Martial Tournament (4)
I checked the tournament bracket. “Hmm?” Something was off. There should have been sixteen survivors from the first round, yet only eight names were listed on the bracket. Half of them had vanished.
“This looks wrong.” I thrust the bracket toward the attendant who had handed them out. “Weren’t there sixteen participants?”
“Well… the others have all forfeited.”
“Pardon?” Forfeits all of a sudden? Had some problem come up? I asked the attendant once more. “Why? Why did they forfeit?”
“That is…” The attendant wore an expression that said he found it difficult to answer. It seemed there was some internal issue with the tournament. Still, since they were continuing with the event, it probably wasn’t anything too serious. Well, as long as my name was still on the list, that was enough. It was a shame that the number of opponents I could cross swords with had decreased, but I decided to be satisfied with the fact that I could still fight at all.
“The second round will begin in ten minutes. Will the first-match participants please prepare?”
Two people stood up. One was a witch wearing an oversized pointed hat. The other was a gloomy man wrapped in a black cloak. That woman was probably around a seventh-circle mage? Considering magic went up to the thirteenth circle, she would be right in the middle in terms of skill. As for the man… I couldn’t tell what weapon he used because of the cloak. From the way he walked, it looked like he used a sword. The heavy aura he gave off piqued my interest. If possible, I’d like to face him once.
By the way, where had that adventurer from earlier gone? I looked around, searching for the adventurer who had entertained me. I had planned to chat with him while waiting for my turn, but his figure was nowhere to be seen. I checked the bracket again. Since I didn’t know his name, this was tricky.
“Excuse me, wasn’t there a Platinum-rank adventurer as well?” I caught the attendant who was about to leave and asked again.
“That gentleman forfeited immediately after the first round ended.”
“Ehh?” Well now. How disappointing. I had held him in such high regard. The young ones these days really lack backbone. No sense of responsibility either. Once you decide to compete, you should see it through to the end even if you lose. Tsk tsk tsk. I clicked my tongue inwardly and shook my head.
The crowd’s reaction was boiling hot. On the other hand, my mood had gone completely cold. I had expected great things from a martial tournament where strong fighters gathered, but the event was proceeding far too blandly. Quarterfinals. Semifinals. Not a single one of my opponents had managed to exchange even a proper blow with me; they all fell in a single strike. The first round had been the most fun. It was with that disappointing feeling that I reached the finals.
Now only one opponent remained. If I defeated that guy, the championship was mine. Please! I beg you! Just hold out a little longer, last opponent! I offered a prayer to the gods. It had been a long time since I had prayed with genuine sincerity. Usually I only pretended to.
“And now, the finals! First, let us introduce a powerhouse who appeared like a comet! Do not underestimate her because she is small! She will end it in one blow again this time! The young swordswoman, Ria!”
I stepped into the arena. Perhaps because it was the finals, the crowd’s reaction reached its peak. By the way, Ria was a fake name I had used to hide my identity. Well, if you could even call it a fake name—it was just Elia with the “El” taken out.
“And her opponent! He cruelly tears apart any enemy! The ghost of the eastern wetlands! Illuner!”
My opponent was the man in the black cloak I had marked earlier. The ghost of the eastern wetlands, huh. That was quite a cool epithet. The man made his entrance and received a tremendous cheer as well. Because of tournament rules, participants couldn’t watch other matches, so I still had no idea what weapon he used. The one thing I did know was that every opponent he had defeated bore dozens of slash wounds across their bodies. He was probably a speed fighter. This should be fun.
I was a swordsman who valued power over speed. My combat style was to bring an opponent down with one powerful strike rather than many smaller ones. Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t fight quickly. I could change my style depending on the situation. That was simply what I usually relied on.
“The rules remain the same! Use every ounce of power at your disposal to defeat your opponent! The winner shall be crowned champion!”
I drew my sword. My opponent remained relaxed. He seemed confident in his ability. “Begin!!”
The simplest way to deal with a speed fighter was to close in faster than he could and cut him down. The moment I swung my sword and reached the man—
-Fwoosh!
The man’s black cloak spread out like wings. What appeared before my eyes were ten small magic circles.
“A mage?!” He hadn’t been acting relaxed—he had been preparing. The magic circle right in front of my face was on the verge of activating. Had he predicted I would charge straight in? Or perhaps he simply had abundant real combat experience. I grinned. This is fun!
The magic activated. Blades of mana surged forward like a storm. I bent my knees, leaned my body back, and slid across the ground. The mana blades grazed just above my face. The instant my sliding knees began to slow, I sprang back to my feet. And at that moment—
-Thud!
A sharp dagger buried itself in my thigh.
“Ugh…!!”
I looked at the man. Five daggers were gripped in his hand. To use both magic and daggers at the same time. He wasn’t the first opponent like this I had faced, but he certainly wasn’t common either. I had run into a dirty one. It reminded me of the Illusion Corps Commander from the Demon King’s army. That bastard had swung a greatsword while casting spells. It had taken me three grueling hours to finally bring him down.
I pulled the dagger out of my thigh. “Well, well. I let my guard down.”
I brushed off my knee. Hot blood flowed down my thigh. It hurt, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from moving.
“Let me warn you in advance.”
Another mana blade flew at me. I twisted my head to the side. The blade sliced through my robe as it passed.
“Hey, I’m trying to talk…!” The hood of my robe slipped off. Golden hair cascaded down to my chest and fluttered in the wind.
“I’ll warn you first. Even if you cry and beg, I will tear you apart.”
We had only just met, yet he spoke as if he held some grudge against me.
“Understood. I’ll look forward to it.”
The exchange of blows resumed. Just as I had expected, the man fought with blinding speed. What differed from my expectations was that his magic blades and daggers flew at me simultaneously. I ended up dancing through his onslaught. Faster than I had anticipated? I admit it. This guy belonged among the skilled. When I first entered the tournament, this was exactly the level of opponents I had hoped to face in droves.
-Slash!
A dagger cut across my shoulder. Time to stop playing around. I needed to get serious too. It was then that—
“Huh…?” My vision blurred as if a fog had settled over my eyes. The ground rippled like the sea. The cheers of the crowd grew distant, then close again in repeating waves.
“This is…”
“Poison.”
He had coated his daggers with poison. Quite underhanded. But I didn’t dislike it. No matter how cowardly, it was his strategy for victory.
“Soon every nerve in your body will be paralyzed. I’ll enjoy this slowly.”
“Heh, hehehe…” I let out a silly laugh. I really have gotten old. To fall for such a cheap trick. I brought my hands together.
“Didn’t I say I would tear you apart even if you begged?” I ignored his words.
“O God.”
“A prayer?”
“Please hear my voice.”
It was a simple prayer. Holy Power as hot as the summer sun prickled through my body. My body recovered. My body was purified. A gentle afterglow lingered in my chest.
“Now then…” My vision returned. “Shall we get to the tearing?” I smiled. “You first.”
I filled the spot where the Holy Power had prickled with mana. Then I channeled that mana into my sword. The rusted blade began to shine with brilliant golden light.
“You detoxified it?”
“I’d be disappointed if that surprised you.”
I raised my sword high above my head. Mana blades came rushing in like a storm. Six daggers rode that wind straight toward me. Let’s see whose storm is stronger.
I swung my sword. Sword Qi swirled and shot toward the man. The mana blades and daggers flying at me were caught in the vortex. Like a wolf opening its jaws wide, the Sword Qi charged at the man.
“W-wait…!!”
It swallowed him whole. I shook my sword with a whoosh. The Sword Qi vanished. Where it had been, the man lay collapsed, his entire body torn to shreds.
I walked over and crouched beside him. “It’s not over yet, is it?”
“Kuh… ugh…”
I placed my hand on the man’s head and recited a prayer, healing him. Since I had deliberately avoided fatal wounds, he recovered quickly.
“Fight me one more time.”
Because I had used too much mana and Holy Power, fatigue crashed over me. My eyes felt like they might close from exhaustion. Yet my heart was beating faster than ever with joy.
“W-who the hell do you think…!!”
The man closed in for close-quarters combat. I swung my sword like a club and struck his knee.
“Aaargh!!”
“You must maintain your composure. To abandon what you’re good at and charge in blindly because you’re emotional—disqualified as a swordsman.”
“Don’t make me laugh!! Aaargh!!”
“Your tenacity is admirable. Try controlling your emotions with that same tenacity. I’ll heal you again, so this time will you do it properly?”
I brought the man back to his feet several times. I had taken a liking to him. Because his fighting style was uncommon, I wanted to fight him more. But it was disappointing. Once he lost his composure, he mindlessly threw punches and rushed at me. At this rate he was no different from that big oaf in the first round. This was a waste of time.
“Let’s end this.”
I lightly tapped the man’s head with the flat of my blade. The man who had been charging at me rolled his eyes back and collapsed to the ground.
“Aren’t you going to call the match?”
A heavy silence filled the arena. Everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief.