"Alright, I've got a plan Xenia. Actually, it's your plan. You know, that one," he insinuated as Xenia wore a surprised expression.
"Wha… Really?"
"Yes, now look alive! We just need to buy 5 seconds," he said as Rein threw the first ball.
It whizzed past Clyde's face, blowing his hair in the wind that it left in its wake, and bounced off the wall behind him, coming straight back to Rein.
"Damn, I missed," he remarked as he wound up the next ball.
"I'm not missing this time, I guarantee it," he said as he threw his next ball.
"Clyde, dodge it!" Xenia yelled as Clyde stood there, motionless.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. He tilted his head to a 45-degree angle as the ball bounced off of it, dazing him as he fell back. The ball flew up in the air as he regained his composure, flying directly above into Rein's side.
"Xenia, focus! The plan starts in 2 seconds!" He yelled, getting Xenia to stiffen up, then look back in front of her at the floating ball as it fell to the ground.
Just before it hit the ground, Clyde activated his Spring just in time, slowing down time one last time before he was eliminated. Rein noticed this, but shrugged it off. He had all 4 balls in his possession anyways. He slowly walked over to the ball on the ground and reached down to pick it up. However, without warning, Xenia had suddenly disappeared from where she stood. Rein's eyes widened as he grit his teeth and furrowed his eyebrows, blocking the hit that impacted him from behind with both hands.
The attack ruptured Rein's stance, sending him sliding across the ground at incredible speed. As he peered through his arms that were covering his vision as he blocked, he saw Xenia floating in a kick position as she slowly landed on the ground, on his side of the arena.
"What the… Did he just win..?" Sho uttered as he saw Rein drop down his guard, smiling proudly.
"Hm, now this I wasn't expecting…" The teacher remarked, finally seeming as though she was interested.
"The winners are Clyde and Xenia, good job you two," she announced as the rest of the class reacted in confusion.
"Huh? But didn't Xenia cross the line? How the hell did she win for that?" Quint asked, bewildered.
"Look closely. Who was it really that stepped over the line?" Zophia made them second guess themselves as they took a closer look at Rein feet.
His heel had just barely gone over the line after Xenia's kick. He had slid back all the way to the other side of the arena before Xenia's feet touched the ground, meaning that Rein had crossed over the line before Xenia had.
"Heh, well played. And you're telling me you came up with it Xenia? Color me impressed," Rein complemented.
"Hold on, how'd you know it was my plan? You heard us?! Why didn't you keep your guard up?!" She reacted, to which he just laughed it off.
Miss Zophia dropped down from the roof into the center of the room, then walked up to Xenia and held her hand out. Xenia reached in to shake her hand, to which she moved her hand away from.
"Tch, I don't want to shake your hand, who do you take me for? Just give me your tablet so I can give you the bounty reward," she scoffed as Xenia's face turned red out of embarrassment, handing over her tablet.
She walked over to Clyde, who was still sitting on the ground in a daze, and took his tablet as well, awarding them with the bounty prize for beating Rein and Sho. They both gained 180 points and 1.8 million rol.
"Alright, the rest of you should get your prizes automatically. Just an FYI that anyone who placed under 4th place gets nothing, so don't come crying to me. A list of the top-scoring teams should appear on your tablet momentarily. Also, class rankings will be updated now so you can get a general feel of how you're doing. Any points you gained through quests or local commissions will be taken into account as well," Zophia explained as she handed Xenia and Clyde their tablets back.
Suddenly, a screen appeared on their tablets, showing a list of the top 4 teams that placed in the event.
1st place, Team 2: Clyde Morioh and Xenia Vossen
2nd place, Team 1: Sho Anagi and Rein Alister
3rd and 4th place, Team 3: Chloe Orthlysia and Core / Team 10: Elaine Barkridge and Gilbert Cohen
Rein walked back to Sho and laughed at him nervously, to which Sho sighed and patted his shoulder.
"Whatever, that was an impressive showing by our opponents, so I'm not even mad we lost," Sho deliberated.
"I agree, they outdid themselves. Anyways, why does it still say your last name's Anagi? Guess you're gonna go by that name in the school then?" Rein asked.
"Yeah, I registered with that name and honestly it's too much of a hassle to change it. I don't really care either way though, I'm only here for 1 purpose," Sho stated as they felt their tablets buzz with the updated class ranking...
Class S:
1. Clyde Morioh (S+) (255 points)
2. Sho Anagi (S+) (105 points)
3. Chloe Orthlysia (S+) (90 points)
4. Alyssa Osborne (75 points)
5. Derek Snyder (30 points)
6. Eleanor Cherry (30 points)
Class A:
7: Elaine Barkridge (100 points)
8: Reggie Greybrewer (85 points)
9: Lance Bowman (85 points)
10:Tiarus Ilifiel (55 points)
11: Sid Magnus (55 points)
12: William Curtis (55 points)
Class B:
13: Sano Sanraku (60 points)
14: Lamarr Shepherd (60 points)
15: Quint Vossen (30 points)
16: Patricia Virvyre (0 points)
17: Elyon Orirel (0 points)
18: Tanaga Yugoyaki (0 points)
Class C:
19: Kai Bihorn (40 points)
20: Alan Waris (40 points)
21: Gilbert Cohen (35 points)
22: Stacey George (20 points)
23: Aito Motoka (0 points)
24: Ardryll Pabanise (0 points)
Class D:
25: Xenia Vossen (210 points)
26: Rein Xilris (80 points)
27: Core (30 points)
28: Mizubuki Daikuro (D-) (10 points)
29: Roger Bentely( D-) (10 points)
30: Candice Eilstina (D-) (10 points)