Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Paper (5)

[Thank you for waiting, everyone!]

The announcer’s voice, amplified by a sound-enhancing magic tool, rang out thunderously through Tartan’s Colosseum.

[The Black Dragon Festival has come to you! Hot duels where blood sprays! This time, I wonder what kind of strong ones will appear—truly something to look forward to!]

““Waaaaaah!””

At the announcer’s words, the people in the stands cheered in unison.

[I can feel your heat very well! I wonder what kind of hot and intense duels that will set our hearts ablaze the contestants will put on—something to look forward to! Of course! High-ranking priests are standing by so the contestants can fight to their heart’s content! Even if an arm or leg is cut off, don’t worry! As long as you’re still alive, that’s enough! Ah, the treatment costs are of course covered by the organizers, so no need to worry about being tight on money!]

““Hahahaha!””

The audience naturally let out laughter at the classic joke that came out every Black Dragon Festival.

‘Hmm, these days they even station high-ranking priests, huh.’

Nellin thought back to when she had visited Tartan before.

Back then there was of course no Black Dragon Festival, only the Colosseum duels that happened day after day.

There were potions or priests for safety, but not high-ranking priests.

Therefore, if it looked like a serious injury would occur during a duel, they operated by making a quick judgment to stop it, or if it was too late, it remained as a regrettable incident.

‘No need to use the elixir.’

The elixir, called the pinnacle of potions.

Her heart felt lighter knowing she wouldn’t have to worry about using the one she had secretly prepared before leaving the forest.

[This time too, there are many strong ones participating in the Black Dragon Festival! If it were up to my heart, I’d want to watch every single one of their duels! But reality isn’t that easy! The contestants advancing to the main rounds must be only 64!]

Kiiiiik!

The iron bars installed in the Colosseum rose upward, and the contestants who had been in the waiting room entered the Colosseum all at once.

Roughly 140 contestants, it seemed.

Since the number for the main rounds was 64, that meant more than half of them would be eliminated.

Nellin observed the contestants from the stands.

‘There are quite a few who are decent. Well, not on the level of the kids I trained.’

From Nellin’s perspective, there seemed to be no worry of Godric’s party dropping out in the preliminaries.

Therefore, Nellin started observing the other contestants for fun.

‘That guy looks like he can fight a bit, that one looks flashy on the outside but probably nothing special. Hmm? That kid...’

A girl with silver hair tinged white, wolf ears, and golden-yellow eyes entered Nellin’s field of vision.

‘What, why is she so fierce?’

The girl entering with bandages wrapped around both hands was clad in a menacing killing intent from her body itself.

It wasn’t something she was recklessly spreading, but holding it inside, yet in Nellin’s eyes it looked like the killing intent would pour out if even lightly touched.

‘Even without that calamity bastard, there are kids like that, huh.’

Nellin had met people of the same type as the girl before.

Those who lost family or friends to the calamity black dragon and survived.

Among them, it was an aura commonly seen in those swept up in anger and hatred rather than sadness.

+++

[Then everyone! From now on! We will begin the Black Dragon Festival preliminaries!]

As soon as the preliminaries started, Godric’s party each stood back to back and kept watch on the surroundings.

It wasn’t only Godric’s party.

People who had formed parties in advance in the waiting room to pass the preliminaries also stood back to back like Godric’s party.

Of course, there were also those who didn’t group up and immediately sprang into action trusting their own skills.

Puuuuk!

“Kuaak!”

“Hurry up and fall.”

“What, this little kid kehek!”

“Where is that a Snow Flower Fist! It hurts like hell... kuaak!”

The girl called Snow Flower Fist moved fiercely and knocked down the contestants around her.

Starting with the girl, the participants in the preliminaries also began attacking one by one, seeking prey.

Chang! Chaaaaang!

Buuuuk!

Whoosh!

Paak!

Pakak!

Puuuung!

Swords clashed with swords, fists clashed with fists, and magic was unleashed here and there.

“Who’s the crazy bastard using explosion magic in this narrow place!”

“Uwahaha! This is true art... kehek!”

“Die!”

As the full-scale free-for-all began, the Colosseum grew intense.

The audience went wild and cheered at such a chaotic scene.

“Good! Go go!”

“You have to survive! I bet on you for the preliminaries!”

“Aaaaaah! Why are you getting hit there!”

“God please please please! Protect my living expenses!”

After the free-for-all started, Godric’s party wasn’t just staying still while only keeping watch either.

Even if they were grouped up, the preliminaries wouldn’t end unless the numbers were reduced, so there were those who charged at Godric’s party.

In the free-for-all that had begun fighting here and there.

Godric’s party calmly surveyed the surroundings and only dealt with those approaching them.

“Hey! Dep, you take the left!”

“U, okay!”

“Hawein, don’t get hit while posing for no reason.”

“Huhu, compared to my current skill, everything is futile...”

“Then do you want to face that rampaging silver-haired little kid?”

“I should do my best with what’s in front of me.”

Kaaang!

Puk!

Chaaaaang!

Godric’s party steadily knocking down the enemies charging at them with the skills they had honed so far.

As time passed and the number of contestants decreased, interest naturally began to focus on Godric’s party.

“What the hell are those guys.”

“Never seen them before but their skills are decent.”

“Are the four of them in the same party?”

Setting aside individual skills, from the appearance of them working well together, it was easy to guess they were a party that had been together for a long time.

Therefore, they didn’t rashly try to fight Godric’s party.

If the enemy had good coordination, they could just fight one-on-one in the main rounds.

There was no need to go through hardship by touching Godric’s party now.

However.

“Next.”

There was also someone who charged regardless of who it was.

The girl called Snow Flower Fist kicked off the ground and charged toward Dep, extending her fist.

Sgol, who caught that sight, hurriedly warned Dep.

“Dep, block it!”

“U, uwa!”

Dep blocked the Snow Flower Fist’s attack by thrusting forward the side of the axe he held with both hands.

Kaaaaang!

A sound that was hard to easily imagine as the collision of a fist and an axe rang out.

The intense impact was transmitted through the axe to Dep’s two hands.

If Nellin hadn’t trained him, it was power enough that the transmitted impact alone would have made him drop the axe.

But Dep’s toughness, trained from the special training, allowed him to overcome the impact and swing the axe.

“Haaaaaap!”

The Snow Flower Fist, hit by the side of the axe Dep swung, flew away quickly.

But after rotating in the air and landing with a fall technique, she nimbly stood up again and glared at Godric’s party.

The Snow Flower Fist’s menacing gaze had the power to automatically make one shrink just by looking at it.

Receiving that gaze, Godric’s party thought at the same time.

Why are her eyes so murderous.

If they were low-skilled ones, they would have hesitated just from meeting eyes, but Godric’s party, trained by Nellin, were tense but not shrinking.

At that appearance, the girl also judged that Godric’s party weren’t small fries and was about to attack more fiercely when.

“Uwaaaa!”

A contestant who saw the girl fly away and thought it was an opportunity swung his sword toward her.

Whoong!

However, the swung sword only vainly cut through the air.

Before the sword was swung, the girl twisted her body and leaped up, and the moment the sword cut the air.

Buuuk!

“Keok!”

The girl’s foot struck the face of the contestant who swung the sword.

‘Fast.’

‘Huhu, incredible body movement.’

‘How did she dodge that?’

‘A, amazing.’

At the action that happened in an instant, Godric’s party blankly stared for a moment.

The girl who knocked down one contestant who attacked her turned her gaze back to Godric’s party.

Next she’ll come to us.

Godric’s party steeled their resolve and each took their stances.

Just as the girl was about to kick off the ground again.

[Preliminaries! Ended aaaaa!!! Contestants, please stop!]

The announcer’s voice announcing the end of the preliminaries echoed throughout the Colosseum.

At the announcer’s voice, the contestants all looked around.

Eliminated contestants sprawled around.

Excluding those who had fallen. Now, the number of people standing in the wide Colosseum had decreased to less than half of when they first entered.

[The contestants participating in the main rounds are the 32 people standing now! Please give applause of encouragement and support to the contestants who overcame the preliminaries!]

““Waaaaaah!””

Following the announcer’s words, cheers and applause rose from the stands.

Of course, not everyone was like that. There were those wailing because the contestant they chose lost, but the sorrow of those few was buried under the cheers and didn’t even stand out.

+++

“Congratulations on breaking through the preliminaries, kids. I’ll treat today so eat well!”

““Thank you, Marin noona!””

Godric’s party and Nellin entered a restaurant and held a preliminary celebration meal.

“For now, tomorrow just do basic training and rest well. That way you can work hard in the main rounds the day after tomorrow.”

““Yes!””

The main rounds open two days after the preliminaries end.

They said it was for contestants to adjust their condition and to make the bracket, but it was also to gather the audience’s interest and betting money.

Godric’s party, having moved their bodies a lot during the preliminaries and mental fatigue piling up, started eating food faster than usual.

Looking at those four, Nellin who had been snickering said.

“You guys worked hard today. I could see clearly~ from the stands how tense you were.”

“Is that so?”

“Being able to see even that is possible because it’s Marin noona, right?”

“What do you mean possible because it’s me. It was obvious from the start how you stuck your backs together tightly. Well, still, you handled it well and fought well. As expected, there was value in me teaching you~. Right?”

“Marin noona’s teachings were big. We knocked down so many guys who charged stupidly! Kekekekit!”

“Yeah. Sgol, you looked excited.”

“I, I also think I didn’t drop today thanks to noona’s training. That kid’s fist at the end was really strong.”

“Right? This noona didn’t make you do toughness training for nothing, right? Ah, but still, it was fortunate at the end.”

“Fortunate, what do you mean?”

“You know, that kid. The one Dep mentioned. If you had fought that kid, probably one of you wouldn’t have been able to hold out and would have dropped in the preliminaries?”

“Is that really true?”

When Godric asked, Nellin nodded.

“Yeah. That kid’s eyes had no joke of venom. The fighting also looked like she could do a bit. Even though I trained you guys, facing that kid alone would be extremely tough.”

“Heup, then if Marin noona and that kid fight, who wins?”

“Haa, Hawein-ah. This stupid Hawein-ah. Are you even saying that?”

Tak tak!

“Ack! Aak!”

Nellin, who hit Hawein’s crown with a spoon, pointed at herself with her thumb and said confidently.

“Of course I crush her~.”

“Kyaa! As expected, right?”

“Right!”

“M, Marin noona is super strong after all!”

“Yeah yeah!”

“Well, even though that girl’s eyes were creepy, when Marin noona trained us was scarier.”

Taak!

Nellin’s spoon hit Godric’s crown this time.

“Ack! I, why me...”

“Your talking was like Hawein.”