Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

20: Cavalry Battle! (And We're the Horses!)

Confetti was already raining down for Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki who came in before her. Elise flopped down to the ground and panted. Small sparks occasionally came from her form as unseen currents swept through her body, soothing the sore muscles and slowing down the cramps. Elise shifted back and rolled onto her back and rested an arm over her face.

Good job, Elise.

Worthless, worthless child.

A humorless laugh escaped her. She didn't know what to feel. Overjoyed at coming in so quickly. Overwhelming lost and anger at herself for losing her spot. She felt stupid. Why was she sad when so many other students would not be able to pass the first round? It felt hollow, this victory granted to her as she stood in the others' shadows. Nobody noticed her, all focused on the top three.

Hah... why am I fucking sad??? I've managed to get fourth yet...

Hush now, it's alright to feel down. You did your best, though.

She sighed and sat back up, pulling her legs to her chest and waiting for the other students to filter through.

Shoji passed through effortlessly. Poor Momo had Mineta clinging to her back as she stumbled through. Waiting for the rest of the students to come through was enough time for Elise to regain most of her energy and she gathered alongside them in front of the podium.

"The first game of the first-yeah stage is finally over. Now, take a look at the results!" Midnight announced, motioning to the screen behind her.

'1st- Class A: Izuku Midoriya

2nd- Class A: Shoto Todoroki

3rd- Class A: Katsuki Bakugou

4th- Class A: Elise Wing'

Elise winced at the fact that Bakugou got third. The boy's pride will take a heavy beating for that. The list continued, all the way to number 42. She assumed that this was the number of students that passed.

Her theory was proven true when Midnight announced, "The top 42 made it to the next round. It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine." She paused and licked her lips. "The real competition begins next! The press cavalry will be all over it! Give it your all! Now then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be?" She fixed her glasses frame and exclaimed, "I just said it, and here it is..."

'CAVALRY BATTLE'

"Huh?"

"The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but there's one thing different. Based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. The points go up by five starting from the bottom. Forty-second place gets five points, forty-first gets ten points, and the point value assigned to first place is... ten million!"

Oh no

Ooh, tough beans.

Elise threw Midoriya a pitying look. He was going to be hunted down like a hog.

"Those at the top will suffer more," Midnight continued. "You'll hear this many times as you attend U.A. This is what 'Plus Ultra' means!" She pointed her whip at Midoriya and said, "Izuku Midoriya, who placed first in qualifiers, is worth ten million points! Now then, I will explain the rules of the cavalry battle. The time limit is fifteen minutes. Each of the team is worth the total of its members' points, and the riders will wear a headband with that number on their foreheads. Teams will try to grab each other's headbands until time runs out, and try to keep as many points as they can. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it is to manage them! And the most important thing is that even if your headband gets stolen, or if your team falls, you're not out!"