Alexia

“What about Zaltros?” Zal asks, still trying to get me to call him by something else other than the nickname I gave him. Even after I finish crossing half of the Dimensional Block and reach my clearing again.

Nope.

Zal it is.

At first he was trying to get me to call him Dad or Father, but he gave up rather quickly. Then he changed to his name.

I wonder when he’ll just give up?

“Don’t just act like I’m not even here,” he grumbles, sounding more open to talking than he was before.

Not sure why that is though.

Maybe it’s got something to do with my getting my core?

My internal monologue about random stuff that doesn’t matter is interrupted by another notification that appears in my vision. One that I was actually kind of expecting.

The Dimensional Championships will occur in three days. This tournament will be set place in a special location within the Dimensional Block similar to the Dimensional Council Chamber.

Outsiders will not be allowed to visit the Block during this tournament unless given permission by a denizen of the Block with Level Three Authority or higher.

All competitors within the tournament who die will respawn after their match.

The winner of the tournament will be given the right to challenge the current Dimensional Champion for their position as Champion without having to fear dying if they should lose.

This tournament will be repeated after every Ten Year Event, and the Dimensional Champion will be forbidden from taking action against those who challenge them strictly for challenging them. They may, however, attack them outside of the tournament if they so please so long as it has nothing to do with the tournament.

Good luck.

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You’ll need it to face the Reaper.

I still find it rather interesting how the notification is tailored specifically to mention the fact that I’m the Reaper. It makes me feel special.

“If you’re not special, I don’t know who is,” Zal mutters.

I just go ahead and ignore the quantum being’s response to my inner monologue that wasn’t directed at anyone.

Then I go ahead and set my house back down before going inside of it and plopping down on the bed. Finally relaxing again after not resting in a rather long time.

I wonder just how many people are going to be competing in this tournament?

“Everyone with authority is automatically entered since people are resurrected after dying,” Zal answers me, making me frown.

That’ll take an incredibly long time, won’t it? Having everyone with a level of Authority in the Dimensional Block fighting in a massive tournament…

“Yes, but will that matter to you?” Zal asks, sounding a little confused as to why I should care. “It’s not like it affects you. You’ll just be teleported in automatically when the tournament is over to fight the winner.”

I blink at that before staring up at the ceiling.

Huh.

You’re right.

“Of course, you can watch it whenever you want,” Zal says. “An icon will appear in the corner of your vision that you can select to enter and leave the tournament realm whenever you please. But no one ever said that you must watch or even pay attention to the tournament.”

Yeah.

I can just ignore it whenever Astrid isn’t fighting in it.

That thought gives me pause.

Wait, if Astrid wins through the end, won’t that mean I’ll end up fighting her?

“I doubt it,” Zal counters, making me frown. “Ethan is more likely to be your final opponent.”

Yeah, you’ve got a point there.

Astrid has gotten strong since becoming a Class S species, but she still isn’t a match for a dragon. Especially not a direct descendant of the two most powerful dragons in the world.

Actually, knowing that dragon, he’ll probably be rather excited at the thought of fighting me to the death in a duel that won’t have any permanent consequences.

It almost makes me pity anyone he ends up fighting in the tournament. Since he won’t be holding back, and he’ll still view them as nothing but insects as always.

Out of curiosity, is it possible for people to withdraw from the tournament?

“Before the tournament? No,” Zal answers. “During it? Yes. They can surrender at any time while they’re in the arena.”

Hmm. That’s not bad then.

On another note, when will I be able to block your reading of my mind?

It’s annoying.

He doesn’t respond.

I roll my eyes before closing them.

He responds when I don’t want him to and doesn’t respond when I do.

Then again, he did answer one of my questions at least.

Maybe I’ll be able to block these quantum beings from reading my mind after I get more resistances? More parts of my core?

But how many tenths of my core will it take? Two? Three?

Maybe even half of them or more?

I hope it doesn’t take long.

Because it’s annoying having my mind be an open book to them.

My thoughts come to a pause when I sense a few people getting close to my clearing. Reminding me about the fact that the tournament beginning also means that everyone is outside of the Dimension-Wide Dungeon.

Which includes my twin.

A smile stretches across my face as I jump to my feet and rush to the balcony. Only for the smile to fade a little when I sense a rift emerging within my clearing, making Ethan and Astrid both tense up at its appearance.

I teleport right in front of the rift to find someone stepping through it. With another rift appearing nearby as well.

Both of them having quantum beings stepping through the rifts.

One of which is Zal, and the other a quantum being I recognize as the Quantum Enforcer.

I frown as I glance between the two.

If I remember correctly, the Quantum Architect is ranked #2 in the hierarchy while the Quantum Enforcer, also known as the Quantum Judge, is ranked #3.

I glance between them with my frown growing ever deeper.