"Man, I really didn't expect this to cause such a buzz," I remarked as I stared at my I-Watch display in bemusement.
"Yes, me too, I was surprised by how much attention and controversy it stirred up," Charlotte nodded in agreement.
"It's like when I met Elicia all over again, only this time, it's thousands upon thousands of people," I replied with a sigh.
Today's the day, the 25th of May, 2169, the day of the tournament. The competition was set to begin at 10 AM, and it was currently 9:30 AM, I'd arrived a little over half an hour ago.
All participants are supposed to be at the arena by 9 AM at the latest, I got here with about five minutes to spare, and was escorted to a small waiting room.
Every participant was given their own private waiting room, and were required to stay inside the whole time, except for during their fights.
The rooms came with attached bathrooms, and also had plenty of water and some snacks, along with an intercom to contact the event staff.
The rooms also had large, wide windows that had a clear view of the arena, so that we could view the other fights while we wait. The windows were tinted so that no one outside could see into the rooms.
It'll probably be easier to just watch the live stream of the tournament online though, I'll be able to see the fights from different angles and more clearly than if I watched through the window.
On another note, after the participants for the tournament were announced, my inclusion went viral and has dominated the conversations around the competition.
A lot of hardcore fans of the tournament were especially incensed, they'd evidently come to the same conclusion that Elicia did when I first met her, and weren't taking particularly kindly to it.
Which is, well...yeah, fair enough.
Thanks to this era's strict privacy laws, they couldn't find anything about me, which naturally led them to draw their own conclusions.
It was causing quite a stir online, Ariella called me a couple of days ago to talk about it, she was concerned that some people might try to attack me or something.
I didn't think that was too likely, but when it comes to die-hard fans, you never know, especially sports fans. I mean, this is kinda like a sports competition, sort of like the UFC, but with Magical superpowers in play.
Well, once I fight, the narrative is bound to shift, though it certainly won't die down. If anything, it'll stir things up even further.
Anyway, Charlotte had just come to my waiting room to greet and check in on me, I was in the process of gearing up for my first match.
Oh, yeah, I'll be fighting in the very first match of the tournament, and my first opponent...is an Ace.
A member of the Diva Guild, same as Ariella.
Speaking of whom, I'll have to make it all the way to the semi-final round if I am to face her, and she'll need to get that far too, of course.
I don't know how much stronger she's gotten lately, and I won't use Appraisal on her unless and until I face off against her in this tournament.
"You seem pretty relaxed, I thought you'd be at least a little bit nervous, what with the controversy surrounding you," Remarked Charlotte, as I strapped Desecrator's sheath across the back of my belt.
"Heh, if anything, the controversy has gotten me all pumped up. I wouldn't say I'm not nervous at all, but I'm mostly just excited. What about you though, has this whole mess gotten you into any trouble?"
"Well, the other members of the HUC have contacted me about it, but I simply assured them that there was more to this situation than meets the eye, and that they'd see what I mean soon enough," She explained with a wry smile.
"And they accepted that?"
"Oh, they've all known me for a long time, and they're well-aware of what I'm like at this point. So, while they were exasperated, they accepted my response. That's also why I'm not all that worried about losing my job or anything," She admitted sheepishly.
"Huh. Not gonna lie, I kinda feel bad for them. On another note, I was surprised to see that my first opponent is going to be an Ace. Was that your doing?" I asked her curiously.
"Yes, it was. The moment you step out onto the arena, almost every Ace in the competition will realize that you're much, much stronger than your rank suggests, once they see your Aura.
But your first opponent is a fairly rare Combatant Ace who can't perceive Auras, so I thought she'd be the perfect first opponent for you to showcase your true abilities against."
In other words, my first opponent's Perception is low, or at least too low to perceive Auras. I gained that ability after my Perception crossed 500, so my opponent's must be below that mark.
That is pretty unusual for a Combatant, especially since Perception is one of the easiest areas to improve in, it's supposed to naturally improve the more experienced you get.
Well, not that I would know, since I improve a lot differently to other Hunters.
If her Perception is low, her other physical stats must be pretty high, otherwise her Power Level wouldn't register at Ace Level.
"Not gonna lie, I feel bad...since she can't perceive Auras, she's going into this fight completely blind. Which definitely gives me an unfair advantage," I mused with a sheepish smile.
"Well, Hunters need to be prepared to adapt to unexpected situations at a moment's notice, so I don't see a problem with it.
And besides, she's still an Ace, so she's no pushover. Don't underestimate her just because you've got an advantage," She advised me with a smile, before adding as she glanced at the time and stood up, "Alright, looks like it's almost time for the tournament to begin.
Good luck, Kai, I'm counting on you to put on a hell of a show out there."
"Sure, I can do that," I replied with a grin, as she headed out of the room with a wave, shutting the door behind her.
Alright, I'm all geared up and ready to go, just gotta wait for the signal. There was a green lightbulb at the back wall of the room, and the moment it lights up, I'm supposed to head down to the arena.
Oh, right on cue.
As the bulb lit up, I made my way out of the room, shutting the door before heading through the corridor and down a flight of stairs, leading to the arena.
"Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, we're minutes away from kicking off the twenty-seventh edition of the HCC! Are you ready?!" A voice boomed through the stadium, loud cheers ringing out in response to it.
They sure sound amped up, huh?
"For our first match, we've got an Ace Hunter from the Diva Guild, KELLEN JAISE!!!" Exclaimed the announcer, raucous cheers erupting out, before he continued, "And she'll be facing off against a J-Ranked Freelance Hunter, Kaivel Intrix!"
A symphony of boos rang out in response to that, and the announcer himself said my name a hell of a lot less enthusiastically than he did my opponent's, though he didn't make it too obvious, at least.
Well, it's fine...if anything, it's more fun this way.