I Become the Baby Tiger in a Beast Taming World

Chapter 135: Chapter 131: First Team Matchup (1)

How do they match us up? Is it a scientific decision with in-depth analysis? No. It’s a random magic 8-ball. Well, not quite. But, to be completely fair and impartial, the organizers have installed a large magic sphere in the center of the arena that generates the matchups.

I shuffle my feet against the warm stone floor. Somehow, with all these beasts and magical energy, the arena is warm. And my fur glistens with sweat.

I hope we don’t have to wait hours to find out our matchups. Especially Lobo and me.

The announcer informs us, "Because of the sheer volume of participants, several of our matches will be dual matches. Two beasts from the same house will face two competitors, most likely for the same house if available. This marks a change from previous years’ rules."

Hmmm. System changed the tournament to suit its arbitrary demands that Lobo and I compete together. And no one seems to mind, naturally.

Lobo woofs. [Will we take on the big league players first?]

[I hope not. Let’s get warmed up and level up first.]

The sphere spits out the first matchup. Not us. We wait. And wait. Eventually, Gussie and Peridot get called.

"Gussie and Peridot of House Riddlehoeven vs Marno and Kythian of House Valmont."

Wild applause, some for Gussie, some for Peridot because of Niall, and some for Marno and Kythian. Gussie flaps and Peridot soars as they proceed to their assigned space opposite their challengers, a silver hawk and an iguana-type creature. Naturally, Gussie is matched up with Marno the Hawk and Peridot gets Kythian the Iguana. Lamant and Niall coach Gussie and Peridot while trying to be civil to the tamers of Marno and Kythian, who are sporting bad attitudes that I can feel from here.

Lobo and I communicate with Gussie and Peridot. [Those two are no match for you.] Lobo is positive, upbeat. [And their tamers are sour.]

Gussie’s cheeriness uplifts everyone. [Master Lamant is refusing to let their gloom affect him.]

Peridot is equally confident. [And Master Niall does not care.]

Demos and Einswine are paired up, since technically Einswine is part of House Riddlehoeven because of the alliance. An expert beast with an intermediate beast.

The magic crystal flashes: "Demos of House Riddlehoeven and Einswine of House Lammermoor against Burni the Dragon of House Gratin and Phanias the Jaguar of House Artemidoros!"

Applause, especially for Einswine, who oozes musk and confidence. Vedette and Elandior follow their beasts to their designated area, where Burni the Dragon glowers and Phanias the Jaguar snarls. Their tamers are all cool indifference and composure. Elandior is unruffled and Vedette is the picture of poise.

Who will we face? Atum and Philippus? Or Ophion and Zuba?

The minutes seem to stretch on for hours. I pace until Lobo snaps at my heels. I can’t help it. Everything is riding on conquering this first heat. We can’t get knocked out early. Our agreement with System was clear: we have to make it to the final round. And win.

Finally, our matchup arrives.

"Blaze and Lobo of House Riddlehoeven versus Atum and Philippus of House Nitakret!"

Yes! The crowd roars. I’m not sure if it’s for us or for our opponents.

Lightning’s voice is a balm. [They like you!]

Lobo wags his tail. [Naturally.]

We march over to our own little area, Kaline and Minette propelling us forward with encouragements. Atum fluffs out his ruff and Philippus preens, his quills bristling.

I communicate to Philippus, who is my opponent. [I hope no hard feelings after this.]

Philippus draws himself up, proud. [You sound terribly sure of yourself. I’d love to wish you luck, but I would hate to speak falsely.]

Atum growls at Lobo. [A wolf’s senses are no match for a lion’s strength.]

Lobo bares his teeth and puffs out his fur. [We will see who is strong.]

The matchups continue until everyone is sorted into a match. A sweeping announcement galvanizes everyone. "CLEAR TOURNAMENT AREA FOR FIRST BOUT. ALL CONTESTANTS NOT COMPETING REMAIN IN DESIGNATED AREAS."

We remain in the circle of our designated area while a platform is lowered via magic into the center of the arena so that the tamers and beasts can climb on it. Then, the platform rises in the air and achieves a fixed position.

The announcer unveils the rules that flash on both screens.

1. Falling off the platform automatically means that a contestant loses the match. The same goes for getting knocked unconscious.

2. In the case of a team matchup, the remaining beast may still fight. However, the beast will have to fight both opponents.

3. The battle is not to the death. NO FATAL WOUNDS.

4. Tamers may assist and give support to their beasts but not attack their beasts’ opponents or their tamers.

5. The battle ends when one of the teams is knocked unconscious or concedes. Both beasts must be knocked unconscious or concede.

6. The matchups will continue for several days until the final match.

7. Each night during Quiet Hours, the beasts and their tamers will be allowed to rest and recharge for the next day. NO MATCHES SHALL TAKE PLACE DURING QUIET HOURS.

8. Any illegal magical enhancements or suspicion of beast tampering, of one’s own beasts or one’s opponents, shall result in immediate disqualification.

That doesn’t sound too bad. Of course, Maartenwitz and Niall drilled those rules into us.

The announcer counts down. "3...2...1. READY. SET. BEGIN!"

The first match begins. We all watch to glean information about fighting techniques and potential opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

On the platform, a Jaguar-Scorpion, of all things, and a boar square off against a leopard and a Cobalt-Bellied Sheep. The sheep looks hopelessly outmatched by the Jaguar-Scorpion’s pacers and stinger, while the boar charges the leopard with controlled aggression.

ZAP. The Jaguar-Scorpion’s stinger lands, and the sheep collapses early, paralyzed but not dead. OUCH. From their stats, they are the same level, but the Jaguar-Scorpion is venomous, so it was never really a fair fight.

Now, the boar redoubles its efforts, charging both the lethal Jaguar-Scorpion and the leopard. Then, it pulls a maneuver I’ve only seen in cartoons. It zigs. It zags. It fires off Shooting Stars. It keeps its opponents so off-balance that they barrel straight toward each other.

Lobo woofs. [Come on. Come on.]

Lightning is watching from the stands. [They’re going to crash into each other. This is clever.]

At the very last second, with its opponents inches apart, the boar steps aside, as much as a beast with its bulk can. It clears the path for the imminent collision.

CRASH!

The crowd gasps.

The lethal hybrid scorpion and the cunning leopard collide in a tangle of limbs and pincers and tail. In all the commotion, the scorpion’s tail avoids stinging the leopard. The two lie entangled, stunned on the platform.

Three out of the four beasts are now unconscious or out of action. The boar plants its feet and waits for its opponents’ next move.

Just as in boxing, everyone waits for the announcer to count down to see if anyone gets up after TKO. The announcer counts down. "FIVE...FOUR...THREE...TWO...ONE. WINNER!"

The boar’s face and name fill the two screens, and the sheep gets a mention as well. Once they revive the sheep, this team is potential competition for us. They did us a favor, though, knocking out the Jaguar-Scorpion.

In the aftermath of the match, I smell the electricity of the scorpion’s sting and the sweat of the beasts. I lick my fur and taste my own salty sweat. The arena floor still feels warm beneath my feet, and I hear the crowd’s applause.

Demos is cheerful. [Well, that was exciting, and over quickly. I expected it to be, but I thought that the boar and the sheep would be the ones eliminated, given how venomous the scorpion was when we faced it.]

Peridot weighs in. [Yes, but that was a transformed mage. This is a lower-level Jaguar-Scorpion.]

[Well, what can we learn from it?] Lobo is ever vigilant. [Not to get too complacent just because you are powerful? Or to make sure that harmless creatures like sheep protect themselves?]

I chime in. [We don’t have any harmless creatures in our group. Even Gussie is a force to be reckoned with.]

Thinking aloud, Gussie chirps from her area, "I’m a force. I can beat that silver hawk."

Marno, the hawk in question, pompously puffs out her chest and feathers and sniffs at Gussie.

Lobo growls. [No overconfidence, Gussie. This is serious.]

I nudge him to dial it back. Gussie doesn’t understand what’s at stake. Maybe her player does. But for right now, we can’t risk revealing System’s evil. Or can we?

[Hey!] Lobo rightly calls me out. [Do you want to win or not?]

[You know I do.] I nuzzle Lobo. [This IS serious. Let’s not make any mistakes!]

The matches proceed, and then just like that, Gussie and Peridot are up.

Time to see what our team is made of!