Rhys was laying on the floor and Connor was the last man standing.
The audience was silent as they stared at the sad scene in front of them. Most of them had predicted this outcome but during the course of the match team 12 had surprised them. Especially the guy with the weird power. Most of them were secretly hoping that team 12 would win, if not for the fact that they had put up a good fight against the scariest team in the tournament, then for the fact that for a moment team 12 made them feel like beating someone like Connor was possible.
"No way, guys..." A loud voice among the students caught everyone's attention. "Connor's flag is gone."
Just short of a hundred heads snapped around to look at Connor's abdomen and they were all shocked by what they saw. His grey uniform t-shirt was torn at the front, a large patch of his abs were exposed where his flag had previously been pasted to his shirt.
On the floor, Rhys struggled to turn his body. His hands were all messed up, he was thoroughly exhausted from using his skill against Connor's electricity and now that he had phased back into his physical form, his stomach wound started bleeding again. But none of that mattered.
[17/40 Hp]
Rhys finally relaxed his jaw letting the team 25 flag slip out from between his teeth. He smiled down at the flag that he had managed to take from Connor. After he had flung himself back up through the floor, Rhys had managed to use their close proximity to his advantage. His hands were pretty much useless from being exposed to Connor's power at such close proximity so he had to improvise.
The momentum from swinging up through the floor let him land a pretty good kick under Connor's chin. Astonishingly the kick wasn't enough to knock Connor out or even push him off balance, all it gave Rhys was a moment of invisibility because Connor could not see him as his head was thrown back from the kick. In that split second Rhys had leaned his head in and bit down hard on Connor's flag.
Connor recovered a moment later and sent Rhys flying forward with a revenge punch to the chest. Rhys's bite on the flag was strong enough that it was ripped from Connor's shirt as he flew backwards.
['Not bad for an enlightened human.']
Rhys smiled brightly even though everything hurt.
The nurses flooded the pit in much larger numbers than he had seen for his previous matches, then again so many of them were injured, with the exception of Connor of course. Teams of around ten healers surrounded each student and immediately began healing them.
Rhys slowly looked up and there he saw Connor standing in front standing in front of him. Connor's face looked steely as always which added to Rhys's anxiety now more than ever. He wanted the nurses to get to him quickly so there was at least someone around to protect him if Connor went insane and tried to attack him.
Connor took a step closer and Rhys gulped nervously as he tried to sit up straight.
A crooked smile abruptly broke out across Connor's face. It was so non-threatening that Rhys was immediately suspicious of it, there was no way it was genuine.
"You surprised me." Connor crouched down in front of Rhys and tilted his head. "I guess we'll get along."
Connor's eyes were bright and mischievous which made Rhys hesitate for a second, but he ultimately relaxed a bit because he didn't see anything weird in Connor's aura.
"Well this is better than I expected. I was sure you were gonna be a sore loser." Rhys grinned right back at Connor who was suddenly starting to feel less intimidating.
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Connor ruffled his blonde hair. "You only won because I didn't take you seriously at first."
Rhys hated to admit it but Connor was speaking the truth. The size of Connor's aura when he first sent his electricity around the room was not as bright and powerful as it could have been, he had definitely been holding back. Things would have gone very differently if Connor had used his full power from the beginning.
"The Team 12 versus Team 25 match is over!" The instructor called out for everyone to hear. "Team 12 wins!"
Rhys looked back to see that Sampson, Joel and Nim were conscious again. They all had stupidly happy smiles on their faces because they heard the announcement. They were the winners, despite all the odds.
"Well, next time use your full power and then we'll see." Rhys replied to Connor's taunt with a happy grin and Connor chuckled back.
"We'll see-"
"Wait a moment." Zora the bald headed instructor broke through the crowd of students and nurses.
"I've reviewed the footage and come up with a ruling." She glanced over at Rhys who looked to be chatting with Connor. "Team twelve is disqualified for violating the rules of the tournament."
Rhys immediately turned around and was trying to get back on his feet but the nurses and healers suddenly swarmed him.
"Student, please don't move!" They stopped him by holding onto his shoulders.
"What do you mean?" Rhys's face went pale and his happiness crumbled.
"What the hell are you talking about? What violation?" Sampson growled from across the pit where he was being treated. His arm was already healed and he was being wrapped in bandages like a mummy for the sake of his electrical burns.
"Trainee Rhys Anson violated the most fundamental rule of the tournament at approximately eleven minutes and thirteen seconds into the match." She read from her tablet while addressing everyone in the gym.
"I explained this to all of you at the beginning, and so did your match instructors. Your flag must be visible at all times. This is one of the fundamental rules of the game."
Rhys's heart sank because he figured out what she was going to say next and he honestly had no way to defend himself.
"For a period of about two and a half seconds, Rhys Anson used his power to lower himself through the ground. For that period of time the flag pasted on his chest was not visible or attainable by the other team. Therefore team 12 is disqualified. Team 25 wins by default and will advance to the final round."
"But that's not fair." Joel wobbly made it to his feet, much to the horror of the nurses who were trying to heal his burns. "It's part of his power to move through stuff. By saying it's breaking the rules aren't you just discriminating against his ability?"
Joel's eyes trembled as he stared down Zora. Rhys didn't know where he got the sudden boost of confidence to speak out but he liked it. However his argument wasn't all that solid, and his tone towards the instructor was slightly aggressive; Rhys knew Joel's words would not be well received by Zora.
"Every trainee is encouraged to use their power without restriction during this tournament. Our only rule is that the flag must be visible at all times. We definitely do not discriminate against core abilities." Zora scowled down at Joel as she fought the urge to yell at him. As an instructor she needed to remain stoic and professional for the new trainees.
Joel seemed to lose a bit of steam at her rebuttal. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again as if he could not find any meaningful words.
"But instructor," Everyone's head turned to Nim who shakily got to her feet. "Even if the flag was visible the other team wouldn't have been able to take it from Rhys. His power is like that. Even if you can see him you can't touch him, so really it makes no difference if you can see the flag or not because Rhys-"
"Enough." Zora's loud voice stifled Nim. "My decision is final. Team 12 is disqualified and team 25 advances to the final round."
Nim slumped back down on the floor and placed her head in her knees. Her fingers trembled as she gripped her hair in her hands. She was racked with guilt over what she had done during the match; her healing the teleporter had been the thing that ruined the plan and was probably the reason Rhys was forced to attack Connor in a way that got them disqualified. Tears swelled in her eyes and she shakily breathed in and out trying to regain her cool. Her power had been so useless for the entire tournament, with each round she could only look forward to it ending and hope she wouldn't get badly injured. The round she finally used her healing, she cost her team the win.
She mustered the courage to lift her head and look at Rhys on the other side of the pit. His back was to her so she could not see his face, but from his slumped posture she could tell that he was depressed.
['That teammate of your's makes a good point. Your spectral form skill means that it would be impossible for another person to take the flag from you, so why does it matter that it was out of sight for a few seconds? Those humans would not have been able to take it from you anyhow. As pointless as this is, you must learn from it and move on.']
Rhys was silent as he listened to the teacher. He could hear his heart beating in his chest and the grumble of the other disgruntled trainees discussing the outcome of the match. He wanted to win so badly and for a moment he thought he had. He had tasted sweet victory only for it to be ripped away from him for a mistake of two and a half seconds, his chest tightened at the thought of it.
"Bye." Connor abruptly stood back up and walked away, leaving Rhys to wallow in his disqualification.
Heavy footsteps were making their way across the pit to him, he turned his head to see Zora, Sampson, Joel and Nim a few paces away.
"Please listen carefully. The other overseers and I have come to a decision." Zora stared at the very disheartened trainees in front of her. Perhaps her news would cheer them up a bit. Even if they were disqualified they were all very promising trainees and she didn't want to see them in a slump.
"We would usually automatically give disqualified teams the F rank. However, in light of your team's performance in your matches today, and taking into account Rhys's particular power that was the root of this disqualification, we've decided that it would be unfair to drop you all to the F rank. After the final round is over you will all be given a rank based on evaluations from the overseers who have been watching you. So don't fret so much."
She looked up from her tablet and awkwardly tried to smile at the trainees.
"You fought well and you should be proud of yourselves. There will be a little break between now and the next match. Feel free to wander outdoors, cheer yourselves up a bit."
Zora swiftly walked back to the other students and proceeded to make an announcement about the thirty minute break; there were lunchboxes waiting for them at the front of the gym. The crowd quickly dispersed and Rhys could hear people whispering about going to the cafeteria instead.
"I'm so sorry guys." Nim's eyes were so red it looked like she was bleeding from her eye sockets.
"It's okay Nim. You're a healer after all, you were just following your instincts." Rhys felt like he was coming down from a high, and the reality of what he had done was sinking in. Using physical disruption on that teleporter in such a vital spot was definitely not an accident. In that moment he really wanted that guy to die so the system would give him more rewards. Now that his head was clear it was troubling to realise just how he was acting a few minutes ago.
"I was the one who got us disqualified not you. Please don't worry about it."
['And I thought I was making progress with you...']
The teacher sighed in his head. ['Never let a subordinate get away with making a mistake like that.']
"Be more careful next time Nim. If you heal the wrong person like that again, you might end up dead. Be glad that he only knocked you out and didn't decide to kill you."
Nim nodded enthusiastically while wiping away her tears. "Okay!"
"You're soft as always Rhys." Sampson snarled down at Nim who immediately jumped away form him. "Anyways, team 12 is done for. This is where our partnership ends."
Sampson abruptly turned to face Nim. "I don't want to see you around campus. Stay out of my sight or I'll burn you."
Sampson swivelled his head around to glare at Joel next. "I thought your were a total wimp at first but you've got nice reflexes and your power makes my power stronger. You're still a support type though, so stick around with me if you want protection."
Joel's eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly at Sampson. Rhys was confused for a moment as to why Sampson's crude words would make Joel so happy but then it all made sense. At the beginning of the tournament Joel had desperately been trying to get along with Connor, not because Connor was a social butterfly but because he was strong. Someone like Joel knew how hard it was to have a power like his that he couldn't use to fight, he wanted someone to protect him and follow around. Becoming Sampson's lackey was a great option for him, especially with his calmer personality which he could use to deal with Sampson's violent mood swings.
Sampson then focused on Rhys. He was silent for a long while and the two just stared at each other waiting for something to happen. "I'll see you around." Sampson finally murmured.
"Come on, Joel." Sampson beckoned his new lackey to his side as he set off for the lunch boxes at the front of the gym. Joel jogged after him and took his place at Sampson's side.
"Wow, it's really over. I can't believe it." Nim murmured as she crouched down beside him. "This was only the first day of school but it feels like months have passed." She giggled as she pushed her messy brown hair out of her face.
"Thanks for being so kind to me."
Rhys shook his head and sheepishly looked away from her. "It was nothing. But Nim-"
Rhys was going to ask why she had come here. She was going to have to stay and survive here for four years now that she had arrived and Rhys wanted to know how she was planning on making it. But then he shut his mouth. This system was changing him more than he liked to admit and getting close to truly kind people like her was not good for either of them.
"Never mind it's nothing." With that Rhys stood up and made his way to the lunchboxes.
"If you ever need healing, come straight to me!" She cheerfully called out after him.
Rhys grabbed a lunchbox and walked out through the open gym door that lead outside. The sunlight felt great against his skin, he felt like It was energising him just by basking in it.
The gymnasium was situated next to what looked like an athletic field, beyond that was a wide field of wild grass and in the distance the forest. Rhys found himself a patch of grass far away from the others and sat down. He munched down hungrily on the large chicken sandwich inside the box and slurped up the juice in the juice box before using his skill to replenish his energy.
[Aura: Grass]
[Energy Absorption +5 Exp]
[Energy Absorption +5 Exp]
[Energy Absorption +5 Exp]
[Energy Absorption +5 Exp]
[...]
Rhys watched as the green aura of the plants were siphoned off into his body, leaving behind dried black grass. His body felt so much better and his HP was full again.
[40/40 HP]
Absorbing energy was so satisfying, especially when he was running low and he got to absorb a lot in one go like this. He wondered if people who took drugs went through a similar high.
Soon the thirty minutes were over and everyone funnelled back into the gym to watch the final match. It was a battle royal between Groups 25, 9 and 8.
The rules of the game changed a little bit as well. Instead of fighting in a large circle, they fought in an equilateral triangle shaped pit. And instead of having flags pasted to their bodies, each group had their flags tied to a pole in their corner of the triangle. The new goal was to take the two other team's flags and tie it to their pole. The winner of the tournament would be the first group to have three flags tied to their poles. On top of that, any group that was that didn't have a flag to their pole would be out after 3 minutes. So if I team hit their flag stolen, they had 3 minutes to get another flag or lose the match.
Rhys was certain that this would be an easy win for Connor's team because of the teleportation guy, however it seemed that everyone payed attention during Rhys's match because both opposing teams immediately made preparations to stop their flag being taken by the teleporter. One team had a fire manipulator who immediately surrounded their flag and pole in a blanket of fire, making it impossible for the red-head to teleport there. The other team copied Rhys's strategy and stood with their backs right up against the pole, ready to take down anyone who suddenly appeared.
Although the preparation looked good, team 25 came into the final match with a fresh ferocity. The wind girl's mouth was pursed into an angry line, the teleporter had a furious scowl on his face, the bear guy was not hiding his aggression at all; his fists were balled up ready to take out his frustration on his opponents, and much to the other two teams worry, Connor was standing up straight as if he was going to participate.
The other two teams fought back admirably, Rhys noticed a guy from one of the other teams had an incredible skill.
[Aura detection used +5 Exp]
[Name: Unknown]
[Aura: Metal physiology (weak)]
His aura looked like he was cased in a giant metal egg. In the blink of an eye his body would transform as his skin turned into a silvery metal, probably steel. He proved to be a very good opponent for the bear physiology guy. The two of the continuously tore into each other during the match.
The other person to catch Rhys's eyes was a guy with a very popular core ability at the moment. It was the core ability of a famous war hero and his entire family, which meant the core was not cheap. The guy was definitely from the 17th.
[Name: Unknown]
[Aura: Energy Emission (weak)]
He was not strong enough to actually project his energy from his body, however he was able to extend it from his hands. He ran around the pit attacking his opponents with the glowing light blue energy that pulsed out from his hands. He was a very skilled fighter; clean and concise in his attacks which really enhanced his core ability.
They were on different teams but the two of them stood out as the most talented and the leaders of their respective teams. Rhys could hear the people around him praising them with gritted teeth, they were envious of such core abilities.
All their glory came to an end when Connor stepped forward and did something unexpected. He engulfed the triangular pit with his power but only for a second, maybe even less than that. However long it was, it caught everyone off guard and left the other teams in a daze. The bright flash of light and pain of the current made them lose focus and struggle to regain their fighting instinct. In that time of confusion, Connor ran to get the other teams' flags. A few people tried to stand and fight him but Connor only had to electrocute them for a second to knock them out.
There was an interesting minute where the guy with the light blue energy tried to face off against Connor. To everyone's surprise his energy proved surprisingly useful in blocking and nullifying Connor's electricity, however, they were ultimately on different levels. That guy was ranked as 'weak', while Connor was ranked as 'very strong'. After a few electrically enhanced punches the brave energy wielder was down. Team 25 was the winner as expected.
It was finally time to learn the rankings of all the students.