Tournament: 1

AN: We will start to deviate from the plot fairly soon, I will also try to be more creative with [Get Creative] though the change may seem a bit abrupt.

…

A week passed and the day of the duel finally came. I had tried to tell Livia multiple times to bet on me but the girl outright refused to gamble.

It really was a shame, though I suppose if she did when she won and took all those rich bastards' money, she'd just direct more hostility toward herself.

I on the other hand didn't give two shits and so I put down a hell of a lot of dia on me winning.

'Suffer in agony you bastards, never cross me.' I thought as I stood in this giant stadium-like structure. All around me, students were cheering for the princes while throwing insults at me.

In this fight, I was represented by blue, while the prince's group was red. If one bothered to look around one would notice around 99 percent of the students wore red cards on their shirts to signify who they were representing.

My only support was from Angelica and Olivia who sat in one of the private viewing areas. Even Clarice didn't have a blue card, instead she just straight up didn't wear one. Couldn't blame her though, seeming neutral is better than supporting me if worse comes to worst.

…

"So Stardia, where is your armor?" Prince Julius asked as he and his four lackeys stood opposite me. All of them standing in front of full-on mechs that matched in color to their hair.

I could tell from looking in the stands that Angelica had that same question. The girl was paranoid though the reason for such was understandable.

"Oh, my armor? It's right there." I said pointing to a spot a little behind them.

Simultaneously they all turned to find…nothing?

"Now is not the time for games Stardia." Julius twitched his eyebrows.

"Not a game, you were simply too slow to see it, look it's there now." I shrugged before I pointed to another spot, this time on their right.

They all again instinctively turned but again found nothing.

"ST-" Julius was about to reprimand me again but right when he turned his head back he paused and took a large step back.

Right in front of him in a spot that had been completely empty a second ago. A six-foot armor stood strong and menacing.

The entirety of the armor was black, so black that it was almost like where it stood was a section of a void. The body design was smooth yet had a robotic feel. It was sleek, and smaller than any armor they had seen before. Finally, on the back was a seemingly normal katana with a similarly colored handle.

"See look, told you you're just slow." I grinned as I leaned on the armor.

For a few seconds, they just stared at the armor, to them it didn't seem real. Almost like literally, nothing was there.

"It's…tiny." Finally, one of them, Greg, spoke his confusion turning into a frown. "Are you still joking around?!"

"Hey that's harsh, this is my armor." I frowned mockingly. They were stupid to underestimate this thing.

"Drop it Greg, do not fall into his agenda more, he just wishes to annoy you. If he plans to take this lightly let his arrogance be the end of him." Julius said before they all began retreating back to the sidelines with their armor, all except for Brad and his armor.

…

"Why is everyone making fun of the armor?" Livia asked Angelica as she looked around from her vantage point.

"I forget sometimes you're not knowledgeable about some things. An armor of that size can't possibly reach the level of strength, endurance, and practicality the others can." Angelica massaged her forehead as she said so. "Honestly, what the hell is he thinking." He wasn't doing anything to allow her some faith in him.

"Just because it's small doesn't matter." Livia pouted even though Angelica had set quite the opposite.

…

'First up is Brad huh? A magic user.' I thought as I watched the man begin his ascent into his armor. His dwarfed mine at least three times but in the end, it didn't matter.

I approached my armor and the front of it opened weirdly to allow me entry.

"Wha, hey? His armor just ate him!" I heard some of the dumbasses in the crowd screaming something like that.

I wondered how I looked from up there, could they even see me really?

Most of what this suit, Sable, looked like was of the input of Luxion. He liked this kind of design and I didn't mind it.

I though, had been the one to decide the color choice. I had been pondering on the option of black and when Luxion showed me options, I had chosen this one. A black so dark that nearly 100% light was absorbed.

It made me look unreal in a way and had this sort of trickery element that really did confuse people.

Back to the battle.

As the opening closed back I stood in my armor. It was a perfect fit, and it felt perfectly natural. No controls, no buttons just an extension of my body, exactly what I wanted it to be.

"You seriously hope to get damage in with that? It seems you're not joking, you're just a plain fool." As we approached to start our battle Brad in his ever-non-faltering narcissism.

"Heh, I really wish I could see how fast your face falls when I destroy that armor of yours." I countered before my helmet lit up and showed the display of Luxion on my helmet.

[I never thought someone could match you in Bravado Master. Anyway, as you requested all other weaponry besides the sword has been removed.]

The familiar voice of Luxion filled my head. My AI had made sure to fit a lot of stuff into this suit. I really wasn't sure how but that included a multitude of guns and explosives. For this fight I had them removed, I wanted to feel as light as possible.

"Your kidding? This frame was built by the best Craftsman in the kingdom. It has magic conductivity that is unprecedented, even as a joke your words aren't funny." Brad liked to brag.

"Both of you, ready yourselves ." One of the referees for the duels said in his place to the side.

With that, our words ceased as we both readied ourselves. The crowd too ceased noise as everyone awaited the referee.

"Noir Fou Stardia, Brad Fou Field. Battle begin!" He shouted before backing away as fast as he could.

Instantly, Brad began charging toward me.

'What? Dumbass, you're a magician why the hell are you trying to attack me physically.' Yeah no this guy far surpassed me in sheer narcissism.

As he approached with his spear I met his charge. In an instant, I blurred away from my position, katana in hand.

My speed was insane, faster than what I was used to. In fact, all my physical abilities were majorly enhanced in this suit.

Right when I closed in on him I swung my blade. Either he hadn't realized I was now in front of him, or his reaction time was simply too slow, but either way, he didn't stop charging. Even as one of the legs on his frame suddenly fell and he lost balance.

His armor became a ball as it rolled on the ground before crashing on its back.

I wasn't done though and quickly moved in to finish him off. Sheathing my sword I used my fist and punched through the glass exterior that led to his piloting seat and pulled him out.

'What?! That's it.' He was already unconscious with blood falling from a cut on his cheek.

A bit dissatisfied I tossed him to the floor and watched as he bounced.

"…Winner, Stardia!" The announcer spoke through the intercoms as the referee gave the signal.

The entire crowd went silent, all of them staring in disbelief at Brad who lay sprawled out on the floor.

…

(With Angelica)

"I didn't see a thing, he just disappeared!"

"I know, and the way he threw Lord Field like that… it was very dishonorable."

Angelica couldn't turn her unbelieving gaze off the battlefield.

"Umm, Lady Angelica, did you see what happened?" Livia to her side spoke as she made a complicated expression.

"N-no, I couldn't track it."

'Is that a lost item?' Angelica wondered. 'There's no other explanation.'

"The princes better win, I bet a lot on this."

Angelica perked up when she heard that. She had forgotten that most students had placed money on this battle.

"Noir really is an evil man." She spoke with a soft chuckle. Him winning honestly felt so amazing, it alleviated some of her heartache.

"HEY! Noir is a very nice person!" Livia defended the aforementioned boy.

"Oh, I was sure you'd agree with me. I saw how your face contorted when he threw Brad." Angelica questioned.

"That-that doesn't make him bad!" She tried to defend him even when she had no real response. She wasn't much of a fan of violence.

"Well, if it helps, if it wasn't him doing it to Brad, it'd be Brad doing it to him."

"R-right." Livia although saddened by it was starting to learn how people operated in environments like this.

…

(With Noir)

The next match was with Chris, perhaps the one I had wanted to fight most.

It was time to find out exactly how skilled with the blade I really was.

...

AN: Quality is a bit lower than usual go easy on me. To compensate I won't demand power stones.