Gacha Harem System

"Yesterday, we watched the valiant battle with each other, earning their spot in today’s matchups. Today, those same fighters will step forward again, and they shall fight for their right to progress to the next stage."

Rollo said, his voice holding more emotion now.

"Our first battle on this glorious day begins with a young woman who has caught the interest of both spectators and her fellow Awakeners. Some call her mad, and others call her fierce! Most call her both, but no one calls her weak!"

"Give it up for Kaida Steeeeele!"

Cheers filled the air, and Lukas found himself smiling as the woman in question stood from her seat, and confidently swaggered onto the arena.

Unlike last time, when it had been divided into several smaller arenas, there were no barriers, as there would only be one match at a time.

This would not only provide a good show for the spectators but also make sure every competitor could observe the fights of the others.

Kaida took her place in the arena, and Rollo raised his arm.

"And on the other side, we have a young man who had earned himself a nickname before the first day even ended. A man so fast, we can only call him Blitz! I present to you, Jakob Lallanaaaaaa!"

Lukas watched as a young man bounced onto the stage, rolling his neck and shoulders as he walked. He had a wide, confident grin on his face, as if the result of the match had already been decided in his favor.

Once they were both in place, Rollo turned to each of them. "Ready?"

At the nods from them, he dropped his arm. "Begin!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Kaida burst into flames.

Fwoosh!

The fire rose up into the air, covering every part of her body, and it was right on time.

Her opponent, Jakob had also moved the moment the fight began, activating a speed skill that sent him blurring through the air towards her.

As the blaze erupted around Kaida, his eyes widened and he dug his heels in, stopping just in time before he could plunge into the flames.

A grin appeared on Kaida’s face, and she attacked. Her arm snapped forward, sending a blaze of fire towards Jakob.

The speedster dashed away, but not before the fire slammed into him, sending light burns all over his body.

He winced, feeling the burning pain on his skin with every movement he made. It was quite irritating.

He dashed to a stop, turning to stare at Kaida. How was he going to get past her flames?

He frowned, before the answer came to him. It was all so simple!

All he needed to do was keep her attacking! As long as she kept those flames up, by the time he was ready to attack, she would have exhausted her mana, and would become a sitting duck!

A grin appeared on his face at the plan. And with that, he dashed towards Kaida at full speed, closing the distance in a fraction of a second.

And just as she pointed her palm at him, he cut hard to the side.

Fire blazed from her arm towards him, passing the place he’d been just half a second ago, making it looked like he’d dodged at the last moment.

He dashed to the end of the arena, slowed to a stop, and ran towards Kaida.

The same thing happened again and he dodged, making it look like a near miss.

So he kept repeating it.

And with every near miss, the crowd kept ohhhhing, everyone waiting for the action. Either Kaida finally catching Jakob with her flames, or Jakob finally getting through her defense.

But every time, they were disappointed, and the dodges got old pretty fast.

"What’s he doing?" One of the spectators said. "He’s not even hitting her. This is boring."

"He’s wearing her down, bro. Every time she fires, she spends mana. Look carefully, you’ll see that he’s not trying to hit her. He’s trying to drain her mana reserves."

And so they watched as Jakob ran around her for a few more minutes, until eventually, the fire around Kaida began to sputter.

First, it flickered, then some patches weren’t burning as bright as before.

Kaida’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening, scrambling for an answer to the current question.

So she inhaled.

The remaining flames rushed to a single point, disappearing between her lips.

She absorbed what was left, and all everyone could see was the scorched floor where she’d been standing.

Jakob finally stopped, turning to look at her. His grin widened at what he was looking at.

Finally, there was no fire to stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

It was now his turn.

He dashed towards her, closing the distance in a single burst.

He drove his fist into Kaida’s stomach, his speed adding more strength to the blow.

Kaida felt the air leave her lungs as she folded forward, the force of the pinch sending her flying.

She bounced, tumbling across the area floor, but she hadn’t even stopped moving before he was already there.

He grunted as he kicked, his leg slamming into her torso and sending her skidding sideways across the stone.

The noise from the crowd filled the air, the battle in the arena being shown on the big screen floating in the air. They were finally getting their action!

He was there again before she could rise, giving her a hard kick that took her off the floor and into the air.

He leapt into the air with her, then punched with all his strength, sending her crashing down to the ground.

Crack!

The moment she slammed the ground, the floor shattered, sending shards of stone flying everywhere.

Jakob landed, took one step forward, and placed his boot on her torso.

He turned his head towards Rollo, the smile on his face telling the host to call the match.

At least until he felt a hand grip his ankle tightly.

His eyes widened and his eyes snapped downwards to see Kaida holding his legs tightly, as if it was her lifeline.

But that wasn’t what scared him.

It was her bloody grin, with the teeth stained red.

"Got you."