Chapter 44 Choose Your Legends

<strong>Previously... </strong>

There was no need for introductions when Knighthawk talked about the one and only Plume. After all, among all the fourth-years in the whole of Tokyo, she could very well be the most popular of them all. Not only is she a top model of a very popular fashion magazine, she's also an actress and one of the top-ranking fourth-year in all of Tokyo. With her superpower 'Feather', she is proficient in both offense and defense and there aren't a lot of superheroes who can best her in a one-on-one. Well, she's only the daughter of two of the most renowned superheroes in history, Wingman and WingWoman. Aside from their anticlimactic and mediocre names, they're a force to be reckoned with since they've mastered the arts of air maneuvers and flight. They were even nicknamed 'The Angels of Tokyo' back in the day since their wings were of pure, pristine white color. The only thing missing in their outfit is a halo on their head and that would pretty much complete their image.

Aside from having inherited her parents' affinity to the air, she also got a wild mutation in her Alpha Gene, which made her wings a lot more flexible— this means she can hover, unlike her parents who can only fly backward and forward. And not only that, her feathers are made of an unknown material that is pretty much indestructible and they could even detach from her wings. Also, she can control every feather in her possession, using it as a shield, as a weapon, or as a projectile when the situation calls for it. In her recent interview, she revealed that she could precisely control every feather she has, which is insane considering that she's still young and she already has mastery over her superpower.

To add icing to the cake, she's currently the undefeated champion of the Casual Division in the Concrete Arena. No one could beat her and her streak has no chance of ceasing. This is also where she got the nickname 'Plume' which is just another term for bird plumage.

"And you know, she even won the most beautiful girl in a popular ranking section of the same magazine. She's unstoppable. Imagine having maxed-out stats in both attack and defense, not to mention she looks like a goddess. Sigh~ us normal superheroes won't even be able to hold a candle to her." Midori didn't stop telling everyone all the information he knew about Plume. He spoke non-stop until the school bus finally stopped and then it was time for them to queue up to enter the Concrete Arena.

No one knows why it's called the Concrete Arena and no one wondered why it was so. Someone probably just called it that way when it was first built and the name was stuck to it. As the group approached the Concrete Arena, they realized that it was much more gargantuan in size compared to when they viewed it from the school bus windows. It's pretty much a mountain with who knows how many floors.

"Excuse me, sir, but children aren't allowed here. Do you have a— " The guard started.

"Oh, we're here as a special guest. Look there on the schedule... yep, that one right there, the United Superheroes Academy reservation." Knighthawk said with utmost confidence since he personally knew the owner of the Concrete Arena. Well, no one actually knows what his real name is but everyone knows him as Don Quixote, from a popular comedic novel that was popular back in the day.

"Please come in, sir. The elevator is right by the right side of the hallway. You don't have to click on any floors since it would direct you to the floor where you needed to go. Floor 12, Casual Division, right?"

"Right."

The exchange between Knighthawk and the guard was stopped short as another usher escorted everyone to a nearby elevator which would supposedly bring them to the right floor where they were heading.

"Remember, this is sort of like an official arena match or something like that. So you better not cause any trouble. Also, there's this thing called 'Choose Your Legends' going on in the Concrete Arena. It's sort of like an ongoing tradition where the challenger gets to choose his or her legends and then they can fight against each other. Same rules, same prize, you know how it is. It's like an impromptu official match, except the rewards are the same as in an official match. The name came from a certain game and they hold the same event every year for their players. I don't know why the Concrete Arena didn't get a copyright strike but then again, it's as popular as the game so— oh, we're here."

Right when Knighthawk finished talking, the elevator dinged and they were greeted by a spacy hallway with a red carpet that led to the center of the building where the fights take place. A crowd of spectators was already present, hoarding the first row seats so they could get a better look at the Plume and her legendary fight. Ever since she entered the ring in the Concrete Arena for the Casual Division, she had never lost a fight. And because of that, people from around town would gather more and more to watch her fights, wondering when her reign will end as the undefeated. Also, the other reason why the first row seats were filled up was that there's a 'Choose Your Legends' event in this fight. And that means Plume would choose a random superhero to go against her in a random fight. Usually, when it comes to other participants and their 'Choose Your Legends' event, they would choose a weaker superhero than themselves, resulting in a fight so anticlimactic that the other people would basically leave the show. But it is an entirely different case for Plume. She would always challenge someone better than her and still win by the skin of the teeth. That's why she easily became a popular fighter in the Concrete Arena.

"You can all sit here. This is the second row so the view is not that great compared to the front seats but it's still a great view nonetheless. Besides, all of you wouldn't even be able to enter here if it weren't for the school planning this excursion for our hero training. I practically had to beg the principal for it." Knighthawk shuddered at the thought since the Principal is one scary being.

'Plume, huh,' Satoshi said to himself as he seated himself beside Kuroe and Shiroi— well, more like he didn't really care where he sat but before he knew it, Kuroe and Shiroi were seating on both her side. A violet-haired girl sat beside Kuroe and from time to time she would glance at Satoshi. However, Satoshi didn't notice it so he didn't really bring up the topic. "I've seen her before. If I were to grade her superpower, I guess it would fall perfectly in a 9.5 out of 10 ratings, much like Hiroshi's superpower. However, it's not like she doesn't have any weaknesses. If someone were to use projectiles much better than her, then she would easily lose. Her body is not that durable either so I don't think she could tank that many hits without her superpower. If she were to go up against my mom or dad she would easily lose, hands down. And if there was someone out there with the superpower to nullify another, then it would come down to how great you are when you fight physically."

Satoshi was talking to himself and making notes in his notebook when he realized that everyone was already shouting Plume's name. A few seconds later, Plume entered the arena like an angelic fighter. She wore light armor consisting of a breastplate and faulds which are both stylish and it matched the short white dress she was wearing. Her wings shone a slightly silvery color which matched the color of her armor. Since her eyes couldn't be seen from her helmet that had wings on its side, no one noticed that she scanned the audience before stepping forward.

'Satoshi? Why is he here? Isn't he still a teenager?! What is he doing here?' Plume asked herself but she didn't think that much about it after seeing Knightahwk and the entire Class 3-1 with him. Right now, she should focus on her upcoming fight. After all, she has a title to defend.

And then she came across a good idea that would have to wait for later. With a smile on her face, she stepped into the arena and posed to signify that she was prepared to fight.

And that's when the next challenger stepped up into the arena... not really, he didn't really walk into the arena, more like he rolled towards it with his wheelchair and then floated up to step foot on the arena. "Why are there stairs going to the arena? There should've been a platform for wheelchairs or something." He complained, scratching his head which is as bald as an egg.

"Professor Y? What are you doing here?!" This time, it was Plume who was caught off-guard. After all, her next opponent is not only a licensed and professional superhero, he's also one of the renowned teachers of the United Superheroes Academy.

<strong>>>>> Chapter 44</strong>

When it comes to the SAO ranking, people only care about the top ten. That's why even though Professor Y is a formidable superhero, he never got the recognition he deserves since he's only in the top twenties. The ranking from top 20 to 11 is quite different compared to the top ten since there could be hundreds of top 11 or top 12, all the way to top 20. The only thing you need to do in order to enter the ranks and receive an official number is to defeat someone from that rank and you'll easily gain a rank higher than them. And if someone beats you from your current rank, you'll then move a rank lower and would have to defeat another one of a higher rank to climb up. This system makes it so that superheroes would occasionally challenge each other and improve— an iron sharpening iron process.

That's why when the moment Professor Y entered the arena, not only is he risking his reputation as a top twenty superhero, he's also risking his rank since he'd certainly lose it if he loses the match. However, he had to undergo the match if they were to teach a valuable lesson to their students. And also, the principal personally told him to fight Plume so he doesn't really have a choice whatsoever.

After heaving a sigh, Professor Y relaxed in his wheelchair while looking at Plume who was certainly panic-stricken due to the unexpected situation. Who would've thought that her next match would be with a superhero that's in the top twenty?

"Begin!" An automated voice screamed all throughout the arena and so the match began before both parties could catch a break.

Professor Y didn't hesitate. In a split second, he disappeared from where he was and reappeared by the edge of the arena, taking a portion of it and throwing it at Plume. At that moment, a series of hardened silvery feathers stuck itself on the ground where Professory Y was. It was obvious that the feathers belonged to none other than Plume and just like Professor Y, she also thought of executing a surprise attack but neither was unsuccessful.

Plume flew upwards just before the debris hit her. She was as calm as an owl in assessing the situation since she knew that she couldn't panic in front of Professor Y. One wrong move and she'll certainly lose.

Just when she was accelerating upwards, the debris which was coming straight at her suddenly appeared on top of her, almost hitting her squarely on the face. Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet and so she charged straight through.

Suddenly, Professory Y was on top of the debris, delivering a blow from his hand that would decimate Plume in one hit. In that split of a second, Plume managed to defend herself with her wings, which resulted in Professor Y receiving all the recoil damage and sending him out of the arena. In that instant, Professor Y knew that he'd lose and so he decided to do a somewhat illegal move... or at least, it is illegal when it comes to fights with superheroes.

In an instant, he changed positions with Plume so that it would be Plume who'd be out of bounds. But the moment he did so, he hit his head on the arena, knocking him out in an instant.

It was as plain as day that the fight ended in a draw— the first ever draw in Plume's record, much to her disappointment.

"A DRAW!" The automated voice announced once again as if it was the most disappointing thing in the world and the people were also groaning as if they wanted something more.

Plume went to the center of the arena as if she was dismayed by herself. Who would've thought that experiencing a draw would have such a huge impact on her? She wanted to throw hands with someone, anyone, just to get rid of the anger welling up within. And if she were to do something like that, she wanted her opponent to feel her rage and lose in a traumatic manner.

She locked eyes with everyone in the audience trying to find the best punching bag there is. In the front seat, she could see a bunch of superheroes she'd fought before. She could see their burning rage reflected into their eyes as if they were looking for a rematch— well, they really were looking for a rematch since they've already lost way too many times against her.

But then she saw a familiar face— the face of the perfect punching bag. She smiled to herself and raised her hand, pointing towards a certain someone in the audience. That someone wasn't even paying attention to her since he was looking towards the distance, preoccupied with some thoughts in his mind. A girl beside her then nudged her with her shoulder and that's when he realized that he was chosen as a Choose Your Legends candidate.

He glanced left and right, thinking that Plume was just mistaken. He even had to double-check behind him but to his surprise, there was no one there. Plume was really pointing at him, choosing him out of everyone in the audience.

"Me? Haah?!" Satoshi screamed, shrugging towards Plume as if she was joking. But then, her smile grew wider as if she was looking forward to the match. Two men in uniforms then approached Satoshi without talking another word. Without further ado, they grabbed Satoshi by the shoulders and led him to the waiting room. "Wait, what?! Is this for real?!" He asked a second time but no one seemed to listen to him. Even Midori and the others were just waving at him, wishing him to break a leg or something of the sort.

Downstairs, Satoshi was led towards one of the waiting rooms where he'd supposedly prepare for his fight. By that time, he decided to not talk about it anymore and he just summoned Dex from somewhere, speaking to him through his thoughts to come over and help him with the fight. Of course, since Dex is connected to his mind, he didn't have to explain anything. All he had to do was summon him along with the others. However, he didn't know how he'd be able to smuggle them inside the Concrete Arena.

"Wait, Dex, can you come over here alone and leave everyone outside?" He asked aloud.

Meanwhile, the guards who were waiting for him to prepare (Every Choose Your Legends event would have a preparation time of half an hour so both parties could prepare for the fight. This was recently passed in the Concrete Arena rules since it's unfair on both parties to fight without mentally preparing themselves.)

A few minutes later, Dex comes in inside the room. Satoshi was surprised since Dex was wearing some sort of camouflage and this was the first time he'd seen it. "Good thing you're here. I need something that would enable me to bring everyone in without anyone noticing. Do you have some portable space or something that could help us? Just anything, any ideas?"

[Running simulations...]

[Simulating possible outcomes... ]