Chapter 311: One Point First

Chapter 311: One Point First

"They’ve got you," Marris said, putting Jin’s own match on the screen.

His recorded voice called for Gravity Press. The kite faltered in its glide, hit the floor, and tried to scramble away from Glitch. Marris stopped the image before the pin.

"Sablecourt will have watched this. They know the area stays fixed, and they’ll have a fair idea of its duration."

"So I don’t waste it on the first opening they show me," Jin said.

"That would be a good start." Marris looked around the hotel meeting room. "We’re going to assume they’ve prepared for everyone here. We have today and tomorrow to make their preparation less comfortable."

It was the second morning after the revival final. Glitch had finished a short walk and was asleep again. Jin had left Flicker beside him, where her attempts to land on the edge of his bowl would at least keep him mildly interested in the day.

For once, Jin could work without feeling he ought to be training him.

Dray took Corin to the practice enclosure. Argent remained in the care wing, and Sledge was still under treatment too, leaving their tamers free to be thoroughly demanding about everyone else’s footwork.

Jin passed the enclosure while Corin’s crested lizard, Spar, was waiting in a low stance.

"Too soon," Dray told Corin. "You saw the leg move. You didn’t wait for the weight."

"The recording’s slower."

"The recording isn’t going to fight you." She reset the drill. "Again."

Jin continued to the meeting room, where Renn had four scorpion recordings ready.

"Watch the tail," Renn said.

The Shieldback Scorpion backed away from an approaching beast. Its pincers opened, inviting an entry between them. When the opponent took it, the tail struck over the shell.

Jin leaned forward. "It waited until he planted."

"Exactly. The pincers make him pick a route. The tail punishes the route." Renn replayed the exchange. "You can get outside the front arc, but don’t mistake that for safety."

"Can it reach behind itself?" Jin asked.

Renn opened another clip. "Watch."

It could. Awkwardly, with a turn through the body, but quickly enough to force an attacker away.

Jin watched the supporting legs instead of the sting on the next replay. They spread before the strike and tightened underneath the body during recovery.

"There," he said. "That’s when it can’t change the step."

"Now find a way to reach it without getting caught by the pincer when it turns," Renn said.

Jin pulled his notebook closer. He was beginning to miss Sabel’s stave. At least she had only one end that hit him.

The next profile made him forget the joke.

[Sablecourt Academy — Registered Novice Squad]

[Sera Vantt — Mantle, Stormmane Tiger]

[Rank 1 Novice, 9-Star — Quality: Gold (Middle)]

[Tamer talent: Lightning affinity, A-Rank]

"She didn’t fight us," Jin said.

Marris stopped behind his chair. "They won without needing her. She’s been registered from the start."

Corin had returned carrying two drinks and handed one to Jin. "Why is she still in Novice?"

"She postponed her breakthrough attempt," Marris said. "She wanted this competition first."

Jin studied the profile. Glitch had reached nine-Star so recently that the possibility of Rank 2 still made him excited. Deliberately waiting when he could begin preparing felt strange.

"Her academy agreed?" he asked.

"They get an exceptional Novice representative," Marris replied. "But they’re committing a leading student here instead of developing her for the Rank-2 division. Those contests attract more attention. It’s a choice most academies can’t afford to make casually."

"Other teams have done it?" Corin asked.

"Two others this year," Marris said. "Don’t expect every squad to have someone like her."

Renn opened a recording. Vantt’s tiger drove an opponent sideways while she advanced from the opposite angle. Light flashed around her lower legs; she crossed the last few meters and struck before the opposing tamer could retreat behind his beast.

Jin’s fingers tightened around the drink.

Talren’s ice sword had come close enough. This girl moved as though she expected to fight personally, rather than hoping the surprise would be enough.

"Her bursts are short," Renn said. "She still has to manage her energy at Rank 1. Watch her feet before she accelerates."

Jin watched. Then he played it again.

That evening, he completed two familiar quarry runs while real Glitch slept in the adjoining stall. Development accumulated, and the Coin total rose. He left both alone.

He wanted another improvement badly. He also knew better than to confuse wanting one with having a body ready to receive it.

Instead, he practiced pulse timing with the avatars. Flicker crossed the gallery at changing angles while he tried to place Gravity Press after she committed. Sometimes he guessed early and she flew past untouched. Sometimes he waited too long.

By the final set, he was catching more of the crossings.

Across the doorway, Glitch snored. Jin glanced at him, relieved that his mistakes tonight had cost the real beast nothing.

The third recovery day passed quietly. The medic removed the foreleg dressing and watched Glitch walk, turn, and brace against a light load. He completed the checks without favoring the leg.

"He can do light work," she told Jin. "Keep the afternoon easy. We’ll confirm his condition again before the match."

Jin resisted the urge to add one more drill. Glitch complained about the short session, then fell asleep after lunch.

Marris gathered them that evening.

[Semifinal regulations]

[Coaches nominate the next unused eligible entrant between bouts.]

[Winners may continue after inspection and coach approval.]

[An entrant who leaves may not return to the same tie.]

[Simultaneous knockout: one point to each academy; both entrants retire.]

[Three points wins the tie.]

"They’ve extended continuation to the semifinals," Marris said. "This applies to all four teams. We register our eligible squad tonight, but I don’t have to lock the entire order."

She turned from the display.

"Nessa opens. I’d like a teammate’s point before I ask Jin to attempt consecutive wins. Corin, be ready to go next if the matchup calls for it."

Jin looked up. "Two wins?"

"If we get that opportunity," Marris said. "You’re allowed to find it daunting. I do."

A few people laughed, Jin among them, though his stomach remained tight.

"We reached this stage because several people did difficult things," she continued. "That doesn’t make the next result anyone’s personal debt. We prepare properly, we compete, and I make the withdrawal decisions. Understood?"

Jin nodded with the others.

He still wanted the final. Hearing that he wasn’t expected to promise it made the desire easier to admit.

Nessa caught him by the stairs afterward.

"Mire again, probably," she said. "I’ve watched our first fight so often I know when the commentator coughs."

"Has that helped?" Jin asked.

"With the coughing? No." She rubbed her palms against her trousers. "I have a better entry. She’ll have something for it."

"Probably," Jin said.

Nessa gave him a small, grateful smile. "Thanks for not telling me it’ll be fine."

He stayed beside her while she watched the practice enclosure below. He wanted to offer more, but everything he thought of sounded like advice she already knew.

His phone vibrated. The semifinal reporting notice had arrived, followed almost immediately by a message from Elsa.

Alarm set. We’re watching.

Jin put the phone away before Nessa saw his expression. Tomorrow, there would be no pausing the recording when somebody got it wrong.