If this had been a real fight, I'd have been sliced on half...then again, if this really had been a real fight, I'd have probably used my Anomaly powers and teleported out of the way...so I'm, uh, not gonna worry about it. The point is, I won, and let's leave it at that.

And from the look of it, I'd poisoned her enough with my Dark Attribute to keep her from fighting anymore, she shouldn't be able to get up for the next round. That aside, that last attack probably drained most of her XFE. The use of XFE Recovery serums are banned in this tournament, and it takes a while to recover from the Dark Attribute damage in a Healing Pod, and that kind of delay counts as a knockout win.

​​

She then met my gaze, a look of frustration on her face as she desperately tried to get back on her feet, her eyelids drooping and sweat pouring down her face...before her eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed onto the floor, right as a few medics showed up and whisked her away on a stretcher and the announcer declared my victory.

I let out a quiet sigh and headed back to the waiting room...alright, then, I made it to the top sixteen, not bad...and I'm done for the day, today's leg of the tournament would end once the remaining matches of round two are completed, and the remaining rounds upto the final will be held tomorrow.

As I headed back into the corridor leading to the waiting room, I heard some applause breaking out from the audience, much to my surprise. Hmph, well whatever, I don't need their validation...though I can't deny that it's kinda nice.

"Hey! That was as awesome fight!" Greeted Sakura, as I entered the waiting room.

Katie was fast asleep, slumped in her seat.

"Thanks, I guess...can't deny that was more challenging that I thought it'd be...in my experience, people like her are usually just all talk, but she actually had some decent skill to back it up," I admitted, as I sat back down.

Her manifestations weren't especially formidable, she was just highly skilled at using them...she wielded those twin scythes expertly, and those wind slashes looked hard to control...yeah, her Secondary Manifestation sounded like a vision boosting power, but it still takes practice to master it.

It's assumed by some that Prodigies that barely exceed the Threshold-...the necessary amount of XFE required to qualify as a Prodigy...-end up developing intangible Secondary Manifestations.

Stuff like strength or speed boosts and whatnot...according to that assumption, Prodigies that exceed the Threshold by a reasonable margin gain Secondary Manifestations that are extensions of their Primary Manifestation, like Asshole's shield manifestation.

To extend it even further, this theory also suggests that those who exceed the Threshold by a huge amount end up developing Secondary Manifestations that manifest their XFE Attribute itself...like my sister's flames or Katie and Seila's lightning attacks.

There is some basis to this theory, but it's still mostly unproven, and there are some cases that contradict it. Anyway, getting to the point...following that theory, Jane is likely a Prodigy that just barely exceeded the Threshold...and despite that, excluding the Aces, she's one of the tougher opponents I've fought. She's a total bitch and all, sure, but I can't deny that she's got skill.

Now, then, let's see who's left in the tournament that I need to be wary of...Katie is a definite threat with her Manifestation Overdrive, I'll definitely have to use my Anomaly powers if I get matched against her...but it looks like if I do encounter her in the tournament, it won't be until and unless she and I both make it to the final.

Sakura still hasn't had her second round match, but it's pretty likely that she'll make it to the third round...from what I saw in the first round, she's improved since that time she sparred with my class. If I'm to encounter her in the tournament, it'll be only if we both make it to the semi-final round...

Of the rest, all of them were K-Ranked X-Warriors, all the Q and J-Ranks were already eliminated from the tournament, so yeah. All the remaining competitors had shown decent levels of skill so far, but the one that I was most concerned about was the K-Ranked X-Warrior Anomaly, Yugi Suzuki...I'm reasonably certain about what his powers are, and while I don't have to worry about those since they can't affect me to begin with, I do have cause for concern.

He uses X-Blades like I do, though not custom models, his had longer reaches than mine did in their default mode. His close-range skills are impressive, possibly better than mine...I won't back down from a challenge though, and unlike me, he doesn't use X-Blasters or any other ranged weapon.

Whenever he seemed to use his powers, his opponents start acting strangely, allowing him to finish them off pretty easily while making them look pretty stupid...some of them have snapped out of it though, although by then, it's already too late.

I've also seen him mentally break his opponents simply by touching them...the most likely explanation is that his Anomaly powers have something to do with illusions. Of course, since I'm an Anomaly too, regardless of what his powers are, they're useless against me.

As for why I'm concerned by a power than can't affect me...well, just like my Tier Three powers, his powers are an intangible activation...in other words, I can't dodge something that I can't see coming, so if and when he tried to hit me with his power...it won't work, and he'll probably realize that I'm an Anomaly too. And if he touches me, then he'll know for sure...

Though it's not an immediate concern since I won't have to worry about him until the final, and if he makes it to the end, he'll have to defeat Katie, who'll probably go all out from the start to keep him from using his powers against her.

Huh, so if I make it to the final, it's possible that both the semi-final and final itself will pit me up against Anomalies...of course, anything can happen in a tournament like this, for all I know, both Sakura and Yugi could get knocked out of the tournament in their very next matches.

However, that's unlikely...particularly with Yugi, he's considered to be on the verge of being promoted to Ace rank, among the best of best when it comes to the current crop of K-Ranked X-Warriors.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, there's really no point in thinking about the final when I have yet to get through the third and fourth rounds, and then the semi-final...I mean, yeah, I can just set a Save point before each fight, and if I lose, I can easily just use Load later once I recover my XFE and stamina.

Though while I may have the option of unlimited do-overs, it always feels like opting for that chips away at my pride a bit...sure, if I suffer a humiliating defeat or something, I'll definitely use that option, but my point is, that I'd prefer not to.

Well, anyway, since I'm still in the tournament, I'm not allowed to leave until all the matches scheduled for today are done and dusted with. Everyone who got eliminated from the tournament are allowed to leave, because it'd just be plain cruel to force them to stay and watch after losing.

Two matches after my last one had finished, which still left five more to go...ughhhh, why are the fights on a best-of-three basis instead of just the one round!? What is this, Tekken!?

If each match had just been the one round and whoever wins wins, then we'd probably be long done already with the first two rounds. I'm so bored...I am watching all the fights so that no matter who I end up fighting, I'll know what to expect, but still...knowing that I have no more fights left in the day is kinda...demotivating.

It's like, I don't have anything to do, so can I just go home? The answer to that, of course, is a big, fat, resounding NO. There's so much else I could do right now...like go to Delectables to celebrate me getting through the first two rounds. Ah, crap, and now I'm thinking about sweets! This is the worst.

"Hm...? Why do you look so grumpy?" Suddenly mumbled a groggy voice to my left, before letting out a yawn.

Katie finally woke up, huh? Side note, her yawn was kinda adorable. Yeah, I'll keep that to myself.

"Oh, you're awake. And it's more that I'm bored, not grumpy," I replied sheepishly.

"No...you definitely looked kinda annoyed right then," She countered, rubbing her eyes as she stifled another yawn.

Okay, so if there's one unexpected positive from today, it's getting to see Katie in a slightly different mode to her usual monotone...first, the nervousness before the start of her first match, then her tired face after using up all her XFE and now this...not bad at all.

"You won?" She inquired, as she stretched her arms up.

"Yup, sure did. And now...I'm bored," I groaned with a dramatic sigh.

"You've gotten better at talking," She said, back to usual expressionless monotone...well, it was nice while it lasted.

Also, I guess she's got a point...now that I think about it, I've spoken to her today a fair bit, and plenty of times unprompted...when did I start initiating conversations? I mean, for most of my life, I hardly had any conversations with anyone at all, let alone start a conversation myself.

"Not really sure how to respond to that," I replied with a wry smile.

"Get a room, you two," Spoke up Sakura teasingly.

"Shut up," Katie and I both responded in unison, surprising her before she let out a bemused chuckle.

"Great minds think alike, or whatever, I guess," I remarked with a grin, holding my fist out towards Katie.

Wait, what am I doing? This is way too out of character, I don't do fist-bumps, I'm not-!

"Yeah...I suppose so," She replied, before bumping her fist onto mine...with a slight smile.

Huh? Did my eyes just deceive me? Not gonna lie, I think my heart might have just skipped a beat...

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