Point-of-View: Sakura

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​​

Alright, two of my underclassmen both made it through to the semi-finals, I have no intention of being outdone by them...also, wow, this is one bewildered crowd. Looks like they're still processing what they saw in the last match.

Well, not that I can blame them, I suppose. But come on, pay some attention to me, I'm an Anomaly too! Hmph, whatever, let's just get this over with.

I stepped onto the arena along with my opponent, but nothing happened...seriously? I cleared my throat to get the announcer's attention...he then snapped out of it and quickly activated the Duel Field, before declaring the start of the countdown and introducing my opponent and I.

Even the announcer is all stunned after that last fight...my opponent looks kinda annoyed too, he had a frown on his face, looking at the audience with disdain. Well, the countdown is ticking, might as well get ready, they're sure to pay attention once the fight starts.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as my opponent activated his powers...his Primary Manifestation was a curved green XFE sword, and his Secondary Manifestation was a similarly shaped dagger.

Now, then...how should I approach this? Most opponents get thrown off when I copy their own manifestations, so I'll open with that, and then switch to a different option.

"Here goes...," I chanted quietly, copying both his manifestations, before chanting again, "."

Pretty self-explanatory, Manifestation Plagiarism is what scans and copies a targeted manifestation, and Manifestation Replication physically replicates the specified copied manifestation. Though I can only copy tangible manifestations, I can't copy stuff like strength and speed boosts or vision boosts.

As for how I select which of my copied manifestations to manifest, I just have to picture the manifestation...of course, I sometimes forget about some of my copied manifestations, and if I can't picture them, then I can't replicate them. Though in that case, I can just copy them again if I encounter the person who it belongs to.

My opponent grimaced as I formed both of his manifestations in my hands...alright, just as I'd hoped, he wasn't liking this...let's see how that affects his fighting style, shall we? As the countdown ended, I swiftly flung the dagger at him, which he deflected away with a frown and then shot towards me.

That's right, big boy, take the bait, come at me with everything you've got...as he began to close in, a triumphant smirk appeared on my lips before I could stop myself as I quietly chanted...

"I win, ."

A long whip-like appendage manifested from my left hand, extending to thirty meters, as a jagged blade formed at the end of it. My opponent halted and began to spring back in alarm, but it was too late, as I swung it at him, the blade whizzing towards his neck before he could react, getting teleported out.

Manifestation Fusion, also pretty self-explanatory...it fuses the specified copied manifestations and forms something new. I have to picture the manifestations that I want to fuse, as well as what I want the end result to look like. Of course, I have to picture something realistic for the end result, otherwise nothing will happen.

In this case, I fused a whip manifestation that I'd copied off an A-Rank X-Warrior who was killed during the attack on the Wight base camp, with a random blade manifestation I'd copied, can't quite remember who I copied it off of, blade manifestations are like the most common type of manifestation.

Anyway, to clarify what I mean by picturing a realistic end result...the whip manifestation had a maximum length of thirty meters, so if I'd pictured it to be, say, fifty meters when I was fusing it with the blade manifestation, nothing would have happened.

Yeah, my powers were a real pain to get the hang of, it took a lot of mental working out before I could consistently activate my Anomaly abilities, but it was totally worth it.

Now, then...time for round two. My opponent re-entered the Duel Field with a frown and took his place, activating his manifestations again as the countdown began ticking. Hm, what should I go with for this round? I've got so many options that it's sometimes hard to decide and pick between them...

"Alright, here goes...," I muttered quietly, forming two large XFE arms around my own.

This was one of the first manifestations I ever copied, and one of the ones I'm most comfortable with using.

As the countdown ended, my opponent shot towards me at top speed, his guard tight. I swiftly clapped my hands together in his direction, sending out a shockwave towards him, which he narrowly evaded and continued dashing towards me.

"."

I then dissipated the arms and formed a stilt-like manifestation out of the bottom of my feet, shooting myself straight up into the air as he began to close in on me. He halted in surprise for a moment, before starting to slash at my stilt manifestation, trying to knock me off balance.

Before he could, I quickly dissipated the manifestation, and as I began to plummet back down, I balled my fists together and re-formed the large arms manifestation, raising my arms as I dropped down towards the ground.

He sprang back in alarm as I closed in and slammed my fists down, which struck the ground with a powerful impact, cracking it and sending out an intense shockwave, knocking my opponent off balance. Now's my chance!

"."

I swiftly changed my arms manifestation into the wind cannon manifestation that I copied off Nikolai Ivanov during the previous match...when it comes to XFE manifestations that generate and manifest their attributes, I can only copy them if I have the same attribute.

For instance, I can copy Kilella Floence's Primary Manifestation, and I have, but I can't copy her Secondary Manifestation since she has the Fire Attribute and I have the Wind Attribute...and these wind cannons are, of course, a manifestation of the Wind Attribute.

I swiftly took aim and fired out a couple of wind blasts at my opponent, the force nearly knocking me off my feet and eating up a huge chunk of my XFE.

Before he could evade, the blasts reached him, the first striking his chest and eliciting a gasp of pain from him, as the second blast closed in on his face...and right before it could strike his head, he was teleported out of the barrier.

He slammed his fist against the ground in frustration as he reappeared, gritting his teeth. Applause and cheers broke out in the crowd as the announcer declared me the winner and the end of the quarter-final round.

Nice, looks like the crowd is finally over Kilzachs' unexpected display in the last match. I soaked in the applause as I headed back to the waiting room, a sense of determination taking over me...now that I've made it this far, all the way to the top four...it's no longer about seeing how far I can go in this tournament.

No, now it's about winning it. After coming this far, beating out several more-highly favored competitors, it's only natural that I aim for the win. Initially, I'd started the tournament with the goal of at least making it to the top eight, but now that I've gone beyond that, it's no longer enough to satisfy me.

Of course, I can't get too ahead of myself, before I can win the tournament, I first need to make it to the final...and to that...I need to beat Kilzachs in the semi-final...

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Point-of-View: Kilzachs Light

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So, my next opponent is decided, huh? Can't say I'm surprised...in fact, I'd have been surprised if Sakura had lost. Considering what she's capable of, she's likely to be ranked as an Ace pretty soon once she graduates from the X-Warrior Academy.

But that's all irrelevant in the grand scheme of things...because I plan to win the next match. Short of freezing time, I plan on going all out with everything I've got in my arsenal, so not to sound arrogant, but it'll take a lot to defeat me.

The door to the waiting room then opened and Sakura walked back in, though instead of her usual carefree expression, she had a more serious, determined look on her face. Well, then, it looks like I've got quite the challenge coming up in the semi-final round...

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