After the announcement of my victory, I am pulled out of virtual reality. I open my eyes and all I can see is darkness. That darkness is soon dispelled by the opening lid of my immersion pod. As I look around, I notice that a few, but not all, of the others have also come out of their pods. This must be due to some fights taking more time than some others. I notice Peregrine exiting his as well. He is difficult to miss with his shining hair and his stature. We lock eyes, but he hastily averts his gaze. My message appears to have gone through to him.
Now that I have cooled down, I realize that my behavior during the duel was a bit strange. I’ve been angry before on behalf of my family, but never to this degree. I do still think that it was well deserved, but I could have been… nicer. I won’t say that another entity had taken possession of my body either. I still felt like myself, but a darker version. I recall the time I resorted to severing a few of Leon’s fingers to obtain information on the Lounge where I felt similar. A switch had been flipped inside of me at the sight of what I considered ‘evil’. I might need to work on that in the future.
When I look down to inspect my watch once more, I notice that what it displays has slightly changed.
Name
Alden Thorne
Wins
1
Losses
0
Strength
Excellent
Speed
Satisfactory
Reflexes
Great
Logical thinking
Outstanding
Accuracy
Satisfactory
Defense
Sublime (1)
Rank
Unranked
I smirk at the displayed values. I must admit that my profile doesn’t look too bad. I am within the half that has a win!
Satisfied, I return to the waiting area and find a seat near where I was seated previously. In my boredom, I reproduce Ivana’s actions from earlier and investigate the different functions of the watch. During said investigation, I recall Peregrine’s words. He mentioned that all the fights were recorded and publicly available. That must mean that I should be able to view them whenever I want, and if there is any way to do that, it should be through this watch. I go through the different options, and finally see one titled ‘Showdown registry’.
‘That must be it’
When I select it, a search bar presents itself before me. It gives me the option to search for live Showdowns, or past showdowns. The possibilities do not stop there, however. I can search for specific names. I can look for specific evaluations of abilities, meaning that I can look for fights where one or both of the contestants have an ‘outstanding’ in strength. I can also simply search by name or by [melody] type. I can even look for specific win percentages, although that function isn’t very useful at the moment as we’ve all only had one showdown. The options would be either 100% or 0. Curious, I input Adam’s name. I know how Sylvia and Ivana fight when their lives are on the line, but not Adam, Alex, or Zora. There is only one recording as I am sent to his personal Showdown registry. The watch indicates that his fight is already over, but I click the recording nonetheless. A holographic, three-dimensional image appears before me. I select the ‘play’ option and carefully observe him.
Adam is a long range combatant who mainly makes use of the melo-string. From our spars, I know that his [melody] allows him to ‘pull’ or ‘push’ things. He is able to exert a repelling or attracting force either from his body or from something imbued with his [melody], such as the arrows of the melo-string. He uses his [melody] to create a salvo of attacks where some arrows are meant to destabilize you, while some others, you are forced to run into. I know firsthand that fighting against him is a real headache. His only weakness is that he falls short in close quarter combat compared to other [enlightened]. He makes up for this by simply creating distance using a burst of his [melody] if the enemy gets too close. In this fight, he fights exactly as I thought he would. His opponent, who’s ability allows him to make any surface he touches slippery, is helpless before Adam’s long-range assault. He is quickly defeated with an ingenious combination. Adam used an attraction arrow to drag his weapon away, then used a normal one to pierce his throat.
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‘Damn…’
I glance at his stats.
Name
Adam Lockwood
Wins
1
Losses
0
Strength
Satisfactory
Speed
Great
Reflexes
Splendid
Logical thinking
Splendid
Accuracy
Sublime (1)
Defense
Excellent
Rank
Unranked
I glance at the stats of those who were at the table and they've all won their fights. I do not bother watching every single one of them but I do glance at Alex’s and Zora’s fights. Zora fights using her speed which relies on her [melody]. It allows her to steal and/or store kinetic energy which is then released in short bursts, greatly increasing her own speed. She simply bid her time and performed one strike that her opponent could not react to, slicing his head clean off. In contrast, Alex fights using his build which does translate to greater strength, even as an [enlightened]. It is funny that he fights like this because it has nothing to do with his [melody], he’s a healer. Well, it might be more accurate to refer to him as a walking, barely talking booster, but much better. His powers work in the same way. He accelerates cell division to a point where he can force the regrowth of an entire arm. I know this because he did exactly that after an incident on the Lauderdale peak.
He’s found a way to fight by healing his opponents as he harms them. This process slowly exhausts their energy and incapacitates them. A fighting style that isn’t meant to kill, though it does still hurt like hell. He also heals every injury he receives, but strangely, it does not tire him as much as it tires others. Perhaps a special constitution to go with his [melody].
‘A healer, a long-range combatant, and four vanguards. Although Ivana can be considered as more of a utility component and Adam fights like a vanguard either way, we’d make quite the well-rounded team wouldn’t we?’
As I contemplate our synergy, a message appears on my watch.
[The initial assessment has now come to an end, please exit and return to your original waiting area]
Everyone gradually returns to the table. Adam is first, he greets me.
“I see you were the first to come back here, Alden! How did it go?”
I smirk. “I won.”
His expression brightens.
“Well that makes two of us!”
I offer him a smile and he sits down.
Zora and Alex return next. Zora puffs out her chest as she reaches the table and declares her exploit.
“That guy, Salmon or-”
Alex interjects. “Solomon.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, whatever! He was talkin’ a whole lotta nonsense bout’ social anarchy or somethin’-”
Alex interrupts once again. “Hierarchy”
“Whatever!! They know what I’m sayin’! Anyways, he wasn’t nuthin’ once I got serious!” She says as she flexes her bicep.
Zora then extends her hand for a high five towards Adam and I.
“I know you guys won too! Alex showed me how to watch your fights on that watch! Gimme five!”
Adam and I exchange a look, then we both awkwardly smack our hands against hers. She rejoices, pumping her fist in the air. In response, Adam chuckles and I can’t help but follow suit. I even notice that Alex’s normally impassive expression shifts a little.
Sylvia and Ivana finally join us. Zora equally greets them with a high five, to which they respond in the same way Adam and I did. They oblige, but awkwardly. Ivana still doesn’t even glance at me. Sylvia talks to me as she sits down.
“I saw your fight Alden.”
“Yeah, I won!” I exclaim.
“Yes, you sure did…”
Her tone of voice does not carry the joy I believe it should. It rubs me the wrong way but I let it pass, dismissing it as my imagination. Preventing me from thinking about it any further, a message appears on the watch.
[Congratulations on completing your first trial. When you return to your peak, please have a look at the list of classes offered to second quarter students. You will have to complete four required courses with a minimum rating of satisfactory and two optional courses which you will be able to select from a list that will also be provided to you. For now, your rankings will be displayed as a hologram for all to see.]
A number emerges in front of me and in front of all those around me.
Alden Thorne: 26th seat
Sylvia FullCastle: 2nd seat
Adam Lockwood: 23rd seat
Zora Pike: 50th seat
Alexander Frost: 13th seat
Ivana Rodwell: 19th seat