Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 30: Team Competition

The air seemed to freeze in place. Yuka slowly blinked and then fished out the butler’s spherical body from her pocket. The butler, with a comical ":(" expression, waited.

As Yonda was about to touch the butler, Yuka suddenly said, "Turn into a rubber duck." In front of everyone, the fist-sized black sphere morphed into a little yellow duck with a bright red, flat bill, looking exactly like a bath toy.

Yonda, puzzled, took the... duck, and uncertainly asked, "Before this, it turned into a flag, right?"

"Yes," Yuka answered openly. "It’s a toy my previous tutor made for me. It’s called a Transformer Ball, and it’s voice-activated."

"Turn into a hat," Yuka commanded. The butler hesitated slightly but complied.

Yonda, now thoroughly perplexed, held the hat like it was biting his hands. He quickly handed it back to Yuka, coughed, and said, "You pass this time, but next time, no bringing weird toys except what I ask for."

Yuka nodded obediently, "Okay." The hat in her hand returned to its original form, a quiet black orb, which she then tucked back into her pocket.

Donny and Ayoi believed Yuka’s explanation, but Alex remained silent, deep in thought. As someone who had worked closely with Yuka, he knew she hadn’t said a word when it turned into a red metal sheet; it wasn’t voice-controlled.

Alex was even more confused. The Oniyon can’t change colors. Though users can wrap psychic power around the Oniyon to morph it into any shape, the transformation isn’t conjured from thin air; two conditions are required:

First, the user’s psychic power must be at least A-tier. Second, the user must physically touch the Oniyon, forming a mental link. Once this link is made, the Oniyon can be shaped at will, but the link weakens once the Oniyon loses physical contact with the user.

Alex recalled a theory suggesting that with high enough psychic power, a user could control the Oniyon even from a distance. This was why mecha commanders could control multiple mechas in battle simultaneously.

He knew that commanders in the Alliance were few, and their psychic power levels were top-secret. If Yuka’s toy was really an Oniyon and she could control it without touching it, Alex could only imagine how powerful her psychic power could be.

"Alex?" Yuka’s voice snapped him back to reality.

Yuka, with a calm smile, said to Alex, "What are you daydreaming about? Class is over. Let’s go."

"Okay," Alex replied, pulling his thoughts back together and following Yuka out. Watching her walk ahead, he thought to himself that no matter why Yuka was hiding her true strength, he wouldn’t say a word. They were friends, after all.

Just then, Fred suddenly shouted, "Hold it right there!"

Yuka continued walking without turning her head.

"Yuka! I said stop!"

Yuka finally turned around, puzzled. "Yes? Can I help you?"

Fred, still wearing the red imprint of Yuka’s shoe on his face, spoke furiously, "Yuka, you stepped on me today, and I won’t forget it! In the upcoming competitions, don’t blame me if I beat you black and blue! People like you, always looking for shortcuts, have no real strength. Sooner or later, you’ll be kicked out of the Combat Department!"

He finished his threat, smugly waiting for Yuka’s reaction.

Yuka just said, "Oh," clearly baffled.

Fred was choked up, about to say more, when someone else cut in.

"Are you even a man?" the new voice blurted out. "I got my teeth knocked out by them and I didn’t even complain. You just got stepped on by a beautiful girl, and here you are making a scene?"

His speech was a bit slurred due to missing teeth, but the message was clear, and the surrounding crowd cast embarrassed looks at Fred.

The guy then turned to see Yuka, pale and softly murmuring, "It’s okay... he’s just talking, he won’t really do anything to me..."

Fred, seeing Yuka acting like a delicate lady, trembled with anger and shouted, "Stop pretending, weren’t you all high and mighty before?"

"Fred, don’t go too far," someone in the crowd loudly said. "It’s just one match. Can’t you take a loss? Why do you keep picking on Yuka? You’re a royal prince, for heaven’s sake. Show some dignity."

People around chimed in, "Yeah, we lost too. We’re all classmates, why are you always against Yuka?"

Fred clenched his teeth.

The royal family wasn’t as glorious as it used to be. As the eldest prince, he had always been taught by his mother to keep a low profile and befriend commoners. But he had always looked down on those with lower psychic power levels than his, and refused to befriend them, resulting in no one willing to speak up for him now, except his sidekick.

By the time he stormed out of the crowd, Yuka and her group had already left. His sidekick, trying to read his mood, suggested, "Your Highness, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with them later. Don’t be angry, I..."

Fred, swatting away his hand in a rage, stormed off.

Back at the dorm, Yuka heaved a sigh of relief.

Pretending to be weak was quite the challenge. She had let loose too much in the underground arena and struggled to rein it in during her "aerial act" in front of everyone. Thankfully, her quick thinking provided a decent excuse.

Ayoi collapsed onto her bed, murmuring, "Yuka, I don’t want to walk another step today..."

"Then let’s not," Yuka replied, lying down on her own bed. And so, they stayed in bed until the next morning.

Tuesday’s theory class, still focused on insectoids, included a special showing of the Alliance Army’s operation in Central Square from the previous weekend.

Professor Marlon reassured the class, "This is the official response from the Alliance Army, so there’s no need to worry about the insectoids returning." He then continued the lesson, "But we still have to continue our course. Please turn to page 101..."

Ayoi, hiding behind a classmate to avoid the professor’s gaze, whispered to Yuka, "For tomorrow’s Self-Rescue class, since the teacher won’t be there anyway, why don’t we just go to the underground arena?"

"Sounds good," Yuka replied.

She texted Alex in their group chat, and he quickly agreed, "Okay."

Ayoi excitedly clenched her fist, "This will be my first time skipping class!"

...

Wednesday morning, at the underground arena...

The bald man rubbed his eyes, yawning. Just last night, he had to leave his bed to open the betting as the third and fifteenth ranked fighters clashed near midnight. Despite earning five million astracredits, he wasn’t thrilled.

"Sir!" At the sound, he jolted awake, eyes widening as he saw Yuka approaching. "Why are you here today?!" he exclaimed, almost panicking.

Yuka blinked innocently, "Can’t I come today?"

"Of course, of course," the bald man said, forcing a smile. "You’re welcome anytime."

Alex and Ayoi exchanged glances, puzzled by the man’s sudden change in attitude.

Yuka leaned against the counter where the man collected money and turned to Alex and Ayoi, "I’ve bought quite a bit of information from him. He said he’d tell us everything he knows."

The man started to protest, but stopped when Yuka shook her opticomputer, displaying the Alliance Bank’s call screen.

"I have no... objections," he said through gritted teeth.

Alex and Ayoi eagerly leaned in, their eyes full of curiosity.

The bald man shifted uncomfortably, then divulged, "The latest news: last night, the third and fifteenth ranked fighters had a match. The third rank won easily."

He glanced at Yuka, then quickly added, "The third rank is a complete genius with melee weapons, using just a sword to defeat all challengers. The fifteenth rank is a versatile talent, piloting a typical mecha armed with a cannon on the left arm and a cold weapon on the right. Both are exceptionally skilled, and the third ranker is a newcomer this year."

The bald man muttered under his breath, "It’s a strange year, indeed. Talented newcomers flocking to the underground arena."

He looked at the trio and advised, "Just listen and don’t get too involved. If you ever face someone in the top hundred, just surrender to avoid a psychological trauma."

Ayoi bristled, "Don’t underestimate us. What if we make it into the top hundred?"

The bald man stood up, seizing them up from head to toe: Ayoi in the first position, Alex second, Yuka third. After three seconds, he concluded they were weak. Very weak. Extremely weak.

He laughed without mercy, "Then come back and tell me when you break into the top hundred. I’ll acknowledge all three of you as my friends, and you’ll get a share of my earnings."

Yuka tilted her head and asked, "Oh? How much?"

He waved his hand grandly, "Fifty-fifty!" He was certain these ’weaklings’ wouldn’t make it into the top hundred even in ten years.

Yuka smiled, "Deal."

The bald man suddenly felt a chill at the top of his head but dismissed the odd sensation, continuing, "Hey, did you know? Last weekend, someone ranked over twenty thousand defeated a top hundred fighter."

Ayoi gasped, "Really?"

Alex, also surprised, asked, "What did their mecha look like?"

The bald man’s expression turned odd, "That mecha... it was a garish pink."

The butler, outraged in Yuka’s psychic realm, accused the bald man, "How dare he call the color I picked garish pink! It’s a super cute bright pink!"

Yuka reassured the butler, "He’s just talking nonsense. The color you chose looks great."

The butler, still embarrassed, asked, "Really?"

Yuka nodded, "Really." Even if she thought the color was eye-wateringly hideous, she wouldn’t allow others to criticize it.

"I think it looks nice," Yuka said to the bald man.

Sensing Yuka’s deadly glare, the bald man quickly corrected himself, "Right, right, it looks great. The fighting style of this mecha is quite unique. I haven’t figured out its strategy yet, but one thing is clear: its close combat skills are formidable."

"And him defeating the former rank hundredth was partly luck," the bald man added.

"Oh, by the way, you three are planning to compete in the team matches, right?" He glanced at them. "I suggest you first try a team match on your own. Get a feel for working with strangers. It’ll help you adapt."

"Adapt to what?" asked Alex.

"To the feeling of being utterly frustrated by your teammates," the bald man replied with a bit of schadenfreude. "Many go in as best friends and come out as sworn enemies. So, it’s better to get annoyed by strangers first, lower your expectations, and realize how inexperienced you are. That way, when you team up with your friends, you won’t end up hating each other."

Yuka asked, "But how does one play a team match alone?"

"Through random matching," he explained. "Just select the team match option. The system will automatically pair you with teammates if you’re alone."

After explaining, he looked at Yuka, signaling with his eyes for them to leave quickly and stop interfering with his business.

Yuka shrugged and said to Alex and Ayoi, "Let’s go."

She waved at the bald man, "Thanks for the info, Mr. Bald." freёnovelkiss.com

He reflexively nodded, then realized she had called him ’Bald Uncle.’ Annoyed, he shouted after them, "Mr. Bald? My name is Black! But fine, call me whatever you like."

Ayoi hopped excitedly, "Let’s all choose the team match mode. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be paired together!"

Alex was more realistic, "The chances of that happening seem pretty low."

Yuka opened the door to her room and waved goodbye, "See you at lunch." She settled into her holographic pod, returning to the familiar starting interface. After massaging her fingers, she navigated through the menu and selected the team match mode.

Yuka, wanting to avoid the confusion she experienced in her last map match, cautiously asked Min, "Are there anything special about team matches?"

Min responded: [Yes.In team matches, since it involves cooperation among three players, we have added an internal team voice communication system. Players can talk to each other. However, to protect the privacy of players, we will alter the voice of each participant.]

[Additionally, the maps for team matches are larger. Each player will be provided with a terrain map. On this map, you can see the locations of your teammates, but the enemy’s location will be hidden. It’s up to the players to figure out where their opponents are.]

[We also recommend that each team appoints a combat commander. This helps to unite the team’s strength in the shortest time, which is the essence of a team match.]

[Please choose your map.]

Yuka hadn’t expected team matches to have so many variations. She was glad she asked beforehand.

She spent a moment browsing the map interface and finally selected "Mountain Marshes" as her map.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Yuka calmly said, "Let’s go."