F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 282: Inter-Class Representative Competition: Quarterfinals
"And that is brought to you by our final sponsor for today, BetYourFuture — where life plans are tested, stressed, and occasionally annihilated, but with the most competitive odds."
Hostess Nathalie, after finishing this batch of advertisements, returned to her seat behind the commentator’s desk without batting an eyelid.
She was simply reciting the taglines of the corporations. If people wanted to complain, they should take it to that company’s marketing department, not her.
There were still a few minutes before the quarterfinals were scheduled to start.
Nathalie decided to relax so that she would have more energy to give to the matches later, but unfortunately, someone approached her.
Principal Jebroham. The boss of this whole event.
The young, passionate hostess quickly stood and bowed, leaning closer to hear what the old academy leader had to say.
She nodded occasionally.
Her eyes momentarily widened, but it seemed she understood the logic behind what the principal relayed to her.
Nathalie then sat back down, keeping the matter in mind.
Soon, the break ended, and the swirling noise of the conversations in the stands momentarily halted as the excitement returned.
Only a few more matches remained.
However, all of them were quite spicy, though the recent grudge match was probably difficult to match in sheer intensity.
There was one match that could: Omaru versus Ourion, also circulating in the stands as the potential "Battle for the Snow Fairy".
It was a match that the crowd both wanted to happen and not to happen.
The former because of the drama that just unfolded before the Round of 16 began, and the latter because many Bladeborns’ life plans would be tested, stressed, and annihilated, but with the most competitive odds.
There was also the mad narrative of an F-ranker reaching it to the finals of the Inter-Class Representative Competition.
Nonetheless, whether it happened or not, the crowd’s eyes were well-set for a win.
After all, in the quarterfinals, a crazy Vulkhan versus Omaru was scheduled.
The Hidden Dragon versus the Darkest Horse.
None of the two were expected to make it so deep in the tournament, yet there they were, pitted against each other for a spot in the illustrious semis.
Before them, however, Nathalie’s perceived boring matches unfolded.
The first one up was Taiya. The slim, burgundy-haired S-ranker was up against the burly, olive-skinned A-ranker, Kamnou, who was fifth in the A-ranker tier list.
It was quite a spicy match-up — a classic challenge.
Kamnou certainly had a fair chance to defeat Taiya, even though the battle was expected to be slightly uphill.
Sure enough, the burly A-ranker dragged his foe quite deep into the battle, uncovering more of the slim S-ranker’s Sword Skills before finally going down, punching the arena floor in frustration after his defeat.
He could’ve won. But he lost, and he has to accept it. At the very least, he gave Taiya a run for his money.
That’s what the tale of their match suggested.
Next up was Alopecion against Kaiden, another flaming-hot match, simply due to the sheer upset potential.
Kaiden was third among the A-rankers, since Sylphina was removed from the competition, while it had been clear for a while that the balding S-ranker was the shallowest among his tier.
Alopecion might not be one of the competition’s winning favorites, but he was Nathalie’s favorite because he was consistent in being shaky.
The crowd howled, roared, and shrieked with every close call, their butts clenching vigorously from time to time.
It was as though they were under a spell.
There came a point when both representatives were bleeding red cubic particles quite heavily and were one slash away from losing.
In the end, however, Alopecion survived by the skin of his teeth.
Again.
The crowd didn’t know whether they should feel disappointed or impressed at how the S-ranker claimed his rightful spot in the semi-finals.
The third battle was quite boring...again, as Skylar, as usual, used his quick-draw Sword Skill to kill his attacking opponent in one hit.
The Sky Prince had been using it since the first round of the competition, yet no one had managed to deal with it.
It would be an amazing kind of utter tragedy if he did manage to win like a one-trick pony.
Of course, the crowd desperately prayed that, in the next round, Alopecion wouldn’t end up like everyone, though from his performances, there was a fairly good chance he would.
What an utter embarrassment, should such a thing happen. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
The Guild Master of Crownbloom would probably be greatly enraged but would have no outlet.
One does not simply dare pick a fight with the Ashwind Family, after all.
Soon, Skylar left the stage, and everyone’s excitement returned.
Omaru versus Vulkhan was next.
After learning that the two were friends, however, those who were crazy enough to bet on them feared for their tickets.
What if one decided to deliberately lose to the other due to something as distasteful as "in the name of friendship"?!
Their life plans would definitely be tested, at the very least, though few faced this problem.
It wasn’t every day one would come across crazy gamblers, after all.
To most’s surprise and puzzlement...and the horror of a select few, Nathalie stood up and ascended the stage to announce something.
The betting tickets were non-refundable. It was in the conditions.
If one of the two really decided to make way for the other...
The bettors shuddered.
Fortunately, that was not what the passionate hostess was going to say.
"Everyone." Nathalie began, causing those with stakes to pray to Fortuna. "As you all saw in the Round of 16, Representative Vulkhan’s Innate Sword Skill classified him as a Soulstriker. It would be too dangerous to use this ability in the upcoming match. So..."
The spectators’ hearts skipped a beat at the masterful suspense.
But then, the hostess beamed.
"Our two honorable competitors had agreed that they would not use their Innate Sword Skills. Also, from what I’ve been told, it seemed that both representatives had promised each other an all-out match in the Inter-Class Representative Competition a few months back to repay a debt. Hold tight, folks. This will be one intense match from the former number one and number two of the renowned and respected Ashton High School! Their first duel as Bladeborns!"
