This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Chapter 722: Chapter 722: A Loss Worth Cheering For

The food court was a madhouse.

And PrematureFinisher, self-declared future recipient of Kain Newman’s discarded napkin, stood in the middle of it—sweating, winded, and holding up a half-stabilized phone for what he hoped would qualify as “vlog content.”

The stream had been turned off. He wasn’t brave enough to film live again in front of Kain and other high-profile people. Not after he’d been caught filming the last time. And definitely not when he was technically stalking Kain right now.

“This is Premie,” he whispered into the camera, turning dramatically to show a long, winding line of hungry guests. “Reporting live from the food court… where I have just missed Kain Newman by approximately fifteen seconds and the emotional damage is irreversible.”

He pivoted to a bored-looking vendor.

“What did he order?” Premie begged.

The vendor blinked. “Rice wrap.”

“With what?”

“Spicy ginger sauce… extra radish. Also, a spiritual beer.”

“Did he say anything? Did he smile?”

The vendor paused, thinking. Then nodded. Premie’s heart picked up at what exclusive info may about to be dropped.

“He said ’Thanks.’”

Premie nearly collapsed after having his raised expectations lowered.

“Chat would have lost it,” he whispered, even though there was no chat. He wasn’t recording anymore. This was just for the archive. For the Kain Lore Vault.

In a flurry of regret, he snapped a shaky selfie in front of the ginger sauce dispenser. The caption would later read: Missed him by one condi-minute.

Then he stood there for a moment, quiet.

No stream. No crowd. Just him and his heart, cracked open like an overripe spiritual fruit.

“…Next time,” he promised no one. “Next time I’ll be faster.”

———-

Like Kain, the tournament didn’t wait either and was progressing relatively fast,

Dark Moon’s second-years swept through their next several matches with mechanical precision. Kain remained benched, lounging on the sidelines, hands behind his head like he was watching a show while on vacation.

Kairos and Dwayne handled the majority of the 1v1s. And those wo with the addition of Soren anchored the 3v3s. But still, for the next few matches neither Kain nor Serena took the stage.

As a result, Kain’s fans were growing more feral by the day.

Memes piled on.

“The King Sleeps: Kain’s Season as a Spectator.”“Strategic Inaction: The Deadliest Weapon?”“Zoom-In Cam Operators: The Real MVPs”

His name trended in every stream he didn’t appear in.

In fact, the tournament subforums had launched an entire thread tracking the number of times Kain’s face was zoomed in on during matches he didn’t participate in. A running tally was being kept. As of the last match? Twenty-seven times. The camera operators definitely knew who the crowd attractor was.

Then finally it came.

Once 25 teams had advanced, a rest day was declared—both for recovery and for the additional matches. During that time, additional matches were held, where all eliminated teams will compete and the strongest five eliminated teams will get a chance to rejoin the bracket. Resulting in 30 schools remaining.

From there, one final elimination round was held, trimming the roster down to 15. One more team will then be added back based on the same method to create the Top 16.

After that, matches went single-elimination, pairing the best of the best down to Top 8, who will then compete in a round-robin format to definitively rank the top 8 colleges in the nation.

But right now?

Currently, after a day’s break, they were in the Top 30 round.

Dark Moon vs. Obsidian Moon Valley Institute.

A battle between two eastern region colleges.

And for the first time, things didn’t go according to plan.

Dwayne stepped up for the 1v1.

He wasn’t their weakest link—not by a long shot. His Tidebreaker Leviathan and Stormstrike Siren made him a solid pick, and he’d been quietly reliable throughout the tournament. But Obsidian Valley had done their homework. They opened with a contract that released a dense, mudlike spiritual field that absorbed water and diffused electrical charges, severely dampening the effectiveness of both of Dwayne’s mainstay contracts.

The moment his usual tactics stalled, perhaps due to his inexperience on the National stage compared to Kairos and the others, he got slightly frazzled and didn’t pivot quickly enough. Seeing this, Obsidian Moon Valley participant pressed the advantage.

He fought hard. Used clever positioning. Even tried to adapt with his Noxious Cloudling, hoping the corrosive mist could break through the field—but the mud neutralized its edges, dispersing the toxins before they could destabilize the opposing formation.

In the end, Dwayne’s contracts were overwhelmed and forced into submission.

The announcer’s voice rang through the arena. “Victory—Obsidian Moon Valley Institute!”

On the bench, Soren’s expression darkened. Kairos clicked his jaw.

Kain and Serena’s expressions remained impassive.

But strangely, despite Dark Moon being a crowd favourite, and many of Kain’s fans being present in the audience, the crowd burst out into loud cheers. Almost as if it were a carnival. Because they knew that Dark Moon losing this match would practically guarantee their participation in the 5v5…Kain would definitely be taking the stage.

———————-

The 3v3 was tense from the start. And due to Dwayne’s loss, he was obviously mentally distressed enough that the professors overseeing their match chose to have him sit out of the 3v3. Or it could have just been an excuse…perhaps they just didn’t want tot take the risk that he’d mess up and cause them to lose again.

Whatever the reason, no one questioned the choice. Dwayne remained silent as the team huddled briefly, offering only a quiet nod before stepping back. If he had any thoughts about the decision, he kept them to himself.

If Dark Moon lost in a top 30 match, it’d probably one of the most shameful scandals in the College’s history…

And so, Kairos, Soren, and Serena stepped forward as a unit.

Their opponents from Obsidian Moon Valley Institute stood ready—three second-years like them, all sharp-eyed and unusually composed for a school ranked outside the top twenty. Clearly, their colleague’s win over Dwayne has given them the confidence to think they may actually beat Dark Moon. Unfortunately for them, such a scenario would only happen in their dreams.

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