The day of the match had arrived.

In the end, Noen chose not to participate,  

After some consideration, he decided to withdraw and simply observe.

“I feel like a loser for not having the courage to join,” Noen muttered from the spectator bench.

“Sometimes courage just leads to a stupid death,” Raven quipped dryly.

The event was held in a place resembling a Roman colosseum in Noen’s world, except the arena stage was much higher, falling from it could easily break bones. The structure also had a partial roof, not fully enclosed, but enough to keep out the rain.

They called the venue the Safe Fighting Ground, as the name implied, there was one rule, no fighting to the death.

The event began before the sun had even risen, though the first match wouldn’t start until midday, the opening ceremony was, as expected, long-winded.

Since watches were considered luxury items here, Noen and Raven had no idea what time it was, not that Raven cared.

“Whoa, they have concession vendors in this world too,” Noen said, eyeing a food peddler weaving through the crowd.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t sell anything, he gives it away, they call him a mobile food server here,” Raven replied.

“Of course it’s free, I’m curious to try it.”

“Not a bad idea, might help distract us from this boring opening.”

Eventually, the fighters were introduced.

The announcer’s voice boomed with enthusiasm, “This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for, introducing our tournament participants, contestant number one, Lyemo, a charming 22-year-old male with the narrative-tier story power Blurstroke, the ability to spray ink as a distraction, he gained this power as a child, after being poisoned by ink from a damaged story scroll.”

The crowd responded with a mix of awe and laughter, impressed by his age, amused by the origin of his power.

“They only know how to laugh at my brother,” said the boy sitting beside Noen.

“Oh, that’s your brother? His power’s pretty unique, I don’t think I’ve even seen it in the fiction I’ve read,” Noen commented.

“Cool, right? I’m Orimo, who are you, Uncle Raven’s owner?” the boy asked, glancing at Raven.

“Uh, I’m Noen,” he grumbled, Uncle? How old does this kid think I am?

“Okay, Uncle Noen, watch my brother closely when he fights.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Raven just smiled, clearly enjoying Noen’s irritation.

The announcer continued, “Contestant number two, Tespera, a 27-year-old woman with the narrative-tier story power Index Boom, explosions from her fingertip, the blasts are unpredictable, sometimes huge, sometimes tiny, she gained this power as a child, after being injured by a firecracker.”

The crowd laughed again, this time at the uncontrollable nature of her power.

“Contestant number three, Dleroe, a 24-year-old man with the narrative-tier story power Seconds More Knowing, he can see a few seconds into the future, but overuse causes confusion between what has and hasn’t happened, he got this power as a child, after swallowing a small part of his house clock and nearly choking.”

This one drew more admiration, perhaps because clocks were a luxury here, maybe they were impressed a rich guy would join the tournament.

“Contestant number four, Ircos, a 28-year-old man with the plot fragment-tier story power Behind the Chaser, when pursued, he always ends up behind his pursuer, however, it only works if there’s a single chaser, he gained this power as a child, after being chased by a beast no one could identify, and surviving by somehow appearing behind it.”

The crowd responded with awe again, likely because of the higher tier.

“Contestant number five, Nareen, a 26-year-old woman with the narrative-tier story power Thread of Truth, she can pull threads from an opponent’s body to reveal hidden truths, the truth revealed depends on where she pulls the thread from, she gained this power as a child, after uncovering her parents’ affair.”

This time, the crowd responded with a mix of sympathy and admiration.

“Contestant number six, Varn, a 30-year-old man with the narrative-tier story power Mass Shift, he can temporarily alter the size of his own body or his opponent’s, he gained this power as an adult, after undergoing extreme weight changes in a short period.”

The crowd admired this one too, perhaps because he gained his power as an adult.

“It’s rare here for someone to awaken their story power as an adult,” Raven explained, noticing Noen’s puzzled look, “When adults haven’t awakened yet, they subconsciously try to force it, but if you try on purpose, it won’t work, that’s why people like him give others hope.”

“Next up, contestant number seven, Selphi, a 25-year-old woman with the narrative-tier story power Jinx Touch, anything she touches breaks or malfunctions, she gained this power as a child, after constantly damaging everything she touched, which eventually bankrupted her family.”

This time, the crowd responded with laughter.

“And finally, our special eighth contestant, Kaeren, a 25-year-old mute man with the narrative-tier story power Silent Howl, he emits an ultrasonic scream that stuns opponents within range for about three seconds, he gained this power as a child, after getting lost and screaming until his vocal cords were damaged, that scream saved his life.”

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as the contestants entered the arena.

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