After having listened to the rules, I dropped the floor of the little holding cell that we were and leaned my back right under where the button to join the game was.
"Ms. Zahard, I know that you'll want to join this game from the beginning despite knowing the fact that we'll only have to join in the 7th round in the worst case scenario..."
"And what are you going to do about it?"
Getting interrupted did irk me, but it wasn't like "Shiyoon" could talk in any other way that wasn't polite.
"Well, before you so kindly interrupted me Ma'am, I was only going to say that I won't be participating unless absolutely necessary."
I knew well enough that none of the regulars here today could even hold up a candle to her, (well, there could be some, but you understood what I was trying to say), and she knew that too, and so what was the point of me coming out and revealing any bit of my strength until perhaps the final round.
I still needed to create a deterrence after all, so I would probably just join in the last round and either one shot or play with the boss if it piqued me enough.
Anyways, after making my stance clear, Maschenny for some reason didn't even question me and just walked to my side and hit the button, releasing herself from the cell.
"I'll see you in 9 rounds, Ms. Zahard."
"..."
And with that, the games had truly begun.
~~~
There were definitely rules hidden within the rules if you read between the lines.
Like, what would happen in the case of a tie in the final scores of each team? What would happen if, supposedly, someone threw their weapon at the boss and the weapon only ended the "enemy's" life due to it ricocheting off the body of someone not from their team? What if two teams pooled their shinsu into a singular beam at killed the boss with it?
Of course, the majority of these questions didn't really matter to me, as Maschenny would just destroy the competition...
...all questions except for "Are teams able to retreat if the "enemy" is too strong?"
Sure, most bosses on this floor were monsters that Maschenny could easily dispatch, yet what if the testers sent in a boss above our levels to test her?
Would the entire testing group that decided to enter that final round with her out of desperation to earn points just get wiped out?
Of course, I wasn't worried about myself in that context, but if the boss wiped out any and all other regulars with potential, then I would be having a lot of trouble trying to form a team after this floor.
Welp, there wasn't really anything I could do about it currently, so I just let the issue rest as I watched Maschenny's performance from the inside of the holding cell.
It was still currently the first round, and this was only because Maschenny was "playing" with the other regulars.
I honestly didn't understand why she was doing it during this round, as I estimated that 90% of the regulars who had joined this round were either dumb, or just weak, wanting to rack up at least a few points so that they were viewed more favorably by the testers when they chose who the would teach after this game.
But hey, there was always the chance of finding a diamond in the rough, or just finding a competent regular who had unfortunately been teamed with shit teammates.
In the end, Round 1 lasted around 5 minutes before Maschenny discretely ended it.
She didn't do anything flashy and had just killed the boss after wounding it from multiple points.
Basically, she applied DoT on her sword and just led the boss into bleeding to death.
I understood her intentions in doing this, and well, I couldn't agree more because that was exactly what I would have done if I was the one participating.
She had killed the boss "after a lot of effort," but, she had also "accidentally" killed a bunch of the other regulars in the process.
Thus, anyone that was strong compared to the other regulars would think that they had a fighting chance against her and would join whilst the smartypants would figure out that something was wrong and would start scheming against her.
This way, she could test both types of "exceptional" regulars.
"I honestly wonder about how interesting the regulars that she'll fish out are." I muttered under my breath.
Anyways, 9 rounds quickly passed before my eyes as I had been lost deep in thought, analyzing every move that she made.
'She really would have been a great teammate...'
'...if only she weren't a Princess of Zahard.'
Well, they were supposed to be exceptional, the cream of the crop, after all, and so I would only have to gobble up the crumbs that the Zahard Empire left behind.
I stopped all my trains of thought and compartmentalized them as I prepared myself for the final round.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Breathing heavily, Maschenny stepped back into the room and slumped to the floor.
'At least my predictions on what the testers would do were correct.'
"You should rest and leave this next round to me, Ms. Zahard." I said.
And, although it was in the form of a conditional, the intent behind my words gave her no room.
"I'll..."
Unfortunately, "Shiyoon" wouldn't let me interrupt her there.
"I'll be fighting in this round no matter what you try and do, so let's pretend that you never said those words..."
"And if you ever do that again..."
Welp, I could fill in her words myself, and, although I wasn't really keen on provoking the Princess any further, "Shiyoon" just had to say something.
"Sure... whatever you say Madam."
I was seriously debating whether to wipe off the teasing smile I had on my face myself.
Of course I didn't though, and we just sat there in silence as we waited for the five minute break to be over.
~~~
Welp, fuck my life...
Currently, I was just standing there, watching, as Maschenny tried to solo the "enemy" that had come out.
As all the other regulars were smart people, none of them had joined Round 10 after witnessing the strength of Round 9's enemy.
Anyways, Maschenny was badly losing right now, getting thrown around everywhere.
Yet, she stood back up every singly time, as a feral light glittered in her eyes.
'Honestly, I don't know what to be more impressed by, her grit, or the amount of loose bolts in her head.'
She eventually lost consciousness after a good thirty minute ass whooping, and fell to the ground.
Herein, I quickly rushed over to her side and stood between her and the "enemy."
"You'll be owing me a favor now, Miss."
She obviously couldn't respond, but the general idea was there I guess.
As the miniature t-rex that had long arms which each held a weapon charged at me, I could only sigh as I put my hand on my dagger once more.
[Poison Fang: Perfect Counter]