This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

The rest of Day One passed in a blur of cheers, duels, and blood.

From their seats in the stands, Kain and his friends watched the matches roll out one after another. True to form, the tournament organizers had front-loaded the day with excitement. After Serena, Kain, and Kairos lit up the arena with their respective matches, the rest of the day unfolded with a seemingly carefully curated rhythm, punctuated by bursts of awe-inspiring skills by high-ranking participants, close matches, and the occasional comedic blunder.

Kain had his second match after lunch. His opponent this time was Rank 31—a girl with short black hair and an affinity for aquatic serpents. Her contracts emerged from her star space in ripples of blue, forming a trio of sinuous water-type beasts that circled her like a synchronized dance troupe.

They looked well-trained and decently strong.

But not strong enough.

He didn’t use Vauleth this time.

Queen and the Vespid Guards handled it neatly, their movements so clean and efficient that the fight ended before most of the audience had even realized it had begun.

By the time the referee called the match, Kain was still standing in the same spot he’d started, arms folded.

“I get that these group matches are supposed to help build the atmosphere and they’re important for subsequent rankings,” he muttered to Serena afterward, “but this is starting to feel boring. I wish the top 5 could just skip the group stages.”

“You’re the one who trained your team to end fights in under thirty seconds,” she replied.

“Correction—I trained them to win. The under-thirty-seconds part is just because the opponents are too weak.”

They had returned to their seats by then, Kairos already there, staring grimly at the arena as if he was itching to devour everyone in his way.

From the twitch in his jaw and the way his arms were crossed a little too tightly, Kain knew his second match had been another bloodbath.

“Who was the poor sucker he beat up this time?” Bridge asked as he flopped into his seat beside them, popping a dried fruit in his mouth.

“Kairos fought Elias,” Kain said quietly.

Bridge winced.

“Oof. Poor guy.”

“Didn’t stand a chance,” Kairos said curtly, not looking away from the arena. “He tried something clever. Almost worked. But his third contract couldn’t keep up.”

Kain grimaced. Elias had always leaned hard on unconventional strategies. But when it came to raw power, being in a death group meant there wasn’t much room for creativity. Especially not against someone like Kairos, who was treating every match like a test of his right to remain among the top five.

A beat passed.

“…He okay?” Kain asked.

Kairos shrugged. “Healing staff got to him quickly. He’ll live. And he didn’t quit early. I’ll give him that.”

Bridge exhaled through his teeth. “Good thing I didn’t bet on him winning, otherwise he’d owe me money.”

Kain didn’t say anything. But his brow did twitch in irritation that Elias had somehow dragged his brother into his gambling tendencies.

Then his gaze drifted across the tournament board as the standings updated match by match.

By the end of Day One, the results were mostly as expected.

Serena: 2 wins. Winning without a hair out of place.

Kain: 2 wins. Bored.

Soren: 2 wins. While showboating after every match to the crowd.

Kairos: 2 wins. Covered in other people’s blood.

Ranya: 2 wins. With slight difficulty in maintaining her streak in one match.

Dwayne: 2 wins. One of which was against someone who’d tried to run the moment the match started.

Bridge: 2 wins. His second match had also showcased his new contracts that Kain had helped him to obtain.

Addison: 2 wins. She’d roasted her opponents with ruthless precision.

Leonara and Finn: Both have 2 wins. Though Finn had apparently ended his second match by accidentally yeeting his opponent into the referee’s podium, earning him a formal warning.

Aiden: 2 wins. Barely. Although he was currently the highest ranking among Kain’s friends, the so-called ‘death group’ was living up to its name.

Elias… 1 win, 1 loss.

Kain sighed.

“That’s still a solid showing,” Serena said quietly beside him, reading his expression. “He beat the Rank 21 before Kairos got to him. That is an insane upset considering that he and the opponent are over 20 ranks apart.”

“Still,” Kain said. “It’s a death group. And the way they grouped us up, tomorrow he’ll definitely be against the Ranks 9, 17, or Aiden at rank 10. His final placement won’t be as high as his performance should warrant.”

Bridge leaned forward between them. “Y’all ever consider the tournament committee might just be sadists? Because I swear they deliberately set up these horrible groupings to make people cry.”

Another loud cheer erupted from the arena before anyone could answer.

Peaches, apparently, had just scored her second win.

The rest of the matches ended without much incident, and as the sun dipped low behind the western stands, the tournament coordinators officially announced the end of Day One.

Kain stood, stretching out his arms with a quiet groan. “One day down.”

They filed out of the stadium with the crowd, blending into the throng of exhausted students, chatter, and fluttering gossip, and the ever-present buzz of anticipation building for tomorrow.

When the sun rose on Day Two, things shifted.

Fast.

Kain once again cleared his matches with brutal efficiency—his morning match barely ended before the announcer on the neighbouring stage even finished introducing both participants, and his second one lasted just long enough for Bridge to miss it while in line for snacks.

But the real story of the day didn’t involve him.

It involved Ranya.

The match had looked normal at first. Her opponent—Rank 13—was skilled, cautious, and came in with an unusual affinity for reflective spiritual creatures. That is, spiritual creatures that specialize in rebounding attacks rather than generating attacks of their own. They are more defensive in nature. No one expected him to win.

And yet… he did.

With a sudden reversal that turned her own contracts’ illusions against one another, using what looked to be a mirror, he caught her off guard.

Kain watched from the upper stands, stunned along with the rest of the silent crowd as the referee called the match.

Ranya was out of breath, face pale, but not injured. Still, the shock lingered in her expression.

Next to him, Kairos stood completely still, fists clenched at his sides.

Kain didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to.

He could feel it radiating off of him.

The fear.

Because at that moment, Kairos was reminded—

The next one to get kicked out of the top 5 could be him.