Chapter 61: Smell the Roses

  Trevor rocketed backwards, crashing into the wall with a resounding thud.

  I noted a brief moment of resistance as he was soaring through the air. Had he been trying to use his telekinesis on himself to soften the impact?

  Before I could dwell on it, Trevor groaned and rolled over, attempting to get to his feet.

  “I think my previous match ended right about now. Would you like to concede?” I offered.

  Trevor replied by casting another wave of telekinetic energy in my direction. I paralysed him for his efforts.

  “How about now?”

  Trevor cursed, but he knew he was helpless.

  “Fine, I concede.”

  “The match in Arena 4 has concluded. Winner: Cadel Ren.” The crowd broke into cheers.

  I offered him up, offering a handshake. “Good match,” I said. Trevor too had undeniable power and potential. I respected the effort.

  Trevor took my hand and shook it. “I guess you aren’t as good as they say. You’re even better.”

  I acknowledged the compliment and turned my attention over to the arena on my left. Through the transparent walls of the chambers was the spectacular display of a fierce battle.

  But I quickly made out that it wasn’t as close as it looked. Scarlette was absolutely laying the hammer down on Jessica. It was all the latter could do to evade and defend herself from the onslaught of attacks. And unlike her battle against the weapon esper, there wasn’t any hope for a counter plan.

  Trevor stood watching beside me, his mouth agape. “You guys have some crazy people on your side.”

  It came to my attention that no one was exactly rushing us out of our chamber, even though our battle was already over. Well, it wasn’t like we were interfering with any of the remaining matches. The view here was first-class.

  So it was with great detail that we observed Scarlette’s latest attack hit Jessica smack in the chest. I’d seen her pull that move before back at the gym, where she wrecked one of those Boobots the same way. Jessica was sent flying. She tried to recover, but the momentum was already against her. With a final flash, Scarlette struck Jessica again, and it was all but over. A scorched Jessica dropped to her knees.

  “The match in Arena 3 has concluded. Winner: Scarlette Falcon.”

  Scarlett turned towards me with a playful salute. I responded with a small round of applause. We had made it to the final 32.

  Day 5 was a day for us to rest, as designated by the schedule. With all 16 matches of the round of 32 happening tomorrow, the organisers clearly wanted to give the participants a fair chance to recover. It was a smart move, considering the intensity of the battles so far.

  But staying cooped up in my room didn’t sit right with me. A free day was the perfect excuse to stretch my legs and explore the compound.

  I pulled out my phone and opened my chat with Scarlette. “Gonna take a walk around the place. Wanna come?”

  Her reply came almost immediately: “Sure, why not?” It looked like she didn’t have plans for the day either.

  The complex was relatively empty today. With no matches scheduled, the only people around were other participants and the faculty staff. Most of the eliminated contestants were still lingering as part of their privileges.

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  “So,” Scarlette said as we met up near the main courtyard “Where to first? Got a master plan, or are we just winging it?”

  I glanced at the Garden’s iconic layered structure up ahead, considering my options. “Let’s head to the highest accessible point,” I said. “Might be a good view up there.”

  The soothing sound of trickling water accompanied us as we ascended. The scenery was a mix of dense forests and scattered buildings of various shapes and sizes, likely used by the staff who maintained the District.

  Before long, we reached the top, where a spacious rooftop garden spread out before us. Bright, colourful flowers bordered the pathways, and the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze added to the tranquil atmosphere. The serene mood offered a peaceful respite from the intensity of the past few days.

  Fortunately, it looked like we were the only ones in this place at the moment. Since we weren’t in any rush, I decided to lounge on one of the benches placed near the edges of the rooftop.

  Scarlette took her spot beside me. “Not a bad view at all,” she remarked.

  “The scenery, or the company?” I asked nonchalantly.

  She blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “Huh? The scenery, obviously,” she replied, her words tumbling out a little too quickly.

  “Sorry, couldn’t resist,” I replied.

  “You know, I wish you’d make more jokes, Cadel,” she said. “I think you have a pretty good sense of humour.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  After sitting in silence for a while, Scarlette cleared her throat. “Actually, I’ve been wondering, Have you ever had a—”

  “Good place for a date,” a voice suddenly spoke from behind us.

  “GAH!” Scarlette jumped, whipping around.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Asher said, raising his hands in apology. “So, what are you two doing up here?”

  “Just… relaxing,” Scarlette blabbered. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

  I took over. “Felt this was a great place to unwind from the heat of the tournament. Are you here for the same reason?”

  “I see. Yeah, this is a pretty cool spot. There’s only so much you can do in this place,” Asher replied.

  “Is Bob not with you?”

  “He’s still sleeping in. Didn’t feel like wasting my whole morning waiting for him, so I thought I’d head out on my own,” Asher explained casually.

  “Oh yeah, I hate to bring it up, but we saw you arguing with Ignar in the cafeteria the other day. What happened?” Scarlette asked.

  “Ah, so that was Ignar, the guy that fought a couple of students from our school a few weeks back…” he murmured.

  Scarlette and I exchanged a glance.

  “Should we tell him?” she mouthed.

  The school hadn’t publicly announced the names of the students who were involved in that incident, so it made sense that Asher lacked the information. But the way he said that, I wonder...

  “Actually, the students he fought—” I began.

  “—were you guys, right?”

  Scarlette looked flabbergasted. “Wait, how did you—”

  “I said that line intentionally and simply observed your reactions. They were very telling, if I might add.”

  It was an obvious bait. I had only taken it because I was curious about his thoughts on the matter and figured there was no harm in divulging such information to him.

  On the other hand, Scarlette was at a loss for words. “You...,” she began before sighing. “Yeah, you’re right. He was threatening us, so Cadel beat his ass. And stop cutting our sentences off!”

  “Sorry, bad habit. Anyway, why did he attack you guys in the first place?”

  It was a long story. Ignar and his group had appeared in our shopping mall one day and started an altercation with Spencer, one of our classmates. Sometime later, Kaede and I caught Ignar pestering him again, so we stepped in. While he had fallen back then, he had threatened to go after Kaede, which was why my friends and I had decided to put a stop to his antics by facing off against him in Eastpine Woods, the forest directly beside our school.

  “I mean, I’m not surprised y’all overpowered him. I’d imagine lava would be rather useless against Cadel.”

  “You know his Ability?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been watching his matches. And yours too, for that matter.”

  Before I could respond, my phone vibrated. At the same time, Scarlette and Asher checked their phones too. Our next matchups had just been announced.

  I took a look at the screen:

  --

  Welcome to the Round of 32

  Your opponent is: Cassa White

  School: Waning Crescent Institute

  Venue: Block B, P213, Arena 2

  Time: 1.30 PM

  --

  This time, I did recognise my opponent. Her Ability had stood out, so I had taken her name down in my head.

  Cassa White—her Ability was intriguing, to say the least. Unfortunately, she was also from my school. By this stage of the tournament, facing off against someone from your own school wasn’t surprising. While victories against rival schools were the only ones that counted for overall scoring, it wasn’t a great feeling to go up against an ally.

  “I got some rando,” Asher informed us. “Who did you guys get?”

  “Someone named Cassa White, from our school,” I answered.

  “Ah, the mist user.”

  “So you’ve been watching her too,” I observed.

  “Admittedly, I am curious about how her Ability works. It’s hard to get a good look during her fights, though. The whole chamber gets filled with some sort of gas, so you can’t see much.”

  At that moment, I realised Scarlette was being oddly quiet.

  “Who did you get, Scarlette?” I asked.

  “Uh, this is a little awkward…” she muttered. “Here, look.” She said, thrusting her phone into our faces.

  “Ah. Well, I guess Bob had a good run while it lasted,” Asher sighed.