(Location - Stadium Arena[1c])
(Continuation…)
(Third Person View)
.
"Hello, Mister!
"...Mister Student Karnal!
"The Combat Class is about to commence."(???)
The girl called out in an attempt to awaken our main character, who appeared to be, quite expectedly–
…sleeping.
Hearing the call, Rai, without any hurry, took his time to rouse himself from his slumber and slowly opened his eyes.
Having successfully accomplished her task of rousing Rai, the girl promptly redirected her focus back to the arena–
Where the opponents from each of the eight battle rings were being brought face-to-face, and she could sense the tension in the air.
"What a nerd you are, Student Lucie..."(Rai)
Rai couldn't help but comment directly on her face with an amused smile.
"..!!..??"
Accordingly, in response to Rai's comment, Lucie, the girl in question, swiftly turned her head toward him in surprise.
…her reaction was so quick that one might have been concerned about her neck.
With a triumphant tone, Rai proudly declared-
"Yep! I do know your name."(Rai)
-as he crossed both arms over his chest, clearly enjoying her shocked expression.
Oh, yeah! She clearly failed.(Author)
However, contrary to Rai's prideful expression, Lucie made a somewhat disgus–
-ahem* upset face.
"No, Miss-Shyam Lucie. I am a delinquent, not a stalker.
Noticing this, Rai quickly clarified the situation, while promptly promoting his rumored nature.
"I just happened to have a good sight."(Rai)
–He continued, pointing towards the name written on her book cover with the same proud demeanor.
"!?Uhh...
–Lucie, after being enlightened about the misunderstanding, returned to her usual composure.
"I-I am sorry, Mister Karnal!"(Lucie)
–But, immediately remembering his-title, she apologized in a hurry.
"Nah, don't worry.
Rai said, but from his experience he could tell that, the other party wouldn't let it go easily without apologizing again.
So he shifted the topic in his–
"So, what's the update?"(Rai)
-Not so interested-voice or the enthusiasm of wanting to know the information about what was happening
"Ahh, OKAY…!!
–However, Lucie still couldn't catch on, or she was super thrilled to have finally found someone(:a prey), who was willing to listen to her batter, and then she began.
"From Group-{1}, in Ring-[1], Student Bratt Mo, won in the dual.
"He chose to continue with his Streak. His opponent was already drowned and being called. The match will commence in a couple of minutes.
"From Group-{2}, in Ring-[2], Student . . . . . . . . .
"From Group-{3}, in Ring-[3], Student . . . . . . . . .
". . . . . . . . . . . . . .(:mumble!mumble)"
". . . . . . (:5 minutes passed)
"Oh, look! The second match in Ring-[1] was completed, and it seems Student Bratt Mo lost this time and was eliminated.
". . . . . . . . . . . . . .(:mumble!mumble)
". . . . . . (:15 minutes passed)"(Lucie was still continuing…)
.
[...She is the real deal!–A complete Nerd.
[Did I touch a ticking time bomb?](Rai)
Rai thought to himself, considering Lucie's enthusiasm for the topic at hand.
Despite his internal thoughts, Rai was genuinely paying attention and even noting down a few names in his mind.
"...Karnal, are you there?"(Lucie)
Lucie, who finally from the beginning turned behind towards Rai, shifting her focus from the arena, questioned him.
Her tone held a slight disappointment, as if she had half-expected him to have left already.
Lucie knew she had a tendency to get completely absorbed in her interests, and it often resulted in everyone around her leaving behind her back.
"Yeah, yeah, I am.
–However, Rai responded in his usual nonchalant tone.
"What's the result of the duel from Group-{6} in Ring-[6] between Student Wall Hike and Student Zoe Amy?"(Rai)
He added, still seated comfortably, with a hint of interest.
"...Umm? You are actually listening!!?"(Lucie)
However, Lucie, not answering him, questioned him in return, with a surprised tone.
Even though Rai responded to her, she had expected him to be asleep or simply ignoring her, as he did earlier.
"Hmm, should I not?"(Rai)
Rai questioned her while acting as if he didn't understand her question as one would normally.
Nevertheless, he could discern a few hints from her expressions and the scene she was actually imagining.
The truth was, Rai would have likely left or ignored Lucie if she hadn't been providing such detailed explanations without requiring him to focus on every Ring individually.
More importantly, if Rai didn't have a session where Kavir would report on every match after the completion of the Combat Class until he got everything properly, he would not have troubled himself with actually caring about every match.
He had no option but to learn them, even if it was later.
This was a situation he had brought upon himself. He couldn't afford to be half-hearted. It is the least he could do with his power.(Author : What do you guys think it is?)
So he had no declination if someone was explaining everything more thoroughly while also not just dumping information on him.
"...No.No. I just tho–
–Lucie immediately denied Rai's wrong assumption.
"Nevermind. Why don't you look at this?
–Halting her own words, she passed her notebook towards Rai.
"I have the match you asked for clearly noted out."(Lucie)
–She added, turning a couple of pages back.
"You don't need it?"(Rai)
"No, I don't."(Lucie)
"If you say so."(Rai)
.
As the matches unfolded in the arena, their conversation continued, as did the time around them.
One battle followed another, with victors being declared as the matches progressed.
Knowing that soon it was going to be his number, Rai also stopped what he was doing and mentally prepared himself.
.
(Three and a half hours later…)
By now, approximately half of the matches across all the Rings had concluded.
Fortunately for 'him', Rai's name had not been drawn from his Group.
While Rai appeared to be focusing on each battle, he remained remarkably nonchalant about their outcomes.
There was no sign of excitement or disappointment in his demeanor.
Lucie, seated beside him throughout the matches, might have believed Rai wasn't truly engaged if not for his occasional questions, as if it were his deliberate attempt to dispel her doubts.
However, Lucie soon reported something that caused a significant shift in Rai's demeanor.
The change was so abrupt and drastic that it was even evident to Lucie, who had no trained eyes to differentiate.
[What happened to him suddenly?]
She wondered, turning her attention back to the arena to verify her report.
[From Group-{1}, of Ring-[1], Student Quin Tyson's Rank-[101] won the battle and retained his Streak-(5).
[He decided to continue, and his next battle was determined against-
[Student Brooklion Davonte Arjivon.]
Lucie read through her report again but couldn't determine the reason behind Rai's sudden shift in mood.
Yeah, she knew that-Student Arjivon-is the Rank-[1] amongst them and all, but she couldn't fathom why this particular match seemed to captivate Rai's interest-
Especially since he had been nonchalant even when observing battles of Student Rank-[3], which is not a lot lower.
Moreover, Rai didn't even glance at a match that had gripped the entire crowd's interest, one between Student Rank-[6] and Student Rank-[7].
The battle between them was already regarded as having been the most intense of all that happened today.
The whole crowd cheered and erupted in the Stadium, however, he remained unchanged even during that heated showdown.
So for Rai to suddenly become interested in a match between Student Rank-[101] and Student Rank-[1], Lucie couldn't make sense of it unless there was a personal connection between them.
Nonetheless, Lucie kept all her doubts to herself and didn't speak out to Rai since they weren't close enough to question everything.
On the other hand, Rai ignored everything around him and solely focused on Brooklion Davonte Arjivon, the Rank-[1], and also the Protagonist as he made his way to his designated ring.
Within a short period of one minute, Arjivon came to the battle Ring-[1].
.
(To be continued…)
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Chapter words : 1330
Total words : 67.32K