Kapitel 16: Chapter 16. The final round
{The Crown Game is becoming more and more exciting! And now we only have the final round left!}
{The count will start now, so any joining teams, please press the buzzer!}
{One!}
{Two!...}
…
"Wow, it's crowded," said Khun once the fifth round started.
During the last round, four new teams joined the game, filling the maximum quota of participants. Isaac and Khun could instantly see that.
"Our allies are here too," Khun told Isaac.
Before this, he already told Isaac that they will receive support from one of the teams.
'And there is the team from the other test spot. They must be the most dangerous ones,' Khun thought, looking at a team of three people wearing cloaks.
From the start, Isaac's eyes honed in on Rak and Hwa Ryun. He knew that this round would be the most chaotic. 'Rak is here too. And that masked woman with a staff should be Hwa Ryun.'
Right after the round started, the woman with a staff rushed out at a nearby team.
'Hm?!' Khun turned to look there in surprise.
A staff smashed one of the Regular's faces.
It was the face of one of his allies - Blarouse!
After knocking out Blarous, the staff wielder took out the rest of his allied team of Regulars in an instant!
Khun looked on in shock. 'What the?... What the hell. Why are they fighting among themselves?!'
His trump card that he brought in for the final round was instantly eliminated!
After taking out Khun's allied team, the staff wielder didn't stop. She leaped into the middle of another team led by a muscular dark-skinned and red-haired man, and completely wiped it out as well, as if wanting to eliminate all extras.
Rak looked at this scene while blinking his eyes. He didn't expect that sneaky black turtle to be this strong!
The end of her staff dripping with blood, the masked woman swirled around her staff, gripped it, then silently broke into a sprint, beginning to rush toward the throne.
"Isaac!" Khun called out and rushed out.
"... Got it!"
Isaac gripped his sword as he remained near the throne, assuming the role of a defender.
In the meantime, Khun dashed straight at the staff-wielding Regular, quickly covering the distance of around a hundred meters.
However, just as he neared her, that Regular suddenly kicked off the ground and jumped high over him.
"What the…"
The masked woman flew tens of meters into the air, then kicked off her own staff to accelerate again and began to hurl at the throne like a cannonball, her staff magically following behind her.
Crackle, crackle.
Seeing the approaching masked figure in a tight black suit, crimson electricity crackled around Isaac's body. He knew that he at least had to pretend to want to protect Bam.
Using Shinsoo Burst should not be necessary to defeat anyone here, but he knew that it helps him in movement when he's airborne.
Seeing Hwa Ryun approaching, Isaac kicked off the ground. With a subtle explosion of force, he turned into a crimson thunderball hurling straight up as if he were flying.
Seeing this, the eyes of the various Regulars became glued straight to him.
Even Khun didn't mind anything else and only stared at Isaac. 'What is this…'
Flying up straight to intercept the staff wielder, Isaac slashed out with his sword. "Aaahr!"
In a hurry, Hwa Ryun called over her staff and slammed down with both arms.
Bam!
As a result of the impact of the two weapons, the masked woman was suddenly sent flying back in an arc while spinning backwards. The force of vibration from her staff even made her let go of her weapon!
'What is this strength?!'
Hwa Ryun was shocked.
Being made to do backflips as she flew back, her arms numb, she forced herself to regain her balance and then agilely landed on the ground squatting.
She looked up, looking at the armored person in the distance.
The truth is that she was not a true newbie Regular, but a Guide. With her abilities as a Guide, she could freely travel to any floor she wanted. Her strength was beyond that of an F-rank Regular.
However, just after that one exchange she knew that she was already completely outmatched by this anomaly!
'Damn it, I'm not here to fight that strange Irregular…' Hwa Ryun cursed inwardly.
Apart from this, just looking at him made her guide eyes hurt. She didn't like it.
"Heh. He's pretty good." Among the Regulars in the arena, a cloaked girl with brown hair smirked.
"This is Iron Turtle's true power?..." Rak looked on with a solemn expression.
A Flying Armored Electro Turtle! What a turtle!
"Sir Isaac…" Bam muttered.
"Isaac…" Khun was also astonished. He knew that Isaac was strong, but what he could do had surpassed his expectations. That leotard woman was already very strong, way stronger than him without Shinsoo, but she was still easily flung back by Isaac.
"Mister Khun!"
Hearing Bam's shout, Khun suddenly turned away just in time to intercept a sword strike flying at him.
The one who sneak-attacked him was a dual-wielding man with long black hair. Khun recognized him as one of the teammates of that staff wielding woman.
"Don't look away, brat! She's not the only one on our team!" The Regular said with confidence.
"Hn!" Khun snorted and engaged him, blocking his attacks with his bag and knife.
In the meantime, Isaac controlled electric Shinsoo and landed back near the throne.
His breathing was still quickened after the exchange. Not because he had overused his strength, but because it felt quite stressful to try pulling off these kinds of superhuman moves for the first time while holding back the right amount of strength.
"Iron Turtle, here I come! Aaaaghr!"
Isaac turned to see Rak beginning to run toward him with his spear.
This made him roll his eyes again. This Rak was getting more courageous the stronger his enemy was!
At the same time, Hwa Ryun also received back her staff and began dashing toward the throne again.
However, a young girl with brown hair had dashed in to intercept her. Isaac recognized her as the young Endorsi.
"Isn't that suit embarrassing? I can't bear to see that leotard," Endorsi said, faintly smirking.
Hwa Ryun stopped and looked at the person in front of her.
"What are you starting at? Am I that pretty?"
Hwa Run didn't answer and hurled her staff at the Jahad Princess.
"How mean."
Endorsi controlled her shield tool to block the staff and took out some needles from her bag, throwing them at her enemy.
Hwa Ryun dodged those needles, but in the next moment Endorsi appeared right in front of her. She hurriedly sent a high kick at her.
Endorsi dodged it, then appeared right in front of her face, even closer, making it appear as if she teleported. "Look closer if you want."
Hwa Ryun hurriedly jumped back to avoid Endorsi's own kick, then called back her staff.
"Hm." Endorsi faintly smiled.
While the two blocked each other, Rak continued dashing straight at Isaac with a battle cry. "Aaaaaaaaaarrr!"
However, before Rak managed to reach Isaac, a giant that dwarfed even him in size intercepted him at high speed, slashing at him with a meat cleaver like weapon.
'What the…'
Rak hurriedly blocked the strike, but his arms still went numb from the exchange and he was pushed back. He stopped and looked up at the masked giant in front of him.
'What a big turtle…'
"Grrrrrrrrr…" The giant growled at him and stopped him from reaching the throne.
While the giant blocked Rak, Khun was busy fighting the dual-wielding swordsman and Endorsi engaged Hwa Ryun, Isaac saw another person jogging toward him and Bam, wearing a cloak.
Their head was covered with a hood, but at first glance it was a girl. Her speed was way more ordinary compared to others.
Still staying near the throne, Isaac readied his sword, but didn't move away from Bam.
"Don't worry, we're here to help!" the girl called out and after coming closer, then turned around, as if to help him protect the throne.
Isaac frowned. How could he not guess that it was Rachel. After he gathered his words, he called back, "If you want to help, then get lost!"
In response, the girl didn't reply and simply began to stand there as if on guard.
Isaac narrowed his eyes, but also didn't move.
He looked toward the throne and saw a petrified expression on Bam's face. It seemed that Bam recognized this girl's voice.
'Yeah, it's Rachel without a doubt,' Isaac's heart thought.
Following that, Isaac didn't move. He continued guarding the throne while overseeing the arena.
Rachel was a crucial character for this world and also a crucial character for Bam's development.
He didn't care about silly things like liking or not liking her. Putting aside the fact that she was a fictional character that he didn't even know, he had his own goals.
Even if he could kill her here, there would be no point in doing that and it would only be detrimental for him.
At that time, Khun had already dealt with the dual-wielding swordsman with a ponytail. 'Hm, he talked big, but he was just average. '
He then looked around.
He saw a giant pushing back the crocodile while the cloaked brown-haired girl was fighting the leotard with a staff. Isaac was guarding the throne together with another cloaked figure.
Khun thought, 'I don't know why they're helping us, but one thing is for sure. They're not interested in the crown. But what are they thinking?'
"I told you, your attacks won't work. I was asked to help, so you won't get past me, tights," Endoris said while swirling around a small needle in her hand.
Hwa Run threw her staff at Endorsi again, controlling it with Shinsoo.
Clang!
Endorsi blocked it by controlling her floating shield.
"How stubborn!"
Hwa Run dashed forward and sent a high kick at the princess's face.
Endorsi blocked it and began to fight in close quarters. "Argh! Hey! How can you kick a girl's face? Are you crazy? I'll smash that mask and ruin your face! You jerk! Damn it!"
'How childish.' Khun rolled his eyes and began to back his way back to the throne.
As he turned over, he saw that the crocodile was already defeated by the giant. The only enemy left standing was the leotard.
His face was expressionless as he felt confused by this development, but it looked that this game was as good as won!
Endorsi threw a barrage of needles at her opponent, controlling them with Shinsoo.
Hwa Ryun spun around her staff and blocked all of the needles flying at her.
"Good defense! But this is as close as you get! It will be embarrassing if I take too long! It's time to finish it! Leotard!"
Endorsi began to dash forward as Hwa Ryun retreated, but she stumbled on her high heel shoe that suddenly loosened.
"Ouch!"
Making use of this chance, Hwa Ryun leaped into the air to disengage, then kicked off her staff.
Leaving behind Endorsi, she began to fly in the direction of the throne.
"Oops."
However, she didn't fly straight toward the throne, but to the side of it.
She landed in front of the hooded girl and then swiped out with her staff.
The round stuff hit the hooded girl's face, sending blood flying and throwing off her hood.
"Rachel?"
After seeing the girl's face, seeing her wounded, Bam leaped off the throne without hesitation to stop the follow-up attack.
"No, Bam!" Khun shouted.
Isaac frowned. In his eyes everything was happening in slow motions, so he saw it very clearly.
Bam leaped off the chair and then landed on top of the blonde girl in a cloak, shielding her with his own body and receiving a staff strike with his head.
Bam!
Blood was sent flying as the heavy strike landed on Bam's head.
The Regular in a leotard raised her staff again, preparing another strike.
"Damn it! Isaac!"
Together with Khun's shout, Isaac appeared behind Bam and prepared to block the next strike.
But there was no need. He did not even move a muscle.
Energy stirred in the air and a watery blade shot at the girl in the leotard, cutting her mask in half in a single blow.
What was that?
Everyone was shocked.
Khun, Endorsi and all the watching Regulars.
That included Lero Ro as well who watched the fight through his LightHouse. 'What… happened?'
In everyone's eyes, without Isaac even having to move an inch, an energy blade formed and slashed at the enemy.
"Aaaaaaah!" Red hair and red blood poured out from behind the shattered mask, and the girl screamed out in pain while kneeling down and covering her face.
At the same time, Bam fainted.
"Bam…" The blonde girl looked at the unconscious boy in her arms."... Bam? Hey!!! W-wake up! Bam!!!"
Isaac slightly squinted his eyes at this scene. It looked as if Rachel was genuinely worried about Bam here, which slightly surprised him.
At that moment, Khun entered the arena.
After taking a look at Bam, Khun and Endorsi both looked at Isaac.
Isaac could also feel the attention of the other Regulars in the room being directed straight at him as well.
However, he knew well that it wasn't him who did that final attack. It was of course Bam. He himself only stood there.
[What happened, Master? Was it that kid who did this?]
***
Following that incident, the team that remained didn't take the crown.
The Crown Game ended without a winning team. Both the red-haired girl and Bam were hospitalized.
After the Crown Game was over, the teams were disbanded and a three day break was given to all Regulars, due to many of them being either injured or exhausted.
At that time, the Regulars that remained were all assigned their own rooms.
After retreating to his room, Isaac decided to send a message to Yuri Jahad using his Pocket, finally having some privacy and free time. This was something that she asked him to do beforehand.
Thinking of this, Isaac pulled out his Pocket. "Visible mode."
'Hmm…'
To him, it was only several hours ago that he had come to this world and was thrown into the whirlpool of things right after a Holy Grail War, in a new body and with new powers, so everything seemed as unreal as a dream.
But he still couldn't help and admit that he felt satisfied with this new life and his actions so far.
As he was resting on the bed with his arms behind his back, he looked at the black tablet floating in the air and first recalled his experiences so far, his gains and losses.
First, on the First Floor he made friends with Yuri and Evan. He received a customized A-grade pocket and smashed the first test.
After that, he became friends with Bam and Khun, and made connections with various other important characters on the Second Floor like Rak and Shibisu, passing all the tests with ease.
During the Crown Game he showed off high strength, but didn't do anything too crazy.
He allowed Bam to get smacked in the head and become heavily injured, but he felt that it was a necessary event.
Isaac might now be the protagonist of his own story and his own life, but Bam was the protagonist of this world. If he wanted to make it up the Tower, it would be beneficial to be allies with Bam and perhaps have him clear out various obstacles that are meant to be solved by Bam in the first place.
This incident should have also made Bam realize his powers and made his powers become noticed by FUG.
In the first place, it seemed to be a kind of test that FUG itself prepared.
In the end, Bam was knocked unconscious, but survived.
'As long as he survived, it's all good. It's FUG who attacked him anyway. Why should I feel guilty?'
Isaac brushed this thought away. He felt no remorse.
Bam was mostly a stranger for him anyway, they only knew each other for a few hours. He was still a Magus with his own selfish ambitions. He should focus on himself.
[Aaaaaaah! What a pain! We almost won that game! Damn it!!!]
At that moment, Mordred's irritated whines sounded out in Isaac's head.
Hearing this, Isaac slightly chuckled. Wearing a smile, he transmitted: 'No worries. It's fine this way too. We only have to pass the other tests on this floor. I think it will be fun.'
[Sigh... If you say so, Master. Haha.]
Isaac faintly smiled and focused on the Pocket. He felt he should simply tell Yuri that he met Bam and he is fine; there's no point in worrying her when in a few days Bam will probably wake up.
[By the way, Master, I have a feeling that we're being watched.]
'Hmm?' Isaac raised his eyebrows when he heard Mordred's voice. It wasn't something that he could feel.
[I can't sense their presence, but my instincts tell me we're being watched.]
Isaac casually looked around the room while acting natural. When Mordred had brought this up, he also began to feel as if something was not right.
After a while, he understood that there would naturally be hidden cameras on this ship and other spying devices. These cannot be sensed like people, but they would definitely be watched by Yu Han Sung and FUG.
'Yes, I feel that we're definitely watched.'
[Right. I wanted to leave Clarent for a bit, but I'll stay hidden. It's better this way.]
Isaac was silent, tacitly agreeing.
He thought to himself, 'Well, let's send a message to Yuri first. If FUG learns of my close connection to Yuri Jahad and that I can even call her if I want to, it should only increase the number of chips I have in my hand...'
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein