Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: First Battle (2)
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' cheers for you!] As I severed Barkain's left wrist, a message popped up showing that Elisis was thrilled.
She'd been quiet for a while, so her sudden reaction made me tilt my head in confusion.
'Ah... come to think of it, back when I was playing, she had a deep grudge against the dwarves.'
Remembering how Elisis's playthrough kept dragging her into wars with dwarves made it all click.
She'd suffered a lot at their hands.
Even though he was only a quarter dwarf, Barkain bore the dwarf racial tag, so seeing him in pain must have delighted her.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' cheers you on fervently!] 'I don't need your cheers... I'll survive no matter what.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' warns that she'll reclaim the gift in case of a draw!] "Ha?!"
I couldn't help but yell at the message floating in front of me, utterly dumbfounded.
But no response came back.
Win, no matter what.
With that threat, staking the 'Quartet of the Wind,' Elisis fell silent.
'That ungrateful wench...!!'
Who was it that turned a talentless loser into a grand archmage hero?
Of course, she had no way of knowing that, so it wasn't exactly unfair.
"Haa, haa... How dare a mongrel like you... cut off my arm...!!"
"......"
At that moment, Barkain, who had tied his clothing to staunch the bleeding, glared at me with a growl.
With a ferocious glint in his eyes, he picked up his hammer again.
"I swear to my great ancestor... Lord Morduin...! I'll kill you for sure...!!"
"Ah, Morduin... Yeah, yeah, I know."
He was definitely the dwarf character I picked for my fifth playthrough.
Hearing that name from my current enemy felt strangely off.
Then, right on cue.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Another ancestor is watching you!] 'Hm...?'
The notification chimed, and I checked it, expecting another message from Elisis.
But it wasn't her.
'A new ancestor's approach...!'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' is shocked!] I could already guess who it was without looking—a creepy feeling crept up on me.
'As expected... even if he's only a quarter, he's still a descendant, so he's watching the fight.'
The sudden new ancestor was probably the dwarves' hero god, Morduin.
He must have reacted to his descendant swearing by him.
'Whatever... it doesn't change what I have to do...!'
Right now, victory was the only path to survival.
Ending in a draw and losing the 'Quartet of the Wind' would leave me dead in the next match.
"Raaargh—!!!"
I gripped my battle axe tight, glaring at the charging Barkain as he roared.
Whoosh—!!
His massive hammer came whistling down toward my skull.
⚡ TRAIT ACTIVATED ⚡ 'Quartet of the Wind' Whoosh—!!
Suddenly, a fierce gust swept in, shoving me out of the hammer's path.
"Graaah!! Not this time!!"
Whoosh!!
Another swing came roaring in.
But his attacks were too crude—like trying to hit a leaf fluttering in the wind.
'This is my chance—now.'
I saw my opening amid the flurry of hammer blows.
This evasion was one of the passive skills from the 'Quartet of the Wind.'
'Curtain of the Wind'
But it wasn't true invincibility.
It only deflected simple linear attacks by letting the wind sway my body.
Lucky for me his skill was low-level; anyone competent would have adapted instantly and landed a hit.
"Hraaagh—!!"
So.
This moment, before Barkain could adapt to the 'Curtain of the Wind,' was the turning point.
⚡ TRAIT ACTIVATED ⚡ 'Quartet of the Wind' And so, I hurled the axe at him.
"Wha—?!"
Shaken by his hammer swings and putting distance between us,
as I suddenly flung the axe, Barkain's eyes widened in panic.
He never saw it coming.
That I'd throw an axe as big as my head.
Whirrr—!!
But the axe left my hand spinning viciously toward him with pinpoint accuracy, like a pitcher hurling a fastball.
The active skill of the 'Quartet of the Wind'—'Thread of the Wind.'
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ 'Thread of the Wind' A skill that wrapped weapons in wind mana, allowing free control.
"W-Wai...!!"
Barkain, unaware of the skill's nature,
Whirr—!!
—Slash.
Let out a pathetic final gasp as his head flew off.
Thud, plop...
Barkain's head hit the ground.
For a moment, silence blanketed the arena.
"W-Woaaaah—!!!"
Then the crowd's cheers erupted, shattering the hush.
⚙ ANNOUNCEMENT ⚙ [He did it!! One of the mongrel gladiators!! Number 17 has taken down the quarter dwarf, Head Collector Barkain, in an instant!! Who could've predicted this ending—!!] The hyped announcer's voice pounded in my ears.
That magic amplifier—better than a mic— was deafening.
"I-I'm alive..."
"Gods above..."
"Ha, haha, hahaha!!"
"Thank you...!! Thank you!! It's all thanks to you!!"
The surviving mongrel gladiator comrades shed tears of disbelief, smiling.
'Phew... good thing I ended it quick.'
The 'Quartet of the Wind' consumed mana.
No mana bar UI yet, so I couldn't gauge how much I had left.
Finishing before it ran dry was pure luck.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' cheers your victory!] "If you're happy, give me something."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [......] No reply to my demand for a gift, like clockwork.
'Well, at least I'm alive...'
Anyway, this was the first battle since possessing this game character.
A fight that could have been my grave—but I won.
As I sighed in relief and smiled at my comrades' thanks,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'The Creating Mortal' glares at you.] "Ah."
A message from a new epithet—an ancestor I'd never seen.
'The Creating Mortal'.
No need to mull over the meaning; I knew exactly who this was.
The dwarves' hero god, Morduin.
He was watching me.
'Why's he glaring...? I just fought to survive and won...'
It felt unsettling that a character I'd once poured effort into was glaring at me.
Then another chime.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' laughs mockingly!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' laughs mockingly!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' laughs mockingly!] "Stop trash-talking—!!"
In this already tense situation with Morduin's attitude unclear, the elf hero Elisis bombarded him with mocking messages.
Ah... I get it now.
The reason Morduin was glaring at me.
'He lost his descendant because of Elisis's power...!'
His descendant fell to the 'Quartet of the Wind,' wielded by the elves' hero.
No wonder the dwarf hero god, who hated elves, was furious.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'The Creating Mortal' shouts!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' laughs mockingly!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' laughs mockingly!] No time to bask in victory; I rubbed my forehead watching the new ancestor's rage and the one mocking him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "That one..."
"Something wrong, Lady Elena?"
"No..."
In the gladiator city of Parion,
Elena Silbaren, who had come to watch the matches, stared at the mongrel gladiator from the VIP seats.
'No way... it can't be. But...'
The second daughter of the elf elder,
Elena bore the thickest bloodline of the great ancestor Elisis.
For a split second, the wind magic that gladiator used seemed eerily similar to the handed-down 'Quartet of the Wind.'
'No, it can't be... A mongrel gladiator couldn't possibly wield the great master's power.'
Regrettably, the 'Quartet of the Wind' was partially lost.
Four abilities in total,
two lost, only two remaining.
Yet what Number 17 just showed was... uncannily like the lost 'Thread of the Wind.'
The weapon moving as if guided by the wind,
slicing the throat sharply and returning to its master.
"......"
Elena gnawed her nail with her delicate lips, glaring at Number 17 for a moment,
then let out a hollow chuckle and looked away.
"Ha, of course not."
"Pardon...?"
"Nothing, just a foolish fancy."
"Haha, yeah, a mongrel gladiator beating a quarter dwarf is wild. ...Though you could say that's just the dwarf level."
"Hehe, true."
Elena smiled superficially at her companion's joke, then gazed back at Number 17.
'If... if that really was the great master's power...'
Cold fury flickered in her eyes.
'I'll kill him for sullying the master's name, mongrel or not.'
A venomous smile curled across her beautiful face.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' watches descendant 'Elena Silbaren'!] The gathering place of the great ancestors.
The Feast of the Stars.
There, Elisis watched her direct descendant Elena glaring at her mongrel descendant.
Feeling the killing intent from her,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' greets 'Star Prophet'!] she warmly approached another great ancestor with prophecy powers.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' amiably asks a favor of 'Star Prophet'!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' amiably continues asking 'Star Prophet'!] ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' amiably keeps asking 'Star Prophet'!] At Elisis's persistent pleading, 'Star Prophet' sighed.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Star Prophet' gazes at the Milky Way!] As requested, a future scene appeared before Elisis.
"P-Please...! Can't you just tell me that? Huh? Uwuu...! Th-the Quartet of the Wind belongs to the elves originally...! Hic, pleeease...! I really need it...! I'm begging you like this...!" There was Elisis's direct descendant Elena, sniffling and prostrating on the floor.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ancestor 'Eternal Teacher of the Fairies' grins cheekily!]