Chapter 196: Opening Battle
———Lynda———
<9: 21 am>
“...You know what? At this point, it’s a shame on us for not anticipating something like this.” I said while leaning back on the chair and looking at the screen in front of me. It looks like it’s gonna be a while until the fights start. So we should look through the menu here and get something to drink and snack on in the meantime. Let’s see here… Plain water, soda, lemonade, milk and its alternatives, coffee, chocolate drinks… There’s a lot. I’m just gonna get myself a glass of milk and a tray of spicy and sour chips.
It appeared on the table in front of me the moment I put down the orders. This is still so absurd in many ways. I’m surprised they don’t have this system for the cafeteria even if they were also extremely fast with serving multiple people.
“This really feels like a big sporting event.” Fiss said as she picked up the hotdog she ordered with a ton of toppings and bite into it.
“Definitely not something you associate with a school, no matter the size.” I remarked as I ate the chips. A bit more intense in flavor than I thought. No idea what brand this is. The milk is also nice. Subtly sweet and creamy. Clearly not some skimmed milk nonsense. “And these weird goggles… headset… Hmm… Looks like even someone who doesn't have human ears anymore can wear this since they can just tighten it up.”
We didn’t have this in the other arena, but it’s clear we’re supposed to use it for spectating in this event. No idea how it is really meant to work. It just looks like clear goggles with like… not a lot of room to put any hardware into. I obviously shouldn’t make any assumptions for this weird wacky place we’re in. At least I shouldn’t voice my opinion out loud, I’d probably end up looking rather stupid because of it.
“Glery, you’re having a hard time choosing?” I asked, seeing her staring at the food options for a long time. She’s not really replying or saying anything since we got here. She always keeps to herself whenever we’re in a public place.
“What’s even the point of deliberating anyway? All these shits are free. Just go nuts.” Trener said while eating the nachos that look like they have been doused in a bunch of sauces and cheese, with only jalapeno for the greens.
*Gulp*
Ahh… that’s the last of the milk. Time to put it in this small trash area on the table and… it disappeared. Just gone from existence. Hopefully no one accidentally put their phones or other valuables there. Sounds like a nightmare if it literally disintegrated into thin air and not simply teleported out like one would expect.
Time for another glass of milk. The amount of chips is a lot so it’s gonna take a while to go through it. Maybe I should order another food? Chips ain’t gonna fill me up for long and there are actual main dishes to get.
“So does anyone actually have a clue what we’re even doing here? Is it just gonna be like last time?” Trener asked while the crowd was murmuring and doing small talks. The ambient noise is plentiful but not too loud right now.
“I mean why wouldn’t it be? It does look like there will be a lot more people involved this time around. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they use the smaller arena that doesn’t necessarily need all this equipment?” I said while dangling the goggles in front of his face.
“Hey, stop that.” He said before pushing my arm away.
“Look, something is happening on the field.” Fiss called out as we all saw two figures in the middle of the field. With how massive this place is, it’s hard to tell who they are or what they are doing. Sure, getting stronger sharpens all of your senses, but it doesn’t automatically turn your eyes into telescopes. There is probably a spell for that, but who is gonna invest in something like that when training for stronger offensive or buffing spells is way more practical. Seeing things clearly won’t stop a giant monster from mauling you most of the time.
Let’s put the goggles on and… how does this work? Is it some sort of brain scan thing-!? Uh!?!? That’s weird. The moment I think about zooming in it actually does zoom in as commanded.
What I’m seeing is Rico and Wana, of course… Wait, why is there a massive platform truck with a giant glass bottle of milk on it? Why is there a very long straw pierced into the bottle from the side? Why is Wana drinking from it nonchalantly? What are they talking about right now?
“<Ugh…>” Rico muttered through the mike as she turned it on and let her voice rang out in the entire arena. “<Hello everybody! Welcome back to the school and… Hey, can you stop slurping so loudly? What are you even doing with that! Since was the last time you ate!?>”
“<Why do you care? Just keep announcing things. I’ll be here in case you forget the script.>” Coach Wana said before returning to drinking from that ridiculously large bottle. Rico can barely hold herself together seeing such a ridiculous sight. What are we even watching?
“<What script!?>” Rico yelled out and was met with silence in return. <...So! As the welcome back ceremony. We have organized another entire-day fighting event. Isn’t that fun? You get to watch spectacles unfold and the possibilities in this new status quo. I’m sure a lot of you have been doing some training and getting stronger, maybe some of you didn’t. That’s fine. Our world hasn’t quite reached the strong eating the weak yet, you all got plenty of time and a lot more material to work with than the majority of people on Earth. Anyway! We’re gonna start up the match at ten in the morning! Make sure to indulge yourself with the food. We’re not gonna have audience participation this time around, no need to worry about being too full and nauseous to fight. See you all… thirty minutes from now! Hey! Get outta here you’re ruining the mood! Don’t bring that shit out into public again you hag!>”
*Punch* *Kick* *Grapple*
…And they’re fighting each other as Coach Wana stands there defiantly still drinking from the giant milk bottle as they attack each other.
Hopefully they got off the field before the actual match started, assuming this isn’t a bit.
“...Each day, it feels like I understand them less and less.” Trener said, clearly confused and irritated at the nonsense he’s seeing. Never a guy who can’t find something to bitch and moan about, no matter how trivial.
Meanwhile, Glery is silently eating ice cream, looking unbothered by what is going on, including all the murmurs from the others in the crowd getting louder due to the announcement. A lot of people were probably pretty relieved that they weren't dragged back into school projects and homework the moment the school opened back up again. Always the worst feelings.
*Grab* *Swing* *Crack* *Splash* *Punch* *Kick* *Slam* *Dash* *Swing* *Evade*
Wana grabbed the giant milk bottle and smashed Rico with it and let the white liquid just splash around everywhere as they kept fighting. They don’t stay soaked for very long as they start moving around the giant field and shaking off liquid on their clothes as they fight. Starting to move around so fast it’s hard to keep track of them even with this really advanced equipment.
At some point they are just… gone from the field entirely? Where in the world did they go? They were scrapping for a while and now they’re gone. I know they keep upping the pace and moving faster and faster, but I’m pretty sure they’re not even in the general area anymore.
No. Seriously. They’re just freaking gone. The only thing on the field is a humanoid robot walking to the field to clean up the mess they left behind.
“Hey. What was that all about?” Fiss asked, looking like her mind just blanked out for the last few minutes where that ridiculous display just happened.
“Beats me.” I said with really nothing to go off on aside from their history of fighting each other even when Rico was still a student here… Now that I think about it, that in itself feels like an obvious red flag in hindsight. No one would act so casually and so familiar with their own student, unless they’re weird, which I guess both of them are, but that’s besides the point. What seems weird is how familiar and antagonistic they are to each other. It never looks like Coach Wana has more power in their struggle despite supposedly being the older one. Nothing really screams imbalance in their dynamics that would’ve caused concerns.
*Gulp*
Alright, time to order another glass of milk. It’s crazy how much stuff is on here that is just free for the picking. I know the entry cost into the school is definitely above average and more than what it was before the rework, but considering the massive improvement in everything it’s kind of a steal… It also helps that previous students get a heavy discount to reenter. That’s kind of a big factor in why most of the kids in town are now in this massive school, or institution, or whatever you call it. Calling it just a school feels like a misnomer.
“...So we have to wait a while before the actual show starts… Can’t they just make us arrive a bit later, schedule this a bit differently?” Fiss asked. Is she getting impatient already?
“Most shows always have a downtime before the thing actually starts, not really a problem now, is it?” I replied. It’s pretty trivial. “Besides, it’s not like we’re sweating out here. It’s still cold out and there are a bunch of fans cooling the place further… Maybe a little bit too much.”
“I’d say it’s pretty perfect.” Trener chimed in.
“<Ahem…>” Another voice rang through the multiple speakers in the stadium. Looks like the principal has to step in this time. She hasn’t been seen in public for quite a while, it feels like. I get that that’s usually how the top heads of anything operate, but it feels like we see less of her nowadays before the change. “<Sorry for the earlier inconvenience. From the looks of it, those two will take quite a while before they return. As you can see, they are still fighting, if you look up.>”
“Huh?” I muttered as I did as she said, looking up and seeing the clouds deformed, like an explosion causing them to disperse chaotically.
I guess they could fly, can’t they? They’re not limited to fighting on the ground at all.
…Huh. I wonder. Do people at a certain power level just stop fighting on the ground entirely or what? I guess I would figure that out once I learned how to fly, but that seems like it’s gonna take a few years before I could even levitate slightly.
*Smash* *CRASH*
“Agh!” I screamed out as suddenly something crashed into the field with no warning and caused a chunk of it to be destroyed. It doesn’t help that the speaker picked up on that and made it sound even louder than it already was.
“<Okays folks have a good day and stay calm! Don’t panic!>” The principal said before running away. She doesn’t really inspire a lot of confidence.
*Slam* *Grab* *Swing* *Crash* *Swing* *Crash*
Coach Wana fell from the sky and slammed her entire body into the crater she created before grabbing Rico by the leg and slamming her into the ground and causing even more damage to the surface of the field each time.
*Zip* *Swing* *Kick* *CRASH*
Rico then suddenly flew up into the air while Wana still gripped tightly onto her leg causing both to be sent upward and I blinked for a moment and suddenly Wana got kicked and sent down to the ground violently. I really shouldn’t blink even for a second if I want to observe this fight with any sort of cohesion.
It just feels like a fool’s errand, honestly. They are way too fast for my puny eyes to catch all their actions. Heck, even the stream on Friday it’s hard to see what’s going on even with multiple perspectives.
Hopefully the actual matches are easier to follow, if they really want us to be hyped for it.