Tempest: The Champion

Phase 6: Stepping Up the Game, part 1

The final arena looked like a tropical rainforest, including the rain. Unlike the other fights, the grand finale is fought until five Fatal points are scored.

At the beginning, it seemed that Comette has the upper hand. She had a Counter-gravity engines in her feet, allowing her to glide around the battlefield and perform deadly strikes from above. However, Nightingale used a similar tactic, so the fight soon turned into a mostly aerial battle.

Even though Comette had all the trumps on her side, Nightingale still managed to win. She took advantage that while "walking" in the air, Comette's balance suffered. A few rapid, ferocious strikes with the right timing were enough to bring Comette out of sky and score the required points.

The European Neoclash Showdown was awesome to watch. I hope that I'll be able to compete in this prestigious tournamment at least once.

A new season, a new chance.

We start to travel more so I can try Skirmishes and even Third-leagues in different cities. It's great how do the cities differ. Some Skirmishes are held in quiet, countryside towns where the arena's terraces are sometimes made of wood. I attended a Third-league in Leeds where I saw its majestic, ancient beauty and also in Liverpool which became a hypermodern, busy city. (I have no idea who were The Beatles, but their legacy is still alive even though they were active long before the Impact. I will have to ask the internet about them.)

Unlike Skirmishes, the Third-league tournamments pay a small amount of money for every victory since they already have lots of viewers and the promoters are willing to give out some of the money they received for the rights to broadcast the tournamment.

Unlike the Skirmish, the Third-league has either 32 or 64 contestants, depending on the city, and in each round, half of them are eliminated. My best result before the New Year was Top 4. However, at the end of January, I made it to the final round in a tournamment in Manchester.

While the winner won the ꝶ1000 prize money, I left the arena with a ꝶ500 cashcard in my (okay, Ryan's) pocket which is more than for winning a Skirmish. Thanks to my successful fights, we no longer live on the verge of poverty and we can afford some higher living standards.

However, our journey is still at the beginning.

It's February. That means I'm in this new world for a year already.

"You've come a long journey considering it's only a year since you started fighting," Ryan says. "I really owe you a lot, Zoya. Thanks to you and your victories, I no longer have to worry if I'll have money for the next week's food. Thanks to you, I... we will rise to the top. I just know it."

I get comfortable on a couch we bought a week ago to replace Ryan's old, damaged one (ꝶ280). I'm wearing a back blouse and a comfortable skirt (ꝶ25 each). "Thanks, Ryan. However, I still have some places to test my mettle. The Nottingham Challenge is tomorrow and I think I could be able to win this one."

"That would be great. You would be finally qualified to join a Second-league tournamment." Ryan sits next to me, drinking a cup of latté from the brand new coffee machine I bought him recently, just out of friendship (ꝶ170). "I would finally have an excuse to travel more!"

I nod. "The reward for winning a Second-league is ten thousand royals plus possible bonuses from sponsors. Would it be enough to finish your research?"

"Yeah," Ryan replies. "But... I feel a bit guilty. It's you who makes all the money. You should have them for yourself, buy the most expensive electronics and clothes, live like a queen. However, it's mostly me who spends them. And I feel it's not right."