This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 657

Chapter 657: Chapter 657: Fallen Star
It turned out the loss had shaken Ranya more than anyone realized.

Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

Because in her very next match, the second one of the day, just a few hours later… she lost again.

This time to Addison.

The match was short. Ranya didn’t have her usual commanding presence—replaced by hesitation, uncharacteristic delays, and missteps that Addison, who was at the peak of her game, punished with merciless precision. Her fire attribute contracts struck cleanly every time, and even the referee looked hesitant to call the final blow.

When it ended, Addison stood silently in the center of the stage, blinking like she couldn’t quite believe she’d won. Meanwhile, Ranya didn’t move. She just stood there, barely holding herself together, before withdrawing her contracts and walking off the stage without waiting for the referee’s call.

Kain and Serena had been mid-conversation when the match started. By the time they processed what happened, Addison had already returned to the stands, looking stunned but pleased.

Kain and Serena were so stunned by the second loss of the day by Ranya, that they forgot to congratulate Addison. It wasn’t until they began to see her smile beginning to droop that they immediately noticed their blunder.

“Hey—uh, congrats,” Kain said, voice awkward.

Serena nodded stiffly. “You fought well.”

Addison lit up, and her drooping smile returned. “Thanks! I really didn’t think—”

But neither of them heard the rest. Their eyes were already drifting toward the far side of the stadium, where Ranya sat alone, shoulders trembling ever so slightly.

Serena was the first to move.

She walked over without a word and sat beside her. Ranya glanced up at her, her expression carefully blank.

Then Serena placed a hand gently on her shoulder—Ranya’s perfect mask of blankness shattered.

Ranya folded forward like something inside her had snapped. Her face twisted, silent at first, then she let out a stifled sob.

Serena moved without hesitation. She wrapped an arm around the girl and helped her stand. The whispers started almost immediately. Curious eyes. Prying ears.

Serena shot them a single cold look.

That was all it took.

The gossipy whispers died like someone had cut a wire.

Without another word, she escorted Ranya out of the arena.

Kain watched the whole thing from his seat, jaw tight. He knew how hard Ranya usually worked. How much effort she put into finding new uses for her illusion magic. This wasn’t just a loss—it was a complete collapse. Practically a betrayal of all of her hard work up until this moment.

“Think she’s done?” Bridge asked beside him, his tone quiet for once.

“I don’t know,” Kain murmured. “But she’s definitely out of consideration for the top group in Phase Two.”

————————

The rest of the group stages wrapped up the following morning.

The tournament grounds had the strangely subdued energy that always came at the tail end of a Phase One. Everyone had seen who rose, who fell, and who just barely scraped by. The matches were pretty much done, just a few final tiebreaking matches with those who had the same number of wins in their group, and some rescheduled delayed matches due to injury. But the rankings were pretty much set…particularly amongst those at the top of each group

The top finishers from each group had already been posted.

And it was official—Ranya wouldn’t make the top bracket.

Despite winning her last match, her final record of 3-2 placed her third in Group 5, just behind Addison and Dwayne.

She wasn’t even going to be ranked top 10.

Kain exhaled slowly as he skimmed the finalized results on the announcement board overhead:

Group 1

1st: Serena (Rank 1=)(5-0)

2nd: Blythe (↑Rank 19) (4-1)

[…]

Nobody was surprised by the outcome. Only one idiot let out a surprised and distressed call when this was announced, seemingly having made a bet with terrible odds in the hopes of a large payout.

Group 2

1st: Kain (Rank 1=)(5-0)

2nd: Peaches (↑Rank 31)(4-1)

[…]

Looking at the person ranked directly beneath him, Kain couldn’t help but think back to the deafening ‘BOOO’ that was released by her fan club once he had won. He was pretty sure her fan club’s intimidation was the only reason she managed to rank second in their group. Thankfully, Kain had his own ‘son-in-laws’ that also yelled back and supported Kain, but the other competitors in their group did not have that luxury…

Group 3

1st: Soren (Rank 3)(5-0)

2nd: Triss (Rank 14) (3-2)

[…]

Again, there were no surprises in this group.

Group 4

1st: Kairos (Rank 4)(5-0)

2nd: Aiden (Rank 10) (4-1)

[…]

Elias finished 1-4 and was second last in his group.

Group 5

1st: Addison (↑Rank 12) (5-0)

2nd: Arrow (Rank 13) (4-1)

3rd: Ranya (↓Rank 5) (3-2)

[…]

Group 6

1st: Dwayne (Rank 6) (5-0)

2nd: Finn (↑Rank 17)(4-1)

3rd: Leonara (↓Rank 16) (3-2)

[…]

Group 7

1st: Lucas (Rank 7) (5-0)

2nd: Anya (↑Rank 22)(4-1)

[…]

The dark horse from last year managed to preserve his ranking. Moreover, the unfamiliar name Anya had a surprisingly familiar face…Feather Sweater. It was the long forgotten teammate who Kain completed Obelisk sync inside the relic with.

Group 8

1st: Hailey (Rank 8) (5-0)

2nd: Bridge (↑Rank 20) (4-1)

[…]

Unfortunately, after a good run of back-to-back wins, Bridge was unable to break past the ‘Gatekeeper’ Hailey.

The eight first-place finishers would now battle each other in a round-robin format to finalize ranks 1 through 8.

Likewise, the second-place finishers would compete to determine ranks 9 through 16, and so on. Therefore, some students, like Bridge, were pretty much confirmed already to have their rankings rise, even if they finished last in their group for Phase 2.

Similarly, Ranya’s rank was confirmed to undergo a drastic drop. Now, even if she finished at the top in the third group, the highest rank she could hope for was 17.

Bridge gave a low whistle. “Talk about a fall from grace.”