Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Knight Tournament (1)
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“I got this already, huh.”
[Investigator's Bracelet][Unique]
An insignia given to senior investigators. It can summon an assisting investigator for the wearer.
-Once per day, [Assistant Summon] or [Clone Summon] is possible
-[Assistant Summon] allows summoning various classes
-[Clone Summon] summons a clone that copies 70% of the user's stats
-Charge status: 1/1
-Recharge cooldown: 0:00
The Investigator's Bracelet was, in simple terms, an item designed to enable solo investigations of corrupted monsters.
It allowed dungeon exploration and the like even for someone like Rokan, who went all-in on a single class without forming a party.
For example, in a trap-filled dungeon, you could summon a rogue-type assistant to disarm traps.
It also had the ability to summon a clone with 70% of your stats, which, if used well, was an excellent way to deceive enemies.
‘Was the duration 30 minutes?’
On top of that, the duration was a solid 30 minutes.
Of course, you could only activate one at a time—either Assistant Summon or Clone Summon—and the clone would vanish once its health was depleted. But without those limitations, it would be an utterly terrifying ability.
“Then let’s open this one too.”
Satisfied after examining the bracelet, Rokan pulled a small box from his inventory next.
A Unique accessory box obtained as quest reward.
The advantage was that it guaranteed a Unique-grade accessory item, so he could open it without much worry.
It might turn out to be an accessory specialized for spellcasters, but even then, just boosting his mana pool would be plenty useful right now.
“Ha… What’s with today?”
[Elf's Tear Necklace][Unique]
A necklace made from a gem called the Elf's Tear.
It embodies the elves' love for stability and peace.
-Powerful hemostasis effect
-Basic HP regeneration +200%
-All recovery effects +100%
-Recovers 1% of total HP per second after 30 seconds out of combat
-All elemental resistances +10%
What popped out of the box was an upgraded version of the Tear Emerald Necklace he’d acquired early on and was still using effectively.
Even Rokan in his previous life had kept using it—a “graduation item” boasting outstanding efficiency for combat classes, with no exaggeration.
He’d been thinking that even a ring he hadn’t fully met the equip requirements for would be fine, but this pull was so good he could easily let go of that thought.
Bzzz, bzzz.
Right on cue, the summon stone Rokan carried began to vibrate.
The time for the knight tournament had drawn near.
Rokan quickly swapped necklaces and used the summon stone to teleport to the appointed location.
“You’ve arrived.”
At the training grounds where the knight tournament would take place, Decarn and a few soldiers had gathered.
They looked tense as could be, but in truth, they wouldn’t have to step up. He’d already instructed them to forfeit if he lost.
Even so, facing an opponent radiating such a ferocious aura made it hard to stay calm, leaving them visibly shrunken.
‘Huh…?’
After glancing at them, Rokan turned his gaze to the enemy side—and something caught his eye.
There were people there he hadn’t seen on his previous visit.
‘So that’s it.’
Their identities were obvious without anyone saying a word, from their different gazes, expressions, and demeanors compared to the regular knights.
Users, peering around with curiosity—that’s who they were.
Likely users who had pledged allegiance to the Remington territory.
‘This might resolve more easily than expected.’
Why had they shown up here? Simply to observe?
Possibly, but he suspected one or two might step up to fight directly.
The average level of the knights under Lord Remington was 230-240, so a user with decent sense and a good collection of titles could easily stand in for them in the knight tournament.
Of course, from Rokan’s perspective, they’d be even easier opponents.
“Now, the lords of each territory, submit your matchup orders in writing.”
At the observer’s declaration, Rokan and Lord Remington moved.
Even though it was a duel between nobles—baron or not—the observer held higher status.
The observer’s name was Carbon, one of the representatives of the Kensington Council, and someone who had his eye on Rokan.
Without Rokan even asking, Carbon had volunteered to oversee this knight tournament—somehow knowing about it.
Thanks to that, he could block any interference from the high nobles Lord Remington had pulled strings with.
‘At least I don’t have to worry about biased judging.’
Carbon’s attention was a bit burdensome, but it secured the first button smoothly, so it wasn’t all bad.
Following his instructions, Rokan and Lord Remington each wrote something on paper and submitted it. Soon, the matchup order was announced.
“First matchup: Lord Rokan of Linai Territory versus Shooting Star, bearer of the squire title! As observer, I’ll add that while Rokan is Lord of Linai, he is also a knight, and Shooting Star holds a squire title which could raise issues, but if Linai’s lord has no objections, I’ll deem it a proper match. Lord Linai, any objections?”
“None.”
As if there would be.
A squire was the stage right before the final quest to advance from soldier to knight rank.
And this knight tournament victory was likely set as that quest.
Thus, the observer acknowledged it, permitting Shooting Star’s participation under that ID, even if not a full knight.
‘Shooting Star, huh… Sounds familiar.’
As he stepped into the training grounds, Rokan repeated the opponent’s name, dredging up hazy memories.
Perhaps because they were now on the central continent, familiar names from the upper ranks were starting to appear more frequently.
Shooting Star was one such name.
Not one etched deeply in memory, but he definitely felt like he’d heard it somewhere.
‘Speed type?’
Leather armor made from ogre hide, a flashy spear unfit for battle. Seeing that unique gear jogged his memory.
“So you’re the guild master of Meteor.”
He recalled a user who led a guild called Meteor.
They’d gained fame later, but early on, they toyed with foes using unexpectedly tricky combat tactics.
“Winner-stays-on format: the victor continues fighting, but no recovery, rest, or consumables allowed. First matchup! Begin!”
“Chaa!”
Unlike Rokan, who calmly sized up his opponent with apparent disinterest, the guy charged the moment the match started.
But it was a feint.
As Rokan lightly swung his axe to intercept, the foe spun, retracted his spear—then slammed it into the ground.
Using the rebound, he launched himself high into the air.
‘Using the same old tricks.’
He seemed to have gear with jump or flight skills; his spear, now out of reach, gathered some force.
“Power of exploding flames!”
It was mana. Magic.
He looked like a speed-focused melee type, but he was actually a so-called “magic spearman”—a hybrid of spearman and mage classes.
That explained why his weapon looked like both a spear and a mage’s staff.
“Bombardment.”
Confirming mana gathering at the spear tip, Rokan countered with his own bombardment.
A hand axe shot out without wind-up, hurtling toward the airborne, immobile foe like it would explode him.
“Shooting Star!”
But the guy wasn’t pushover. Holding his breath until the bombardment closed in, he met it with his amassed magic power.
Boom! KABOOOM!
He didn’t even try to overpower the bombardment.
As if he already knew who Rokan was, he focused on deflecting it and redirecting, unleashing his own combo on Rokan.
“Charge.”
Not a basic attack but a magic daisy, so Rokan had no intention of tanking it.
Rather than trusting solely in the bombardment’s power, he used a movement skill to escape the attack range—back to the foe’s starting position.
[You are exposed to Spike Trap.]
[Movement speed reduced by 30% for 30 seconds.]
‘Well, now.’
But Shooting Star’s plan didn’t end there. He’d anticipated the dodge and pre-planted a trap before charging.
The skill-activated trap was invisible to the enemy, turning the field into a minefield.
Turned out he wasn’t a spearman but a hunter class.
A damage trap wouldn’t have worked, but this debuff trap affecting movement speed inevitably impacted Rokan.
“Double Jump! Lightning Meteor!”
At that moment, the falling Shooting Star leaped again. Kicking off the air, he unleashed another skill.
“Defense, defense, defense.”
Even Rokan couldn’t dodge this one easily. He activated the ring’s embedded skills, defending in place against the assault.
Crack!
The triple-layered shield shattered, and a stinging static buzz enveloped his body. The multi-class mix diluted the power.
But in that interval, the foe planted his spear and leaped again.
“Like a grasshopper or something.”
Rokan evaded the next plummeting magic attack with a creation skill dodge, then gazed at him with a bored expression.
An amusing style, sure. But that was it. At least for now, without the power to back it up, anyone nimble enough would wear him down until mana depletion.
“Guard.”
Clang!
The foe even tried firing an arrow to counter his thought, but without magic damage, it couldn’t properly dent Rokan.
‘Maybe his goal isn’t even to win.’
Perhaps because he knew no one else from Linai could face him.
With recovery, rest, and consumables banned, dragging it out to whittle HP would suffice for victory.
Rokan snorted and showed just how naive that notion was.
“KRAAAAHAHAHAHA!”
Mad Cry!
The power to not only intimidate but seize the foe’s body gripped Shooting Star’s mind.
“Urk!”
Thud!
It was only natural the guy repeating jumps slammed into the ground. The stat gap was massive, let alone the level difference.
Rokan lightly hopped to the crash site and smashed his head before he could regain control, ending the first round.
“…….”
“It’s over, though?”
“First matchup, winner Rokan!”
“Wooooaaah!”
No one had expected such an anticlimactic end; amid the silence, Rokan’s victory was declared.
Linai’s soldiers cheering was a given.
But from the momentarily stunned enemy side, the next fighter stepped up, grinding their teeth.
“Second matchup: Rokan versus Iron Wall Colossus! Another squire, I see. No objections, right?”
“Of course not.”
The second opponent was a user too.
Unlike Shooting Star, he wore heavy plate armor that screamed weight, embodying an iron wall defense.
But Rokan didn’t recall this name.
“Second matchup! Begin!”
“Defensive stance!”
As expected, the opponent fortified his defense right at the start, activating a skill to max out his defense.
‘What’s he playing at?’
Against Rokan of all people—what was this?
The question was soon answered by a notification.
[You are exposed to Highcon’s Poison.]
[White Poison Immunity renders you unaffected.]