And thus the sun rose onto the third day. The Dwarf King grabbed me on the way out yesterday, so we were partying until quite late. I had wanted to speak with Masayuki, but of course the king takes priority. Well, I guess I'll have Shuna pass him a message. And there will probably be an opportunity to talk later anyways. While I was partying with the dwarf king, the empress of Sarion joined (trespassed) which led me to in introduce them to each other. We again exchanged promises of research cooperation, so I can probably expect Tempest to develop many wonderful things in the future. Thus, the important topic was decided with alcohol aplenty. Is that alright? I had my doubts about it, but if you think about it, plenty of negotiations conclude while people are drinking. It's probably something similar to that. The only difference would be the scale–a company matter as compared to a national one.
Now that, including the preliminaries, a few days have passed, the spectators have gotten used to the road to the arena. Plus comfortable housing and delicious meals. The spectators are now merrily proceeding to the arena, smiles on their faces in anticipation of the sights they will see today. Furthermore, not just people from countries who have had a history together, but also those from regions that never before associated with each other are happily chatting together. And Myormiles sent his merchants to spread the rumors of the dungeon among those groups. Should I be impressed or what? They make up some plausible rumors like: "You know those amazing weapons from yesterday? Seems like they were discovered in the dungeon!" But seriously, it is true that I ordered for this to happen, but I did not think things would go so well. In any case, seems like adventurers who specialize in guard duties are also interested in the dungeon now, so a job well done.
Compared to the jubilant spectators, there's also a group which is dampening the mood. The Tengu. They are very flustered–probably because they have recognized how wrong they were about our power after watching the Department Heads fight. Momiji reddened after seeing Benimaru's first match, and all the Tengu's faces turned blue after watching yesterday's matches. And now, their faces are completely white, as if burned out. Thanks for amusing me with the face color changes folks. Chances are, the color of their faces perfectly corresponds to which memory of disrespect towards me they are recalling. The tengu are a high monster race, possessing strong power and pride, so they probably underestimated my country's abilities. But, after watching the matches, they have realized just how far off the mark their common sense is which depressed them. Of course, I can't explain why Momiji turned red after watching Benimaru's match, but I'm going to guess the tengu will appear once again before me to ask for an alliance. Should that happen, the great Jura Forest will completely come under my dominance, which is probably a good thing.
Now then, I have planned for 4 matches to happen today. It's a miracle Gobuta is still in the running, but I guess we have 8 individuals of name and fame fighting today. Certainly something worth to watch. Now then, the first match of the day,
9th Round: Benimaru vs Souei
A fight between rivals; I am looking to the outcome.
For this match, it was hard to decide whether Shuna or Souka would be the announcer. Souka is Souei's subordinate, and Shuna is Benimaru's sister. While the two were arguing,
「I guess it can't be helped. I guess it's my turn now?」
Shion said, raising her hand…
「「It's not your turn. Sit and watch」」
Benimaru and Souei said simultaneously, quickly shooting down Shion's suggestion. And the result: Trembling from a desire to do it, Milim stole the mic. Well, yeah. I didn't expect her to accept being a spectator the whole time anyways. And since she got her hands on it, I doubt she'll let it go. So she'll be the announcer for the day. The spectators are perfectly happy with the result. After all, she is clearly a very adorable girl. As long as they don't figure out her true nature, everything will be fine~. It's out of my hands now. Let's pray to the heavens that things will end peacefully.
On Milim's command, the match began. Both moved at the same time. Souei started by attacking and attempting to bind Benimaru with『Steel Thread』but Benimaru burned all of it using a fire aura. As if it was the most obvious result in the world, Souei quickly dropped this approach. And that;'s when their real battle began.
Benimaru's crimson tachi crossed with Souei's twin nijatou. Souei dual wielding, Benimaru with a single flame tachi. Benimaru has turned into a being composed of fire itself, nullifying physical attacks. So Souei's normal swords could hardly damage him. On the other hand, though ever so slightly, Souei's resistance was being overcome by the overwhelming force before him. This match was in Benimaru's favor. Even if Souei had deployed his clones, since they cannot perfectly replicate his abilities, these weaker beings could hardly damage Benimaru. Which is why Souei did not seem as though he intended to deploy them at all.
At this rate Souei will lose… well, when I thought so, he disappeared. Chances are, he had been using a clone to divert our attention this whole time. What a superb actor he is. And, no doubt about it, it was a truly high grade skill. He hid himself using that wonderful performance. And now, he will act with his unique skill『Assassin』which will be really hard to defend against. It is possible to evade the attack if you are conscious of where he is, but as he is now, it has a 100% chance to land. That's that power of his『Assassin』. And since it's a direct attack on the spirit, those with untrained spirit will immediately perish. So surely this is Souei's victory… or so I thought…
「Naive!」
Benimaru shouted, and cut at Souei who had appeared from his blind spot. The tachi stopped right above Souei's neck, and Souei too stopped moving. Benimaru's victory. You see, Benimaru has this unique skill『Generalissimo』which he uses to command all the troops. Though it's not a anti-personnel skill, it does come with a useful perk. Space recognition. He has the highest spatial recognition ability. Normally, he uses it to comprehend the entire theater of battle by viewing the entirety of space and sub-space at once. So once he has perceived an opponent, he will not lose them even if they are but a shadow in the sub space. So it may be impossible to evade Benimaru's detection. In short, Souei was at a disadvantage from the very first second.
「Fu. My first defeat, huh」
「Yeah, one win a thousand ties」
「One loss, huh? I will no longer fight you. Losing any more is too painful」
「Hahaha, it's thanks to may ability, that's all. Skill wise, we're about the same」
With bitter smiles on their faces, there stood Benimaru and Souei. Truly, they were both skillful. Physical ability is also just about the same; unique skill is what made the difference. Honestly, what a wonderful match! And a thunderous applause filled the stadium when Milim announced Benimaru the winner. The previously ashen-faced tengu Momiji was now bright red, and stood clapping. It's a good thing she has finally recovered.
Who would have thought that we would have such an exciting match right away? Well, I have now finally decided their standing. Benimaru will be vanguard, Souei will fight from the shadows. Yeah, that's exactly how we've always done things; but now I am certain that this is the best way to do it.
＊ ＊ ＊
10th Round: Gobuta vs Ranga
TL Note: I do not take responsibility for how you interpret this scene. Remember the importance of consent!
While the excitement from the last match is yet to fall, and right before lunch, we're going to have our second match. The Clearly-in-the-wrong-place Gobuta, and the I-haven't-played-enough-with-Gabil-so-I'm-excited-to-go Ranga. Ah, Gobuta's despair will make my meal delicious. I mean… I hope that doesn't happen…
The moment the match began, Gobuta charged Ranga… A suicide bombing?! I thought,
「I'll do it~su… You're going down~su」
He ran in desperately screaming. He's serious, ain't he. Way to go Gobuta. I will not forget your valiant sacrifice! Fare thee well, Gobuta!! Having paid my respects to Gobuta in my heart, I noticed that my food really did seem more delicious with his despair as a spice, and felt a bit rude as a result…
And then, Gobuta activated his extra skill『Union』and clung unto Ranga!
Huh?! I thought surprised. Benimaru, Souei, and Shion too, stood gaping at the scene before us. Completely unexpected. "What the hell is he doing?!" is written on our faces. Ranga is raging, refusing to become one, but is unable to throw him off. His anger reaching its peak, Ranga decided to shoot Gobuta off his back with black lightning. And that was the end for Gobuta. I promptly decided to go down with a full recovery potion in my hand…
「Agagyaaaa…. Aaa, ah, ah? Huh? Huuuh? It doesn't hurt~su?」
Gobuta lifted his head asking. Seriously?! Even I cannot hide my astonishment. Even the guests, blinded by the light from that lightning bolt, were sure the match had been decided. Knowing how powerful it is, the Department heads were sure Gobuta was killed. Many appeared just like that. I mean, yeah, that's how it should be. Even I was about to rush in with a full recovery potion before he actually passed away. But he's completely unharmed. I can hear Ranga's fangs grind in anger.
≪Confirmed. Individual: Gobuta has awakened the unique skill『Bestow me with thy power! (Magic Wolf Summoner)』. He is now able to unite with a wolf he summoned.≫
W-what did you say!! Is Gobuta a genius?! Actually, I guess he always was. I mean, consider this unification business. Even though not a single of Ranga's subordinates can do it, Gobuta managed to do it with Ranga who was resisting. In other words, Ranga cannot harm him with his abilities. So it's a tie. But this is clearly Gobuta's victory. Milim, what do you think? I sent that kind of glance at her, and she replied with a "I also think Gobuta won!"
「This match has concluded! Winner: Gobuta!!」
Milim announced. And the arena erupted in cheers. Gobuta hopped off the horse, with a look of a cowboy who has tamed a raging stallion. Having heard this announcement, Ranga dropped his head and sat. His tail fell to the ground, motionless.
「Won, I won~su! I actually won~su!!」
Gobuta shouted gleefully, and was congratulated by Touka, Saika, Nansou and Hokusou. No, truly an unexpected result. We did not make bets, but if we did I would have bet against him. So let's praise him: wonderfully done. To think that he was the kind of guy who excelled when under pressure; he has displayed wonderful growth. By challenging Ranga fearlessly he was able to obtain a unique skill. I guess I will just have to praise him today.
The second match of the day was thus Gobuta's victory. Truly beyond expectation. Whether it was according to Raphael's prediction, I do not know, and I bet Raphael would not answer. Such were my thoughts while I was watching the joyful Gobuta.
Before the lunch break, Ranga hobbled over.
「I have no excuses, my master… I have shown a truly disgraceful performance」
Hanging his head, Ranga was reflecting on his mistake. But, in a sense, this is only possible because of Gobuta's victory. Well, it probably happened because Ranga let his guard down. So,
「Ranga, do you now understand? If you look down on your opponent this is the result. From now on, reflect on your mistake and stop looking down on people!」
「As you have said… I seem to have become too arrogant. I shall be more cautious in the future」
All's good if he understand. He's been too laid-back recently, so this is good medicine. In fact, I have to thank Gobuta for teaching Ranga a lesson here. When I thought to add this,
「Of course, I am also grateful to Gobuta. If he calls for me, I will answer his call」
Ranga nodded. What an unfair power Gobuta has acquired–summoning Ranga. Well, I hope the two of them can get along from now on and come to each other's aid. According to Raphael,『Bestow me with thy power!』is a degraded version of one of my skills, and since I have greater authority, he'll be able to summon Ranga as long as I don't need him. Thus, I asked Ranga to take care of Gobuta from now on. In other words, Gobuta can use him in the upcoming matches. So I guess I should look forward to Benimaru vs Gobuta.
＊ ＊ ＊
After the lunch ended, the next match began.
11th Match: Beretta vs Diablo
If these two fights with all of their strength, I do not know who would win. So it's a match I was truly looking forward to. Without a shout or a sound, the two smoothly began the match.
From the onset, the two completely negate physical attacks, so this won't devolve into physical combat. Overwhelming the opponent with one's abilities may also not work, so it's best to use just enough power to get through. That is, rather than nuking the entire region, it's better to fire a single highly dense fireball. Sure, for lower beings–common soldiers, you should burn a large area so that the heat will burn their very lungs, but that doesn't work on high beings with multiple barriers. So it's likely that we'll be seeing some impressive pinpoint abilities. Now then, how will this battle go.
Without a chant, Diablo shot a number of fireballs at Beretta. Every single one being of extreme heat, he probably planned to melt him. But that attack did not as much scratch Beretta, and Beretta countered
「Calamity Cannon!」
He suddenly fired off his 『Holy Demon Combination』instant death unique skill. Suddenly trying to end this with a bang. This skill combines the two opposite attributes–Holy and Demon–and so cannot be blocked. But,
「Kufufufu. I guess I can't use cheap tricks here. Moreover, testing you here just might end in my defeat」
Seems like Diablo teleported behind Beretta, evading the attack. So completely-unhurt Diablo told Beretta who had fired that instant death skill. No matter how powerful of an skill it may be, Diablo can always evade it using "Paradise Time." Thus, Beretta's instant death skill is sealed. But, without appearing nervous at all,
「I see, as expected of Diablo-sama. You are in fact a great demon who has lived for many moons. However, I too am your equal. Please do not hold back!」
He shouted, and wearing "fighting spirit" on his hands, he attacked Diablo.
「Kufufufufu. Oh the young people these days… But very well, I guess I'll go all out!」
As if with a bow to Beretta, Diablo clad his hands in『Demon Lord's Ambition』and engaged. Close quarter combat had begun. Punching each other and throwing kicks. Even though I had thought that the caster that Diablo is he'd be at a disdvantage, he actually seemed stronger. Each time he struck, Beretta had to begin regenerating and was thus being pressed. In the end, whether the spirit or the body, the one who crushes the other will emerge victorious. Break the spirit and the defense will crumble. So if you surpass your opponent you win. A good match it was. And one that was easy for the spectators to understand, with a clear victor.
In the end stood only one. Diablo. It was his victory, where he dominated by strength.
「Well, your Beretta did pretty well. But the one who also beat my Lion Mask was just too strong. In other words, it's not like my Lion Mask would lose to your Beretta!」
I'm not sure if Milim was trying to console Ramiris or make fun of her. After announcing Diablo's victory she specifically came over just to say that. Seems like she's still holding a grudge. As for Ramiris, I could hear her teeth grinding, but what can you do–it's a difference of strength. It was so obvious she can't refute.
And thus, the third match of the day, though ended in a simple brawl, did not feel like that at all.