I hadn’t taken a single hit. Maybe it had fallen off when I jumped? I counted the badges on the ground, but mine definitely wasn’t there.
“That’s weird. Who could’ve taken it?”
I looked around and noticed a lone girl. She immediately looked down at the ground, her long, black hair covering her eyes. She was petite and had a dark aura about her. She was also carrying a boomerang, and for some reason, had two badges on her chest.
“Don’t tell me—that’s where it went?!”
She nodded. How had she managed that? Discerning Eye gave me the answer.
Name: Ficia Otto
Age: 16
Species: Human
Level: 26
Occupation: Student
Skills: Boomerang Handling (Grade C), Telekinesis
Telekinesis: The ability to physically move an object by focusing on it.
What the…? That’s cheating!
She must have snatched it while I was fighting. At least she hadn’t discarded it yet.
“Join forces with me,” she said. “Then I’ll give it back.”
Maybe I was approaching this all wrong. You weren’t disqualified until your badge hit the ground, so it was possible to make other people follow your orders like this.
“So your plan is to gather more allies?” I asked.
“No. That would put me at risk. I only need one or two powerful allies.”
The more underlings she collected, the more careful she’d have to be with all those badges. I’d clearly made a tactical error, but now I could make use of her skill. Maybe this was a lucky development after all.
“You’ll really give it back?” I asked. “Seems like it’d be easy to toss it once you’re done with me.”
“I keep my promises. When we’re the last two standing, I’ll give it back.”
But she had to know she didn’t stand a chance in a one-on-one confrontation. What else did she have up her sleeve? Either way, it would be best to work with her for the time being.
“All right, I guess I don’t have much choice.”
She nodded and pointed to a corner of the yard. “Someone’s hiding behind that tree. Start a fight to create a distraction.”
“Sure, I guess. What class are you in anyway?”
“B-Class.”
“Were you angling for me from the start?”
“Yes. You made an impression during the entrance exam.”
I supposed turning up with the skull of a dead reaper and earning a ton of points would do that. We watched our backs and moved toward the tree.
“I know you’re hiding back there,” Ficia called. “Come out.”
“Tch, I was planning to hide until it was all over.”
A girl appeared from behind the tree, smiling daringly. She didn’t have any weapons, but Discerning Eye told me she was skilled in Earth Magic. Her name was Sitrah. Most of the weapons users had moved inside the building, so basically everyone still out here had magic. Since casting was prohibited inside, the power gap was substantial.
“You’re up, Underling No. 1,” said Ficia.
“I have a name, you know.”
But it was futile to stand up to my captor, so I attacked Sitrah with my wooden sword. She put one hand on the ground and smirked. Suddenly, a wall of soil blocked my path, but I’d expected that. I jumped over it with ease, landing behind her and swinging my sword in a horizontal arc. Sitrah reacted quickly, side-stepping away and opening a space between us.
“Phew, that was close,” she said. “You’re S-Class, aren’t you?”
“I’m guessing you’re in A.”
“Bingo. But my abilities are easily S-Class. Guess why I’m not there.”
Her powers were definitely impressive, but I couldn’t think why she’d want to stick to a lower class.
“There are a ton of nobles in S-Class, aren’t there?” she said. “I hate it. It’s a miniature version of high society. It’s stifling. I couldn’t breathe.”
I kinda agreed. I’d hated a lot of the people in my class at first. But after I got used to the atmosphere, I found that most of them weren’t so bad.
“If a member of A-Class were to win, that’d put all you S-Class goons to shame, wouldn’t it?” Sitrah said.
“I’m not sure anyone would really care. Plus, there’s no way you’re going to win.” I smiled and pointed to her badge as it floated through the air.
“Huh? Huuuuh? No way!”
“Now, look over there.”
I pointed at Ficia, who was staring intently at the badge. This time, I’d noticed her doing it. When Sitrah started talking, the badge slowly pulled away from her chest. It was hard to see your own chest anyway, and talking to someone else made it even harder to notice. Sitrah realized she was in trouble and sprinted after her badge.
“Come baaaaack!”
Plop!
Unfortunately, she was too late.
“Idiot,” said Ficia.
And with that, she turned around and left. As I followed, I glanced back to see Sitrah hanging her head.
By now, the situation in the yard had changed drastically. A lot of people had been disqualified, and there were only a handful left. One of them came charging at me.
“Ha ha ha ha! You’re so careless, Noir! No one can stop me now!”
It was Kento. He was a plain kid and didn’t really stand out, but he took pride in calling himself “Speed Star.” His tenacious attitude was definitely annoying. He could probably run right past someone and snatch their badge. I didn’t even try to defend myself.
Whoosh!
Kento streaked by, touching my chest as he passed.
“I win. One step closer to total victo—what?!”
“Joke’s on you,” I said. “I don’t have my badge.”
“What is the meaning of this—hnngh?!”
A boomerang hit Kento’s feet, pitching him forward and sending his badge flying.
“Idiot No. 2,” said Ficia.
I had racked up another victory without lifting a finger. Ficia and I were the only people left outside.
“Are you ready to go inside?” I asked.
“Any time, Underling No. 1,” she said, expressionless.
I shrugged, and she headed into the building just as Maria, the duke’s daughter, burst out alongside her attendant, Amane. I tensed up, but the two of them looked dejected, and their badges were missing.
“Oh, goodness,” said Maria. “Mr. Noir, do take care if you go inside.”
“Whoever beat you must be really powerful,” I said.
“Indeed, we were utterly bested. I believe you’re quite familiar with her.”
So, either Emma or Leila. Just then, Ms. Elena came over.
“No excessive talking to people who have been disqualified.”
“My apologies,” said Maria. “I’m rooting for you, Mr. Noir.”
She and Amane left quietly. Ms. Elena glanced at my chest and raised an eyebrow, but she figured out what had happened right away.
“Ha ha, I see Ficia’s ability got the best of you.”
“She said she’d give it back at the end…”
“So naive!”
Well, it wasn’t like I believed she’d give it back without a fight.
“Silence, Ms. Booty,” said Ficia. “No, I mean, Ms. Erotica.”
“Neither of those are right!”
Ficia didn’t fear Ms. Elena one bit. She was incredible. In the future, she’d be a real force to be reckoned with.
The two of us headed inside, and Ms. Elena followed to keep watch. There was no one on the first floor, so we moved up to the second. The air was silent, but a figure stood at the end of the long hallway, oozing a powerful aura.
“I knew you’d come,” said Leila. “I beat pretty much everyone else already. I was getting bored”
“So,” I said. “You’re the one who beat Maria and Amane, huh?”
“How are you doing, by the way?” Leila asked. “Surely you didn’t have your badge stolen…?”
“Ha ha ha… Well, it’s only temporary…”
“Hmm, well, whatever. I’m just here to fight.”
Leila’s masterful stance was quite terrifying. Magic was prohibited in here, and I didn’t stand a chance in straight-up physical confrontation.
“She’s on a whole different level from the others we’ve dealt with,” I warned Ficia. “We need a plan.”
“We’ll just do the same thing.”
“No, that’s almost definitely not gonna work.”
“Oh, it will. Abandon your fear and fight, No. 1.”
This was useless. Ficia didn’t know Leila, so she wasn’t going to change her mind. Time to sink or swim. I walked toward Leila and dropped into a low stance, raising my wooden sword over my head. I was confident in my speed, but Leila dodged and followed up with a powerful punch.
“Eek!”
I shrieked, but I managed to evade it. What a relief! Her Demon Fist skill didn’t count as magic, so it was fair game in here. Eating that would put you in the hospital, but I had to trust in Leila’s common sense. I had to trust her…
By now, Ficia was using her Telekinesis. Leila’s badge silently detached from her chest.
“Would you knock it off with your little tricks?”
Leila snatched the badge out of the air and put it back in its rightful place.
See? It didn’t work.
To make matters worse, Leila turned on Ficia and charged.
I frantically chased after her.
Ficia countered with Leila boomerang. “Ngh! Who do you think you are?”
With a thwap, Leila’s Demon Fist smashed the boomerang to pieces. Ficia looked shocked, and Leila stepped in to shove her. It didn’t look very powerful, but Ficia went flying.
Oh, no! Where did my badge go?!
Both badges had come off and were flying through the air. I frantically reached out to grab them, and Ficia did the same.
“No. 1…save me…”
“I swear I will!”
Our hands slipped past each other, and we both hit the floor.
Clack!
The sound of a badge hitting the floor echoed down the hall. I closed my hand around my own, and my heart flooded with relief. I’d barely caught it in time.
“You’re…so cruel,” said Ficia.
I stood up and fixed the badge back on my chest.
“The feeling’s mutual,” I said. “Leave the rest to No. 1.”
Not that I really stood a chance of winning!