"WHAT A MATCH!! THE BATTLE PRIESTESS PUSHED ARTHUR SO FAR, ONLY TO FALTER IN THE LAST SECOND! THE YOUNG HEIR OF THE VERMILLION ADVENTURER CLAN ADVANCES TO THE FINALS TO FACE THE ENIGMATIC SHYE CROWLEY!!"
Hearing Corey's voice which served as a confirmation that their fortunes were safe, the crowd heaved a sigh of relief.
Although she lost in the end, Almira Black struck fear in their hearts, forcefully making them respect her and her class.
Throughout the entire competition, no one pushed Arthur to his limits as she did.
...There was a fifteen-minute break after the semi-final match between Arthur and Almira, giving the finalists ample time to recover and prepare.
Although the young man from the Vermillion Clan was exhausted from his last match, a quarter of an hour was enough for him to fully recover as he could simply drink potions to recover his health, mana, and stamina.
Meanwhile, inside the Raven's Blade preparation room, old men donning various expressions on their faces surrounded one young man.
"Crowley, this is it, go out there and show them what you got!"
"We're rooting for you, Crowley!"
Shye was rather...tired of hearing the old men's encouraging words. However, since it was all done with good intentions, he just nodded his head at them while donning a forced smile.
'It's just some random Arthur Vermillion, no?'
Fortunately, after a few short reminders from Corvus, the arena staff entered their guild's preparation room.
"Sir Crowley, it's time for your match."
"W-Well then, seniors, I shall go out there and...uhh...bring glory to the guild!...or something! Watch me!"
Heaving a sigh of relief after finally escaping from the overly enthusiastic old men, Shye made his entrance.
[Congratulations! You've earned 10,187 points!]
'W-What? How did I earn so many points?'
He couldn't believe he earned more than 10,000 points just like that. However, upon seeing Seira's...passionate cheer squad, he finally understood where the points came from.
"...Let us all welcome, the enigma of the tournament, Shye Crowley!!" Corey's vibrant voice sounded once more, prompting those who supported Shye to cheer excitedly.
"Initially, we thought that we got this young rookie all figured out. He was a menace in a long-range battle but would be weak in a close-range one. Who would've thought that he would just be as skilled in a melee? Will he show us another pleasant surprise?!"
Arriving onstage, Shye realized that he had been introduced first.
===
[Mana Disruption Field (Rare)]
Description:
Disables mana usage within a ten-meter radius with the user as the center.
Note: Does not affect the user.
===
'Hohoh? So this was why he was so confident against me...Unfortunately for you, this skill of yours shall simply serve as a chance for me to gain lots of points!'
Standing face to face with each other, both finalists smiled confidently and drew their weapons, eliciting thunderous cheers from the excited crowd.
Finally, the match they'd all been waiting for was here.
Who was stronger? The top-ranked rookie in terms of contribution points or the top-ranked rookie in terms of perceived strength? They were about to find out.
...The referee allowed the audience to cheer their hearts out for a few seconds before picking the right moment to extend his right arm and jerk it up.
"Begin!"
Hearing the start of the match, Shye nimbly jumped back and started firing spells, causing various elements to roar as projectiles viciously shot towards Arthur, aiming to take his life.
Arthur wanted to show everyone his superiority, hence, he opted to slash Shye's projectiles apart in hopes of gnawing at his morale.
As a roaring ball of flame approached, the young heir of the Vermillion Clan mightily swung his katana.
There wasn't a single hint of fear in his eyes, as though he was sure that he would be able to destroy Shye's spells like what he did to the spells of the previous mages he fought.
'Heh, I knew you would do that, you stupid pretentious f*ck!' Shye inwardly celebrated, focusing on the fireball he fired shortly after. 'Boost! Boost!'
Arthur's eyes widened in utter shock and panic as the fireball suddenly grew three times larger right in front of him.
*BOOOOOOM!!!*
Instead of the anticipated scene of Arthur slashing apart the fireball, a loud explosion occurred in the center of the stage, sending shockwaves and shivers down everyone's spine as they witnessed Arthur being mercilessly devoured by the violent flames.
This scene was like a nightmare to those who bet their entire fortune on the young Vermillion's victory.
"B-BOSS!!!"