“You told me we’d be late if we didn’t go to sleep early.” Brendu is finishing getting ready, shouting at me from the bathroom.

  “I’m sorry…” All I can do is apologize sadly. I’m partly to blame—she decided to stay with me when I told her she could go back to the room first and that I’d be ready soon. Now I’m just waiting for her to finish her makeup.

  I learned something the hard way during these months of living together with her and the other three girls. It’s better to apologize if the issue is small; if you don’t, the argument will only grow bigger and bigger. The best thing is to cut the problem at the root by taking the blame if the topic isn’t that important.

  “What a beautiful princess—you’ll make me the envy of all the students from the best schools on the continent.” A light compliment as the cherry on top always works. I fall for Brendu all over again; I’m not lying—she looks devastatingly beautiful.

  “You don’t look bad either. You’re handsome enough to walk by my side.” I can hear the sarcasm, happiness, and teasing in her tone.

  I take her hand—it’s time to head to the enormous coliseum recently built near the school. I’m not sure if I should call it a coliseum, because its size is comparable to a large town or a small city. This will be the place where most of the competition takes place.

  While sitting in the carriage on the way there, I check my status to discover the two reasons we woke up a bit later than planned. According to my calculations, we’ll arrive right on time.

  “Perception Pseudo-Law.”

  I spent a few extra hours training and applying the knowledge I gained from reading so many books about perception within my Personal World. The effort of several weeks has borne fruit—the effects of the new pseudo-law are immediate. My sensory ability feels a bit denser, and I’m sure I can briefly “sense or see” things I wouldn’t have been able to before.

  I need more time to get used to using the new Pseudo-Law; it’ll take a few days of practice and training.

  It’s not just one ability that improved. Crushing Zone has also been slightly enhanced—my perception of people is now more precise, more millimetric. I can adjust the ability more accurately to an opponent’s body. With Brendu helping me as a guinea pig, I discovered that if I focus solely on the person, I can tell where they’re applying the most power to break my prison and escape, allowing me to reinforce specific points.

  In this case, it’s the same as before—practice will help me improve my focus on more precise points, and over time I’ll get used to it without paying so much attention to escape attempts.

  The second reason we went to sleep late is just as astonishing—I finally managed to evolve a skill to rank IV. Gravity Surge reached level 20 and evolved; the new skill is called “Gravity Overload.”

  Yesterday I tested it together with Brendu—once again, she volunteered. She attacked me from a distance while I used only my new skill to enhance my body’s movements.

  At first, there wasn’t a noticeable change. When the princess increased the pressure with more attacks, I could feel the differences. My body can now withstand gravitational power better—I no longer break as easily when I overload myself for abrupt movements or more powerful attacks. My body has assimilated the gravity affinity more effectively, allowing me to push past my limits, if only slightly.

  I’m still fragile if I overdo it enough—yesterday I blew out a leg when I kicked the ground to dodge a poison explosion. That’s an improvement too: the amount of gravity mana I can control has increased. It’ll take some time and practice to fully get used to the new power and potency of the skill, so for now I’ll use it as if it were still at rank III.

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  Lost in my thoughts, I can see the enormous coliseum up close. Damn. This could be called a city in its own right—it’s gigantic. I can already see hundreds of carriages coming and going, and people can attend the event by buying tickets. If the inauguration tournament was madness, this one will be at least five times crazier.

  I can feel the heat of the people around us—the carriage had to slow down several meters back to avoid hitting pedestrians. Everyone is so excited they can’t control themselves or pay attention to their surroundings.

  “That school is the best in the Empire.”

  “Last year they won the school tournament in the Kingdom of Merno.”

  “Do you think I could ask for a photo?”

  I can hear the comments from inside the carriage. I haven’t opened the window because I don’t want to cause more trouble than necessary. I don’t know if I’d be recognized, but the princess would surely become the center of attention if she were—a face that beautiful can’t be ignored.

  The carriage was moving slower than usual, and for a moment I felt a bit nervous about arriving late. When I look at the carriages behind us, I notice we’re not the only ones in line—other schools are arriving in vehicles as large as limousines. I’m sure some will be late because of the traffic.

  “There are only a few minutes left—why did you arrive so late?” Shawu places her hands on my shoulders and shakes me from side to side.

  “One of us decided to stay practicing a bit longer,” Brendu replies to Shawu’s comment. She isn’t the one being attacked—I’m the only one Shawu is going after.

  Everyone looks at me after the princess’s comment. I can’t deny her words because they’re true. I wink at everyone and trap Shawu with gravity and Imra—she freezes for a few moments. When her gaze grows more serious, I decide to let her go.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Just a bit of training so we can become champions—you can’t judge me for that.” I hide behind Areci to avoid Shawu’s outburst; she came at me with everything to keep hitting me.

  Everyone smiles at my response, even Shawu, who’s still intent on catching me. I move from side to side to avoid her. She finally gets tired of chasing me, and I step to Brendu’s side—the princess takes my hand and kisses my cheek.

  Areci, standing beside me, is watching several groups. I can feel her gaze focusing on certain people before jumping to other schools. Susan’s daughter turns back toward the rest of us, her eyes settling on me.

  “You’re not the only center of attention—there are quite a few eyes on you,” Areci laughs softly.

  Many schools have been watching us for several minutes. I assumed they were looking because of our playing around with Shawu and arriving with the princess, but that’s not it—their gazes remain fixed on me. Their intentions aren’t perceptible from a distance, and they can control their Imra well, but even if I can’t sense them, it’s easy to guess from their eyes.

  Everyone focused on Areci and me are captains—each of them has a serious, determined look. They see us as a threat.

  “I wasn’t planning to show everything I have in this tournament, but if the spotlight falls on me, I have to respond properly,” I tell Areci, winking to make my intentions clear.

  “It won’t be easy—there are many talented and very strong people,” she says, following her gaze toward several individuals from other schools.

  “They’re nothing special.” I shrug, making my point. No matter who comes, I’ll force them back.

  “You’re one of the few people who can say that without being mocked. If the rest of the schools heard you, they’d be foaming with rage and still wouldn’t be able to deny it,” Ogine laughs lightly as she responds, clearly excited as well.

  “If you lose to any of them, I won’t forgive you. You’re not fighting just for yourself and your family—you’re defending three noble houses and a royal house when you fight,” Brendu squeezes my hand a little, making her stance clear.

  “Don’t worry.” I look at certain participants who deserve my attention. “I won’t go easy on them—if I relax, they could give me real trouble.” Some of the captains from the most powerful schools have overwhelming presences; it’s easy to tell who the limit breakers are among the crowd.

  I lock eyes with all of them. I have no intention of backing down—and it seems they don’t either. No one interrupted our silent exchange for nearly three minutes. They share the same idea as me: whoever looks away loses the first encounter.

  “All participants, please come to the entrance section.” When a woman’s voice rings out over the loudspeakers, we break eye contact and move. Areci had joined the staring contest—one of them focused on a particular person, and that same woman never looked at me. Her eyes never left Areci.

  “Let’s go—there’ll be time later for more games or real action,” Areci says. As the captain, she leads the way, and we all follow without a word.

  In the entrance section, multiple banners belonging to different schools are displayed. We line up in our designated area, and each school does the same.

  “Let us welcome this year’s interscholastic games. The best schools on the continent have gathered to prove which is the best.” The open-air auditorium within the gigantic coliseum falls silent. “The tournament will begin shortly—everyone, stay alert!”