Beyond Phantasia

The signal blared, and the robots shot to life. Novian’s eyes looked focused. His fingers tightened on the rifle's grip, aimed, and fired. Streams of plasma shot forth, cutting through the air with precision. The plasma bolts collided with the first row of robots, causing them to erupt and disappear. Novian moved with a practiced rhythm, his eyes and body darting between targets as he unleashed a barrage of energy, each shot meticulously aimed to destroy whatever bot was in his sight.

Disgusting. He was disgusting.

“Novian! Let’s go, Novian!” Iris and a group of fangirls cheered from the sidelines.

However, Kaeygo was something else. With a flick of his tail and a low hiss, he transformed his body into a snake-like creature. His green scales shimmered as he morphed into the serpentine creature, slithering effortlessly around the battlefield. As he approached the robots, Kaeygo's form shifted again, his body elongating and splitting into multiple appendages akin to a spider. His claws, now razor-sharp, sliced through the robots like butter.

“Kaeygo! Kaeygo!” A small group of Lakertans, along with some fangirls, joined in to cheer for him.

The robots, now caught between the two, struggled to keep up. Novian’s plasma rifle continued to blaze through the bots while Kaeygo's shapeshifting allowed him to adapt and overcome most countermeasures. With a final, powerful swing, Kaeygo's tail sent a group of robots crashing into a wall.

They were quick and efficient. The five minutes were just leisure time for these two. If they had more time, they would’ve done way much more.

[5 Minutes Completed! Calculating score…]

==========

Total Score: 100/100

Novian Songstar: 56

Kaeygo Jarchaku: 41

Wilt Clain: 0

Mary May: 2

Michael Ruff: 1

==========

The nobles were silent, while everyone else cheered. Novian made his debut, demonstrating the difference in strength between him and them. He really was a monster. A perfect score of one hundred, one that I doubt anyone could match. He even took down over half the bots. Kaeygo was good, but Novian was simply better.

“Very well done, batch one, group one. Novian, Kaeygo, you have a bright future as combatants! Haha!” Instructor Weak applauded.

“Thank you, Instructor Weak. I needed to make a demonstration for the others as the Legacy Star,” Novian said.

“Haha! Excellent, excellent! I expect great things from you, Songstar.” Instructor Weak replied.

This…can I even compete with that?

What I just witnessed seemed inhumanly possible. Even though Kaeygo was ranked fourth, he was still incredibly powerful, yet Novian managed to close a fifteen-point gap. He would only keep growing stronger from here.

I was left to my own thoughts while batches two and three went through their rounds.

“Batch five, you're up!” Instructor Weak called out, snapping me from my thoughts.

The three heroines made their way into the training room.

Elara will go for the minigun. Iris will use her drones, which are permitted during combat class, and Aurelia will use her custom bow, a weapon that cannot be changed in Beyond. There’s no need for her to use her botanic control here.

Once again, I guessed correctly as they picked up their respective weapons.

The countdown started.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Begin!]

Elara instantly took the lead, shouting commands as her minigun revved up and roared to life. She unleashed an endless stream of bullets at the incoming wave of robots, the barrel of her weapon spinning rapidly and spitting out rounds that shredded them with ease. Her precision and power in handling heavy artillery, her specialty, were unmatched — each shot tearing through the robots with devastating force.

Just behind Elara, Iris moved with calculated grace, her drones buzzing around her like protective fans. The Mercier Company’s drones were really something, projecting energy shields to deflect incoming attacks and emitting EMP pulses to disrupt the bots' circuits. Iris seemed to be having a great time, smiling and laughing as she directed her drones, their synchronized movements boosting the team's defensive capabilities.

Aurelia, positioned at a higher vantage point in the room, drew her bow with ease. She notched an arrow and took aim, her eyes tracking the movements of the robots. With a smooth release, the arrow flew through the air, striking multiple targets with pinpoint accuracy as it circled the room. Just one shot from Aurelia’s bow was enough to deal with those bots.

As more bots poured in, Elara sprinted in at inhumane speed swinging her minigun like a sword crushing the bots over and over.

This…

I was stunned. This was something that a regular person couldn’t even dream of achieving, but I needed to make it into the top five. I have to give it everything I’ve got, or else what’s the point?

I sighed.

I’m really tired of this. Maybe I should just…no. Let’s not go that route. Focus.

Thump! Thump! My heart pounded intensely, a feeling I thought I threw away. It didn’t feel like my own.

Something… I don’t know, but this feeling in my chest keeps telling me to keep going. This really wasn’t like me. Am I still myself?

[5 Minutes Completed! Calculating score…]

==========

Total Score: 95/100

Elara Von Castille: 49

Aurelia Olorona: 35

Iris Mercier 10

Rachel Gun: 0

Dason Jay: 1

==========

The trio walked out. Elara appeared deep in thought, likely due to losing to Novian in scoring. Aurelia left silently, while Iris took pictures with her datachron.

“Well done batch four, group three excellent artillery with cover fire

Hah…

I took a deep breath.

Maybe. Maybe it’s possible.

Thump! Thump!

This feeling again.

Thump! Thump!

Tsk.

I clenched my chest. It was a slight pain, but it increasingly got worse.

Why was it doing this now, of all times?

“Final batch, batch five — you're up!” Instructor Weak called out.

“You better not screw up 4000. Leave it to me,” Gallgaher said.

“You…”

Thump! Thump!

“Fine," I said.

“Good.” Gallgaher smiled.

Everyone made their way inside their rooms. As we entered the initial area, it was filled with a variety of guns and melee weapons I had never seen before, though most seemed to be upgraded versions of the guns from back home.

Everyone picked up a weapon, with Gallagher choosing a minigun. He looked as if he could barely hold it.

“Can you even hold that properly?” I asked.

“Shut it, peasant. You’ll see.” Gallagher sneered.

I rolled my eyes.

I looked around the vicinity, scanning my options. I slung a plasma rifle across my back and noticed what appeared to be very sharp knives, along with a semi-automatic pistol.

I’ll assume they’re all plasma.

Lastly, this shotgun should do the trick.

“Haha! You’re really carrying all of that? Aren’t you just ridiculous?” Gallagher laughed.

The other group members looked at me as if they agreed with Gallagher. I ignored them; there were more important things to focus on. My score.

“Tch. Remember, 4000 — don’t hold me back.”

The countdown began.

[3]

Thump!

[2]

Thump!

[1]

THUMP!

[Begin!]