Chapter 96: Top Sixteen

It was 7 PM, Thursday. The sun had just fully set, and the four of us - Hina-nee, Furuwa, Aisa, and I - started heading back to Qilian City. We spent the entire afternoon and evening farming Monster Beasts and the occasional Monster within the Lydia Forest, north of the city.

By the time we were done and claimed all of our XP rewards from our Systems, I had gained three whole levels, taking me up to Level 35. My stats had also passively leveled up once more, through fighting. As for Hina-nee and Furuwa, both leveled up to Level 33, though Hina-nee was slightly ahead.

With our new travel permits, we could now freely enter and exit the city with ease. We headed back to the Hunter's Guild to turn in our completed quests and claim the monetary rewards. Then, we quickly grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant, before heading back to the inn to rest.

It was a relatively uneventful day, but that was a nice change of pace, especially since the finals of the preliminaries would be carried out tomorrow, narrowing the number of contestants down to only sixteen in preparation for the main tournament happening on Saturday. Right now, there were exactly thirty-two contestants still in the running, so it was perfect.

That said… I still had something else to worry about - Nadeshiko Nakano. I wasn't talking about having to face her soon. I was confident I could beat her, with my Claws of Deception. However… what about after?

Aisa had said that the message she sent to Nadeshiko would be actually shown to her on Saturday. When that happens, she would know I was connected to her not being able to log out. Obviously, she would then come to confront me about it… and she would be even harder than Furuwa to deal with.

Ah… whatever. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

"Kaze-kun~ come, come, sleep~"

"Right… good night, Hina-nee."

*****

- The Next Morning -

The four of us were well on our way to the center of the city, where the final preliminaries would be held. Today, there were even more people than usual. After all, the final sixteen for the main tournament would be born here.

"Everyone!" the mayor of Qilian City shouted through his megaphone, getting the attention of all the audience and beyond. "I welcome you all to the final day of the Annual Qilian Regional Competition's preliminaries! Today, the contestants eligible to participate in the main tournaments will be determined. All the remaining combatants are extremely skilled and strong to be able to make it this far, but who will be the strongest of them all? Let us find out!"

All thirty-two contestants were here right now - it seemed no one would be fighting in the afternoon or nighttime. Among them, I spotted Nadeshiko and Koroth both, alone. As expected, they had made it this far.

"All contestants, please step onto the stage!"

We did as told, and the audience made way for us. Before long, all thirty-two fighters were standing together.

"Good! Since all thirty-two combatants are already here, there is no need for sign-ups. As usual, when you hear your number, come on to the stage! The first match will be… 2 against 57! Everyone else, please leave the stage!"

2… that was Koroth's number. As the rest of us retreated, only him and a tall man clad in shining silver armor remained. He appeared to be a knight of some sort, and his attire was even higher quality than the Hiaki brothers'. I ran a quick little Inspect on him.

[Name: Gordon Laniel]

[Gender: Male]

[Race: Human]

[Realm: Mid-Stage Nascent Cultivator]

[Level: 32]

Huh, another foreign guy living in Japan's timezone. But his stats…

[STR: 99]

[AGI: 59]

[INT: 59]

[DEX: 99]

[MAG: 49]

[LUC: 5]

What… the… hell is this? What's with this guy and 9s? For some reason, this pissed me off. Why not just make it nice, round number like 100 or 50? Why did it have to be 99, 59, and 49? Damn, now I'm annoyed as hell.

I quickly closed off his profile and focused on the battle.

"3.. 2… 1… Begin!" the mayor declared as the two large drums were struck, signaling the beginning of the battle.

But… neither of them moved. The audience was dead silent as well, and the atmosphere immediately turned incredibly awkward.

"E-Erm… begin!" the mayor called out again, thinking they didn't hear him.

However, once again, neither of the two budged an inch. They were both waiting for the other to make the first move, testing one another.

"I've seen your previous fights," Gordon said at last, breaking the silence. "I am not going to try and attack you - every time your previous opponents tried that, you sent them flying. My guess? You're using their own power against them. But if I don't try attacking you, and instead let you attack me first… you won't be able to do that."

"…" Koroth didn't respond, remaining as still as ever. Both returned to just staring at the other in silence, and before long, the audience was rioting in disappointment.

"Hey! Do some fighting!"

"The hell?! Is this a martial arts tournament or a goddamn staring competition?!"

"Come on already, this is so boring…"

The mayor seemed to be at a loss for what to do. "E-Everyone, please calm down!"

Then, clearing his throat, he continued once the audience settled down a bit. "Both contestants, you will have one more minute to stare at each other. Once the minute is over, if neither of you make a move, both of you will be disqualified!"

It was a hasty solution, but an effective one. As time passed, I could see sweat beginning to form on Gordon's head. Koroth, on the other hand, was as still and calm as ever.

"15 seconds remaining!" the mayor declared, and Gordon gritted his teeth.

"10 seconds!"

"Ah, screw it… I can't afford to be dragged down here by you!" Gordon yelled, then drew his sword and charged towards Koroth.

However, his target remained perfectly unfazed.

"RAAH!" Gordon let out a booming war cry, then cleaved straight down with his sword. "No matter how strong your fists are, they can't beat metal!"

Koroth, as if about to prove his words wrong, daringly received the sword attack with his fist. The enormous greatsword drew blood from his hand, but… that was it.

Gordon's eyes widened in shock, as the attack he had used all of his strength on was blocked just like that. Not only this, his weapon… cracked into little pieces and shattered, a sword no more.

"Impossible… monster…"

Not letting Gordon recover from the shock, Koroth reared his wounded fist back, then unleashed a devastating blow straight into Gordon's stomach. He was sent tumbling backwards, but not as much as Koroth's previous two opponents. He stopped right before falling off the stage.

As I watched this scene, I fell into thought. Koroth… was his power weakened? How did he not blast Gordon away like he did with his other two victims? Was it because he already used most his strength to block that attack, or… was his condition worsening?

If it was the latter, he sure didn't show it. He walked off the stage calmly, though there was no doubt he was in pain. I knew about his 'curse', after all. As I watched on, Koroth walked off, searching for a place to puke blood again.

"The victor is… contestant #2!" the mayor declared as Gordon was dragged off the stage, unconscious. "Now then… the next match will be 14 against 114!"

"Hehe, looks like I'm up," Hina-nee chucked, folding her arms.

"Good luck, Hina-nee," I encouraged, glancing at her.

"Yep! Hey…" she peered into my eyes, smiling seductively. "… If I win, I want you to accept a demand of mine."

"A demand?"

She smirked. "I'll tell you when the time comes."

"…" leaving this cryptic message behind, she left and headed onto the stage.

Her opponent was a young elf who appeared to be in her twenties. She carried a bow - the first ranged weapon I've seen in this world. That said… a bow against Hina-nee, who was an Assassin-type fighter… this would be pretty difficult for the elf.

"I've seen you fight," the elf said to Hina-nee, bowing slightly. "I must say, I admire your strength."

"Hehe, me? No, there's plenty of other people stronger than me out there," Hina-nee replied, embarrassed.

"That may be so, but there are not a lot of fighters left. Anyone who is able to make it this far must possess some level of strength. Henceforth, I respect each and every one of them."

Hina-nee nodded. "I see. In that case, I shall return the respect. However… don't expect me to go easy, okay?"

"Of course. I was in fact hoping you would fight me with your full strength. That way, even if I lose here, I will at least have enhanced my own combat skills by fighting against an opponent of higher strength than I am."

"I like your mindset. Let's have a good fight."

"Likewise," the elf replied, then drew her bow.

The mayor cleared his throat. "Both combatants, ready! 3… 2… 1… go!"