Chapter 400 - Duel Begins In a few minutes, they arrived at a massive circular structure that was over one thousand five hundred feet in height. It looked similar to the design of a stadium, but it was at least two times larger. It had diamond-shaped outer coverings and a massive black orb was floating in the middle covering the top area of the arena and causing the middle of the grounds to covered by it’s immense shadow.. This was battle arena #7, and cadets could be seen streaming into the place one after the other. Everyone was interested in seeing how today was gonna unfold for several reasons. Mostly they were interested in seeing the capabilities of the special class cadets because they didn’t partake in any of the test phases, except Gustav, of course. There was no doubt that it’d be an interesting day. The spectators’ seats surrounded the main grounds in the middle. It was capable of containing more than ten times the amount of cadets currently present. Ring-like stages could be seen placed on the ground in front. These ring-like stages covered a radius of three thousand feet each, leaving enough space for opponents that were going to battle within it. These stages were about five in number. At the time Gustav and the rest arrived there, almost all the cadets from first years had gathered. Senior cadets that were currently around also showed up as well as cadets who were being trained in other aspects like the scientific and technology field. There was a part of the spectators’ corner on the northwest side of the battle arena that was barricaded. It looked more luxurious and well designed compared to other areas. There were about ten seats away from there. Five on the first row and the other five on the second row. Seven officers could already be seen seated in that area, and one could tell that they would be in charge of today’s events. The instant it clocked ten am, an officer stood up from that area and walked towards a part of the grounds. He had a dark bear face with blue scales on his left cheek and a massive human-shaped body that was at least eight feet tall. The cadets recognized him to be officer Cole, their Instructor who trained them on maximizing the damage of bloodline attacks. "Everyone should know why we’re here so I’ll just go straight to the point," He voiced out bluntly. Surprisingly without using any electronic voice output, his voice was loud enough to travel to every corner of the vicinity. Troooiinnn! The massive black orb floating hundreds of feet above the stage area suddenly lit up. "The special class cadets have each accepted three challengers," Officer Cole voiced out next while gesturing for the cadets to fix their eyes on the massive orb. The orbs displayed the images and names of fifty-seven special class cadets one after the other, as well as the three challengers that they would each be battling. -"Yes, Falco chose to face me. I will become a special class cadet today," -"Who the hell is Calbur Manoa and these other two? Why did Sanders not choose to face me instead tch!" -"Oh look it’s that Tsubomi guy said to be the best in defense, looks like Chad agreed to his challenge," -"Out of all the special class cadets to challenge, he decided to go against one of the top three..?" As the images changed to different cadets after a few seconds of display with their opponents, the spectators voiced their opinions. As it got to Gustav’s part, a particular green-haired kid seated on the opposite side of Gustav’s position smirked. -"That Deitrick... I remember that he’s very strong... He even outlasted a lot of special class cadets during this morning exercise," -"Yeah but I don’t think he can defeat Gustav even though he’s strong..." -"He’s among the rich kids that can afford practically any type of tech available in the weapons vault... Gustav might fall here today," -"This girl, Angy, they say she’s the softest... I bet she’ll be defeated today," The cadets were still voicing out different and similar opinions. In a few more seconds, the orb finished displaying every single one of the special cadets, but Elevora’s case was different from the others. She was challenged by only a single person. Her fight was the only one the cadets weren’t looking forward to because they could already tell how it would end. "The system will generate the turns randomly. Only five battle rings are available so ten images will be generated first. The instant your image appears among the ten, move over to the battle ring in ten seconds or you automatically forfeit your match," Officer Cole stated. "Fight to your heart’s content... We have a healing team on standby. However, once your opponent is knocked out or voices out their wish to forfeit the match, you are to stop attacking instantly. Attacking an opponent after they have surrendered will attract penalties," He explained with a strict look before walking away from the stage area. In the next instant, the giant orb above suddenly started displaying pictures very quickly. Zhhimm! Zhiimm! Zhiimm! It changed pictures repeatedly in a very quick manner, and in a few seconds, it stopped. Ten pictures were displayed. ---------------- «Mitzurui Vs Gaban» «Vulcan Vs Tiana» «Rina Vs Falco» ... ----------------- Falco happened to be among the first special class cadets picked by the system for battle. From their sitting position, E.E smiled as he turned to face Falco. "Go get em," He slapped Falco at the back of his head lightly with an encouraging look. Aildris also smiled and tapped his shoulders as Falco stood to his feet and started walking forward. As he climbed down the elevated spectator’s area, he turned around for a brief moment. Gustav’s thumb was raised slightly and pointing at him. He smiled and nodded as he looked forward and kept walking. The other cadets who saw their images displayed on the screens also began to move towards the platforms in front. Each battle ring was thousands of feet away from the next, and they all entered different ones. As Falco picked the third one on the left, which was the closest to his position to the spectators’ area, a five and a half feet tall busty girl with glasses walked into the battle ring. She had her yellow hair tied up in a bun. She was holding onto a cylindrical-shaped gadget. In the battle rings within the vicinity, the other cadets had also moved in and stood in front of their opponents, ready to throw down. All the special class cadets had not a single shred of nervousness displayed on their faces. Their opponents, on the other hand, became wary from the moment they stood in front of them except for Falco’s opponent. In this situation, Falco was the one who was actually looking a bit nervous. "Go easy on her okay?" Falco muttered. "You don’t have to go easy on me because I’m a girl... You’ll be losing your title as a special class today Falco," She said while tightening her hand around the cylindrical-shaped gadget. Zzhhiiiinnn! The gadget opened up and started expanding, merging with her skin. In a few seconds, half of her body was covered in purplish-looking armor. "I wasn’t saying that because you’re a girl, I was saying that because of hi..." Before Falco could explain himself completely... "Begin!" Officer Cole voiced out from the spectators’ area. Trrroooiinn! Bang! Boom! The instant the go-ahead was given, the cadets started attacking instantly. The normal cadets didn’t wait for a second more; they had already sent out one of their mightiest attacks because they understood that holding back might cost them since they were going against a special class cadet today. Gbbbiii! Gbbbii! The girl in front of Falco had already dashed forward as her elbows transformed into rocket ignition, pushing her arms forward with intensity. Her palms carried a whirling mass of red energy as it travelled towards Falco’s chest and face with speed. "Don’t har..." "Shut up dweeb, I’m taking over!" Before Falco could speak, his body started turning dark as tattoos appeared on visible parts of his skin. Half of his face instantly turned dark, along with his eyeballs. Swwhhhiii! Falco’s alter ego moved to the left in the blink of an eye, causing the first strike to miss him, and he grabbed onto the girl’s left arm before pulling her forward. "Fuck off bitch," His knee slammed into her stomach, causing the cracks to appear in that spot as she got sent flying several feet backwards. Swwoooooosshh! He dashed forward with speed and threw his left palm forward. Before the girl could realize what was happening... Pah! Her entire sight got covered by Falco’s left palm as he grabbed onto her head and slammed her forcefully into the ground. Bang! Krrhhykkk! Cracks spread across a radius of five hundred feet as dust and debris got sent flying into every direction. -"Did he just end the fight in less than ten seconds?"