1.53 – Tournament

Nathan watched the outside arena surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of students. There weren’t even that many superheroes, but almost everyone that had spare time to do so came to visit. Nathan scanned the crowd, praying to see Aoi’s face somewhere in between the faces, but, as expected, he couldn’t see her there. Maybe he just missed her somewhere, but that was unlikely. He needed to thank her for the money she was bringing in.

The tests were over, and Nathan had enough points to pass, thank god. Unlike the other tests, this one was quite simple: you either passed if you got more than 70% or you failed if you didn’t. The subject was easy enough to remember, and honestly, what Nathan had to study here was nothing compared to what he’d been studying during his New York life.

After that, they’ve been measured physically and by strength of abilities. Because Nathan’s abilities were hard to quantify, he automatically passed that part, but as to his physical attributes, he was the second strongest of all in 1-F, which wasn’t that large of a feat, all things considered. Still, it made him feel good.

The only one who was stronger was Aiko, who somehow managed to outdo him by a sizable margin. Nathan knew the truth. He would catch up eventually. Dollar by dollar, he would build his body into something that nobody would be able to catch up to. Already it was enhanced by what, 70, 80 thousand dollars? Closer to 80, and he felt like a man reborn.

And now it was time for the practical exam.

He looked at the giant tournament bracket in front of him. It was already closing in on noon, and judging by the pure size of that thing, they would be here at least until evening, unless they all somehow managed to fall out of the tournament on the very first round. Hopefully that wouldn’t be the case.

Nathan wanted to progress, and something told him that the Ako Academy wouldn’t keep complete weaklings this time around.

“You feel ready?” Alicia asked him as came from behind.

“As ready as I can be.”

“You got this boss. Don’t worry, just pray you don’t meet me in later rounds. I’m not holding back this time around.” Minato appeared from the other side, holding Aiko’s hand. The shorter man and taller woman were far cuter together than Nathan would have thought. They seemed to fit each other, and were smiling.

“I’m beating anyone’s ass that gets in front of me! You’ve seen my physical power. I’m the best.”

“You’re the best of the worst class, Aiko, but sure, pop off!” Alicia grinned.

“Ugh, shut up! Well, are we actually gonna meet in the earlier rounds?” Aiko flipped Alicia off and looked at the giant chart in front of her as well. “Uhhhh, oh lord, this is long… Yeah, we are all basically on the opposite sides.”

“Yep, and there’s at least a few D-class heroes in each of our groups, so be ready.” Nathan looked at the names of the heroes in his own group, but he didn’t recognize anyone. No, wait, he did. The E-class twins. He fought them once in a spar. What was their power again?

“Oh shit! I’m up next!” Alicia suddenly yelped and began running towards the center of the giant arena in the middle of the tribunes. Her opponent was already there. It was a girl as well. The chart said she was from the E class, but Nathan didn’t remember fighting her in any of his spars.

“You know, sometimes I wonder whether this isn’t just kind of unfair.” Minato said as he sat down on a wooden bench, watching the end of the current match intently. It was a duel of a student from 1E and 1F. Despite the fact that they sparred together in most classes with Deadlock, the difference between their abilities was huge. Nathan didn’t recognize either of them.

“What’s unfair?”

“Us being put against 1-D. Those guys spar with 1-C class, don’t they? They are on a whole different level!”

“Oh, are you complaining before you even fight?” Aiko laughed before wrapping her arm around her new boyfriend. “Just don’t worry, Minato. We’ll both win, I’m sure.”

Nathan pointedly looked away. “If we want to progress into higher classes, then we can’t back away from a fight. I don’t think they expect us to win against 1-D, at least not most of us.”

Aiko nodded. “Isn’t that the reason why there’s a losers bracket as well?”

“Yeah, yeah, you both are right. I’m just… I don’t know. I feel like I might fall behind.”

“We’ll all make it. Just trust in us, and trust in yourself.” Nathan squeezed his other shoulder.

“Alright bro. Though… Just look at Alicia and that 1-E hero. That’s Yuki, one of the strongest in 1-E. Bad luck for Alicia. I heard Yuki lost only a single duel in the whole semester.”

They probably haven’t seen the full extent of what Alicia could do. Nathan smirked, but he remained quiet. He knew exactly how powerful she was, and they didn’t know how far she could go. Most abilities seemed to be somewhat predetermined in power. The rankings of the strongest supers in Japan or in the whole world would shift more often, after all, but Alicia would go far.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

She stepped into the ring. There were lines on the floor, separating her from the outside. Her white and pink suit glistened in the sun, and she had a determined look on her face. Her wolf cut hairstyle was tied in a short ponytail.

Damn, I should make her put her hair up like that more often, Nathan thought, despite himself.

The opponent had a different suit. It was something similar to what Vermillion Strike was usually wearing, although the leotard was accompanied by a long skirt that hid her more revealing areas. Hopefully she wouldn’t be forced to change it after completing the Academy as well. She seemed to be fairly built and had a scar on her face, signaling she wasn’t an inexperienced fighter.

A starting pistol sounded, signaling the start of the duel.

Both women moved into action. Alicia started off with a teddy the size of her forearm. She threw it forward, and the teddy landed with a plop, and began running towards Yuki, who was already throwing two vials of something on the floor. Vials might have been stretching the term, though, because they were quite a bit larger. The glass shattered on the ground, and she moved her arms in front of her.