149 Finally, A Challenge! (1/2)

”Ranked one hundred fifty, Elizabeth Ultimatia and ranked one, Tristan Fanford, please take to the arena.” With but this single sentence, the entire arena quieted down in collective confusion. Then, almost exactly at the same time, the crowd and contestants began discussing how Elizabeth was the one to have the priority in fighting the current first ranked competitor.

”Usually,” the standard procedure was to have the competitor's priority be decided by their initial rankings. In a situation where everyone in the top ten wanted to take first place, the person ranked second would get priority and if he succeeded then the person ranked third could challenge him and so on. It was a practical way to decide who was the strongest of all. But somehow, Elizabeth, who was supposed to be of the lowest priority being ranked 1200 in the King Stage, managed to get priority over everyone else…

Of course, the supervising judge already had his reasoning behind her taking the priority ready, as he had been contacted by the higher-ups who unanimously agreed on giving her first pick at the current first ranked King. Clearing his throat with a couple coughs, after successfully gathering everyone's attention, leaving the arena drop-dead silent, the judge said, ”This year, after encountering a… special situation as a result of Ms. Ultimatia, an amendment to the rules has been added to the guidelines for the Martial Event. From today onward, taking place effective immediately, priority will not be decided by ranking. Rather, priority will be decided by one's score in the First Stage...”

In general, to the crowd and competitors still out of the loop with regards to Elizabeth's score, they couldn't exactly pinpoint what exactly changed in the rules as everyone and their mothers understood that the higher your score in the First Stage, the higher your initial ranking in the Second Stage. Of course, the more astute and intelligent people quickly drew a connection to Elizabeth's absurd strength which let her breeze through the 7 fights in the King Stage Division. The fact that she was still a Warrior, and the ”choice words” the judge gave them in his announcement, enabled them to figure out an accurate representation of what was going on.

'That demon… She must have had score in the Testing Formation greater than the current second-ranked King and maybe even the current first-ranked King...'

Just when it seemed like the end of the day was upon them and that they were spared from anymore shock the bundle of talent that named Elizabeth could bring them, a slap from reality woke them from their naive thoughts.

…

On the stage, before the judge even called for Elizabeth and Tristan to bow to each other as a gesture to respect martial tradition, Elizabeth was grinning from ear to ear as she stared down Tristan, delighting at just the thought of knocking the idiot before her out of his narcissistic bubble. She hadn't forgotten the rude words he had unpromptedly thrown at her outside of the Tournament Square and though she wasn't at the point of considering crippling him, the current look of hate and malice he was returning upon her, drained on her sentiment.

[Status

Name: Tristan Fanford

Level: 25

Rank: Peak Phase Martial King

Affection Rating: Hateful

Current State: Utterly Jealous]

Looking over his Status, Elizabeth's grin somehow deepened as the eccentric Tristan had gone from Jealous to UTTERLY Jealous. She was given the signal to bow from the judge. As she completed the gesture, a taunt couldn't be kept restrained as she said, ”My, my~ You really are something else.”

Pausing in response to Tristan scoffing, Elizabeth asked, ”You still haven't clarified why you're so mad. Word is you don't like pretty girls. Girls that are, and I quote, 'Prettier than you.' Now, for a normal person like me, could you explain what the fuck that means?”

”Normal?” At this seemingly arbitrary moment, P was ready to question Elizabeth choice of words. She found it hilarious that Elizabeth was calling herself normal given the circumstances surrounding her situation.