The final day of the [Qualifiers] was exceptionally fierce. The contestants were practically one step away from beating each other's brains out.
This caused the atmosphere within [Duel City] to turn increasingly hostile as well. Whenever contestants crossed paths in the city, the looks in their eyes gradually became strange.
The "friendship first" atmosphere that could still be felt during the previous two [World Cups] had now completely vanished. There was no longer any "friendship" between contestants—only "competition."
Among the contestants Dark had been following, Emma was the first to qualify.
In this year's qualifiers, she displayed a tremendous leap in raw strength compared to last year. Her overall improvement was astonishing. By comparison, Sara, who had grown increasingly close to her, seemed half a step behind—but only half a step.
White God qualified shortly afterward.
Having already graduated from the fifth year, seventeen-year-old White God was not particularly tall, but he was certainly not short either. His features were generally gentle rather than sharp, giving him the soft beauty of a man who naturally put people at ease.
Dark had known him since they first enrolled, and had watched him grow step by step from a troublesome poor student who was often late into the undeniably outstanding student he was today. He could not help feeling deeply moved.
White God's growth was naturally related to his innate bloodline talents, but it was also inseparable from his experiences and hard work.
On the other hand, although Robert had also grown remarkably quickly, he ultimately failed to catch up with White God. In these qualifiers, which had long surpassed the normal scope, he was eliminated ahead of time.
In the past, Robert would actually have counted among the finest students in the academy. This was already a world apart from his