(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

When Mei Gui returned to the room, she immediately walked over to me and curtsied.

"Master, I have completed my mission."

"I saw. Good work," I replied, smiling. "Did you… learn anything?"

She nodded. "I was shown something new today, by my opponent. I used to look down on everyone else except Master as an inferior species, but now I have come to realize that even the weakest of lifeforms have the potential to do something great. I was impressed today by that elf, who was able to endure the pain and escape from my Prison of Lightning."

I nodded. "It seems this battle has not gone to waste."

"Yes… even though she lost to me in the end, I respect her resolve."

"Well then, regardless, you did great. It'll be a while until you have to fight again, so just take a seat and watch the next fight about to begin," I said, turning back to the screen.

"… M-Master," she stuttered all of a sudden, which was a rarity. The last time she did was that was from not knowing how to use the shower.

I tilted my head then glanced at her. "What is it?"

"A-About the reward…"

I blinked.

"Oh… yeah, sure, come here."

I beckoned her over, to which she complied giddily. I began gently patting her head as she held a warm, happy smile on her face that was never shown to outsiders. Then, mimicking what Xiang Peng had done earlier, she suddenly wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly, to my surprise.

Slowly, I smiled and continued patting her head. "You're learning in this respect too, huh?"

"A-Ahem," Feng Mian interrupted. "The next match is about to start, so…"

Mei Gui sent her a death glare, as if extremely annoyed about her interjection. Still, she refrained from lashing out, and reluctantly pulled away from me.

"Master, we can continue this tonight," she said, then returned to her previous seat without waiting for my response.

"The next match will be between Miss Lin Zhi and Aeson Skolas!" the announcer declared, drawing all of our attentions to the screen. On the left side of the arena was a calm-looking girl with her eyes closed, while on the other was a short boy - by that, I mean very short. He appeared to be a dwarf.

"Both contestants are ready! Then, let the battle begin!"

The dwarf started the fight by leaping into the air and taking out his massive warhammer, which appeared far too big for someone of his stature to handle. Still, he was wielding it skillfully, crashing down with all of his might towards the girl. Unfortunately, Lin Zhi was far too quick, jumping backwards to avoid the strike. However, the impact of the hit was so strong that it send a shockwave effect all around the arena - even the audience was affected.

Whether this was the skill of the hammer or simply generated from his raw muscle power was unknown, but either way, Lin Zhi, the closest recipient of the shockwave, fell back down to the ground immediately, clutching her eardrums in pain. The boy didn't give her any time to relax as he charged towards her once again, this time swinging his hammer sideways.

Lin Zhi recovered just before Aeson could strike her, ducking down and avoiding the hit. Then, she immediately jumped back up, before finally taking out her own weapons - a pair of twin daggers, ominously glowing purple.

The two clashed into one another once again, but it was clear now that the girl was winning. She was able to avoid all of the boy's hammer attacks with ease, and at this close range, her two short daggers were far superior than the dwarf's hammer, meant for sheer power.

The battle seemed to be soon over, but suddenly, the dwarf's hammer shrunk in size, allowing Aeson to wield it with only one hand. His other hand, now free, materialized a different weapon - a pistol.

Lin Zhi immediately attempted to disarm him, but the dwarf shot immediately, hitting her in the hand. It was a lucky hit.

"Ngh…" Lin Zhi backed off a short distance. She had tried to go in to get rid of one of Aeson's weapons, but now she was the one left with only one weapon.

"Hmph… don't look down on me," Aeson frowned, then pointed the gun at Lin Zhi's head.

However, Lin Zhi muttered something under her breath just as he pulled the trigger, and vanished in a purple smoke.

"What…" The dwarf looked around, confused yet vigilant, ready to intercept an attack from any direction.

But the only orientation he did not expect… above.

With a bloodstained hand, Lin Zhi suddenly emerged from a portal above Aeson, dropping down on him with her remaining dagger held firmly in her uninjured hand.

Aeson looked up, but it was too late.

Lin Zhi's dagger stabbed deep into Aeson's forehead, bringing him to the ground. With that, the battle ended.

*****

"Miss Amane, you will be fighting next," a voice called out to us from outside the door.

"Meowkay~" Amane responded cutely, before turning to look at me. "Nya, Xuwan Kwai, who am I facing?"

Feng Mian pulled up the brackets, then swiched to the profile list after seeing Amane's opponent's name.

"Here it is," she said.

On screen displayed information:

Name: Akira Shoujin

Gender: Female

Race: Demihuman (Dog)

Role: Fighter

Rank: Advanced Mage

Elemental Affinities: Space, Enchantment, Blessing, Fire, Sound

"Dog versus cat," Qing Yue giggled. "What a match-up."

"Mm…! Cats nyare supwerior!" Amane pouted, frowning at the screen.

"Prove that with your actions," I said. "Give your opponent hell out there."

She nodded happily towards me.

A while later, she left the room to head to the arena, led by the IMF staff.

*****

(Amane's Perspective)

I strode up to the stage, weapons locked and ready. I was using a pair of claws similar to what the wolfgirl from earlier had been using, but I had confidence I could do better than she did. Not because of the weapons, but because of their users.

My opponent, a doggirl, arrived shortly after. She appeared to be the same height as me, though her body was not nearly as developed. Heheh. She looked like she was planning on using magic to fight me, since she didn't have any visible weapons. Naturally, this meant she was going to try and stay away from me and keep her distance to prevent me from getting close, but with my Space Magic, closing the gap was a piece of cake.

"Grr… why do catgirls have better bodies…" my opponent muttered in frustration, eyeing me with hate.

I folded my arms and snorted. "Hmph. We're just supwerior, nya~"

"Don't think you've won just because you have a better figure!" she yelled back. "I bet those bouncers of yours weigh you down when running, huh? Look at me, so light and nimb-"

"And syo flat," I cut in, laughing. "Nyahahaha, what a pity."

"T-Tch… I'll make you eat those words today."

"Both combatants appear to be ready! Then, we shall start in three… two… one…" the announcer paused dramatically.

"… Go!"

Immediately, Akira raised her hand and prepared to cast a spell, but-

"Hold yon," I stopped her. "Before we styart, I just wyant to knyow… why do our races hyate each other syo myuch anyways?"

"Huh? You don't know the story of our past?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "I was cyast out of my tribe when I was nyoung. I've been wyondering for a while nyow, but…"

"Well…" my opponent scratched her head, canceling her spell. "Apparently, our tribes used to be quite friendly with one another. Then, one generation, the Neko Clan matriarch and the Inu Clan matriarch fell in love with the same man a couple generations back. The two selfish matriarchs declared war on one another, dragging the whole race along with them… that habit stuck for the future generations like you and me, I guess. Now, we just hate members of the opposite race, even though they've never done anything to us."

I tilted my head curiously. "Hmm… what happened to that man? Who did he choose?"

Akira sighed, then shrugged. "He left, fled away. Chose some beautiful human over the two matriarchs."

I blinked. "Wow… what was his name, to be surrounded by pretty women?"

"Eh… I don't exactly remember, but… I think his last name was Xuan? Ugh, that doesn't matter, the story's over. Let's fight!"

My eyes widened. Xuan… Xuwan Kwai? Was the man in the story Xuwan Kwai's ancestor?! Did the harem-attracting nature run in the family?!

Nya… I would need to confront him about this when I get back!

But for now, Akira was preparing her attack once more, so I needed to deal with her first. Mm… annoying!

I extended my claws, then got into battle stance.

"You're going down today, damn neko!" Akira yelled, ready to shoot out her spell.

I smirked. "Nya~ bring it nyon, inu!"