Chapter 62
Chapter 62
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Main Tournament Begins
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As the sun began to set, evening fell.
Sari and Oson were waiting in the kingdom's central square.
Next to them were baskets woven from vines, and even a quick glance revealed they were overflowing with clothes.
“Do-jae! What took you so long? We’ve been waiting forever!”
Sari spotted Do-jae and waved, greeting him warmly.
Oson, his hands already full with baskets, simply bowed his head in greeting.
“What did you buy so much of?”
“Clothes, shoes, bags, food, and more! We left the village in such a hurry that we couldn’t pack properly.”
Sari proudly showed off the clothes she had bought in the kingdom.
Judging by the weary expression on Oson’s face, it was clear he’d had a rough time.
“The kingdom is really something else. The simple clothes from the village are like night and day compared to these! By the way, what about the leaf? Did you find it?”
“Not yet.”
“‘Not yet?’ That’s a bit vague. Does that mean you couldn’t find it, or you found it but couldn’t get it?”
“I found it, but I haven’t gotten it yet.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I plan on getting it in the main tournament tomorrow. If I’m matched against him.”
“The main tournament… the main tournament? You mean the finals of the fighting tournament?”
*Nod.*
When Do-jae nodded, Sari’s eyes widened in surprise.
Even Oson, who had been looking miserable, showed a flicker of interest.
“One of the gray elves participating in the tournament has the leaf. So, I plan to beat him and take it. And I’m not entirely against the idea of winning the whole thing.”
“Whoa! That’s incredible! I heard the prize money for winning the tournament is huge!”
“If I win, I’ll give it all to you. I don’t really need it.”
“Waaaaah! Do-jae, you have to keep that promise!”
“M-Master!”
Sari and Oson clasped hands and danced around joyfully.
Then, Sari paused.
“Do-jae, how strong are you, anyway? Are you strong enough to win easily?”
Oson also looked at Do-jae, clearly curious about the answer.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen the other participants’ skills up close. I watched from a distance for a bit, and there were some pretty skilled fighters.”
“Aww, and I was getting so excited. Still, we’ll cheer you on with all our might!”
“Master, I’m always on your side! Kehehe!”
The fact that Sari and Oson were cheering for him after only a few days together touched Do-jae deeply.
“Oh, right. Did you happen to see a gray elf who looked like this?”
As if remembering something, Sari began to draw a picture on the ground.
The drawing wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but she captured the features well enough to make it instantly recognizable.
“Hmm, I think I saw him. He barely survived until the end of the second preliminary round.”
“Barely… Still, that’s a relief. So Tubartan made it to the main tournament!”
“Who’s that? Is he from your village?”
“Yeah! A friend I used to play with when we were kids. I hope you two don’t have to face each other until the very end. That way, I can cheer for both of you! And this!”
Sari pulled a ring out of her pocket.
It was so large it would have been loose even on his thumb.
“This is for you, Do-jae!”
Sari slipped the ring onto Do-jae’s index finger.
It glowed, then shrank on its own until it fit perfectly, as if custom-made.
“What kind of ring is this?”
“Hmm… why don’t you just see for yourself? Go over to the fountain and take off your robe. Hurry, hurry!”
Do-jae was curious about the identity of this ring, which was steadily siphoning a small amount of his mana, but he decided to follow Sari’s instructions.
He slowly approached the fountain, took off his robe, and leaned over the water, which reflected the sunset.
“Ah…”
Do-jae stared in awe at his reflection.
While faint traces of his original appearance remained, he saw a handsome man with flawless, pale skin and sharp, defined features.
The most striking feature was his sharply pointed ears.
In other words, he had the appearance of a high elf.
“What do you think? This should attract less attention, right? Though, I suppose you’ll still get some looks as a high elf.”
“Seems like trading one for the other… but you’re right, a high elf would seem less out of place than a human.”
“Hehehe… It’s a reward for traveling with us!”
“Thank you. I’ll make good use of it.”
After the short gift exchange, they headed to the inn Sari had booked in advance.
With Oson, of course, carrying all the luggage.
***
The next day.
As dawn broke, the atmosphere in the kingdom was even more feverish than the day before.
It was the day of the main tournament, the biggest event of the festival.
Since ordinary gray elves could also watch the main tournament, everyone was bustling about from early morning.
Some prepared food, others sorted flowers; the various gray elves welcomed the tournament in their own ways.
*Crack.*
*Crrrack.*
Do-jae was also outside, warming up in the backyard and preparing for the tournament.
He practiced cladding his entire body in Golem Armor and manipulating the Nerves of the Golem to levitate rocks.
*‘I still can’t control it perfectly.’*
In truth, Do-jae was a little nervous.
Without the Eye of the Golem, he had to rely solely on his experience and instincts. Using his skills also required concentration, so the only things he could truly trust were his sword and his body.
Do-jae drew the Black Scale from its sheath and began to swing it.
“Ouch! Waaaah.”
“Oh dear, you should be more careful. Come here.”
After about thirty minutes of practice, he heard crying from over the backyard wall.
A gray elf child had fallen and scraped their knee, and a female gray elf who looked to be the mother rushed over, picked the child up, and carried them away.
*‘They could all vanish from the world one day without warning…’*
The inhabitants of this world are treated as monsters after appearing on Earth due to dimensional interference.
Intelligent beings transformed into monsters driven by nothing but hostility toward humans.
That small child, the comforting mother—they would all become creatures to be hunted down by humans.
*‘What a pitiful world…'*
But he couldn’t simply sympathize.
Humans also suffered severe losses, with millions losing their lives to monsters every year.
In the end, both sides inflicted unwanted harm upon each other.
All because of a single entity: the Apostate.
“Yaaawn. Do-jae, what are you doing?”
Sari came out into the backyard, yawning with her eyes half-closed.
She smiled brightly and said to Do-jae,
“Do-jae, I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat!”
Seeing Sari rubbing her stomach, Do-jae felt the worries that had just been troubling him seem pointless.
“Alright, let’s go eat. Wake Oson up.”
“Yay! What should we eat, Do-jae? Since it’s the day of the main tournament, how about some hearty cup noodles?”
Do-jae gave a gentle smile, nodded, and went back inside the inn with Sari.
*‘Right. For now, I’ll focus on finding the leaf of Aktria. And after that, killing Rishun and saving Young-jin. I can worry about the rest later.’*
***
“And now, a congratulatory address from His Majesty the King!”
The king of the Tubalun Kingdom began his tedious speech.
Do-jae sat in the waiting room, his robe’s hood pulled up, and waited quietly.
Unlike Do-jae, most of the gray elves had gone to the spectator stands to listen to the king’s speech, but a few remained in the waiting room with him.
They were Salreuta, Katania, and an elderly-looking gray elf.
The four of them, including Do-jae, waited for the tournament to begin, each in their own way.
Just then, someone spoke up, breaking the silence.
“Kehehe, I’ve heard many rumors about you, young man. Your eyes are filled with venom.”
The old gray elf addressed Salreuta, his eyes so squinted it was hard to tell if they were open or closed.
“If looks could kill, I’d have died a hundred times over by now!”
“Shut up, old man.”
“My, my, aren’t you a bit sensitive? I was just making conversation.”
“If you’re trying to test me, you’ve picked the wrong person. Get lost.”
Salreuta threatened him, his voice laced with killing intent.
Despite this, the old gray elf wasn’t frightened in the least.
“Hehe, anger can be a powerful motivator. What do you plan to do with the prize money if you win?”
“I told you to shut up.”
“Perhaps you’re thinking of rebuilding your village…”
*Thud—.*
*Crack—.*
Salreuta shot to his feet and slammed his fist into the wall.
It didn’t look like he’d put much force into it, but the wall was left with a deep indentation in the shape of his fist.
“If you run that mouth of yours one more time, I might just kill you right here, old man.”
“How scary! Alright, alright. You just stay over there and stew in your venom. I’ll go talk to that lovely young lady over there. Kehehe.”
Contrary to his words, the old gray elf didn't seem scared at all. Instead, he grinned and ambled over to Katania.
“Young lady, how about we go out for a cup of tea and a chat?”
“I have nothing to say to you either, old man.”
The old gray elf glared at Katania's words, and she abruptly stood up and left.
“Aish, tsk tsk. Young people these days have no respect, none at all.”
The old gray elf seemed to have lost his enthusiasm, returning to his seat and soon dozing off.
Meanwhile, Katania, who had gotten up, walked over to Do-jae in the corner.
“What a pervy old man. Did you rest well yesterday?”
“Well enough. I didn’t really do anything yesterday.”
As Katania spoke to him, Do-jae tore his gaze away from Salreuta.
The leaf was right in front of him, shimmering in his mind’s eye, but he still had time to find the other two. Besides, there were some tempting prizes, so he was content to wait and face him in the main tournament.
“Right, I never would have guessed you were a summoner who controls stone golems. No wonder you were so confident despite your small frame.”
“It’s average.”
“Huh? Oh, I didn’t mean to be insulting, but you’re a bit short for a man…”
“Anyway, was there something you wanted to say?”
“Ah, just to be careful.”
Katania said cautiously.
Do-jae nodded in response.
“Don’t worry, I can also sense that guy is strong.”
“No, I’m not talking about Salreuta.”
“Who else is there?”
“The participant from the Black Lake Village. He’s coming in right now.”
The king’s speech had ended, and the gray elves were filing into the waiting room.
Among them was a gray elf who, like Do-jae, was concealing his identity, but in a different way.
He wore a skull mask with long horns protruding from both sides, and the aura he exuded was no less potent than Salreuta’s.
“Those from the Black Lake Village are a bit special. Unlike us gray elves or other elves, they use a strange kind of magic. And that’s not the only thing that makes them special. It’s a village with a complicated history.”
“What do you mean, a complicated history?”
“It’s a long story. Just know that he’s dangerous.”
“You’ve only made me more curious.”
“Sorry. The first round is about to start, so we should go watch. You’ll understand naturally once you see that man fight.”
“Alright. I’ll do that.”
Having said her piece, Katania returned to her seat.
Soon after, a referee entered the waiting room and immediately began the match drawing.
The bracket was completed by placing slips of paper with the sixteen names into a transparent jar, mixing them, and drawing them out one by one.
“We will now begin the first round of the tournament. The first match is between Lord Tarutan and Lord Hauka.”