Chapter 29
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Road to the Tower
The arena announcer raised his fist high in the center of the arena.
"Welcome to the first Bronze Class match of the day!"
Cheers erupted from the stands the moment he appeared.
-Woooaaahhh!
I hadn't expected the Bronze Class to be this popular, but there were more people craving matches than I'd thought.
Then again, for folks living in Legion—where taxes are the highest on the continent—what other entertainment options did they have in their exhausting lives?
They had no choice but to recharge with spectacles like this that they couldn't experience themselves.
"Now, allow me to introduce the fighters kicking off today's long-awaited first match."
Poo-oo!
The horn blared.
"The party name is 'Rising Force'! Give a roaring cheer for these players in their debut match!!"
-Woooaaahhh!
Bichon struck a cool pose, raising both hands above his head. He blew a kiss into the air toward the crowd and shouted.
"We'll put on a great show for you!"
The two knights following behind him, Chihuahua and Collie, mimicked him by blowing kisses into the air as well.
Rox shook his head, clearly unimpressed by their antics.
"Berddin."
"Yeah."
"Are knights always like that?"
"Like what?"
"Do they have to make such a racket just to enter the arena?"
"Nah, that's showmanship."
"Showmanship?"
"They're doing it on purpose to draw the crowd's attention and hype things up."
Arenas with more popularity get more chances to advance to higher classes and bigger win bonuses.
That's why you see this kind of behavior in nearly every match.
"Hype things up?"
"Yeah. More popularity means faster shots at climbing classes."
"Ah..."
Not much longer until we reach the tower.
All we need now is to prove ourselves.
"Hang in there just a bit. We only need two matches anyway."
"Got it."
Thud, thud, thud.
As we took our positions on the line marked in the center of the arena, the announcer raised his voice once more.
"Now, the team facing off against these newcomers—the gatekeepers of the Bronze Class! Adventurers from the famed Black Bear Knights of the West! Party name 'Dark Spear'! Give them a big round of applause!"
-Booo!
This time, boos rained down.
It was the first time I'd seen a reaction like that since coming to the arena.
"I hate those bastards the most. They stay in Bronze by cheating every match or throwing games on purpose."
"Die, you pricks! Do you know how much money you've cost me?!"
"Ugh, someone keep those guys out of matches. It's so frustrating my heart's about to stop!"
The crowd's angry shouts revealed their reputation. And with half the audience probably here betting money, it made sense they'd be furious at rigged fights like that.
'Well, even in my past life, there were guys like that from time to time.'
But a match drawing this level of backlash was a first.
"Dieeee!"
A white-haired old man screamed at the top of his lungs.
Bichon glanced at their reaction and whispered just loud enough for us to hear.
"Nice. If we win this, our popularity's gonna skyrocket."
Chihuahua and Collie giggled in agreement.
"Right, boss."
"They don't even look that strong. Let's wrap it up quick."
The three of them brimmed with confidence.
To me, the enemy knights looked a bit stronger than our trio, but since I hadn't faced them myself, I couldn't say for sure.
"Berddin."
Bichon called out to me.
"Yeah."
"We'll handle them. You two sit this one out."
"All five?"
"Yeah. Not a single one of us three has ever lost on the battlefield, so don't worry."
I nodded readily.
No reason to turn down them sparing us the effort of fighting.
Preserving our stamina for the tower would be a huge advantage.
"Alright! Dark Spear, was it? I'm Bichon, leader of Rising Force. Nice to meet you."
Bichon extended his hand toward the Dark Spear knight.
Slap!
The Dark Spear knight smacked his palm hard and clicked his tongue.
"Crazy bastard. Trying to play the gentleman here? We're here to kill each other—what's with the handshake?"
"I don't know why you're getting so worked up, but if you don't talk nicely now, you might actually die."
"The one dying is you. I don't know where you crawled out from, but you ain't beating us."
"Guess we'll find out who's got the longer one."
Thud, thud, thud.
"Let's measure and see."
Anyone could see the Dark Spear knight was taller than Bichon.
"...I meant the match outcome."
"That too—we'll be longer."
The two glared at each other.
The announcer, sensing the tension, stepped between them, pushed their chests apart, and raised the flag high to signal the start.
Poooo!
The horn blew long and loud.
At the same moment, Bichon and his two men charged toward the enemy lines.
"Raaahhh!"
Clang!
The fight didn't last long.
All five Dark Spear knights thrust their long spears at once. Bichon couldn't break through their range, and five spearheads pierced the gaps in his armor.
Splat, splat-splat-splat!
"Guhk!"
The instant the spear tips embedded in Bichon's body, Chihuahua and Collie kicked off the ground and leaped forward.
The two swung their long two-handed swords at the spears' shafts.
Crack!
They snapped every shaft in one go.
'I need to refine my swordsmanship more.'
Wooden shafts like that should be sliced clean through in one stroke, not just broken by brute force.
Still, the plan worked. They'd neutralized the enemies' weapons.
But their momentum ended there.
Shing.
The five disarmed knights drew shortswords from their waists and round shields from their backs.
"You bastards!"
Bichon couldn't move.
Chihuahua and Collie had to face them all.
The outcome was obvious.
"Help us!"
Bichon yelled toward us.
"Rox."
Just calling his name was enough—Rox understood, drew his weapon.
Swish.
"Can I kill?"
"If you want."
"Okay. Who first?"
"The shortest one. I'll handle the rest."
I drew Misteltein—the famed sword made to slay gods, or more precisely, a demon sword whose true nature even Siegfried couldn't fully grasp.
Ssshh.
As it emerged from the sheath, the blade turned pitch black.
'What's this now?'
It had been silver when I checked in the waiting room. Why the sudden color change?
I had no idea, but now wasn't the time to figure it out.
Time to use it.
Now it was time to reveal the power I'd been hiding.
I quickly assessed the enemies' positions, then kicked off the ground.
Whoosh!
I swung horizontally at the enemy's ankle.
Screeech—splat!
One strike severed steel boot and ankle alike.
"Aaaagh!"
The Dark Spear knight lost his balance and collapsed.
Thud.
He looked at his severed legs and screamed, swinging his shortsword wildly.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
"Fuck! Fuck! My legs!!"
As his comrades twisted to help him—
Slash—
My sword swung again, decapitating three in one motion.
"Wha...?"
"What the—"
"W-Wait, I haven't even—"
Thud, thud, thud.
Three heads hit the ground.
Their bodies stood frozen.
Rox swallowed hard watching me, then charged the remaining knight and swung his mace.
"You're mine!"
Boom!
The struck knight flew like a ragdoll.
Crash!
"Kuhk!"
Rox didn't stop, slamming down with his mace.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The helmet was already crumpled, the body mangled, but he kept pounding.
Slam!
"Die! Die already!!"
This being his first arena fight, Rox was hyped up.
He probably thought if he didn't crush the enemy, he'd be the one crushed.
Everyone who came here had that resolve.
I had too, in my past life.
"Rox, enough."
Only then did he stop swinging.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
"Good job. That's how you do it."
"......"
"You won this fight. Calm down and check the enemy's status."
Rox took a deep breath, then tied his mace to his belt and looked around at the foes.
"Looks dead."
"On the battlefield, there's no 'looks dead.' Confirm: dead or alive."
"......Dead."
I smiled deliberately and patted his back.
"Good work."
The Bronze Class debut battle was over.
Time seemed frozen as the crowd held their breath, watching us exit the arena.
Even the referee couldn't call the result right away.
From over a hundred paces away, he watched cautiously until Rox and I were gone, then circled the Dark Spear corpses.
"...Th-This match goes to the Rising Force party!!!"
Only then did his voice echo through the arena.
The frozen stands erupted as if time had resumed.
-Woooaaahhh!!!
In the Gold Class waiting room at the top of the stands.
Five knights from the Bourbon party watched the 'Rising Force' match through the window.
"Those kids are better than they look."
Pereira swept back his green hair with a smile.
His comrade, green bob-cut Nunez, nodded in agreement.
"Rookies, right?"
"Seems like it. I think Lily helped them register yesterday or something."
"No idea where they're from. Better than you?"
"Nah, better than you, probably."
"What? You saying you're stronger than me?"
"Obviously. That's why I'm in the third line."
He traced the three lines tattooed on his face with a finger.
Nunez scowled, displeased, and shot back.
"You got those lines for joining before me, not skill."
"Bullshit!"
"Bullshit? Wanna die today for real?"
"If you can manage it."
"...You prick."
As Nunez reached for her waist—
Thud.
A massive knight appeared behind her and gripped her shoulder hard.
Crunch.
"Fight outside if you're gonna."
"Aak! O-Okay, okay! Let go!"
Pereira backed away warily.
The giant knight shoved Nunez aside.
Thud.
He sat in a chair and stared out at the arena.
"Pereira."
"Yes."
"Go find out about those kids right now. When they arrived, where they're from, what sword style they use, and why they're in the arena."
"......"
"Don't miss a single detail."