Chapter 156

The battle between Kurena and the Master Swordsman Doberg, which had ended about an hour ago, ended with Doberg declaring his defeat and Kurena winning.

The guests of honor from various countries in the audience, the Crown Prince and Nobles of the Kingdom, and the students watching the match were all very excited.

Although this is a world of status and levels, it is rare to see a clash of extremes between Master Swordsman classes. Many people were contemplating whether such a match really happened in front of their eyes.

I looked at Kurena, who was back in her seat in the arena. She still didn’t look well.

(The match didn’t end in a good way. Well, I’m sure she’ll feel better soon.)

“Are you worried about your friend?”

The man in front of me spoke to me. He was none other than Helmios the Hero. I have always seen Helmios smiling ever since we first met.

“Yes, I am. I want to thank you for saving my friend earlier.”

If Helmios hadn’t interfered, I don’t know what would have happened to Kurena.

“I don’t mind. Doberg doesn’t like to lose at all. “

(He should have considered this after appraising Kurena.)

Somehow, I think he was preparing himself to enter the arena in anticipation of Doberg’s outburst. Doberg is apparently already on his way to the departure and arrival point of the Academy City to board a Magic Ship. It is said that Doberg has been lent a special Magic Ship by the Giamut Empire for his achievements for fighting the Demon King’s army with his life.

“As you all know, the tournament would normally end with a match between the Master Swordsman and the winner of the tournament. But today, our Hero Helmios has requested something.”

As Helmios and I faced each other in the center of the arena, an announcement echoed throughout the arena.

“The winner of this tournament, Allen, is the leader of the adventuring party “Abandoned Gamers”. This party only has 8 members but has already conquered 5 A-class dungeons.”

(Though 3 of the 8 members have only conquered 2. But still, that sword is made of Orichalcum, isn’t it? I have heard that Orichalcum is gold in color.)

As the announcement (explanation) continued, I was considering Helmios weapon.

The guests receiving my explanation were looking at me with an expression that said, “He easily won the tournament, so , sure he’s strong, but is he really that great?” They looked at me, wondering if I really was so strong that the Hero would take the trouble to fight against me.

In this world, the Hero is a special kind of person. They are treated like Apostles sent by God to save people and provide justice to the tens of millions of people who have already been killed by the Demon King’s army. A Master Swordsman can’t compare to a Hero at all.

“Haha, they’re very curious about you!”

“Oh, it’s so much trouble. Whose fault is it, I wonder?”

“Well, you’ll get used to it. I was the same. Yeah. Feel free to use your skills. The Principal and Rosenheim will be responsible for the safety of the audience in this match.”

“Are you sure about that?”

The Principal of the Academy, who is in charge of the autonomy of the Academy City and the administration of the Academy, and Rosenheim, the, whose Principal is a member of the Royal Family, will take responsibility for the safety of the audience and they want us to fight at our maximum power. There are Nobles from many countries here, as well as the Crown Prince and Nobles of the Kingdom.

“Yes, yes. I just checked.”

(You were talking to the Principal earlier, were you confirming this? Do you want to see my power that badly? Well, I’m not going to hold back.)

“I see. I just don’t like wasting time fighting. If you just surrender and give me the Mana Recovery Ring, I won’t have to hurt you, though?”

The referee, who was looking for the right moment to give the signal, was surprised. The referee, who is also a teacher at the Academy, looked as if I really knew who I had advised to surrender.

“That’s a funny joke. I don’t know how many futile efforts you’ve made, but you can’t beat me, okay?”

“There’s no such thing as futile efforts.”

(Futile efforts? There are futile fights, but there are no futile efforts, you know. I guess this confirms he is in Normal Mode. No, but I already confirmed it back in the Appraisal exam.)

I saw Helmios’ Appraisal results during the entrance exam. From the appraisal results, I can confirm that he is in Normal Mode.

“Hmm.”

Before the match with the Hero, the referee still gave us a thorough explanation. It seems that before the match starts, you must listen to the precautions such as the pose of surrender.

(He definitely wants me to surrender.)

As I listened to explatination, the Hero pulled out a Golden sword. It was the Sword of Orichalcum that I had searched for but could not even find.

“Start!”

The referee raised his hand and declared the beginning of the match.

(Um, is the card composition okay?)

“…”

I removed my gaze from Helmios and checked my Holder and card composition one last time. I didn’t mind that Helmios was ready with his sword out.

[Name] Allen

[Age] 14

[Talent] Summoner

[Level] 55

[Strength] 1390 + 550

[Mana] 2180

[Attack] 766 + 4,900

[Endurance] 766 + 750

[Agility] 1429 + 4920 + 2000 (Ring)

[Intelligence] 2190 + 220

[Luck] 1429

Skills:  Summon <7>, Create <7>, Synthesis <7>, Strengthening <7>, Awakening <7>, Grimoire Expansion <6>, Inventory, Sharing, Fast Summon, Command <Sealed>, Delete, Swordsmanship <3>, Throwing <3>

[Experience] 489,264,755 / 1,000,000,000

Skill Level

[Summon] 7

[Create] 7

[Synthesis] 7

[Strengthening] 7

[Awakening] 7

Skill Experience

[Create] 2,439,668 / 1,000,000,000

[Synthesis] 3,276,455 / 1,000,000,000

[Strengthening] 28,757,480 / 1,000,000,000

[Awakening] 4,646,400 / 1,000,000,000

Summons acquired:

[Insect] BCDEFGH

[Beast] BCDEFGH

[Bird] BCDEFG

[Grass] BCDEF

[Stone] BCDE

[Fish] BCD

[Spirit] BC

[Dragon] B

Holder

[Insect]

[Beast]

[Bird] 2 E-ranks

[Grass]

[Stone] 10 E-ranks 10, 5 C-ranks, 2 B-ranks

[Fish]

[Spirit] 2 B-ranks

[Dragon] 49 B-ranks

(Why isn’t he coming at me? Hmm…)

I don’t need to look at my opponent. At all times, the two Eagles flying above the arena are using [Eagle Eyes], catching sight of Helmios. [Eagle Eye] is not just a skill to observe from above, it is a skill to capture the opponent’s movements in more detail.

“What’s wrong? Not ready yet?”

“‘No, no, I’m showing you an opening, you have to come at me, Senior.”

“Oh, I see. Let me start then!”

Helmios stomped on the ground hard enough to crack the arena.

Then, he lunged at me with [Agility] that rivaled Kurena’s when she had her Extra skill active.

(What? He’s really fast. I noticed it when he saved Kurena from Doberg but still.)

He then attacked me with his Orichalcum sword with a large swing. I parried it with my Adamantite sword.

The sound of sword clashing against sword sounded throughout the arena.

“Hey, hey, he stopped the Hero’s attack.”

“Well, maybe the Hero took it easy on the student to show us a better fight?”

“That’s right. I’ve heard that the Hero’s attack can even slaughter a Dragon.”

With just this one blow, the guests of honor from various countries began to comment on the course of the match. It seems that both the guests and the students wanted to see the Hero fight.

(I tried to take it, but this isn’t something I should take. This is his power without using any skills. I’m throwing away my [Endurance].)

I estimated Helmios’ [Attack] to be over 5,000 from this single exchange, and it makes me nervous inside. That 5,000 [Attack] was him without using any skill, if a single blow of his land on me ,I am dead. I changed my fighting style and decided to dodge Helmios’ sword.

I retreated with a kick, but Helmios didn’t follow me and looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.

“Huh? That’s strange. I’m sure that with you [Attack], you shouldn’t have been able to take it.”

Helmios raised his voice to question me, still in the stance he was in when we clashed swords.

“Now, what are you talking about?”

(Using his Appraisal skill, he probably can see an increase in status even if someone uses a skill like when Kurena’s Extra skill was active, but he can’t see the increase in my status from my summons’ blessing, huh. Interesting. So, he doesn’t know my real status.)

I noticed this at the entrance exam of the Academy as well. At the time as well, when Helmios appraised me, he only mentioned my status numbers without the blessings.

“Hmm. Let’s begin then.”

As soon as I said that, Helmios quickly closed the distance between us and started attacking me.

I couldn’t dodge all of Helmios’ attacks completely.

“Ggh.”

An unconscious voice came out of my mouth. Even when I receive his attacks through my sword, a big impact will resonate to the core of my body. If I can’t endure it and am knocked out of position, he will attack me in my defenseless state.

“Oh, I think it’s over already.”

Helmios looked somewhat disappointed.

(In terms of [Agility], I am about the same as the Hero. I’m losing at <Swordsmanship> level. I can’t hit him with a normal attack.)

In spite of this, my only concern is victory.

“Dora-Dora, let’s go.”

“Oh! It’s my turn!

“Huh?”

The large mouth of B-rank Dragon comes at Helmios from beside him. I summoned a Dragon over 10 meters long and had it attack Helmios’ blind spot.

I exploited the gap, but Helmios defended himself with his sword. At that moment, I delivered a side-curving blow to Helmios.

A Dragon suddenly appearing in the arena caused a natural reaction from the audience.

“It’s a Dragon!”

“There’s a Dragon in the arena!”

The audience began to get noisy. The Dragon I summoned was huge, over 10 meters tall. It’s so huge that it can be seen from anywhere in the audience.

However, the battle between Helmios and me continued. The Principal was announcing something, but I didn’t care about that.

I had something more important to worry about. It was the feeling that I got after hitting Helmios.

(It’s hard!!!)

I think Helmios’ [Endurance] is higher than that of the Dragon I fought in the A-class dungeon that one time.

“Ah!”

However, Helmios’ face was momentarily drawn by my blow. It seems that the power behind my blow was not something that he could ignore.

Helmios and I had about the same [Agility]. In such conditions, if a Dragon suddenly targets him, he would definitely fall into a disadvantage.

(He still hasn’t used his skills.)

However, I didn’t let my guard down. I summoned the Dragon to escape from the previous situation, but Helmios still continued to attack me normally with plenty of time to spare.

“Dora-Dora, [Fires of Wrath]”

“Oh!”

Next to me attacking the Hero, the mouth of the Dragon burned bright red.

“You’re not getting away this time!”

I chased Helmios, who tried to retreat in response to me summoning the Dragon.

I took away Helmios’ freedom for a moment and timed Dragon’s Awakening skill perfectly using ,Sharing> with the Dragon.

The moment I stepped back, the Dragon blasted Helmios with his Awakening skill, [Fires of Wrath].

With a dazzling light, Helmios was engulfed in a huge flame of fire.

Helmios flew backwards without hesitation. He flew wide and never touched the ground.

(You can fly? Okay, that’s the third one. Hmm? You’re using Recovery Magic.)

Helmios used his Recovery Magic to recover from the damage he had taken. The damage from the attacks he had accumulated so far seemed to have been completely recovered.

The audience gazed at the Hero and shouted with admiration.

“Great, so this is how the Hero fights.”

“The Dragon is no match for you.”

I was impressed by Helmios, who was floating in the air and wearing a Divine Golden Armor.

(I can’t see any damage to his armor, but since he used Recovery Magic I guess some damage got through.)

In the midst of all this, only Allen was thinking about his next move.