Ascension: Online

"By the way, Aisa," I said as we finished up eating.

"What?" she turned to me, raising an eyebrow.

"This tournament… you have it set as a main quest, correct?"

She nodded. "Yes. What of it?"

"What if a player fails to enter the sect, somehow?" I asked. "I mean, I've faced other players, even in the preliminaries, and they were outright eliminated after losing to me. What happens to them?"

"A different questline is triggered if that happens. Although, it really is not too important to you, is it?"

I shrugged. "Sure. I was just curious."

"Naturally, this secondary questline is inferior. It is a lot more boring and takes longer to get stronger. Count yourself lucky, human. Also, if you were wondering, the probability of Nadeshiko Nakano and that demon making it into the sect as well are above 99%. In other words, your actions from behind the scenes were successful."

"Hm~?" Nadeshiko turned and looked at me, licking her lips seductively. "Hehehe~ Kaze, you purposely wanted me to join the sect as well~? Aww, how cute…"

"Nice going Aisa, revealing my 'behind-the-scenes' actions," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"The fights are over anyway. Why do they still need to be kept secret?" Aisa asked, as if confused by my illogical emotions.

"You wouldn't understand, computer," I chuckled.

Some people just didn't want to draw attention to themselves, whenever possible. I was one of those people.

"Hehe… Kaze-kun's always been like that," Hina-nee giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Even if he does something sweet for someone, he won't ever tell the person it was him who did it unless it was necessary."

"The only one I've ever done that for is you, Hina-nee…"

"That's true, heehee."

"…" Furuwa remained silent, choosing to not participate in the conversation. She had a somewhat distant look in her eyes, as if there was something deep down troubling her.

I pretended not to notice this, however, and instead called the waitress over, preparing to pay the bill and leave.

*****

8:45 AM. 15 minutes left until the closing ceremony for the tournament began.

The four girls and I headed for the center of the city, where it would be taking place. The three judges from the Blessing Nature sect were already there, along with the mayor. A lot of the audience had gathered as well, waiting in anticipation for the finale of the tournament.

While we waited, I decided to ask Aisa some more questions. This was as good an opportunity as any, since everyone's attention was focused on the stage and henceforth couldn't bother trying to eavesdrop on us.

"Aisa."

"What, human?"

"It's about Jim and those two idiots," I replied quietly. "What happened to them in the real world? I never saw them, even on the weekend."

"Oh? That is good for you, no? Why bother caring?"

"Sure, it's best if they never come back, but we're true allies now anyway, so can't you just satisfy my curiosity?"

She sighed and looked away. "… Fine. Jim Fitzroy - that is his name, yes? It appears he has been caught in some sort of scandal on Earth."

At this, the other girls began listening in as well.

"Hm~? Who's Jim Fitzroy?" Nadeshiko tilted her head, confused.

"Don't worry about it," I replied briskly, not wanting to explain all this to her.

"What kind of scandal is it?" Hina-nee asked.

"A student of his found out about his… tragic past. Said student got into an argument with him during class and ended up using this as a weapon. As for Fitzroy… he lost his cool and ended up punching the student. Thus…"

There was no need for her to go any further.

"Hm… I see. Tell me about his past," I said coldly.

"That is his private information. Why do you want to know, human?"

"And since when were you so nice to humans as to keep their information private?" I sighed. "I want to know because I may be able to use him, if he ever comes back into the game."

"… Not everyone can be used, human. Having too many pawns may come back and bite you in the rear later on."

"…" I leaned my back against the wall of a nearby building, thinking. "Guess you're right. Forget I asked. But what about the other two?"

"Mazami Ichigo and Yamato Horiya?" Aisa raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. What happened to those two idiots?"

"Homework," she replied simply. "They were suspended for two weeks — they have a ton of work piled up for them to do, enough to fill their weekends too. The workload of high schools in your homeland of Japan is no small amount. Because of this, they did not come online."

"Hmph, serves them right for trying to beat up my Kaze-kun!" Hina-nee snorted, folding her arms.

"How long are they going to remain like this?" I asked, rubbing my chin. "Jim's a pretty chill guy, so I won't try and use him, but those two? They're the perfect sacrifices, when the situation calls."

"Unfortunately, it seems it will be a long while before they can ever touch this game again. From what I can see, their parents… broke their AR sets, since they were trying to play despite having loads of homework to do."

So their parents didn't break the set when they were suspended, but did when they refused to do homework? Very interesting, indeed.

"Yikes… that's quite a bit of money, wasted," Furuwa whistled.

"Kaze, Kaze, you seem to hate these two a lot… can I kill them once we go back to Earth~?" Nadeshiko tugged on my arm and looked up at me with a pleading look in her eyes.

"No, you can't kill anyone once we're back on Earth. Don't cause any trouble for me," I sneered. "Actually, on second thought, after we go back, we won't have any relationship with one another, so you can do whatever you want. Just don't expect me to bail you out if you get arrested."

"Mmph… no fun~" she pouted and let go of my arm angrily.

"Though… if you can make it seem like an accident, you might be able to get away, y'know?" I added half-jokingly with a grin.

She blinked a couple of times as she understood what I meant, and smiled like a little devil. "Hehehe… understood, Master~"

I rolled my eyes in frustration. "I already told you, don't call me tha-"

"Welcome, everyone, to the closing ceremony of the Annual Qilian Regional Competition, 2051!" the mayor, Zhen Yuhan, interrupted my words with his loud megaphone. "Throughout the past week, contestants have faced each other in duels with no restraints holding them back. Many lives were lost, many brave warriors fallen. But the ones remaining… are the true heroes, forged by might and blood."

I whistled. "Nice speech."

"Without further ado, to those of you who missed out on some battles, I will now announce the final results of this year's tournament. Contestants, when your name is called, please step onto the stage."

The mayor cleared his throat and continued. "Tied for third place, we have… Sakura Hina and Chiaki Furuwa!"

Hina-nee smiled and headed for the stage confidently, Furuwa trailing shortly behind with a serious expression on her face.

"Next up, there is no one in second place, because the contestant was unfortunately killed in his final fight. However, his name shall be remembered: Ling Tian Yu!"

I couldn't help but grunt in dissatisfaction at hearing this abomination of a name, but it is what it is.

"And finally… the first place winner… the grand champion… we have: Igarashi Kaze!"

Sighing, completely unsurprised by these results I single-handedly manipulated into happening, I headed onto the stage. Hina-nee shuffled over and left me a spot between herself and Furuwa.

"Congratulations to all three podium finishers!"

Roars of excitement and claps erupted from the crowd, basking us in glory and honor. I found all of this extremely artificial and useless, but Hina-nee and Furuwa both seemed to be enjoying it, though the latter of course didn't let it show on her face.

Once the cheering and applause died down, the mayor continued.

"Now then, it is about time to announce the other contestants who have made it into the Blessing Nature Sect as well. Elder Ning, if you will…?"

The elf woman sitting in the middle throne nodded and stood up, accepting the megaphone the mayor presented to her. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat, then opened them again.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Ning Xiayu, one of the Ten Elders of the Blessing Nature Sect. It was truly my honor to spectate this tournament — many brave and strong souls participated. It is a shame many of them died, but the remaining ones are more than enough to become my sect's new, more powerful generation. Without any further ado... I will now be announcing the names of the contestants who are eligible to enter our sect as well, excluding the top three standing right here:"

I listened intently for the names I wanted to hear.

"Ming Yi!"

Oh…? That was a surprise.

"Nadeshiko Nakano!"

Naturally.

"And lastly… Koroth Lulvic!"

Hm… there we go.

It seems all the people I wanted to enter the sect really did. I guess my hidden actions in the dark were of use after all.