Chapter 23

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 23

Chapter Title: Colosseum (3)

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The guide led us both into the arena once the time arrived.

Maybe because of the trash talk from earlier, we didn't exchange greetings and just took our seats.

The speakers announced that I would pick first.

I picked Heiji without a second thought.

The reason was simple—I'd watched Koyuz's previous match beforehand. One of his two A-rank Valkyries had been Heiji.

After I snagged Heiji, Koyuz didn't pick for a while. He seemed rattled after losing the initiative to me.

Eventually, Koyuz made his two picks: an A-rank DPS and a B-rank warrior.

In 3v3 battles, you basically need a warrior or tank up front. Without one, your backline DPS or healer gets exposed and picked apart.

You could ban away DPS or healers in a five-Valkyrie pool, but that's not a huge deal—no need to sweat it.

The real danger was failing to fill the front line.

Sua's name shows up as Spear Knight. She evolves from Spear Knight to Skilled Spear Knight to Lead Spear Knight, but that reveals her rank, so it stays as plain Spear Knight.

Koyuz followed up with a B-rank tank and B-rank healer, so I picked Holla and Lussera without hesitation.

As soon as I locked in the final pick, cheers erupted from the stands.

Probably because of Lussera's name.

It was the first time an SR-rank Valkyrie had been revealed to the public.

Whenever I'd summoned Lussera before, plenty of people recognized her. She was a fairly well-known SR-rank Valkyrie.

Whether from gacha pulls or famous pilots using her.

In response, Koyuz froze up on his pick for a bit.

He must've been thrown off by me having an SR-rank Valkyrie.

As expected, Koyuz went for the C-rank Doom Knight to stack three frontliners—since I'd taken his Heiji, he had to slot in a C-rank upfront.

No need to overthink my bans: Harnis and Lanura.

Eliminate Koyuz's A-rank to remove any threats, then ban a B-rank tank over the warrior.

Koyuz would probably ban my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Heiji and Lussera, but my Sua isn't your average Spear Knight—she could hold off his attacks.

I quickly selected my bans, and right on cue, Koyuz did the same.

My predictions were spot-on: Heiji and Lussera vanished from my pick screen.

Next up: positioning the Valkyries.

On the 2x3 map, I placed Sua, Holla, and Garujan in the left column from front to back.

Koyuz's setup wasn't much different. He put Sumirina and Doom Knight across the front row, with Mashika behind Sumirina.

No DPS—just warriors, tanks, and a healer.

I could guess Koyuz's expression without looking.

Pure despair. His only real playable units were the B-rank warrior and B-rank healer.

Sure, he'd probably leveled those B-ranks decently and won despite bans before, but they were no match for me.

Koyuz's high-agility Sumirina kicked off the turn.

The monitor flashed the status, and Sumirina struck at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the frontline Sua.

Sua's HP dropped from 818 to 676 after the 142 damage. Sumirina's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wood attribute hit Sua's earth weakness for 1.5x multiplier.

Sua's turn.

Sua counterattacked right away, but the damage was light.

I couldn't see exact levels or ranks, but judging by damage, Sua and Sumirina were pretty evenly matched.

Just the attribute mismatch.

Sua ate hits from Koyuz's quick turns, but healer and tank attacks barely scratched her.

I couldn't help but laugh.

One heal from Holla wiped out damage from all three attacks.

Holla can't attack, but she restores the ally with the lowest HP for 200% of her attack power.

Finally, Garujan's turn.

Garujan's basic attack pierces the front row. She's specialized for multi-target fights.

Sumirina hit Sua again, but it barely hurt—especially after Garujan's attack debuffed her attack power by 15%.

Holla's heals kept Sua topped off every time.

Garujan's relentless assaults melted Koyuz's Valkyries, and the match ended in my victory.

With Sua tanking solidly and Garujan shredding, Koyuz had no answers.

The match used turn-based attacks as preset by the pilots, so it wrapped up quick.

Valkyrie attack animations took under three seconds each—faster than expected.

Cheers rang out every time Holla healed or Garujan struck, and I could imagine Koyuz's face twisting each time.

I stood, extended my hand confidently to Koyuz.

He'd acted like the world was his during the trash talk, but now he couldn't even meet my eyes, like a whipped dog. Hilarious.

He slunk away without shaking, face sullen. I chuckled once and left the arena.

Just like that, two easy wins in the bag. Time to wait for the next match.

Up next: Reina. Wonder if she'd even show.

Reina had won her 9 AM match, so she was probably 4-1 now. Our bout was at 9:50, so she'd have one more in between. Win that, and she'd dodge me.

I'd told Isteir I'd hit D-rank today—dizzying to think it could fizzle over something stupid like that.

I waited by Arena A for Reina.

Then I spotted a woman with flowing orange long hair heading our way.

Reina. Her expression wasn't great—she must've taken a loss too. Made me smile.

Feeling good about someone else's failure? Guess I'm not such a saint.

Still, glad the match was on.

Up close, Reina looked fiercely proud.

"Haa..."

She sighed in front of Arena A, then turned to me.

"You my opponent?"

Tall, killer figure. Didn't look much older, but she bantered casually with a stranger, staring me down boldly.

She'd seemed downcast walking up, but now she was all brightness.

"Yeah. Looking forward to it."

I offered my hand again.

Reina eyed it, then gripped firmly.

"No idea what you're looking forward to... but I'm in a rush. Gotta hit D-rank today."

Her grip screamed determination.

"You can do it this afternoon."

I grinned. She shot me a look like I was nuts.

"Don't think that pretty face gets you a free pass. Any other guy would've eaten a fist."

She raised her fist. I almost said, "Bring it if you've got the skills." But nah, she'd actually swing.

"Good luck out there."

"Ugh... fine."

I waved with a friendly smile; she waved back.

The guide called time, and we entered the arena.

We walked in smiling at each other.

I came out still smiling. Reina looked like she'd seen a monster.

"You... ugh... never mind. Haa... Running into two monsters in one day. My life's a joke..."

She started to say something to me, then stopped.

Hand to her forehead, she gazed at the sky, venting frustration.

Seemed her earlier loss was to another powerhouse.

"Just bad matchup."

"Yeah...? Thanks for the pep talk, I guess. Since we're fated or whatever, gimme your number?"

Reina slid over her Status, asking for my contact.

Two number snatches in one day? Wild.

I entered mine in her Status.

"Catch you soon. You'll hit D-rank quick... but I'm pushing for it today too. See you in D-rank."

Reina waved as she left the arena.

Morning E-rank matches were done. I headed to the stands for D-rank viewing.