Chapter 42 42: Fighting For Freedom [Pt1]

Born of nature, the strongest existence in this world - even these words would not be enough to explain the kind of existence the grandmaster had been in the original game. Keith had played it again and again and the grandmaster had made an impact on him every time.

No matter what route you played in the game, the first entry of the grandmaster always sent chills down one's spine. And it was all thanks to his unique features.

Forest green hair and ruby red eyes framed a pale but strong face. Looking at the grandmaster reminded you of nature and made you feel all cleaned up inside.

Due to the massive amount of mana the grandmaster had, his skin was flawless and his eyes sparkled with power.

And the man standing on the gladiator ring's podium had none of that charm.

Sure, he had sea-weed colored hair and pale red eyes, but that was where the similarities ended between him and the grandmaster. Anyone who had ever met the grandmaster could tell that this man was a fake.

"What the hell is that thing? T-This is an insult to the grandmaster. If you are going to cosplay as someone as great as the grandmaster, then at least do a half-decent job you bafoon."

Shimi yelled all of a sudden. She pointed toward the man up at the podium with a manicured finger, her temper raging quite a lot.

The sudden shout startled the green-haired fake grandmaster and it showed up on his face. But he quickly covered it up with a cough and calmed down.

The faker did not say anything but the others around him were not as quiet. Retainer A at his right side let her tongue fly. Her sharp words threatened to cut into Keith's group.

"Huh? What did you say you bitch? How dare you say that our magnificent grandmaster is a fake? Look at those green hair, those red eyes, and his aura. How can you dare say that our grandmaster is fake? I will not stand for this slander."

Retainer B joined in as well.

"That is right. There is only one person in this world with such a unique combination and that is our grandmaster. Show him your respect or else-"

Retainer B finished with a proud huff. He was ready for the opposition to start begging him for his mercy and he was not going to give them any.

But contrary to everyone's belief, the other side did not look intimidated in the least. If anything, the frontwoman looked enraged.

"T-This is enough. I am not going to take any more slander against our grandmaster. I challenge you to fight for the grandmaster's honor. I will not allow you to slander the name of the grandmaster I respect."

Both retainer A and B looked surprised but the fake grandmaster had a panicked look on his face.

He seemed to have realized that Shimi was someone who had seen the real grandmaster and she would not fall for his tricks.

"Hmm, slander the name of the 'real' grandmaster? You should get your eyes checked, miss big breasts. The real grandmaster is right here. Why don't you show him who's the boss grandmaster? Flatten her with your powers."

Retainer A demanded with a loud voice. She had spoken loudly enough for the whole arena to fall quiet.

"That's fine with me. Come, show me what you've got, *grandmaster*. I will show you what real power is."

Shimi held her fists up and the fake grandmaster coughed in his fists to distract everyone from this sudden challenge.

"If we want to resolve this then an uncivilized fight would not be wise. Let us conduct a small tournament to determine whether gladiator Amelia will get her freedom or not. That is the rule of this place, right?"

Keith was impressed when the fae grandmaster did not stutter when he spoke. The faker's fingers had gone white due to clenching his fingers too hard.

"You want them all to fight for my freedom? Why don't you come only at me-"

"Alright. If a fight is what you want then a fight is what you will get. But get ready because we will not be gentle once you lose."

Keith was sweating bullets on the inside but he was confident on the outside when he spoke. His words drew a gasp from the audience who had not expected him to step up like this.

Even the fake grandmaster faltered due to Keith's confident tone.

"T-That is very well. But your side needs to have 5 people to fight in matches. I cannot accept you if you do not have 5 people on your side."

The faker demanded while looking away. He did not want to face this confident group but he could not decline them as well. The best he could do was to make a ridiculous demand to force them to quit.

"What kind of scummy detail is that? Are you saying this to save your hide?"

Shimi demanded with an angry voice.

"No, of course not. But since we are in a gladiator ring, it will be only right to follow all of its customs, right? Or, are you saying that you will accept an advance loss on your side to make it a 5-vs-4 match?"

The fake grandmaster was a slain person. He was speaking in a calm voice so that Shimi was the one who looked unreasonable.

Shimi was about to blow up on this man when Keith signaled for Clair to step in. It was not like they needed more than 3 people to win here.

"Calm down Shimi. We shall accept your terms, but only the grandmaster is one of the participants from your side. How about it?"

The faker looked pissed. He did not like the fact that these people were underestimating him. He had worked so hard to change his features to match the grandmaster so he could not allow his authority to plummet.

"Alright, then I will participate as well. You are ready to take the automatic loss, right?"

The faker asked, just to make things clear. Shimi opened her mouth but Clair jabbed her in the stomach and took control.

"We agree to your terms. We will have the match right here and now. I will be the first participant."

The audience gasped as they saw the short teenager step up toward the ring. Amelia felt the most guilt for forcing Clair onto the stage.

The other side looked between each other, deciding whom they wanted to send to fight a child. This was an easy match to win for them so they wanted to send their weakest.

"I should go, right? I am the most qualified one here. I'm the strongest after the grandmaster so I will ensure our score becomes 2-0"

Retainer B said as he stepped down and no one stopped her. His logic made sense, even if it was the opposite of their original strategy.

Clair watched the confident retainer B step up in front of her. The man looked confident as lightning sparked in his hands.

The audience of the gladiator ring cheered for the first match, ready to see someone from the grandmaster's side show off their powers. It was the first time someone had dared to challenge him.

"In the name of the grandmaster, I will show you what real hell is like. I hope you don't feel too bad once I make you bedridden."

Retainer B taunted as he threw his lightning at Clair. It was a fast and deadly attack from his side.

"Clair, look out. Darn that cheater, coming at the child like this."

Amelia looked away, not wanting to see what happened to Clair in the end. She did not want to see the kid killed.

There was a loud gasp that filled the arena once the smoke cleared. But it was entirely different reasons than what people expected.

Instead of being hurt, Clair passed through the gap in the lightning attack and managed to reach Retainer B.

"Well, that was a neat trick. But even a fool under the guild alliance would not fall for such an obvious attack. You need to improve a lot if you want to beat me."

Clair spoke softly into retainer B's ears before his eyes widened. Clair knocked the wind out of him by punching him in the gut.

It all happened so fast that no one was able to react.

One second, Clair was being threatened, the next second, she had attained victory. It was all very magical and left everyone speechless.

"C-Clair, she won!"

Amelia was the most speechless, having not expected such an outcome to come this early. She could not believe that the kid had won.

"T-The match has been decided. The winner is C-Clair from the challenger team."

The caller got a glare for his call but he could not help but give the current call. The results of this match were as clear as the sun in a clear sky.