Chapter 108:

Chapter 108:

I walked back into the 'locker room', the waiting room that the contestants were staying. Was it a smart idea to have all of them staying so close together? I couldn't say, but the security only had to watch a single area, so there's that I suppose.

"Oh man, what a difficult fight, I'm exhausted." I loudly declared as all eyes were immediately on me as I walked in.

"Do you have any idea what you did?" The organizer from before looked at me with thinly veiled fury in his eyes.

"Won the match." I grinned.

"Not that, you moron." He growled, rubbing his temples. "But that was also infuriating to watch." He calmed himself down. "Do you have any idea who 'Lil'Miss Malachite' is?"

"Yup."

He paused, looking at me in surprise. "And you still went through with that little stunt? You won't make it past today. The only reason her people haven't gotten you yet is because the tournament."

"I'm quaking in my boots." I rolled my eyes.

There were some murmurs around me, some agreeing with the guy, others looking confused at what he was saying.

Yeah, some really sheltered kids here just looked utterly confused.

He just snorted. "Guess we know who got you through the preliminaries now." Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

Ah, he was referring to me dropping Roman's name.

"Your ass." The guy mumbled, turning to the scroll in his hands. "Alright, we go the next match set up." All eyes turned back to the organizer; people eager to get started. "Second match of the finals will be – Rufus Hedge vs Rajah Sun."

Gods, the names here are just odd.....I know why they did it, just doesn't really make it any less strange in my mind.

Something about a dictator in a previous era that sought to eliminate any kind of expression or individuality, so parents started to name their kids after colors in protest. After the regime faded the naming convention had stuck, practically as a reminder.

Don't remember if that was the exact reason, but I think that's about the gist of it.

I watched the two of them exist through the doors I just came in from. I was a bit excited to see this, but I realized something. "Is there a way to watch in person?" I turned towards the organizer.

He didn't deem it necessary to speak to me, merely pointing towards another door in the corner.

I just shrugged walking through. I saw a little encove under the stadium where the fighters could peek out to watch those on the stage. It was empty, except for one person at the far end, watching the match with no small amount of interest.

That was some red Hair, could match mine in intensity

She turned to me as I walked into this area. "Hey there, red." I greeted the so-called invincible girl.

She looked at me in surprise, registering my nickname for her. "Oh, hello." She immediately replied. "You're...um..."

"Wilhelm." I finished for her.

"Right, Wilhelm." She smiled forcibly, seemingly unsure of how to proceed.

I just shook my head with an amused smile, taking a notebook and pen out of my pocket as I looked towards the arena.

The announcer was doing his antics again, the fighters giving a few words. Much more tame than what me and my opponent did, and I could see the hesitance when he put his mic infront of their mouths.

Looking up at the big monitors, I couldn't help but notice something I didn't before. There were 'Aura Gauges' marked for each fighter. I suppose it slipped my mind regarding the 'rules' since I wasn't really paying attention.

Once someone's Aura hits a critical state, the match is over, not too surprising in of itself, it was a good way to gauge fights without resulting to possible injury or death.

No. What caught my attention was that they had machines able to measure someone's Aura.

The light of the soul, it was quantified up there for everyone to see, and this was apparently the norm.

Really....Remnant's technology just continues to impress.

I focused on the fight as both Rufus and Rajah took their stances, they were of similar builds and similar styles Rufus of course using his spear, and this Rajah was using a glaive with a design that reminded me of China.

"What do you mean?" She asked, seemingly surprised by my question, like she had never put thought in it before.

"Why fight? Do you think its fun, or maybe you want the prize money?"

She paused, looking rather hesitant. "I want to be a huntress." She said after a moment.

"So? Plenty of people do but they don't fight here." I shrugged. "You're famous enough to get into any school on remnant, why keep going?"

"Well, I'm only one win away from breaking the record."

"Glory is it then? Want your name up in spotlights?"

"I....don't care for the publicity, admittedly." She said quietly.

"Ah, that can be a bummer sometimes. It makes forming relationships difficult. Are people after you for your fame or fortune, or do they genuinely like you? Makes finding friends really hard." I said idily, but the look on her face says that I hit a very sore spot for her. One which I could barely hold back on wincing from. "Sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"N-no...." She kept her expression neutral, but I could tell she was a little depressed by my statement hitting a bit too close to home for her. "It's fine."

I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest. Perhaps even a bit of sympathy as I remembered where I was a few years ago.

"Alright, red." I turned towards her. "You got a scroll?"

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion. "Y-yes, I have one?" She took it out confused by my request.

I plucked it out of her hands, fiddling with it for a moment, much to her confusion, tossing it back to her which she almost fumbled. "There you go."

"What did you do?"

"Added my number." I replied. "Call me, send my messages if you're bored. I got a lot of free time usually."

"You mean like –"

"Yes, like a friend." I chuckled, heading for the exits. I didn't look at her gob smacked expression, but as soon as I walked back, I felt my scroll buzz with a message, a small smile rising on my face.

'Hello.'

Then it buzzed again.

'This is Pyrrha, but I guess you know that.'

And again.

'I wanted to make sure you had my number as well.'

And again.

'If you ever wanted to contact me, that is.'

And again.

'Not that you have to or anything.'

It continued buzzing several more times.

And suddenly, I questioned my choice.

***

Pyrrha makes an appearance, and she is a cinnamon roll.

Anyways, just a reminder, i won't be posting tomorrow, taking wednesdays off. But, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

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