Prototype Dorian

23.

Second day of the Selection

My first opponent dropped out one minute before we were meant to duel.

Justin Daniels marches out of the arena with a level of confidence and joy I did not expect to see in someone who just gave up a match. We've never interacted before, but he's always had a close group of friends, and that group is now cheering wildly as he reunites with them. I can't believe how happy he is for not even trying to fight me.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I storm out of the arena and towards a drinking station. I grab a cup of water and chug it down. Meanwhile, the rest of the stadium roars with excitement as the other matches continue.

"Congrats on making the quarterfinals."

I turn to see Morgan casually leaning against the wall beside me. "What are you doing here? Your arena is over there." I gesture to the other end of the stadium. The stage is split into four arenas for the multiple tournaments that are happening today. Since Morgan and I are on opposite ends of the tournament bracket, they are assigned to an arena furthest away from mine. These arenas will merge into a single massive one from the semifinals onwards.

Morgan shrugs. "Marie dropped out too."

"Another dropout?"

"Are you really surprised that people don't want to fight the top two with Gifts?"

"I don't know, I thought they'd at least try..."

"Well, only six people get to ascend to the shuttles, so reasonably, only people who make the quarterfinals would be considered. They probably saw the bracket, knew they didn't stand a chance to go to the quarterfinals, and figured they had nothing to prove to the Board of Directors, so why even try? Also, I know Justin just wants to be with his friends, and since none of them made it to the second round, I'm not surprised he backed out early."

"Argh, if they're all just going to drop out before the match even starts, then this is going to be so boring."

"Not all of them. Like Min-Ju. You're most likely up against her next." Morgan points their chin toward the arena adjacent to mine. Min-Ju Kim, the woman who was standing next to me during the opening ceremony, is fiercely fighting with a rapier.

"She's aiming to ascend," Morgan continues, "so if she wins, she's definitely not backing out from the next match against you."

I adjust my position to get a better view. Min-Ju's opponent is a head taller and wields a larger two-handed longsword, but she is holding her own. With a lighter sword, she is more agile, dancing around the longsword's attacks while striking with her rapier whenever she can. Even the commentator of the match seems impressed by her skills.

My eyes never leave the two battling cadets. Their weapons clash against each other while their bodies pivot and slowly maneuver all over the arena. After an exciting ten minutes, Min-Ju delivers a precise strike to the leg and brings her opponent to their knees. She points her rapier at their neck.

"I... I give up," the longsword wielder chokes out.

The stadium erupts into cheers as the arena doors open for medical bots to rush in. I toss my cup so I can give Min-Ju a deserving round of applause.

"And it seems I'm up against Brandon," Morgan says, as the match in the arena next to theirs also comes to an end. They push themself off the wall and crack their knuckles. "Have fun, Lara."

Then, Morgan disappears.

I can't help but let out a soft groan. "Show off," I mutter. Now that they have Ryan's Gift, they're adopting the same habit of leaving abruptly.