didn't want to trouble this green eyed boy. This time she didn't expect to get into the main tournament either - one must know their limits, after all she was only 7th HST.

Among the 62 that qualified for the main tournament only Vorst, an odd ball, was lower than 10th HST.

[Vorst: No, it's all about the timing. As long as you are capable of avoiding the attacks and be able to deliver yours you will win.]

[Mersa: But Vor-chan needs to dodge better, every time I see you barely dodging an attack my heart pounds painfully.]

Mersa was quickly defeated in the third block so she spent rest of that time watching her knight's performance.

[Vorst: Oh, I apologize for that. *hug* But Mer-chan, you're mistaken.]

[Mersa: Mistaken about what?]

[Vorst: About me barely dodging, I avoided it with least movement possible. With that you have way more time for counters and it is possible to connect your attacks better.]

[Mersa: Whoa! Vor-chan is amazing.]

[Vorst: I'll teach you after we get back to school after this tournament month is done.]

[Mersa: Whaaa! I'm looking forward to it, hehe~]

_______________________________________________

Marc was surrounded by violet cushions as Lily's head was resting on his lap. With one hand he played with her crimson hair as he watched the dark angel dancing in front of him. It wasn't essentially a dance, because Krishna Calla Ragnarok right now was tirelessly practicing. However with her beautiful curves and all those perfectly fluid, practiced movements it was certainly comparable to one of the most mesmerizing dances possible.

Though he wholeheartedly enjoyed the spectacle in front of him there was another thing that bugged him.

[--Lily--: Something's on your mind Marc?]

[--Marc--: There is a Link trying to get to me.]

[--Lily--: Oh, not Celina?]

[--Marc--: That's the problem... It's not. I can feel Celina's getting close to the required level, but it's much, much weaker when compared to this one.]

[--Lily--: Really? And you don't know who she is?]

[--Marc--: Yes, I have no idea. Right now there are thousands of weak links that are trying to be formed, there is also Celina's who is on higher level than them, then there is one that is at a completely different scale from the rest...]

Calla hearing the conversation halted her movements. As she saw a dissatisfied expression appearing on Marc's face she felt extremely content.

[--Calla--: So her feelings are growing with an extreme rate... M'lord's cheating habits are showing themselves again.]

[--Lily--: Hehe, you'd better treat us gently as an apology.]

[--Marc--: Sigh... at this rate... she might break through my control threshold.]

[--Calla--: So I guess there will be another girl in the family, if she is as gifted in fighting as Mersa-chan I'll train her personally too.]

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

[--Lily--: Marc, are you sure about telling Mersa the truth?]

[--Marc--: She will have to find out eventually, and I don't think it will seriously matter with the scale of her feelings.]

[--Calla--: M'lord made his decision, so what's there to think about? I can't wait to bring up another fighter. I'll polish Mersa-chan to perfection. She will be capable of fighting that Mistglan soon. Huhu~]

[--Lily--: Anastasia is waking up soon too right?]

[--Marc--: Yes. My soul is getting used to this world, it should be somewhere around now.]

[--Lily--: Knowing her she will come running right after she opens her eyes.]

[--Calla--: And she will be all 'Marc~ Love~ Marc~ Shujin-sama~'.]

All three of them could immediately picture that scene.

[--Marc--: Not sure about the running part, but yeah, Kaya will come immediately...]

_______________________________________________________________

[Quel (host): Greetings everybody, today I, Quel Kin, have been granted the pleasure to be here as the host of the Single Tournament - Lower Division. After the block battles we have 62 participants left, but first let us welcome two guests that have taken their time to come to our studio. First is a legendary war hero, the 'Silver Knight', A Liger hybrid, the 'A' Ranker, our one and only Mistglan Dex.]

The day before, Claire nonchalantly threw him a 'I arranged you as a main commentator tomorrow'...

[Mistglan: Good morning everyone, I hope we will see a lot of enjoyable moments today.]

[Quel: Our second guest is also a war hero, the 'Psionic Bullet', an elf, the 'C' Ranker, Victor Erwing.]

[Victor: Morning everyone. I'm honored to be here together with Mistglan-senpai. Mistglan-senpai, please allow me to publicly express my gratitude for saving us all the other day.]

[Mistglan: No need, I just did what was expected from me.]

[Quel: Mr. Mistglan is so modest. Gentlemen please share with us what do you think about the current state of the tournament, especially the dark horse of the tournament, The Golden Knight.]

[Mistglan: I'm happy to see that one of my pupils is so capable. Also I'd like to publicly denounce the notion that his current ability is all thanks to me. It's wrong, in my past I trained many others too, but Vorst's current power is all thanks to his own efforts.]

[Victor: That's amazing. The skill the Golden Knight displays is outstanding, I believe his battle talent is even comparable to yours Mistglan-senpai.]

[Mistglan: That's right.]

[Quel: The Golden Knight sure deserves the attention, I'm looking forward to his future progress. Now, let's start with the tournament!]

...

[Semi-finals: Vorst vs Merzes Vali]

Merzes is a 10th HST official 'Axeman'. His skill is a little inferior to Renves from Mars' Strongest Trio. The day he saw Mersa on the news was a day he had his first crush (lolicon!). One must imagine how furious he was when he found out about the relationship Vorst had with her. With negative emotions swirling through his mind his 'love' quickly turned into 'hate' towards the White Wolf Princess. Envy completely clouded his rational thought and he didn't accept that the 'powerless he looked down so much on was actually really strong.

10

9

8

[Merzes: You're the so called Golden Knight huh?]

[Vorst: ...]

7

[Merzes: So mighty and powerful that you won't draw your sword huh?]

[Vorst: ...]

6

[Merzes: Are you looking down on me? Seriously?]

[Vorst: ...]

[Merzes: You know what? I'll destroy you just as I destroyed your shitty 'Mer-chan']

5

[Vorst: ... Say what?]

4

[Merzes: Haha, you heard that right, I beat her in the block.]

3

[Merzes: She was really weak, as expected of a brat who chose the 'powerless', once I called out your name she got mad haha.]

2

[Merzes: I played around with her, and as she was so weak she couldn't do anything.]

1

[Merzes: Though I didn't get her to beg for forgiveness, but it was damn satisfying...]

...

[Meanwhile]

[Mistglan: A taunt, quite a vicious one too.]

[Victor: A valid strategy, so far Golden Knight relied on his excellent dodging ability to win battles.]

[Mistglan: Right, if he can make Vorst do a reckless charge his chances of winning increase tremendously.]

[Victor: You know your pupil best Mistglan-senpai, will it work?]

[Mistglan: I doubt it, Vorst is quite level headed.]

[Victor: I see.]

[Mistglan: W-wha...]

...

The counter reached '0' and the battle started.

The Golden Armor charged in recklessly.

It was a straight line with the incredible speed. But once the path can be determined it's easy to hit the target. With a triumphant laugh Black Bear raised his Axe as he swung down on the approaching golden line.

Clang.

...

[Victor: Whoa! Mistglan-senpai, that's triple hex right?]

[Mistglan: Yes, that's definitely it.]

[Quel: Wow. In my life I saw triple hex shields only several times, and that was only performed in Upper Circle Tiers.]

[Victor: That's because they are incredibly hard to invoke, and once they fail a large amount of photons will go to waste...]

...

If you want me... Then here I am.

That was what the Golden Dragon was implying.

Just as the axe was about to strike down on his head three hexagram shaped shields appeared in the air. A large amount of sparks appeared in the air as Alchemical Metal clashed with the shields, it was capable of breaking through two layers but it lost to the third one.

In front of Merzes, the green gems on the face of the Golden Knight shined like the two eyes of a Grim Reaper. With a series of the claws strikes, the barrier of the Black Bear broke, then with a quick tail swipe his arm was brutally and quickly cut off.

[Merzes: Guaaaah!]

Though in the Virtual Game pain was limited to only 30% of what it would feel in the real world the pain of losing a limb was still excruciating.

[Vorst: No one.. No one is allowed...]

With another tail strike another limb was separated from the black bear's body. His pitiful howls echoed throughout the arena.

[Vorst: No one is allowed to insult Mer-chan in front of me! Remember this well, the next time you do that, I'll draw my swords to cut you into smaller pieces. Slice by slice...]

With that the tail pierced through the torso of the M-Armor...

...

Silence ensued...

[Quel: It's the Golden Knight's victory!]

The host of the tournament quickly regained his composure. Scenes like losing a limb in the tournament weren't rare. The thing was that in all of the previous battles Vorst after breaking the barrier cleanly finished his opponent in one strike. The mercilessness shown by the 11 year old boy towards his opponent was quite surprising.

[Victor: Haha, The Golden Knight will not allow anyone to insult his Princess.]

[Mistglan: Hm, it seems like he has a real soft spot for Mersa-san.]

[Quel: Right, he is just an 11 year old, outbursts like that are common, but the power he displayed is something uncommon.]

[Victor: That's right, with this match over we are getting into the most exciting part.]

[Mistglan: That's right next will be finals. Vorst of Athena's Institute vs the Ace of Athena's Institute Nova Aria.

[Victor: That's right, it will be quite a sight to see. The Golden Knight vs the Witch of Restriction.]

[Mistglan: Indeed, though Vorst is my pupil, I certainly see her as the victor of this tournament. Aria is an extremely gifted young woman.]

[Victor: Yes, she lost in the Inter-battle School Tournament only because Mars' Strongest Renves is capable of lightning fast movement to ambush her. In duels she has yet to be defeated. She is also personally instructed by Claire-sama on Barrier Psychics, plus she also wields that mysterious power of Runes.]

[Mistglan: In terms of combat ability Vorst might be capable of fighting her, but when psychic powers and runes come into play... I'd love to see him overcome that enormous hurdle.]

[Quel: It will be certainly exciting battle. We will get back to you after a brief break. Please stay with us to witness an exciting finale!]

_______________________________________________________________

It was time for the finals, two M-Armors appeared on the field. Both clad in a glistening Golden color...

Violet light appeared in Marc's eyes...

Vorst quickly accessed her profile...

[--Marc--: It's her...]

[--Lily--: The one with the exceptional link force?]

[--Marc--: Yes.]

[--Calla--: She's cute m'lord, you're lucky.]

[--Marc--: ...]