Chapter 118: The Day Before the Martial Arts Tournament
Having raised my level to 120 at the Devil’s Gate, I headed to the Royal Capital on the morning of the day before the Martial Arts Tournament. Well, since I used teleportation, it was instantaneous.
This time, I properly entered through the front gate. After all, I was in human form and had my Guild card.
Perhaps due to the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament, the Royal Capital was even more crowded than before, bustling with many people. Even though it was early morning, the main street was so packed it was hard to move. The inns are probably full too, so maybe I should just teleport home each night.
While thinking about that, I first headed to the Adventurer Guild. I seemed to recall Ignito-san mentioning something about working reception there.
Clang, clang
As always, I passed through the door of the Adventurer Guild, which made its pleasant chiming sound.
The Guild, like everywhere else, was crowded. Thanks to that, I didn’t draw any attention, which was good.
Now then, right after entering the Guild, I noticed something that wasn’t usually there. Next to the bulletin board where Quests were posted, there was another large bulletin board.
Wondering what it was, I approached it and saw it looked like the Tournament Bracket for the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament.
(Come to think of it, since I was holed up in the Dungeon until the last minute, I never checked who was actually participating. Let’s see…)
Hayato ——–┐
|
Ajidaha —┐ |
|–┘
Brian —–┘
Aurora —-┐
|–┐
Lusar —–┘ |
|
Otto ———-┘
Sayaka ——–┐
|
Darius —-┐ |
|–┘
Grandール –┘
Ignito —-┐
|–┐
Yorumungan-┘ |
|
Fog ———┘
Hmm, hmm. I see a few names I recognize. First, Hayato. Considering last year’s winner, Taiyo, as a benchmark, he seems likely to go quite far. In terms of pure attack power, Taiyo has the edge, but if magic is allowed, Hayato might have a slight advantage?
Then there’s Brian, he’s the guy who was possessed that we fought in the Holy Kingdom, right? He pales in comparison to Hayato or Taiyo.
And Aurora, that’s the Aurora, right? Including her Summoned Beast, of course? I think she’d have a tough time against Hayato, but maybe she could manage with Summoned Beast Enhancement? Forget running into her by chance, she’s actually participating.
Then… what’s Sayaka doing here? Her Barrier is powerful, but she doesn’t have any offensive capabilities, does she? Ah, maybe both Sayaka and Hayato entered for the purpose of promoting their newly reborn country? That seems quite possible.
And Darius, he was Theodore’s older brother, right? I forget if he was the first or second one. There was supposed to be a smart one and a strong one, but since he’s participating here, he’s probably the strong brother.
Huh, if Aurora is here, then Theodore must be here too, right? I thought the mastermind behind the assassination plot was one of the brothers, I wonder if everything’s okay. Not that it’s my business to worry about.
And Ignito-san. Hey, aren’t Ignito-san and I placed really close in the bracket? If Ignito-san wins his first match, he’ll face me. I guess there’s no point complaining, though.
The rest are all names I’ve never seen before.
(Oh, over here there are brief introductions for the participants.)
- Ajidaha (Dragonkin Nation)… A swordsman said to be the No. 2 strongest in the Dragonkin Nation.
- Lusar (Demon Kingdom)… An aide to the new Demon Lord. Wields a whip and multiple types of magic.
- Otto (Kingdom)… A former S-Rank Adventurer once called the world’s strongest.
- Grandール (Kingdom)… The Royal Capital’s Guild Master. Former A-Rank Adventurer.
- Yorumungan (Dragonkin Nation)… The No. 1 spear wielder in the Dragonkin Nation. The top favorite to win.
Oho, these descriptions are helpful. I have a rough idea of them now.
Even so, my description feels malicious.
- Fog (Republic)… C-Rank Adventurer.
No, this can’t be right. Couldn’t they at least add ‘Promising’ or ‘Fastest-rising’ or something?!
The comments I’m hearing from the crowd are terrible too, you know?
“So the favorite is Yorumungan, huh? Well, he is the No. 1 from the Dragonkin Nation!”
“No way, it’s gotta be Otto. He disappeared a few years ago, but before that, he was definitely the strongest in the world. They say even the Empire feared Otto. Just thinking about seeing him fight live this time… Kuh! I can’t wait!”
“Hey, who’s this Fog guy? A C-Rank Adventurer? Is he making a mockery of this Martial Arts Tournament?”
“By the way, why are they suddenly holding a Martial Arts Tournament?”
“Ah, rumor has it that the Dragonkin Nation proposed it. Maybe they plan to win the tournament and declare world unification or something.”
“Hey, look at the guy standing in front of the Tournament Bracket. He’s not from around here, is he? Isn’t he super handsome? Let’s go talk to him.”
Thanks to the large crowd, just by listening closely, I could gather all sorts of information. Still, who was that guy who said I was making a mockery of it? That was actually pretty clever.
Anyway, where are they doing the registration for participants? If participants showed up in a place this crowded, it seems like it would cause a huge commotion.
As I was thinking that and looking around, I noticed something written in the corner of the Tournament Bracket saying there was a dedicated booth set up at the Arena.
Having spotted that, and trying to avoid being caught by the female Adventurers who were looking my way and talking amongst themselves, I suppressed my presence and slipped through the crowd as I left the Adventurer Guild.
Having gotten the necessary information at the Adventurer Guild, I decided to grab lunch before heading to the Arena and stopped by the Orc Inn. Contrary to my expectation that it would be incredibly crowded, there wasn’t a single customer. Or rather, the inn wasn’t even open.
I wondered if something had happened to Ochcho-san, but there was a notice posted on the front door. It said, “Closed for 3 days,” written in neat handwriting, so I felt relieved for the time being.
However, closing the shop during such a busy time seems like a waste. I wonder what happened.
But, nothing could be done if it was closed. I gave up on yakiniku and bought some skewered meat from a nearby street stall to eat instead. It was quite tasty in its own right, so I guess it’s fine.
After that, I headed to the Arena.
The Arena seemed to be located a short distance away from the city. I hadn’t been there before when I was in my cat form.
Even though the Martial Arts Tournament wasn’t starting until tomorrow, there were quite a few people at the Arena. Trying not to be seen by them, I entered the room where participant registration was being handled.
“Ah! Are you perhaps Fog-san!?”
The moment I entered the room, my name was called out loudly. How did they know? I hadn’t even introduced myself yet.
“Yes, I’m Fog.”
There was no point lying at the reception desk, so I just confirmed it for now.
“You’re late! Everyone else finished registering ages ago! You’re the last one, Fog-san! I mean, showing up the day before… Are you a complete idiot… or just a big shot?”
I see. She was handling participant registration, and since I was the last one, she could guess my name. Makes sense.
She muttered something at the end, but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.
“My apologies.”
Thinking about it, registering for an event this big the day before was indeed unreasonable. I should just apologize sincerely here.
“Eh? Huh? You’re surprisingly reasonable… I totally expected you to get angry or something… And, you’re more handsome than I thought, no, like 100 times more handsome…”
“So, what should I do tomorrow?”
For some reason, the receptionist lady suddenly started fidgeting, but since I still hadn’t gotten the information I needed, I decided to ask.
“Ah, sorry. Tomorrow…”
According to the receptionist lady, tomorrow, after the opening ceremony, the four matches in my block will be held. So, she told me to come here in the morning.
On the second day, the four winners from the first day will face the four seeded participants.
And on the final day, the semi-finals and finals will take place, followed immediately by the closing ceremony.
Having confirmed the schedule for tomorrow, I thanked the receptionist lady, who seemed to want to detain me for some reason, and immediately after leaving the room, I teleported home.