My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

After the brief conversation with Kristofer, Luke, Nathalia and Shiro soon had to say goodbye to Ayumi Yamazaki again because the participants' stand was separate from the VIP area. 

The trio climbed a few flights of stairs, accompanied by a member of the competition organization. These members who helped with administration, reception, and assistance were all employees of the Central Palace, and this was obvious from their long and light-colored clothes.

Luke had seen the Municipal Arena from the outside many times but never seen it inside. Now that he had the chance, he noticed that the walls were rough, and the whole structure of the place was built by combining three materials: limestone, granite and basalt. Thanks to this combination of materials, the entire place had a yellowish and weathered color but was more resistant than any other building in the city.

Even though it was so sturdy and had such thick walls, Luke could hear the crowd shouting in excitement.

When he finally came upon the core of the Arena, he sighed excitedly and simultaneously intimidated. There were thousands of rows of bleachers filled with tens of thousands of people jumping with excitement. This euphoria of the people emanated a heat that the half-wolf almost felt hitting his body like a wave.

"Ow..." the half-wolf expressed, standing at the entrance. 

He looked over and saw his two companions also shocked at the magnitude of the Municipal Arena.

"That's... too beautiful." Shiro's eyes were shining. 

In the stands, there were no torches to illuminate; instead, there were crystals similar to those Luke had seen on poles in Vasconcelos Castle, but these from Oukiwa were much larger and were in greater numbers. At every point to which one looked from the place, gaunt guards were protecting the entrances and exits. Most of the Oukiwa City Guards were not very strong, as are those in any other city, but on this day, they seemed very focused on their duty to serve and protect.

Many people shouted competitors' names and waved their poles, which raised large flags. Other people were also blowing horns as a way of showing support.

"I don't think I can..." Nathalia whispered, looking down.

Luke and Shiro looked startled at her. 

"What are you talking about, Nath?" The half-wolf asked and pushed away from the locks of white hair in front of her eyes.

"It's impossible for me. I'm not strong like you two... I'm not a Class-C Berserker who can kill hordes of monsters all by himself. I'm also not someone genius like Luke..." Nathalia didn't know which pair of eyes she should look at; there were thousands in that enclosure.

Shiro rested his heavy left hand on the girl's shoulder and said sincerely: 

"Miss, what are you talking about? You are extremely resourceful and know how to use your skills like no one else. No wonder you found me in that gigantic jungle."

"Of course I know how to use my skills, after all I train with them every day." said Nathalia, smiling a little, even though her countenance was still shaken.

Luke held the fingertips of the girl's right hand and raised it a little. 

"Nath... or rather, Nathalia, you know you are very good and anyone can tell that just by looking at you. Although you have the delicate appearance, the graceful fingers, the thin arms and the thin face, people still perceive your strength. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because there is something around you, something that even I don't have. That something is more than a superficial sign, it's more than a smile a persuasive smile, a murderous look or the evocation of your spear... And that something makes it noticeable to anyone that you are strong. Wang challenged you because he noticed that in you too."

Nathalia didn't know how to react to the half-wolf's words because she didn't understand what he was talking about. 

Before Luke arrived at the Vasconcelos Mansion, when Nathalia looked at herself in the large mirror in her room, she thought she was weak and insufficient. This feeling of weakness made her insecure, which she immediately tried to repress.

However, when Luke arrived, these feelings went away, and at the same time, a new feeling was born inside her chest. The emptiness she felt began to be filled. However, the same insecurity returned when Luke was almost killed in Phase One in front of her, and she didn't even know how to react.

"Oh, and if anything goes wrong... I've got your back. I'll jump from up here if I have to." The half-wolf completed his speech and smiled at the girl.

Nathalia looked at him as if he had said the thing she had been waiting to hear. She quickly wiped away the tears that had started to form on the sides of her eyes and hugged the half-wolf. He then stroked the Elf's head.

"You are terrible with words." Nathalia declared and laughed mischievously. 

The half-wolf's stroking turned into a catch. Luke fitted his fingers to her head like a ball and withdrew her from the embrace.

"Let's go soon, people are starting to stare at us."

They were in the exclusive bleachers for the competitors, and although they didn't talk too loudly, they still drew attention because they represented the Strogueher.

The three of them sat down in the empty seats and realized why many people looked at them in anger when they were standing up: the tension in the air was almost deadly. Luke wondered how he had missed the heavy atmosphere earlier.

As soon as he sat down, he didn't dare open his beak lest he found confusion ahead of time, and the same applied to his two companions.

"Great words back there..." the woman next to him spoke but continued admiring the crowded stands.

Luke turned around and saw a woman with black hair and a delicate face, wearing armor with a bold neckline. "Thank you very much..."

A few minutes passed, and the woman pulled up a subject again. 

"Sorry to be awkward, but I've never had the opportunity to talk to a half-beast with animal ears before... How does your hearing work? You know, you have four ears..." She whispered in his lower ears.

Luke found it odd that someone would ask him that; after all, no one had ever raised that question before.

"I believe I'm normal, like you... I just don't have a way to plug all my ears like you do."

"So it's plausible to say that you-" 

Before she could finish asking her next question, a sphere appeared in the middle of the Arena, and after a brief, faint glow, it transformed into a hologram of Mikaela Åkerman herself.

"Good evening, everyone! How are you!?" The woman's voice was reverberating all over the walls of the Municipal Arena, and the circular shape of the building meant that her voice was heard even outside the building. "The Tournament of Legends is an annual event, where we seek to attract the most talented people from all over the continent to showcase their skills..."

The woman's hologram was gently levitating across the Arena as she spoke. 

"And the First Phase of the competition tested their individual skills as well as strategies, but the Second Phase was totally the reverse and therefore eliminated many strong people... But in the real world we are never really alone, and so we have to know how to use our contacts to get essential information."

The people in the stands continued to roar and shout euphorically; however, the tone of Mikaela's voice was overriding any other noise.

"Without further ado, let's begin the Battles..." In the middle of the stadium, two spheres only a few feet in size appeared, and letters began to spin on them. "Meet the unlucky ones who will be first..." 

Then the spheres stopped, and the first to battle names appeared for everyone.

"The first battle will be between the audacious man who called himself 'The Champion' and the brave 'Half-Wolf'!"