Chapter 64: Chapter 63 – First Round

“Boss, your battle is up next,” the voice of Uriel whispered into his right ear.

“Thank you,” Yuki replied and opened his eyes.

When he did this, he immediately noticed the gazes of a multitude of people that rested on him. He stared back at them and they turned away.

‘It seems that me being a human attracted some attention,’ he thought. ‘That or my meditating.’

Yuki ignored them and went to the exit of the waiting room. He was stopped before he could leave by a man that wore a  black suit and sunglasses.

“May I have you identification?” the man asked politely.

Yuki said nothing and showed his watch to the man. A virtual identification card appeared and the man in the suit scanned with a device. Once he was satisfied, he opened the door that led out to the arena. Yuki nodded toward him and walked through the exit.

“Good luck,” the man said as he walked by.

When he reached the center of the arena the entire stadium quieted. Yuki looked to the other side of the circular battlefield and found his opponent. It was a male elf with red hair that walked with a confident strut. His eyes locked onto Yuki’s and a smirk appeared on his face.

‘Looking down on me,’ Yuki noted. ‘I should be able to end this quickly then.’

“The next battle of the day is an exciting one!” the voice of the mc yelled out. His voice echoed throughout the entire arena. “We have George Parsh, a second year elf from the Academy. He’s been long suspected to be among the top ten percent of his class. On the other side, we have our school’s first ever human student!”

Yuki heard the murmurs of the audience at these words.

“Yuki Mayumi is a first year student and of a rare class,” the mc continued. “He’s the first year's only support class, a Buffer! And now, let’s get ready for the fight!”

Before Yuki, a dice appeared before him in a puff of smoke. Yuki grabbed it and examined it. It was a normal dice with six sides, but instead of dots it had symbols. The symbols were of a hand, a staff, a bow, a sword, a dagger, and a wand that had sparks coming out of it.

‘This is going to be easy.’

“May the combatants please roll the dice that was just given to them,” the voice echoed. “The side that it lands on will determine how this combatant will fight. Will it be with a weapon? Unarmed? Magic? Let’s let luck decide!”

George rolled his first, the dice bouncing around on the ground until it stopped and exploded in a fiery boom. A symbol of a sword blazed in the sky for everyone to see. Then where the dice had exploded, a sword hovered in the air. George grabbed it and swung it around with a practiced arm.

‘A swordsman,’ Yuki assumed. ‘Not that it matters.’

Yuki rolled his and the dice exploded. The symbol of a hand shined in the air and no weapon was given to Yuki. He would be fighting unarmed.

“Now that the weapons have been decided, let us begin!” the mc announced. “May the combatants go to their designated areas.”

Yuki turned around and walked into the blue circle that was engraved into the dirt ground. George went to the red circle that was opposite to him.

“Ready!”

Yuki narrowed his eyes and slowed his breathing. He watched George from afar and observed his every move.

“Set!”

Relaxing his muscles, Yuki prepared for the inevitable first attack. Based on the way George’s legs and body was position, he was gearing up for a full on assault. Just how Yuki wanted it.

“GO!” the voice boomed.

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George sprinted out of his circle and rushed straight at Yuki, sword swinging. Yuki calmly walked out of his own circle and tracked George’s movements with a practiced eye. George moved about as fast as the level three holographic soldiers.

When George within striking distance, he stabbed out in a flash. The sword traveled in a linear line that Yuki could easily see. He sidestepped it and widened the gap between them. Yuki didn’t want to attack just yet.

For the next minute, Yuki avoided every swing and thrust that George did with small and elegant movements. But even with a sword whistling by his face, his eyes never changed.

“Gods, why can’t I hit you?” George growled through his teeth. His breathing was getting heavier by the second. “I need to be faster. Faster, dammit!”

Yuki didn’t reply. He felt the rush of mana and his eyes narrowed. George was using magic and if his complaints about his speed meant anything, Yuki knew what the magic was for. Immediately, Yuki twisted his head and contorted his body before he felt the rush of a blade narrowly miss him.

‘Speed enhancement. Though not a very strong one.’

Still, Yuki wasn’t worried. It would take more than speed for George to even graze him. Every single one of George’s attacks were ones taught by the Academy, right down to the footwork. And if it was taught by the Academy, Yuki knew how to read it.

“Why are you so slippery?” George cried. “I even used a speed buff.”

Yuki decided that then was the right time for his counter attack. His opponent was tired and panicked, his movements getting sloppier and sloppier. On the next attack, Yuki didn’t back away. This time he tilted his body and slid past the blade until he was inches away from George.

“What th—!” George started.

Reaching out with his right hand, Yuki grabbed George’s passing wrist. He yanked it down and George fell forward, right into Yuki’s rising knee. An audible crack was heard moments later. Then Yuki chopped with his left hand into George’s neck and George fell to the ground with a thud.

‘And to cover this up.’

Yuki began to pant as he looked at the unconscious body of George. He put on what he hoped was a look of surprise and joy and then hobbled back toward the entrance of the waiting room.

“YUKI MAYUMI WINS!” the caster announced, ecstatic. “Amazing! They pull it off by the skin of their teeth.”

‘Oh, this person was commenting the whole time,’ Yuki realized. ‘I tuned him out.’

He went back into the waiting room and sat down on the seat he was on when he first arrived. Again, people stared at him but this time Yuki knew the reason why. A human who was a first year just beat a second year elf.

“I hear you won, boss” Uriel said in his ear.

“I’m pretty sure you watched,” Yuki replied.

“That was some good acting,” she continued. “I could really feel your tiredness.”

“Thank you, I’m blushing,” he said deadpanned. “How are things going?”

“Nothing so far. But I’m still keeping an eye on things.”

“Alright, notify me when my next fight is up,” he said. “I’ll be meditating again.”

“Got it boss.”

“Things are off to a slow start,” he murmured after she disconnected. “That won’t last long.