BXBX NOVEL Chapter 74: Tagging Along
His mana reserves must\'ve been low, yet he was fighting as if he had an endless well of power.
\'I see... He wants to go all out from the start,\' Kyle pondered. \'Well, it won\'t work against me.\'
Kyle activated a rune, boosting his movement speed. With the added speed, he started to maneuver through Roland\'s increasingly desperate attacks.
After a few more exchanges, it became clear—Roland had run out of mana.
His movements were sluggish, and his breathing was ragged. The match was practically over.
"You should resign," Kyle offered with a serious tone. Without mana, there as no how he could fight against him.
"No. I refuse to backdown!"
Roland said with determination etched on his face, shaking his head.
*Sigh*
"Suit yourself."
Kyle crossed his hands over his chest and waited for what Roland would attempt.
In a rush of anxious movements, Roland released some runes from his pouch, activating them almost simultaneously.
Kyle on seeing the incoming runes, recognized them already.
\'That one\'s a rune, modelled after [Quake], the other\'s a fire damage rune, while the last is for an earthquake,\' Kyle analyzed the runes.
\'It\'s great fighting a fellow rune maker... To avoid all these effects, I just need to leave the range of those runes and not returning to that spot.\'
Kyle proceeded to activate Lightning Dash, giving himself some distance from the spells.
He didn\'t just stop there, activating his own [Quake] rune and engulfing the area Roland stood.
He managed to react quickly, identifying the activated rune and giving some distance.
Kyle smiled, observing that Roland had acted according to his plan.
He just needed him to move away from his trap radius, and now he had done this... It was time to end it!
"Lightning Dash!"
Lightning particles oozed out of his body and he zipped towards Roland.
He could do nothing but watch as Kyle approached him and struck him with Lightning Bolt at point blank range.
The rest was history. The match was over. Kyle had won his last battle.
Kyle stood over his fallen opponent, breathing heavily. The urge to reach out and help him up crossed his mind for a split second, but his eyes darted to the attendants already making their way over.
He thought better of it, letting his hand fall back to his side. "It\'s not my job," he muttered to himself.
Turning away from the scene, he felt the weight of the competition closing in.
"We\'re down to eight already," Kyle murmured as he walked out of the arena. "Everything\'s moving too fast."
His gaze shifted towards the remaining fighters on the field. With the quarterfinals approaching, he couldn\'t help but wonder how his friends were holding up.
\'I wonder if they made the cut,\' he mused, moving toward the stands where the rest of the matches were taking place.
By the time Kyle reached the stands, most of the remaining matches had already concluded. To no one\'s surprise, every name he had expected showed up on the screen of qualifiers: Ann, Zack, Milo, Riya, Orion, and, to his astonishment, Lora.
His eyebrows furrowed as he considered Lora\'s presence. \'Lora? Really? I thought she was out by now…\' Kyle shook his head. \'Well, she must have gotten lucky. Good for her.\'
As the contestants gathered after all the fights reached its conclusion.
Instructor Dan made his way to the center of the coliseum, standing tall before the remaining eight fighters.
His booming voice echoed throughout the grounds, drawing the attention of everyone.
"Congratulations. You\'ve made it through some tough battles to get here, and now you\'re the final eight.
But the hardest part is still ahead. Tomorrow, you\'ll be facing your biggest challenge yet. The quarterfinals are where we separate the contenders from the champions."
Dan directed his gaze to the small group before him and he added:
"Your next matchups will be posted shortly, but keep in mind: You\'ve done well by coming this far already, so don\'t feel bad if you lose from this point—there\'s no shame losing if you gave it your all."
"Ha!" Kyle laughed lightly. "Those words are for losers... I\'m winning this."
"Rest up tonight, because tomorrow, the real test begins."
Dan gestured to the board where the matchups for the next round were being revealed and Kyle\'s eyes instinctively darted toward the list.
\'Let\'s see who I send home.\'
.Kyle vs Zack
.Orion vs Milo
.Riya vs Ann
.Lora vs Jacob
Kyle smiled when he saw his name paired with Zack.
\'So, I\'m up against Zack… That\'s gonna be interesting.\'
He couldn\'t help but feel sad when he thought:
\'I would have loved to face off Milo. He\'s been getting too corky as of late... Well, Orion should do the job.\'
Milo versus Orion was going to be an interesting match up. He was rooting for Orion to win though, but it won\'t be an easy match.
And Riya? Well, Kyle knew her well enough to understand that Ann stood no chance.
Riya was a force of nature, confident and determined. Ann might be strong, but Kyle could see Riya coming out on top of this duel.
Then there was Lora. He had no clue about who this Jacob guy was, so he couldn\'t say anything about it.
\'Enough analyzing... We\'ll see tomorrow.\'
Dan soon dismissed them but Kyle stayed for a moment, watching as the remaining spectators filed out of the coliseum.
Hee spotted the quarter finalists near the entrance. Riya, Zack, Milo, Orion, Lora, and Jacob—all of them buzzing with excitement from their victories.
Ann, ever the silent one, had already left without a word, much to no one\'s surprise.
"Well, look who we have here," Zack called out, waving Kyle over.
"The man who\'s about to be my punching bag tomorrow!"
Kyle laughed inwardly, shaking his head as he approached. "We\'ll see about that."
"You\'re all gonna need to be more than ready," Riya interjected, crossing her arms with a smirk.
"I\'m aiming for the top, and that means all of you are in my way. Especially you, Anne."
She paused, looking around. "Oh, wait… she\'s gone already."
"Left without a sound," Milo muttered, leaning casually against the wall.
"That girl\'s more mysterious than a forbidden spell scroll.
Kyle shrugged, not surprised of Anne leaving.
"Either way, Riya, don\'t get too cocky. Ann\'s no pushover."
Riya scoffed. "Please. By tomorrow, she\'ll be wishing she hadn\'t qualified."
"Speaking of qualifications," Orion came in, adjusting his glasses.
"If we statistically analyze the current matchups based on prior performance and projected outcomes, the probability of my victory against Milo exceeds 55%.
Of course, this doesn\'t factor in Milo\'s random outbursts of brute force."
Milo rolled his eyes. "You\'re gonna need more than numbers and fancy words to win, Orion."
"I\'d argue that numbers are the foundation of every victory," Orion shot back.
"After all, how do you think we measure skill? Data doesn\'t lie. But don\'t worry, I\'ll let you figure that out tomorrow—when I crush you."
Zack laughed, giving Milo a playful shove. "Better watch out, man. Orion\'s got the numbers on his side."
Kyle raised an eyebrow, enjoying the banter. "Let\'s not get ahead of ourselves. You\'ve still got to actually fight."
"Don\'t worry, Kyle," Lora said, she had been talking more often from hanging out with them but her voice was still softer than usual.
"I won\'t go easy on Jacob either. If I made it this far, I might as well win it."
Jacob laughed, giving her a nod of approval. "That\'s the spirit! But I\'m not going easy on you just because you\'re the underdog."
Kyle was about to respond when his stomach growled loudly, interrupting the conversation.
He suddenly remember he hadn\'t eaten much since the morning.
"Alright, I need to head to the cafeteria and grab something before I collapse from hunger."
Riya\'s ears perked up immediately. "You\'re heading to the cafeteria? Perfect! I\'m starving."
Zack\'s eyes lit up, and he grinned. "You know what? Me too! Guess we\'re all tagging along."
Kyle turned to face them, holding up his hands in protest.
"Wait, I didn\'t say I was paying for anyone!"
"Sure you did," Riya teased, hooking her arm around Kyle\'s shoulder.
"It\'s the least you can do after we\'ve all made it this far."
The rest of the group quickly joined in, laughing and throwing more playful threats Kyle\'s way.
"I mean, come on, Kyle," Zack said, crossing an arm over his other shoulder.
"We deserve a little reward for making it to the quarterfinals."
"You\'re all forcing me into this, aren\'t you?"
"You could always try running," Milo joked, though there was a mischievous shine on his eye that made it clear he\'d give chase if Kyle tried.
Kyle finally sighed in defeat, his voice filled with resignation. "Fine, fine. Let\'s go."