"Greetings, competitors!" the man in the front middle said enthusiastically. He was a middle-aged man with pale skin and a short pointy beard coming off his chin. A small robot with a vague likeness to a bird rested on his shoulder. He must have been a Labor Class, but I wasn't abreast of all the sub-class forms their robots could take.

The official didn't have anything overtly essential to go over; it was primarily platitudes to thank everyone for joining. I was sure they were happy since the more people who entered, the more money they made.

"During this year's tournament, we have had a record number of contestants, so you have your work cut out for you. As you should already be aware, the elimination round will be held in the afternoon. We are currently-"

"Wait," I blurted. "How are all the fights going to get done by today if the elimination isn't until the afternoon?"

The official cleared his throat momentarily. "Thank you for your question; if we could all wait until the end of the briefing for questions, that would be helpful to move this along. However, to answer your question, this is a multi-day tournament as indicated on all the flyers, at the signup area, and on the paperwork given afterward."

The room broke out with everyone snickering and laughing at me. I, unfortunately, totally deserved the ridicule. I should have read through the paperwork, but I didn't bother. So I didn't gather any more unwanted attention, I decided to just sit back, shut up, and pay attention. After a few more minutes of unimportant information, he got to the good stuff.

"The qualification round will consist of a multi-opponent, hand-to-hand only, match that will pit you against your opponents in combat. Per the rules, killing and intentional maiming are not allowed, and any instance will result in disqualification. Unfortunately, if you have an ability that can kill or maim, you are prohibited from using it."

I could tell that fighting without weapons was troublesome for many contestants. When that was announced, a low rumbling of worry flowed around the room. I hoped the guy who messed with me would be upset, but he looked happy. It was probably because he had a shield. All those like him would have an advantage.

"Additionally, the rules committee has also banned the use of shields as they know it would create an unfair advantage. Plus, the people want to see a martial tournament, not a bunch of fighters smashing their shields together. Save that for your lovers."

A few laughed at that, and I focused on the guy who approached me. He definitely didn't like that rule. I only smiled at his distress before concentrating on the official again.

"Once you get out to the arena, you will notice that the area's boundary is clearly marked by the raised area. You are considered eliminated if any part of your body touches the area off the stage for any reason. FOR ANY REASON."

Dang, that was said forcefully!

"There will be officials to pull those who are unconscious out of the ring, so you need not drag them yourself. Although, no one is going to stop you. The top ten competitors will move on to the next stage of the contest." The official paused to look at me. "Does anyone have any questions?"

I put my head down and ignored the jibe. It seemed like it wasn't my day. Hopefully, that bad luck wouldn't bleed into my matches. No one else seemed to have any questions, so after that, we were told to wait around for our match.

I decided to cultivate my energy even though I knew I couldn't bring in anything. I liked how it felt to manipulate my internal energy. I felt like it help me heal and recover. I needed to take the time to learn the next lesson with my Augmented Reality program. I had been either too tired or too busy lately.

The chubby guard who turned fighter decided not to bother me anymore, but I had a sneaking suspicion he would be a problem during the match. Little did he know, I was going to be the problem, especially for him. I wasn't feeling very altruistic, so I already planned on him being my first elimination.

I had to actually plan for everyone in the room. I couldn't tell who would be a problem. There was the mountain of a man that I had seen earlier. Perhaps mountain wasn't the right word. He was shorter than me but twice as wide. No one had put their weapons away yet, and he was holding on to a massive dual-headed hammer. I thought he would be a problem regardless of where I faced him.

Upon closer look, I realized that his hammer was his robot. Protruding from over his should was another hammer's head. It was distinctly different from the one in his hands. The head of the hammer in his hands was twice the size of the one on his back. It was made up of multiple overlapping plates, and I could even spot what looked like gears to a clock.

I had never seen a robot that looked like that, but there were more than anyone could feasibly track. However, since his robot was a tool, he was a Labor Class. It was good to see that there were other non-Martial Class users in the tournament.

No one else stood out to me until I started cultivating. As soon as I did, I could sense another person. It was such an odd feeling that I was momentarily pulled from my cultivation.

I couldn't sense it when I focused on moving my energy inside my body. When I tried to see if there was any De to bring in, I sensed it. The power felt like the flame of a candle glowing in the dark; it wasn't strong but brighter due to the lack of light around it.

I did pause for a moment to find who it was. I wanted to ask them what my power felt like. Also, if someone else was a cultivator, I would have to be extra careful around them. I couldn't tell precisely who emanated the power, but I could sense the general direction. I came from the far corner where five other people were standing.

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There were three men and two women. No one was giving anyone any attention; they all seemed content to wait. I made a note of them so I could be aware once the competition started. However, with no one moving, trying to find them was a waste of time. I also didn't even know if they would be friendly. After what happened earlier, I didn't want to risk looking even more foolish.

I decided to put the thought from my mind and focus on cultivating my energy until the match started. Over the past couple of weeks, it appeared that manipulating my energy was becoming easier. There was also more that continued to build up inside me. If it kept going like that, there would be too much, and I wouldn't know what to do.

Eventually, time passed, and the official returned to the room to tell us to get ready. At that moment, I saw one of the most amazing scenes of my life. After the official told everyone to get prepared, near simultaneously, everyone switched to Symbiotic Mode.

The room burst into a flurry of transforming robots around their human counterparts. I was stunned and didn't know which way to look. I was probably showing my inexperience by gawking, but it was impressive. Unfortunately, I also felt that every other transformation from then on would be lackluster. That was what probably happened to all those in the room since everyone seemed nonplussed by the scene. Before everyone was done transforming, I remembered my change into Symbiotic Mode.

After everyone was done, we were led out of the same doors the officials came from. It led through a large corridor with a slight incline and out into the open air. We emerged to the light of midday into the inner portion of the stadium.

I looked around as we were then led up onto the stage. Bench seats ringed the stadium going up a hundred or more rows. There seemed to even be some spectators scattered around the area. I imagined how it would look if packed, which was a sobering thought. Still, the number of people was enough that I could hear their random shouts.

The stage they led up onto was made of gigantic concrete blocks. Each block was three feet high and around five feet across. There were about ten of the blocks in a row. When we made it up on the platform, everyone started to scatter around. I moved to the most open area I could find. Then, I surreptitiously found a spot near the chubby fighter who had messed with me earlier.

Even though it was a mass elimination match, and the crowd wasn't too large, the venue didn't skip on the pageantry. On one end of the stadium was a giant DV screen that displayed all the contestants as we walked onto the stage. The border on the DV was lined with changing patterns and lights.

When it focused on a fighter, it also displayed their name at the bottom of the screen. I was glad that it didn't show mine. It had slipped my mind, but I was still worried about what had happened back home. However, that would probably be a larger issue after I qualified. I would have to make sure to skip town as soon as possible.

The screen wasn't the only display of pageantry. There was a constant bombardment of music and horns that came out of speakers from every direction. Considering all the screens, speakers and other general power consumption in the stadium, I wondered how big the De power nodes were and how there was any left for others.

After we were all on the stage, the music died, and someone started speaking. The sound echoing off the stadium walls made it hard to understand, so I mostly tuned it out. Finally, the speeches were over, and the DV started to count down to the start of the match from ten.

The timer reached one, and a loud buzzer went off throughout the stadium. I had positioned myself right behind my bully without him seeing me. The arena where we fought was immense, and his cronies were too far away.

"Hey, Chubby," I said while grabbing the back of his armor. If I hadn't been holding him, I would have been shocked at the voice from my mask. It was a deep voice that had a metallic hum. I could tell it startled Chubby when he jumped slightly as I grabbed him.

I spun around and took him with me. I was expecting some resistance, but I was surprised at how easy it seemed. His body flailed as I pivoted, and his feet nearly came off the ground. This was the first time I could test my robot's strength and my cultivation against a person.

After spinning around, I let him go so he could tumble to the edge of the ring. To my dismay, he didn't fall off. I checked my surroundings to make sure no one was in the area, and I leisurely strolled to him. Since I didn't eliminate him quickly, I decided to make him regret messing with me.

He was scrambling to his feet as I got within range.

"Instead of chubby, I think I'll call you Porky." I waited until he was all the way up and looking me in the eyes. "And I hate pigs." I kicked out, and my foot connected with his chest.

There was some considerable pushback as my attack landed. I was surprised at the amount. It made me realize that I wasn't so far past him yet. He was considerably older than me; that gave him more time to increase his compatibility level, which had to be at nine percent. I wouldn't have signed up if I didn't have cultivation to back me up.

The ease I flung him had to be due to him being off balance from my throw. Whether it was or not didn't matter. The fact was, with my cultivation, I was stronger and faster than him. So, when my foot rammed into his chest, he couldn't stop himself from lifting off the ground and sailing off the stage.

I knew he was out, so I didn't give him further attention. My actions had already attracted attention, and I was too close to the edge for comfort. One of Porky's friends was already stalking toward me. The other appeared to be in a three-way brawl.

It looked like I was about to be in the same type of fight, though. Running in from the right and at an angle was a more petite figure with dark clothes and fluttering hair. Her armor was a simple piece over her chest with a thin exoskeleton running down her arms.

She was moving fast, but I knew that I was faster. I moved left, placing Porky's companion between us, and I prayed that it would work out. I yelled as I sprinted so his attention would be on me, and I made sure to run slower than I could to time it right.

"Say goodbye to your legs," I yelled once I was in range.

I slid toward the man to take out his legs. A smile appeared on his face. As my slide brought me closer, he was about to stomp down on me. Just as he lifted his leg in preparation. The female fighter struck him from behind.

He stumbled forward entirely off balance. I brought both legs up to meet him, then flung him behind me with all my strength. I was facing the wrong way when I sat up, so I didn't see how far he had gone. I wanted to check, but the other fighter I collaborated with was standing before me.

I was in a bad position. It was an incredible double-team maneuver, but I realized how incredibly foolish it was in the fight. I hoped she decided to go somewhere or finish off the other guy if needed, but I wasn't so lucky.

She stepped forward, and her leg shot out toward my head. I brought my arm up to block her. My mask had already warned me about numerous dangers during the incredibly short fight. It wasn't until her kick was coming that I actually paid attention.

She kicked hard, and I used the power to roll away from her and spring to my feet. She was already inside my guard, and my DTA program was blaring at me.

A series of rapid-fire punches hit me in the gut and knocked the air from my lungs. Although, it wasn't the first time I had to act while unable to catch my breath. I struck back with a stiff knee to her chest that caused her to roll back, but she was on her feet, crouched, and ready to attack in a moment.