CH95: Martial arts competition 2
After killing some time, it was finally time for my game, so I went back to the waiting room.
“Ah, Mr. Orn, I’ve been looking for you! Why weren’t you in the waiting room? You were right…”
You’ve been looking for me.
I get a lot of complaints from the guys in charge when they see me.
Excuse me. I was just out for a walk.
“… Well, that’s all right. We’ve already started the last game, so get ready.”
The official has just finished the last game.
Derrick came into the waiting room from the game.
Derrick catches sight of me and glares at me with a furious expression on his face.
“Hey! Come on! I’ll beat you to a pulp in front of the people tomorrow!”
You’re still the same annoying son of a bitch. I told you to stay out of my life, but you keep coming at me.
Well, this is my fault, too.
“It’s nice to have your support.”
I’m not rooting for you!
He gives Derrick a quick nod and walks out of the waiting room.
When I came to the back, I saw a circular game hall spread out in front of me.
That bracelet is a magical tool, isn’t it? You’re not allowed to bring magic tools into the tournament. Please hand over the device or the magic stone attached to it.
The right bracelet is stowed away and then the sword belt and two swords for the martial arts tournament are taken out.
Then take the magic stone from the bracelet on the left and hand it to the attendant.
I don’t want to give someone else a magical tool.
The belt is tied around the waist, the long sword at the left hip and the short sword at the rear.
As I was getting ready, I heard the MC’s voice.
“Well, there’s only one more match left today! Orn Dura, the ace player of the <Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky> and the leading candidate to win this tournament, the <Dragon Slayer> Orn Dura! His opponent is Loretta Weaver of the <Jade Gale>, who has reached the 89th level in the past month and is said to be the closest to an S rank party!”
The emcee’s voice echoes throughout the arena with the same cheers as in the first match.
You guys are fine…
After I’m done getting ready, I slowly walk towards my position at the game.
***
“Nice to meet you, <Dragon Slayer>. I’m getting a little tired of my own bad luck. But if we beat you we’ll be a famous party. So I’m going to win!”
“… I don’t think your party’s fame will change that much regardless of whether you win or lose this match. We’re the party that went from the eighty-sixth layer to the eighty-ninth layer in the past month.”
Right. As of last month, the A rank party that had advanced the most was the party that Bannerd of <Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky> belonged to.
But in the past month, he’s quickly risen to the top of the A rank party.
I can honestly say that I applaud this breakthrough.
It is not easy to conquer the lower level in such a short period of time, even if it is the middle level.
It’s not enough! Pull out the red copper, pull out the rabbit, pull out the akebono, we’re going to be <the brave ones>!”
Lauretta holds up the two long swords in her hands.
Can a woman handle it without a buff? Strength-wise.
She’s of standard build, and I have a feeling she’ll be wielded by a sword.
“I see. I want to support your goal, but I have my own reasons why I can’t lose, so I’ll win.”
Draw the long sword from your left hip, lightly lowering your center of gravity and relaxing your whole body.
“Both fighters are ready. Let’s begin the eighth match of the first round!
Lauretta is closing in on us right after we start.
I stay where I am, watching Lauretta’s movements.
Lauretta moves into sword range and swings her right-hand sword horizontally from right to left as I look at her.
… As I predicted, I’m a little swung around by the weight of the sword…
The sword is too heavy for her, and her attacks are too slow.
The actual sword is usually a lot more powerful than the sword in your left hand, but it’s also a lot more powerful than the sword in your right hand.
If he’s swung at you this hard, he’ll have a big opening after he finishes swinging his left sword, so he counters.
… But right after that a sword point comes at me from below, right at my throat.
“… !”
You immediately stop the attack, turn your body to avoid the thrust, and leap backwards to keep your distance.
Lauretta was swinging her left sword and then thrusting with her right sword immediately afterwards.
Now that’s a move that requires a strong core.
(Was he bluffing to make it look like he was wielding a sword?)
“Oh, he’s reacting to this. I was hoping to take them out with a single attack!”
Lauretta-san’s voice comes out in a light tone as she closes the distance and then swings her sword again.
The speed of the sword is not that fast, so you can deal with it.
But it’s a lot of work.
He’s taking full advantage of his two swords.
You can avoid or block Lauretta’s slashes, but you can’t attack.
“This is an unexpected development! Orn is not able to turn into an attack! Is he just too busy trying to survive!”
They hit each other’s swords dozens of times.
(I’ve got a pretty good idea of what she’s doing… I think it’s time.)
I’ve been observing her movements enough while she’s attacking me, and I make my move to attack her.
Lauretta compensates for her slow sword speed with her number of moves.
However, the tempo of the attack is almost constant and easy to understand.
First, to break the rhythm, you draw the dagger from your waist with your left hand and strike at her right sword before attacking.
“… What?
When the rhythm of the attack is broken, he swings his long sword.
Lauretta immediately moves to block my attack with her left sword and backsteps away from me.
The first time I saw her, she was in a very good position and she swung her right sword.
I’m afraid that attack won’t reach me.
He’s already seen that her attack will originate from her right sword, and he’s already seen the distance between her swords.
Her attack narrowly misses me and comes up empty.
Swing a long sword at your right arm just after swinging.
The blade is drawn so it won’t cut her, but I can feel her bones breaking through the long sword.
I tried to follow up with the dagger in my left hand, but I gave up when she jumped backwards again and took a large distance away.
Instead, he throws a dagger at the timing of her landing.
Lauretta takes advantage of the gap between you and the flying dagger to avoid it, and closes the distance between you and the dagger, cleaving the long sword horizontally with all her might.
I catch him with my left sword, but he can’t hold his ground and falls to his knees, dropping his sword.
Stick the tip of the sword right in front of him.
“Yeah, I lost.”
“It’s settled! The winner is <Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky>, Orn! Once he turned to attack, it was a one-sided game! He’s still strong, the <Dragon Slayer>!”
The excitement of the host’s voice is echoed in the audience’s excitement.
… It’s still noisy.
“Oh no, I guess I couldn’t win after all… I’m not so naive that I can win with an instant battle style without any buffs~.”
“So that wasn’t your usual way of fighting…”
“Well, you know. That’s just an excuse.”
She was doing well, but if you ask me if she was an ace in an A rank party, I have my doubts.
And sorry about your right arm.
“No, don’t apologize. I knew I was going to get hurt when I decided to enter this tournament.”
Injuries happen in martial arts competitions.
That’s why we have a few good healers on staff.
She’s going to be treated, too.
He should be fine by the end of the day.
“Well, good luck in the next game! “Good luck in the next match! Then I can say that I lost in the first round because I lost to the winner.
“Okay. I’m going to win this thing.”
Thus, the first round of the martial arts tournament ended in victory.
I knew it through this fight.
The rules of this tournament and the explorer are a terrible match.
I appreciate it, but I don’t like the idea of people thinking this is what advanced explorers are capable of.
Thus ends the first day of the advanced explorer’s division of the martial arts tournament.
Three wins to go.
The next round and the semi-finals are not going to be easy to win, but I can’t lose for the sake of my clan and most of all for my own sake.
***
Good morning, everyone! The second round of the tournament is about to begin, as the excitement from yesterday continues!”
The audience was still as excited as yesterday, as if pulled by the high-spirited MC’s voice.
“Now, let’s go over today’s match-up card! In the first match, we have Oliver of the Brave Party against Wilkes of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky. The second match will be Harth of the Red Copper Haze against Aulaf of the Blue Rain. The third match will be Keiron of the Amber Flash against Fuuka of the Red Copper Haze. The fourth match will be between Derrick of the Brave Party and Orn of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky! Especially in the first and fourth games, there will be a clash between S-ranked players! Let’s see, what kind of battle will they show us today…”
Will, how are you?
Orn is waiting in the waiting room with me.
“Not bad. I’ve got a simulation of Oliver’s fight from yesterday. We’re going to win.”
His fighting style was all attack.
If all it does is attack, it’s a good match for my fighting style.
“… I don’t think it’s a good idea to refer to Oliver’s battle yesterday. That’s not to say it’s completely pointless.”
Orn warns me in a worried tone.
“I know. Yesterday’s fighting style could be misleading. I’ll be careful what I say.”
“Now that we’re on time, let’s begin the second round of the Martial Arts Tournament [Advanced Searcher’s Division]! The first match is Oliver Cardiff of the heroes’ party, who yesterday defeated his opponent in an instant with an overwhelming series of blows. His opponent is Wilkes Severley of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky, who took control of the battle and fought skillfully while avoiding his opponent’s attacks!”
They call your names and you walk towards the center of the arena.
Oliver walks in from the other side.
It’s got atmosphere. It looks a bit like Orn ・・・・・・・・.
“Be gentle with me, my hero.”
“…softly? Softly? Don’t be stupid. I’m gonna crush you as hard as I can.”
I meant it as a greeting, but he gave me a serious reply.
With eyes so sharp you’d think you could kill someone just by looking at them.
But I knew he was serious.
I’ve changed my mind and readied my double-bladed sword.
“Then, the first match of the second round, let the games begin!”
The sound of a loud drum echoes around the room as the hostess calls out.
“…?”
In contrast to yesterday, they did not attack us at the beginning of the game.
Are you worried about me? I don’t think so.
My fighting style is basically to match the enemy’s attacks.
I know that if a smart guy saw the way I fought yesterday, he’d see right through me if I didn’t attack him myself.
Then I’ll make my move and take control!
“Oh, Wilkes is moving first! This is the opposite of what we saw yesterday.”
I was close to him but he was still holding his sword and watching my movements.
You’re just like Orn in that way.
But Orn’s better at dealing with them.
I’ve been in many mock fights with Orn, so I should be able to handle any counter attempts!
He wields a double-edged sword.
The blade is closing on Oliver, and he still won’t move.
(What do you mean? We have to move now, or we’ll miss the counter… What?)
Before the blade could reach Oliver, it hit something and ・・・・・・・ stopped my attack.
I immediately checked to see what had hit the blade, and there was a golden mass in the air.
(This is the Convergence of Magic… What?)
Oliver’s blade comes at me just as I stop moving.
I was wary of the counter, and I managed to react, but I couldn’t avoid it completely and the tip hit me in the side.
“Ggh.”
The blade’s drawn so I didn’t get cut, but I still got hit pretty hard and fast. It hurt like hell…
He takes Oliver’s second blow with his double-bladed sword, holding on to the pain.
(Too heavy…)
He was unable to parry the attack, and the head-on attack was heavier than he had expected.
They still manage to hold out, and bring the two sides to Tsubagakure.
I was going to keep my stance and then attack with the opposite blade, but before I could do that Oliver draws his sword.
I almost stepped on his foot, but Oliver’s attack was already imminent.
I could have prevented that attack too, but I can’t take it head on now.
I’m just trying to get by.
Oliver rushes in with a series of wild strikes! Wilkes manages to block it, but he’s on the defensive! Can he come back from this?
Oliver’s attack never lets up and he’s slowly whittling away at my strength.
They won’t even give me time to get into position.
(… When Orn told me, I thought I knew. I knew I couldn’t beat Oliver. But not by this much… Everything from our first standoff to here has been at his mercy…)
“Willow! Come on!!!”
(… !)
Amidst the clamor of the crowd, I think I hear Leclerc’s voice.
(What are you in give up mode for! You can’t show them how pathetic you are! Even if you lose, at least leave a mark!)
By forcing himself to take the attack from an angle while out of stance, Oliver’s sword slides over the blade of the double-edged sword.
“What?”
“Huh!”
He swings his double-edged sword out and Oliver is blown backwards when the blade hits him near the stomach.
(It was a good response. That must have done some serious damage…)
I hit him as hard as I could, and now Oliver’s standing there like nothing happened.
(The attack was a direct hit. What the hell?)
“That was surprising. I thought you were going to be able to keep up the attack.”
I’m surprised at you.
Then it’s time for the next attack. Can you hold it? The rabbit shield.
As he says this, Oliver’s blade glows with a golden light.
(This is Tianxin! Oh no!)
I can drown them out with my usual double-bladed sword.
But this weapon was created for a martial arts tournament. It’s a pure strike weapon.
There’s no way we can stand up after getting hit by that monster!
I mean, you’re gonna die!
He closes the distance as quickly as he can to prevent Tensen from shooting him.
Then Oliver smiled.
(Are you bluffing? ! )
I had assumed that Oliver was immobile, and I had been unable to react as he had instantly dived into my pocket and struck me with the golden light of his blade, knocking me unconscious.
