Single Mother of a Werewolf Baby

Chapter 267: Primary Round

Eleanor stared at the lifeless body of her opponent. From the moment this vampire had entered the arena, she had felt the killing intent seeping out of him. Though he had tried to contain it within himself... and might have succeeded in deceiving others... he could not deceive Eleanor. Her Predator’s Awareness ability was always active due to its passive nature. She could sense even the faintest flicker of hostility in her surroundings, if it was directed at her.

She had no quarrel with him beforehand. She couldn’t fathom why this man wanted to kill her, even within a virtual arena. If there had been any prior encounter, her eidetic memory would never have missed it.

At first, she had intended to treat this battle merely as practical training for her newfound combat prowess. But as time went on, the killing intent radiating from her opponent only intensified. Eventually, she decided to show the vampire the true difference between them, if only to prevent further provocation.

"He might be one of those vampire cultists who spread hatred against werewolves in general," she thought.

At that moment, a mechanical voice echoed in her mind.

"Congratulations! Cadet 10156659 is the winner of the qualifying round. You will be removed from the arena in 3, 2, 1, 0."

Eleanor found herself once more in the familiar darkness of the space capsule. The lid hissed open, and the room’s light spilled into her eyes. She was now accustomed to using these capsules... the abrupt shift between light and environment no longer disoriented her as it once had.

Sliding down from the capsule, she closed the lid and glanced around. A few cadets had already gathered in front of the platform. She walked towards them at an unhurried pace.

Soon, more cadets joined... some with bright, triumphant smiles; others with sour, defeated expressions; and a few, like Eleanor, entirely indifferent to the outcome.

Nonetheless, all eyes were fixed upon the figure standing on the platform, a tablet in his hands.

After some time, Instructor Daniel Tremblay set his tablet down on the table and turned to face the gathered cadets.

"Cadets, the qualifying round is now concluded," he announced. "To those who emerged victorious... congratulations. You have demonstrated both skill and determination. Your journey, however, is far from over."

He continued, "The winners will now advance to the primary round. As stated earlier, this stage will pit qualifiers ranked one through twenty-five against those ranked twenty-six through fifty. Only the victors of these matches will proceed to the space capsules. Those who did not qualify... you have a choice. You may remain here to support your comrades, or you are dismissed to attend to your other duties."

"This will be the last match of the day," he added. "Tomorrow, the final round begins. Let me outline its structure clearly. There will be a total of three hundred matches. Each match will last thirty minutes. A clear victory earns one point; a loss earns none. If there is no winner within the time limit, the match is declared a draw, and no points are awarded."

per day. You will have a ten-minute break between matches to recover and refocus. To ensure fairness, each cadet will receive one round of rest...a bye... which will be scheduled

across the crowd. "You now have five minutes to prepare for your

at once, scattering into small groups and erupting into conversation. A few left

spotted Ophelia and Maira already heading her way. She stayed where she was and waited for

round?" she asked as they came

"And how exactly are you so sure we won our

bout of serious bad luck. You, on the other hand, trained much harder these past few days," Eleanor

lock yourself in your room. Sometimes, you don’t even return to the dormitory

vibration of an incoming message on her device. She opened it and

abilities in the duels. Remember, your battles will be posted on the

had mentioned it before. The tone

if the duels are uploaded to the forum, every cadet will be able to study them. Her opponents could analyse her techniques

Just then, Jaciara, Marsha, Phoebe, and Izumi joined their

of the renowned Tidebringer Naga Clan of Indonesia,

their group only a few days earlier. A light elemental from the Solstice Court of fairies, her ancestors hailed from Ireland, and she had initially sought out Eleanor of the Raynor Clan to learn more about her ancestral homeland. After a few meetings, however, she found herself naturally

Clan, possessed formidable air abilities and the poise of a skilled samurai. She had become close friends with Maira and soon

composed

that their battles were being recorded and advised them to prepare accordingly. After exchanging stories of their previous matches, they made their way to the

Eleanor materialised in a familiar room lined with weapon racks. She declined to take any, as before, and stepped straight into the

already stood within the ring,

the platform, climbed the stairs, and entered the ring, standing opposite her opponent. Instinctively, she could sense that the girl was of merfolk

the girl smiled and said, "I am Alina Calypso Istros of the

Elizabeth

they could exchange another word, the

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