The Alven Founding Anniversary Tournament: Main Event (2)
Squishy body for a melee dealer? → Block it with parries.
Skills are trash? → You guys are just noobs.
Can't control it because it's too fast? → You guys are just noobs (2).
‘What do they take me for?’
I wrote a short reply and closed the community tab.
- Checking the community during a stream lol
- Hey you bitch lmaoooo
- She doesn't read chat, but she reads the community...
“I’m reading the chat right now.”
- Don't just read it when you feel like it, read it more often...
“I can’t, it ruins the romance.”
- That damn romance, seriously lol
- I feel like doing a back-roundhouse kick
- Open the donation gate, you!!!
‘They complain even when I do what they want.’
Feeling a bit sulky, I swiped the chat window to the side. Behind it, through the iron bars, I could see the arena. Yuna’s match was in full swing.
“Hee-hee!”
The gladiator’s sword missed Yuna by a hair’s breadth.
“Ugh...!”
Yuna’s sword followed up, cleanly slicing into the gladiator’s exposed flank.
‘She’s completely playing with him.’
For the three minutes since the match started, Yuna had been one-sidedly toying with her opponent.
“Damn it!!!”
A strike was unleashed, fueled by intense emotion.
Clang—!
At the end of that strike, a clear, ringing sound echoed as the gladiator’s arm flew into the air. One side of the gladiator’s torso was left wide open.
“Finish!”
Taking advantage of the obvious opening, Yuna’s blade surged forward, carving a crimson path.
“Argh!!”
Yuna’s game ended as the gladiator collapsed, losing his balance from the horrific pain of the laceration.
“Master~!”
Yuna looked at me, her clothes and face splattered with blood, waving her hand. I gave her a small wave back while checking the opponent’s condition.
‘The wound... doesn’t look too deep.’
He’d need to recuperate for a while, but it didn’t seem like a fatal injury. Yuna must have held back in her own way.
“T-the winner! Hanazono Yuna!”
Yuna ran toward her waiting room as the opponent was carried off. While the audience remained frozen at the bizarre and cruel spectacle, the announcer’s voice echoed through the arena.
“W-well then! Moving right along! We will now proceed to the quarterfinals of the Founding Anniversary Tournament! Gladiators, step forward!”
Amidst the cold atmosphere filling the arena, the quarterfinals began in a rush. Just as I was casting a glance at the visibly strained announcer, the iron gate in front of me lifted with a heavy thud.
‘Two more to go.’
Counting the remaining matches until the finals, I stepped out of the waiting room. At the same time, heavy footsteps echoed from the opposite waiting room. Following the source of the sound, a massive figure emerged from the darkness.
A typical Viking, wearing a horned helmet and wielding axes in both hands.
BOSS Kargan Lv.70
“Hmph...”
Angry snorts, rugged features, and the smell of dried blood clinging to every part of his body. The aura emanating from his menacing frame took the shape of a bull. It was the aura of a warrior on the verge of Flowering, just like Yamada.
‘He’s blocked by a wall, too.’
“...”
“...”
I lifted my head and locked eyes with the guy who had already approached within reach. The tension sharpened, and neither side took a step back.
——!
A grand trumpet blast signaled the start of the match.
——!
His heavy arms raised the massive hand-axe, stirring up the wind. As the blade caught the sunlight, his arms bulged, veins popping out. The moment the mana surging through those wicked muscles created a red shimmer on the axe—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, accompanied by a cloud of dust.
“...”
The audience seats fell silent, save for the echoing roar.
“...D-did he die?”
The announcer’s voice rang out through the amplification magic. As everyone’s eyes focused on the single figure emerging from the dust—
“Hmm. Impressive.”
A rough voice spilled from the Viking’s lips.
“H-he’s alive! Master Baldojang is alive, everyone!!!!”
——!!!!!!
In the thick dust, Baldojang stood with his sword held diagonally above his head. The axe and the cracks in the ground beside his feet showed the sheer destructive power of the attack just now.
Ishina-ryu: Waterfall-Flow Parry
“I’ll yield the next move to you.”
Kargan pulled the axe embedded in the floor and stepped forward confidently. My lips twisted at his bold, warrior-like behavior. If he wanted to trade blows with sincerity from the start—
“I can’t refuse that.”
I brought my feet together, stepped one foot slightly back, and held the sword high with both hands. As I stirred my mana, my heart pulsed, pouring it out. The erratic, untamed nature of the lightning.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly tuned the strands of mana that were trying to surge out. When the completed flows finally raced down my arms one by one and brightly dyed the blade—
“...!”
I brought the majestic form of heaven’s punishment down upon this land.
——!!!
A massive thunderclap swallowed the arena. The moment everyone covered their ears again at the majestic resonance that surpassed the previous explosion—
“...Cough!”
A single cough echoed after the reverberating roar.
“Kuh, cough... Ha... Hahaha, hahahahahaha!!!!!!”
Blood dripped from Kargan’s chest with a pitter-patter sound as he laughed.
“Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!”
I shook off my sword, waiting for Kargan, who continued his wild laughter without a care for his condition.
“I have seen it! O master of war! I have heard it!! O wielder of thunder!! Here, today, I, Kargan, have found the path I must walk!!”
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Kargan, filled with joy, his fierce aura nowhere to be found.
“Satisfied?”
“Satisfied? No, Guide! The fulfillment I feel right now cannot be compared to such trivial things!”
“Then I’m glad.”
With that conversation, I sheathed my sword and walked toward the waiting room.
- ?
- ??
- What is this??
The chat window I pulled up, leaving Kargan’s wild laughter behind, was full of confusion.
- Did he have a skill like that???
‘It’s not a skill, it’s swordsmanship.’
Ishina-ryu: Heavenly Thunder. The ultimate technique of Ishina-ryu, where one squeezes out all their mana into the sword and strikes down. I couldn’t unleash its full power due to stat limitations, but it was still a finishing move.
‘But he took that head-on with his bare body.’
To feel the essence directly, to face the Simsang, and to cross the wall. ‘Crazy bastard.’ He’d rather die by the sword than die stuck against a wall.
‘Ugh...’
I don’t know how starved for the peak he was, but it’s a little creepy.
“I acknowledge my defeat!”
——!!
As I was shivering, cheers and a declaration of defeat rang out behind me. Amidst the echoes, I moved my eyes to look back at Yuna’s waiting room.
“Hee-hee!”
As expected, Yuna was waving.
‘She needs to do well.’
The opponent Yuna would face in the semifinals was the spearman who had stood out in the second preliminary group. I didn’t know the spearman’s level, but based on his aura, he was on par with Yuna.
‘It won’t be easy.’
With that thought, I waved back at Yuna and entered the waiting room.
*
After that, the tournament proceeded without any major surprises. The spearman and Yuna advanced to the semifinals without issue. And—
“The nameless swordsman, Baldojang!! Defeats Rigel of the Garta Mercenary Group and advances to the finals!!”
I advanced to the finals safely. Now, the only thing left is whether Yuna can beat the spearman or not.
Crunch, crunch.
“So, you came to watch?”
“Yes.”
Regardless, it’s an important match for an acquaintance, so I have to see it through to the end.
“...She’ll be able to win, right? Our Yuna.”
“I don’t know.”
“...What?”
Crunch, crunch—
The moment Chae-rin looked at me with a bewildered face, the doors to both waiting rooms opened with a heavy sound. The figures of the spearman and Yuna walked out of the darkness. Unlike the spearman, whose face was hidden by a helmet, Yuna’s stiff face stood out. She was clearly feeling the pressure from the spearman’s aura.
Crunch, crunch—
“Honestly, I don’t know if she can win. Their skills are similar.”
“Then...”
“So, let’s watch over her.”
Whether she wins or loses.
So that Yuna won’t be lonely.