Chapter 13: Chapter 13. Crown Game 1, Khun’s gambit
After being teleported to the next area by Lero Ro, Isaac, Bam and Khun ended up separated from the other Regulars, being locked up in what seemed to be a spacious orange cell.
Looking around behind the bars at the gate of the cell at the front, they could see various other cells in the distance that also held Regulars.
All rooms were connected to a large circular arena, with a giant throne standing in the middle of it, a golden crown situated on one of the armrests of that throne; the distance from the room to the center of the arena and the throne seemed to be around 200 meters.
While there seemed to be some free time, Isaac walked up to the front of the cell where he noticed a 'Crown Game rules' sheet attached next to a red button, Khun following him as he noticed it as well.
However, they didn't have any time to read or prepare, because in the very next moment, Lero Ro and Yellow appeared in the arena beside the throne with a flash of light.
Lero Ro then transmitted his voice to everyone: {Now that you've been transported to this spot, I will explain the rules to you.}
{The Crown Game is in short, a crown-stealing game. The team that holds this crown at the last moment, wins the game.}
{It looks simple, but the rules are a bit complicated.}
{First is the time limit. A game consists of 5 rounds, each of them 10 minutes long. Only 5 teams may participate in each round, and the team that possesses the crown at the end of each round becomes the winning team to proceed to the next round.}
{In the next round, 4 new teams and the winning team from the previous round will compete for the crown. The true winner will be the team that holds the crown at the end of round 5.}
{So that you know, if you want to participate in the game, press the red buzzer at the entrance of each of your rooms.}
{Only 5 teams may participate, and it will be done on a first-come-first-serve basis. If several teams press the buzzer simultaneously, the team that pressed the button to participate the most will get the chance.}
{But there is a way to finish the game early.}
As Lero Ro said this, he piqued the interest of the Regulars.
{That is to sit on the throne while you're wearing the crown in 5 minutes or less. The moment someone sits on the throne, the round automatically ends. And the sitting team becomes the winner of the round.}
[However, some movement will be restricted. If there was a winning team at the end of the previous round, that team may keep the crown, but at least one team member must stay seated on the throne, wearing the crown.}
{If the crown wearer comes off the throne or loses the crown, that team will be eliminated from the test. And if another team takes the crown and sits on the throne within 5 minutes, that team wins the round.}
"What? Then it's obviously a disadvantage to participate early," Khun plainly commented.
{Correct!} Lero Ro said, as if replying to Khun's words despite being two hundred meters away. {The winner of the previous round carries a big risk in the next round.}
{But, if you postpone participating because of the risk... you may not be able to get into the game at the end!}
{Well, although there are a lot of rules and limitations, the point is that the team with the crown at the end of the final round is the winner. Don't think too much. You just have to steal the crown.}
{Oh, and one more thing. Another team from another test spot will be participating. It's a long story.}
At those words, Isaac reflexively raised his head to look out through the semi-transparent gate. Because he sort-of remembered what the mystery team was. 'It should be a Princess of Jahad, Rachel and a zombie giant, huh.'
Without giving the Regulars much free time, Lero Ro's voice soon sounded out once again: {Now, the Crown Game begins!}
{I will count to 5! So the teams that want to participate, must press the buzzer during the count!}
{Starting now, I will count for the first round's participants!}
{One!...}
"I would rather stay for now. Isaac, what do you think?" Khun said as he looked at Isaac.
"I think…"
{Two!...}
"... That it probably doesn't matter, so let's just stay for now."
{Three!...}
"Well, okay." Khun nodded.
After getting on the same page, the two looked toward the arena.
{Four!...}
BEEEP!
Before the countdown finished, someone had suddenly pressed the button in their room.
'What?' Khun looked over and saw that it was Isaac that had touched the red button with his sword.
Isaac looked in the same direction and saw the same scene.
However, he knew that it wasn't him who had pressed the button. His sword… had moved by itself, dragging his arm, and then pressed the button.
"Aaaah?!" Realizing that it was Mordred that pressed the button, Isaac blanched.
What the hell? Why?!
"Isaac? Why did you…" Khun muttered as he stared at Isaac who had just opened the door, shocked and flabbergasted. Didn't they just agree on waiting to see how the game plays out?
"Sir Isaac?" Bam was also surprised.
Isaac's heart mourned. It wasn't him!
'Saaaabeeeeer! Why did you press the button?!' Isaac screamed inwardly toward Clarent.
{Five!}
[Haha, chill out Master! You heard that Pikachu guy. No matter what round, we just have to beat those fools!] Mordred replied confidently in a laid-back manner.
Isaac heard this and his heart boiled in anger. 'But I wanted to wait!'
There were many more things he considered that Mordred would have no idea about, like FUG's plans, how he can benefit from this game, Bam's development, the Green April, maintaining his metaknowledge advantage, concealing his complete strength as an Irregular… And in the first place he wasn't even interested in winning the Crown Game!
There was no need for her to do anything! So why?! She only had to stay inside that sword. Why did she have to move and press the button?!
[But you said it doesn't matter!... In that case, why not just come out on the first round?]
Isaac was stunned when he heard Mordred's reply as he realized that it's indeed what he said. But it only made him feel more pissed off.
{Well, the count is over! The First Round of the Crown game begins now!}
As Lero Ro finished his announcement, the iron gate in front of the three opened.
At this time there was no time for discussions. They had to come out!
"Damn it. Stupid, stupid Saber!" Isaac cursed under his nose as he began walking out with the others. Even with Mordred being trapped inside a sword, it felt as if nothing had changed.
[Rude Master! You just have to beat whoever comes out, stop being such a wuss!]
"Tsk." Isaac heard Mordred's thoughtless comment and clicked his tongue.
Khun glanced at Isaac who seemed to be mad at his sword. Whatever happened, it seemed that Isaac also didn't want to come out, but it didn't matter anymore. He let out a helpless sigh. "Sigh, we just have to improvise. Now, let's see what other stupid teams also came out."
Isaac and Khun looked toward the direction of the arena to see any other teams.
At a glance, there were two other teams that came out.
Khun thought, 'Whoever came out on the first round, it would either be someone very strong or someone very stupid.'
The three teams began to slowly converge to meet each other. As if in tacit agreement, there was no one who suddenly made a run for the throne at the start.
Isaac walked in the front, holding both Clarent and the Black March in his hands, his body clad in armor. Khun and Bam followed slightly behind and at the sides.
Looking ahead, Isaac could instantly see that one of the other teams included Anak, Hatsu and Shibisu, while the other team were all weak Regulars that were not worth paying attention to.
As the three teams met, Shibisu greeted Isaac with an awkward smile. "Haha, Isaac, you guys also came out?"
"Yo," Isaac replied with an expressionless face.
Shibisu asked, "Are you so confident?"
"Confident in taking you out?" Isaac slightly raised his eyebrows as he asked. "Sure."
Shibisu smirked as he cracked his knuckles. "You might be surprised."
Next to Shibisu, Anak and Has stood expressionlessly and didn't say anything. Shibisu acted tought, but it seemed he just relied on those two.
Isaac looked away from Shibisu and his eyes settled on Anak. Among everyone here, only Anak appeared like a threat.
Keeping his eyes on Anak, Isaac said, "So how do we go about this? How about we take out the small fries first?"
As he finished speaking, he glanced at the third team.
"What?"
"Who are you calling small fries?!"
The team of three Regulars became agitated, with a spiky-haired boy, Dede, at the lead.
Anak smirked when she saw these reactions. "Ha! Sure. Let's take out the trash first."
"Trash?!"
"Damn, you're both looking down on us! You're going to regret this!"
"Then leave this one to me," Anak said and stepped out, making her whip-like weapon strike the floor as she began to walk ahead. "Don't you dare cut in!"
Seeing Anak approach them by herself, Dede frowned. "What? Alone? Are you insane?"
"Be serious! Do you think we're all weaklings?"
[Hehe, that's exactly what we all think.]
Isaac remained expressionless while hearing Mordred's chuckle.
"Be serious?" Anak smirked. "Well, that depends on you."
"Damn… What kind of bluff is this?" Dede murmured.
At his side, his dual-wielding teammate wasn't able to contain his frustration any more and stepped out. "Ok! I will be serious with you! Alone as well!"
"Kon!"
In Isaac's team, seeing the Regular dual-wielding swords walk out to engage Anak alone while following up with self-confident words, Khun quietly said, "Let's just see how it plays out."
Isaac glanced at him and indifferently replied, "Anak will crush all of them."
"Hm?" Khun looked at him in surprise. "Anak? Do you know her?"
Isaac shook his head. "I only know her name because Lero Ro mentioned it. But she's the strongest Regular in our area."
Hearing this, Khun frowned as he returned to observing Anak.
As the two talked, Anak rushed out from her spot to suddenly appear right in front of the other Regular and send a palm strike to his face. At impact, the Regular was sent flying back through the air for tens of meters and then crashed into a wall, and appeared unconscious afterwards.
"Kon! Wake up! Kon!"
"Hey, Kon!"
"You phony lizard, how dare you!"
With his teammate being taken out, Dede rushed out to attack, but Anak swiped out with her weapon like with a whip, making it extend for tens of meters, and slapped Dede across his face, sending him flying back and causing blood to splatter.
Following that, Anak whipped him several times with the adjustable heavy whip, before slamming him into the ground.
'What's that weapon? A hook that changes length?' Khun was shocked upon seeing this.
"~Hohohohohoho!" While shouting out a strange mantra, the third Regular sent a punch at Anak's face as he suddenly appeared behind her.
The punch directly landed at the side of Anak's head, which seemed to be something that she allowed because she didn't even budge an inch when it happened.
"Aaaaagh! My hand!"
As the Regular began screaming in pain, Anak grabbed his wrist and tossed him into the air, making him fly for tens of meters before he finally crashed into a wall.
Khun frowned. 'This is bad. She is very strong. This much physical strength without Shinsoo… It's better to not fight her head on.'
In the meantime, Dede attacked Anak one last time, but Anak easily caught his weapon and then threw him across the air.
Afterwards, Anak cracked her neck and expressionlessly looked at Isaac. "How about this? Do you still have the confidence?"
Isaac faintly smiled back without much change in his expression. "Sure."
Anak cruelly smiled.
[Hehe, that lizard is quite spunky. It will be a fun fight.]
At the side, Khun expressionlessly thought, 'I'm not her match. Fighting that lizard head on is a bad idea, but seeing how Isaac handled things so far gave me an idea. If I use the rules of this game…'
"Now! Run!"
"Get the crown!"
At that moment, the other three Regulars suddenly made a run for the throne from three different directions.
"Isaac, block her!" Khun shouted out as he also rushed out.
In a split second, Isaac made a decision after already considering various scenarios beforehand. Red thunder exploded as he suddenly shot straight at Anak like a bullet.
Within a blink of an eye, Isaac appeared right next to Anak and swatted at her with the flat of his sword.
Anak was also looking toward the throne, but seeing Isaac appear to attack her, she gnashed her teeth and instead swiped out with her green whip.
The green whip and Clarent collided.
The whip was easily flung away and the flat of the sword continued to fly at Anak's body which she shielded with her arm at the last moment.
As a result, Anak was pushed back a few steps.
Although Isaac only used Clarent with one hand, held back and only used the flat of the blade, the Green April was not ignited and was not a solid weapon, so it had no chance in resisting that strike.
Seeing this result, Anak frowned as she looked back at Isaac. 'He's better than I thought.'
As Anak was stopped by Isaac, Hatsu and Shibisu also reacted and began running toward the throne.
However, after only making one-third of the distance, Hatsu suddenly stopped.
The other three Regulars also stopped.
The reason for this was that there was already someone at the throne.
It was a young man in a white shirt and with blue hair already standing next to the throne and holding the golden crown.
It was Khun.
Smiling confidently toward the other Regulards, Khun said, "Well, that was easy."
"What? How can he be so fast?..." Shibisu muttered with a flabbergasted expression.
The other Regulars also stared at Khun, frozen.
Meanwhile Isaac also raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked over. 'Damn, nice speed... He's way faster than I expected.'
Khun covered the distance of close to 200 meters in an instant and quickly arrived at the throne way faster than an arrow.
For Isaac, it was surely below the maximum speed of his current body, but it was still quite shocking. It wasn't that far off.
[Woah! That white guy's body is so much weaker, but he can actually be so fast!]
Isaac's eyes narrowed when he heard Mordred's comments. 'Is it because he used Shinsoo?'
For a Regular on just the second floor of the Tower, Khun's speed looked to be simply amazing; it caused a gust of wind behind him and left the others in the dust, making them gape after him in shock.
With this feat, he already appeared like a weaker-level Servant.
"So the game is over if I sit here with this crown?" Khun asked.
"N-no!!!" Shibisu cried out upon seeing Khun casually pick up the golden crown.
Anak and Hatsu frowned.
"But that's no fun. Let's not make this boring!" Khun put the crown into his bag. He then pulled out a knife from within, threw it to make a cool spin in the air, and said, "Let's have a fight first! Whoever is the winner, gets the crown. Isaac will fight the lizard and I will fight the swordsman. How about that?"
Hearing Khun's proposal, Anak raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Shibisu and Hatsu were both also surprised. After all, Khun could end the game at that moment if he wanted to.
Meanwhile, Isaac narrowed his eyes. He had an idea of what Khun might be plotting.
Shibisu spoke up, "Then… What about me?"
After speaking, he inadvertently looked at Bam. Seeing the little preteen boy that didn't even have a weapon, he felt bad. No way he's supposed to fight him?
In response Bam, who was left alone, slightly shuddered. 'I'll have to fight Mr. Shibisu?...'
Khun answered, "You and Bam will sit on the throne. The final winner will get the crown."
"Hm?"
Khun took out the crown from his bag and threw it away with force. making it land far away with clanging sounds. "There. You guys can come here!"
Seeing this, Shibisu's eyes flashed as he understood Khun's plan. 'I get it now. He could end the game, but he wants to place Bam on the throne. Otherwise he worries it would be difficult for them to defend the throne in the later rounds. But this is our chance!'
If not for Khun's proposition, they would simply lose the round, so of course they had to agree.
"Fine! I'll sit down!" Shibisu called out as he began approaching the throne.
Anak and Hatsu were silent and instead looked with greed toward the crown that was tossed far to the edge of the arena.
"What about us?" Dede called out.
Khun looked toward the other Regular with a pitying expression. "What about you? Don't you get it? You guys have no right to participate in this game. Get lost before we kill you."
"You!!!"
"Damn it!"
"Stop, it Kon! Damn it, he's right!" Dede called out while grinding his teeth.
"Dede!"
"They're all too strong! Let's just back off before we get killed!"
After sending out some curses, the remaining team of Regulars began to slowly make their way back toward their room.
Bam and Shibisu began walking toward the throne.
Isaac followed the line of sight of Anak and Hatsu who focused on the crown, but his eyes soon returned to the throne as he chuckled coldly in his heart. 'This round is over.'
Shibisu sat down on the throne with a blissful expression together with Bam.
At that moment, Khun took out another crown from his bag and placed it on Bam's head.
Bzzzzzzzz!!!
A loud ringing noise sounded out.
{Because Mr. Bam sat down on the throne with the crown, the round is over! The winner of the first round is the team of Bam, Khun and Isaac!}
Shibisu looked on at this scene with a flabbergasted expression. "What… Two… two crowns? What happened?"
Khun smiled smugly as he flipped over his bag and poured out a bunch of golden crowns from within, causing them to stack up on the ground. "Tadam! Here is a fun and amazing duplicating magic bag!"
"Du-duplicating? You tricked us!" Shibisu looked at Khun with a shocked face; he felt that he understood Khun's plan, but his entire team was completely tricked instead and only helped him place Bam on the throne!
Khun shrugged. "It was too easy."
Seeing this, Isaac chuckled. He ignored Anak and began walking toward the throne.
Chapter 14: Chapter 14. Crown Game 2, Anak’s outburst
Seeing how the first round ended, the various Regulars in the cells began reacting.
Serene said, "Damn, he took out that monstrous lizard from the game without having to fight her! But it's a good thing. Things will be easier with her gone."
At the side, Laure yawned lazily and expressionlessly spoke up, "Yawn. Not at all... I'm sure that guy in armor isn't any weaker than the lizard. He might be the most dangerous Regular here. I would normally consider coming out on the second or third round, but it's better to wait and see."
"Why would you want to come out on the second round?! Are you stupid? It's obviously best to wait until the end!"
Laure looked at her with pity. "Stupid girl… I don't even care about explaining."
"Who are you calling stupid?!"
In another cell, Endorsi faintly smirked as she saw Anak's grumbling and unhappy expression. 'Silly lizard got tricked… But it's good she's out.'
Ever since she noticed the daughter of Anak with the Green April, she wanted to stay on this floor and have a chat with her.
"Um, Miss Endorsi?"
"Hm?" Endorsi turned toward one of her teammates as her name was called.
The person that called her was a blonde short girl with freckles, wearing a cloak and a hood just like her. She previously introduced herself as Rachel.
Rachel said, "I don't care about winning this game anymore."
"What?" Endorsi was surprised when she heard this.
"The person sitting on the throne is someone I know. It might not be right for me to ask you this, but I would like to help him win this game and go up…" Rachel said what she was asked to by the Guide.
"That… Well, that's fine with me. I suddenly don't care about winning either. I can help out." Endorsi smiled playfully.
In the arena, Anak sent Isaac a cold look as the latter began retreating, "Just so you know, I'm only backing off because of the rules. Don't think for a second that I'm afraid of you after that last attack."
Isaac looked at her and replied indifferently, "Sure."
"Hn." Anak snorted, turned around and began walking away expressionlessly while gripping her weapon tightly.
Hatsu also retreated from the arena expressionlessly, not even having a chance to draw his sword once.
Shibisu let out a helpless sigh and began to drag his body back to the arena.
Along the way, Shibisu looked back at Isaac, Khun and Bam that now all occupied the throne. 'Damn, they tricked us... But they seem like nice guys. I hope they'll win.'
Just as Shibisu was wondering this, he heard one of the Regulars inside the cells call out to them, "Anak Jahad… you fake."
'Hm?' Shibisu looked over indifferently and saw a hooded brown-haired girl looking toward Anak.
He didn't think much of it, but Anak actually reacted to the provocation.
'This bitch...' Anak gnashed her teeth and in the next moment suddenly leaped away before either Shibisu or Hatus could react. 'I'm out of the game, so I'll lose the chance in case she goes up. I'll kill her right here!'
After landing in front of one of the rooms, Anak blew away the gate by igniting her weapon.
At that time Isaac had already reached the throne and noticed the commotion with Khun.
But instead of confronting the person behind the gate, Anak surprisingly suddenly turned to look back, looking toward the throne. In particular, she looked straight at Isaac who was still holding the wrapped-up Black March.
During the moment that Anak destroyed the gate with her weapon, there was a resonance between the two weapons that he also felt. Isaac frowned. 'Did she notice?'
"Just what do you think you're doing, you fake? Did it anger you so much to have the truth pointed out?" Endorsi said cheekly toward Anak.
But Anak didn't even turn to look at her as she spoke; after blowing up the gate, she suddenly turned away.
'Ignoring me!…'
Endorsi called out again, "Hey, you!"
Anak looked back expressionlessly at the Jahad Princess and coldly said, "One day I'll kill you. You just wait."
After leaving these words behind, Anak leaped away again.
Endorsi was confused. "Just what was that?"
As she looked over, she saw Anak land in front of the throne and in front of the boy that Rachel asked her to help.
She frowned. After making up her mind, she also moved out through the blown open gate. After all, she was asked to help.
In the meantime, Anak appeared in front of Isaac. Anak coldly told him, "Give me that weapon."
Hearing this, Isaac's eyes turned cold. In the manhwa Bam lost his weapon to Anak, but Isaac certainly couldn't just give her the Black March here in order to 'follow the plot'. This would be betraying Yuri's expectations.
Khun pulled out a knife from his suitcase and raised it against Anak. "What the hell are you doing? The round is over and you're out of the game! You're no longer allowed to attack us!"
Anak ignored him as she continued looking at Isaac. "Hey, armored guy. Where did you get that weapon?"
'Isaac's needle? Why is she so interested in it?' Khun looked at the black needle wrapped in a white cloth that Bam held in his left hand.
He was aware that Isaac had two weapons - a thin needle and a broad long sword. He didn't find it strange before. It's normal for Fishermen to use a variety of weapons.
The strange thing was that Isaac had never stored away his needle in an Arms Inventory and had always held it close while it was wrapped in a cloth, but he didn't think much of it.
Isaac said nothing.
Anak continued, "It's fine if you don't want to tell me. Anyway, that weapon shouldn't be in the hands of anybody other than a Princess of Jahad. You don't have the right to have it."
"Oh, and you do? Because you're a Princess of Jahad?" Another person spoke up in a sarcastic tone.
Anak looked over and saw that it was the Princess of Jahad from before. She frowned. "You get lost, this has nothing to do with you."
"Does it really? Aren't you going to kill me? Besides, it seems like something fun is going on here." Endorsi smirked, then looked at the black needle in Bam's hands. "So what is that weapon?"
Anak frowned. She grabbed her weapon and turned toward Endorsi. "Fine. Since you're asking for it, I'll kill you first."
"Oh?" Endorsi summoned a floating circular shield.
"Anaaak! We lost the game! What are you doing?!" Shibisu called out toward Anak as he also reached the throne with Hatsu.
But Shibisu was ignored by Anak completely as she raised the Green April. "Ignition! Die!"
But just as Green April began growing and splitting up, someone appeared behind Anak and grabbed it, restraining the ignition.
Isaac saw that it was Lero Ro.
Seeing this, Endorsi smirked. She was honestly startled when Anak ignited the Green April, but as expected, the Ranker wouldn't allow the test rules to be broken and have Regulars kill each other outside of the game.
[He teleported here to stop the fight. What a pity,] Mordred commented.
"Hey! What are you…?" Confused and annoyed as her weapon was grabbed, Anak looked up only to see the blonde Ranker's face from below.
"No one will be killing anyone… Anak Jahad. You lost the game, so go back to your room, Anak Jahad." Lero Ro let go of the Green April, causing Anak to tumble forward. "I won't let you behave like this anymore."
"A-Anak! Stop! He's angry!" Shibisu shouted in desperation as he got straight in Anak's face.
Anak expressionlessly leaned away from Shibisu as her eyes turned colder; she knew about the unimaginable gap between Regulars and Rankers. She let out a breath and said helplessly, "I got it. I'm done."
Anak looked toward Bam, then toward Isaac one more time, before turning to leave. 'With that woman here, they're not going to win this game anyway. Later, I'll kill them and take the Black March. After that, I'll find and kill that woman.'
As Anak began leaving, Lero Ro turned toward Endorsi. "You, as well, Miss Endorsi. Please go back to your room."
"Yes! I only want to ask one question." Endorsi turned toward Isaac with a playful smile. Slightly leaning forward, she pointed at the black needle and asked him, "What is that weapon?"
"... It's the Black March," Isaac said honestly.
"The Black March?" Endorsi was flabbergasted.
She was not the only one, because Khun was shocked as well. 'This needle? Was it the infamous Black March?! Why is it in Isaac's hands?!'
Isaac continued, "Yes. Because of certain reasons, it ended up here, but it will soon return to its rightful owner."
"Aha, I see. Haha. Now everything makes sense!" Endorsi smiled at Isaac, looking at him for a while with a curious expression, before finally slightly turning away. "Well, I need to go back now. Good luck with the game!"
As Endorsi began leaving, Isaac noticed Anak looking quite angry. 'I guess she didn't want Endorsi to know about the Black March. Well, that's too bad.'
"Since this matter is over, let's resume the game… Regulars," Lero Ro said.
"I'm sorry, Sir Isaac… because of me, you had some trouble…" Bam told Isaac apologetically after Lero Ro left.
Isaac faintly smiled. "No worries. I promised Yuri to keep the Black March safe anyway."
Khun asked, "By the way, Isaac, I get it that you have the Black March for some reason, but how is Bam involved in this?"
"Well, originally the Black March ended up with Bam. After that, Yuri Jahad asked me to take care of it until she can retrieve it in case I encounter Bam in the Test Floor," Isaac explained.
"I see. So you luckily ended up in the same testing area and met Bam during the first test. That's really lucky," said Khun.
"Yes, very lucky."
…
{The second round of the Crown Game will begin shortly!}
{I'll start counting… now!}
{Teams that want to join should press the buzzer before the count is over!}
{One!}
As the countdown started, in one of the rooms Rak began to impatiently hit the floor with his spear. "Go, go, go! We should go out on this round! No more waiting!!!"
A masked female with a staff replied, "Not yet."
"Don't tell me what to do, black turtle!!!" Rak glared at her, then stepped closer toward the buzzer.
"Alligator. You want a chance of beating that guy in armor, right? Then follow the plan. We'll come out at the end," the female spoke indifferently.
"Hmmmmmm… Fine!"
Rak stopped himself.
Truth be told, he had no confidence in winning against Isaac. In that case he might also follow the plan of that black sneaky turtle.
The Great Rak will appear at the end to shock everyone with one brilliant feat! This also fit his style.
…
{Five!}
{The second round starts now!}
As the next round began, Isaac looked out to search for enemies.
At that time, a single team walked out.
"One team walked out? And it looks like they're weak too," Khun said indifferently.
Isaac narrowed his eyes as he observed the other team.
That one team included a muscular four-eyed bald man, a one-eyed swordsman with small black wings and a young man with a bob-haircut wielding a broad knife that resembled a meat cleaver.
"I'll take care of this," Isaac said.
Chapter 15: Chapter 15. Crown Game 3, overpowered and outsmarted
"Sure, go ahead," Khun said as he leisurely sat down on the throne next to Bam. After seeing Isaac overpowered the crocodile and block Anak, he had full confidence in him dealing with a single team of weak Regulars.
Isaac faintly smiled back and slowly walked out. He already left the Black March in Bam's hands. At this time he only wielded Clarent.
As he came closer to the group of Regulars, a one-eyed and one-winged swordsman, Deod, pulled out a very long two-handed saber from its sheath.
Deod said, "I can see that you're a swordsman like me. Blonde-haired boy… Did you know that as you go up the Tower, the Shinsoo gets thicker?"
"..."
Deod raised his sword in a high guard and continued, "Meaning there are no swordsmen who use big swords with large surface areas up there. In other words, this might be the last time the both of us use swords to fight."
[What? What crap is that guy spouting?]
Isaac ignored Mordred's comments and expressionlessly looked at the group of Regulars as the one-eyed Regular continued his monologue, "It's sad, but isn't it amazing? I don't really want to ruin this last chance to duel with you, but I'm sorry. I don't think I can play fair with you. What we need is…"
""The crown!""
After speaking out in unison, the two blade-wielding Regulars rushed out at Isaac together.
Isaac slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two with an apathetic expression. He knew that these three were not a threat at all. His only thought was how he could end it without injuring them too badly if he could help it.
The taller swordsman leaped out with the help of his wings and the shorter Regular rushed straight at Isaac.
"Block him, Cloaker!"
"Ok! Deod, you attack!"
The shorter one rushed at Isaac first, but this kind of slow speed only made that attack appear pathetic in Isaac's eyes. It couldn't even be compared to a toddler slowly crawling toward him to attack.
Isaac considered what he should do.
The knife of the Regular called Clocker was short; if he attacked it, he would break it and the follow through would likely cut that man in half.
That's why, as the Regular rushed at him, Isaac simply raised his foot.
Bam!
Before Cloaker realized what happened, the sole of an armored foot hit his chest.
"Guh!" Cloaker let out a gasp as air was forcefully pushed out of his lungs and was sent flying back like a rag doll in one strike, his ribcage probably broken.
Following that, the one-eyed swordsman continued with a downward slash using a long two-handed saber as he descended.
Isaac slashed up with Clarent to deflect that attack.
The long saber broke on impact with and the front half of the blade began to spiral in the air as it broke off.
In that one attack, Isaac only used physical strength, but he didn't hold back one bit.
The one-eyed Regular, Deod, landed on the ground, his arms still slightly shaking from the aftereffect of their weapons colliding. Looking at Isaac, he said, "Wow… You're strong."
In the back, the four-eyed giant man muttered, "What a team… Just this guy is so strong. Even if we all worked together… There'd still be no chance of winning."
Deod glanced to the side at his teammate Cloacker who was clutching his chest and coughing up blood, then looked back at Isaac. He solemnly said, "You easily injured my teammate and broke my sword… It looks like it's our loss here."
"Mm. I hope you guys admit defeat and get off the stage," Isaac said.
The three Regulars were silent.
Isaac added, "I hope you realized that I can easily kill you… Cherish your lives."
Hearing this, the one-eyed man's body straightened as he looked at Isaac's emotionless face.
"Yes. Thank you for going easy on us." Deod solemnly bowed his head.
After that, the four-eyed bald man followed suit, also bowing.
Isaac faintly nodded back. Seeing the Regulars pick themselves up and begin leaving, Isaac turned around and started walking back to the throne.
From the start, his goal was to just defeat these three and make them realize they can't win. As a Magus he didn't hesitate to kill 'ordinary people', but he wasn't a reckless killer; he didn't kill for no reason.
In addition, Mordred herself despised killing civilians and the innocent for petty reasons; so there was also her influence there.
[You were quite cool, Master. I didn't know this side of you, hehe.]
'It's easy to act cool when you're strong,' Isaac replied.
[Ah. I guess you're right… By the way, Master, the strength of people here really varies! Most are nobodies like these guys, but that lizard girl is on another level. That White-Hair guy on your team also has amazing speed, like a weak Servant.]
'Yes, there's a large variance…'
As Isaac was walking back, the various Regulars discussed the short confrontation.
In her room, Endorsi smirked. 'Heh, interesting. He's not bad. He looks to be a direct descendant. I wonder what his relation to Yuri Jahad is. It's too bad he's going to go up. He seems like a nice guy...'
In another room, Shibisu thought, 'Isaac is very strong. A typical team of Regulars is not his match. I'm not surprised now that he was confident earlier. He might not be any weaker than Anak. It wasn't just a bluff.'
Elsewhere, Laure squinted his eyes. "As I thought, that guy is trouble."
Next to him, Serena complained, "Damn it! That guy is just like that lizard! Why are there so many monstrous guys with us?!"
As Isaac reached the throne in the arena, Khun waved and called out toward him with a small smile, "Isaac. These guys weren't much of a challenge, were they?"
"Yes. They were all weak…"
"Sir Isaac is very strong." Bam softly smiled.
Khun smirked, then when Isaac came closer , he curiously asked, "By the way, if you fought that green-skinned girl. Do you think you'd lose?
He knew that Isaac was strong, but he couldn't tell just how strong. That's why he asked.
"Anak?..." Isaac looked at him. "Nah, I'd win."
…
{Three!}
{Four!}
{Five!}
{The third round starts now!}
After a countdown of five, the third round began.
Isaac looked around.
But not a single gate was raised!
"No one came out, huh…" Isaac muttered.
[Master, they all chickened out! Haha!]
Lero Ro announced. {Cough. Because there are no participants in this round, the third round's winner is the team of Bam, Khun and Isaac!}
"What? No one came out?" Bam commented on the throne, surprised.
Isaac looked at Khun. He saw that Khun looked perfectly composed as if he already expected this.
Khun faintly smiled back at Isaac. The remaining teams were all scared after seeing Isaac wipe the floor with the other Regulars by himself, just as he expected.
Khun thought, 'With this, the third round is over. Now there are only two more rounds left. More and more teams will come out, and the fighting will only get more intense. But it doesn't mean it will get harder on us.'
In one of the rooms, Laure got up and said, "Let's go out on the next round."
Serena replied, "What? You just saw how strong that guy in armor is! I don't think we should risk it unless it's the last round!"
"No...The fourth round is our best chance. In this game, the team sitting on the throne is at a disadvantage. But that's only true until the third round," Laure explained.
In the arena, Khun thought, 'As the game progresses, the number of participating teams increases. No matter how much they want to beat the team sitting on the throne…'
Laure continued, "... Other teams will interfere to stop them because in the worst case… it's possible that another team will steal the crown from under their nose and instantly end the game."
Khun thought, 'Rather than stopping other teams while fighting for the crown, at that time it's easier to just sit on the throne.'
Laure said, "That's why we'll come out on this round."
Khun thought, 'That's why I'll take out my trump card during this round.'
…
{I will not start the countdown for the Fourth Round!}
{One!...}
During Lero Ro's countdown, Khun turned to Isaac and called out, "Isaac, stay near the throne and save your strength for the last round."
"Hm? Sure." Isaac faintly nodded. There was a high chance that Laure would come out during this round, so that's why he also wanted to stay near the throne.
Standing near the throne at the otherside, sword in hand, Isaac expressionlessly looked out in the direction of the Regulars' rooms.
Khun looked at him, somewhat surprised. 'He's strangely composed.'
From the beginning, Khun felt as if Isaac was able to see straight through him and his actions, noticing things like the difficulty he had in pulling his bag through the Shinsoo veil or the change in how he handled the bag when he returned from the toilet after letting out the other team, or noticed how he had changed his hairstyle to send out a signal in the arena.
'Did he notice what I did? Is he so observant? He's really exceptional…'
Looking at Isaac made Khun feel as if everything was in his control and they would never lose, no matter the circumstances.
{Five!}
{The countdown has ended. The Fourth Round of the Crown Game begins now!}
Khun was forced to brush away his thoughts as the countdown ended. He looked around the arena.
At another side of the throne, Isaac also scanned the entire arena with his gaze. In an instant, he noticed that four gates opened up.
Khun thought, 'Four teams, which means it's the maximum number of participants. It's more than I thought.'
Isaac thought similarly, then looked around and settled his eyes on a team that he hadn't seen during the previous tests and that had only appeared during the break time. 'These guys should be Khun's secret allies.'
Khun noticed Isaac zone in on his secret allies and was surprised. 'He noticed?'
At the edges of the arena, the Regulars slowly converged.
One of them called out, "Hey! Let's not fight each other yet! Let's first take out the guys with the crown! Then we can fight afterwards! How's that?"
"I agree! We need to work together to beat them!" Serena shouted back.
"That's fine with me!" Leon 3 replied.
It was at that moment when one of the Regulars, a large bird like monster, shot out a tentacle out of its math and swiped across the face of the man that first called out for a truce.
As the man was knocked back, several tentacles grabbed around a skinny black-skinned swordsman, restraining him.
A man with a mohawk rushed in and knocked out the black-skinned swordsman.
In the meantime, a little black-haired girl approached a fat mace-wielding man and muttered a chant to make him collapse.
Watching this, Khun thought, 'Good. But there are more teams here than I thought. I have to help out.'
"Isaac, protect Bam!"
Leaving these words behind, Khun rushed out with a knife and his suitcase.
Isaac silently acknowledged the request didn't move from the spot as he focused on blocking any attacks that might fly at Bam.
He watched as the team of Khun and three of his allies fought against the remaining five Regulars.
It was a four against five, but Khun's side had a clear advantage in strength. One by one, the enemy Regulars were quickly being eliminated.
Among the enemies, Isaac noticed a burly and muscular young man with small wings among the enemy Regulars.
He noted him to be someone quite strong and someone that seemed to tag along with the main cast for a while. However, that man was completely overwhelmed by Khun's speed.
At the same time, one of the Regulars remained sleeping on the ground while wrapped in a blanket, not participating in the fighting at all.
After slashing the red-haired Regular's leg tendon from behind, making him fall to one knee, Khun glanced toward the sleeping man and slightly frowned. 'This guy was just sleeping there from the start of the game. He's one of those that easily passed through the Shinsoo barrier. He bothers me the most.'
Khun then looked toward the throne, where Isaac was, and felt relieved. He smirked. 'Even if he's planning something, it's going to fail.'
"Damn it, Laure!!! Do something!" Serena shouted as she began running away while slashing at the giant bird's tentacles following her.
At her side, Ho also began running away from a guy with a mohawk after the other Regulars were already mostly eliminated. He shouted out in a panic, "Mr. Laure!"
Sigh.
Laure let out a helpless sigh as he opened his eyes and slightly got up from the ground. Looking over, he clearly saw that the strong Regular in armor remained near the throne and didn't move, just as he already felt was the case by reading Shinsoo during his nap.
He frowned.
Before this round he told his teammates: "There are bound to be other teams that come out during this round. Work with them, use whatever methods you can, and drag away the armored guy and the white hair from the throne. I'll take care of the rest."
When that happens, he would blow away the kid from the throne with a Shinsoo attack.
But their plan failed. The armored Regular never left the throne.
Laure thought, 'I didn't think they'd actually have secret allies and make use of them during this round. They are very good. Four teams came out, but it was useless. We lost.'
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