The greenhorn brandished a dull-looking blade to defend himself. “Cowards! So you mean to focus your attacks on me!”
Rest easy, buddy. Where did this kid get his confidence from? He might be out to make a name for himself, but this was only the qualifiers!
“You’re going down!”
“Die!”
The greenhorn wasn’t their target, and neither was Fran. Instead, the mercenaries focused their efforts on the veteran adventurer. He was a big man, and his looming silence made him seem like the strongest of the bunch. I applauded the mercenaries’ strategy.
Unfortunately, the veteran was far too strong for both of them. “Hrmph!” He swung, knocking both mercenaries out of the ring.
“How?!”
“This guy’s a beast!”
We locked eyes with the greenhorn. The dense fool was still trying to get Fran to drop out, even though the match was underway.
“Look, I am the genius swordsman from the village of Collent. I’m E-Rank! You will not leave this battle unscathed, girl. Consider this your final warning!”
He must be something of a local prodigy in his village. I was impressed he’d survived long enough to make E-Rank. He wasn’t strong enough to survive a horde of goblins, and I wondered if pure luck had carried him this far. His condescension pushed Fran over the edge. She was mad now.
“I’m telling you—”
“Shut up.”
Whack!
Before he could finish, Fran planted her foot square in the middle of his abdomen. The kick sent him flying across the arena. He rolled to a stop at the edge, the shape of Fran’s boot imprinted on his leather armor.
“Urgh! Gaah…” The greenhorn squirmed in pain and held his belly. He wasn’t coughing up blood, so I took that as a sign that his internals weren’t damaged.
Good job on holding back, Fran!
Hm! I’m getting better at it!
Not so long ago, she’d nearly killed some men when she lost her temper outside the city gates. Now, she could control her strength better. All the time she’d spent training in the dungeon was finally paying off.
“Gurh…” The greenhorn squinted at Fran in disbelief. He must’ve flown a good ten meters. This was the first time he’d suffered such a devastating attack. He was overtaken by fear and confusion.
“I won’t hold back if you still want to argue.”
“Ugh…” The greenhorn wasn’t so dense that he couldn’t feel the pressure Fran was emanating, nor the intense pain he was in. He put aside his pride and meekly rolled out of the arena.
Why’d you hold back, though? You could’ve knocked him out in one hit.
He’s dumb and loud, but he’s not a bad person.
Fran wanted to let him know what he was dealing with, and give him the opportunity to back out. Her mercy broke the man’s pride. Everyone saw he’d had ample time to dodge her blow.
“I knew this was coming…”
“Hm.”
Fran and the veteran walked towards the center of the arena.
“I don’t think I can beat you, but I’ll sure as heck try!” the veteran shouted, lunging to attack.
“Hmph!”
Fran’s counterblow immediately knocked him out. He was good, but he had awful luck fighting Fran in the first round. He crumpled to the ground, holding the spot where her left hand had struck him.
“Unfortunate…”
And that was how Fran passed the first qualifier.
“Why?!”
“Why indeed… Must I spell it out for you?”
“We have sworn an oath!”
“I understand. Your kind were working in the shadows long before we came to be.”
“Th-that’s right!”
“You fought in the frontlines, and did the dirty work when no one else would.”
“Indeed!”
“You would even sell out your comrades.”
“There is nothing we wouldn’t do!”
“Yes, indeed. That has been your oath so far.”
“You have yet to explain yourself!”
“The problem is…I’m not sure much remains of your oath today.”
“Wh-what are you insinuating?!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
“…”
“Silence, is it? Very well. I shall give you one more chance to prove that your oath still has value.”
“What do you propose?”
“Bring me the patriarch’s head.”
“H-have you gone mad?!”
“I should ask you the same thing. What you have done amounts to treason. I have grounds to wipe you from history.”
“You—”
“I merely ask for your leader’s life as compensation for your crimes. Even that isn’t enough, really. I’m letting you off easy.”
“I would never!”
“Is that your final answer? Do you wish to be our enemy?”
“I-I…”
“I’ll give you time to think. You can even use that time to run. I only hope it’s enough.”
“You rabbit bastard…”
“That’s rich, coming from a Tailless.”
“How dare you?!”
The second round of qualifiers took place two days after the first, and were held in a more sizable arena. The one thousand combatants had been whittled down to two hundred and forty. Soon, only fifty would be left.
There were two venues with the contestants split into two groups, and spectators were allowed in. The setup was still a five-man battle royale, unlike the one-on-one matches of the finals. This format was quite popular, especially since the weakest participants had already been eliminated. In the second round, the fights truly took on a life of their own.
Betting was also allowed now. To prevent match fixing, combatants were unfortunately not allowed to make wagers. Getting caught meant instant disqualification. Back on Earth, shady groups always managed to get around this rule, but that wasn’t the case in Ulmutt. Dias had his eyes and ears in every nook and cranny. More to the point, the bookies were the most powerful syndicate in town—they held all the firepower and were very good at subterfuge, being a part of none other than the Adventurers’ Guild itself. The guild made short work of any other betting associations in town. A few might still be lurking about, but it was impossible for them to plot
