Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Victories and Revelations
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The first match of the quarter-finals had ended.
The winner was Katania.
"Hah... hah..."
Covered in wounds, Katania stood panting, barely able to stay on her feet.
The majority of the spectators had expected her to lose.
Her physical condition, stamina, speed.
Everything was against her. Tahul was well-known, while she was a first-time participant, so the crowd's expectations were low.
But she was tenacious.
She relentlessly harassed and wore down her opponent.
In the end, Katania plunged her dagger into Tahul's side. Having lost a great deal of blood, Tahul's reactions slowed until he finally collapsed.
"I won..."
Katania lowered her head and descended from the arena.
She was happy to have won, but the match itself had been grueling.
Katania had also lost a significant amount of blood, and fatigue had built up to the point where her entire body felt numb.
Thump.
Katania's head bumped into someone.
She slowly raised her head.
The sunlight shone in her direction, making her squint.
But soon, she recognized the person before her and couldn't hide her bewilderment.
"Sal...reuta?"
"You did well, Katania."
The man before her was Salreuta.
He stood before Katania with a warm smile.
"This is a lie, right? I'm just so exhausted that I'm hearing things... right?"
"I'm sorry. It must have been very hard for you."
Salreuta gently embraced Katania.
It was the same warmth, the same touch that Katania remembered.
"Is it really... you?"
Tears welled up in Katania's eyes.
Her voice trembled violently.
"The Salreuta I know... my husband, is it really you?"
"Yes, it is. It's me."
"H-how... how did you regain your senses...?"
"The screams that filled my head are gone. The fog that blinded me has lifted. Only then did your face and your name come back to me."
Slump.
Her legs gave way, and Katania collapsed on the spot.
Salreuta caught her and held her in his arms.
A flood of long-suppressed emotions, pain, and exhaustion washed over her, making it impossible for Katania to stand.
"Thank you... thank you for coming back..."
"Don't thank me. When I think of what I've done, I don't deserve thanks for the rest of my life. Thank that man over there instead. He's the one who pulled me out of the abyss."
Salreuta pointed to a figure walking toward the arena.
The man trudging toward them, hood pulled over his head, was Do-jae.
"Lee Do-jae... yes... my intuition was right. I have to go thank him..."
As Katania tried to pull away, Salreuta held her tight.
Then, he spoke to Do-jae in her stead.
"Lee Do-jae, you'd better win. I have no intention of forfeiting here. For various reasons, I need that champion title. I'll save my thanks until the finals, so make sure you're there to receive them."
"Alright."
"Good luck, Lee Do-jae... see you after."
"Go get treated first. I'll win in the meantime."
Katania watched Do-jae's back as he ascended to the arena.
How large that small man seemed.
Katania offered Do-jae her boundless gratitude silently as she leaned into Salreuta's embrace.
"Tell me what happened."
***
"Sitah of the Spotted Frog Forest! And on this side... a mysterious newcomer so veiled in secrecy that even our judges don't know his face! A man with an equally special name! Lee Do-jae!"
Woooah-!
This time, not only Oson but a considerable number of Gray Elves were cheering for Do-jae.
*It's really pouring, isn't it?*
Pshhhhh-!
Rain was Do-jae's greatest weakness.
He had once cast Golem Armor on a rainy day.
The feeling of soggy clumps of earth, saturated with rainwater, clinging to his body.
And the sticky clods of mud that remained.
It was a sensation he hated even to imagine.
Not only that, but his defense also dropped.
It wasn't just a feeling; he had confirmed in his status window that not only his defense but his overall stats had decreased.
*That's why I chose it on purpose, though.*
The reason he had deliberately chosen the Typhoon field in the field selection against Sitah was because he wanted to get it out of the way.
In the two remaining matches, he would face even stronger opponents, and he planned to use both his Golem Armor and his golem.
But if he got stuck with this Typhoon field then, he wouldn't be able to display his full power.
"You cur! Is a warrior of the Night Nightingale Forest so weak that he cannot even show his face!"
As the match began, Sitah shouted in an angry voice.
Feeling as if he had caused trouble for the village, Do-jae glanced at Sari in the stands, but she was just smiling warmly.
If Sari was fine with it, Do-jae had no reason to hold back.
"Isn't it better than showing your face and losing?"
"You insolent brat!"
Do-jae cast Golem Armor.
Only on his arms and legs.
He had set aside some stones before entering the match, but the amount was small, leaving him no choice.
And opening his Subspace to take out more stones was out of the question with so much rain pouring down.
Then he drew the Black Scale.
The Black Scale's edge was so sharp it seemed to slice through the raindrops themselves.
*The Black Scale has gotten sharper since it tasted blood. What is this sword?*
Do-jae looked at the Black Scale.
The sound of raindrops splashing against the blade was eerie.
A sharpness that felt like it could cut you just by looking at it.
Satisfied, Do-jae aimed the Black Scale at Sitah.
"Be careful not to die. I won't be holding back from now on."
"Nonsense! I'll finish you in a single strike!"
Sitah lunged with his awl-like sword.
Do-jae sidestepped, dodging the blade.
Sliiide—.
*I'll have to be careful.*
The rain-soaked floor was incredibly slippery.
Moreover, the Golem Armor on his legs had absorbed a great deal of moisture, turning it to mud.
*Wait, this...*
An idea flashed through Do-jae's mind.
Do-jae shuffled his feet.
Whoosh-!
The slickness made it easy to slide.
*If I use this right, I might be able to move quickly.*
The smooth arena floor, combined with the slick mud and rainwater, allowed him to move as smoothly as if he had wheels on his feet.
To get used to this movement, Do-jae began to circle the arena.
"Are you running away? Let's see how long you can keep it up."
Sitah chased after Do-jae.
But he was no match for Do-jae's speed.
"You little rat!"
A game of tag had unexpectedly begun. At first, he could almost touch the hem of Do-jae's robe, but as Do-jae grew accustomed to the movement, Sitah couldn't keep up. His growing frustration was visible.
*I didn't mean to mock him.*
After circling for a while, Do-jae saw an opening when Sitah let his guard down and thrust his sword.
Shing-!
The blade grazed his side.
The black blood that flowed from Sitah's side was washed away by the rain.
"You... you little mouse!"
Sitah thrust his awl-like sword at Do-jae.
Its speed was incredible, enough to tear through the air, but what good was it?
Sliiide—.
Do-jae slid backward as if moonwalking, evading every attack.
And then a kick.
As he simultaneously dispelled the Golem Armor, a clump of mud flew along the trajectory of his kick.
"Kuh!"
The mud clump hit Sitah squarely in the face.
Sitah hastily tried to wipe the sticky mass away with his arm, but Do-jae's Black Scale was already at his throat.
Drip—.
Dark blood trickled down his neck, washed away by the rain.
Do-jae quickly withdrew the Black Scale, not letting it absorb the blood, and rinsed the remaining blood off in the rain.
*What a crazy sword.*
Do-jae asked Sitah.
"You want to continue?"
"Of course!"
Sitah thrust his sword.
Do-jae sidestepped slightly and caught the blade with his Golem Armor-clad hand.
It was the hand that had been inside his robe, untouched by the rain.
Snap-!
He snapped Sitah's sword in half with the Black Scale.
The blade was so thin that it broke easily.
"Still want to go on?"
"You...!"
Sitah threw down his sword and charged.
But perhaps his eagerness got the better of him.
He missed his footing, slipped, and lost his balance.
Do-jae grabbed Sitah and threw him to the ground.
Then he pressed his knee into Sitah's back and drove the Black Scale into the ground right before his eyes.
"Are you really going to continue?"
"Kugh... I lost..."
Only then did Sitah declare his surrender.
And so, the first day of matches came to an end.
***
A bustling tavern in the kingdom.
This tavern, named the Red Dew, was packed with Gray Elves who had come from watching the matches.
"Hey, how much did you win?"
"Heh, I think I made ten times my bet."
"What? Who'd you bet on?"
"That woman, Katania. If you bet on Salreuta like you did, you wouldn't even make pocket change."
The Gray Elves were boisterously boasting about who they had bet on in today's matches and how much they had won.
And in one corner, Do-jae's group had also found a table and were drinking cool beer.
"This is really weak."
Do-jae took a sip of the beer and was surprised that he could barely taste any alcohol.
It was almost like carbonated barley tea.
"The kingdom's beer is on the weaker side. The beer from our village would have been much tastier."
Sari said, sipping her beer.
Oson, who had appeared from somewhere, also had his hood up and was chugging down beer.
"Lee Do-jae, how did you move like that?"
Katania asked.
It was Katania's idea to come to this tavern.
Even though she had a match tomorrow, she had insisted that one beer wouldn't hurt and dragged Do-jae along, bringing Sari and Oson with them.
Even Salreuta was sitting right next to Do-jae.
"So, about that, I'm thinking of forfeiting tomorrow."
"What?"
Katania's surprising announcement.
She said she had already discussed it with Salreuta.
"I didn't enter for wealth or fame. Now that Salreuta is back, there's no reason for me to compete. Besides, I don't want to fight my husband in the finals."
"Doesn't that imply I'm going to lose to you?"
"Hehe. That's why I'm forfeiting. So you can at least get runner-up."
"That doesn't sound much better."
As Do-jae shook his head, Katania and Sari laughed.
"I appreciate getting a bye, but just so you know, there's no chance I'm losing to Salreuta."
"Now that you say that, I'm feeling mischievous. Should I just compete after all?"
"Forget it. If I even laid a finger on you, Salreuta might try to kill me."
"Pfft. You're hilarious. Hah... how long has it been since I've felt this peaceful?"
Katania smiled happily.
She looked like she had everything in the world.
"Anyway, tell me. How did you turn my husband back to normal?"
"Ah, um... Oson!"
Do-jae called out to Oson, who was already finishing his sixth mug of beer.
Oson, who had been engrossed in his drinking, jumped up in surprise.
"Yes? Your command, Master!"
"Do you have any talents? Like dancing or singing."
"A talent, you say! This Oson Ironhammer was a renowned dancer in my village!"
"Good. Then go over there and dance. If you dance well enough to draw the attention of every Gray Elf here, I'll give you a gift."
"Ooh...! Understood!"
Oson threw off his robe and went to the center of the tavern.
"Everyone, pay attention to the great Oson Ironhammer!"
The gazes of the chattering Gray Elves turned to Oson.
Some frowned, and others gave him strange looks.
But when Oson started to dance, they all burst into roaring laughter.
"Pfft, what is that?"
"Hahahahaha! That dwarf is hilarious."
Once Oson had successfully captured everyone's attention, Do-jae called to Katania and spoke.
"Katania, I have something to show you."
Do-jae took off his robe.
Katania was startled by Do-jae's appearance.
"You were a High Elf?"
"No. One moment."
Do-jae then took off his gloves and slowly removed the ring.
At this, Katania was even more shocked, so much so that she covered her mouth.
"A... human?"
"Now I'll show you how I turned Salreuta back."