Chapter 119: Martial Arts Tournament ①
Right, today is the first day of the Martial Arts Tournament. Without oversleeping, I woke up bright and early, ate breakfast, and then teleported to the Royal Capital.
Since I left without going through the gate yesterday, I had myself teleported directly inside the Royal Capital today.
Crawling out from the attic of the rundown house in the Royal Capital, I dusted off my clothes and went outside.
From there, I headed straight for the Arena. Since it’s on the outskirts of the city, it should normally be deserted, but today was different. A long line formed on the road leading to the Arena, and numerous stalls lined the surroundings.
Ignoring the long line, I headed towards the Arena and entered through the entrance designated for participants. There was a stir behind me; perhaps they were surprised that I used the participant entrance.
Once safely inside the Arena, I was guided to a waiting room. It seemed we were to wait there, as there was still some time until the opening ceremony.
When I entered the waiting room, the other participants had apparently already arrived. The lady who guided me said, ‘Fog-san, you’re the last one.’ Ah! This was the receptionist lady from yesterday!
Barely dodging the receptionist lady’s wink with my Agility exceeding 3000, I fled into the room.
Gathered there were the eleven participants ready to face this Martial Arts Tournament.
(Guess I should appraise everyone first?)
Starting with the dragonkin over there…
The first one I appraised, Ajidaha, wasn’t particularly impressive. He’s supposedly the Dragonkin Nation’s No. 2, but he doesn’t even measure up to Ignito-san. The same went for Lusar, the Majin that Hayato brought along.
Seriously, Hayato didn’t pick his aide based on looks, did he? That Majin named Lusar is incredibly beautiful. Her weapon is a whip, and her armor is extremely tight-fitting. It makes one wonder a bit.
Anyway, Hayato, Sayaka, and Aurora don’t recognize me at all. It’s proof that my disguise is perfect, but it feels a little lonely.
Then, even weaker than those two were Brian, Darius, and Grandor. Well, they’re strong among humans, but they don’t seem to be a match for Majin, Dragonkin, or Reincarnators.
Yorumungan, the Dragonkin Nation’s No. 1, is perhaps a bit stronger than Ignito-san, and a bit weaker than Hayato.
And then there’s Aurora. She’s still a beautiful girl, as always. I confirmed earlier that Summoners can only summon one pre-registered monster for this tournament. That one is undoubtedly Snow.
Snow isn’t here right now, but I have a general grasp of her stats. Considering that, does that make Hayato the strongest after me? Are Reincarnators really given preferential treatment?
Whoops, I made eye contact with Aurora. As a gentlemanly adult, I suppose I should respond with a smile.
When I offered a gentle smile, Aurora hastily averted her gaze. She’s just embarrassed, right? She doesn’t think I’m creepy or anything, right?
While nervously pondering Aurora’s reaction, I looked around the room again…
Hmm? Ah, I forgot to appraise one person. In the corner, facing the wall… eating something? How can they eat so calmly in this situation?
Huh? That figure from behind looks somewhat familiar…
Appraising him should clear things up.
Race: Pure Beast (Pig)
Name: Otto Hamburg
Rank: A
Level: 50
HP: 515/515
MP: 0/0
Attack Power: 515
Defense Power: 535
Magic Attack Power: 0
Magic Defense Power: 500
Agility: 255
Skills
Awakening
Concealment Lv25
Club Arts Lv25
Titles
Ancient Race
Who is this person? His stats don’t look that impressive, but my Danger Detection is reacting. He’s no ordinary individual.
And his race is Pure Beast? An Ancient Race, just like me. Why is someone like him here?
He’s probably the former S-Rank Adventurer from the Kingdom, the one reputed to be the strongest adventurer in history. Ah, well, since he’s a beastman, I’m not sure if he counts as ‘human’.
This “Awakening” skill is likely the key. This Pure Beast needs to be watched carefully… Ahhhhhh!?
“Ochcho-san!?”
Crap. The shock made my real voice slip out!? My cool persona!?
“Hmm~? Did someone call my name~?”
The person eating something with his back turned towards us was none other than Ochcho-san from the Orc Inn.
“Ah, uh, my apologies. I’ve visited your inn before, so I was just surprised.”
Stammering, I somehow managed to continue the conversation.
“Hmm~, that’s odd, y’know. I remember the faces of every customer who comes to the inn, but I don’t seem to recognize yours.”
!? What incredible memory. It’s true, the times I went to the Orc Inn were as a cat and as Kiri. This is the first time he’s seen me in this form.
As I fell silent, at a loss for words, he surprisingly offered me a way out.
“But still, I do recognize yer presence, y’know. Feels kinda nostalgic, and kinda recent, too. Ah, I see, you look different now than you did then, eh.”
Good grief, Ochcho-san is amazing. Just how much does he know about me?
At this point, I couldn’t even be bothered to deny it anymore and simply nodded, acknowledging that Ochcho-san’s guess was correct.
However, Ochcho-san didn’t press the matter further. He returned to his spot by the wall and resumed eating the skewer he held in his hand.
(Ah, that startled me. To think the legendary S-Rank Adventurer was Ochcho-san…)
While I was still reeling from the excitement, a man from the tournament staff appeared. It seemed the opening ceremony was about to begin.
The lineup order followed the Tournament Bracket, so I took my place at the very end. Oh, I should thank Ignito-san. I had asked him to handle all the registration procedures for me.
After successfully conveying my thanks to Ignito-san, I proceeded towards the center of the Arena under the watchful eyes of the massive crowd. The roar of the crowd was incredible. Everyone must have been really looking forward to this.
Ah, Aurora, walking ahead of me, has a tense expression. She’s still cute even like that. Ochcho-san is still eating his skewer.
The two from the Dragonkin Nation and Prince Darius are acting high and mighty, the Majin woman is an exhibitionist… are there any normal participants here? Eh? Me? How rude, I’m properly dressed! If I were naked in front of this huge crowd… just imagining it makes me exci— ahem, terrifying.
While I stood there spacing out, lost in such thoughts, the opening ceremony progressed, and the introduction of the participants began.
When the names of seemingly well-known individuals were announced, the cheers were exceptionally loud, almost making me think the volume directly represented their strength.
However, Aurora’s introduction also garnered loud cheers. It seemed her appearance had quickly earned her fans.
And when it was my turn… it seemed most of the cheering came from women. Actually, I think most of the men were booing.
After the participant introductions, it looked like the first match would begin immediately.
Only Ajidaha and Brian, the contestants for the first match, remained on the field, while everyone else headed back to the waiting room.
Once everyone had returned, a man who appeared to be the referee gave a signal, and the two combatants moved simultaneously.
―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Thank you for your continued support of this work. As a small token of appreciation, I have posted “Side Story: ‘Gale Wind’ Growth Record vol. 2” in the recent activity notes, so please take a look if you’d like.
Also, although it’s limited to supporters, I have revised a past work I’m thinking of submitting to the Kakuyomu Contest and have pre-released about 30 chapters, so please feel free to check it out if you wish.
↓Click here
https://kakuyomu.jp/users/momo-papa/news
To all of you who are already registered as supporters, thank you always for your support. I received a notification that I ranked within the top 100 in the currently ongoing “Most Loved Author No.1 Deciding Battle”. This is entirely thanks to everyone’s support. Thank you very much. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude.