Chapter 41: S-Tiers
The fifteen-minute break went by fast.
The System completely changed the arena. It raised gray concrete buildings, streets, and cars, turning the stadium floor into a dense city block.
"Listen up, students!" the announcer boomed. "Round two is a survival test! The System will spawn high-tier Constructs inside the city. Your goal is to survive until the timer runs out!"
The crowd cheered, eager for some real action.
"However," the announcer continued, his voice dropping dramatically. "Because Chloe Fawn won the first round, she is marked as the Target. Every single Construct in the arena is programmed to hunt her, and only her. If Chloe is eliminated, Forbe Technical wins the round automatically!"
Down on the field, Chloe looked at the glowing red crosshair floating above her head. She didn't look happy anymore.
"That's a huge disadvantage," Genevieve said. "If every Construct attacks her at once, she'll be overwhelmed."
"It's a test of leadership," Captain May explained. "Metropolitan Academy has to protect her. If they fail to protect their VIP, they fail the round."
On the field, Chloe quickly gathered three of the strongest Metropolitan students around her. One was a guy with a rock-armor Blessing; another was a girl who could shoot electricity; the third was a guy who could create forcefields.
They formed a tight circle around Chloe, ready to defend her.
Marlon Shaw and the Forbe team stood on the other side of the city, smiling.
A loud siren blared.
"Begin!" the announcer yelled.
Instantly, dark portals opened in the shadows of the buildings.
Dozens of Constructs poured out. These were high-tier Constructs. They were metallic jaguars and armored knights with glowing swords.
They all turned their heads, locking onto the red crosshair above Chloe and charged.
"Defend me!" Chloe yelled to her team.
The rock-armor guy stepped forward, punching a metallic jaguar as it leaped at them. The electric girl shot bolts of lightning into the crowd of knights, stunning them. The forcefield guy threw up a blue shield, blocking a barrage of glowing swords.
Chloe stood in the center, her eyes glowing pink.
She cast an illusion, trying to make the Constructs see a wall of fire in front of them.
A few of the metallic jaguars hesitated, their sensors confused by the fake fire. But the armored knights didn't stop. They were programmed by the System to ignore visual deterrents and focus only on the red Target mark.
An armored knight charged right through the fake fire and swung its sword at Chloe.
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"Ah!" Chloe screamed, ducking clumsily.
The sword missed her head but sliced through the shoulder of her uniform. A thin line of blood appeared on her arm.
She stumbled backward, looking shocked.
"Forcefield, now!" Chloe screamed at her teammate.
The forcefield guy quickly adjusted his shield, blocking the knight's next strike.
"She's panicking," I muttered.
"She's fine," Mr. Graves argued. "She just needs to adapt. Her team is holding them off."
Marlon Shaw signaled his team. They moved through the city, using the chaos of the Construct attack to flank the Metropolitan team.
Marlon shot a massive blast of white-hot fire, followed instantly by a blast of freezing ice.
The extreme temperature change hit the blue forcefield. The rapid expansion and contraction caused the energy shield to shatter.
The forcefield guy groaned and fell to his knees, his BP drained.
"No!" Chloe yelled.
With the shield gone, the horde of Constructs poured in.
The rock-armor guy was overwhelmed by three metallic jaguars, biting and clawing at his skin. The electric girl was knocked out by a knight's shield bash.
Chloe was completely exposed.
"She's going to lose," Genevieve said, leaning closer to the glass.
I watched my sister. She was surrounded by enemies. Her team was down. The Forbe students were closing in.
She looked up at the boxes, right at our parents' box.
I saw the fear in her eyes. She knew that if she lost, they would look at her the exact same way they looked at me. Like a disappointment.
Chloe's eyes glowed brighter than I had ever seen.
She screamed.
A blinding wave of pink energy exploded from her body, washing over the entire city.
It hit the Constructs and Forbe team. It even hit the stadium cameras, causing the screens to flicker.
I blinked, trying to see through the pink light.
When the light faded, the entire arena had changed.
The city was gone. Instead, the stadium floor looked like a bubbling lake of molten lava.
It was an illusion, but it was so powerful, so incredibly detailed, that the heat radiated up into our box.
Down on the field, the Forbe students started screaming. They looked down at their feet and thought they were melting. They fell to the ground, grabbing their legs, entirely consumed by the phantom pain of burning alive.
Even the high-tier Constructs were confused. Their sensors couldn't process the overwhelming sensory overload. They stopped moving, twitching and glitching in place.
Chloe stood in the center of the lava, breathing heavily. Sweat poured down her face. Blood dripped from her cut shoulder. She looked exhausted, but her eyes were fierce.
The timer on the stadium screen ticked down to zero.
The buzzer sounded.
"Time is up!" the announcer yelled, sounding stunned. "Chloe Fawn survives! Metropolitan Academy advances to the finals!"
The lava vanished instantly.
The Forbe students lay on the ground, gasping for air, realizing they weren't actually burning. The Constructs dissolved into pixels.
Chloe dropped to her knees, completely drained.
The crowd erupted into a standing ovation.
In the Aegis box, Mr. Graves was clapping so hard his hands were red. "Incredible! Pure power! She is worth every penny!"
I looked across the stadium. My parents were cheering wildly, looking incredibly proud.
Chloe survived and proved she had massive power.
But I noticed Marlon Shaw. He was sitting, looking at Chloe, angry.
The team battles were over. The next round was 1-on-1.
If Chloe had to face Marlon alone, without a team to protect her, her illusions might not be enough to save her again.