- Oliver -

  "And oher side, we have Mordred Lot, the first heir of Encedus."

  Oliver was impressed by the transformation of Mordred's Artificial Ranger Armor. The smooth and funal lines had been repced by an aggressive ahal design.

  "No doubt about it, if I had to put my money on someone, I'd say one of these two will be the winner of this arena," the entator said excitedly.

  Meanwhile, in the bat zohe recruits prepared for the immi battle. Some adjusted their equipment; others did brief warm-ups. However, Mordred stood out among them. Instead of trating, he casually waved at the drone cameras flying around him, capturing every detail for the live broadcast.

  Despite the smile he wore, something was uling about Mordred. Though directed at the lenses, his eyes cked any sparkle or emotion. They were like empty abysses, refleg a disturbing ess.

  Oliver felt a chill run down his spine as he watched him. There was something deeply dehumanized in that gaze.

  "Who is that boy?" Oliver murmured to himself.

  Soon, just like in Arena 23, the gates began to rise with a heavy meioise. The lights intensified, and the sound of meisms echoed through the metallic structure. Twenty training robots emerged, advang in an anized formation. Their eleic eyes glowed red, and the hum of their motors filled the air.

  Katherine wasted no time. With a movement, she drew her sword. Her posture was impeccable, and each step seemed part of a calcuted dahe robots advaoward her, but she faced them with skill. She dodged attacks gracefully and responded with precise thrusts, disabling one robot after another.

  Meanwhile, Mordred remaiill, his arms rexed at his sides. The robots approached rapidly, but he showed no sign of . Wheomatons were about to strike him at the st moment, a dense and nebulous shadow formed around the boy.

  The shadows formed, materializing into dark tentacles that whipped through the air. In the blink of ahe robots were grabbed and crushed with brutal force. Sparks and debris flew in all dires while Mordred remained motionless, with a slight smile on his lips.

  The entator almost choked in surprise. "Amazing! We're witnessing one of the most powerful Boons among the Great Houses. The Shadow trol is passed down through the main Lot’s lineage. What a dispy of raw power!"

  Oliver watched the se with wide eyes. The ease with which Mordred elimihe robots was discerting. It wasn't just the power itself but the cold indiffereh which he did it. There was a nonce that no other recruit could demonstrate, as if, for him, all of this wasn't even a challenge.

  The battle tinued in all zones. Other recruits fought fiercely, showg their skills and teiques. Energy explosions, psma shots, and hand-to-hand bat occurred simultaneously, creating a fasating, chaotic spectacle.

  As expected, Katherine moved gracefully, as if she had predicted every movement, in addition to impeccable trol over her on. In no time, she had destroyed all the robots in her zone.

  Oliver could see the girl walking calmly to the front of her pilr and sitting on the ground while she waited for the round to end.

  "Katherine was one of those who elimihe robots the fastest without revealing her Boon," the entator expined.

  The sed round was not much different. Katherine quickly cleared the field with her Ranger on while Mordred once agaihe shadows to create tentacles that shredded the robots. Perhaps the main difference from Oliver's arena was that many more recruits were still participating. Of the sixty who had started, fifty were still in the game.

  Another minor difference was that none of them seemed ied in attag or harming each other.

  ‘Maybe they're afraid of being Katherine or Mordred targets,’ Oliver theorized.

  The siren sounded again, signaling the start of the third round. As soon as the enormous gate opehree mini-mechas ehe arena before the recruits had time to prepare and began flying a few meters off the ground.

  Oliver had a hard time trag the mini-mechas that moved in the air as swiftly as hummingbirds. He had studied these models; they were among those he hoped o enter in the field, as they would eliminate his speed advantage.

  In the skies, where speed is the differeween life ah, the AV-12, niamed Skybde, reigns supreme.

  ‘This is certainly not a training mini-mecha; they're taking these recruits seriously,’ Oliver thought. ‘Maybe the difficulty is adjusted acc to the number of remaining recruits?’

  Developed fh-speed aerial missions and maneuverability, this mini-mecha was a fusion of elegand lethality. Its aerodynamic design, marked by vibrant shades e and deep blue, is optimized to slice through the air effitly, allowing it to perform movements impossible fer mechas.

  Equipped with retractable wings mounted on the shoulders, the Skybde uses advanced micro-turbine propulsion. It is designed for short—and medium-distance flights. Its wings are multifunal, serving both as stabilizers and sharp bdes in cle aerial bat.

  It didn't take long for them to be put into a. As soon as the bat was initiated, Oliver saw that all three tried to attack Katherih their bdes. However, the girl was alert.

  While using her sword in one hand to quickly fend off two oppos, she activated her Boon with the other hand, creating a bde of blood that she wielded against the third AV-12.

  It was evident how much the mini-mechas were taxing the girl's tration; with each rapid attack, she o rea milliseds to ensure her safety. However, as soon as one of them o nd, exhausting its thruster charge, she went on the offensive, putting pressure on the pilots.

  When one of them missed a move as bde swing wide, Katherine used her Boon to fire blood spikes against the mini-mecha, solidifying every drop of blood that had es turbines. Repeating this with each oppo, the three pilots quickly lost their greatest advantage: speed. Then, it was simply a few more quick attacks with her swords, and the three mini-mechas were defeated.

  "It's absurd how easily Katherine York is dominating her oppos. If Mordred Lot weren't in this arena, she would undoubtedly be in first pce," the entator expined.

  Unfortunately, Oliver had to agree. The differen power between them was striking.

  While Katherine's fight was quick, it still took a few minutes.

  As for Mordred, mere seds. As the pilots advanced against the boy, he created several shadows over his zone. From within the shadows emerged gigantids that grabbed each mini-mecha and promptly crushed the maes' chassis.

  The attack was so brutal that the rescue team had to enter immediately to save the pilots trapped ihe maes. All this while, Mordred sat on one of the broken robots, yawning.

  Even the entator was left speechless at the brutality everyone had to witness, quickly switg the cameras to other zones.

  "Of the fifty recruits who started the third round, thirty will proceed to the final round. It's impressive how this arena is deviating from the norm," the entator ged the subject as they awaited the signal to start the st round.

  As usual, soldiers ehe field to extract the pilots while the gate rose to let the mecha enter.

  Oliver didn't o use [Insight] to know which Mecha it was or how it operated. This was one of the most iic. The IS-3000, affeately niamed Jelly Bean by its pilots, is a legend of invulnerability. The mecha was designed as a mobile fortress, capable of withstanding direct heavy artillery attacks and tinuing its relentless march.

  With a bulky and rouructure, the IS-3000 was built to prioritize resilience ility. Its multiyered armored hull is practically imperable, even by projectiles or sers. The tral , simir to a traditional tank, features a rotating turret equipped with a medium-range on and auxiliary mae guns, making it a versatile threat in defensive bat.

  Oliver was glued to the hologram, watg every sed and movement in the arena; however, he aying more attention to Katherine's zohe girl charged toward the enormous mecha as soon as the bat signal was given.

  ‘What will her strategy be?’ the boy wondered.

  But as quickly as Katherine's run began, the signal for the end of the match sounded.

  Everyone on the field was surprised and did not uand what had happened; even Katherine looked at the soldiers entering the field, unaware of what was happening.

  Oliver and the spectators had wit.

  As soon as the signal was given, Mordred extended one of his hands, creating a thin shadow stretg from his hand to the end of the zone, splitting the area in two.

  The moment he lowered his hand, a bde made of his shadow rose rapidly, slig the mecha and the pilot i in half.

  Everyone was in shock as the medical team ehe field, trying to save the pilot's life.

  Oliver was still stunned, watg the se of the pilot's rescue, when Mordred disappeared and reappeared in Katherine's zohe boy quickly k, leaving the princess surprised, and briefly kissed her hand.

  As swiftly as he had arrived, he disappeared again. This time, with the repy, the boy could be seen being swallowed by the shadows beh his feet.

  GCLopes