Thunderbolt Star Saga

Challenge (middle)

The gymnasium buzzed with anticipation as the black-suited host swept his arm across the cheering crowd. "What a turnout for our final challenge of the month!" Liu Ke's rouge-tinted cheeks glowed under the arena lights, his theatrical pause perfectly timed. "Contestants, step forward! Who'll be lucky enough to draw a female opponent?"

Lin Fan recognized the showman from orientation week - the same freshman who'd monopolized every coed conversation with relentless chatter. Now transformed into a ringmaster, Liu whipped the spectator stands into frenzy with practiced showmanship.

"Lin Fan!"

The gardenia-scented voice spun him around. A girl in form-fitting combat blacks tilted her head, her ponytail swaying like ink brushed across rice paper. Morning light gilded the hollow of her throat where her training suit dipped, framing her like the first magnolia blossom of spring.

She rose on tiptoes without warning, cinnamon eyes level with his Adam's apple. "Do you always turn into stone around girls?" Her breath warmed his collarbone as he stumbled back, crimson flooding from earlobes to sternum. The musical laughter that followed carried across the mats as she retreated toward the***.

"Don't embarrass yourself too badly!" she called over her shoulder, executing a perfect cartwheel onto the platform. The fading echo of her challenge left Lin Fan rooted in place, unaware of the ancient tome spirit grinding her teeth in the shadows.

Fate dealt its cruel joke when Lin Fan drew Situ Junji - the freshman cohort's undisputed wind armor prodigy. His opponent's profile flashed on the holographic scoreboard, displaying mastery levels that dwarfed Lin Fan's novice stats.

The girl materialized beside him again, twirling her own match slip. "Li Ouyang," she announced with mock solemnity. "Barely cracks 1500 Fadu on water armor. Isn't destiny hilarious?" Her conspiratorial wink outshone the arena lights.

"Have we met before?" Lin Fan finally blurted.

She danced backward, laughter scattering like windchimes. "Win your match and find out!"

The opening bout proved brutal. A flaming claymore cleaved through earthen defenses in a shower of molten rock. Lin Fan shielded his face from the scorching backlash, tasting burnt ozone on his tongue.

"Next challengers - Xu Zihan versus Li Ouyang!"

The ponytailed girl bounded onto the mats as her opponent preened under camera drones. Li's crystal-studded belt threw prismatic daggers across the arena. "Let's see if the Light Armor Institute's golden girl lives up to the hype," he drawled, fingertips tracing watery sigils.

"Still buying your way through tournaments, Li?" Xu's crimson sash snapped like battle standards. "Need me to demonstrate that pinning technique from senior high? The one where you cried for the proctors?"

Liu Ke materialized at Lin Fan's elbow, stage whisper carrying across the front row. "That pretty boy's family funded the new museum wing." When Lin Fan kept his gaze locked on the combatants, the host added sotto voce: "Two hundred says Li takes it."

"Deal." Lin Fan's smile didn't reach his eyes. "But let's raise the stakes - you bark like a schnauzer at center court if I win. And tell me that redhead's name."

"You're vicious!" Liu hissed, though excitement gleamed beneath his outrage. "When this is over, introduce me to..."

Golden radiance exploded across the arena before he could finish. Xu Zihan materialized in liquid light armor, her blade carving solar flares through Li's collapsing water shields. The crowd's roar shook the bleachers as Lin Fan's payment alert chimed.

"Two hundred," he reminded the gaping host, already striding toward the prep area. Behind him, Xu's declaration rang clear:

"Now to collect my favorite loser!"

The departing grimoire spirit's angry mutters blended with spectator gossip: "That new kid's connected, right?" "Would explain how he's still breathing after tangling with the Crimson Banshee..."