Watching the next round opponents arrive on stage, Erina murmured, "I hope they're nicer than the previous group..."

"Yeah..." Yuiko agreed, "So far it looks good, the other captain is a girl so we won't be yelled at 'for being girls'"

"Look, the captain and Krystina are chatting and laughing together!" Erina whispered to Yuiko, "It seems like this person is pretty nice!"

Getting into position for the round to begin, Erina murmured, "Still won't be going easy on you even if you're nice though~!"

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Blowing a whistle to begin the match, the referee backed off the stage to watch the match from a safe position.

Beginning to cast her spell, Erina muttered, "This match will probably be easy..." While watching everyone on the other team begin to cast spells of their own, "They don't have any vanguards... So Hiroshi, Vladimir, and Yuiko are going to wreak havoc..."

Watching Erina let her spell dissipate, Krystina asked, "Ne, Erina, why are you stopping your spell? The battle isn't over yet..."

Sighing, as she watched Yuiko take down a second person, Erina explained, "Well because the battle's going to be over before I even finish casting the spell... I chose one of the higher power spells, so the casting time is pretty long..."

"Ah..." Krystina replied, watching Vladimir and Hiroshi eliminate the last two people, "Yeah... well it's over now I guess..."

"Yup~!" Erina agreed before running off to talk to Yuiko.

Watching Erina's retreating back, Krystina sighed, "I swear I'm going to make them start dating soon..."

Running up to Yuiko, Erina exclaimed, "You did so well! You got rid of 2 opponents all on your own!" while enveloping Yuiko in a flying hug.

Setting Erina back on the ground, Yuiko replied, "Yeah! Too bad, you didn't get the chance to do anything..."

"It doesn't matter does it," Erina responded, "we won anyway~"

"Yeah, at least we won," Yuiko agreed, helping Erina get off the stage, "though I think that that team was worse than the first team we went against."

Nodding, Erina added, "Though I don't really mind~ I would prefer this nicer team to be higher ranked than the mean team we went against earlier~"

Walking back to the board that would list their next round opponents, Yuiko asked, "You know, Erina? I saw someone on the other team have a bow specialization... How does that work? I never really got that part, like wouldn't your sniper rifle just completely outclass it?"

"Well, my sniper rifle doesn't outclass it actually~" Erina answered, "I'm pretty sure the way it works is that there's a correlation between power and 'draw' time. Like, the longer it takes to shoot a shot, the higher power it is, just like spells."

"So that's how it's balanced?" Yuiko asked, "Doesn't that weaken guns a lot though?"

Shaking her head, Erina replied, "Nah, it just powers up bows a lot. Though 'bullets' are slower, slow enough that with training, people with sword specializations can cut them like vegetables."

"Cool~" Yuiko responded, patting Erina on the head, "It's always fun to pat your head though~"

"I'm not that much shorter than you!" Erina argued, reaching towards Yuiko's head.

Catching Erina's hand, Yuiko teased, "Nuh-uh, I get to pat your head~!"

"Fine... I'll go check where our next round is though right now," Erina pouted, turning to go check the assignment.

Checking the board, Erina ran back reporting, "So our group is going to arena 5."

Leaning in to whisper something to Yuiko, Erina instead kissed her on the cheek, whispering, "That's revenge, also you did great last round~!"

Having an almost unnoticeable blush on her face, Yuiko huffed, "Come on, let's go..."

"Yeah!" Erina replied, running ahead laughing.

"You know, because of the way the tournament is set up," Yuikok speculated after catching up to Erina, "we could get eliminated early and get a bad ranking if we run into a super powerful team..."

Nodding, Erina answered, "Well, then we just have to be the best right? Easy as that~"

"Yeah..." Yuiko sighed, "It isn't that easy though is it?"

"It shouldn't be that hard, right?" Erina remarked while entering the arena, "We do have a bunch of powerful students, and we have good teamwork~"

Laughing as she walked in behind Erina, Yuiko pondered, "You know... it's weird how we have been the first team to arrive each round..."

"Hm... wanna ask Krystina?" Erina replied, sitting down on the Arena floor, "I don't know either... I thought it was just because we moved quickly..."

"Sure let's go ask Krystina, she probably knows..." Yuiko replied, pulling Erina back onto her feet.

Walking over to Krystina with Erina in tow, Yuiko asked, "Ne, Krystina, why do we always arrive before the other team? Is there a specific reason? Or are we just moving way faster than the other groups?"

Laughing, Krystina replied, "Don't you guys know? You can go to the bathroom or eat some food before going to your next round! Yuiko, at least you should have known this..."

"Wow~~!" Erina murmured, hearing that you could eat food before going to your next round, "Is there candy? Is there cake?"

"No..." Krystina sighed, "It's supposed to be some snacks... so there isn't going to be cake... or candy..."

Watching Erina wilt like a flower, Yuiko whispered, "You know... you really need to work on your sugar intake... it's a 'little' high, you know?"

Pouting, Erina countered, "No it isn't... it's normal..."

"It's not normal," Yuiko retorted, "You eat just as many sweets and desserts as other food, which is way too much!"

"Fineeeee..." Erina replied before deciding to change the subject, "I don't remember if you guys told me, what do the rankings mean?"

A little miffed at the public display of affection right in front of her, Krystina answered, "It doesn't mean anything, you don't get extra resources. It's pretty much just a goal to work towards, or something to brag about?"

Seeing Yuiko and Erina nod in enlightenment, Krystina continued, "But it isn't totally worthless... if you place high enough, you might get the attention of one of the Commandments. The commandments always come to watch the last 2 rounds, so there's that. And if you get the attention of one, they might train you. Furthermore, by the third year, if you're good enough, a commandment might extend you an offer, saying that they want you to serve in their organization after you graduate from a Magic Academy."

"That's what we should aim for then," Erina replied, nodding in excitement, "It'd be cool to get the attention of a Commandment..."

Watching the other team enter the arena, Erina whispered to Yuiko, "I just realized...let's say we beat this team, and the teams after... won't we be noticed by the tamer and the ice lady then? Aunt Natsuki asked us to avoid those two..."

Thinking for a second, Yuiko replied, "Meh, it'll be fine~ Aunt Natsuki said she'd protect us if need be~"

"Yeah, that's true..." Erina chuckled, "Let's just concentrate on winning for now~"

Esiyx

Thanks for reading~!
We got a kiss! HAHAHA Progress~~!!!!
Did you know originally the confession was going to be around chapter 150-200 ish?
One of my RL friends yelled at me though...
So the confession will be soon~
Aiming for around chapter 50 ish?
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Also sh*t...
I forgot to speed up the pace... I got caught up in the fluff...
Next chapter I promise! They'll be two rounds of the tournament next chapter! I swear!