The Transmigrated Author

Chapter 83: Semi-Finals Draw

[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Outside Of The Presentation Room]

[Wednesday, 1:55 PM]

Rel and Jan reached the doors of the presentation room, the 2 were frozen in place. Standing across the hall, two familiar figures stood opposing the two: Louise and Valencia. Louise's face was between the lines of anger and a disgusted look directed at Jan. Valencia shot an intense gaze at Rel, showing hostility and twisting her usual serene features.

Confused silence was what passed between the two. Jan and Rel exchanged panicked glances. Had they woken up in some bizarre alternate dimension where their enemies were suddenly teaming up?

Jan, noticing the tense atmosphere, decided to break the ice. "Hey everyone! How's it go–"

Louise cut him off. "Shut up, Jan." His voice dripped with venom. When Rel saw this, he knew he shouldn't be caught in the crossfire and knew he had to get to the room ASAP.

"Well, I'm just gonna–"

"You're too loud." Valencia's words sliced through his sentence, cold and final.

Inside their minds, both Jan and Rel screamed in perfect unison,

"WHAT DID WE DO?!"

Their silent panic was interrupted by the presentation room doors swinging open. Kolek's familiar figure stood at the entrance, impatience engraved on his face.

"What are you four doing? wondering like that? I can feel the tension from here. Get in already."

Wordlessly, the four semi-finalists filed inside. The seats were arranged as before, a line of chairs facing the podium. This time, though, it felt like a firing line. Jan and Valencia occupied the two central seats, with Louise and Rel moved to the far ends, as the unending hostility separated them.

Kolek cleared his throat, his voice echoing in the tense room.

"Congratulations on making it this far. The guild leaders in attendance have been very impressed. Now, without further ado, let's get these semi-final matchups drawn." He moved towards the box on the podium, his hand dipping inside.

***

{Rel's POV}

[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Presentation Room]

My heart pounded in my chest as Kolek's hand plunged into the draw box. I knew it was death one way or the other. If I got Jan he would make it a quick and easy death, If I drew Louise I'd be eviscerated into literal smithereens, if it's Valencia well I'd say goodnight at this point.

...

...

...

Every second felt like a lifetime, a ticking clock counting down to my demise. Kolek called the first name... Jan. The air grew heavier. "Jan Ates, you will face... Louise Villerion!"

The announcement was as much to my demise and here I thought that I could ever step foot into a final for something...

"I'll kill him..." Louise's voice muttered, I don't know if it was me but the temperature had suddenly gotten hotter.

The hatred radiating from Louise could melt steel beams, and even from my position at the end of the row, I felt the full force of it directed at Jan.

My own situation wasn't much better. When Kolek finally announced,

"And our final semi-final match will be Rel Laurence against Valencia Freya,"

I'm doomed... Every instinct screamed at me to run, to hide. I couldn't help but steal a glance at Valencia.

Turning towards her, I saw that smile, It was so cold I could feel the frost from across the room. It was a smile that promised slow, intentional killing.

Jan nudged my arm. "Good luck," he whispered.

I could only muster a glare in response. Luck? Was he serious? I was about to be incinerated, dissected, or both. All for... existing?

Valencia grumbled under her breath, glaring at Jan across the table. Thanks a lot, Jan, for putting her on the spot.

She swallowed the last bite of pancake with a huff and mumbled, "I'm... versing him." Her voice dropped to a near whisper, a clear indication of discomfort with even speaking the name.

"Who's 'him'?" Camila persisted, tilting her head in playful confusion. A beat of recognition dawned on her face. "Oh right! You're up against Rel, aren't you?"

Lyra's surprise mirrored Camila's. Lost in the Jan-Louise hype, she'd forgotten about that other match. But now, the memory of Rel's brutal display against Carlos resurfaced.

"...!"

As if reading her mind, Camila's voice dipped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Did you watch the recording of Rel's fight, Valencia? Things got a bit... intense."

Valencia shook her head, curiosity piqued. "No. What happened?"

Camila and Lyra launched into a rapid-fire explanation, filling Valencia in on the details of Rel's fight. Valencia listened, her initial curiosity changing into shock as the full picture unfolded. She hadn't expected such a display of raw aggression from the quiet, seemingly reserved student.

"He... he did what?" Valencia breathed, her eyes wide. "That's... unlike him." A frown creased her brow. There had to be a reason. "Did they say why?"

Camila shrugged. "Not that I heard of. Apparently, they had to remove the whole match recording from the database today."

Jan, who'd been trying to disappear into his coffee cup, couldn't ignore their conversation. He regretted bringing up Valencia's match, but with Rel involved, could he have done differently?

The beat down was one thing, but Rel's words from before... Jan wrestled with a sense of responsibility, he wanted to respect Rel's privacy. With a forced smile, the best he could manage, his voice cut through their chatter.

"Let's move on from that fight, alright?"

BZZZT!, BZZZT!

Simultaneous buzzes broke the chatter as Jan and Valencia's watches buzzed like crazy.

Notifications filled their screens – the long-awaited semi-final match times had arrived.

Jan's stomach flipped. As the group went quiet over the time.

"Well, here goes nothing." Jan opened his watch to see his match time...

"What's your time?" he asked Valencia.

She checked. "3:30."

"Then mine's gotta be 3:00." Jan stretched, feigning confidence.

"Good luck, Valencia," he said, meaning it.

She returned a curt nod, the two knew that they had to leave. Then, with the same kind grace Valencia said her goodbyes stood up and left, Jan who did the same waved and mumbled farewell.

_______________

[Match Schedule - Semi-Finals, Match 25#]

[Jan Ates (1) Vs Louise Villerion (2)] - [Time: 3:00 PM]

[Valencia Freya (3) Vs Rel Laurence (13)] - [Time: 3:30 PM]

_______________

***

____________

Authors Notes:

- This song helps me a lot when I'm writing these cafe scenes - Love Letter by Cavendish Music