Belgianfri

Chapter 96: Pre quarter-finals over.

Eventually, I did manage to find what I had been looking for before Reana’s situation had distracted me; some pork ribs glazed with honey. Something about the combination of flavors had always made my mouth water.

When I arrived at the participant’s booth, I found Cerion chatting with Gaius, the earthbending monk from the previous round. Reana was seated there as well, but she made it a point to ignore me. Surprisingly, she wasn’t the only participant that was keeping to themself....

Chapter 95: A strange interaction.

I sat down next to Cerion in the contestant’s booth, avoiding eye contact with the other contestants, who were eyeing me with a variety of attitudes. Arcellus had looked calm, but oddly determined. Karon, on the other hand, was probably calculating how to best me, if it came down to it.

Finally seated, Cerion turned to me.

“John was stronger than I had expected. Did you know that guy would be so unexpectedly strong?” he asked somewhat teasingly.

I endeavored not to thi...

Chapter 94: The first battle.

As I walked out into the arena, I noticed Ceriion waving at me from across the stands. He was seated in a wide booth that held all of the remaining participants of the tournament, save for two: John and me. The organizers had taken a different approach this time and allowed us to spectate every match we weren’t a part of ourselves. This would allow us to plan ahead, but it also limited our own hidden cards. They would only stay secret until we used them once, this time.

Seeing John st...

Chapter 93: Biased reporting.

I woke up groggily, blinking in confusion. My vision cleared, revealing white roof and a silver lantern. Evidently, I was laying down. I tried to sit up, but someone grabbed my shoulder and held me down. An older man with brown side-burns and a head full of hair stepped into view.

“Hold on there, champ. You’re not cleared to move yet.” he said gruffly.

Taking slow breaths, I tried to get my bearings.

“W- where am I? What happened to the rest?”

“Now don’t ...

Chapter 92: End of the preliminaries.

The purple egg split into two halves and gushed out a strange green liquid. From its remnants, a strange figure appeared. All of its features were reminiscent of insects. Compound eyes, an exoskeleton with sharp protrusion and a tough carapace that the creature wore like plate armor. Its strange mix of green and purple color made it look even more alien.

And yet, the creature looked human, in a way. For starters, it was bipedal. It used two cricket-like legs to remain upright. On top of...

Chapter 91: Pandemonium

I groaned, struggling to move due to my broken bones and torn muscles. They were healing, of course. They always would, saving me from any mistakes I made. Had I become desensitized to situations like these?

I placed my focus back on the issue at hand. The ground was rumbling, and a crown had appeared around us, with the crater at the center. That meant that bugs were coming, which in turn meant a whole load of points were about to burrow out of the ground. Problem was: Arcellus was sti...

Chapter 90: A big boom.

A few minutes later, our merry band of twelve was traveling through a dried-up lake bed with the sun hanging high in the sky.

I was forced to travel slowly, so John’s companions could keep up, but, for once, I wasn’t so bothered by that inefficiency. At least, I tried not to be. There was nowhere for me to go anyway, all signs of crowns having disappeared.

Trying to make conversation, John ran up to me.

“So what’s your story, pal? Did ya’ join this tournament ta’...

Today's chapter moved to tomorrow.

As the title says. Something came up and I don't have the time to finish today's chapter this evening. It'll be uploaded tomorrow instead. Sorry, guys.

Chapter 89: An unlikely alliance.

Several minutes after Karon had left, a few dozen creatures burrowed out of the ground and took to the skies. The insect monsters that guarded this crown looked more akin to flies than ants. They had compounded eyes and hovered from one place to another, seemingly unimpeded by their size and weight. Their backs were fuzzy and their insect legs had large hooks protruding from their skeleton in several places. From the way they were staring at me, I knew they considered me as their next dinner....

Chapter 88: Questionable deal.

The insects' mandibles snapped shut as the person it was chomping on disappeared, teleported out of the arena. I cut its head in two before it could react to this new development, pulling out my greatsword with a wet squelch.

“That should be the last of them…” I muttered to myself. The few stubborn contestants that had stuck around after my announcement had now all been sent away. They would rejoin the competition in 10 or so minutes, but my hope was that they would now understand...

Chapter 87: Uncompromising.

The next morning, I once again found myself in the arena, staring at the sky listlessly. The second phase of the singles tournament would begin today, which meant that participants of all ages were filing into the stadium. Already, I could tell that there would be just as many people competing as there had been in the doubles tournament, but I had to admit that there were a lot more noteworthy people present this time.

Cerion, for one, wouldn’t be on my side this time. Informal teams ...

Chapter 86: No one man should have all those turds…

Ten minutes after our victory in the finals, Cerion and I were ushered to a small podium that had been erected in the arena. Arcellus' and Karon’s team joined us as we stood before the Royal booth, awaiting the king’s announcement, before the rest of the top sixteen teams gathered in the arena.

Arcellus didn’t seem as incensed as I had expected. He looked grim, to be sure, but calm. Much calmer than he had been at the end of our match, at least. The fact that he was following us t...

Chapter 85: Finale

A few dozen minutes later, we found out that we would be competing against Karon and X in the final match of the category.

The organizers of the tournament were generous enough to give us all an hour-long break after Karon’s battle ended, so by the time we were supposed to go back out there, Cerion would have healed from most of his internal and external wounds. It was impressive how effective the liberal use of potions could be. Not as impressive as healing skills, but still...

Chapter 84: Sunset.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready… for the semi finals?! This match will decide who among our talented contestants will gain the opportunity to compete in the finals, as well as who will be knocked out of the running.”

“Please welcome team A3 and A9!”

Cerion actually waved at the stands as we entered the arena, enjoying the attention. Always a crowd pleaser.

Arcellus wasn’t in the mood for that, however. No, his feral grin signified that he c...

Chapter 83: Top four.

About thirty minutes after our match, the sound of battle stilled and I heard the announcer commence the next phase.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Now that the final selection has been decided, the quarter finals can begin!

The first match will be held between…team B5 and A9!

Please cheer them on as they enter the arena, everyone!”

On one side…

I tuned out the rest of the announcement, uninterested, since I would hear the winn...

Chapter 82: Top eight.

I looked up from my slouched position and found Cerion staring back at me, equally confused.

After a moment of silence, I spoke up.

“So… did we win?” I asked hesitantly, “That teleportation was pretty rough.”

“I think we won!” Cerion replied excitedly.

“Well, we won the first round. There’s still the next round tomorrow.” I chided him.

“Bah! We won by a landslide today and we’ll win by the same margin tomorrow too.” he replied confidentl...

Chapter 81: End of the second round.

As Cerion and I slowly got closer and closer to the center, we came across more and more teams. Some of them we defeated, while others managed to get away before we could knock them out of the tournament.

Truthfully speaking, the area was busier than we had expected. Any sensible team that didn’t have the confidence to fight the best would just stay on the outskirts and wait, right?

At least, that made the most sense to me.

Instead, they were all heading in the same direct...

Chapter 80: Sunrise

With my sword drawn, I took the measure of my attacker. He was young, though not as young as me. Early twenties, maybe? He wore a long white coat, with large golden pauldrons and shin guards, studded with rubies. His arrogant smirk, golden hair and upturned chin spoke of a certain attitude he held toward me. Perhaps he just looked down on everybody but himself. From his initial attacks, I could guess who this was. The aristocratic faction’s champion, Peter Arcellus, if I remembered correctl...

Chapter 79: First actual challenge.

Meanwhile, back in the arena…

“Aaaand they’re off! As you can see on your screens, the contestants have been scattered in a pine forest. Their first task will be to reunite with their respective teammates. The first team to do so receives a large number of points!”

The announcer gestured wildly with his arms at each of his declarations, working the crows as best he could.

As the tall man spoke, the screens changed, showing an archer hiding in a tree, launchi...

Chapter 78: Top of the leader board.

I was bouncing around the forest using aura step, leaving a trail of destruction in my wake. The forest looked like a typical pine forest, with a dry underground covered in needles and pine cones. I expected an enchanted forest filled with magical creatures, like the announcer had said, but, instead, I woke up in a forest that could have been near my hometown, it was so average.

Still, I decided to focus on what was truly important, the tournament.

I had considered taking a stealt...

Chapter 77: The start of the second round.

A few minutes after I had tiered up my skills, Cerion and I found ourselves in my temporary private underground training yard. Cerion had some skills he wanted to practice as well, since he was in the middle of tiering up some stragglers as well, so we decided to do it all at once.

“So how do you want to do this?” Cerion asked confidently.

For some reason, acting as a dummy for my new skill hadn’t deterred him. In his eyes, the fact that I could handle overloaded mana meant ...

Chapter 76: The time to train.

Over the next few days, I returned to my previous habits and started to train like I used to. Day in, day out, I swung my sword, practiced my skills and sparred with Cerion.

After all, I had made a promise to the tier 6 classers and, more importantly, myself that I would win that Helios-forsaken tournament, even if it cost me my sanity.

Figuratively cost me my sanity, of course. I wasn’t actually prepared to sacrifice my efforts to stay ahead of my affinity just for this, which ...

Chapter 75: Confidence.

I felt kind of small around the four tier 6’s that occupied the room. Any classer that reached that tier would have a large amount of points placed into constitution, which made them look like they weren’t even human anymore. It would be more accurate to compare them to trolls. Only the guild head of the witch hunter’s guild, Rashid, seemed to break this stereotype.

The man that I now knew as the king of Roa, however, seemed to take this idea to a whole new level. He was sitting o...

Chapter 74: Start of the meeting.

I leaned back and let out a long breath, relaxing the tension in my muscles that I had gotten used to for once. Staying on your toes all the time was advisable, especially in dangerous environments, but Helios, if it didn’t feel good to let go sometimes.

As I brought my hands to my side and rested my head on the couch’s armrest, I closed my eyes and remembered calmer times, back when my goals had been simpler and more straightforward.

Right when I was about to fall asleep, the...

Chapter 73: Academy examination.

A few hours later, Cerion and I accompanied Michael to the academy, where he would be completing his examination over the course of a few hours.

We looked around in wonder as we entered the ornate white building, which was situated at the edge of a central district used exclusively for this academy.

There were several in the city, but none were as prestigious as the white oak royal academy, the school that served to educate royals, nobles, and the most talented commoners alike. Th...

Chapter 72: Old codger returns.

As the notification appeared in front of me, a certain breeze of air seemed to surround us. For a moment, I felt like every breath I drew was fresh, in stark contrast to the dungeon’s damp, musky air. My mana sense became slightly sharper, turning the ambient mana’s ‘feeling’ from a  distant hum to a slow drone.

I saw Cerion look intently at the air in front of him, signalling that he, too, had received the notification.

“Huh.”, I began, “Did you get a necklace ...

Chapter 71: Set item.

After recovering from the small shock [Sacrificial lifespan] gave me, I thought a little deeper about the implications of the options I was given.

[Expanded lifespan] was just a straightforward upgrade, that relied on all of my stats, rather than just my constitution. For someone with a well-rounded physical build, it was the perfect skill. I never intended or wanted to have to put free stat points into constitution alone, just to extend my lifespan, after all. If I chose this skill, I ...

Skill choices. Vote to make Arthurs decisions for him!

The will of the people will be followed, the skills with the most votes will be incorporated into the story. 

For transparency's sake, I have to admit that [sacrificial lifespan] isn't an option, since Arthur would never risk a skill like that. The amount of votes it gets will instead let me know whether you guys are interested in seeing a villain like that down the line, or if that's a bit too gruesome. 

You can vote on multiple choices, but please pick at least one opt...

Chapter 70: Dungeon conquered.

Chapter 70: Dungeon conquered.

Finally, we had managed to defeat the final boss of the dungeon, conquering the city of tears.

A few hours later, Cerion and I had healed up a bit, and were resting near the edge of the battlefield, looking at our gains.

Congratulations! You have dealt the killing blow and 59% of all damage to a member of the tier 3 elite duo bosses, [Tear of power], and dealt 63% of all damage to a member of tier 3 duo bosses, [Tear of skill]....

Chapter 69: A flair for the dramatics.

The two transformed cores gave off an ominous humming sound, which became louder and louder. The cores lit up from their positions in the sword and shield, clearly preparing for an attack.

Cerion and I exchanged a short glance at each other, before dashing away in opposite directions. I jumped through the rubble, using my healthy foot as support while my other foot slowly regrew, bone and all. Sometimes, the value of a healing skill really couldn’t be overstated. Dark form didn’t ju...