"Hey! That's us, James! We get to go first!" It was like watching an excited puppy who knew that he was about to get to go on a walk.
'Disgusting...'
His bright smile, cheerful posture, and energy all made me want to puke. However, I still kind of liked the golden boy in some weird way. Even though, in a lot of ways, we were complete opposites.
While he had already come to a point where he would face his troubles head-on, I was still hiding from the world. When he was smiling, I was frowning. As he took up a sword, I took up my blanket to cover myself. As he was going to stand in the light, I was forced by my insecurities to stay in the shadows.
Nevertheless, it was refreshing to see a person like him. A person who completely contradicted the thesis I had written on Earth. He hadn't agreed to make a deal with me in the forest, even though his mind should have actively worked for him to act for the purpose of his own self-interest.
He was the exception that proved my rule.
"Haa... Yeah, let's go, Arthur."
And so we made our way out to the big arena, my forehead quickly starting to produce cold sweat as I felt the looks of all the people around us. Even more so when I thought about all the people watching us on their TVs. In the middle of the arena, Ms. Turner and Mr. Brown were standing as judges, as they were responsible for both of the freshmen groups.
There was a weird sort of numbing feeling that attacked my body as we stepped inside the ring, something I attributed to that strange sort of space and time magic that would make us unable to die as long as we were in the arena.
We made our to the middle of the arena as the banners with lions coming out from the ledgers were blowing in the fresh winds. It was a sunny day with a clear blue sky watching us from afar. For most people, it was a good day. For me, it would soon come to be as well.
"Big applause for our first contenders!"
*Wooo!!! Clapclapclapclapclap!*
The sound of Ms. Rose's voice rang out over the arena, followed by an immense whirl of vibrations and sounds coming from the audience around us. We had gotten an explanation of what was expected of us before, so we took each other's hands and 'wished each other good luck'.
"Take it easy on me, please! Haha!"
"Oh, but you don't really want that, now do you, Arthur?"
It was the lamest of pre-fight banter that the world had ever seen, but neither of us was displeased with it, for me, it was mostly because I didn't care. Walking away from each other, making sure to stand at the marked white lines which showed we were fifteen meters apart, Ms. Rose spoke again.
"Now, I will give the microphone over to Mr. Stone who will be commentating on the fight! Judges, start the countdown!" Mr. Brown and Ms. Turner both started to count down at the same time, with Ms. Turner wearing a very complicated expression while Mr. Brown was smiling widely.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fight!"
And the fight had begun.
"Here I come! James!"
Arthur began to immediately sprint at me, which could be said to be both a smart move and a foolish one. Smart because he was expecting me to be more of a control type because of my stature and my 'teleportation' skill. Foolish because he didn't know what skills I had, meaning there was a very real risk he would run straight into a trap.
'I guess it's time.'
"Sorry Arthur, but you won't get the chance to do anything!" *[Dome of Mist]!*
"What?!"
He stopped in his tracks as he saw the mist bellowing out from me, quickly covering me completely, rendering him unable to see even a fraction of my body. Thinking quickly, he sent out a pulse of his mana, trying to see if he could find any reaction in the mist, but alas. There was none.
****
[Arthur's Pov]
'I have to think about this... The worst thing I can do is to rush into the mist...'
It was so incredibly stupefying. The man who had just found out about what elemental affinity he had could already control it to this extent, James was just nothing less than a monster! However, he was a monster that I truly wanted to show how far I had come during my short stay at Ainu.
'What would Sophie do... Never mind, she would just rush in like a bull as she always does...'
I did have one tool I could use, but that would mean revealing my Manual to the world... 'Was Sophie right? Should I just show everyone who I am? No, that would put everyone at risk of dying in the hands of the demons...'
Feeling the weight of my sword in my right hand, I started to feel a cold sweat run down my back. 'Why isn't he doing anything? Is he just playing with me? He has already bought himself a lot of time to prepare an attack from a very favorable position...'
It didn't make sense. No matter how intricate of an attack he was planning on using, he should have had the time to execute it by now. 'He really wants me to walk into the mist, huh... Then so be it!'
My feet slowly dragged me into the cloud of mist, a mist that was numbing all of my senses. Suddenly, a voice rang out inside of it, "So you are finally here, good. Anyway, I just wanted to say sorry for this. I know you will be angry, but you will understand my actions in time. Take it as my gift of showing you just how weak you are...
"What?!"
A shiver surged through my body as I raised my sword, ready to defend against whatever the monster was about to do to me. Then, a second later, the mist just disappeared, and I was standing by myself in the arena with my sword ready to strike.
'...what...'
"Ummm... I think Arthur is the winner?"
****
[James's Pov]
"Yes, I know. I'm immature, I'm a child, yada yada..."
"That we are. But it was pretty funny though, seeing his face after we left. And we both know I wouldn't be able to not make that cliché speech before ditching the place."
After getting the pleasure of spouting some bullshit to Arthur, I recalled both sub-me as well as the mist covering us, making him stand there alone like a fool.
I did feel a bit bad about subjecting him to such a horrible situation, a situation which, if I had to endure it, would probably end in a nice warm bath with a toaster.
"However, this is all for the growth of our hero. He needs to become strong, after all..."
Jokes aside, I knew that I should use his ignorant awe of me in some kind of way, it would be a waste not to.
Thus, I played the part of the one who let him win, the one who he felt was in control but gave up the match for his sake. He was bound to become confused by my actions, and someone who is confused always searches for direction. And that need for direction was what I was planning on using in the future.
I didn't have a clear vision of why or when, but being able to affect the decisions of a hero might come in handy.
Closing the laptop in front of me, I planned on now watching the tournament for a while. I had more important things to do, after all.
Let's train so we don't have to run away in the future!
****
[Sophie's Pov]
'That stupid goblin!'
My heart was breaking when Arthur was dragging his feet from the arena, clearly disappointed that the one he looked up to wouldn't even fight him.
If he knew what I knew, that James was, in fact, just a weakling who didn't want to fight, he would probably feel even worse for having idolized him in the first place. So at this point, I felt like I had to play along with whatever that dork was planning. 'If he didn't want to fight, couldn't he just have forfeited like a normal human being? What's wrong with that guy!'
My nails were biting into my hands as I was struggling not to scream out loud. 'I knew he was going to do something weird! He probably just hid in that mist, waited for Arthur to come in, and then teleported away with his stupid skill. What a nerd!'
"Ow!"
"Sophie! It's your turn! Didn't you hear, or were you stuck thinking about that loverboy of yours?"
Anna had punched my shoulder in an attempt to bring me back to reality, and it appears that I must've zoned out to the point where I missed when Ms. Rose had announced the next set of students, which I was one of.
A bit embarrassed because of my blunder, I stood up and made my way out to the arena.
*Woooo!*
The cheers of the audience lit my fire once more, my whole body tensing up in anticipation of what I was about to experience. I loved it, being the center of attention when I was about to show everyone what I was able to do.
It didn't take long for me to reach the middle of the arena where my opponent was already waiting for me, stretching his hand out with a creepy, but still somewhat sweet, smile on his face, "Hello, beautiful lady! Let's have a great match!"