Chapter 42 - The Familiar Stranger 

"Are there any magic competitions? Since this is a tournament, magic should also be involved right?" 

I asked unwillingly. I can't do anything if the martial arts battles are not exciting to watch, but magic competitions would surely be much cooler.

"I think there are...wait!" 

Cyra pondered briefly before descending rapidly to the ground.

In addition to the fighting ring in the middle of the Triumph Plaza, the edges of the plaza were also filled with angels standing in neat rows and queues. At the front were tables that looked like registration counters.

"The 2nd Edenmere Tournament?" 

After reaching the ground, I noticed this huge banner erected right in the middle of the plaza. Below it was a notice board that probably listed details about the various competitions, according to Cyra.

"The magic competitions only start tomorrow night. Today is mainly some martial arts contests." 

Cyra shouted at me from afar while pointing at the notice board. With so many angels on the ground, it was very noisy. 

"I see it!" 

I shouted back equally loudly. Although we were quite far apart, my vision had improved tremendously after becoming an angel. I could see the words on the noticeboard from this distance.

It seemed like the tournament had been going on continuously for more than a day. The notice showed that the martial arts competitions were held first, followed by the magic competitions. But it didn't end there. At the very end were the highlights - the comprehensive ability contests.

"Aren't you that legendary newborn angel, Feliciana?" 

Just as I was focusing my attention on the notice board, I suddenly heard someone talking to me. Turning my head, I saw a six-winged angel whom I didn't recognize.

"You are...?"

I asked curiously. In Edenmere, apart from a handful of acquaintances, I had no interactions with other angels. It was very rare to see an unfamiliar angel actively approach and even call out my name like this. Many angels around us turned their heads when they heard her words.

"I'm Aria. You may not know me but I've heard a lot about you."

Seeing my puzzled look, this six-winged angel quickly introduced herself. Like Reed, she also had short, neat hair which made her stand out sharply among the angels with long hair everywhere.

"Huh?! I can't believe I'm that famous!"

I was pleasantly surprised to hear the words "heard a lot about you" from her and didn't know how to respond at first.

"Of course! Recently there have been rumors circulating all over Edenmere about two lost newborn angels who returned from the outside world and reached six wings within just one month. It's simply unimaginable talent. And very recognizable too, one has grayish-white hair while the other has blue hair. So both of you are already celebrities."

Aria explained breezily with a smile. However, I was confused by what she said. 

My main activities were limited to the Tivi Palace and the library. Although I occasionally noticed angels pointing fingers at Nicola and me, I always thought it was due to our unusual hair colours. Looks like news of our fast promotion has already spread so widely and elicited such a strong response. This was beyond my expectations.

"You flatter me...I also don't know why I advanced to six wings so quickly. It was pure luck!" 

I hurriedly acted modestly. 

"It can't be just luck. Don't joke with me!" 

Aria shook her head, unable to agree. 

"I've never heard of any angel accomplishing this feat. Both of you are amazing. It's a pity I'm caught up with things now, otherwise, I would certainly ask you to teach me."

"Haha...what a pity indeed..."

I smiled wryly in response. I preferred to avoid things like duel requests. I just hoped she would leave quickly so I wouldn't feel awkward about how to response.

"So are you here to participate in the competitions too? Which events did you sign up for?"

However, Aria didn't seem to want to end the conversation so soon. She continued asking me.

"No!" 

Hearing that, I quickly clarified. After being taught a lesson by Adrian, I didn't dare to overestimate myself again. Of course, I couldn't let her misunderstand.

"You thought too much. I'm only here to take a casual look, not to participate. No matter how capable I am, I'm still no match for those eight-winged or ten-winged angels right?"

"It doesn't matter. Participation is what counts! The tournament only happens once every few thousand years. It would be too much of a waste to miss it." 

Aria waved her hand to signify I shouldn't worry too much. 

"So just now I went to sign up for the flight competition happening later this week. I heard it's very interesting. It's a hot event with very limited slots. Why don't you try participating too?"

"Flight competition?"

Of course, I knew about it. The event followed after the magic competitions. But I didn't expect her to recommend it to me.

"Yes, you can sign up now at the registration point in the north." 

After speaking, Aria pointed me in the direction before realizing the time and hurrying off. 

"The registration time for the sword fighting events is almost up. I still need to go queue! Let's catch up next time!"

"Ah? Sure, hurry along then!"

Finally seeing off this sociable angel, I heaved a sigh of relief and turned my gaze toward the direction she had pointed to earlier.

"Do you want to participate?" 

Seeing my expression, Cyra couldn't help asking.

"Well..."

To be honest, I was rather tempted. Mainly because I had been pent up for too long and wanted to find an outlet. Every day was either lessons or reading books, with occasional trips to the library. My days were so incredibly boring.

"Are you sure? That confident huh?"

Seeing my look, Cyra's expression was a bit strange. 

"Since when did you become so arrogant to challenge those ancient monsters who have lived for thousands of years?"

"Hey, don't say it like that! The correlation between flight and combat ability isn't as big as you imagine! Maybe a six-winged angel can still compete fairly well...." 

Flustered by her questions, I quickly justified. I had some confidence in high-speed flying.

Although higher-ranked angels could theoretically fly faster, there were also more factors for them to consider. The extra wings would cause more turbulence and interference, the more wings the greater the interference. So those eight-winged and ten-winged angels might not be that much faster than six-winged angels.

Through arduous practice these months, I was confident to had achieved considerable mastery of high-speed flying. Although I didn't dare say I could win any prizes, at least I wouldn't end up last. As long as I could get a middling result I would be satisfied.

"But I heard this flight competition isn't so simple! That Aria didn't tell you right? It seems you can attack and obstruct other contestants. Even so, you still don't see any issues?" 

Cyra stared at the notice board and reminded me curiously.

"Huh?" 

Hearing that gave me a shock. I quickly took a closer look too. Indeed at the bottom under the rules were these few lines of words.

"...No restrictions on any means to hinder opponents' speed during competition, including use of weapons, magic etc, but must not overdo it. Absolutely no life-threatening fights..."

"Then forget it!"

I immediately chickened out. How was I supposed to play this? Might as well admit defeat directly! Compared to those eight-winged and ten-winged angels, my meagre combat ability was negligible. I would surely be trampled to last place after just a few rounds. 

"What did you expect? This is a martial arts tournament after all, not a racing competition. How can it work without some element of combat!"

Cyra grinned gloatingly as if she had seen through everything. She patted my shoulder arrogantly. 

"So even with six wings, it's useless! For us newbies, let's just obediently return to our room for card games! At least my efforts drawing those playing cards weren't wasted."

"Look at how pleased you are with yourself!" 

I felt extremely unhappy with her attitude but had no other recourse. 

The root cause was still the tournament's flawed system. Why didn't they consider segregating angels of different ranks to compete? Angels with the same number of wings could reasonably be placed in one-tier. That would avoid huge disparities in ability.

But then again, there were already so many events. Further dividing each event by tiers would expand the scale manifold. With the angel population not large to begin with, that would indeed be overdoing it. 

Just as I turned back feeling dejected and wanting to take another round with Cyra before leaving, I suddenly spotted a familiar figure among the crowds.

"Isn't that Artina?" 

"Teacher?"

Seeing her too, Cyra immediately pulled me along to fly over and landed in front of her.

"Feliciana, Cyra?" 

Aetina was queuing in the middle of a long line and was caught unprepared when she saw us suddenly pop up, giving her a huge shock.