BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

The following day, Erik woke up better than ever. He hadn't slept on a real bed since he was ten and had forgotten the feeling and was awestruck by the mattress's comfort and the room's luxury. He envied Amber's, Gwen's, and Floyd's lifestyles but could only curse life for his unfair living conditions.

As soon as the young man dressed and got out of the room, he went down a staircase that led him to the entrance, and there he asked the butler where Amber was.

"She is in the living room, currently having breakfast. If you follow me, I will bring you there..."

After five minutes of walking, Erik reached the place where he found his friend happily munching on a pear.

"Good morning Erik!" Amber said, smiling.

"Good morning Amber!"

Erik then sat at the table, and not before having accepted his daily quest, he started eating while chatting with the young woman. The mood was jovial throughout the breakfast, but Erik couldn't take out of his mind that it was all a ploy to extort him, the biological supercomputer.

Though, for now, he was a guest in Amber's house and had to act according to his status. While trying to figure out if coming to Amber's house was really the most brilliant move to make, a notification rang inside Erik's ears.

[DAILY QUEST COMPLETED.]

After breakfast, Amber and Erik took one of the cars, and a driver brought them to school. It didn't take them more than 10 minutes to arrive there, and as they went through the main gate, they saw countless people trying to enter to look at the incoming matches.

Apparently, they had been anticipated to 11 in the morning, meaning that Erik and the other could only have a light spar before the match.

"I see you are here already." A voice came from behind them. When they turned to look at who spoke, they saw Gwen's and Floyd's faces; they had just arrived. After exchanging some greetings, the four students immediately went to the gym to spar.

Still, they stopped an hour before the start of the matches in order to be well-rested during the fights. Though Erik could complete his second daily quest, a sweet notification appeared before his eyes.

[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE]

[LEVEL UP]

<Good...> Erik thought.

The group then headed to the main entrance, where the electronic board was showing the people still participating in the tournament.

"Looks like Allan, the guy Gwen was talking about, was able to reach this round. If he wins today, he will join the Red Palace," Erik said with a serious face while looking at the electronic board showing the fighters who still were in the tournament. Exactly 44 four students.

"I told you he was good... " Gwen interjected. She had her usually stoic face on her, but a slight smile plastered her face as if she was happy that Allan had made it this far. Erik actually wondered if Gwen liked the guy. After all, she was looking at his fight the other day, so maybe that was not a coincidence. Then, as if he had read his mind, Floyd started teasing his friend.

"Do you like him?" he asked with a taunting face. Gwen turned to glare at him, "NO." she flatly replied.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet you can't wait to see his next match and look at his strong and big muscles," Floyd said with a mischievous smile.

Though Gwen didn't like Floyd's joke, she walked toward him, ready to smash her fist into his face. Knowing her, Floyd started running, smiling like an idiot in the process. Gwen liked it even less and started chasing the young man.

"Those two will never change..." Amber said while sighing. Erik watched Gwen chasing Floyd all over the school with a smile plastered on his face. This was exactly what he had longed for all these years.

Ten minutes before the matches started, all the students gathered in front of the board, near which the usual podium was placed. As usual, Professor McAllister went on it and started his speech.

"Hello everybody... It's finally here; this is the moment we've been waiting for!" The teacher said almost enthusiastically, something weird for him. "This is the last round of qualification. Whoever manages to win today is going to join the Red Palace."

Cheers erupted among the crowd of students, parents, friends, and family.

"For those of you that made it this far, congratulation, this has been a feat in itself. For my part, I am proud to say that I have taught some of the participants. They are talented individuals, and if any of them manage to make it to the finals, they deserve to get into the Red Palace," Professor McAllister said while looking at some of the students inside the crowd. He then continued his speech, reminding everyone of the rules and wishing the stronger would come on top.

"Now is the time to know who your opponents are!"

Immediately, all 44 students participating in the tournament got a notification on their phones, and Erik was obviously one of them.

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ERIK ROMANO VS JACQUELINE WILEY

HEALER: JIMMY SANDERS

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This time, Erik was aware of who his opponent would be. Jacqueline Wiley was one of the people that Floyd said to keep an eye on.

The young woman possessed a brain crystal power that allowed her to grow some clawed bones that protruded from her fists. Despite being a not particularly strong power, it proved invaluable to her in melee combat by significantly increasing the damage she could deal.

Floyd also noticed that her claws grew in strength, length, durability, and sharpness proportionally to the quantity of mana supplied, making them deadly in her hands.

This wasn't the only problem, though. According to his friend, Jacqueline was also highly talented in martial arts, especially when using her claws as weapons, as they complimented her fighting style.

In addition, she knew how to use her power very efficiently and used both her physical strength and her innate battle senses against her enemies, making her a formidable opponent. Besides, her speed was relatively high, allowing her to dodge attacks and counterattack quickly.

Erik was a little bit anxious about the fight. Floyd spoke highly of this girl and didn't know if he was strong enough to beat her. After having found the healer, Erik searched for the woman in question, and after having found her, he remained surprised.

Jacqueline was a very tall woman with long black hair tied up behind her head and a pair of emerald green eyes. Her skin was tanned and smooth, giving her a rather attractive appearance. She was currently wearing the school's training attire, a very tight uniform made from an elastic material that highlighted her toned muscles and round butt.

The young woman had a slender figure but was surprisingly well-proportioned; she looked more than capable of holding her own in a fight. Although she appeared calm, there was a hint of determination in her eyes, indicating that she was prepared for whatever might happen during the fight.

Surprisingly, the woman didn't trash-talk Erik like the other opponents did. Instead, she wished him good luck and didn't say anything else, maintaining her razor-sharp focus on the upcoming fight.

Erik quite liked her attitude, and it was refreshing, for once, to find someone who did not try to humiliate him or even talk down to him.

It seemed that aside from her outwardly calm demeanor, the young woman was actually a good person, unlike most others in the school or in the city for all that mattered.

After the two fighters chose the proper place to fight, they waited for the referee to signal the start of the match while staring each other in the eyes. There was nothing more than a pure focus on their faces, the will to win and prove themselves burning deep within their hearts. When the ref gave the go-ahead, they moved forward at the same time, trying to take advantage of the momentum.