Parallel Memory

The training continued until it was time for the selection. We were given one day of rest time before the actual contest.

I took this chance to look at the report of the company which I delayed for one month. Lately, though I did not feel exhausted, I had to stay till midnight to train, so I didn't get a chance to get a look at how the company was doing.

The company was expanding at a good rate and the Mana battery will be ready to sell in a month. Megaplex was also picking up pace and starting to do better than before.

The number of employees under Tech Genesis has reached thousands and most non-combatants are now trying to join my company.

Anyway, after a quick skims at the report, I went to rest for the day. The contest was set to be held in Staff of Illusion and unlike our mid-term, there will be no monsters. Instead, we are to hunt each other.

The number of students present for the contest was easily over one thousand. From top-ranked students to low-ranked students, almost all were present there.

"Who do you think will qualify?"

"Of course, it will be from third-years. Their top-10 rankers are all Rank-D. There is no way second-year and first-year students can win against them."

"It is not certain. Second-year Ren Dreyar has also reached Rank-D - and we even have that rank from the first year. I heard Hiro Ernest had already reached Rank-D -."

"Rank-D? In his first year? He is too much of a monster." …

The students were chatting with each other and many were predicting who would emerge as participants.

The most popular one present there was Lisanna Lockser who is the current number one ranker of the Ace Academy. She is the strongest third year and not only is she famous for her strength but also her looks.

Contrary to her status, Lisanna is a rather young, petite teenage girl of a slender build who stands at a rather below-average height for her age. Her shoulder-length light blue hair, which has eyebrow-length bangs, is tied up with a rather bland ribbon around her head.

Her hair has a wavy, wild look, with more locks hanging down the sides of her face.

By appearance, I will not consider her to be the strongest, not in the no. 1 academy of Humalia Domain. She can be a pretty loli idol instead.

But she is strong and her current rank is C - and the only student in the whole academy who has reached a rank of C.

I heard that there is a fan club for her too. Her pretty face with a small body has indeed caused many boys to idolize her, like people liking child idols.

Her strength, contrary to her appearance, makes it quite a gap moe.

She had been considered a genius but her appearance always tends to deceive her opponent. Her appearance has caused many to underestimate her strength. Who would believe this petite girl to be the strongest in the whole Academy?

The incident of her beating up a junior was quite popular when we first attended the class. Apparently, some first-year students thought she was a first-year student like them and tried to harass her, only to get beaten up and sent to the hospital.

I remember seniors mentioning something like that happening in their second year too. Apparently, second-years, first-years back then thought her to be first-year and tried to harass her.

The next popular ones were Lyon and Toby who is second and third ranker of Third-year. They are both in Rank-D+ and are considered talented students. They are famous for their combination skill. When Lyon and Toby join hands together, it is said that they can hold their ground against Lisanna.

The top ranker of the second year is also quite popular. The Top ranker of the second year is Ren Dreyar who is in Rank-D -. Or the only second year to reach Rank-D. Others are apparently still at Rank-E+.

The second and third rankers of the second year were not even worth mentioning. They were still in Rank-E+.

In the first year, at least ten students are currently in Rank-E+. To be in the same rank as us, second years students was not that big of a deal.

Only Ren Dreyar might pose some challenge.

The most favored to win the selection was the Top-10 of third years who were all in Rank-D and Ren Dreyar from the second year and Hiro Ernest from the First-year who is also in Rank-D-.

Lisanna Lockser was sure to qualify and was allowed to not participate in the selection. Other students were also not opposed to the idea.

There was no way anyone could win against her if they fought against her. It would be a blessing for others if she was taken off the battlefield.

However, she refused. Reason? Fairness. Whether she was a top ranker or not, does not matter, she will do all the things with fairness.

It was one of her principles in life. She is also the discipline committee head. To her, everything should be carried out in fairness.

Since she said so, the professor had no choice but to let her participate. Therefore, it was also a matter of luck whether you spawn near her or not.

If you are unlucky and met her then I could only say good luck. There was no way other students could beat her unless they teamed up with someone.

"Listen here, you have exactly two hours in the dungeon to eliminate three other students. If you fail to do it under two hours, you will naturally be disqualified."

The rules were simple, to kill three students as fast as possible. The moment you qualify, you will be taken out of the dungeon. The first hundred students to eliminate three students would qualify for the selection tournament.

The match is also broadcasted on the training ground. Other students who are not participating and who will later be disqualified can watch and learn from other students.

Professors were also present to evaluate the students' performance. They were eager to see the improvement of students after going through intense training.

The participants were gathered on the training field and transported to the dungeon generated by the Staff of Illusion.

This was going to be a race against time.

-WHOOSH!

My whole body experiences traveling through time and space. Though I know my body is not actually going anywhere.

The moment I opened my eyes, I moved my hand towards the sword.

I then looked around and saw a figure. It was kind of small like a little kid.

( SH*T! )

Startled, I quickly backed off from my current position and tried to create some distance.

The unlucky one to encounter Lisanna was me.

( Indeed! Good luck to me. )

What happened to my increased luck? Rather than increasing my luck, I think it has decreased. How come I encountered Lisanna of all the students present here?

The figure drew closer.

-GULP!

I took out my sword and prepared to engage in battle. Even with a Rank-C - opponent, I still had a chance to win or at least run away.

"Who are you?"

Lisanna asked. She didn't attack directly like others. She is either cautious or confident in her abilities. But it was a good opportunity to get out of this situation with a talk. Time for 'Talk-no-Jutsu'.

"It is my honor to meet Mrs. Lisanna Lockser, the one called Carrier of Fairness."

'Carrier Of Fairness' is the title given by others to her. A title is something that is given to someone who does something remarkable or something that has benefited humanity.

The title given in school has the chance to stay with them forever.

Hiro also has a title, he is currently called the Rising Dragon. This is due to his remarkable feat of ranking up fast. Mrs. Mia as you know is called the Ice Enchantress due to her powerful Ice magic and her beautiful appearance.

While it is unofficial, I have the title of 'Clown Romeo' given to me by other students. I hope it changes when I graduate from here.

I don't want to have this embarrassing title attached to me forever.

"I hope Mrs. Lisanna can let me leave."

"I will ask again, who are you?"

Lisanna asked while showing no damn to what I have said earlier. She has a big attitude for a small body.

"I am Zero Elea, a first-year student."

"First-year, Zero Elea… Zero, …First-year…"

Lisanna mumbled as she tried to remember that name. She looked at my face again and said,

"The one chasing after Lisa."

( Huh? How did she know about it? )

"Terrorizing girls, teasing teachers, starting fights…"

"Wait, wait, wait, What?"

"These are the complaints that we received against you, Zero Elea."

"How can it be? I didn't do anything of that sort."

"We have yet to confirm the truth of the matter but it does not seem baseless as many people have a complaint about it."

"It is absolutely not true. Look at me, do I look like someone who will do that?"

"Yes, you do!"

Lisanna said emotionlessly like stating an obvious fact. She definitely thinks of me as a troublemaker.

"Anyway, I will be going."

I tried to take the chance to escape.

-SHINGGGG!

Suddenly, Lisanna took out her sword from her scabbard. I became alert and took my defensive position.

"Mrs. Lisanna, what are you doing?"

"Since fate has let us meet each other, we can only fight."

Lisanna said as she showed no sign of letting me go. I didn't expect to fight with the top of Ace Academy right from the start.

The battle between Lisanna, the Carrier of Fairness, and, Me, the Clown Romeo started.