As soon as the hologram announced the arenas for the first match, the group exchanged looks. It was time to part ways, at least for now.

  Kael raised a hand, waving casually as he walked toward Arena 8. Nina floated a few centimeters above the ground, slowly spinning toward Arena 1. Aurox took a deep breath and gave Mika one st encouraging gnce.

  "Don’t lose in the first round, okay?" he joked with a shy smile.

  Mika rolled her eyes and replied with a dramatic gesture.

  "Who do you think I am, huh? Just wait for me in the finals!"

  With a mischievous wink, she ran off toward Arena 3, her steps quick and almost bouncing as she weaved through the crowd of nervous students and excited spectators.

  Upon entering her arena, Mika immediately took note of the environment. It was a small circur ptform, just eight meters in diameter. She wrinkled her nose in distaste."Seriously? How am I supposed to put on a worthy show in a pce this cramped?"

  Around the ptform, several small flying cameras hovered, capturing images to broadcast to the audience through individual holographic screens. The crowd watched intently, each person choosing which arenas to follow.

  At the center of the ptform was an old-fashioned robot, slowly sliding across worn-out treads. Upon seeing her, it spoke with a metallic, slightly shaky voice, as if the technology was on the verge of colpsing:

  "First match challengers for Arena 3 are present. Please step onto the ptform."

  Mika lightly hopped up, nding gracefully on the ptform and striking an exaggerated pose for one of the closer cameras."Hey you, make sure to get my good side, okay?"

  On the opposite side, a boy with short brown hair and a spotless Babel University uniform also stepped up. Mika raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised to see him wearing something almost no one else used.

  "The uniform? Seriously, handsome? Already lost points with me for that!" she teased with a mischievous smile.

  He didn’t reply, maintaining a neutral and focused expression, which only made her grin wider.

  The mechanical judge spoke again:

  "You have fifteen seconds to review your opponent’s stats and prepare. Countdown starting now."

  A hologram immediately projected from both their wristbands, clearly dispying their stats:

  Mika Alisèe, 19 years old1st year at Babel University (second semester)Power: Light CreationStrength: 7Dexterity: 11Constitution: 9Intelligence: 12Charisma: 16

  Lucas Trent, 21 years old2nd year at Babel University (second semester)Power: Chain CreationStrength: 10Dexterity: 14Constitution: 10Intelligence: 14Charisma: 10

  Mika quickly analyzed her opponent’s data, her eyes sparkling with a mix of interest and amusement."Chains, huh? So you’re the type who likes to tie people up? How predictable…" she thought with a small smirk."Low constitution... hmm, if the fight drags on, he'll tire. But I’ll probably tire first. Better end this quickly."

  With three seconds left, Mika raised a hand and theatrically pointed at Lucas.

  "Sorry, buddy, but you’re going down," she decred loudly and confidently, throwing him a provocative, confident look.

  The judge, oblivious to irony or provocation, continued the countdown as if nothing had happened:

  "3, 2, 1... FIGHT!"

  The moment the judge gave the command, Mika grinned widely, her hands already glowing with vibrant, dazzling light.

  "Let’s light this pce up!" Mika excimed, as an intense beam of light began to form in her palms. The brilliance, as strong as spotlights illuminating the arena, kept her stationary while she charged her attack. For two whole seconds, she could only wait, smiling confidently.

  Lucas remained motionless, watching her closely, muscles tense, ready to react.When the bst was ready, Mika raised her arms and unleashed a powerful ray of energy across the arena at incredible speed, like a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie.

  The boy, however, was prepared. With an agile roll to the side, he easily dodged the attack.

  "Come on! You could at least make my debut easier!" Mika joked as her beam missed him, smming into a protective barrier around the bleachers.

  Lucas wasted no time and advanced quickly toward her. Mika tried to charge another bst, knowing she needed to hit this time or she'd be in trouble. But again, the two-second charge time was too slow. His fist was already dangerously close to her face when she finished channeling.

  "You’re way too impatient, you know that?" Mika said with a mischievous smile as she prepared to fire.

  At the st second, however, chains erupted from the arena floor, binding her arms to the ground and completely interrupting her attack.

  "Whoa! That wasn’t in the script!" Mika excimed, trying to hide her growing panic upon realizing she was immobilized.

  Lucas gave a small arrogant smile."Now you’ll be a bit quieter. How about taking a nap while I move on to the next round?"

  Mika bit her lip, her heart racing. But then an idea fshed through her mind, as bright as the light she commanded. She concentrated her power in her mouth and released a sudden, intense fsh, blinding the boy for a few seconds.

  "Oops, sorry, went a bit overboard with the lighting?" she teased.

  Lucas stumbled back, shielding his eyes with one hand."What’s the point in dragging this out? You’re still trapped."

  He then maniputed his own clothes, creating a chain from his blue and white fabric that quickly solidified and grew heavy. With a precise motion, he whipped it toward Mika.

  This time, however, she was ready. Mika quickly channeled heat into her wrists, destroying the bindings at the st moment. Even so, she took the full hit of the chain to her chest, making her stagger back with a grimace of pain.

  "That’s gonna leave a mark tomorrow…" She took a deep breath and gave Lucas a theatrical grimace."You know, whips aren’t really my thing. Not into BDSM, darling!"

  Lucas narrowed his eyes, clearly irritated by her teasing.

  Realizing she was near the edge of the arena, Mika had a risky but brilliant idea. Raising her hands again, she began channeling four different types of light beams simultaneously, smiling confidently as if she were preparing her best performance.

  When Lucas regained his vision, he charged at her furiously, unching his makeshift chain once more.

  "I knew you couldn’t resist running into my arms!" Mika joked, provoking him even further.

  The chain struck true, and Lucas smiled triumphantly for a second. But Mika’s confident expression didn’t waver. If anything, it grew even brighter.

  Gripping the chain tightly, she said:

  "It’s a bad idea to use your own clothes as a weapon. You can’t pull it back fast enough when you’re in trouble — like now!"

  She fired the first beam of light. It didn’t hit Lucas but struck the ground near him, creating a strong shockwave that propelled Mika backward and pulled him forward.

  "I always wanted to fly! How exciting!" she shouted while firing another beam at the ground, boosting herself several meters into the air with a graceful jump. With a third bst, she controlled her trajectory, soaring directly over Lucas.

  "Sorry, handsome, but you just fell into my trap!" Mika teased, unleashing her fourth and final beam — this one charged with heat and impact. The bst hit Lucas squarely, throwing him violently out of the arena.

  The mechanical judge immediately announced in its synthetic voice:

  "One of the fighters is out of the arena. End of match! Winner, Mika Alisèe."

  Mika raised her arms triumphantly, fshing a big smile at the flying cameras and making a victory sign with her fingers.

  "I told you you’d lose!" she said to Lucas with a pyful smile, waving exaggeratedly to the cheering crowd.

  Lucas sighed deeply, lying outside the arena, shielded by chains that had formed a barrier around him. Defeated, but safe.

  Mika skipped cheerfully out of the arena, still smiling at everyone around.

  "So, who’s next?" she joked, walking away with light steps and a triumphant sparkle in her eyes.