Chapter 18 - Unleashing Power Part 1

After gaining the power of the High Step Tier, a person's Crystal Core becomes large enough to form a special space within them, known as PSpace (Photon Space). By utilizing the liquid nano-machines inside one's newly enhanced Crystal Core, they can disintegrate an object and 'store' it inside their PSpace. Naturally, there is also a process to reverse this.

The first process is called Storing, and the reverse of it is Summoning.

High Step Tier individuals can store objects in their PSpace, with a capacity equivalent to roughly 3m x 3m. Higher Tiers receive more room.

Marc was carrying a long object on his shoulder as he advanced toward the gathering point, with his two spheres obediently following him. He was currently wearing his normal armor. He smiled wryly as he recalled the conversation he had this morning...

[Lily]: "Marc, are you just going to jump into the fray and cleave your way through?"

The red-haired princess asked as she crawled into the Red Throne, gently pressing her body against him to wake him up.

[Marc]: "Mhm, I can't wait to test out this small boy."

He said this warmly, recalling the 'Toy' that was resting in the corner of his PSpace.

[Lily]: "Well, your plan isn't bad; it will definitely cause a big shock, but listen to me."

[Marc]: "Hm?"

[Lily]: "The tournament is designed to showcase the power of the schools. Athena's Institute is a giant that won't lose to the small fry appearing at the beginning. I’ve been watching the LIBT for a while. Let me explain the rules."

The Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament (LIBT) has three phases. This tournament only allows cadets with a power level of HST or lower. The Higher Inter-school Battle Tournament is for all Circle Tiers, and rankers don't participate in smaller games like this.

Every registered cadet school is filtered through the system, and only the top 1,200 are allowed to participate.

The first phase is the Elimination Round. In this phase, the 1,200 schools are divided into 10 groups of 120. Within these groups, schools engage in a battle royale, and only the last three surviving schools qualify for the next round. Both Athena's Institute and Mars Academy are exempt from this phase.

The second phase is the Scramble. Thirty-two schools are paired off to fight each other, and the winning schools advance. This is done twice until only eight schools remain.

The third and final phase, though called a free-for-all, is actually a 1v1v6 battle. Typically, Athena and Mars annihilate the other six schools before the showdown between the two giants begins.

Athena's winning ratio so far is roughly 7:3. However, for the past three years, Athena has lost because Mars Academy acquired a genius named Renves Zec.

[Lily]: "Renves is a 10th HST and already an official Swordsman. I’ve watched his battles, and I’d say his sword skills are decent. Even with our White Wolf Princess, Athena is considered to be on the losing end. My suggestion is that you should hide your skills until the last battle. Wait until the end, and when Athena is in serious trouble—BAM! Finish them all and save the day. Like a hero!"

[Marc]: "... What if Athena surprisingly ends up on the winning side?"

[Lily]: "That’s easy too. Usually, the losing side barricades themselves in their base to try and overturn the situation. In that case, Marc, you’ll just have to do what you do best. Just go ahead, run straight, cut your way through, crush them, gain glory, and become a hero!"

[Marc]: "Hmm..."

[Lily]: "What do you think, Ragna-nee?"

[Calla]: "Although just cutting everything that stands in your way would have a similar effect, I think Lily’s plan will definitely give you a grander entrance. Plus, you won’t need to do anything until the last battle."

The Black Angel said this as she lazily opened her eyes. Today, she was in a perfect mood. Marc thought for a while; his dragon nature loved doing nothing. That decided it.

[Marc]: "I see, I'll do that then."

[Lily]: "Yup~ <3"

As the black-haired goddess stretched out her arms, she revealed her naked body in all its glory, a sight that was definitely to die for. A black wing suddenly appeared in front of Marc, who had been caught staring at her.

[Calla]: "This sight is only for m'lord when he grows up."

She said teasingly.

[Marc]: "I love your wings."

He said this as he playfully touched her feathers.

[Calla]: "Hehe, though they are quite unwieldy. I can show them whenever m'lord wishes. But m'lord went overboard last night. Again."

She said in an accusing tone, as clothes appeared on her, though they didn't do much to hide her curves.

[Marc]: "Helpless Calla is just too cute."

[Calla]: "Muu.. pout"

[Lily]: "Hehe~"

Meanwhile, Lily was happy because her plan was progressing.

[Vorst]: "Mer-chan~!"

The boy arrived at the appointed place and called out to the wolf girl, who immediately appeared in response.

[Mersa]: "Vor-chan! I was surprised when I saw your name on the list of participants yesterday."

[Vorst]: "Hehe, I can't leave Mer-chan alone. Mer-chan would be hopeless without her engineer."

[Mersa]: "Uh-huh, I'll be counting on you."

[Vorst]: "Here. I brought you a gift."

Saying this, he handed the White Wolf Princess the long object he had been holding. By now, a large crowd had gathered around them. One was known as The Most Talented Being in History, and the other was the only boy in Athena—furthermore, a Genius Engineer. Naturally, all eyes on the field were focused on this spot.

[Mersa]: "A gift?"

She quickly unwrapped the object, revealing a hilt. It was a pure white, large sword. The blade was over 2 meters long and 30 cm wide, slightly curved to enhance its cutting power.

[Mersa]: "Wow! I love it."

She exclaimed as she hugged it. The sight of a 10-year-old girl happily hugging a sword longer than herself was quite something.

[Vorst]: "I thought that for this tournament, you’d need something to cut through them all."

[Mersa]: "Hehehe~~"

[Celina]: "Can I see it?"

A 16-year-old girl emerged from the crowd.

[Mersa]: "Ah, it's Celina-senpai. Here."

Celina took the sword and unwrapped it a bit more, examining the blade.

[Celina]: "Wow. This rivals the highest-grade swords. Even most Circle Tier weapons are probably of lower quality... I can't believe something of this caliber exists just for HST..."

Hearing her assessment, the surrounding crowd of girls widened their eyes in astonishment.

[Mersa]: "Really? Whoa! Vor-chan is amazing."

Honestly, the wolf girl would have been happy even with the scrappiest weapon if it was a gift from Vorst...

[Vorst]: "I made it especially for Mer-chan."

[Mersa]: "Hehe~ hug Vorst x 1"

Seeing how close those two were, Celina felt a small prick in her heart...

**

The students left the landing area and were led by their teachers into a special space station. It was the first time both Mersa and Vorst had visited a station of this size. It was as large as a small planet, and it had everything one could imagine inside. Feeling quite overwhelmed, Mersa meekly followed as Vorst led her by the hand.

Eventually, they arrived at their game hotel. Thanks to a special permission from the Headmistress, Vorst and Mersa were sharing a room. Although this arrangement was met with protests from Mistglan-sensei (which were, of course, ignored) and plenty of "Kyaaaa~ Kyaaaaa~~" from the other girls, Mersa only blushed as red as she could and nodded in agreement. Vorst wisely decided to play dumb...

The hotel room was spacious. There were (of course) two separate beds on the left side of the room. Fresh air flowed in through the large veranda. On the right side, there were two capsules connected to the virtual reality game they would be playing the next day.

That night, Mersa crawled into Vorst’s bed...

[Vorst]: "... Mer-chan."

[Mersa]: [blushing] "S-since this is a r-rare o-occasion, I wanted to s-sleep together with Vor-chan... [blush level 230]"

She said this as she hugged him from behind.

[Vorst]: "Mer-chan, for that... we have to wait until we’re adults..."

First, because Vorst is only 11 years old and he is not sure if he is capable of "it". Second, and this is the main reason why he is not attracted to little girls... Sure, she is cute, but that's about it.

[Lily]: "And here I thought you had already opened the forbidden door."

[Calla]: "I'm happy m'lord still has some restraint."

[Mersa]: "I-I know... I-I just wanted to sleep like this... I-Is it a-alright?"

[Vorst]: "Yes, do as you wish."

**

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, they entered the game. After a brief period of adjustment—not that it was really necessary since the environment was 100% realistic—the tournament began.

Just as Lily had predicted, Athena's team sailed smoothly through the scramble battles. The students of the most elite school completely dominated the competition. Even Vorst, whose main job was to repair M-Armors, didn’t have much to do.

Among them, Mersa shone the brightest. Wielding her new blade, she demonstrated prowess that rivaled even the 10th HST senpais. As if fueled by some unknown power (Vorst power), she darted across the battlefield with boundless energy, striking like a flash of lightning.

**