After the preliminary tournament ended, all remaining students were called to the arena. We gathered to receive further information about the next phase, one-on-one battles.
The remaining participants numbered 64, resulting in 32 matches. Since it would be impossible to complete all matches in one day, they extended it to two days.
The rules for this round were more or less the same as what Putri had explained yesterday:
During a match, a participant is declared the winner if the opponent surrenders, leaves the arena, or loses consciousness. Every weapon used must first be inspected by the committee. Attacking vital areas with weapons is prohibited: the head, heart, or genitals. Power and magic are not restricted. The referee's decision is final.
After a brief explanation of the rules, it was time for the bracket draw. I hoped I'd get an early match slot, since in early fights, both sides likely wouldn't know much about each other's abilities. Group A would fight tomorrow, and Group B the day after. That meant more prep time for later rounds.
On the big arena screen, the tournament tree began to spin and randomize. The first to appear on Group A, the group competing on the first day, was…
Surprisingly, or maybe as expected, my profile popped up first. I didn't think my request would actually be granted. And the good news was that my opponent was a first-year student. Maybe with a few exceptions, but most of them lacked combat experience.
The panel displayed a photo, name, power type, and position or title.
They also informed us that match results and announcements would be sent to our phones.
My full name was listed. Well, they wrote my name in reverse. Standardizing my name like that felt a little uncomfortable to me.
The power type listed was: Esper – Electromaster. So they had officially labeled me as an Electromaster. Looks like it'll be difficult to use other powers in public now, even though I didn't plan to use them openly anyway.
And lastly, my position was listed as: Student Council Representative.
The crowd started murmuring in curiosity, wondering who the Student Council rep was. Or at least that's what I thought based on their reactions when my profile appeared.
From what I heard, the previous Student Council rep was the Finalist of the last tournament. Even in the open tournament, he came in second, just below Alysha, a special-card holder.
Sorry to disappoint the crowd again, but after fighting Vain, I didn't have any plans to continue this tournament. I'm also not sure I have the ability to win with the state I'm in.
My opponent tomorrow was a magic user: Mage – MultiSpell. A bad matchup for me. If she could create multiple magic circles at once, it'd be hard to predict what she was going to do. Even if I could read one of her spells, reading several at the same time would be extremely difficult and time-consuming.
Her listed position didn't help my chances either: Class X-S.
I probably don't need to explain that further, but… yeah, she's strong. I mentioned earlier that first-years might lack experience, but if they had enough power, that alone could cover their lack of experience.
Huh~ I thought I'd be lucky for getting my request for an early match fulfilled, but now it's looking like a pretty tough win.
When I get home later, I'll ask Violet about this classmate of hers and about magic in general. Or I could ask Putri too, she seems to know a lot about gathering info.
I kept watching the panel as the participant names were shuffled. I kept waiting, where the hell was Vain? We were nearly at the last entries for Group A. In the worst condition, he will be in Group B, and that will mean we can only meet at the finals.
And just as I feared, his name appeared dead last.
Looks like my luck's holding up in all the wrong ways. Judging from the bracket, if no one beats him, I'll have to face him in the semifinals. Honestly, I'm not sure I'll even make it that far without pushing myself hard. But at least he's not in Group B, otherwise I'd have to reach the finals to face him.
Actually, the participants whose names had already been shown on the screen and knew their positions were allowed to leave the arena. But since I was waiting for Vain's bracket to be announced, I stayed behind.
Still didn't think he'd be the very last in Group A.
Fortunately, on the other hand, Alysha and Violet's profiles hadn't appeared yet, so they were probably in Group B. That makes things easier; I won't be facing them unless I reach the finals.
Alright, I should get going. I need to find Putri quickly. I wanted to update Alysha, too, but it looked like she was across the crowd, so I just left.
While walking out, a bad feeling started to creep in. A chill, and something gross. It felt like back at the lake… or when I was attacked near Putri. It is different than usual daily stalk, looks like this is a directed threat. They don't even try to conceal it anymore now.
"Could they tone down the murderous aura and hate already?"
These hostile glares were coming from multiple directions. Looked like more than one person hated me.
I haven't even met or talked to any of you—and yet the hate's this intense? Like I said before, I really do want to punch some of you if we ever meet.
I just sighed and ignored them. Kept walking, but still stayed alert in case anyone got stupid and tried something. However, with the number of people here, I doubted anyone would be dumb enough to attack in broad daylight.
Before going to see Putri, I stopped by the changing room to switch out of my outfit. The rules didn't allow us to wear the tournament gear unless we had a reason. One nice thing about the uniform: it doesn't get dirty or smelly. I could just stash it without washing.
Changed into my regular uniform, grabbed my ID card, and took my phone.
When I got to our meeting spot, I saw Putri sitting on a bench, typing away on a laptop. Looks like she'd been waiting.
"I didn't know you could bring a laptop to school?"
I walked up to her and said what was on my mind.
"You're here already?"
Putri looked my way to confirm. She closed the laptop, set it beside her, and tapped the seat next to her, telling me to sit. I didn't argue and took the seat beside her.
"Before you start asking anything, let me ask something first."
Her tone was serious, even if her face looked the same as always. She spoke like she was completely ignoring my earlier question.
"Sure. I don't mind." I nodded and answered casually.
With how sharp her intuition is, I figured I'd act as relaxed as possible. I thought her question would be just to confirm something. If I looked surprised, it'd just prove I was involved.
"You were part of the inscription discovery. And your title is
Even though I tried not to react, my shoulders flinched at her statement. She didn't ask, she stated it. My relaxed act immediately fell apart.
Most people who know I'm Alysha's brother assume I was involved in the inscription discovery. But the title part? That's beyond guesswork.
People can sometimes guess a title based on someone's personality, but I'm a bit of an exception. I have two titles. The one that usually shows is
And my second title is
Most people don't talk about alternate titles because they usually only have one. If someone knows your title, they rarely ask if you have another. Nobody at school knows about my second one. But somehow, Putri guessed it.
At this point, her "intuition" was way beyond that. She gave me a statement, not a question. Her confidence was terrifying.
"Why go there? Yeah, I'm Alysha's brother, but I wasn't part of that expedition."
Hoping to throw her off, I tried pushing the focus back onto her assumption.
"So instead of answering, you dig for more info."
See? Like I said, if that's intuition, people are going to be terrified of you, you know?
"Since I got my confirmation, now it's your turn to ask."
Wait… I didn't even say yes or no! How can she be this sure just from my reaction? Am I really that easy to read? Her confidence is honestly scary now.
"Wait a sec. If you decide that on your own, won't that just cause me trouble?"
"Then let me prove how sure I am, by guessing what you're thinking."
She leaned in toward me, pointing a finger right at my forehead. Her face was way too close, I could see the emotion in her eyes clearly.
I just nodded, agreeing. If I refused, I had a feeling it'd drag out longer.
She sat back in place, looked at me seriously, then started talking.
"You're thinking my intuition's too sharp, and you're starting to doubt that it's just intuition. You often wonder about my relationships with others, based on my tone and behavior. And now you're thinking it's best to clear your mind so I can't get any more information."
Alright, I give up. That's not intuition. That's just straight-up mind reading. And no, she didn't use a skill or magic, I can tell when either one is used on me. Especially magic. I'd feel it, even if it's subtle, because it must be used on me.
"Fine, whatever. I can't run anymore."
I slumped against the bench, slowly sliding down. Too tired to deal with this anymore. I guess I have no choice but to be open with her now.
"Is this just one-way understanding? I thought we were the same," she said with a dull expression. "You were watching me too, right? Try guessing what I'm thinking."
Even if she said that, I couldn't just answer yes without any proof. So far, I hadn't figured out how she'd know that.
I looked at her again, observing her.
She was shorter than I. Long black hair. A calm, pretty face with no expression. A slim figure. Her dark eyes stared into mine, like they were begging me to see something.
All I could do was describe her appearance, not her thoughts. I was still confused about what she meant, but her gaze felt like it was hoping for something.
"Don't expect too much from me. That look in your eyes, it's too heavy for me."
I thought she was surprised by my reply, though maybe that was just in my head.
"That's exactly what I meant."
She returned to her normal sitting position, arms folded.
What did she mean by that? I still didn't get it.
"I didn't even answer."
"But you understood how I felt, right?"
How did she feel? Like guessing her expression? But I was just making a guess, I didn't really know.
"Most people who interact with me just assume I'm cold because of my expression. I've never really shown emotions since I was a kid. And now I can't really want to bring it up anymore because I'm too used to it."
She looked down, hugging her knees. Even without seeing her face, just hearing her words and watching her actions, I knew it bothered her.
"But I was just guessing…"
"You might doubt yourself. But maybe this'll make it clearer."
She pulled a thin card from her pocket, which looked like our normal ID card. She pressed her finger against a circle on the card. The image disappeared, slowly replaced by several lines of data. It was her ID card.
She handed it to me, and I took it. Let's see what she wanted me to know.
After all the wondering I'd done about her… it instantly made sense. I didn't know why, but after seeing it, everything she'd done felt justified. It also explained why I always felt so at ease around her.
Her ID card explained it all clearly. With just one sentence, I was sure.
I even sat up straight, shocked. Rubbed my eyes several times in disbelief. When I looked at her to confirm, she nodded, as if to say: "Yes. Believe what you saw."
So let's look again at what's written on Putri's ID card.
---
Valentina Putri Aulia
Magician: Level 8
Specialty: Absorb and Release
Title: Other ACE
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Yeah… I wasn't imagining things. That title flipped everything I thought I knew about her.