The third day of school begins.
"We've gathered here all those who lost their first fight. If you do the math, you'll realize that across the five brackets, there are forty first-round losers. To keep the system simple, some of you will automatically advance to the later stages. This time, we're deciding that by a luck-based draw."
The instructor pauses, then adds with a smile:
"Eight of you will skip two full rounds. Luck is part of ability too, believe it or not. We're not afraid to test it once in a while."
Surprisingly, the class takes the news well. A random draw feels more fair than favoritism or backroom picks.
"Inside this bowl are slips of paper. Some are blank, which means you lucked out. The rest are numbered from one to thirty-two. One fights seventeen, two fights eighteen, and so on."
The bowl passes down the row. One by one, students reach in and pull out a slip of paper.
Some unwrap blanks and grin with relief. Others hold numbers and sit tensely.
When the bowl reaches Renji, he slides a hand inside and draws his slip.
He looks down.
"Sixteen." He's the last to fight in the first round.
The draw ends, and the students file out toward the arena. The sun hangs high, casting sharp shadows over the crowd gathered to watch the losers' bracket matches. Some students cheer their friends on, while others cast doubtful glances at familiar faces.
The first fights are quick and brutal. Some combatants barely manage a spell before falling, while others show surprising skill, reminding everyone that being here doesn't mean you're weak.
One by one, fighters are eliminated.
Finally, a call echoes through the arena.
"Next fight: Number sixteen, Renji Shibata!"
Renji steps forward. The eyes of the crowd lock onto him. Despite being upset, Gudo is in the stands.
"Going against number thirty-two, Kimi Tanzuki!"
She steps onto the field looking ready.
"On my count. Three... two... one!"
Kimi quickly chants her first spell. She throws a quick and powerful fireball at Renji, but he dodges with ease.
Maya, his B1 teacher, thinks to herself.
"Apparently you can dodge."
Kimi launches a second fireball, and then a third. Renji dodges both.
"When are you gonna start attacking?"
"I don't have much mana. I'll tire you out first."
"Giving your strategy away doesn't seem too smart."
"I'm not smart."
She laughs.
"Let's see if you can dodge this."
She uses magic to reinforce her body and launches at him, throwing multiple quick blows. Renji parries them all. They go at it for a full minute.
The crowd is confused, whispers moving around.
"What's he doing standing still?"
"Does he even know magic?"
"Is he serious?"
But in between the waves of doubt, a few people see things from a different perspective.
"Wait... how is he defending so well without using magic?"
Kimi takes a step back.
"Alright. Let's go a level higher."
She reinforces her body again, this time using much more mana.
Her speed triples and her force doubles. She keeps going at him.
As he's dodging and parrying, Renji still finds time to speak.
"Coming at me with no strategy won't get you anywhere."
"I can do this all day. You have to break at one point."
"I wouldn't be so sure. You know, people lie."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He doesn't answer. Instead, he finally gets on the offensive.
He grabs Kimi's hand, pulls her in, then seizes her head and slams it into the ground. Just enough to knock her out without causing serious injury.
A heavy silence falls over the arena. Seconds stretch with no reaction. The arbiter steps forward and checks Kimi. She's unconscious.
The arbiter stands and announces loudly:
"The result is decided! Renji Shibata wins!"
The crowd offers half-hearted applause, shaken by what they witnessed, and maybe a little threatened. Maya jumps up and down, clearly thrilled for Renji. If it looks like favoritism, she doesn't care.
She thinks to herself, I knew there was more to this guy. Impressive.
Gudo simply smiles from the stands. Though this confirms his earlier suspicions, Renji is still his best friend. Of course he's happy for him.
The day is far from over. Assuming Renji makes it to the final, he still has four duels to go through.