"Whew," Xiang Peng whistled, leaning back on her chair. "That was one hell of a lunch."

"Man, none of you even washed your hands before eating…" I muttered, shaking my head in disappointment. "There's literally a built-in sink right here in this cart, and you aren't using it."

"Hehe, sorry~" Qing Yue winked and stuck out her tongue playfully. "I got too distracted."

"Well, what's done is done… just wash your hands now, if you're done eating," I sighed. "Qing Yue, you'll be fighting first in the afternoon, so get ready."

"Mkay~"

The girls walked over one by one, taking turns cleaning their hands. When they were done, a knock came at our door.

"Everyone, I hope you had a good lunch. Miss Qing Yue, please prepare for battle - it will be starting in approximately 5 minutes. Just come out whenever you are ready — I will be here waiting."

"Can you fight right after eating so much?" I asked in concern.

"She's a support, Xuan Kai," Feng Mian sighed, shaking her head. "She doesn't need to worry about cramps or anything like that, unlike us. We have to move around a lot in battle. She doesn't."

"Yep!" Qing Yue smiled happily and hugged me. "I'll be fine, Big Brother Xuan Kai~"

I grinned. "If you say so. Oh, by the way, take this…"

Shortly after, she left the room, preparing to head onto the stage.

"Do you think she can win?" Xiang Peng asked me, a smirk on her face. "I've heard of her opponent before — the Cullen family. They're very highly ranked in the Vampire race, y'know?"

I scoffed. "So? My little sister will win. There is no 'can' or 'if'. She will."

*****

(Qing Yue's Perspective)

"Heya~" I waved to my opponent, across from me.

She had her eyes closed, her two fangs showing slightly on the corners of her mouth. Her arms were folded in an arrogant posture as she slowly opened one eye to glance at me.

"… I saw your first fight. Not bad… but your speed was nowhere close to mine."

"Hehe, maybe."

"Your speed would be a lot closer to mine… if you didn't talk with every single one of your patients. Why bother? This is a competition of speed."

"A competition… really? I don't see it that way," I murmured thoughtfully. "To me, every patient, no matter the situation, is a patient of mine. I will treat them to the best of my abilities and with the utmost care.

"Even if they are nothing but illusions?"

"Even if they are nothing but illusions," I echoed, smiling.

"… That is a foolish way of thinking," she snorted, turning away.

"Is that so?" I giggled. "To me… that's what being a support means."

"Both contestants are ready!" the announcer interjected. "Now then, to kick off this afternoon's battles, let's start with determining the Support bracket's winner! Who will it be — Miss Qing Yue, or Elena Cullen?!"

I smirked and stared directly into her eyes. She averted them uncomfortably, occasionally meeting my stare again to check if I was still looking.

"Let the battle… BEGIN!"

A loud buzzing sound blared out across the arena as the match began. Rectangular holes opened up in the platform we were standing on, bringing up a total of forty beds, each with a patient laying on them. I would be responsible for twenty, and Elena would be responsible for the other twenty.

Immediately, the two of us set to work, starting with the patient closest to us.

"Where are you hurting?" I asked my patient with a smile on my face.

"M-My leg… right leg…"

I flipped open the covers to check, and there was indeed a massive gash on her leg. The blood had dried and clotted, preventing any more from spilling out, but the cut was still open.

"Hm… I see. That must've hurt… I'll take care of it very soon."

Then, raising my hand and hovering it about two inches away from her wound, I chanted.

"Level Two Blessing Magic — Major Heal."

The cut was far too big for Minor Heal to work, so I had to take the gamble and use a Level Two spell for this, costing more mana. Big Brother Xuan Kai gave me his mana elixir just now, which was an advantage I had against my opponent. She used her potion as well during the first match, so if my guess was correct, she had to be very careful about her mana.

Unless, of course, she similarly received outside help.

As I finished curing my first patient, I moved on to the next. I snuck a glance behind me and saw that she was already in the middle of treating her second patient — I was slightly behind. My mindset, however, was not easily affected. Despite her having the lead on me, I was as calm as ever and continued to treat my patients with a bright smile on my face.

"Okay, sir, where are your injuries?"

"It's not an outside injury… I was poisoned…"

"By magic?" I asked.

He nodded weakly, unable to speak any further.

I placed my finger to my chin. "Hm… I see."

Then, hovering my hand above his chest, I chanted a different spell this time.

"Level Two Blessing Magic — Purification."

A white light emitted form my hand, enveloping the man's body whole. Suddenly, his body began glowing white as well, before some kind of black energy was expelled from it.

"All done. Rest up for a few days and you should be good to go~" I smiled happily and moved on to the next patient.

"T-Thank you…" the illusory patient muttered.

By this time, Elena was already nearly finished her third. I was roughly a full patient behind. But still — that didn't matter. I would just continue doing things the way I've been doing them.

The battle progressed slowly after that. By the time Elena reached her twentieth and final patient, I was still on my sixteenth. Still, I didn't lose hope.

"And… you're all good…" I murmured, moving on to my seventeenth patient. Three more.

Hm? She's not done yet?

I snuck a glance at the other side of the arena, where Elena stood, confused at the patient laying before her. I didn't pay it any mind and continued doing my own work.

"Okay, next…" I whispered to myself as I finished treating my seventeenth patient, who had a bullet wound.

Those were the easiest of treatments. Just as simple Minor Heal could heal them, as long as the bullet wasn't in there body anymore. If it still was, that would be a bit troublesome, but that was called penetrating. In this case, it was mere perforating, where the bullet had pierced straight through his arm, not hitting any vitals.

Elena still was not finished her treatment of the twentieth patient — interesting. So far, I haven't encountered any patients who were difficult to treat. Since both sides had the same patients, just in a different order, that would mean the patient Elena was stuck on was one of these next three.

The eighteenth patient of mine was fairly simple to treat as well. She had been afflicted with Curse Magic, but the Curse was already extremely weak anyway. A simple Purification spell did the job.

The nineteenth was not it either. She was harder than the previous ones to treat, but even then, it should not have taken Elena this long. Speaking of, my opponent was still standing there, racking her brains out as she tried to think of a solution.

"Hm… there are some traces of ice energy in your body," I said to my nineteenth patient. "That must be why you are feeling cold. Did you fight anyone recently?"

She nodded slowly. "Y-Yes… he was an expert in Ice Magic…"

"That explains it. Don't worry, I should be able to get this out…" I placed my hand above her chest and chanted. "Level Two Blessing Magic — Flame of Healing."

A spell dedicated to treating Ice-inflicted wounds. It took more mana the longer I held it for, so I was quickly running out.

The ice energy in her body seemed to be resisting. Looks like I needed to amp up the power and continue going.

With my free hand, I popped open my mana potion Big Brother Xuan Kai had given me and downed it all in one gulp. Tossing the bottle to the floor and wiping my mouth with my sleeve, I quickly continued with my spell, now feeling refreshed.

"And… there!" I let out a deep breath as the woman's eyes snapped open.

"This… I feel perfectly fine now…"

"The ice in your body has been completely dispelled," I said with a wink. "Still, you should get some rest before trying to do anything else."

The woman nodded with tears in her eyes. "Thank you… thank you."

Despite being a mere illusion, they were still my patients and thought like real, intelligent beings. Their reactions now proved it.

Each and every one of them were my patients, not just some mere imaginary figure. Even if they were to disappear right after this match concluded, I could still say I fulfilled my duty.

That, is what it means to be a support.