The Tournament (7)

Throughout this entire day of battles, three of four spots for the main tournament have already been taken. From Class A, The Cursed Warlocks, led by Xuan Kun. From Class B, The Lion's Roar, presumably led by Ming Hao. From Class C, Death's Door, led by Liao Fen. Only one spot remained - the representative for Class D.

Since our team triumphed in the strength test, we would advance directly to the finals of the Class 2-D battles. What this meant was the other four teams of our class would duke it out, and the one that comes out on top would then face us, competing for the final spot in the main tournament taking place tomorrow.

That made our fight the last one of the day. I wasn't complaining though - this gave me sufficient time to observe and analyze the strategies of other teams. I had a good idea of how to face Xuan Kun, who excelled in pinning his down opponents, and Liao Fen, who could only work solo. The only unknown in the equation was Ming Hao, but...I would figure something out. I could only hope I won't have to face him before then.

Currently, two teams from our class were dueling in the battle platform below. Since the girls and I were positioned pretty high up in the audience seats, we had a good view of what was happening in the battle. These were the semi-finals of Class 2-D - the winner of this fight would then face us. Of the two teams, the one I was more interested in was Li Yi Fei's. Their team name was apparently Kamikaze. I wasn't too amused at them naming themselves after Magic World War II suicidal bombing planes, but hey, it's their team. If they have a kink for that kind of thing, by all means. I won't judge.

Besides, they seemed to be winning. I won't lie, their strength deserved to be acknowledged. While it was clear they were nowhere near the level of, say, The Lion's Roar, I could sense they were holding back a little. I guessed this was Zhang Zhe Rui's idea.

He probably figured there would be people like us among the audience watching not for entertainment, but for espionage. Li Yi Fei was pretty stupid and easy to manipulate, but Zhang Zhe Rui...he was a problem, if it came down to a battle of wits. Even I didn't have 100% confidence I could defeat him in a mind game.

The battle finished soon after with Team Kamikaze as the victors. Li Yi Fei, Zhang Zhe Rui, and Pang Zi had ended it with a flawless, power-boosted Abomination Flare, utilizing the Conjoined Release technique. It was the same attack they had used on Feng Mian around a month ago, but this time it was definitely stronger, and not by a small margin. Incidentally, it also took less of a toll on their bodies, compared to before. This was evident, since the three of them didn't look tired at all, even after casting that ultimate move.

We weren't the only ones training - the fact that even Li Yi Fei and his squad got this much stronger within a mere one month, was enough to prove that. In fact, at first I thought of him as a mere annoyance in this tournament. But after seeing his performance just now...I may just have to take him a little seriously in the upcoming fight.

I then noticed Mr. Wang gave me a little wave, signaling it was our turn. I conveyed the message to the four girls and we headed off to the waiting chambers together.

*****

Feng Mian, Qing Yue, Yu An Xue, Yu An Yan, and I waited in the dimly lit corridor that led to the battle platform. I knew Li Yi Fei was on the other side of the platform, inside a different, but similarly designed corridor. They were probably thinking of plans to defeat us right now.

It was pretty silent, so I decided to speak up to ease the atmosphere. Well, it wasn't as if there was any awkwardness between us, it's just everyone was deep in their own thoughts.

"You girls...ready for this?" I asked casually, leaning against the wall with my hands shoved in my jean pockets.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Yu An Yan replied easily. "Team Kamikaze, right? I saw them fight just now, they aren't nearly as strong as The Cursed Warlocks or Death's Door."

Feng Mian nodded as she joined the conversation. "We shouldn't have any trouble beating them, but...it's best to stay on guard."

"Feng Mian, shouldn't you be, like, more excited?" Qing Yue asked. "I mean, you can finally take revenge on those three bastards who hurt you."

Ahh...right. The incident around a month ago. Li Yi Fei and his two lackeys had cornered Feng Mian in a dark alleyway in an attempt to have a little bit of 'fun' with her, but she brilliantly refused, and things esclated from there.

Slowly we were getting back into our normal, talkative selves. With the exception of Yu An Xue and I, of course. I only spoke when necessary, and Yu An Xue just barely talked at all in general. The atmosphere was getting more relaxed.

Feng Mian shrugged. "I got over that a long time ago. Besides, I didn't actually get injured too much." She looked at me with a wink.

"...Ah, so you're completely okay with them hurting me. I see," I muttered, dissatisfied.

"E-Eh?! Oh, um, I didn't mean it like that!" Feng Mian quickly denied after seeing me take what she said the wrong way. "It's just...all's well that ends well, right? You awakened your magic after that incident, after all."

"Well, she has a point," Yu An Yan agreed. "Besides, you're a man, protecting a beautiful young lady like Feng Mian...is only the natural thing to do!" She said as she crept up behind Feng Mian, and suddenly groped her sizeable breasts from behind.

"K-Kya-! H-Hey, what are you doing?!" Feng Mian screamed cutely with a blush. "L-Let go-!"

"Oh, embarrassed to be seen like this in front of Xuan Kai, are we?" Yu An Yan continued teasing her, while rubbing and squeezing her breasts tenderly. I averted my gaze.

"H-Huh?! What are you talking ab-kya!"

"Qing Yue, come join in on the fun!" Yu An Yan eagerly invited.

However, Qing Yue appeared to be unhappy, and her eyes kept darting between Feng Mian's bosom and her own (which, quite frankly, wasn't much of a bosom at all).

Wait, could it be-

Oh.

So she was comparing herself to Feng Mian, in terms of bust size...yeah, don't do that, my cute little sister. You'll only become more depressed...

As Feng Mian kept getting sexually harassed by Yu An Yan, I decided I couldn't take this anymore.

"Er, that's enough, Yu An Yan. The match is about to start."

"Aw...shucks," Yu An Yan murmured, and returned to where she originally was. But when she passed me, she stopped for a moment, and whispered seductively into my ear:

"You enjoyed that view, didn't you?"

I closed my eyes, partly to pretend I didn't hear what she said, and partly to avoid looking at Feng Mian, who was still as red as a tomato, panting. Was this what they called friendly fire?

"F-Feng Mian, are you alright?" I approached her and asked, still carefully ensuring not to make any direct eye contact with her.

"Y-Yeah..." she responded weakly, and leaned on the wall. After a while, she calmed down, and her breathing went back to normal...though her cheeks were still flustered for some reason.

"Hey...you didn't see that, right?" she asked.

Well. This was a dilemma.

"Uh...do you want to hear what you want to hear, or the truth?" I asked back.

Feng Mian seemed to have understand what I meant by that. I gave two options, meaning the two choices aren't the same (the truth and what she wants to hear are different, in this case). She stared at the ground intently, still blushing.

"F-Forget what you saw just now, understand?!" she cried desperately.

As if it were that easy...I wanted to say that, but decided against that. I nodded to make her happy, knowing full well the image of her getting groped by Yu An Yan will be forever saved in my memory files.

*****

"And now, we have the final battle of Class D, determining the last team that will be participating in the main tournament tomorrow," Song Qian Long announced with his usual deep tone that didn't sound raspy at all.

"First, let's welcome Team Kamikaze, with two overwhelming victories!"

Applause erupted around the Arena, but most of it was just for appearances. Very few of the audience were actually rooting for them.

"And from the other side, we have a team who has not even shown their faces yet - until now. Welcome, The Chaotic Tranquility!"

The doors in front of Feng Mian, Qing Yue, Yu An Yan, Yu An Xue, and I opened. We walked forward, one step at a time, until we reached the battle platform. A white magic barrier erupted around the perimeter as soon as we got on top of it, marking no escape. Wild cheers came from the audience as we entered the arena, though the focus was the four beauties beside me, not our team itself.

From the other side of the platform, Li Yi Fei stared at me with deep hatred within his eyes. I glared at him right back, the resent I've held within me for all these years unable to be contained any longer. Out of everyone I've met, he was the one that insulted, bullied me the most. And now, it was time to pay it back, hundredfold.

"Countdown, start! 3, 2, 1-"

I met the eyes of each of the girls on either side of me, one by one. After receiving a reassuring nod from each of them, I smirked devilishly. The black stone pendant hanging from my neck began emitting a dangerous red light as I cracked my knuckles.

"Kuku...let's do this."

"Team Kamikaze vs. The Chaotic Tranquility: Duel - begin!"