My System: An Evolved Computer I Made With My Unique Ability—

As soon as he was helplessly pinned on the ground, Siril's life flashed before his eyes as if he was about to die. He could've sworn that he saw a beam of light from up above as if someone was going to take him somewhere far away. His senses blacked out as he closed his eyes and the only thing he heard was the sound of his uncontrollably loud beating heart and his rapid breathing as if he was palpitating. A sigh of surrender left his lips as he lifted his arms to gesture that he didn't intend to fight anymore.

But even then, he had hoped that Satoshi would finish him so that he could tell everyone that he fought to the bitter end. He shuddered at the thought of Satoshi stopping midway and telling him to walk away because that would be pretty shameful. His pride just wouldn't take such a suggestion.

TIME'S UP!

Overhearing the announcement, a huge wave of relief swept Siril as he chuckled lightly. Meanwhile, Satoshi and his party, who were about to attack him mercilessly, stopped short in their tracks. For some reason, time was already up even when they haven't met all the other classes. In an instant, Satoshi called all of his familiars back and returned them inside Orb Oboros. Everyone else also deactivated their powers and helped Siril get up. At that time, Siril had already reverted to his human form so they didn't have any difficulty grabbing him back up on his feet.

"Thanks," Siril muttered as his face reddened with embarrassment. He bit his lips in frustration upon realizing that he couldn't even beat a single familiar summoned by Satoshi. If he was on that level, then how could he think about going head to head with Satoshi, let alone attacking his group while on his dragon form.

"No worries, you've put up a great fight," Hiroshi said, extending his hands so Siril would shake it. Meanwhile, Satoshi just smiled at the gesture, finding it almost laughable. At one glance, Satoshi could tell that Hiroshi was just trying to act like he was a sport. Of course, this is somewhat like a tournament so he needed to act like a saint to further increase his chances of being chosen. Furthermore, he was doing so in order to redeem himself after being humiliated during the initial tests during the first day of school.

"Yeah, if anyone's fit to be a candidate, then you'd be the first pick. You had all of us at the palm of your hands back then... just that, I don't think everyone in your class liked what you did." Satoshi shook his head and shrugged.  Even if he were desperate to be chosen, he couldn't imagine himself doing such an underhanded tactic.

"Well, if I didn't get chosen after all that, then I'd rather die than face all of them. This was the only chance that someone in our class would get to the inter-high and I took it.  If I were to get chosen, then I'm well aware that they'll be proud of me. But if not, then everything would've been for nothing. It's a risk I'm taking for everyone in my class. You won't understand these things though since Class 3-1 had always been in the spotlight for as long as anyone could remember."

Forcing himself to smile, he shook Satoshi's hands and headed out of the desertland portion of the training center. Surprisingly, there were still a lot of students who managed to survive the free-for-all but they didn't really shine throughout the entire thing— and that's because they preferred to hide and avoid danger rather than facing them head-on.

Now that the hero training was over, Kurogami stood up from his seat, grabbed his bag, and headed back to classroom 3-1. Well, he could've left as soon as the hero training started. After all, he was the only first-year who didn't participate in the match. But then again, he knew just how powerful he was and how dangerous his superpower was and that's the reason why he didn't join in on the training.  Had he done so, he would've come out on top, unscathed— or so that's what he expected of himself. In any case, the reason he stayed was that he was quite intrigued with Satoshi. The way he fought greatly mesmerized him that he had to see the match through to the end. By the time he realized that he was already keenly watching the hero training, it was already over. He glanced around, thinking that he'd done something embarrassing but seeing no one, he hastily left the scene like a rat who happened to stole some food from the kitchen.

Unbeknownst to him, however, the principal was staring at him from afar, wearing a satisfactory smile as he saw Kurogami's reaction. "Seems like I wasn't the only one intrigued by how Satoshi fights. This would be interesting," Sai Tama muttered to himself before turning around and heading back to his office. In his mind, he's already chosen the candidates for the upcoming inter-high tournament. Of course, that list is likely to change throughout the days since the final announcement would be no later than a few days from now. Nevertheless, he'd already decided that Kurogami will be part of the inter-high team no matter what.

After all, he may very well become the core of the team while Satoshi acts as the leader.

Meanwhile, Knighthawk was clapping from a distance when his class walked towards them. He was just glad that everyone in his class survived. That, in and of itself, is an extraordinary achievement and he was proud of them for it (except for Kurogami though since he didn't join during the hero training. Midori also couldn't come as well). However, when everyone got in his sight, he stopped clapping together and assumed an unimpressed gaze. Clearing his throat, he congratulated everyone in a sort of indifferent manner while trying hard not to smile. Kuroe was able to read his mind, however, so it's not like he could hide his feelings from everyone forever.