Chapter 1-46 : My First Match (part 1)
After the preliminary round was over, once again, we were teleported to a huge hall. It seems that all the players who passed the preliminary round were gathered here.
Among these people, I spotted some faces I knew, like the leader of the Silver Wing Brigade and Eclair-san.
I looked around, trying to find Ruka, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, I found another familiar face. It was Shougo.
「Yo!」(Shougo)
「Shougo!」(Alice)
「Aa-ahh, you made it to the final round too, huh? That’s too bad~」(Rin)
「Oi! What do you mean by that!?」(Shougo)
「Fufu~ I’m just kidding~」(Rin)
「I’m glad you made it here, Shougo.」(Alice)
「Thank you, Alice! You’re so kind, unlike this woman. I’m glad you’re here too.」(Shougo)
「It’s all thanks to Rin. She blew all the competitors away from the arena.」(Alice)
「Uwaahh… She’s brutal as always…」(Shougo)
「Hey, I can hear you!」(Rin)
While we were talking, a big floating monitor appeared above us, showing Virgo and Taurus’ faces.
Virgo was looking away while folding her arms, and Taurus was smiling and waving his hand toward the camera.
『Congratulations to all the players who made it through the preliminary round. The next round will be the main event! All of you are going to compete in 1v1 matches, which will take place in four different venues: Venue A, B, C, and D. Please confirm in which venue you will be competing after this. As for the tournament bracket for this round will be shown as follows.』(Taurus)
Right after he said that, the image on the floating monitor changed from his and Virgo’s faces to the tournament bracket that had been filled with players’ names.
I immediately searched for my name, and apparently, I would be fighting in Venue B. However, I then noticed another name in the same venue.
「Ahh…」(Alice)
「…..」(Rin)
It was Rin’s name…
There were two matches between me and Rin, and if I could win those matches, I would be facing her in the third match. If I want to proceed to the semi-final, I have to defeat her.
Realizing that we might be facing each other, Rin and I looked at each other. I could feel a tense air between us, but it only lasted for a second. We then smiled at each other.
「Not only were we in the same group in the last round, but it seems like we will be competing in the same venue next round as well.」(Alice)
「Fufu~ Apparently, we are tied together by the rope called fate~ Well, let’s not think too hard about it and just have fun, shall we~?」(Rin)
「Un. I have to win two matches before I can face you, though.」(Alice)
「Don’t worry, you can do it!」(Rin)
「I’ll do my best!」(Alice)
「Aa-aahh… I’m jealous… You both can have fun together… Why can’t I compete with you two in the same space!?」(Shougo)
Meanwhile, Shougo didn’t look so happy.
I returned my gaze to the monitor and found his name. He’s going to compete in Venue C.
「Are you stupid? Look carefully. You and I are seeded. We won’t face each other anytime soon.」(Rin)
「Ah, you’re right.」(Shougo)
Hm? Seeded?
Now that Rin mentioned it, I noticed that her and Shougo’s names were written in a different color from the others.
Not only theirs, there were two other names that were written in a different color. Apparently, there were four seeded players; one in each venue.
It seems that the players who performed really well in the preliminary round were seeded.
I don’t know about Shougo, but Rin did amazing by eliminating almost all the competitors in Group E by herself with her powerful wind spell.
All I did was protect her while she was channeling her spell, so I could understand why I was not seeded. Still, I felt a bit disappointed that I was the only one who wasn’t a seeded player among the three of us.
*/TL : Seeding system in a competition is a system where the organizer will mark the strong participants and then make the tournament bracket in a way so that they won’t face each other in the early rounds. The goal is to prevent strong players from being eliminated early in the tournament, resulting in a more compelling competition in the later rounds.
No, it doesn’t matter whether I’m seeded or not. In the end, I have to focus on winning.
I lightly shook my head and looked at the tournament bracket.
Looks like my first opponent will be the player named Kenya. Judging from the name, it’s probably a guy.
While wondering about my first opponent, the display changed to Taurus’s face.
『Everyone, you are now free to go to your respective venue or watch others’ matches in another venue. However, please be ready in the preparation room ten minutes before your match starts. Remember, you will be disqualified if you’re not present when your match starts. That’s all for me! I wish you all the best!』(Taurus)
After he was done, the display changed back to the tournament bracket with the schedule for the matches next to it.
「Alice, shall we go to the Venue B now?」(Rin)
「Alright.」(Alice)
「Shougo, how about you?」(Rin)
「Hmm, I think I’ll just go to my own venue now. I want to watch the others’ matches. It’s important to analyze your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses before you fight them.」(Shougo)
「I see. Alright then.」(Rin)
「Break a leg, you two!」(Shougo)
「You too, Shougo!」(Alice)
「Good luck~」(Rin)
Rin and I parted with Shougo and went to Venue B.
According to the schedule, I will be fighting in the fourth match in this venue. That means I have time to watch the three matches before mine, so Rin and I climb up the stairs to the spectator area where we can see the entire arena.
There were so many people here, and most of the seats were occupied.
「Rin, you see empty seats for us?」(Alice)
「No… I guess we’ll have to look around.」(Rin)
「Alice, Rin, over here!」(Ruka)
While we were looking for empty seats, I saw Ruka waving at us.
「Ruka!」(Alice)
「Oh~ Looks like she has empty seats for us.」(Rin)
There were two empty seats next to her, and without wasting time, Rin and I sat on them.
「Ruka, I didn’t expect to see you here.」(Alice)
「I saw your and Rin’s name on the bracket, so I came here to cheer on you both.」(Ruka)
「I see. I was looking for you in the hall after the preliminary round, but I didn’t find you. Did you…」(Alice)
「Yeah, I didn’t make it, unfortunately. I was trying my hardest to keep my distance from the other players while shooting arrows at them, but someone shot a powerful fire spell at me.」(Ruka)
「I see… That’s too bad…」(Alice)
「I’m a bit upset, but I’m glad you made it, Alice.」(Ruka)
「Well, it’s all thanks to Rin. I didn’t do much.」(Alice)
「What are you talking about, Alice~? I couldn’t have done it without you watching my back. It’s teamwork!」(Rin)
「Fufu. You’re right. Too bad Ruka wasn’t in the same group as us. She would have passed the preliminary round if she were.」(Alice)
「Yeah, too bad~」(Rin)
「Hm? What do you guys mean?」(Ruka)
Ruka was fighting in a different group, so she didn’t know what happened.
I told her how we passed the preliminary round, and as I expected, she was surprised.
「Blowing the other players away from the arena with a wind spell…? Whoa… I didn’t know Rin could do that… Rin, you’re amazing!」(Ruka)
「Hehe~ Thank you!」(Rin)
If only Ruka were in our group, she could have joined me to protect Rin and passed the preliminary round together with us.
After having a talk while waiting for about thirty minutes, we saw a huge floating monitor appear above the arena.
It seems that the first match is about to begin.
TOC
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