Chapter 50: Diamond in the Rough

About two weeks had passed since the incident. The school had been slowly easing on the lockdown, though security remained tight. This was evident in the number of guards patrolling the compound, all armed with Esper Nullifiers. I even noticed the occasional surveillance drone hovering nearby.

As I made my way back to the classroom, I tried to ignore the glances in my direction. I hadn’t really made a big showing of my Ability back at the camp, but word had spread nonetheless. My peers seemed both impressed and wary, keeping their distance as I walked past.

I finally arrived at my class, noting that my friends were already there.

“Are you ready?” I nudged Scarlette as I eased into my seat.

“Kinda.”

“Half past five, right?”

She nodded. “Zara’s a tough opponent, but I’ll try my best.”

Although lessons had resumed, we were still confined indoors after 7 PM. The school administration assured us they were doing everything possible to restore normalcy, but for now, the heightened measures were here to stay.

“I can’t believe you accepted her challenge!” Kaede whispered. “You know she isn’t a good matchup for you!”

“I figured the best way for me to improve is to fight someone that’s a challenge for me. Obviously I’m not gonna fight Kazen, and Cadel… it wouldn’t really be close. So I thought I’d just take this opportunity. Besides, it’ll be a private fight anyway.”

Her reasoning was sound. If I were in her shoes, I’d likely make the same decision. Challenging herself this way was the fastest path to growth.

“By the way, you guys don’t have to accompany me. Besides, I don’t think the fight will be exciting. It’s more of a practice session, I guess,” Scarlette continued.

“It’s fine, we just wanna support you!” Jonah beamed.

“Uh… alright,” she wavered.

Before we could dwell on the matter any longer, Ms Reina arrived. Our teacher’s fatigue was increasingly visible, though she pushed through admirably. “Back to your seats everyone. Class is about to begin.”

----------------------------------------

I looked at my watch. 5.15.PM. The five of us made our way to the Colosso Dome, a place which seemed oddly nostalgic despite it not being that long since our last visit.

When we reached, Zara was already waiting for us, surrounded by her friends – the same group from the camp. She gave us a friendly wave.

Her demeanour was strikingly different from when we first met. Was this change a result of humility following our battle, or was her earlier attitude a persona she adopted under pressure? People often reveal contrasting sides of themselves depending on the circumstances.

We soon found an empty room and headed in. The girls took to their corners as the rest of us squeezed into the small spectator box.

Even before the duel began, the outcome seemed inevitable. Scarlette, too, must have recognised the disadvantage. Outside of a few rare exceptions that required specific setups, fire fundamentally requires oxygen to exist. What would happen if she faced someone who could manipulate oxygen?

But this doesn’t mean that it automatically spelt defeat for Scarlette. I was curious to see how she would handle it.

Kaede had taken the initiative to command the start of the match. She raised an arm, the fighters watching her as well as each other, waiting for the signal. After a brief pause, she swiftly brought her arm down.

Immediately, a torrent of fire surged towards Zara, but it was quickly snuffed out. Using the same trick she used multiple times before, Scarlette shot through the last of the flames, her momentum carrying her right towards Zara. However, Zara met her with a massive gust of wind, sending Scarlette crashing to the ground.

Zara, now hovering in the air, unleashed violent waves of wind that whipped through the arena. Scarlette did her best to dodge, but her movements were sluggish, as if something was holding her back. She tried to spark flames, but only small, sputtering embers appeared.

All of a sudden, Zara zipped towards the other end of the arena, beckoning Scarlette to follow her. Our leader gritted her teeth, frustration clear on her face, but she gave chase. Yet, it was evident: she now seemed unable to conjure any flames at all. Had Zara finally extracted the oxygen around Scarlette?

If this continued, Scarlette wouldn’t last much longer. She had less than a minute before she’d pass out. It didn’t help that Zara was pushing her to exert more energy just to get close.

However, Scarlette’s persistence paid off. She was finally within striking distance of Zara. Reaching out, her hand glowed with a faint red hue. It was clear what her plan was: Zara, like everyone else, needed to breathe, meaning there would be a small pocket of oxygen around her that Scarlette could ignite.

But nothing was happening. Why was the air around Zara not igniting? To me, the answer was obvious. Meanwhile, Scarlette was starting to choke, her other hand on her neck. Her brow creased as she withdrew her outstretched hand and stared at it in confusion. The rest of us were on the edge of our seats, worried for Scarlette’s predicament.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

In her desperation, she rushed towards us. It was probably an illegal move and the only place in the arena that still had oxygen remaining. But she was struggling against a gale-force, oxygen-deprived wind.

It was painful to watch. Some of my friends turned away while the rest of us looked on with concern. As she collapsed to her knees, I was just about to forcefully send some oxygen in her direction when she started gasping again.

Zara floated down towards her and knelt down beside her. Without thinking, the rest of us burst out of the spectator box and crowded around her.

“Give her some space,” I said, and everyone stepped back obediently, leaving her room to breathe.

“Are you okay?” Zara gently asked.

Scarlette nodded, still breathing heavily. “You play dirty,” she huffed.

“I figured you’d try to ignite the air around me,” Zara smirked. “So I extracted the oxygen from it.”

It had been a simple yet effective plan. Zara had intentionally pushed Scarlette to exert herself early in the fight. When she pulled away, she probably briefly hyperventilated before erasing the oxygen around herself and holding her own breath. With no oxygen around her, there was nothing for Scarlette to ignite. Since Scarlette had been deprived of air earlier, without time to prepare and already physically exerting herself, it was only logical that she would succumb to suffocation before Zara.

“You really pushed me,” Zara admitted, looking impressed. “I didn’t expect you to last that long. A few more seconds, and I would’ve been done for too.” She held out her hand. “Good fight.”

Scarlette gingerly shook it. “Good fight.”

We breathed a collective sigh of relief. All in all, I was just glad that nothing too serious had happened.

----------------------------------------

About an hour later, we had just finished dinner and were now about to separate at the dormitory square. Surprisingly, Scarlette had seemed calm throughout. I had expected her to be more upset about her loss.

“Cadel, do you mind if I speak to you a little? I’d like to plan some training sessions with you,” Scarlette asked.

“Uh, sure. Come to my place?”

“I feel bad if it’s always your room. Let’s go to mine today,” she suggested.

“Hey, don’t get any funny ideas man,” Jonah warned.

“It’s nothing weird!” Scarlette shot back, jabbing him in the ribs.

“Ow,” Jonah doubled over.

“I’d like to book some training sessions with you as well—” Kaede started, but after seeing Scarlette’s reaction, suddenly caught herself. “Actually, I can do it over text. Feeling kinda tired today.” Mira nodded in agreement.

With that, we waved the three of them goodbye as we headed to Scarlette’s apartment.

----------------------------------------

Scarlette unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Come in,” she said, closing it behind her. Her room looked a bit tidier than the last time I’d been here, but it still reflected her personality. Before I could take in too many details, she gestured for me to sit in her chair. Meanwhile, she settled on the floor beside me, leaning back against her bed.

“So, what did you think about the fight?” Her voice carried some weight behind it. It was soft, but I could tell she was trying to keep it steady. I had to choose my words carefully.

“It was a good fight. I think you did well, especially since you were at a considerable disadvantage.”

“She barely broke a sweat, though.”

“She had a plan up her sleeve, meaning she had thought about how the fight might unfold. If you weren’t a worthy opponent, she would have just taken you on recklessly.”

She smiled faintly, her gaze drifting away. “Heh, I guess you’re right. One miscalculation and it would be dangerous for her. Even you messed up once against me, remember?”

Of course, I remembered when she had rocketed towards me during one of our training sessions. I was deep in thought, and she had to retract her kick aimed right at me, the act of which sent her crashing into the wall. Looking back on it brought a smile to my face.

“Yeah. It would be dumb for anyone to not take you seriously.” I wasn’t saying that just to console her—it was the truth.

“Right? I don’t know... I just feel a little... embarrassed. Especially in front of you guys, and in front of Zara and her friends. Like, I’m supposed to be the leader and represent us—” She choked up, pausing to sniff back the tears.

“I’m the strongest in our group. So when Soren hurt all of you, it feels like it’s my fault for letting everyone get hurt.”

“That’s not your fault though! You weren’t—”

“Splitting up to hide was my decision as well. But do you guys blame me for it?”

“Well, no…”

“Exactly. No one’s out to get you for losing a fight. It’s just a learning experience. We take it and learn from it.”

There were a few seconds of silence as Scarlette took my words in. After a while, she straightened up. “Yeah,” she nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Don’t worry, I’ll get over this quickly. I just needed a little consoling,” she chuckled.

I jokingly patted her head, which was easy to do so given our sitting positions. She glared back up at me, before proceeding to pick herself up from the floor.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she warned, before immediately lightening up. “But thanks for the encouragement. Are you free next Monday?”

“Yeah.”

“Great! I’ll have a training session with you, then. We should have one with the group the day after as well.”

After finalising a couple of training dates, I stood up, ready to leave.

“Hold on, I’ll get the door for you. But before that…” she suddenly threw herself at me, wrapping me in a tight embrace. Caught off guard, I wasn’t sure what to do but return the hug. Was this what Mira had experienced the other day?

“Thanks for carrying us, Cadel. We wouldn’t be anywhere without you.”

I awkwardly patted her on the back. I was not used to physical contact, much less being hugged by a girl. I tried to ignore the feeling of her chest pressing against mine. “Thanks for assuming the role of group leader. It’s something I could have never done,” I replied.

“Don’t mention it. And don’t mention this to anyone else or I’ll beat your ass,” she pulled away and opened the door.

“Are you blushing?” I asked.

“N-no! It’s the lighting! Anyway, I feel better now, so you may leave,” she snapped, shutting the door behind me.

----------------------------------------

After saying goodbye to her, I returned to my room. Sure enough, she had been upset about the fight, but her outburst was admirably reserved, if you could even call it one. If this was a sign of her growth, I was sure she had the potential to be an incredible leader.

She wasn’t the only one who had improved. In the short time we had spent in this school, Kaede, Mira and Jonah had all grown in some way. On the other hand, what about me? Had I improved in any way, ever since I had enrolled here?

People were now aware of my true abilities—my life as an average student would soon be over. From now on, I would have no choice but to stand out. Not to mention, the intra-district tournament would be in the next semester. I would have to bring my A-game if I wanted to safely clinch the prize money.

The biggest concern was still Soren. Even if he wouldn’t be participating, he would remain a thorn in my side—and everyone else’s—here. The school was afraid of getting themselves involved with Umbra, so I had no idea how long the stalemate would last. We were in District 4, the bottom of the barrel. I wouldn’t be surprised if the higher-ups from both the school and the Administration were making a whole mess of this predicament.

“What if I took matters into my own hands?” I mused. Was my current Ability enough for me to shut down Umbra by myself? That was something for me to decide on another day.