Chapter 815: Coordinator
Chapter 815: Coordinator (Combined)
Time ticked by.
The audience stands gradually filled up.
Suddenly, the lights in the hall went out, and a spotlight shone on the stage.
Hundreds of blue butterflies gathered from all sides, slowly forming the outline of a person.
After about three seconds, the butterflies suddenly turned into light points and dispersed, revealing a female host in a blue dress with long, golden curly hair reaching her waist, her makeup meticulously done, holding a microphone in the spotlight.
Qiao Sang asked with interest, "What skill is this?"
"It's a Fairy-type skill, Mimicry. It can create the appearance of anything through energy concentration", Maral explained. "There's an elevator under the stage. When the butterflies gather to form the shape, the elevator rises, and then the Mimicry dissipates, creating this scene."
Qiao Sang suddenly understood and felt she had learned something new.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Coordination Contest!" the host said with enthusiasm. "A celebration of Familiars and Coordinators, the Coordination Contest you've been waiting for is about to begin!"
The audience erupted in cheers as the host finished speaking.
Creatures about ten centimeters tall, with two pairs of translucent wings, light blue hair, and slender arms connected to oval-shaped hands forming a quarter note shape, flew down from the ceiling, twirling and dancing gracefully.
As they danced, sparkling powder sprinkled down.
This opening was absolutely beautiful... Qiao Sang felt her mood visibly improve.
All her worries, such as whether Adinix could play the flute before she left Supernest and the Unlimited Credit Card expiring, seemed to vanish in an instant.
Maral’s lips curled into a smile, and his tone became noticeably lighter. "These are Joy Butterflies. The powder they sprinkle has a mood-lifting effect. The Coordination Contest aims to keep the audience in a good mood, so they usually have Joy Butterflies perform and sprinkle powder at the beginning."
Qiao Sang smiled. "No wonder I feel so much better."
"Xunxun~"
The Treasure Seeker, which had become invisible from anger, reappeared, watching the Joy Butterflies dance happily above.
The audience members began to smile, and some of them extended their hands. The Joy Butterflies obligingly landed on them.
"This time, 220 participants have gathered at the Coordination Match Hall to compete for the honor of Coordinator. The winner will receive a ribbon trophy made from extraterrestrial crystal, which is invaluable, and a purebred Mengmeng Beast familiar egg!" the host announced loudly.
"Now, let me introduce our judges: the President of the First District Coordination Center, Ms. Angelica Windsor!"
"The Dean of Unionton Coordination Academy, Ms. Siri Hayek!"
"A top familiar coordination master..."
"220 participants, surely they can't finish in one day, right?" Qiao Sang leaned in and asked.
"Of course not. The matches will take five days, and it will probably take two days just to complete the first stage of the performance", Maral said.
Qiao Sang fell silent for a moment. "You’re not going to make me come here for five days in a row, are you?"
"Of course not", Maral laughed. "I know your first-year courses are busy. Even if you wanted to, it would be hard to take time off, since you're not from our Coordination Academy."
Qiao Sang: "..."
While they were talking, the host had finished the introductions.
"Show your familiar! Let's welcome our first contestant, Bolly Braga!"
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy realized the match was about to start and looked excited.
"Xunxun!"
The Treasure Seeker waved its claws in excitement.
"Ice Ai." Lulu jumped out of the backpack, passing over Qiao Sang's head, and landed beside Fangy.
Steel Treasure stood on its Beastmaster's shoulder.
Qiao Sang, now a C-Class Beastmaster, didn't feel much weight on her shoulder after multiple replenishments.
Soon, a gentle background music started playing.
The curtain slowly opened.
A human and a familiar synchronized, spinning and dancing gracefully to the center of the stage.
Qiao Sang recognized the familiar as a kangaroo-like creature with a green and white body and a mushroom-shaped cap on its head.
She immediately recalled the familiar's information: Combat Fungus, a Grass-Type and Combat-Type dual-attribute advanced familiar.
The Combat Fungus wore a Miniaturization Band, making it shorter than its Beastmaster.
The human and familiar synchronized their movements, spinning and jumping, then their claws and hands touched and gripped tightly.
The background music intensified, and the dancer and beast's style abruptly shifted from a graceful swan dance to a passionate Latin dance.
"Xunxun..."
The Treasure Seeker's eyes grew brighter, revealing a deep longing.
Suddenly, Combat Fungusclaws thrust upward, propelling its Beastmaster toward the dim ceiling.
Then, a green Vine Whip suddenly extended from its claws, binding the Beastmaster's legs and swinging her rhythmically.
Its feet also moved in a rhythmic tap, as if it were dancing.
The contestant named Polly, regardless of how the Vine Whip swung, danced gracefully in mid-air, as if the Vine Whip didn't exist, and she was naturally capable of moving in the air.
After a dozen seconds of passionate dancing, Combat Fungusclaws swung the Vine Whip in a wide arc and then retracted it, making it disappear.
The audience gasped.
The anticipated performance mishap did not occur; Polly executed a perfect backflip in mid-air.
Just as she landed, dozens of Vine Whips sprouted from the ground, forming a flower shape at her landing point.
She landed steadily on it, raised her hands, and struck a finishing pose.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
The five judges had varied expressions.
Maral clapped symbolically and asked, "What do you think of this performance?"
Qiao Sang clapped while responding, "The performance was quite good, but it felt like the familiar's presence was overshadowed at the end. The first stage should be the familiar's showcase."
"Even you noticed that. It seems the contestant won't score very high", Maral said.
Qiao Sang: "???"
What do you mean, even I noticed it?
Maral continued, "This Combat Fungusclaws was clearly well-cultivated. The contestant has won the Coordination Competition five times to qualify for this stage, so their skills are undoubtedly strong. It's probably their first time in a Coordination Contest, and they might have tried too hard to showcase themselves."
Soon, the five judges gave their scores.
The first stage was out of 50 points.
Each judge had 10 points to give, and they collectively awarded 37 points.
This was the first contestant, and Qiao Sang was also watching a Coordination Contest with five judges for the first time, unsure if this score was high or low.
However, half an hour later, she realized the score was not high.
The subsequent contestants all scored over 40 points.
An Ice Mole that hatched from an ice ball.
A Scalesoldier that created a hundred clones, leaped into the air, and used a series of kicks to eliminate all the clones in one go.
A Flower King that sang and made the stage bloom with flowers.
A Rainbow Wren that placed itself in a tornado, violently broke free, and revealed a rainbow as the backdrop.
Each performance was a dazzling spectacle.
"How about it? Watching a Coordination Competition live is much better than on TV, right?" Maral asked.
"Indeed", Qiao Sang nodded.
Watching a Coordination Competition was indeed a visual feast.
"Are you interested in developing your skills in the coordination field?" Maral asked, not forgetting her mission.
Putting aside the question of interest, Qiao Sang definitely didn't have the time, but if Steel Treasure wanted to compete, she could find an upcoming coordination match to participate in... Qiao Sang countered, "I noticed that the familiars dispatched by the Coordinators in the Coordination Contest vary greatly in level. Some are General-Class Beast Companions or even King-level familiars, while others send Intermediate Familiars. Is there no level requirement for familiars in the Coordination Contest?"
Maral looked at her with a peculiar expression and said, "It seems you don't understand the Coordination Competition at all."
Qiao Sang humbly asked, "Please enlighten me."
"Unlike Professional Beastmasters, who participate in events based on the level indicated on their Beastmaster Emblem, any Beastmaster can initially go to the Coordination Center to be evaluated by professional Familiar Trainers and Coordinators. As long as their familiar's condition and skills pass the inspection, they can become an F-Class Coordinator, the lowest level."
"Coordinators at this level can generally pass as long as their familiar is well-cultivated."
"However, to advance, they need to continuously participate in Coordination Competitions and earn honors to become more advanced Coordinators."
"To become an E-Class Coordinator, there is no level requirement for the familiar, but they must place in the top three in coordination events three times or win once. The Coordination Center authorities keep records of these matches, and you can register directly."
She paused for a moment and added, "If the competition is at a higher level, getting a top three or even a top ten finish once can qualify you to apply as an E-Class Coordinator."
Qiao Sang tried to understand:
"That means, for a county-level Coordination Competition, you need to get three top three finishes or one championship. For a city-level Coordination Competition, you only need one top three finish. For a provincial-level Coordination Competition, a top ten finish is enough."
Maral was taken aback for a moment.
Supernest doesn't have counties, cities, or provinces, which made it hard for her to react immediately.
As a student of the Beastmaster Alliance, Maral had taken specialized courses to learn about other planets. After processing the information, she nodded and said:
"Yes, that's right."
She continued:
"So, to participate in a Coordination Contest of this level, we don't look at the Beastmaster's Level or the Coordinator's Level. Instead, we check if they have won five coordination matches."
"Once they have won five coordination matches, they can sign up."
"For Coordinators, the honors they have earned are the most important."
"Honors can raise a Coordinator's Level and allow them to participate in more advanced competitions."
Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said, "But a Coordinator with a higher-level familiar can earn more honors, right? No matter what, the Coordination Competition ultimately comes down to the battle."
"Of course", Maral smiled. "A familiar's strength is also part of its charm. The higher its strength, the more impressive its initial display and final battle will be, capturing the audience's attention and igniting their emotions."
"But the Coordination Competition has two stages. The initial display stage focuses more on the familiar's charm. A low-level familiar doesn't necessarily mean it lacks charm. Typically, in the Performance display and the battle, Coordinators will use different familiars."
"Sometimes, higher-level Coordinators prefer to use lower-level familiars for the Performance display. This way, if they still advance smoothly, it demonstrates their skill even more."
"Wow, there's so much more to the Coordination Competition than I thought", Qiao Sang realized, feeling more knowledgeable.
"Actually, there's another reason", Maral suddenly recalled.
"What is it?" Qiao Sang asked, eager to learn more.
Maral replied:
"A Coordinator can't use the same display method for their entire career. When a Coordinator reaches a certain level of fame, their signature display method becomes well-known. If they use the same Performance in a major Coordination Competition, people might say they are relying on old tricks, lacking freshness, and their score won't be high. So, Coordinators often train new familiars for different Performance displays."
Qiao Sang thought about it and said:
"Do they always have to train new familiars? Can't they just teach their familiars different Performance methods?"
Maral looked at her and said:
"To become an excellent Coordinator, you need to train each familiar to the point where it can perform a magnificent display."
Qiao Sang nodded in agreement.
The match continued in an orderly manner.
"Let's welcome our final contestant of the morning, Sheng Jiao!" the host announced loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, all the lights in the main hall went out.
A brilliant golden light suddenly shot out, flying above the audience stands, reflecting in all directions without any pattern.
Its speed was so fast that it left traces of golden light wherever it went, like stars connected in the night sky.
Then, the golden light darted to the stage.
"Boom!" A magnetic female voice echoed.
Immediately, all the remaining golden traces exploded, scattering as golden light, like falling stars, making the entire audience stand exceptionally beautiful.
The lights came back on.
Everyone saw a black-haired woman on the stage, her legs slightly bent, holding the sides of her black dress, and her head bowed slightly. Beside her was a black familiar, also with bent legs, claws spread to the sides, and its head bowed.
The audience stands were silent.
A few seconds later, cheers erupted, and the entire hall was in an uproar.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker looked at the black familiar, showing admiration for the nth time.
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy clapped excitedly.
"Ice Ai", Lulu's tail flicked, her eyes filled with admiration as she watched the black familiar on stage.
"Steel Slash", Steel Treasure observed the reactions around him, lost in thought.
"Clap clap clap..."
Qiao Sang clapped with genuine enthusiasm.
Honestly, this was the most impressive Performance of the morning for her.
(End of Chapter)
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