Second day of the Selection

My first opponent dropped out one minute before we were meant to duel.

Justin Daniels marches out of the arena with a level of confidence and joy I did not expect to see in someone who just gave up a match. We've never interacted before, but he's always had a close group of friends, and that group is now cheering wildly as he reunites with them. I can't believe how happy he is for not even trying to fight me.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I storm out of the arena and towards a drinking station. I grab a cup of water and chug it down. Meanwhile, the rest of the stadium roars with excitement as the other matches continue.

"Congrats on making the quarterfinals."

I turn to see Morgan casually leaning against the wall beside me. "What are you doing here? Your arena is over there." I gesture to the other end of the stadium. The stage is split into four arenas for the multiple tournaments that are happening today. Since Morgan and I are on opposite ends of the tournament bracket, they are assigned to an arena furthest away from mine. These arenas will merge into a single massive one from the semifinals onwards.

Morgan shrugs. "Marie dropped out too."

"Another dropout?"

"Are you really surprised that people don't want to fight the top two with Gifts?"

"I don't know, I thought they'd at least try..."

"Well, only six people get to ascend to the space stations, so reasonably, only people who make the quarterfinals would be considered. They probably saw the bracket, knew they didn't stand a chance to go to the quarterfinals, and figured they had nothing to prove to the Board of Directors, so why even try? Also, I know Justin just wants to be with his friends, and since none of them made it to the second round, I'm not surprised he backed out early."

"Argh, if they're all just going to drop out before the match even starts, then this is going to be so boring."

"Not all of them. Like Min-Ju. You're most likely up against her next." Morgan points their chin toward the arena adjacent to mine. Min-Ju Kim, the woman who was standing next to me during the opening ceremony, is fiercely fighting with a rapier.

"She's aiming to ascend," Morgan continues, "so if she wins, she's definitely not backing out from the next match against you."

I adjust my position to get a better view. Kim's opponent is a head taller and wields a larger two-handed longsword, but she is holding her own. With a lighter sword, she is more agile, dancing around the longsword's attacks while striking with her rapier whenever she can. Even the commentator of the match seems impressed by her skills.

My eyes never leave the two battling cadets. Their weapons clash against each other while their bodies pivot and slowly maneuver all over the arena. After an exciting ten minutes, Kim delivers a precise strike to the leg and brings her opponent to their knees. She points her rapier at their neck.

"I... I give up," the longsword wielder chokes out.

The stadium erupts into cheers as the arena doors open for medical bots to rush in. I toss my cup so I can give Kim a deserving round of applause.

"And it seems I'm up against Brandon," Morgan says, as the match in the arena next to theirs also comes to an end. They push themself off the wall and crack their knuckles. "Have fun, Lara."

Then, Morgan disappears.

I can't help but let out a soft groan. "Show off," I mutter. Now that they have Ryan's Gift, they're adopting the same habit of leaving abruptly.

Kim approaches, a towel in one hand and her rapier in the other. A medical bot trails behind her. When she sees me, her smile fades away.

"Lorensky, hey." Her black hair, pulled back into a ponytail like mine, sways behind her as she walks towards me. "Say, would you agree to a long-range duel for our match?"

I frown. That's not the typical choice for a duel. "Why? If my aim is off and I hit somewhere critical, you might die."

"The medical bot can save me. Just try not to aim for my heart or head," she warns playfully, but I can still hear the nervousness.

I enjoy using long-range weapons, but challenges to test these skills are usually limited to simulations to ensure no one gets shot. Why would Kim want to risk that? She's very skilled with close combat as evident from her previous match, so she could have stuck with that. But maybe she wants to show off a different skillset to the Board of Directors and increase her chances of being chosen for a space station.

"Sure," I say hesitantly, "if that's really what you want."

"Yep, thanks. I'll let the organizers know."

I head to the weapons room to pick out a rifle. Kim joins me a few minutes later and grabs a weapon as well. By the time we return to our assigned arena, it has been transformed into an enclosed landscape of rocks and random obstacles. Anticipation buzzes throughout the stadium; an arena like this is a rare sight throughout the history of the Selection.

Kim and I are directed to enter the arena from opposite sides. The moment I step inside, the crowd's noise and the commentator's voice disappear. I guess they soundproofed this place so we can't hear the commentator and find out where each other is hiding. In this massive stadium packed with thousands of people, it is silent for the first time. Eerily silent.

The scattered rubble around the arena forms a maze-like barrier. I creep towards the center of the stage, checking my surroundings as I move from one obstacle to the next. My rifle's muzzle is pointed downward, while a finger curls above the trigger.

The arena is still pin-drop silent, but I don't hear any footsteps. Kim must be very quiet with her steps. I look up and squint. There are cameras mounted on the enclosure's ceiling; though distant and difficult to see, I can still make out the sheen of their lenses. Most of them are pointed in my direction, but a few are pointed away from me—at Kim, presumably.

When I reach a spot with clearer visibility, I see that there are particularly large boulders that could serve as elevated vantage points, and the one nearest to me is but a quick sprint to my left. It would be a perfect place to search for Kim.

I slowly inch out from my hiding spot behind a metal panel, but gunshots ring out. A bullet narrowly grazes me as I duck back behind the barricade.

Earth, she found me.

Judging by the bullets' trajectory, she is likely on an elevated boulder at my two o'clock—the opposite direction from the boulder I was aiming for. I curse under my breath. Kim had the same idea as me, but she got to it much faster.

So now, I'm abandoning that strategy. I'm going straight to her instead.

First, I need to figure out how to get to her. I poke my body out from the left side of the metal panel again, pretending to want to give it another try. As expected, bullets rain down once more and I have to hide again. Kim sure is keeping a close watch on me. But that split second gave me a glimpse of the path leading to the boulder she might be on. It has a jagged side that I could use to climb to the top. A stack of five rubber tires sits in front of it. The distance to the tires seems manageable. But a little diversion would be helpful.

I hurl my rifle to the left—the direction I've attempted to run towards twice before—and dash the other way. Kim takes the bait and fires at my gun, creating a mini sandstorm and giving me both the cover and time to reach the rubber tires.

I look up at the cameras again. The ones pointing towards Kim do not appear to have moved. She must still on that boulder—hopefully.

Pressing my back against the rubber tires, I try to breathe as softly as possible. Regardless of whether Kim saw me running here, I know I have to leave this hiding spot soon to get to her. And I have to run and climb as fast as I can.

I give myself a moment to gather my energy. Then, I sprint.

Gunshots echo around me, and pain explodes all over my body—a few bullets scrape my skin while one pierces through my leg—but I grit my teeth and scale the boulder. As I reach the top, I see Kim scrambling to her feet and trying to aim her weapon at me.

I leap forward to smack the rifle's head to the side. She stumbles from the impact. As I lunge towards her, my hand outstretched to grab her weapon, she lets go and falls backward.

"D- Don't burn me!" she shrieks, bracing her face with her arms.

I freeze.

My gaze darts from her widened eyes to her trembling body. I am not used to seeing Kim so frightened like this. I am not used to anyone this frightened of me.

Was this why she wanted to do a long-range duel? Because of my Gift?

I look away from her and down at my bloody leg. It's already healed from the bullet wound. The pain is barely noticeable now. Behind me, there is a trail of blood.

I toss her rifle off the boulder. It lands on the ground with a sharp thud, about twenty feet below. "That's the end of our long-range duel. Let's end this with a close-combat duel now."

Kim stares at me, a silent question behind her eyes.

"And no," I answer, "I will never use my Gift against someone who doesn't have one."

Relief washes over Kim's expression. She pushes herself up and gets into a fight stance. The fierce fighter I witnessed in the previous duel has returned.

I bring my hands up into a ready position and give her an encouraging nod.

She attacks first. I parry her swing while she dodges my counterattack. We go on like this for a while, blocking, parrying, dodging, countering. The top of this boulder is just wide enough for our duel, but not wide enough for us to break away for a breather.

Our back-and-forth reminds me of my close combat practice sessions with Morgan. While Kim may not have Morgan's strength, she excels in her agility. I can never land a proper hit on her.

However, Kim's stamina decreases after fifty or so strike exchanges. Because of General Caelum's Gift, I easily recover from all her punches, but she struggles to recover well when she's tired and unable to dodge my attack. After a particularly hard blow to her gut, she crumples to the ground with a groan.

I wait for her to stand up, but she laughs and shakes her head.

"I give up," she breathes. "You won, Lorensky."

With that, the doors open, and medical bots zip into the arena. The cheers come gushing back like a flood, and I can hear chants of my name.

I turn back to Kim and offer my hand. She looks rough, but she's still glowing from the adrenaline. "Good fight."

She takes my hand and gets up. "Come on, I lost, big time. You don't have to be nice about it."

"It was still a good fight."

"Thanks." She pats me on my shoulder. "I now understand why Morgan likes you so much."

My jaw drops. "Huh?" I blurt. "What- What do you mean by that?"

Kim chuckles as she climbs down the boulder. "Good luck with everything, Lorensky."