Chapitre 38: A Formidable Gladiator
A current of electricity travels through Ramero's body when he heard what the announcer said.
Ramero came here to help Laughing Butcher by pulling this Gladiator, Soul Hunter's attention away. An act that is driven by both instinct and also the Side-Quest issued by the system, but he was not expecting Soul Hunter to be this formidable.
According to the announcer, Soul Hunter has already killed 5 Gladiators from the School of Tyranny.
Since there are only four Gladiators from the school of Tyranny left inside the arena excluding him then that means Soul Hunter was on a killing spree, he's the only one doing the killing from the School of Clarity which is terrifying in its own right.
If he lets on, Gladiators from the School of Tyranny would start to fight two against one.
But Ramero was not planning to jump in if he had known that Soul Hunter is the star of this arena, he unknowingly jumped into a crocodile's sight and willingly provoke it. Now he got Soul Hunter's attention all for himself since he sneaked attack him from the side.
On top of that, he also remembered the briefing with the Regulator earlier.
During the briefing, they also discussed the Gladiators that they need to be wary about. Of course, each school has the privilege to hide its line-ups in each undercard match, making it hard for the other school to guess when certain Gladiators are going to be deployed.
From the School of Clarity, there are three Gladiators that need more attention than the others.
They were Soul Hunter, Suburban Victor, and Long-haired Snake.
Each has a different fighting style which makes them formidable Wolf Gladiators, and it's been said to fight them with great care. But the School of Clarity is not the only one with formidable Gladiators, the School of Tyranny has a roaster of its own.
Head Crusher and Brutal Brawler were the formidable Gladiators from the School of Tyranny.
Both of them has more than ten performance under their belts.
Expecting the School of Clarity to put two of their best Gladiators in the first undercard match, the Regulator assigned Head Crushed and Brutal Brawler in the second undercard match so the fight would be in their favor and they have the best chance to win.
Now that Soul Hunter is here, it seems the Regulator guessed wrong.
Instead of assigning two of their best Gladiators in the first undercard match, only Soul Hunter is assigned here. This means the second undercard match would be an equal fight, while the first undercard match would tilt more to the School of Clarity.
Once again Ramero knows that the Regulator doesn't give a damn about the other Gladiators.
Assigning Head Crusher and Brutal Brawler in the second undercard match alone shows that the Regulator has abandoned the thought of winning the first undercard match, and would only focus on the second undercard match.
Ramero is angry at first, but he knows that the Regulator prioritizes the strong ones' safety.
If he was put in the Regulator's shoes, he would probably do the same and prioritize the stronger Gladiator. Soon the anger he felt turns into joy, this just shows that the world he's in right now favors the strong over the weak.
As long as he can prove that he's strong, he would get the same privilege in treatment.
'Beating this Soul Hunter would earn me a spot at the top, I'll do whatever it takes to take out Soul Hunter and prove my worth as a Gladiator!' Ramero shouted inside his head, his eyes fixed on Soul Hunter who is going into his battle stance.
Fire of passion is burning inside his eyes, yearning for the victory that he can achieve.
Unlike the others that Ramero has fought, the stance Soul Hunter has taken doesn't looks like an expert stance. In fact, Soul Hunter looks relaxed with the two blue sabers beside his body, fully exposing his torso to any attack.
Only his head is tilted a little to the side, showing absolute confidence against Ramero.
Compared to Laughing Butcher's stance, this one just doesn't exclude mastery over the sabers.
Although that is the case, Ramero can feel his heart thumping faster as if his body is reacting to Soul Hunter's presence, 'He looks relaxed and even assume a stance that has many holes, but this stance impacts me more than the others. Why...?' Ramero thought with a frown.
Shaking his head, Ramero focuses on the fight and also assumes his stance with two swords.
With the short sword in his left hand and the sword he picks up in his right hand, Ramero inspected Soul Hunter's body to react to a sudden attack. "If you really want to be my sixth victim, just say so Noble Brat. No Brutal Brawler, and no Head Crusher. In this arena, I am the Champion" he taunted threateningly.
"Don't act cocky, you may just be my third victim" Ramero replied with the same tone.
It's true that he's very careful in fighting Soul Hunter knowing the capabilities that allow him to kill five Gladiators in such a short amount of time, but he can't show that to the enemy, or else that would be turned into a source of strength for them.
During a fight, he can't show any weakness. It's fundamental to any fight in the world.
Never show weakness.
As the star Gladiators inside the arena were about to fight, the crowd rumbles in excitement. Many expected the notorious Soul Hunter to win with ease, while others hoped that Noble Brat would win and create an even bigger sensation.
Both are the crowd's favorite right now, and thus the crowd splits into two sides.
In the midst of the cheering crowd, there's a man covered in a hood watching the fight below, he was none other than Lucas that caught the news of the fight in Deathbound Colosseum that involved the Gladiator School of Tyranny.
Even though he was rejected by Ramero to help Merona, he was still unwilling to give up.
Out of everyone in the world, he wanted Ramero to help him or at least be with him. At first, he was not expecting much from Ramero, he only wants Ramero to be there when he rescued Merona knowing Merona really adores Ramero that always there for her.
Now that he was here, watching the fight, he was completely at a loss for words.
Although he knows that Ramero has gotten stronger to the point of taking down the assassins sent to kill him himself, he was not there to see how Ramero did that. Lucas was not expecting this level of strength. Unlike regular people, Gladiators are seasoned fighters that are fierce and vicious like an animal.
It was also common for them to have a super-human physique, making them stronger than normal.
There are even some Gladiators that are comparable to an actual Mage, showing that they are not just animals but also a fighter that is highly skilled in combat. And yet, Ramero has taken down two of them with relative ease.
Knowing full well what Ramero is capable of before, this is close to a miracle in Lucas' eyes.
"Brother... what happened to you? Did you really manage to find it at the edge of your life and climb back up like this?" Lucas mutters to himself at the center of the sea of people, watching his own brother preparing to fight a monster in the arena.
With this kind of power, he should be able to help rescue Merona greatly.
Clenching both of his fists with his sharp eyes stared right at Ramero who is facing off against Soul Hunter, he becomes determined once again, 'I don't want to believe that you don't care about us anymore. No matter what, I'm going to prove to you that you still care about us and especially Merona!'
Back in the arena, Ramero's ears are full of the cheering of the crowds.
Remembering the tips that Laughing Butcher said to him during their travel here, Ramero glanced to the side in search of the time limit. He's been said that there's a time limit, and if he survived after the time ends then he would survive.
Just beside the announcer's stage, there's a blue holographic light showing the time.
Although it looks similar to the projection screen that is produced by a projector back in his home world, this blue light should be made with magic instead. 'Three more minutes, if I can drag this on then I'll be able to survive without the need to beat Soul Hunter' Ramero thought.
As he thought of that, his eyes darted back to Soul Hunter feeling a sense of crisis.
"Where are you looking at..."
Clang!!
Brak!
In the nick of time, Ramero managed to raise both of his swords to block Soul Hunter's powerful swing. But the power of that swing pummeled him onto the ground, and the muscles on his arms bulged trying their hardest to keep their ground.
"Don't you ever take your eyes off of me when you're fighting me!" Soul Hunter roared in anger.
Ramero smiled with his teeth clenched, "Well you can't blame me, from someone that has high confidence in beating me, you do take your time inspecting me. Almost as if you're careful of me" he replied with a sneer.
But he didn't intend to be pinned on the ground like this and kick Soul Hunter in the stomach.
'Front Kick!'
Bam!
Even though the Front Kick skill landed solidly, Soul Hunter was clearly not that fazed by that kick. It was surprising since none of the Gladiators can handle his Front Kick skill, they would be hurting themselves if they did.
This is the first time someone eats his Front Kick skill and doesn't seem to be hurt.
With that Front Kick skill, he managed to push Soul Hunter back which allows him to stand up once again. Claiming back his battle stance, he didn't waste time to be on the offensive now. Ramero dashes forward with two swords in his hands.
In the midst of the dash, he realized that his endurance is eating him away.
From the excessive use of Front Kick skill, he feels the fatigue kicking in and it wouldn't take long for him to be exhausted. It's going to be the end if he gassed out mid-fight. But Ramero can only clench his teeth and pushes forward, 'If I want to do any damage to Soul Hunter, I need to keep using it. I need to force my body to the absolute limit!'
Ramero fortifies his decision and takes one strong stomp before he propels his body forward.
Although the Front Kick skill sounded a bit plain and only has limited use, this match has opened some paths for Ramero. Aside from using it to amplify his offense, he can also use this skill to propel his body in a direction faster.
Utilizing the skill this way, he manages to reach Soul Hunter swiftly.
Like two ferocious animals engaging in a fight, Ramero and Soul Hunter started exchanging blows with their swords. Sparks exploded from each friction from their powerful clash, and the sound of their swords clashing overwhelm the fighting sound from other Gladiators.
Each of their moves steals the crowd's attention, making their fight the center of attention.
Despite holding two swords in his hands instead of one, Ramero did the combination that he learned from Laughing Butcher. A horizontal slash with his short sword was the start, and Soul Hunter leaned back to avoid it.
But his body quickly shifted his center of gravity, making his recovery from that pretty quick.
Ramero follows his slash with another horizontal slash but this time he uses the other sword in his right hand. It was a swift movement but Soul Hunter is able to be a tiny bit faster and dodged the attack relatively easily.
Although Soul Hunter defended himself greatly, the combination is not finished.
Jumping into the air while letting his arms followed the momentum of the sword, he brings both swords up and slashes down with an oblique slash aiming for Soul Hunter's chest. 'I can hit him, this time he won't be able to defend against this!' Ramero thought excitedly.
Due to the dodging, Soul Hunter is still off balance and it's going to be hard for him to move.
Smiling excitedly, Ramero pushes down his sword with all of his might but a steely sound alongside a spark appears in his eyes that slowly open wider. Soul Hunter manages to block the attack before he smiled evilly, "Hey... Can't you see that I won against Laughing Butcher? Why are you using his move?"
"Eh...?" Ramero was stunned for a moment.
But a devastating force flung him away in the next second, sending him crashing away, "HUAKHH!"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone