Chapter 182: I was calm. Perhaps too calm

There were murmurs and whispers and even cheers, at least before I entered. Now that I did, everyone just got quiet. 

I actually came from the front. The stadium was already full and they weren't letting anyone in. When the guards saw me though, they didn't even stay ten meters within my sight. Honestly, this felt like an exaggerated response. 

But since it made my life easier, I didn't complain. 

All the judges were in place and the announcer was in the court. I didn't see my opponent though. Maybe he was running late. 

There were three judges but the one in the left corner caught my eyes. It was more like she was waving and stuff. Alexandra. 

Just seeing that face made me want to puke and grind my teeth. Anyway, I just looked forward and got inside the court. 

"Is he running late?"

The announcer was the same guy and a girl was in the opposite corner, just outside the court. The same amplifier. 

"Yes, it would seem that way."

I sighed and just stood still staring at the lights and the crowd. 

Five minutes passed and then ten. Life was so boring that I started to yawn. I wanted to sit down and have my morning tea. 

And the crowd was too quiet. 'Did he get afraid or something?'

Did my opponents feel like this when they had to wait for me? I guess I had to make a bit more of an attempt to not be so late.

Mom had work today, so she probably woke up early. I sure hope she was making food rather than just staring at the Holo TV, cause so far nothing was happening. 

"Ten… nine-" The announcer started to count down for some reason. 

I looked up at the Holo monitor and apparently, if a guy was late by twelve minutes without any explicit reason, he'd be disqualified. If he did have an explicit reason though, he'd only lose the match. 

Meaning, if that day, I hadn't shown up, wouldn't I have been disqualified in the first place? I didn't know why but the headmaster's plan seemed like it had a large hole in it. 

And no one told me that my opponent was going to be a Nigerian prince of all things!

"MUAHAHAHH!" It almost felt like my own inner laughs. But unfortunately, I wasn't stupid enough to laugh like that in public and the laugh was coming from the north gate, not from my throat. And so was mist. 

And from within that mist, a guy walked this way. Long curly black hair, about my height, and a bit more muscular. His grin was anything but friendly.

His skin was tanned and he had tattoos everywhere: his black leather jacket didn't have arms. I wouldn't lie, he looked like a bad boy. Probably an emo version of Clyde. Then again, Clyde was not only taller but also more handsome. 

But more importantly, he didn't look anything like the princes I imagined! 

"Is that supposed to be a bear or a panda?" Honestly, I couldn't tell.

There were two big tattoos on his arms and both were kind of weird. 

"What do yo mean, both are li-ons, obvisly." The guy had good hearing too. I guess those round bear ears were for show.

'Did I hear wrong?'

Both me and the announcer were kind of speechless for a second. How in the world was that a lion? 

The announcer grinned and looked up. "Ladies and gentlemen…" He was talking about the usual stuff. "And we'll begin shortly."

"By the way, is this thing allowed?" I showed him my sword.

"I'll be taking care of that for you."

I guess that was a no.

I did hand it over though. But made sure to make it clear that this sword was special to me.

I unsheathed Marg's saber and turned it on. 

"Oh, you not use the black one?" The guy also turned on his. His one was bright yellow, or was it golden?

Wait, was it me or was his English a bit funny? At first, I thought it was me but as he kept on talking, it got weirder and weirder. But he was from a different country, of course, his English would be different from mine. I couldn't be too picky about this.

I didn't respond. Another countdown started above and when it reached zero, I charged forward. 

If this guy could use water and absorb all my attacks, then it meant I had to end this quickly. If this became a drawn-out battle I'd be at a disadvantage. 

I did reach him but he didn't even move. 

I sliced and he didn't block either. Did he think my saber won't reach?

But my saber did. 'Gotcha?'

He moved back almost like flowing water. I guess he wasn't just standing there like a fool. Impressive dodge.

"Oh, yo faster than I thought. Are yo sure you won't use yor powers on me?"

"I haven't determined whether you're strong enough for that yet." I was already using my powers from the start. Both Alpha and Beta, just not Gamma.

Not every one of my powers was energy-based though. I also had my disintegration. 

With a snort, he lifted his hand up, formed a pistol, and- "Bang!" He said it out loud. He was just maybe five meters away from me.

This secondhand embarrassment was just as bad as his aim. A bullet of water flew right past my left ear, and a bit of blood fell on the floor. 

One thing was for certain. This guy's bullet's speed exceeded my reaction speed. 

I could sense the bullet coming but- I couldn't dodge. 

And my saber just had to die before this. If I had my barriers, this level of projectiles wouldn't even be an issue. 

Argh. 

Anyway, I focused and used Marg's saber's specialty. The long-distance cut. But whenever I got in his one-meter radius, he always backtracked. So far, this was going nowhere. 

This guy wasn't absurdly strong but he wasn't weak either. And he occasionally shot his water pistol. Though embarrassing, he kept on saying 'Bang' every time. And yet, somehow I still couldn't keep up with the bullets. 

I took a deep breath. 'Calm down. Analyze, and fight.' If I lost my cool, I'd lose.

The guy wasn't trying to be nice either. He was literally aiming for my vitals and if his aim wasn't so shitty he'd have won already. 

I didn't have much stake in this fight. If I won, I'd get some prizes, if I lost, I'd still get some prizes. So, there was no point for me to lose my temper from overthinking. 

And maybe that's why I wasn't taking this seriously?

Wait, I wasn't taking this fight seriously?

I didn't know why but my head suddenly got clouded with thoughts. Since when did I get so cocky?

"I actually expected more from you. You've gotten weaker than the last time I saw you fight. Oh, I don't see the cutie with you. Did you already ditch her or something?" The guy grinned. Probably just a ploy to rouse me up.

And his speech immediately got a lot better. It was almost as though he was a different person. 

I guess he wasn't satisfied with things as they were. And so far he was just playing.

"Unfortunately I'm not that type. She's my future wife and I'm not giving her up, ever." I grinned too and focused. This wasn't the time to be worrying about stuff. 

So far I'd been too stupid but now, it was time for me to get serious.

"Oh, how noble." The guy smiled, eyes closed. But a second later- thousands of small bullets formed in the air. "It's a shame she'll never get to be pleasured again." And with a grin, he fired them all. "My apologies to the misses." He bowed slightly.

I could tell the trajectory without even looking. They were headed straight for me, for my legs that is. And the two hanging stuff in between my legs. 'Oh shit.'