Round 6: The Golden Snatch – Speed & Reflexes
This was the final round.
At the center of the field stood a steel launcher, humming with restrained violence. Ten golden coins would be fired into the air at random intervals. Fast. Unpredictable. Brutal.
Only two representatives would compete.
Rio — Team C.
Kael — Team A.
Ellen's right hand. The fastest hands in the third year.
Moon tapped Rio's shoulder.
"Just one coin. That's all we need. Don't let Gery collapse from stress."
Behind them, Gery's eyes were bloodshot.
"If you lose…" he muttered darkly, "I swear… I will personally—"
"You're way too dramatic," Rio said lazily.
On the Other Side
Ellen approached with his arms folded, wearing that smug expression he reserved for people he wanted to crush.
"Hey, Mr. Heavy Breathing," Ellen called out. "Kael's the fastest in our year. If you're betting on 'luck' again, this is where you lose your last life."
Rio scratched his head.
"The coins are tiny. When I see small, valuable things, my vision gets blurry. Makes me want to close my eyes."
Ellen clicked his tongue and leaned closer, voice dropping.
"I want to fight you in the final arena. Don't you dare lose here… or I'll actually buy that gasoline."
Rio flinched slightly.
"Your consistency is terrifying."
He exhaled.
"Fine. I'll move."
The Match Begins
BIP.
The launcher exploded to life.
Ten golden coins shot upward like gunfire splitting the sky.
Kael moved.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
Sret.
Sret.
Sret.
His body blurred. His hands snapped through the air with surgical precision.
One.
Three.
Five.
In seconds—
Nine coins rested in his grasp.
The stadium erupted.
"Kael got nine already!"
"Rio hasn't even moved!"
Gery's voice cracked.
"RIO ARE YOU BUFFERING?!"
The tenth coin flew higher than the rest.
It rose.
It turned.
It hovered directly above Rio.
Kael bent his knees and launched himself upward. Perfect angle. Perfect timing. Absolute victory within reach.
Rio looked up.
And the world slowed.
Kael's leap stretched into something distant. Delayed. Heavy.
The coin rotated gently in the air, glinting under the light like it had all the time in existence.
Rio sighed internally.
"If I jump now, he'll crash into me. I'm too lazy to deal with someone else's sweat."
He raised his right hand.
Slowly.
Palm open.
He didn't jump.
He didn't chase.
He simply waited.
…
Ztap.
The coin dropped.
Not drifted.
Not redirected.
Dropped.
As if gravity had chosen a single coordinate and declared it law.
It landed cleanly in Rio's palm.
Above him, Kael's target ceased to exist.
He grasped empty air.
And fell.
Hard.
Silence swallowed the stadium.
Rio glanced at the coin.
"Oh. Got one."
He slipped it into his pocket.
Round 6 Result
Team C — QUALIFIED
Remaining Lives: 3
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then—
"That was luck!"
"The trajectory was already heading there!"
"Did anyone else see it shift mid-air?!"
Somewhere in the stands, a drink spilled unnoticed.
Gery sprinted forward and wrapped around Rio's leg, openly crying.
"RIO! YOU'RE THE KING OF LUCK! I DON'T HAVE TO MOVE DORMS!"
Moon stepped closer.
His eyes lingered on the coin.
He touched it briefly.
Cold.
Not normal cold.
It felt like something that had not fallen… but been pulled.
Moon said nothing.
"Congratulations," he said calmly. "We're entering the Battle Royale."
Rio leaned against the wall.
"Finally. Break time. I deserve some bolt-porridge… I mean, cafeteria bread."
He closed his eyes.
A shadow fell over him.
Not Ellen.
Not Moon.
Luna.
Standing upright, tablet in hand, expression sharp.
"Subject Rio Hirigaya. Princess Lylya requests your presence in her private chambers. Immediately."
Rio opened one eye.
"Tell her I'm currently functioning as a bolt. Very busy."
"Stop joking."
"I'm not."
Her voice sharpened.
"Now."
Rio stared at the ceiling.
"My life just keeps getting more inconvenient."
[A/N: Yeah, there were actually a ton of other participants from different classes. But I caught Rio's laziness and didn't feel like listing every background character one by one. Let's just skip to the good part. As long as Rio wins, that's what matters, right?]
[VOL.0 – CHAPTER 3: END].