Arcane Era-Chapter 40: Terrible Matchup

Lamb to the slaughter.

That was how Kaycee felt as every other contestant stepped off the stage, leaving only him, his opponent, and the proctor at the center of the large hall. His breathing was uneven, and he felt his body tremble slightly.

But, the moment he glanced to his side and saw both Theo and Liyah cheering him on from their respective seats in the contestant area, he felt a wave of confidence bolster his inner resolve. The warmth of their gazes gave him strength, and by drawing on their support, he no longer felt crippled by his fear.

’All I have to do is show my skills... no, that isn’t enough.’ Kaycee told himself. ’If I lose here, the chances of me being selected are minimal. I have to win, so I can have more chances to fight and prove my worth!’

Despite the faraway Arlet seeming like an unshakable monolith, Kaycee convinced himself not to believe that. And so, when Claudius told the two to move closer to each other for the match to begin, Kaycee kept thinking of numerous ways he could fight.

—Ways he could win.

’I can do this... I can do this!’ Constantly repeating this to himself, he walked towards the guillotine.

Until, finally—

"Since both parties are ready, the first match of the Combat Exams will begin in 5..."

As Claudius said this, he began to step back.

"... 4..."

The audience watched with bated breaths.

"... 3..."

Shen yawned, and the members of the Zenith who were with him rolled their eyes very mildly. freewebnøvel.coɱ

"...2..."

Theo and Liyah silently prayed for their friend.

"... 1!"

The moment Kaycee heard that voice, he leaped away from his position and dipped his hand in his pocket to draw out his hidden card. He was already wearing his eye-patch and glove, but his flash bomb Armament remained hidden... until now.

’He could have an observation-type Armament, or maybe he’s just that smart, so if I had exposed it prematurely, he may have recognized what it was and would therefore not fall for my surprise attack.’ Kaycee thought to himself, the orb now on his hand, ready to be thrown. ’But this way, I have a chance to—’

BZZZZTZ!

Right as he was about to complete his thought and throw the orb at his opponent, a bright flash of light suddenly shone on his face, followed by a deafening sound that echoed throughout the entire stage. His pupils turned pin-sized, with the rest of his body unable to react in time.

Still, Kaycee instinctively knew... he couldn’t stop what was coming.

BOOOM!

The burst of electricity charged right at the leaping boy, reaching him within the fraction of a second. The moment the bright burst of bluish white lightning connected with its target, split surges danced all around him as he screamed for a few seconds before collapsing on the ground.

"U-urghh..." With white eyes and drool escaping his lips, Kaycee fell unconscious on the spot, his Armament smoothly rolling on the ground without anyone to command it.

Everyone witnessed this incredibly brief exchange—one that lasted for less than ten seconds—and was speechless for a moment. However, before long, an applause echoed from the crowd, and several more joined in. Some even made standing ovations to the victor: none other than Arlet himself.

"The winner of the first match is Number 1, Arlet Bouli’jer, qualifying him for the next round."

Claudius returned to the stage after this announcement, and signaled a few staff members to take Kaycee off stage and provide medical treatment to him so he could regain consciousness and recover from the damage he suffered.

Witnessing this happen were his friends, Theo and Liyah, who were devastated that Kaycee lost so quickly—unable to display the results of the months he put into intense training, as well as the hard work that went into developing his Armaments.

Clearly their prayers were ignored by the Divine Ones.

In the face of overwhelming power, all of Kaycee’s efforts were rendered meaningless.

He lost.

"Next we have a match between Number 2, Theo, and Number 29, Liliette." Upon hearing those words, Theo rose to his feet and approached the stage—though a frown remained on his face as he advanced forward.

His focused gaze was on the stage even when he walked past Arlet, who was just leaving.

’I can’t afford to be distracted or complacent.’ He told himself. ’I have no idea what ability my next opponent may display, so I have to be very careful here.’

While Theo doubted he would go down without a fight—or even go down at all—Kaycee’s match with Arlet showed him that an opponent could easily knock another unconscious with a single strike.

Hence, if he wasn’t very careful, he would be on the losing end.

’And I can’t afford to do that.’ He raised his head and stared at the chamber where the Supreme Lord of Tyranny dwelled. A wry smile formed on his face as he clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes in determination.

His opponent—Number 29: Liliette—also climbed the stage and stood a small distance from him without uttering a single word. Despite having a female-sounding name, this person had the build of a male.

Or rather, she wore male armor.

Her entire body was covered in leather and metallic armor, and even her face was shrouded by a helmet that prevented anyone from deciphering her true identity. On her hand was a longsword, which she wielded with both hands, and her stance also seemed proper—like she had gone through formal training in the way of the sword.

’So the armor is for defense, and her sword is for offense... and while her mobility will be compromised due to the bulky full-body equipment, since she has a proper technique, it won’t affect her offensive maneuvers that much.’

Most importantly, her armor made it so that she could draw out the fight since she had ample protection. However, one could also see it another way: that because of how bulky the armor was, it consumed a lot of stamina to move in it and she would be in a hurry to end the fight.

Plus, since her armor gave her excellent defense, she could get away with making reckless moves.

After carefully observing and analyzing for merely a few moments, Theo opted to believe the latter. Completely immersing himself into the battle as he heard the countdown sequence, he completely zoned everything else from his mind.

In that moment, he had no care for Kaycee’s loss or Liyah’s gaze.

The only thing that mattered was the fight.

"... 1!"

Once the match started, Theo swiftly activated one of his daggers—displaying the ferocious power of flames. Since the dagger was merely a Standard Grade Armament, its fires did not cover the entire stage.

However, they powerfully circled around Theo as he grinned within the flames.

’The flames can still burn me, so I have to be careful, but...’ Controlling the fire with his dagger, he shot it at his opponent, who kept on marching forward despite his assault.

Just as he expected, the armor provided excellent protection—even against fire.

But—

VWUUUSH!

—Theo sent flames pouring all around the stage, encasing both him and the girl in a circle of burning flames.

He also expertly dodged her slow attack, easily knocking her further to the flames while he used her back as a springboard—leaping out of the circle of fire in a single breath.

With only the girl in armor within the flaming circle, Theo activated his second dagger and sent a gust of wind blowing over the flames, increasing its intensity, but most importantly, sending hot wind in the direction of the girl in armor.

"Your armor can protect you from physical attacks, but I’m guessing it also gets really hot in there." He smiled as he watched the girl in armor stagger and slowly kneel within the circle of flames. "Add that to the absence of a lot of breathable air, and the incredibly hot winds being launched in your direction, my assumption is that you’ve become pretty lightheaded."

According to his estimation, the girl would be on the ground in just a few seconds.

He wasn’t wrong.

THUD!

"The winner of the second match is Number 2: Theo!"

Once the flames died down, and the noise of applause echoed in the air, Theo was able to get a better look at his opponent’s face. It had gotten so hot that Liliette took her helmet off, but at that point it was too late, and she fainted from the intense heat she was forced to endure.

Theo looked at her fairly attractive face and his smile slowly vanished.

’Just as Kaycee lost without showing anyone what he was capable of, it seems the results of your hard work never bloomed due to the one-sided nature of the match.’ This was an obvious consequence of a random match.

Some fights would be very close, capable of showing the full capabilities of both parties before a winner emerged, while others were incredibly lopsided.

This was the fault of no one.

’It was just a terrible matchup from the start.’