The next day was when the official workshop battle began.
The Archimedes had a large stadium built in for the battle. As a matter of fact, several stadiums were present inside the ship for various different events. The number, as predicted by the critics, ranged from anywhere between 50 to 70 stadiums all inside a single ship. Just from that estimate, it could be imagined the unreal size of the Archimedes.
Such a stadium was, at the moment, packed with spectators. Shouts and cheers saturated the air with a cacophony of sounds and noises as the spectators expressed their excitement for the upcoming battle. Many people hung banners on their backs about the person they were supporting in the competition. There were only a few key figures, including Endorsi Jahad, Jue Viole Grade, Varagarv - Yama's mad dog, Anaak Jahad and finally, Charlotte the Goddess.
The ground of the stadium itself was filled to the brim with clear water. At the center of the watery expanse was a single pillar atop which stood two people with helmets on their faces.
"Regulars that will take the test, Residents of the Middle Areas, Distinguished Guests and even some Rankers have come to attend this year's Workshop Battle! We are truly blessed to be able to accommodate you all!" The one with the red helmet, Punk spoke.
"As of right now, the workshop battle will start!" Yelled the one with the blue helmet, Io. "I'm your co-host, Io!"
"And I'm your other co-host, Punk!"
"Let the battle begin!"
Various fireworks went off in the air above them, proving to be a dazzling display for the people. At the very least, they were interesting to the middle area residents who had never seen large scale battles like the ones climbing the tower.
"Let us explain the rules of the battle!" Spoke Io.
"The workshop battle will be played in two stages. First is the individual matches and the second is the team matches!" Said Punk. They spoke alternatively to make the commentary more engaging.
"The first part of the workshop battle, the individual matches will be played in a simple order."
"Those regulars that pass the individual rounds will be eligible to take part in the group matches. The teams of the tournament will be chosen as the team leaders, and the team that wins is the winner of the entire battle! Now! Let us introduce the ten gamblers!" As Io spoke, a holographic screen of ten people lit up behind him. "These leaders are the regulars that scored the best in the one shot one opportunity game! And gamblers won't have to partake in the individual matches!"
"They'll bet money on the regulars that they think are going to win. The 6 people with the most amount of points will become a team leader in the team matches! With the money earned from betting, they will be able to buy teammates and items to win the tournament!"
"Also, the gamblers cannot leave the waiting room until the end of the individual matches!"
"So now, we'll start the battle right away. This game is called the 'Plug'. Teams of 8 contestants will be called onto the stage. And as you can see, there's a collection of three holes on the platform that we stand on." Io pointed to the center of the platform. Then, Punk pulled out a large stick from his pocket.
"This right here is the 'plug'. Out of the eight regulars in a match, the 3 that can put their plugs into the sockets will win." He placed the plug into one of the holes. "Try any possible means! However, if you drop your plug or fall out of the stadium, you fail."
"Of course, dying will also lead to automatic disqualification. Just a disclaimer." said Punk.
"Even if there are less than three regulars on the stage, the game will only end after all three plugs have been filled!"
"So now, let us begin!"
~~~
The first round of the individual matches started. Charlotte watched from the viewing stands with a smile. She could feel hundreds of gazes at her. Some from the other contestants in the viewing gallery, other from the spectators that had a good eye.
Is this how pretty girls feel all the time? Feels pretty uncomfortable. She said in her mind. Then her eyes traveled to the group of regulars that were summoned to the stage.
There was Wangnan, Arkraptor, Miseng and Prince on the same round.
This'll be over quickly. She thought. With the training they had received from her, it would be quite disappointing if they were to lose from a bunch of nobodies. Of course, defeating someone like Varagarv was still out of their league.
Surprisingly, Miseng was the first one to attack everyone and get it over with.
No one else stood a chance. Everyone was surprised by the strength this little girl seemed to have within her small frame. After that, Team Sweet and Sour decided the winners through drawing lots.
It was a surprisingly anti-climactic end to the first round, but not one that Charlotte hadn't expected. Of course, the same couldn't be said for the gamblers. Aside from Khun who knew of the team's power up after being trained by Winston, the rest of them had bet against them, losing points in the process and putting Khun in the lead.
Bingo! Khun thought to himself happily.
As the round ended, various other platforms arose from the water.
"To speed things up and put pressure on the gamblers, we will be having several rounds all at once!" Said Io.
"Now, reveal the teams!" Punk exclaimed.
And so, team 2 to 10 were all summoned to the arena. Which team was Charlotte in?
Well... team 9. The same team as Varagarv, the mad dog of Yama.
~~~
"Is the Goddess against the Mad Dog?!"
"My Goddess! Don't be scared! I will protect you!"
"I will skin that dog alive!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Charlotte my beloved!"
"Go Varagarv!"
"Marry me!"
Hundreds of remarks were thrown all over the stadium as they realized that Charlotte was participating in the match. Endorsi and Yihwa who were also partaking in team 7 and 5 were completely overshadowed by Varagarv and Charlotte.
Seeing the excitement of the onlookers, Endorsi couldn't help but click her tongue in slight annoyance.
That woman... I swear to God if I get my hands on her. She cursed under her breath.
Khun sat in the gambling room with narrowed eyes. He was a bit split on who to bet on here. On the one hand, he knew how strong Varagarv was. And word was that he had also gotten the Blood Tamara. He had no information on any of Charlotte's abilities, only her word that she had supposedly fought Endorsi.
After a moment, he made up his mind. I'll trust Winston again. It seems to have worked so far.
"Well, this is nice." Charlotte, on the other hand only smirked as she was teleported to the stage. There was a blue plug in her hand. She immediately turned her eyes to her right, where the Mad Dog, Varagarv was standing.
"Well hello there. You don't seem to be the talktive type." She said.
The large man looked at her with his red eyes.
"I don't care that you were teammates with an irregular. Get in my way and I'll blow off your head." He said with a monotonous voice.
Charlotte's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Hm... Considering your words, I must say something." She said, crossing her arms below her bosom. "Junior! It seems you have failed to see Mount Tai! Get on your knees and call me grandmother and I'll spare your next 10 generations!" She suddenly screamed at him.
Her melodious voice echoed through the entire stadium.
Silence~~~
An awkward silence filled the air. The people on the other pillars also stopped fighting after hearing the strange remark. Even the hosts were stunned.
What the hell is this woman talking about? That was on everyone's mind.
"... That sounded better in my head." Charlotte muttered. Winston had read 3 novels with a cultivation theme. Such slangs were not of his understanding. He had little idea of the situations he was supposed to use them in. And this... it seemed to her that it was not one of them.
Varagrav looked at the woman before him. The contents of her speech, although they seemed ridiculous, were of course meant to insult him.
Whooosh!
Instantly, his free hand swung itself towards the woman.
Splat!
And then, her head exploded like a watermelon, spreading viscera and blood flying everywhere on the stage!
"What the hell!?"
"No! My goddess!"
"What just happened!"
"Fight!"
Varagarv looked at his hand and narrowed his eyes.
That hit... felt strange.
Just as he thought that, he heard a voice behind him.
"Man, that wasn't very manly of you. You aren't supposed to hit pretty ladies you know~" The sing song voice called out. Varagrav's eyes widened and he jumped forward in surprise, turning to see the woman he had just killed standing unharmed.
He looked towards the corpse. It was of a man. Another contestant that had been on the stage.
His eyes widened. "A spell?" He muttered.
"Something like that." The response came quickly. Behind Charlotte, a fish slowly floated up. It was a sweetfish, silver in colour and had various illusory threads floating along it's fins.
"You're... an anima?"
"Exactly." Charlotte smile sweetly. "let us put on a nice show."
And so, the entire stage erupted into flames.
Shaaaaa!
A flaming tornado enveloped the stage, shielding the onlookers from guessing what was going on. The Hosts franctically tried to commentate everything that was going on. The situation had exceeded what they had expected!
Inside the flames, Varagarv had immediately activated blood tamara, using it's power to shield himself from the flames.
Without a word, he stepped onto the burning platform and dashed right at Charlotte!
Whoooosh!
Whiiirl!
He swung the plug that was in his hand right at Charlotte's head!
Everyone else got blown away the moment she activated the flaming tornado. She won't have the opportunity to cast the same spell again.
His eyes held absolute confidence as he swung the plug. But it stopped.
It was as if it had been frozen in time.
A strange door appeared halfway down it's shaft, holding it in place.
Charlotte grinned.
"Sylvain. Roar!" She yelled.
The sweetfish swam up in the air, opening it's mouth and letting out a cry that seemed more cute than terrifying.
And then, the threads spread out in the arena, tearing everything to shreads!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions happened on the entire platform, turning it into rubble. The platform crumbled into dust and fell into the water. All except a single chunk of land. The three holes.
Charlotte stood atop them, holding her plug above her head and looking down at the water.
There in the rubble, Varagrav genuflected. All along his body were various cuts and wounds, made from the sweetfish's attacks. In his hand, he still gripped the plug.
"Hoh? You survived that?" She narrowed her eyes. "Interesting." She grinned, and inserted her plug into one of the holes.
Cheers and shouts echoed in the arena.
~~~
In a dark room where nothing could be seen, a man laid on a bed, curled into a ball. He had bright green hair and wore a large coat that looked oversized than something that was supposed to fit him.
Suddenly, he looked up, revealing his bright green eyes.
"I hear... an exotic beast..." He muttered beneath the strange mask he donned on his mouth.
Then, he stood up.
"Cobalt."
~~~
A/N: I'm not really enjoying writing this arc as much as I'd hoped. I have something planned out of course, but I thought the process of writing would be more enjoyable. So I'll be finishing this one quickly.
As a matter of fact, I don't think the second volume will have nearly enough chapters as I'd expected it to have. But anyways, drop a review, throw some stones and enjoy your life.
Cheers!