"Rather unsporting, that."

"It's a Combat Trial. No such thing as a low blow when the point is to win."

"Dishonorable and reckless, not a favorable outcome for the Redtree boy."

"His family has enough influence that it won't matter in the long run, he'll still get scouted by people looking to curry favor with his mom."

"Brigit gave a damn good showing," Chen said slowly, interrupting the discussion between the other classmates. "That was impressive, angering the Armour to try and get an opening. A shame she was too injured to take full advantage of it."

"She should have known better," Dani sighed. "Those rich kids barely view us as people, much less honorable opponents."

Kira clenched her hands into fists, staring at the ground near her bare feet.

She was angry.

Of course she knew her friends might lose - there was no telling how strong the other side really was, after all. But seeing Brigit lose like that, to someone being underhanded on a stage in front of so many people, like such an action didn't even matter to him...

It was infuriating.

She stomped toward the stage, eager to face her opponent and show them what for, when the announcer started speaking.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special match-up! Introducing Hunter Goodvane of Elite Class 1-9F, versus Kira Hawthorne, a Human Geomancer from General Class 1-9F! They'll be fighting a Greater Hobgoblin Lord, the boss of Floor 2 here in the Academia's own personal Dungeon! Kira, why don't you take the stage for a little bow?"

Kira froze, her foot on the bottom step leading up to the arena stage.

He said she was human.

How did he know?

Her breath caught in her throat, and her anger faded in an instant. Instead, she suddenly felt the pressure of thousands of eyes trained immediately upon her back. 〖 Trifling Presence 〗couldn't protect her from notice when the announcer painted an enormous target on her. A few incredibly rude people ignored the social custom of not Scanning people in town-like settings, but it wouldn't have given them the information they were looking for - her ear cuff still helped disguise her race to casual scans. Yet somehow, the announcer knew anyway.

How did he know?!

And now her classmates knew.

They knew she'd been lying to them.

Even after they had that nice get-together and all chatted about their pasts and their hardships, she still kept something from them, and now they knew.

What kind of faces were they making behind her?

Kira was too afraid to turn around and see.

And all the while, the entire audience was watching her sweat.

"Kira Hawthorne, step into the arena sweetheart. Everyone wants to see you!"

She rankled at being called 'sweetheart' in such a condescending tone of voice, but could only spare a bit of outrage for the slight. Mostly she felt oddly numb, her scalp and fingers tingling while the edges of her vision went a little gray. It hurt to breathe, but she dragged breath after breath into her aching lungs anyway.

She slowly climbed the stairs, a slight ringing in her ears growing louder with every step. When she arrived on the stage the announcer said something, but she couldn't parse the words. Her opponent who looked oddly familiar also tried saying something, with about as much success reaching her as the announcer had.

Kira knew she was panicking but she couldn't calm herself down. Darkness closed in, an odd sort of claustrophobia despite the open arena stage. Cold sweat dripped down her neck, her hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles were stark white, and her shoulders trembled.

She wanted to run, to cry, to hide and hug her slime plush. But if she were to forfeit, her team would lose. She already got caught lying to them, if she were to lose as well...

Kira gripped her chest, where her heart started hammering away a solid beat that pumped in her ears. She couldn't lose. Maybe they'd forgive her if she won for them, but not if she lost. She couldn't lose. She couldn't lose!

The illusory monster roared. A giant hobgoblin wielding a mace as big as its own body appeared in the arena and, without much fanfare, it began to charge right toward Kira.

She couldn't lose.

Kira knelt, ripping out a chunk of the arena floor with a combination of raw strength and 【 Earthshape 】. Then she stood, leaned back, and chucked the chunk of stone as hard as she could while shouting: "【 Throw Rock 】!"

Her MP drained by more than half.

SPLAT!

The chunk of rock crashed against the barrier, scattering into dust from the force of impact.

The hobgoblin tumbled head over heels - or rather, shoulder over heels, since its head was completely annihilated by the force of her rock throw. The illusory enemy was mercifully not very gory, though the way it rolled and slammed into the barrier behind Kira would have been comical in any other situation.

That easy?

Kira hesitated, then looked at her other opponent. Her mind was vaguely starting to clear, mostly from the shock of having one-shot a boss monster... Again.

Right, Hunter. His name was Hunter.

Ah, the guy whose hand she broke on accident. That's why he looked familiar.

Would he be as easy to beat as the big hobgoblin?

The way its head had exploded... She felt herself turn green imagining that happening to Hunter, and suddenly Kira really didn't want to fight anymore. Maybe her classmates would accept a draw...

Hunter raised his hands in the air, shaking his head vigorously as he backed away toward the edge of the stage and its barrier. His face was pale, and he was saying something that Kira couldn't hear through the ringing still in her ears.

And then the stage floor exploded.