“Feel free to visit me whenever. You are always welcome here.”
“Hm.”
We’ll come again soon.
And so we used that very room to visit Lumina today. She felt our arrival and personally welcomed us.
“Hello there.”
“Hm.”
Hey.
“I see you’ve won again. You’re at the quarterfinals now. I hear you’re going up against an A-Rank adventurer next.”
Yeah. One of the Beast King’s elite guards.
“Do you really plan on winning? I thought passing the third round was enough to grant you an audience with him.”
“I’ll win to show everyone that Black Cats can be strong.”
We’re pulling out all the stops tomorrow.
“I see… Very well. Go and claim your victory.”
“Hm!”
We talked skills and spells with Lumina for a while before returning to the inn. We had the privilege of fighting in the first match tomorrow, so Fran had to get up earlier than usual.
“Good luck!”
“Thanks.”
We’ll go out and win!
Chapter 4:
Everything in Our Power
TODAY’S THE DAY, Fran.
“Hm.”
Gaudartha’s an A-Rank. He’ll be as much of a monster as Amanda.
“I know, but still.”
We’re going to win.
“Hm! Definitely!” Fran nodded vigorously. She couldn’t help but be excited.
“Fran, the first match is starting soon. Are you prepared?” The tournament official had arrived to fetch her.
“Hm. I’m good.”
“Right this way.”
Fran walked down the hallway at her usual pace. She might be more motivated than before, but showed no sign of nerves. She had won three matches and fulfilled the Beast King’s requirement for an audience. She could make reckless plays against Gaudartha now, and that pleased her greatly.
Now we could try out the game plan we’d cooked up the other day. I would open the match by raising Fran’s stats slightly with Support Magic. She would then charge me with as much mana as she could, refueling her own pool with potions. The 1,500 points of mana she added into my blade would add up to a total of 3,700 Attack, but we had to do this just before the match started. I couldn’t hold the mana for very long, so we’d have to end the fight as soon as possible.
Are you sure you can chug eight mana potions in a row, Fran?
“No problem,” Fran answered with a calm expression.
This strategy would only work because of her gluttony. A normal fighter would be too bloated to fight after guzzling that many.
“Let’s go.”
Sure thing.
The familiar applause of the crowd welcomed us as Fran entered the arena. She had grown used to it, and didn’t wince this time.
“Making her way from the East Gate is the eye of the storm of this tournament…the Swordceress, Fran! She’s caused one upset after another by knocking out your favorite fighters! Today, she’s up against an A-Rank, but will the cutest rising star of our generation shake things up again?!”
The commentator liked her, at least. It was hard not to root for the little girl who was giving it her all. The only ones opposed to her would be Blue Cats and compulsive gamblers.
“Good luck, Fran!”
“We’ve got a lot of money riding on you!”
“We’re counting on you to get us seconds for dinner tonight!”
Lydia and the Crimson Maidens cheered her on from the front row. Despite their blatant display of vested interest, I appreciated their honesty and support. Fran waved back at them and it provoked an eruption of applause from the crowd.
They sure like you, Fran.
You think so?
She didn’t seem to care. It made no difference to her whether they stayed quiet or cheered. The commentator raised his voice above the noise and began introducing the other combatant.
“Coming in from the West Gate. He’s bulldozed the competition so far with sheer brute strength…Diamond Wall Gaudartha! He hasn’t been touched a single time so far—will he win this match unscathed?!”
Gaudartha was also welcomed with applause, but there were some boos mixed in. Fran was more popular than him, then. However, it felt that the match had already been decided in his favor. Even Fran’s supporters wondered how long she’d be able to last. She was going up against an A-Rank, so the audience’s expectations were quite justified, really. But again, Fran didn’t care.
I’m looking forward to when we turn this crowd around.
“Hm!”
Gaudartha’s equipment looked different from before. His crimson plate armor danced with flames, and he held a terrifying pitch-black battle axe in his hands. His current equipment looked like it was geared for maximum offense.
I couldn’t Identify any of it, either. I got a look at some of its stats and skills, but the finer details were completely hidden. Hopefully his equipment didn’t have some kind of dangerous gimmick… Then again, if the rhino had bothered to change his equipment for this occasion, I should prepare for the worst.
Gaudartha walked to the center of the ring. The contrast between the two-meter-tall giant and the little girl was enough to make the audience hold their breath. They knew the difference in power was impossible to bridge.
“Good job making it here,” Gaudartha said with a low, intimidating voice.
He was ready to throw down. Fran narrowed her eyes and looked up, just as consumed with battle lust. “And I’m going to win today.”
“That’s the spirit. Don’t expect me to go easy on you. You’d better come at me with all you’ve got.”
“Of course.” Gaudartha had to lower his gaze to meet hers, but he didn’t underestimate her. In fact, he showed her the respect worthy of a strong opponent.
The commentator explained the rules. “Thanks to his lordship the Beast King’s courtesy, the Cradle of Time will be available to us, starting from the quarterfinals!”
The Cradle of Time was manatech which allowed time to be rewound in a given area. It would activate when someone in the tournament died, bringing them back to the moment before. The item was highly valued, and usually only utilized from the semifinals onwards. However, with the Beast King’s sponsorship this year, it could be used from the quarterfinals onward. The Cradle of Time allowed combatants a no-holds-barred battle to the death. It also preserved the memory of the person whose
