The next match was over quickly; it didn't take me more than a minute after assessing my opponent's level. His score didn't even reach 10.

I'm just strolling around, watching a few fights. I sit with Cris to watch Sol's match. Her victory was a bit hard-fought, but she managed to win thanks to having more mana. That makes four wins out of four matches.

I decide to walk around the stadium facilities without a set direction, stopping only when I spot an interesting match—like the one now. Arisa is beating up the boy I faced in my second match. But it's not that interesting unless there's something good to see… The best part has been eating at the local food stalls.

I ended the day with another victory. Sadly, the mood feels a bit down. I'm returning with a perfect win record, but unfortunately, Sol lost her last match of the day. She couldn't beat a boy who was extremely fast—he looked like he came from a ninja family with that speed and agility. He managed to land a few surprise hits, and although Sol recovered a bit, she ended up losing by a small margin.

The Baron didn't show up to watch us and isn't at home either. He must be having a very busy day. I train my Imra a little before going to bed. Once I feel satisfied with my progress, I head straight to sleep.

The third day is starting off much like the previous one. Sol, Arisa, and I have all won our first match. Arisa is currently having her second fight—I'm watching her from a distance, by myself.

She ends up winning with a clear advantage. After the match, she starts scanning the stands with her eyes, looking for someone. Her gaze and head don't stop moving until they land near where I'm standing. Is she looking for me? Arisa throws a victory pose with her fingers and leaves the designated arena.

Such a lively girl... I get up from my seat to buy some snacks for the three of us. I want to share some good salty treats I found with Cris and Sol.

We're all enjoying our snack. Just as we finish, Sol and I get called at the same time to different arenas—on the same platform.

"If we win today's match, we should both be qualified," I say, trying to ease the tension and boost her motivation.

"Yeah, I think so… I'm still sad about my loss yesterday." Her eyes still burn with fire—she hasn't let that loss put out her will to win.

"They caught you off guard. Try to stay alert so it doesn't happen again." She nods and grabs my arm as we continue walking together. This is a bit embarrassing...

"Good luck with your match, Sol." She needs to win to avoid pressure in her final fight. She could still qualify even if she loses both remaining matches, but she'd face tougher pairings by not being seeded.

"Good luck, Maki. Not that you need it." She sticks out her tongue before turning and walking to her designated arena. At least she looks relaxed and focused—I'm expecting good news.

By the end of the day, both of us win our matches without much trouble.

Sol is developing a new skill—she can now recreate her arrows from the mana used when they break. She's nearly generating them at the moment of impact. It's tough to fight when three arrows are constantly chasing you. Her final move in the last fight was something special—it used a principle similar to my focused spheres, with the concentration at the tip of the arrow. She's improving quickly. She'll be spending her rest day training.

I continue my nightly routine of training Imra before sleep. Before starting, I check a notification I received earlier—I gained another skill level in my pseudo-domain. Flooding my brain with information all day is slowly paying off.

I'm worried that my other skills aren't leveling up. I won't use Fortified Construction until I have all my skills at Rank III, unless it's absolutely necessary in battle.

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The free day passed quickly. I spent it entirely training Focused Spherical Formation, its current derivative, and Lightning Step, all in the new training room. According to the Baron, it's been reinforced to withstand advanced Emerald Rank attacks.

At the end of the day, just before going to bed, I leveled up each skill. I was overjoyed—it's been days since I gained any skill levels. Not being able to train like I used to has really slowed down my progress.

A new day begins. According to the Baron, he'll be joining us today since it's the first day of the next phase. He'll probably stay until lunch, then go eat with an old school friend, now a Ruby-Rank adventurer.

The atmosphere is still lively, around 55% or 60% capacity. I thought there would be fewer people because of all the eliminations, but I forgot this is the second phase.

They hand us something like a screen at the reception—only for the 320 qualified participants. It's not touch-sensitive, and you can't write on it. It only shows the time, your assigned number, and sends a notification 30 minutes before your match, followed by an alarm indicating the platform.

"How are you both feeling?" the Baron asks as he looks at us, switching his gaze between his daughter and me. He looks completely exhausted and at the same time happy for us.

"I'm good, Dad. Since I placed 29th, I was seeded. I won't face any of the top 32 until the next phase." Being seeded is a huge advantage. Most of the top 32 will probably make it to the final phase.

"Maki, what place did you get?" I turn to look at the speaker. Cris is looking particularly sharp today, emphasizing his features and reminding everyone he's a Baron's son.

"Third place." I'm pretty surprised I wasn't first. That means at least two people are as strong as me—or didn't bother holding back when evaluating their opponent.

"Two people were faster than Maki? That's interesting. Maki, be honest with your uncle—if you'd tried to finish quickly, how long would it have taken?" His question makes me think—I touch my chin to avoid miscalculating.

"Between 50 and 60 seconds… I'm not totally sure." I try to be as honest as possible. Judging by their reactions, I realize how big a deal that question was. The Baron bursts into laughter and joy. Sol looks amazed, and Cris seems to be calculating how many seconds that would be per match. Once he finishes, his expression turns pensive.

I'm saved from further questioning when the device screen lights up, makes a sound, and vibrates. "Time for me to go. See you later." I escape quickly—Cris and Sol were ready to bombard me with questions.

I wait near the designated platform. There are a lot of kids nearby, so it's hard to tell who my first dance partner of this second phase is. Time moves slowly. Two minutes before the match, I stop playing with my Imra and walk toward the platform. I spot a kid nearby—he looks pretty shy, about my size, with bowl-cut black hair and matching eyes.

We both walk to the center of the arena. He doesn't seem to have any weapons on him—or a storage bracelet. That leaves only two possibilities: he's either a mage or a hand-to-hand fighter.

The referee repeats the same rules I've heard like ten times and starts the match. The boy looks at me with slight suspicion. After a moment, his gaze shifts entirely—he now looks determined and focused on winning.

Mana in the form of stone begins to form around his hands and feet. He's pretty skilled to accumulate it in both areas. Then he uses a movement skill to rush toward me.

I coat my body with Imra at full power, blocking his first punch with my left forearm. That hurts! It was a heavy hit. I didn't lose balance or get pushed back, but the weight and pain definitely rattled me.

I slowly back off as he keeps attacking with fast, precise, heavy blows. My conclusion: this boy has focused on three skills—Reinforcement, Martial Arts, and Movement—and he's trained them to a high level.

I wait for a wide swing to use Lightning Step and create distance. I draw my twin swords, and we both dash toward the center to trade blows. I'll use Imra at full power today. He tries to block my right sword with his arm like I did earlier, but the result is different—he's lifted slightly off the ground, and the stone on his arm shatters. I try to knock him off balance with a strike to his supporting leg. He anticipates it and blocks, but my strength shakes him, and he drops to one knee.

Now I understand the difference between us—he can control his ability over a larger part of his body because he uses much less mana. Stone mana allows him to maintain rigidity—its inherent properties are helping him.

You've earned a solid 12 or 13. Your martial arts skill is excellent—you've likely been practicing that fighting style for years. As a reward, I'll go all out against you.

I wait until he's back on his feet. I use my movement skill to appear beside him. His reflexes are good, and his blows can resist my cuts to an extent, but they're not a problem for me.

The match ends ten seconds later. I approach the boy and extend my hand—and to my surprise, he takes it. "That was a good match." He smiles softly and looks at the ground.

"You crushed me at the end, but yeah… it was fun and motivating." We walk out of the arena side by side, laughing and reminiscing about the fight.

FIRST VICTORY OF PHASE 2 COMPLETE!

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