Leo was still deep in thought about the fight Hani had. How the hell did she beat that rat-like bastard? Last time I fought him, I even found it hard to beat him.
"Next up, A-rank Leo Randell VS B-rank John Varaluz." Leo was not even focused on the fight as the flags were waved.
John, a ranger, tried to take this as an opportunity and shot his arrow towards him. Leo grabbed it with his bare hands and let out a sigh. Putting on a smile, he looked at the crowds and waved as they cheered him on. He still had an act to keep up. He pointed his greatsword towards John and showed off his tremendous strength by lifting it in one hand. The blade, which had a height greater than Leo himself, weighed a ton. Stable and calm, a smile that did not reach his eyes. "You are too slow and weak." He said just loud enough for John to hear, but not the others, as the cheers drowned it out.
This infuriated John, and he summoned a rain of arrows at Leo. One great swing and Leo had flung all the arrows away, knocking each of them with just the sheer force of the sword as it was swung. What a weakling. I have played with him enough, this is boring.
John, watching Leo and his empowering aura, feared for his life.
Fuck, this is just a match, you are not gonna die. Just fucking do something, he's just a human! John thought to himself as he fumbled with his arrows, his hands trembling slightly as he tried to line up his shot. He saw Leo walk towards him, his greatsword dragging along the floor, screeching. One second he was in front of him, John blinked, and as if he had teleported, Leo was now an arm's length away from him. His blade fell down on him as it sliced through his mechanical bow like butter. The aftershock pushed on his body, internally crushing him as he was flung towards the barrier, and he made a loud thud against it. His injuries were worse than they looked. Falling to the floor, he was on his arms and knees, coughing up blood. He was flung out of the arena, instantly losing. There was a look of terror on John's face, making him unable to move.
Leo, who had won, was now facing the crowd as he waved towards them. The audience screamed and cheered for Leo. He was very efficient at keeping up his appearance. In an unobvious manner, he turned towards the direction Hani was sitting, and he waved towards her, smiling.
Hani, who noticed, got shivers down her spine. Is he looking at me? He is so creepy, I don't understand why everyone likes him so much.
"That kid is crazy. What is up with your school, Hani? It seems there are all types of monsters everywhere." Ivory sighed, being able to see past Leo's facade.
After a couple more battles, day one of the tournament was over. The group of people who lost had mostly miserably dragged themselves away when they lost, and the only ones remaining were the winners, who were impatiently waiting for the new matchups for tomorrow.
Everyone's eyes were locked onto the big screen, then finally, the matchup was revealed. Hani's next opponent was a C-rank engineer named Leslie Williams. Hani remembered her fight as it was pretty interesting. She had fought against an A-rank using machines she had made herself, and while it was not an instant victory, the battle was inspiring.
I wonder what that battle will be like. I have never seen someone battle like that before.
As Hani was deep in her thoughts, behind her, she felt someone wrap their arms around her. The familiar scent of lilies engulfed her as she went red, being able to feel every part of her body against hers.
"Hani! You were amazing! I can't believe you won against that guy." Stella exclaimed, "Ah, let me heal you first. I can't believe he actually harmed a girl, how rude." Holding Hani's hand, warm magic spread through her body as the little cuts and bruises from the fight all vanished.
"Thank you, Stella!" Hani closed her eyes, too embarrassed to look at Stella in the eyes as she healed her. She could still feel her warmth on her back.
While Emma did not like that Stella was touching Hani, she let it go, grumbling to herself, since Stella was healing Hani.
Ivory, who was standing at the back watching this scene unfold quickly, picked up on the drama that was unfolding in front of her. I guess I was not the only person this kid was attracted to because of her unique charm, but she seemed to have the skill to pick up strong people.
"Hello, you must be the infamous Stella Powell. Pleased to meet you, you came to my cafe before, but since we have not been acquainted properly, I am Ivory Silvervale. I am close with your father and brother, I hope you have heard of me." Irovy greeted Stella with this. Hani became shocked.
How the hell does Miss Ivory know everyone? What is going on? Hani stares at them with wide and confused eyes.
Stella, who seemed to have recognised this name, gasped as she covered her mouth in delight. "Of course, Miss Ivory, I am a big fan of your work! I did not realise that you were in the cafe! I was so sad to learn that you had retired, so I am a bit surprised that you are here. I thought you stopped teaching?"
Emma could see Hani's brain getting further and further from the present, wondering who Ivory was and sighed. "Hani, you did not use to focus on the world of heroes before, so you may not know, but Miss Ivory used to be the top Hero trainer in the Wang Co-operation."
Hani was shocked to learn this information. "Miss Ivory, you never told me this before? Were you not just a cafe owner?"
"Well, I am now." Ivory laughed out loud.
The conversation that was going on was being heard by the people around them, shocked to realise this was the infamous Ivory Silvervale. Everyone was shocked. They all looked like three amazing people. Stella, Emma, and Ivory stood there exuding an elusive aura. This begged everyone to wonder what the F-ranker was doing in the centre of them all. How was she able to gain a place with them when she was nothing but a useless F-ranker?
"Omg! Did she say Ivory? The Ivory Silverhale?"
"How is that F-ranker acquainted with them?"
"Is that the girl who beat Leo?"
"Isn't that girl always around Emma and Stella... now Miss Ivory too?"
"Did Miss Ivory come back from retirement? Is she taking in Stella? She's a healer, though... it can't be the F-ranker... right?"
Everyone started whispering and talking around them, trying to figure out what was happening.
Sensing this, Stella was quick to act. As the most level-headed person in the group after Miss Ivory, she faced the crowd, "Congratulations to everyone who passed this round, guys! I wish you luck tomorrow as well! Please make sure to also visit other classes' venues, as there are a lot of interesting things to see as well. We plan to explore some now, so see you tomorrow!" Stella wrapped her arms around Hani's with a smile and a wave. "Let's go to the cat cafe, Hani!" Knowing that Emma is allergic to cats, she suggested this.
Emma could see Stella sneaking glances at her and giggling, which made Emma grab Hani's other arm and pull her away from Stella, who did not let go. "No, Hani, we should go see the blacksmith workshop from the Engineer specialist class, maybe you can find something you like or upgrade your weapon." Emma attempted to tempt Hani with another option.
"Why do we have to look at weapons? We looked at them all day today at the tournament!" Stella pouted, still holding onto Hani. She looked into Hani's eyes with puppy dog gaze, not knowing the destructive damage she was doing to Hani's heart. While Hani had gotten used to Stella's usual antics, this was new.
Seeing this, Hani felt like her heart just erupted, and she was just about to give in when Emma covered Hani's eyes. "Don't get tricked, Hani! We've got to find ways for you to beat your opponent tomorrow! I'm sure she is an engineer, maybe we can ask around and, if lucky, find good items and advice."
"Ah! Emma, I can't see, you are pulling me down." Emma, who was shorter, was basically pulling her down as she stood on her tiptoes to cover Hani's eyes from the seductive beast she thought Stella was.
Hmm... but going to the engineer's venue does make more sense. Maybe we should just go there.
Seeing this, Ivory decided to de-escalate the slowly increasing battle of jealousy. Ivory wrapped her hands around the three girls. "Let's get something to celebrate Hani's first win instead, kids. I treat you guys alright?" The three girls eventually got dragged along by Ivory as she pushed them along to enjoy the last few hours of the remaining festival.