Ordinary observers in fast time travel

"Aria, where are you taking me?" Shi Jia looked around curiously. Why couldn't they just teleport here?
"It's up ahead," Aria said, pointing to the building in front of them. The words "Starlight Mech Arena" were written on it.

"Mech Arena? You're bringing me here to compete?" Shi Jia asked in surprise. "I've only just learned how to pilot a mech; I'm not at a level where I can compete yet."

She felt that Arya thought too highly of her.

"As long as you can pilot a mecha, that's fine. That's how I practiced piloting mechas when I was a kid," Aria said earnestly. This was the only thing Avril wouldn't stop her from doing.

In addition, she is prevented from engaging in anything related to healing, such as various artistic interests.

At first, she certainly made a fuss, but it was no use. Later, she gradually grew to like mecha, because only when practicing with mecha could she truly let loose.

Shi Jia was surprised to hear Ailiya's words, "Isn't practicing mecha like this too fast?" Isn't there a saying that you have to learn to walk before you can run?
She had only studied mecha for a few days, and even with her exceptional talent, she could only operate it to a basic level.

"No, real combat is the most effective way to practice, trust me." As she spoke, Ailiya had already led Shi Jia to the registration area.

"Moreover, it's a way to earn money and hone your mech combat skills at the same time. That's the choice for most mech pilots."

"Make money?" Shi Jia's eyes lit up when he read the sensitive word.

Aria was puzzled by her reaction. Was Slana short of money? She was a healer! She had never seen Avril short of money!

"The Starshine Mech Arena has two modes. One is the official Starshine Arena competition, in which participants need to sign a contract with Starshine and participate in at least 60 competitions per month for at least one year. Winning a competition will earn you a bonus."

"D-level matches cost 500 Star Coins, C-level matches cost 1000 Star Coins, B-level matches cost 1500 Star Coins, A-level matches cost 2500 Star Coins, S-level matches cost 5000 Star Coins, SS-level matches cost 20000 Star Coins, and SSS-level matches cost 50000 Star Coins."

"However, battles of SS rank or above are rarely seen, perhaps only once a year."

"why?"

“Most mech pilots of SS rank and above are fighting on the front lines. The matches in the arena are like child’s play for them,” Aria shrugged.

Shi Jia nodded, completely understanding. However, "Ailiya, at least 50 matches a month, I might not be able to manage that. Are there any other options?"

Because my teacher is restricting my use of my talent right now, I have a lot of free time. I expect to get busy again in about two weeks.

"Of course, the Star Arena also supports free duels or renting a venue for duels. You can participate in the former, pay a certain duel fee based on your mech operation skills, and the arena will match you with free duel competitors."

“Although there is a participation fee, this is still the choice of most mech pilots,” Aria said.

"Huh? Why?" Pay money to fight someone? Shi Jia didn't quite understand for a moment.

"Well, maybe everyone has a dream of piloting a mecha, or maybe it's just for the game! After all, the Free Arena is one of the few places where you can experience piloting a mecha without needing a mecha pilot's license or mecha operation skills."

"Huh? Playing games?" She could understand the mecha dream; didn't she also want to pilot a mecha? Whenever she thought of the scene in space when Qin Yu suddenly appeared in front of her in his mecha, she couldn't help but feel excited.

"You don't know, nowadays a lot of game companies require mech piloting experience in their games," Aria complained. "Those who can't pilot mechs won't even survive the beginner village."

"Because of this, those game companies have been trending on social media for all the wrong reasons. Sigh, they don't even consider how many out of billions of people can actually pilot a mech. However, some people suspect that the games and those mech training programs have a partnership, trying to make money from both the games and the mech training programs. It's absolutely shady."

Shi Jia was baffled by Ailiya's complaints.

But from her words, I learned a truth: the contestants in the free arena vary greatly in skill level. Her opponent could be an experienced mecha pilot—well, probably not; or she could be a novice who has just learned to operate a mecha, just like her.

"Hehe, I was just saying." Aria was a little embarrassed, and quickly opened the registration channel for Shi Jia. "Fill in your information, your mental strength level, mecha operation level, and then pay the participation fee. The D-level free combat tournament entrance ticket costs 200 star coins. If you win, you get 200 star coins back, and you'll also receive a 100 star coin reward from the other party. Of course, if someone watches your match, there will be rewards starting from more than 500 people. If there are tips, you'll also get a share." All of this was explained on the registration channel.

"Alright, we're already matching opponents, let's go to the arena."

"Mhm!" Shi Jia walked confidently into the arena. He immediately heard the arena's AI prompt him to put on his gear.

The moment I put on my mech, a notification sound rang out indicating a successful match.

A black standard mech appeared opposite Shi Jia.

"The countdown to the duel begins... 3, 2, 1!"

Both sides stood quietly without moving.

"Um, hello! Shall we start?" Shi Jia had never been in a fight before, and was a little at a loss for words.

Fortunately, the person opposite seemed to be a novice as well. "Okay!" As soon as he finished speaking, he ran towards Shi Jia. In Shi Jia's opinion, his speed was very slow.

Shi Jia was stunned. She felt like she could kick the other person away with one kick!

No! That would be so rude!
So she slowly took a step to the side, and the mech opposite her leisurely rushed past her. Once the other mech reacted and was in position, Shi Jia swung its arm and smashed it down.

"Bang!" The opposing mech staggered back more than ten steps before finally regaining its footing. "Ah—" The mech pilot suddenly roared and charged towards Shi Jia, increasing his speed slightly.

But to Shi Jia's A+ mental strength, it was still very slow. This time, she didn't dodge, but directly raised her leg and kicked.

"Bang—" The mech on the other side was sent flying backward, followed by a series of damage rate warnings.

Shi Jia blinked, walked over and kicked the opponent again, causing him to leave the arena.

"Congratulations to Shi Jia for winning. 200 Star Coins will be refunded, and 100 Star Coins will be awarded. Please leave the arena within 2 minutes."

The scene flashed, and Aria appeared before them. She blinked in surprise, "Huh? You came out so quickly? Did you run into an experienced mech pilot? It's okay, it's always like this. Just practice more, shall we continue?"

Shi Jia quickly stopped Aria's action, "Aria, don't choose the D-level one."

Aria blinked, looking worried. "Don't choose the D-level one? But the Free Arena doesn't have an E-level mecha arena."

Shi Jia couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Ailiya, is it possible that I won just now?"

"You won? In less than 5 minutes?" Aria couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, he was too slow. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to practice more, but his movements were like a snail to me, there was really no need to practice, so I kicked him away with two kicks." Shi Jia submitted for inspection.

"You kicked him away?" Aria felt that Shi Jia was exaggerating. How long had she been learning about mechas? Wasn't she supposed to have just learned how to operate a mecha?
"Yeah, he charged at me slowly, and I didn't want to dodge, so I called it in." Shi Jia shrugged as he spoke, checking the C-level free-for-all and paying the 500 star coins entry fee.

500 Star Coins is a bit expensive.

Shi Jia frowned, hoping this C-rank mecha pilot was skilled enough to practice with her a little longer; otherwise, she felt 500 star coins was a bit of a rip-off. (End of Chapter)