Chapter 55: No Shade
8 out of the 16 students remained. Although the winner would join the rest of us in representing the school, they would likely be knocked out pretty early in the tournament. After all, they would have barely made the cut.
Still, none of these students seemed to regret trying their hand at this competition. The opportunity to experience the newfangled tech of the DreamPods before anyone else was incentive enough, and the bragging rights for winning this small tournament weren’t insignificant either. Unsurprisingly, no one was holding anything back.
The second round ended in a blur of action and energy. The level of skill on display wasn’t exactly high—for example, if you put Scarlette or Kazen in, they would mop the floor— but for lower-seeded students, these competitors weren’t pushovers. They all seemed to be straining themselves for the sake of victory.
Except for the dude named Asher. I had made sure to pay closer attention to him for the second round. He and his opponent had spawned in the middle of a water park. It was night, making it especially difficult to see each other, and as with all simulated settings, they were the only two people in it. I imagined that if one of them could manipulate water, this would be an ideal arena for them.
I watched with great interest as Asher blended into the shadows of a nearby slide. Suddenly, he emerged directly beneath his opponent, who was frantically searching for him. In an instant, a black flash cut through the air as he struck, slicing her in two. Just like his first match, the victory had been swift and merciless.
“Congratulations to Asher Marez of Class 1P! You are moving on to the next round.”
“This Asher guy’s not bad,” Scarlette remarked. “I’m surprised he’s ranked this low.”
Kaede shuddered. “Right? I’m still not really sure how his powers work, but he’s kinda terrifying.”
Asher’s opponent for the semi-finals was a wiry girl with bright orange hair, whose Ability seemed to involve generating shockwaves. She had just beaten the rock-wielding girl I had spectated for the first round with her chaotic attacks.
This time, the setting seemed to be a subway platform. The girl unleashed a series of shockwaves which cracked the ground around her, threatening to collapse the station in on itself. It was a pretty reckless strategy that endangered her own safety. How would Asher counter this?
It looked like he already had his answer. He retreated into a darker part of the platform as long, shadowy tendrils sprouted from his back, targeting the bright lights on the ceiling. Moments later, the station was swamped in darkness. History repeated itself for a third time as Asher divided his opponent into two glowing halves, ending the round.
“Woah,” Jonah murmured, echoing the awe of the crowd. The place was now absolutely packed, as word quickly spread of the ongoing event. Students stretched as far as the eye could see outside the arcade.
Before we knew it, it was time for the finals. Asher’s opponent appeared to be the fire esper that Scarlette had scoffed at earlier.
The arena soon materialised. Loud gasps emerged from the crowd as they took the scenery in. Our two finalists were standing on opposite ends of a large container ship, which was being rocked about in the middle of the ocean by a ferocious thunderstorm.
“Yo, what the heck! This is rigged!” Scarlette shouted indignantly. “They put a fire esper in a place like that?!”
As the crowd bickered noisily, I caught a few cheers of encouragement from nearby. “Let’s go, Krystal!” someone yelled. So that’s her name, I thought.
At this point, I already had an understanding of what Asher’s Ability entailed, but Krystal was facing him for the first time. She had no idea what to expect.
Still, she realised the disadvantage immediately, wasting no time in searching for cover. Dashing across the slippery deck, she located a hatch and disappeared into the ship’s interior.
On the other hand, the overcast sky and constant lightning flashes swathed the arena with shadows which Asher used to his full advantage, flitting erratically through them towards his target.
Meanwhile, Krystal was cautiously navigating the narrow corridors, eventually stumbling into what looked like the engine room. It probably wasn’t the best place to be for a fire user, but she didn’t have time to strategise as Asher was rapidly approaching. The moment she sensed him around the corner, she unleashed a wave of fire towards the entrance of the room.
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“Woo! You go girl!” Scarlette cheered.
A tense silence followed. Krystal cautiously peeked out from behind some machinery, but as she did so, the door slammed shut. Then, one by one, the overhanging fluorescent lights shattered into tiny pieces, plunging the room into total darkness.
The live feed immediately switched to night-vision mode. We saw Krystal in a crouched position, nervously making her way to the door. Suddenly, her figure crumpled, her torso cleanly severed in two.
“Congratulations to Asher Marez of Class 1P! You are the victor,” the robotic voice proclaimed for the fourth and final time today.
The crowd erupted into cheers, though I sensed a mix of awe and uneasiness. The last two DreamPods opened with a hiss. Asher almost lazily extricated himself from the unit, while Krystal emerged with a small, almost relieved smile. She approached Asher, extending a hand. He accepted the gesture, the two exchanging a few words.
“That will conclude today’s event,” Dr Connor announced. “Starting tomorrow, you may freely use the arcade— with the exception of the DreamPods. Those remain off-limits until further notice. Once again, congratulations to Asher, who will join the 64 representatives for our school. Based on your performance today, we will seed you into our lineup accordingly.”
Following the announcement, the crowd began to disperse. We followed suit.
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A couple of minutes later, we found ourselves walking by the lake, part of a throng of students heading back to the dorms. With the hype of the mini-tournament still fresh in our veins, we couldn’t help but continue talking about the games.
“Bummer that Krystal lost, but it was a fun event,” admitted Scarlette.
“I’m excited to see Asher again at the sports festival,” Jonah said. “Cadel, you think you can beat him?”
“Yes.”
The group stared at me, waiting for more.
“…That’s it?” Scarlette finally asked.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just thought you’d elaborate further,” Scarlette shrugged. “Though I lowkey wanna see you beat him up.”
“You’re saying that as if you would lose to him.”
“I mean…”
I understood where her hesitation stemmed from. If Scarlette had been in Krystal’s place during that simulated battle, the outcome probably wouldn’t have been too different. While Scarlette’s fire manipulation was far more refined, she still would’ve been at a severe disadvantage in such an environment. I could easily imagine her making similar choices to Krystal, which would’ve led to a similar result.
“Don’t worry. In most cases, you’re literally his weakness,” I reassured her.
“Because fire counters his shadow-like Ability right?”
I nodded. “Asher got pretty lucky with the arenas. Imagine if that last fight took place in the middle of a desert. It would’ve been a lot closer. For all we know, Krystal might’ve won.”
“Really? You think so?”
A high-pitched, girly voice suddenly chimed in beside us. To our surprise, it was none other than Krystal herself.
“Hey! You’re Krystal!” Jonah exclaimed, pointing unnecessarily.
“That’s me,” Krystal confirmed, looking a little embarrassed. She turned to Scarlette. “You’re Scarlette, right? I’ve always been a big fan of yours!”
“Well, umm, I didn’t know I was so well-known,” Scarlette humbly coughed.
“Are you kidding? I think just about everyone in our cohort knows about you!”
Scarlette was trying to keep her smirk in check, but it was clearly a struggle. “It’s… nothing, really. Anyway, how did you find us?”
“My friends and I were heading back to the dorms too, and we just happened to see you a little further ahead,” Krystal explained, gesturing behind her. A group of students stood a short distance away, awkwardly waving at us. “Don’t mind them, they’re just a little shy.”
Her excited expression then faded into one tinged with frustration. “I’m honestly a little disappointed with how I performed against Asher. You could say that the environment was against me, but I probably could’ve adapted to it better.”
Scarlette patted her lightly on the back. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Even I’m not sure if I would’ve fared any better. Besides, your control over fire isn’t one to be slept on!”
It was funny hearing that from her, especially since Scarlette had dismissed Krystal as an “amateur” during one of her earlier fights.
“If it’s not too much trouble, do you think I could train with you sometime?” Krystal twiddled her fingers.
“Uh… yeah, sure,” Scarlette stuttered. “Cadel and I have some training sessions planned before the tournament next week, so you could probably join in on one.”
Krystal turned her attention to me, glancing at me inquisitively as if she had just noticed I was there. “I hope this isn’t out of pocket, but are the rumours true? That you’re actually, like, some overpowered esper?”
“I’m probably better than most,” I modestly replied, ignoring the scoffs from my friends. Hey, at least I wasn’t outright denying it.
“Great! Should we exchange contacts?” Krystal asked, offering her phone to us.
After we swapped information, Krystal gave us an enthusiastic thanks before skipping off to rejoin her friends.
“Looks like you have your first fan,” I told Scarlette.
“I hope I don’t disappoint her,” she sighed.
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Administration Notes:
School: Waning Crescent
Name: Krystal Emberly
Gender: Female
Year: First-year
Rank: 3-Star
Division: Combat
Ability: Krystal can generate and control fire with impressive intensity, though her flames lack flexibility and become erratic when pushed to their limits. Despite this, she is a significant threat when able to unleash her abilities freely. Potential for an early 4-Star Uprank with demonstrated improvement in precision and control.
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