Ranked Battles.
It was a place full of multiple virtual arenas, where trainees would fight it out among themselves to gain points. The point distribution mattered on the position of the two trainees fighting.
The larger difference between the two, the more points the person with a lower rank would gain.
Isla arrived at the Ranked Battle Hall. It was a large space filled with multiple small buildings, that had virtual rooms for battles.
"This looks like a mess."
There were a lot of trainees in the hall. Isla estimated the total number of trainees to be around a hundred.
"I never thought I'd be seeing you here."
"Ah, Yusaka...senpai."
As the black-haired girl approached, she decided to use honorifics.
"Have you come for a match against the other trainees?"
"I just want to test this out. There's no way I'll be able to get enough points for the top three if I still do training exercises and lessons."
Yusaka smiled and put her arm around Isla, dragging her along proudly. She noticed something. Yusaka touched Isla's hair and twiddled her bangs with her fingers.
"You should probably cut your hair, or at least put it in a ponytail."
"My hair is just over mid-length. I don't feel troubled by it."
"In the last battle I had, my hair got pulled and I decided to cut my hair."
"Now that you mention it..."
Isla did not notice that Yusaka's hair had become shorter. The last time they met, in Interblade, she had a ponytail. Isla felt slightly embarrassed at the fact that she did not notice the difference, especially since it changed her appearance.
"Anyway, I'll teach you about the Ranked Battles. Let's get a room first."
"Right, thanks, Yusaka-senpai."
"Just call me Yusaka, we're the same age."
"Really?!"
"At least I think. I joined the Secret Force at thirteen and that was three years ago."
(Thirteen? That's one year older than when Commander Siesta joined.)
The two got themselves a room and Isla sat down in the chair in front of a computer setup. The computer screen was black.
"So, what do I do now?"
"Well, to start up the computer you need to put your hand on the pad beside the screen."
"You mean this one?"
Isla placed her hand on a black pad near the computer. It was plugged in and most likely acted as a mouse.
As soon as Isla laid her hand on the pad, the computer screen lit up and Isla's face appeared on it. It was the photo she took when first entered the Secret Force.
An entire site appeared on the screen.
"What's this?"
"The duels. That list on the side is the current rankings."
It was the Duel Rankings, the ranks of the trainees. The first three were still the same. Aria Shinomiya had 780 points. Shou Murakami was ahead by a lot of points. He was at 1206 points now. Since he was first, it would be hard to gain points but he managed to get a hundred points in two days, or so, which was impressive. Isla acknowledged his hard work and power.
"If you click on the large button next to it."
"The one that says duel..."
She moved her hand and the cursor on the screen followed it. When she tapped on the pad, the screen changed. It showed a list of names. These names were of people who were currently waiting to have a battle with someone.
"Are the numbers beside the names their score?"
"Yes. You can decide who to battle and send a request to them. When the request is sent, they can accept or decline. Try and battle someone."
"Eh?! Right now?! I'm not ready so—!"
"You'll be fine. Trust me. Just choose someone above your rank."
Isla searched for a little while and found somebody with 402 points. It was higher than her 99 points. She sent the person a request and got a response almost instantly.
On the screen, it displayed a notice saying that the person accepted. When Isla was ready, she would simply need to press the button.
"Ah, first, before you press that, put this wristband on. It's to track your physical status and heart rate. You must wear this before you decide to enter Ranked Battles."
Yusaka took the black wristband on the table and handed it to the white-haired girl. She put it on and tapped the button on the screen.
Suddenly, her body relaxed and she closed her eyes. Once she opened them again, she was in a different area completely. It was an urban landscape, full of buildings and obstacles like poles and fences.
Isla stood opposite her opponent.
[One-on-one battle, Ranked Match.]
An autonomous voice announced.
[Begin.]
The objective was to defeat—or 'kill'—the opponent. Isla backed away as the opponent made a blade of mana and charged towards her.
(He's quick. He's probably looking to overpower me in speed and agility. I can deal with his speed but his blade will scar me a few times. I won't use Sakura Hysteria.)
The opponent sliced at her a few times and got her right arm and waist with shallow wounds. Instead of bleeding, blue pixels escaped Isla's wound.
She brandished her hand—several orbs of mana floated behind her. They shot towards him. He dodged them and charged towards the defenceless Isla.
With the flick of a finger, the mana lasers shifted, turning back towards the boy. They pierced him, eliminating him.
Instead of dropping to the floor, he disintegrated.
The girl blinked a couple of times, confused about what just happened.
"I... wasn't expecting to beat him with that."
She scratched her head.
[Isla Chibana Wins!]
Beside her, a screen appeared and her point count rose from 99 points to 205 points. She was now in 91st place.
"That's a lot of points. I... don't feel like doing this a lot would be good though."