"S—!"

BZZZZZZTTT!!!

Almina's reply was obstructed by the sudden buzzing sound coming from the announcer's podium.

Everyone glanced in the direction of the stage. "Looks like the second round is about to begin!" Someone shouted among the trainees.

"Let's go!?"

However, no one wanted to move. All of them were curious about the confession and Almina's reply.

Unfortunately, the buzzing sound came at the same time as her reply. They only heard the 'S'. So, they didn't know if she meant 'Sure' or 'Sorry'.

"....."

Everyone was having a question mark on top of their heads. The time seemed to have stopped. Then they heard stepping noises going far and far. It was from Yman. Even if he left, most of the trainees didn't care about it. It's better that he left already. As he was an eyesore in their eyes. Nonetheless, there was a good scene in front of them. Kiko's confession to Miss Almina was very charming and sent giggles to the girls.

Even Yman himself had no time for this confession in which he wasn't part of it. Though he was a little curious about Amulet's answer.

It's better to prepare for the competition. He wanted to win somehow. It would be bad if he lost. The academy would have to kick him if that happened. Wait, wasn't he a student of Encantasia academy as well? So whether he won or lost in this competition, there's still an academy for him to return to.

Actually.

He was also concerned by his sister's magic. He had no idea how she did it. How she was able to cast an illusion spell on him. She shouldn't have been able to cast a spell without a resonance from a deity because it was dangerous. Wait, why did he just realize it?! But his sister seemed to be fine even after casting it, so she probably was fine right? Hoping… she was. What a reckless little sister.

Maybe because she was gifted with an abundance of mana that's why she was fine even after casting a spell without the deity's resonance. Or it could also because of a different reason.

"..."

Right, what if it wasn't his sister who cast an illusion spell and it was their enemy? He would be dead by now for certain. He needed to find a way to counter it. It's always better to think ahead. Not only from his sister's ability. Even Rea's ability was a scary thing for him if used in bad motives.

Sigh.

After Yman left, Bob and Chloe followed after him. Then, they heard fast approaching steps from behind.

He glanced and saw Almina walking rapidly towards them. "Sigh. W-why did you leave without me?" She said while frowning and a pouty face. Yman gawked for instance. He did not expect that Almina would still choose to come even after her crush confessed to her.

"Wait, what about the confe…" he wanted to ask about it but decided to stop as he felt a gloomy atmosphere surrounding Kiko, who was still yet to move.

Right, at this moment, Kiko was standing still with a heavy feeling. His friends around him had shocked faces. Not only them, even the other students. Kesha was looking at Kiko with pity. She wanted to approach him, but she knew it wasn't the right time for it. She felt happy and sad at the same time. She then decided to go after her best friend who went to chase that hateful person.

Not far from them.

A man smiled while looking at Kiko's solemness. Then he took an MTMD from his wallet.

He dialed from it. Just a moment after the ring, a voice from the other side came in. "Hello, what's the matter?"

"Hehe, Principal Kim, something interesting happened here…" The man was one of Mr. Kim's assistants. He reported and summarized the event that happened.

Regardless, the buzzing noise from the stage howled once again. Then the trainees immediately ran inside the waiting hall, leaving Kiko standing alone. They felt pity for him. All of them were wondering why Miss Almina rejected him. Kiko was almost perfect! If it was them, they would certainly have said 'yes'.

An inexplicable feeling started to surge out from within Kiko. He clenched his fist. Then he started mumbling words. 'It's because of that toad! That toad! That toad! That toad! That toad! I will kill him! I will kill him! I will kill him! I will kill him! No matter what! I will kill him…!" Kiko repeatedly chanted. He felt like heaven fell upon him. It was an unpleasant feeling.

Kiko remained on his feet even after his friends tried to call him.

Following behind Almina was the blonde who had for some reason a snobby face towards him.

"..."

Then he heard the word 'lier!'. That softly whispered to him when she passed by.

"???"

Lier? Yman repeated the word while knitting his brows. Could that word be for him? He blinked his eyes. But soon he pushed the thought at the back of his head as the second elimination was about to start.

When they arrived inside he saw Keremi and the other members from Elite class. Keremi then greeted him, calling him by the usual name.

Kiko and his friends also arrived inside. But their gazes were like gazes of some hostile predators.

A bead of sweats was forming at the back of Yman's head as he felt a strong intent towards him. Well, Kiko's blunder was made by him alone. The only thing that he could not understand was that their bad intentions were mainly focused on him! What is he?

The successor of their animosity? That whenever they felt angry they picked him as their target.

"..."

He was speechless at the unreasonableness of these people. Yman smirked to irritate them further. When he noticed their eyes turned colder and colder while looking at him, he chuckled.

Regardless, the second round had finally started. The first pair who came up on stage was a girl with a heavyweight figure. He remembered her, she was in the same class as him.

"Good luck, Julie!"

Looked like her name was Julie. Her full name was Julie Brown. The girl who shouted her name was the girl who was seated next to Julie.

Regardless, her enemy was a male trainee. He was using the nickname Clawmaster while Julie Brown was using Julie only. Both of them were already in resonance with their deity, so after the bell produced a loud high-pitched tone, they summoned their weapons.

"I-it wasn't my brother?" Yana who was sitting in the audience podium muttered regretfully. She was expecting her brother to come out first like yesterday.

Rea glanced at her and smiled. "The selection was random," she said.

"Ah, I see. Uhm, Miss Rea… will my brother be alright?" She asked with a worried face.

"Uh, he will. It's only competition and those little deities with them are convenient human devices. Because of it, I bet they won't even suffer a slight injury. Besides, your brother is a person that is hard to comprehend. He's not someone that could be described with simple words. And also…"

".....also?"

"Uh, eh, nevermind! Regardless, the fight is about to start," Rea said to change the topic.

Yana tilted her head. She wondered why Miss Rea suddenly turned redder. Right. She was also wondering about the relationship her brother has with Miss Rea.

Could it be she was his girlfriend? She wondered. And why was she hiding her face with a hood? She wasn't even ugly. In fact, Miss Rea was a beautiful lady.

On the stage,

Clawmaster summoned a pair of knuckles with claws and lightweight armor. Julie, on the other hand, used a pair of red wristbands and fitted red leather armor. The silver metal was protecting her chest area.

The audience was cheering but not so lively. The reason must be because it was only the first match and the pair who were battling on stage weren't their preferred contestants.

In the VIP room, some of the VIPs were casually talking about businesses and other matters. It was clear that the audience wasn't so hype. Most of them were waiting for their favored contestants to step on the stage.

But their attention was soon glued to the stage when the two contestants engaged in a brawl in the center of the stage.

The two of them traded punches. Clawmaster used his speed advantage while raining combos of attacks on Julie.

Everyone gawked. They did not expect such a blood boiling fight.

Seeing that she was at the disadvantage, Julie used her arms to shield her face. Her eyes were peeking at the gaps. Like a predator who was waiting to devour her opponent.

Although her body was full of wounds and bruises, it didn't weaken her defense.

Right after her enemy slowed down, she used a hidden ability that strengthened her body and toughen her muscles. All the wounds healed in an instance. After her hands caught her enemy, she didn't let it go until the person turned to light particles. She repeatedly smashed it to the ground. It was supposed to be a gruesome death if not because of their resonance.

And so the match was decided that was followed by earth-shaking applause after a slight stun.

Some audience started to chant Julie's name. She gained quite a fan. Not bad for someone who came from the lowest class.

The next match followed immediately.