Unlike before, Sarah's opponent was a lot faster. Right at the moment the match initiated, Laria had already appeared above her, sword slashing down at her head.
Clank—!
Slashing upwards sparks scattered in the air as Sarah's weapon met with Laria's. The snow around them dispersed, and Laria distanced herself from Sarah.
Her expression, which had been somewhat relaxed moments prior, tensed a little.
Gripping tightly onto her sword, she was about to lunge at Sarah again before suddenly, Sarah's eyes blanked once more.
Ba... Thump!
The familiar rhythmical sound of a heart beating faintly echoed throughout the arena, and Laria's expression twisted. Her mind throbbed, and her vision blurred. All of a sudden, she didn't know what to do.
"Ugh."
She took a step back and tried to shake off the nauseating feeling.
The effects had only lasted for a brief moment before she was able to snap out of it, but by the time she did, Sarah had already disappeared from the spot she had previously been in.
Swoosh—!
The air whistled as Laria's hair stood on end, and she bent down to duck down at what she perceived was a slashing blade.
But...
Bang—!
The moment she bent down, her face hit against the hard surface of what seemed to be a knee, and she could feel the bones on her nose break with a small 'crack' as she stumbled a couple of steps back.
"Akh! What bullsh—"
A hand came pressing against her face before she could finish her words and her head came crashing down against the snow.
With a muffled, 'thud', snow flung into the air as Laria's head came crashing against the snow. Then, without even having time to think, Laria rolled to the side and barely avoided Sarah's foot that came crashing down on the area where her face previously stood.
Pressing her hands against the snow, Laria just barely managed to stand back up as she warily looked at Sarah.
"Haaa... Haaa..."
Her breaths were heavy, and her vision was blurry. It had all happened so fast that she barely had the time to process what had happened.
Oddly enough, Sarah didn't follow up from there. With a blank look on her face, she blinked her eyes once and a strange tension filled the arena grounds.
Laria's hair stood on end once more and before she could even realize it, she had taken one step back.
The realization came a little too late because just as she was about to correct herself, the speakers of the arena sounded.
—I've seen enough. Let the match end here.
"Uh? What?"
Confused, Laria looked up toward the observation room up above the arena grounds.
"...Why did you end the match here?"
—Because I've seen enough.
There was pin-drop silence in the observation room as all eyes lingered over Sarah who still stood in the arena grounds. Be it Producer Maddison, or the other individuals present, none raised a single word of objection to the CEO's abrupt stop of the match as they all just quietly stared at the girl on the arena grounds.
"But—"
—We will let you know the result of your bout in a while. Please leave the premises. The audition is over.
The CEO replied and shut down the microphone. His eyes continued to linger over Sarah who was standing quietly with a blank look.
He recalled the fight that had transpired moments prior, and at that moment, he thought that perhaps, the one auditioner he had overlooked might just be what might propel the show to another level.
Perhaps, in all the years to come, when people looked back at her past, they'd remember 'Clash of Swords' as her starting point.
How far she would reach in her career, he wasn't sure. However, if there was one thing the CEO knew, it was that he couldn't let her get away.
In the end, after dismissing everyone, he, alongside Producer Maddison, held the manager back as Sarah arrived in the observation room shortly after.
The CEO and Producer Maddison observed her as she entered. There was a hint of sweat on her face, and her hair clung to her forehead. Although her cheeks showed a slight flush from the fight, she didn't seem particularly tired.
"Did you watch?"
"Yes. You did well."
Her manager replied, prompting a small smile to appear on the young girl's face. Her smile, which was faint, seemed to put both the CEO and Producer into a daze as they looked at each other.
"Although you're probably already aware of how the audition went, I want to ask, why did you choose this project? If you were this talented, then I'm sure the Guild would've helped you get into the project without doing the selection like today."
"...I had a good feeling about it."
The manager replied with a straight face. The CEO was at a loss at his reply since he couldn't see how the project brought any good feelings.
"Good feelings, huh? Is that all?"
"Yes. That's all."
"Really?"
"...Isn't there any better reason than that?"
"Eh... I guess so."
The CEO turned to look at Sarah who replied shortly after,
"I trust my manager."
"..."
At a loss for words, the CEO could only bitterly look at his Producer next to him who showed a similar expression.
"So you think it will do good, huh..."
The CEO leaned back on his chair while tapping his finger against the table.
"And how good do you think this project will do?"
At the question, the manager frowned, and the CEO instinctively straightened his back. An unusual tension filled the room as everyone awaited the manager's response. With time, the furrow in the manager's brows gradually eased.
"10%"
"Excuse me?"
"10%. I'm saying the ratings will go above 10%."
"Ha."
The CEO stifled out a strained laugh.
"You can't be serious, right?"
'Is he out of his mind?'
"Think what you like."
But the manager looked completely serious as he shrugged his shoulders with a serious expression.
"Ehm. Isn't your expectation a little too high...?"
10%.
Setting the fact that rarely any Tier 1 material garners more than 10% viewership ratings. Even Tier 3 and above struggled to reach such high ratings. And yet, this manager was telling him that he believed the show had a chance at surpassing the 10% rating.
He was both flattered and worried at the same time.
"I believe in my eyes."
"No, that's..."
"Why does it seem as though I have more confidence in your project, than you, the CEO?"
'There's a difference between confidence and outright delusion.'
The CEO wanted to rebuke but decided against it. There was no need to antagonize someone who was here to help them. Furthermore, he was the key to getting Sarah. He needed to have her in the project.
She was indispensable for the show to do well.
"We auditioned because we were hoping you'd present an offer to Sarah directly to the Guild."
"Pardon?"
"Given some circumstances, we can't select the project on our own. If possible, I'd like for you to directly ask for her. That way, they can't reject us."
"That shouldn't be a problem."
Although it was a little troublesome given the number of papers he had to sign, it was hardly any trouble for the CEO who did nothing but sign papers all day. Plus, it was a really small price to pay to get someone like her into the project.
He'd sign a mountain of papers just to get her into the show.
"I won't ask why the situation is like this, but if we do as you've said, can you guarantee that she will be on the show?"
"I can."
The manager turned to look at Sarah for the briefest of moments before reassuring,
"I'll make it so that it happens."
***
Clank—!
We had just arrived at the guild when my phone rang loudly. Looking at who was calling, I immediately picked up.
"Dean?"
—What did you do?!
His voice came out as half a squeal, startling me a little.
Trying my best to hide my surprise, I asked,
"What's wrong?"
—What do you mean what's wrong? You should know full well what's wrong!
"I'm asking because I don't know what's wrong."
—What do you mean you don't know!? You're literally the one who created this entire mess!
"Uh?"
I was even more confused now. What exactly did I do?
—Did you, or did you not go directly to Windsol Enterprises?
"Yes, I did..."
I suddenly paused halfway through my sentence.
"Wait, how do you know?"
I still hadn't told him about the audition yet.
It wasn't because I thought he'd reject it, but mainly because of the 'political' repercussions it would bring afterward with Unit 1. Plus, if I had to be honest, back then, I still wasn't sure they'd take us.
I was planning on telling him tonight, but from what it seemed, he already knew.
How though?
"Oh."
And then it finally dawned one.
"Fuck."
A curse managed to slip out of my mouth as I took a deep and tired breath.
—So you finally understand what you did wrong?
"Yeah... I didn't think they'd be this fast."
Calling them fast was an understatement. I had originally thought it was going to take at least a couple of days for Windsol Enterprises to finalize the contract and send it to the Guild, and yet.
I turned my wrist to stare at my watch.
"An hour..."
Only an hour had elapsed since then, and yet, they'd already finalized the contract? Was this their way of displaying just how much they wanted Sarah?
"Manager? What's wrong?"
Sarah, who was standing beside me eating her candy, perhaps noticing my change in expression, suddenly asked.
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
"The project..."
"Was I rejected?"
She interjected faster than I could answer and I raised my head to look at her briefly.
Although she looked the same in my eyes, I could see that her fists were clenched tightly at her sides.
Clearly, she was more worried than she was letting on.
I shook my head.
"No. It's not that. It's the opposite in fact. You were accepted. The Guild has already received their offer."
"Uh?"
Sarah's expression finally underwent a change as her usually expressionless face turned into one of shock as the candy in her hand nearly fell to the ground if not for the fact that I predicted this and just barely managed to save them on time.
"You... we, what?"
She fumbled over her words as she struggled to come to a grasp of the situation.
"You heard me right."
I nodded at her, pocketing the candy for the time being.
"You were accepted. They want you."
"I..."
Speechless, Sarah didn't seem to have any words to say as she rigidly stood on her spot. I stared at her and mustered the best grin I could.
"I told you that you were talented. Do you see it now? I'm not crazy, right?"
"I... did they really accept me?"
"Do you want Dean to tell you directly?"
I held my phone up and showed her that I was still on call with Dean. There was a muffled sound of congratulation coming from the phone, albeit a little annoyed too and I put the phone back into my ear.
"Can't you at least be a little bit more honest with your congratulations?"
—You're finally paying attention back to me?
"When did I not?"
—Just now...
"Hmm. I guess you're right."
Dean clicked his tongue from the other side of the phone as he continued,
—Anyways, the entire Unit is in a mess because of you. We've received multiple calls from the people of Unit 1, and the leader seems really pissed at the moment. He even threatened to talk directly to the Guild Master and everything.
"And...?"
Dean sighed.
—We told him to shove it.
I cracked a smile.
"So what's with the tone? Since you've already told him to shove it, we're already in the same boat."
—Whatever. I can't be bothered with you. I just wanted to vent some of my frustration. If you've got anything else to say, then say it now, or else I'm hanging up
"Actually, I do."
—Oh?
"It's about the group project. I think..."
I paused, carefully articulating my words,
"...I've found a way."