Mary’s POV

‘What the hell… Teams? And I’m stuck with Jensen?! How can I focus when I have such an infuriating teammate?! To top it off, there’s even a rumor that he didn’t get a Cosmic power. Well, I somehow doubt that’s true, considering it’s Jensen. The important thing is to focus on winning this game and finding a way back home. For now, I’ll just have to bite my tongue and try to get along.’

“Jensen. Let’s do our best and win.”

“Just stay the hell out of my way.”

‘What the hell?! He’s so arrogant! How am I going to last until the end of the games without blindsiding him?!’

“Still with the disgusting personality, I see.”

“Still with the inferiority complex, I see.”

‘I’m going to kill him…. I’m really, really going to kill him.’

As Mary was lost in thought, a body flashed through the tall grass to the right of where they were standing. It was moving so fast that, considering she was caught off guard, Mary had no time to react with a barrier. All she could do was bring her arms up to block the high-speed kick coming at her. Glancing at the leg, she noticed a light blue haze encompassing it. ‘Enhancement type… Damn…at this distance…’ Throughout Mary’s week of training, she had come to learn about the 5 different attributes- Enhancement, Star, Soul, Light and Dark- and their strengths and weaknesses. While each Cosmic Ability was different, the typing often resulted in some kind of similar effect. Skylight’s words echoed through her mind at this life or death moment.

“Now that you all have gained your abilities, I will tell you the basics of each attribute. This information is both for you to gain a better understanding of your Cosmic Power, and to help your analysis of your competition’s strengths and weaknesses. The first, and most common, attribute is Enhancement. Just because this attribute is common does not mean you should underestimate it. Enhancement types cloak their body in Cosmic power, significantly enhancing their physical capabilities. These types usually focus on hand to hand combat. The more skilled the Enhancer, the more strength is infused into their bodies. Generally, an enhancer’s attack, from point blank range to an unprotected lifeform, will result in instant death.”

‘Damn… am I really going to be the first person to die in this death game?’ Mary had spent so much time training, she had long decided to kill in order to survive. However, she was not expecting to be in a life or death situation so early. Right as the kick was 6 inches from her head, she began to squint her eyes as she focused on the enhanced attack. For some reason, as if to distract herself from her impending death, her mind echoed another scene from Skylight’s explanation.

“Well, that’s it for type descriptions. Train hard.”

“Wait, you forgot about the fifth type.”

Mary, standing in the crowd of people listening to Skylight, spoke up in curiosity. She had always been an inquiring student, thirsty for knowledge.

“Ah, even if you ask me about it, there isn’t too much concrete knowledge about Dark.”

“Eh?” The crowd of people were confused.

“Dark is the most mysterious of the 5 attributes. The only thing that is consistently true about Dark Cosmic Powers is that they are often very versatile. For example, even though Enhancers have incredible physical strength, there have been cases of Dark Cosmic Users fighting in hand to hand combat with them, and even winning.”

The foot approached roughly 2 centimeters away from Mary’s nose, and was moving so quickly that the air was being sliced. A piercing sound roared through the air. However, this wasn’t Mary’s skull being caved in, as she was expecting.

“Argh! How?! What even is this?!”

A figure with strange markings appeared behind Mary, his head looking at the Enhancer over Mary’s head. He had not even raised his hands, but three shadow piercings had frozen the Enhancer, holding him in place. The foot was tensing and flinching centimeters from Mary’s face. ‘I’m… saved? And by Jensen? What is this weird ability?’

The shadow, that was coming out of Jensen’s back, had pierced into the Enhancer’s calf and thigh, with the final shadow wrapped around his torso. Jensen began to speak.

“Come on out. You have no chance of surviving without your teammate, do you? I’ll give you a chance to survive until the end, along with your teammate. Come out and listen to what I’m proposing.”

Jensen, with his abundant and extravagant markings stirring over his body and his dark hair lightly blowing in the wind, gave off the feeling of a God of Death.

Planet 099

Unknown figures sat around a large quartz table. Their eyes were stuck on one of the screens following the favorite to win the game- Jensen Livelot. He was currently trying to probe out an enemy while holding an Enhancer. The image gave off the impression of a cat playing with mice.

“He’s not bad. Considering he only had a week to prepare, I think he has some potential. On top of that, he has the Dark Attribute.”

“It would appear his Cosmic Ability is Shadows, as well. His future potential is vast, but I’m not sure that a simple human can walk the Path of the Cosmo beyond the basics. After all, he still hasn’t comprehended the real purpose of the Galactic Survival Games.”

“You fool. There are hundreds of humans in the universe that have reached levels you’ll never even comprehend. I think that this could be who we are looking for. What will we do, Winter?”

A woman, dressed in silver armor, with a winged helmet that covered everything but her eyes, sat at the head of the table in an elevated seat. She began to speak.

“Perhaps… he can be of use. After all, those filthy Tribes of the South often recruit foreign life for the Tournament. If this human can prove himself and is deemed worthy, I will personally make sure that he joins us…. Before some other mongrels snatch him up.”