After some time, it was finally Hulim’s turn to take the stage.

  "Hulim, good luck!"

  Cheered on by Miko, Hulim stepped onto the arena floor.

  Her opponent this time was a Beastman clutching a strange golden short staff in his hand.

  "I know you!"

  As soon as they faced off, the Beastman spoke up aggressively.

  Hulim: "?"

  "You’re the high-ranked powerhouse on the Top 100 List!"

  "I can’t believe a kid like you made it this far—but this is as far as you go!"

  "And do you know why? Because you’re up against me! I’m also a top-ranked fighter on that list, but that’s not all! How could some lousy list put together by busybodies possibly reflect my true strength!?"

  "I’m the man who’s going to make it to the finals and go head-to-head with Boguna!"

  "So just bow out gracefully right here!"

  "......"

  Where did he get all this confidence......

  And why was he so sure Boguna would make it to the finals anyway?

  "Hey, what’s that look in your eyes?!"

  Hulim’s lack of reaction infuriated the Beastman with the short staff.

  "Bastard! Are you looking down on me!? "

  "The thing I hate most is being looked down on! I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget!"

  "......Is that so?"

  "Huh——？！！"

  The Beastman flew into an even greater rage.

  Ding——!

  The match bell rang.

  "Haha, bury yourself in the dirt and think about your mistakes! Earth Magic—Earth Split!"

  Crack! Crack......

  A huge gaping crevice split open beneath Hulim’s feet.

  But just before the ground gave way, Hulim tipped her toes lightly and leaped to safety in an instant.

  "This isn’t over! This is just the beginning——!!!"

  The Beastman cackled maniacally, waving his golden short staff dramatically as he chanted earth magic incantations at breakneck speed.

  "Earth Split! Earth Split! Earth Split......"

  Crevice after crevice appeared across the entire arena. Soon, the gaps connected end to end, leaving only a single isolated patch of ground—and Hulim was standing right in the middle of it.

  "Hahaha! You fell for it! Naive little brat—you should go home and suck on a pacifier~! Now get off the stage!"

  The Beastman swung his staff upward with all his might, unleashing another spell.

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  Boom! Boom......

  The isolated patch of ground where Hulim stood suddenly transformed into a forest of sharp earth spikes, shooting straight toward the sky.

  "Hahaha! Victory is mine——"

  "Huh??? "

  The Beastman froze mid-laugh, his staff still raised high in the air.

  "......"

  "......"

  Hulim stood steadily on the tip of one earth spike, balancing on one foot without the slightest wobble. She looked down at him from above.

  "......Aren’t you going to continue?"

  His frozen smile shattered instantly. Those words pushed him over the edge.

  His hand clutching the golden short staff trembled with rage, almost beyond his control.

  "Damn you! You damned bastard!! Stop looking down on me——!!!"

  "Earth Magic——"

  He raised the golden short staff once more.

  Boom!

  But suddenly, an explosion erupted in his right hand, sending the short staff flying through the air.

  "Wha——"

  Before he could finish his shocked exclamation, a flurry of spells—similar to the one that had hit his staff—rained down on him relentlessly.

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  After a series of explosions, the Beastman collapsed stiffly to the ground, his hair smoking.

  Ding——!

  "The winner—Hulim Hayelar!!!"

  "Great job!""Awesome!""......"

  Thunderous cheers erupted from the audience all around.

  After wrapping up her match, Hulim and Miko left the Contestant Waiting Room and headed to the White Cat Clan’s VIP box.

  "Sister! Sister Hulim! You were both amazing! Especially you, Sister Hulim—standing on that spike at the end was so cool!"

  As soon as they entered the VIP box, Mirei rushed over, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

  Lately, he’d practically turned into their biggest fanboy.

  "Mirei, am I not cool too? Is only Hulim cool?"

  "Yeah! Of course! Sister Hulim is way cooler than you, sister!"

  Mirei nodded his head vigorously, speaking honestly.

  "Oh! You really have the guts to say that!" Miko tweaked Mirei’s ears with both hands, smiling dangerously. "I’ll give you a chance to choose your words carefully. Am I cool?"

  "Ow ow ow! I’m sorry, sister! You’re the coolest! You’re the coolest ever!"

  "That’s more like it~!"

  Miko let go of his ears. Mirei immediately slipped away and ran behind Bars for cover. He then poked his head out, stuck his tongue out at Miko, and huffed.

  "You’re such an idiot, sister! I hate you the most——! Bleh~!"

  "You little......"

  Miko wore a "kind" smile on her face.

  "It looks like I need to teach you a lesson~."

  "Eep!? "

  Scared out of his wits, Mirei quickly ducked back behind Bars again.

  "Alright, alright, stop fooling around here. Now that both of your matches are over, sit down and watch the others compete."

  Bars stepped in to put an end to the siblings’ bickering.

  After shooting Mirei a glare, Miko sat down by the window next to Hulim.

  Once they were seated, Bars—who’d been watching the matches—spoke up.

  "Your next matches will decide who makes it to the Round of 32. Are you confident?"

  "Yes."

  Hulim replied calmly.

  "M-Me too! I am too!"

  Miko chimed in hastily.

  Bars turned to look at her.

  "......That didn’t sound very confident. Oh well, I’ve already prepared to test my skills against you if you lose."

  "What——? "

  Miko’s eyes widened in shock.

  "I never heard anything about that!!?"

  "You’re hearing it now."

  "Huh? How can you do this?!"

  Miko was completely dumbfounded, frozen in place.

  Ignoring Miko’s flustered state, Bars turned to Hulim and asked seriously:

  "Are there any opponents worth keeping an eye on?"

  From his expression, Hulim could tell this was an official, business-like question.

  The Round of 32 was approaching, and the matches would only get harder from here. The chance of unexpected surprises was growing higher by the day. Bars needed to identify potential variables as much as possible to offer Hulim support.

  "Not many so far. There’s only one person in this sub-arena who’s caught my attention."

  "Oh? Who is it?"

  "The one with the rather...... unique fighting style."

  When Hulim mentioned the person, Bars first looked surprised, then fell into deep thought.

  "......You’re right. There are a lot of suspicious things about that Luji Sloan. And based on what you’ve observed up close, his true strength is probably far greater than he’s letting on."

  "Hmm...... Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll find a way to investigate his background as soon as possible. If we can uncover his origins, we might be able to piece together his true capabilities."

  "Anyone else besides Luji?"

  "No one else—not in this sub-arena, at least."

  "Good. In that case, we don’t need to focus too much on the Round of 32. We can start paying attention to potential opponents we might face later on."

  "......Actually, Mr. Bars, I think it’s a bit too early to say that. What if I draw Luji in the next round?"

  "It’s not going to happen. With so many contestants, we can’t be that unlucky, can we?"

  "......But Luji hasn’t been eliminated yet. The chance of me facing him isn’t exactly zero."

  "That’s true, but you don’t strike me as someone with bad luck. You definitely won’t draw him next round. It’ll be some other unlucky soul who gets stuck with him!"

  "......"

  "You don’t need to worry about Luji for now. I’ll handle the investigation. As for updates on the other sub-arenas, we should have a detailed report by the end of the day. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow."

  "Alright then."