Chapter 7: Chapter 7: The Tournament Part 2
Volume 1
Chapter 7: The Tournament Part 2
"The fourth round will begin shortly," The bunny girl tells me. It has been an hour since my last fight, but I am up again. "Please head down to the arena for your match."
I smile and nod, trying to fight my nerves. If the people I am up against are stronger than that land dragon, I will be in trouble. I hope my loss is not embarrassing and I don't get hurt too badly by the end of the round.
"Let us welcome back the star of the first three rounds, the Wondering Stranger!" The crowd cheers as loudly as ever when I enter the arena.
The sand-covered ground is now bloody, while the walls are covered in scratch and burn marks. A hell of a fight must have happened here. But despite the bloodshed, the crowd is not satisfied and is eager for more. I don't know whether I should be more afraid of my opponent or this crowd.
"You better win this Wondering Stranger! I got a lot of money on you!"
"Idiot! With the odds on him, you could make more betting against him!"
"You're the idiot! Were you sleeping when he killed the land dragon? There is no way he is going to lose!"
At least the crowd seems confident in me. As the doors opposite me open, I hope to live up to their expectations. Slowly the doors open, and in steps a short orc about half the height of me with long grey hair and bright red eyes shining through the bull mask he wears.
"Will the Wondering Stranger meet his match in his opponent! Give it up for the man who is half-dwarf and half-orc but with all their power! You may know him as the legendary blacksmith or the creator of the holy sword Excalibur, but today, he stands before you as the Axe Lord!"
As he is introduced, my opponent holds two axes above his head as the crowd goes wild. They cry out about the weapons he makes, with some bragging about the ones they own, well others wish they could afford to buy one. This guy must be a famous blacksmith to get so much praise rained down on him.
"Let the match begin!"
As soon as he hears the call, the Axe Lord rushes straight towards me, moving fast enough that I suspect he also has the Sprint Boost skill. I jump back, avoiding a downward swing from the axe in his left hand that would have cut me in two if I didn't react as fast as I had. He does not let me recover and quickly slashes across my waist with the axe in his right hand, narrowly missing me as I jump back again. This guy is much faster than I thought he would be, and his strikes feel powerful despite his small size.
"Not bad," The Axe Lord comments in a gruff rough voice as I continue to evade his strikes. "Few can dodge my attacks."
I cannot reply as I am forced to dodge, duck, dive, dip and dodge his axes. This guy is relentless and does not seem like he will tire himself out any time soon. We circle the arena, but I cannot find an opening to counterattack. This guy is good. I can barely even catch my breath amidst this onslaught of axe swings.
"Has the Wondering Stranger finally met his match in the Axe Lord?" The announcer asks as I am backed into a corner.
"Looks like it's my win," The Axe Lord says, raising his axes.
I close my eyes and blindly swing my knife, hoping for a miracle. He is going to kill me! I need something, anything, to turn this around. I don't know if my knife will do anything against the Axe Lord's strength. But then there is a loud clink followed by the sound of snapping wood, then a moment later by the sound of a person hitting the ground. Slowly opening my eyes, I can't believe what I am seeing.
"What just happened?"
"He did it again!"
"It looks like the Wandering Stranger has somehow won!" The announcer declares, sounding unsure of what just happened himself.
Laying on the opposite side of the arena is the Axe Lord. Not moving with his axes scattered around broken. I could not have done that, right? There is no way I am strong enough to knock someone even as small as the Axe Lord across the arena. I must have unlocked a new skill, but no notification appears telling me so. Maybe he was lighter than I thought?
"It does not look like the Axe Lord is going to be getting up any time soon, folks and we all know what that means!" I do not like how the announcer's voice suddenly darkens as he says that. Looking at my knife, then at the Axe Lord. I hope this is not what I think it is. "Will the Axe Lord be allowed to live, or will he die? What do you want to happen, people?!"
"Kill him!"
"Slit his throat!"
"The loser deserves death!"
"Kill him now!"
How could they call for someone's death so quickly? Looking at the Axe Lord, I do not think I can bring myself to carry out his execution. But the crowd are not as merciful as I am. They shout and scream for blood, but I cannot just kill a person while they are as defenceless as the Axe Lord is now. Maybe if he were fighting back and I killed him, I could live with it, but not like this. I leave the arena, putting my knife away as the crowd starts booing me.
"Kill him!"
"Don't just walk away!"
"Finish him!"
I ignore the crowd and return to the waiting room as the announcer tries to calm everyone down.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
Axe Lords Defeated: 1
<0>
No one working at the arena says anything to me as I rest between fights. In fact, I do not see anyone until that cute bunny girl tells me it is my time to fight again. But this time, when I enter, boos and angry cries are mixed in with the crowd's cheers.
My opponent is a woman dressed up as a witch this time. And when I say dressed up as a witch, I mean she is wearing the same Halloween costumes kids would wear. Even her mask suits the Halloween look as it is a black mask that only covers her eyes. The mask reminds me of the kind of masks crooks wear in some of the old kids shows I used to watch. If only she wore a black and white striped shirt, the criminal look would have been complete.
The fight is not like the last. The witch woman was powerful, but only if she kept her distance. Once I used my Sprint Boost skill, the round ended in my victory as the woman couldn't defend herself once I was up close and personal. I wish the crowd would not cry for her blood when I stand over her defenceless body.
These people are too quick to call for death. When the fight started with that dwarf I had fought before, everyone was praising him as a master blacksmith, but after he left, they were quick to demand his death. Those guys are idiots. Why would they want to lose such a skilled blacksmith? I could say the same about this witch woman. No one praised her for past works, but she could rapidly fire off powerful spells one after the other, so I am sure her death would have been bad for the town.
I head out of the arena, leaving the witch still breathing. The crowd boos louder this time, and some people even throw things at me but either because they are drunk or have lousy aim, none of those objects hit him
I think the witch is even luckier as people throw things at her. Laying there, unable to move, I feel relieved when I see none of the objects lands anywhere near her. As I disappear from view, I feel sorry for the announcer as they struggle to get the crowd under control.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
The Beautifully Stunning Witch Defeated: 1
The Beautifully Stunning Witch? So that was her stage name. The crowd was too noisy for me to hear the announcer introduce her. She was a beautiful woman, but even so, I do not think that makes it okay for her to call herself beautifully stunning. Even if the way … her significant assets swayed when she moved as if she was not wearing a particular item of clothing.
<0>
My next opponent is an elf. He is tall, like a fantasy one, instead of the short Christmas elves. He is strong, too, wearing a sleeveless top that shows off a pair of powerful arms. His blonde hair is too long, though, as it drags along the ground behind him, making me fear that he might trip over it. But his choice of a mask is even more worrisome. He must have severe problems seeing me with only two thin slits for his eyes.
The announcer calls him the Magnificent Elf, another name filled with overconfidence. The crowd goes crazy as he holds up a double-ended sword before doing a backflip. His weapon reminds me of a weapon wielded by a red-skinned character from a particular famous movie franchise.
Unfortunately for the crowd, he is not as skilled with his weapon as the said character. I get booed even louder as I leave my opponent alive again at the end of our fight. I do not want to embarrass my opponent by saying how easily I beat him. Let us just say my worries about his long hair and lousy vision proved correct.
I don't care how upset the crowd gets at me, even as they appear to be on the verge of rioting. I will not kill a defenceless person. But when my luck runs out, my death is guaranteed with how mad the crowd is. I hope my luck will hold out so that when I finally am beaten, my opponent will be as merciful as I am.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
Magnificent Elf Defeated: 1
My next opponent is someone I expected to find in this tournament, but he still surprises me. First, let me explain why I expected to face someone like him. He appears to be a knight covered in plate armour and wielding a sword large than his body. Let me tell you, that is an impressive sword considering the man himself must be close to seven feet tall. This is the sight of someone I would expect to see in an anime or cartoon.
But in real life, seeing a sword that big is terrifying. Next, here is the part that surprises me. He is not wearing a mask. When I signed up, I thought it was mandatory, but here, my opponent is smiling and waving to the crowd, not wearing one. Maybe if you do not want to wear one, you do not have to.
The announcer introduces my opponent as the Shining Knight. The crowd goes wild, with several women fainting, when the knight smiles at them. He really is handsome. Even someone like me who has no romantic interest in men cannot help but admire his beauty. If this was a fairy tale, he would undoubtedly be a prince rescuing some princess from a tower or dragon or both. Unfortunately for me, I am not some fairy tale princess.
This knight charges me at an alarming speed while holding his massive sword like it does not weigh a thing. This fight is trickier. The knight's speed and the reach of his oversized sword make dodging more challenging. Still, thanks to my Danger Sense ability and Sprint Boost skill, I managed to get through the match unscathed.
In the end, the knight beat himself. Swinging around, his sword took its toll, and he collapsed from exhaustion. The crowd is divided this time. The men cry for his blood while the women beg me to let him live. Ultimately, my answer is the same as always, and I walk away, leaving the knight where he lays still, breathing on the ground.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
Shining Knight Defeated: 1
I enjoyed a small meal of Rocket Hen before my next fight, re-energising myself with delicious meat. Unfortunately, my wait was not as long as last time, and the crowd still hated me when I stepped into the sand-covered arena. Even the women who cheered when I spared the knight's life still boo me. I would have thought they would have been kinder after the last round.
My next opponent is a dragonkin woman named Red Dragon Ensu. She wields a Warhammer and a large shield that looks expensive. She wears metal armour over her body and a leather mask over her face. The lady's armour looks even more expensive and better crafted than the knights. She even causes me to step back when the match begins as a sudden fear overtakes me unnaturally.
Unfortunately, I regained my composure quickly and dodged when she charged me, causing the woman to crash into the arena wall and knock. At the end of the fight, the crowd booed me as I left the woman alive. I wish they would stop now that they know I will not be killing my opponents.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
Red Dragon Ensu Defeated: 1
Skill Learned: Intimidation Resistance Level 1 (Resist Intimidation)
As I look at the notification while grabbing a glass of water, I at least learn why I suddenly felt afraid. Red Dragon Ensu must have used intimidation skills, but I managed to snap out of it in time. This time I barely had a chance to finish drinking a glass of water before my next fight. I really wanted more of a break, but there is no rest for the wicked.
I am not sure what race my opponent is entering the arena. Still, he has green skin, four arms, and a body you usually find only on Olympic bodybuilders. I can barely stop my body from shaking as he holds up four different weapons. A rusty-looking serrated spear, a rusty-looking broadsword, a rusty-looking mace, and a rusty-looking axe. No, wait, that is not rust. When I looked closer, what I thought was rust was actually blood. Blood is even dripping from his fang-like teeth when he opens his mouth.
His mask looks like the top half of a lion mask, and a pair of glowing red eyes glare at me with frightened delight. I have never seen a demon before, but this man is what I would picture from now on if you were to ever ask me what a demon might look like.
But despite his size and bloody weapons, this fight is one of the easiest so far. This guy may look tough, and his attacks are strong, but he is slow. He was too slow to even come close to hitting me, and like with the knight from earlier, this guy tires himself out to the point of collapsing. At least this time, when I leave my opponent alive, the crowd does not boo me. Instead, they just shoot me a glare.
Notification
Battle Ended In Victory
The Mighty I Defeated: 1
Skill Learned: Dodge Level 1 (The ability to evade enemy attacks)
I feel like I should have learned Dodge a long time ago. I think I just needed to evade attacks so many times to unlock this skill. There is still so much I do not know about this world, so maybe that is the case. Unfortunately, I do not even get to rest as guards stop me from leaving the arena this time. At first, I thought they would punish me to appease the angry crowd, but the announcer cleared things up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what a tournament we have had today with so many unexpected turns!" The announcer says, but the crowd is too busy glaring at me to react. "But now we have come to the finals! Despite being his first time here, the Wandering Stranger has somehow made it to this round!"
"Boo!"
"He should have died!"
"The Mighty I would have given us a better show!"
"Hey!" Strange, that voice sounds family. "Show some respect! He had the skill to make it this far!"
Somehow that family-sounding voice quiets the crowd down. At least someone is on my side, but I fear their praise is missed placed. I only got this far due to luck. I somehow hit a weak point in that dwarf weapons causing them to break. That witch was poorly suited to facing someone as fast as me, that elf only had his sense of fashion to blame for his defeat, and that knight and the four-armed person just tied themselves out. There is no way someone as weak as I could have got this far without that unbelievable streak of luck.
"Now we know the Wandering Stranger! Let us meet his opponent!" The announcer continues, and even he seems taken aback by that familiar-sounding voice. "She is the youngest knight captain in the history of our kingdom! She is the winner of last year's tournament! Let us welcome back out the Knight-Captain!"
The crowd goes wild, making so much noise it nearly deafens me as a girl walks into the arena. She is not what I was expecting. She looks around the same age as me and has long silver hair, pale blue eyes, and skin so pale it makes me wonder if she ever set foot outside. She gently smiles as she bows her head towards me.
"Let us have a good fight, Mr Wandering Stranger," The girl says, sounding oddly happy. "After watching defeat that land dragon, I know we will have a fun match."
"Y… yeah…" I reply, taken back by how polite and friendly this girl is compared to everyone I have fought.
"We will not keep you waiting any longer, ladies and gentlemen! Let the final match begin!"
As soon as the announcer declares the beginning of our match, we both move. The girl shouts, "Air Cutter!" Sending a barely visible blade-like guest of wind my way. I have grown used to dodging the magical attack after facing that witch. This might be down to my newly found dodge skill, but I knew exactly how to evade the oncoming attack. The blade of air slices a gash into the arena's wall, but the girl still smiles despite her attack's failure.
"You are as strong as I thought," The girl giggles. "I might finally break a sweat today."
"I'm not that strong," I comment, but my words fall on dead ears as the girl sends three fireballs my way.
"Take this!" I dodge left, then right and finally, I duck down as the fireballs explode around me, only to find my knife holding the girl's sword back. "Most people normally can't block my sword after dodging my spells. You really are something."
The girl giggles as we jump back, putting some distance between us. The girl begins a relentless assault with her sword forcing me to dodge countless attacks before ending things with her air cutter spell. Thank god I had the combination of Dodge, Danger Sense and Sprint Boost skills, or she would have killed me with those moves. We both step away to catch our breaths, and this girl still smiles.
"You just what I was looking for…." The girl mutters before giggling to herself. "You're the first person I have ever had to use this spell one, so feel honoured to witness it."
"Is she really going to use that on a person?"
"He's dead. There is no way he can survive this."
Just what is she planning on doing? What is so bad that everyone is writing me off?
"Don't give up, Wandering Stranger!" That familiar-sounding voice calls out to me. Just where have I heard it before? "You can win this!"
At least one person is still on my side. I take a few more steps back and pray for the best. Judging from people's reactions, I doubt someone as weak as I can survive this. Still, this girl seems kind enough that there is a chance she will let me live if I somehow manage to still be breathing when this is over.
"Ability Boost!" The girl called out, and a golden glow enveloped her body. "With this, I have the strength to take down an army. Prepare yourself, Wandering Stranger. I won't be holding back."
I gulp and take another step back. She can now take out an entire army. An army! I doubt I could take on a single soldier in a fair fight, but now I must face someone stronger than an entire army. I take another step back. I am dead. I am super dead!
"Here I come!" The girl yells as she charges at me.
"Kill him!" Most of the crowd cries.
"You can do it!" That familiar-sounding voice cheers me on.
This is bad. Even pushing my Sprint Boost, Dodge, and Danger Sense skills to the limits, I can barely keep up with her, and she even manages to cut me a few times. Thanks to my regeneration pain resistance skills, it was bearable as I felt nothing, and any bleeding quickly stopped. Still, it is not something I want to repeatedly happen to me. At least as time passes, I manage to launch my own counterattacks, but the girl skilfully blocks all of those.
"Hey, can you see anything?"
"No, all I can see are blurs,"
I can hear the crowd comment on us as we both push harder and harder, trying to outpace the other and land a winning blow. Are we really moving so fast that we appear blurry, though? No, I can figure that out later. The girl punished my concentration slip by nearly stabbing me in the shoulder. I can find a mirror and test that out later, but I need to give this girl my full attention now.
"But how is he keeping up with her?"
"She should have cut him to pieces by now, but he is still standing,"
How much longer can I keep this up? My luck will run out eventually, or I will end up like that knight and four-armed person and collapse from exhaustion. My danger sense suddenly goes off, and I jump as the girl tries to swipe my legs. Big mistake. In the air, I am defenceless, and the girl tries to cut me in half, but I manage to block the blow with my knife, but she puts enough strength in her swing to throw me into the wall.
I blink as the dust settles around me and find myself embedded in the wall. Once again, I am grateful for my regeneration pain resistance skills. With my HP dropping to ten per cent, I am sure I would have been in too much pain to move. Instead, as my health slowly recovers, I pull myself from the person-shaped hole in the wall. Wow. I thought stuff like that only happened in cartoons.
"He's still alive…."
"How is that even possible?"
"Is he even human?"
I am just as surprised as everyone that I survived that, but do they really have to doubt my humanity just because I was thrown into a wall and managed to crawl out. Shouldn't this girl's strength be even more shocking? She did throw me into that wall with a single swing of her sword. They should be at least surprised about the right things if they are surprised.
"You are definitely the one I have been looking for…." The girl giggles before she rushes towards me. "I'm not done with you yet."
We start to circle the arena kicking up the sand around us until it looks like a tornado has formed in the arena. The crowd screams in fear and cheers in excitement while they call out to support the girl. Well, apart from that familiar-sounding voice that still cheers me on. At least I have one fan out there.
We exchange blows but like before, I am the only one to take any damage. Luckily, my regeneration skill is restoring my HP faster than the girl can lower it. She tries to swipe my legs again, but I don't repeat the same mistake. Instead of jumping this time, I step back, but the girl steps forward, thrusting her sword towards my stomach. Unfortunately for her, she made a mistake this time. I duck under her attack and grab her arm before throwing her. I used to do this all the time as a kid, but back then, no one skidded as much as this girl did.
"Kill her!"
The crowd quickly changes their allegiance to me, but their bloodlust is stupid. Do they not realise how that could weaken their kingdom's defences? I am surprised this kingdom is still around with people this prone to killing. This girl is a knight and a tough one. I will not kill her. Even if the crowd will hate me for it. Luckily, before the crowd gets upset, the girl stands back up. I do not think I could beat her if we start fighting again, so I quickly approach and push her back down.
"Please give up," I ask, holding my knife to her neck.
I don't want to kill her, and I probably could not do it even if I wanted to. I hope she does not call my bluff.
"Sorry," The girl smirks, and before I know it, she is on top of me, holding my knife to my neck. Do not ask me how it happened. It was too fast to process. "How about you give up instead? I promise I won't kill you."
Looking into her eyes, I hope that she is telling the truth. I doubt I could move an inch before she slits open my throat with how fast she is. I just hope the joyful smile on her lips is not because she pictures how to kill me when I surrender.
"Fine," I nod. "I submit."
The crowd boos even as the announcer declares that the girl is the winner. The girl quickly gets off me and helps me stand before handing back my knife. Even as the crowd shouts and calls me a coward, the girl has not stopped looking at me.
"I'm Fina," The girl says, holding out an arm to her. "Captain of the first knight's squad."
"Luke," I reply, shaking her hand.
"Well then, Luke," The girl's smile grows bigger. "I want you to marry me."
"M… ma… marry…." I mutter, wondering if I heard her right.
This is wrong. I probably just missed hearing her, but Fina does not correct herself. If this was a TV show, Fina would be blushing and stepping back, but instead, that is me as Fina smiles and steps closer. If she really said she wanted to marry me, it must be some kind of joke. There is no way a cute and beautiful girl would want to marry someone like me.
"Yes, I want you to marry me," Fina confirms, pulling me closer, and she is too strong to escape from.
"Why me?"
It is unfair that I am the person getting embarrassed by this. At least the crowd has stopped booing. Instead, I have to listen to them demanding I kiss her.
"Because we are both strong," Fina tells me. "If we were to have a child, they would be unstoppable."
"But I am not that strong," I try to tell her and attempt to escape her grasp simultaneously. Still, she is much stronger than she looks, making escape impossible.
"Stop putting yourself down," Fina frowns for the first time. "No one has even been able to get the better of me when I used ability boost before."
"But we only just met," I tell her. "Shouldn't we get to know each other first?"
"Well, if that's the problem, then I guess we can postpone our wedding for a few weeks but in the meantime…." She steps back, finally letting me go. "I, Fina, captain of the first knights' squad, hereby use the power given to me by the king to conscript you into the first knight squad. Working together will give us plenty of time to get to know each other."
"I…" Before I can reply, there is a commotion in the crowd.
"Wait!" That voice! I suddenly remember where I heard it from. I turn to see Elise pushing her way through the crowd before jumping into the arena. "Do you really think you can just marry someone like that?"
I don't know why but when Fina's and Elise's eyes lock, it feels like a storm is brewing, and even the audience brace themselves for what is to come.
Notification
Battle Ended In Defeat
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone