"Since you all watched that first fight, I believe you all have no qualms about the contestant's victory, despite him technically not defeating me." Rose's voice boomed. She oozed charisma and confidence as always.
Matt listened to her from where he sat and gave an awkward smile, noticing how everyone's gaze was on him. He also observed how much she emphasized the fact that he didn't defeat her.
'I know that already!' He wanted to scream.
"Now, then, we'll be advancing to the next fight. You all know this already, but you will all be fighting opponents who are evenly matched in power to you. In essence, you will be facing Enlightened like yourselves." Rose continued.
'Yeah, everyone except me!' How was this exam fair, if he—as a newbie Challenger—had to face a Master in his very first fight?
Well, it wasn't! The exam was unfair—at least according to Matt.
"As examinees, you all have to win against your opponents. Now, you might all feel this is a little unfair since your opponents are official members of the Society, and you are not. Well, do not fret. Appropriate restrictions have been placed on them, so they won't exceed the allotted Magia limit. They will also be limited to the base applications of their Imagi."
By the time she finished explaining, Matt realized how well-balanced the examination was. Even though both fighters were of the same rank, the officials were handicapped—giving the examinees an advantage.
However, the officials had more experience than the examinees, thus compensating for their limited abilities. All in all, it made for an interesting setup—one he couldn't wait to watch.
'I hope these guys have a recording of all the matches, or something. I want to watch my fight with Rose again. Hehehe. I wonder how cool I looked!' He grinned, recalling the awesome thrill he had experienced during the fight.
Especially how he had incredibly managed to figure out the activation of his ability.
"I wonder how the rest will do."
"Number 04, step forward!" Rose ordered, and a rough-looking boy instantly rose from his seat.
He had spiky hair, and his expression and mannerisms made him seem like a delinquent. Compared to Matt's somewhat composed outfit—a hoodie jacket, a casual top, and denim jeans—this boy wore a rough, faded, blue, leather jacket, with a dark vest underneath, coupled with shorts.
He seemed proud of his outfit as he stepped out, but Matt felt it was completely off.
'Is it a custom here for everyone to dress weird?' It was truly beyond his comprehension.
Number 04 marched forward, grinning confidently. He puffed out his chest, broadened his shoulders—seemingly intentionally—and his legs were a considerable distance from each other as he walked, or more appropriately, pranced.
He seemed like a model of someone trying his hardest to resemble those delinquents he saw in anime or manga.
Matt honestly felt sad for the guy as he watched.
"As for the official that you need to defeat, she's an E Rank Novice who just passed her exam two months ago." Rose glanced in the direction of yet another strange door that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Matt had been looking around the hall all this time, yet he could swear that there had been no door there earlier. He was sure of that!
The door slowly opened, and he noticed a somewhat devilish grin forming on Rose's face. The moment Matt saw that, he realized that something was about to go down.
Something exciting!
"Bee, you can come in now."
>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!<
A black and yellow blur zoomed in through the door, closing the distance between its initial location and the center of the stage where it now stopped.
Once the blur stilled, its identity was revealed.
"B-Bee?!" Matt didn't know when he raised his voice in surprise.
He quickly covered his mouth, but the deed had already been done. He felt super awkward, but he didn't let it get to him too much.
'If I was around normal people, things would definitely be a little different!' A smile formed on his face as his gaze shifted towards the peppy girl in her bee mascot costume.
"I'll never get used to seeing that stuff."
Bee adjusted her goggles, and she was making light stretches in front of the ruffian. He seemed fired-up, and so did she.
'This will be my first time watching a fight like this. I better pay close attention to it! Matt's eyes lit up in anticipation.
He was determined not to miss a single second.
[YOU MAY BEGIN!]
The moment the System Panel above them signaled the commencement of the match, Number 04 placed his hands in his pockets and smirked arrogantly.
"Don't think imma go easy on ya because ya a gir—"
>WHOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH!!!<
Before he could finish his taunt, Bee sped straight toward him.
The match only lasted a second, as she jumped and gave the yammering, arrogant kid a kick to the stomach before he could conclude whatever he was saying.
"G-GURK!" He groaned in anguish, as saliva splattered from his mouth, the moment her kick hit the target.
The speed at which he was sent flying away caused a loud crash, and his helpless body landed at least fifty meters from the point of impact before finally stopping.
In that moment, without much effort, Bee emerged victorious.
"E-eh? Just like… that?" Matt found himself muttering.
He had a ton of questions plaguing his mind, but the first thing he did was glance at the fallen examinee and wince.
The poor guy was knocked out cold, due to one strike from the petite and cute Bee. Matt shuddered at the thought of what would happen if her little legs aimed a kick at his stomach.
The worst part was how this completely contradicted his original impression of Bee. This vicious and merciless fighter was nothing like the endearing, yet hyperactive girl he had met when he first woke up.
'I'll be careful if I ever see her again.' That was one lesson he learned.
However, more than learning a lesson, Matt realized something he didn't take into account before.
'Even with my dark flames, if I had been matched with her, how would I have fared?'
He realized the answer instantly.
'I would have lost easily!'
He was supposedly stronger than Bee, since he was a Challenger, but from what he just saw with his eyes, Matt knew it instantly…
He was out of her league!
'If she was this strong with limitations, then just how powerful is she without them?' Matt had no idea.
He only knew one thing—how badly he wanted to find out!
"Number 04, FAIL!"