Dawn broke, marking the third day of the main competition.
Last night I'd been cornered by the Dwarf King, and the banquet had stretched late into the evening.
I'd wanted to talk with Masayuki too, but prioritizing the king was only natural.
Well, I'd already relayed a message to him through
The Salion Emperor had also crashed the banquet with the Dwarf King, and introductions were eventually made through yours truly.
From here on, they'd promised mutual technical cooperation, and major developments would no doubt take place in this Monster Country.
Important decisions made over drinks.
Is that really okay? You might wonder, but back in my original world, critical business deals were also sealed over alcohol.
Same difference, really.
The only distinction was whether it was at a company level or a national scale.
The journey to the colosseum — which we'd been making daily including the prelims — was becoming familiar territory for the spectators as well.
Comfortable lodgings, delicious food.
The commute served as good exercise, it seemed, and everyone wore bright smiles as they chatted excitedly about what kinds of battles they'd get to see today.
It wasn't just people from nations that already had ties with each other. Even those from countries with little prior contact were conversing like old friends.
And among them, myroleum's staff were busy quietly spreading rumors about the Underground Labyrinth.
As expected of them.
"Apparently, weapons like the extraordinary ones you saw yesterday have also been found in treasure chests down in the Underground Labyrinth!" — they whispered, spreading the word with convincing detail.
I mean, yes, I'd given orders for things to unfold exactly that way, but I hadn't expected it to go this smoothly.
In any case, the adventurer bodyguards were already deeply interested in the Underground Labyrinth thanks to those rumors, so the plan was practically a success.
In stark contrast to the cheerful spectators, there were those who wore an unmistakably gloomy air.
The Long-Nosed Tribe.
It seemed that witnessing the true strength of the Monster Country's executives firsthand had thrown them into a panic over how far off their own perception had been.
And now, she appeared to have burned completely white, like ash.
Her face had been changing color in the most entertaining fashion.
They were probably reflecting on the slightly rude attitude they'd adopted during their audience with me, running through all sorts of thoughts.
The Long-Nosed Tribe took pride in being a clan of high-ranking monsters possessing superior abilities, and they'd clearly been looking down on our nation's fighting strength.
But after watching the matches, their entire worldview had been turned upside down, and they were brooding over it.
The only part I couldn't quite figure out was why Momiji had turned red watching Benimaru's match. There was a chance she might come to us wanting to reestablish friendly relations.
If that happened, the Great Forest of Jura would effectively fall completely under my control, which would be a good thing for me as well.
Now then, four matches were scheduled for today as well.
I wasn't entirely sure why
It was sure to be quite the spectacle.
So, the first match of the day— Match Nine: Benimaru vs. Souei A rivalry showdown — I was eager to see the result.
This match had caused a bit of a headache over who would make the announcement:
Souka was openly biased toward Souei, while Shuna was Benimaru's sister.
Both had insisted they should be the one to do it, until— "Oh well, I suppose this is my cue, then?"
Both Benimaru and Souei had rejected the idea in perfect unison, so Shion's proposal to handle the announcements was vetoed outright.
And in the end— Milim had snatched the loudspeaker away, looking as restless and eager as could be.
Yeah, figures.
I'd known all along she'd never be able to sit still in the spectator seats the whole time.
Once she got hold of something, she wasn't letting go. It looked like Milim would be making announcements for the entire day.
The audience's reaction was mostly positive.
After all, on the surface, she was an impossibly cute, beautiful girl. As long as nobody caught on to her true nature, there'd be no problems — hopefully...
Getting exasperated wouldn't solve anything.
All I could do was pray that nothing went wrong.
And so, with Milim's shout, the match began.
Both fighters moved simultaneously.
Souei's slashes and entanglements from his Sticky Steel Thread were all incinerated by the demonic flames wreathing Benimaru's body.
That much had been entirely predictable, so Souei promptly abandoned his Sticky Steel Thread attacks without a second thought.
From there, a serious sword fight commenced between the two.
Benimaru's crimson greatsword clashed against Souei's twin ninja blades.
Against Souei's dual-wielding style, Benimaru relied on a single blade augmented by fire.
Benimaru had essentially become a high-density flame-like existence that could nullify physical attacks entirely.
So even if Souei struck him directly with his blades, no damage would get through.
Meanwhile, for Souei, damage — even if minor — would gradually accumulate beyond what his resistance could handle.
This matchup favored Benimaru.
Even if Souei used his clones, creating a complete copy of his abilities was impossible. A degraded clone would be too weak-willed to pose any real threat to Benimaru.
As if he knew this, Souei showed no intention of producing any clones.
This can't end well for Souei — the moment that thought crossed my mind, Souei vanished.
He hadn't used the clones for combat. He'd deployed them to draw attention away.
As always, he was meticulous with his craft. And without a doubt, the technique he employed was incredibly high-level.
It was a masterful feat of concealment through image duplication, convincing enough to fool eyes from every direction.
And against attacks launched from outside one's awareness, blocking the Unique Skill "Assassin" was exceedingly difficult.
If one was conscious of it, evasion might be possible — but an assassination strike from outside one's awareness would succeed as a 100% Lethal Attack every time.
That was the power of the Unique Skill "Assassin."
Because it constituted a direct attack from the spirit to the soul, no matter how tough one's Physical Body was, death was unavoidable without spiritual training.
He'd probably stop just short, but it would be Souei's victory — just as that thought formed in my mind— "Naive!"
Benimaru shouted, swinging his blade down on Souei, who had materialized in his blind spot.
The blade stopped precisely at Souei's neck, and in that same instant, Souei froze.
Match decided.
Benimaru's victory.
Benimaru's ability, the Unique Skill "Supreme Commander," was a skill ideally suited for commanding armies.
It wasn't particularly suited for one-on-one combat, but it possessed one area of exceptional performance: spatial awareness.
You could call it the pinnacle of magical perception.
To track the movements of his forces, he could perceive the entire spatial situation in all directions, even underground, with complete clarity.
That perception also applied to anyone he'd once identified — even if they fled into a subspace via Shadow Movement, they couldn't escape Benimaru's awareness.
Because his perceptual range was so vast, a surprise attack against Benimaru was effectively impossible.
This meant Souei's worst possible matchup was Benimaru.
"Heh. First time I've lost to you."
"Yeah. One win, a thousand draws."
"One loss, huh? I won't be fighting you again. I don't want to pile up any more defeats."
"Hahaha. It's just a matter of skill compatibility, though. In terms of pure technique, we're dead even."
Both Benimaru and Souei shared a wry smile.
Indeed, their technique was evenly matched. Their physical abilities were nearly equal too — the only difference lay in the performance of their Unique Skills.
It truly had been a magnificent match.
Upon hearing Milim's declaration of Benimaru's victory, the colosseum erupted in thunderous applause.
Momiji, the granddaughter of the Long-Nosed Tribe elder who had gone completely white just moments ago, had flushed red once more as she stood and clapped.
She seemed to have recovered, which was the most important thing.
Right from the very first match of the day, we'd been treated to a heated, intense battle.
The rivalry showdown was settled by Benimaru's victory, and their respective positions were now firmly established.
Benimaru for the light, Souei for the shadows.
That was how things had always been, but this moment was the definitive confirmation of their roles.
—————— Match Ten: Gobta vs. Ranga The afterglow of the first match had yet to fade as the second match of the day was about to begin, just before lunch.
The out-of-place Gobta, and Ranga — who seemed不满 with just playing around with
Well, thanks to Gobta's misfortune, the food was delicious. I just hoped things wouldn't turn into that kind of situation...
At the signal to start, Gobta took off running. Straight toward Ranga...
A suicide charge!?
That's what I thought, until— "I'm gonna do this... I'm really gonna do it!!"
I heard Gobta screaming with the desperation of a man facing death itself.
He's serious?! Not bad, Gobta.
A last-stand charge — I'll never forget your valiant figure! Farewell, Gobta!!
I saluted Gobta in my mind, and the moment I smugly thought, thanks to Gobta's misfortune this meal is going to taste amazing— Gobta activated his Extra Skill "Assimilation" and latched onto Ranga!
Hah!? I was stunned. Benimaru, Souei, and even Shion had their eyes wide open in shock.
Completely unexpected.
What the hell is he doing?!
Ranga thrashed about in displeasure at being assimilated, but he couldn't shake Gobta off.
At last, Ranga grew angry and unleashed Black Lightning from his own back, aimed directly at Gobta clinging to him.
Gobta, it's over. Thinking that, I hurriedly reached for a Complete Recovery
Gobta muttered, wearing a bewildered expression.
Seriously!? This time even I was stunned, staring at Gobta.
The blinding flash of lightning had been so spectacular that the audience assumed the match was over.
Those among the executives who knew its power had even thought, Gobta's dead... poor guy.
Can't blame them. Even I had panicked, scrambling to sprinkle a Complete Recovery Potion before he died.
But the man himself was completely unfazed.
I could almost hear Ranga grinding his teeth — gnngnngn.
**[Confirmed. The individual named Gobta has acquired the Unique Skill "Demon Wolf Summoning." Furthermore, the individual has gained the ability to assimilate with the summoned demon wolf.]** Wh-What!? Gobta, are you a genius!?
Well, I suppose he'd always been one.
Which meant he was currently in that assimilation state.
He wasn't able to fully command Ranga, but by becoming a part of Ranga, his resistances had been elevated to match Ranga's.
In other words, since Ranga's abilities couldn't damage Ranga himself, no damage would get through to Gobta either.
That meant the best outcome would be a draw. But in this case, it was a victory for Gobta.
Milim looked over at me with a "what should I do?" expression, so I signaled back — Gobta wins!
"This match is over! The winner is Gobta!!"
Milim announced.
The colosseum shook with roaring cheers.
Gobta was being tossed around by Ranga like a cowboy wrangling a bucking bronco, but a look of pure joy spread across his face.
Upon hearing the declaration, Ranga flopped his ears flat and slumped down in dejection.
His tail had gone limp too, draped lifelessly on the ground.
"I did it! I did itssu! It's my winssu!!"
Gobta cried out in elation, receiving congratulatory words from Toka,
Honestly, this was a massive upset.
We hadn't placed any bets this time, but if we had, nobody would've bet on Gobta.
It deserved genuine praise — a truly monumental victory.
Gobta had always been someone who showed up when it counted, but this was a terrifying level of growth.
It was because he'd challenged Ranga fearlessly during the match that he'd earned the Unique Skill.
Today of all days, I wanted to give Gobta my honest praise.
The second match of the day produced a stunning upset, with Gobta emerging victorious.
Truly unexpected.
I wondered if this result had been predicted by Wisdom King as well. My curiosity was piqued, but it probably wouldn't give me an answer.
I watched Gobta celebrating his victory and let my mind wander.
Before the lunch break, Ranga trudged back, looking sheepish.
"I humbly apologize, my master... I put on such an unsightly display..."
He hung his head and spoke as though reflecting on his failure.
But in a sense, that was a victory born of Gobta's sheer tenacity. Well, Ranga's carelessness had certainly played a part too.
So— "Ranga, I hope you understand now. When you look down on someone weaker and toy with them, this is what happens.
From now on, show some restraint and stop underestimating your opponents!"
"Understood... I believe I had become somewhat intoxicated with my own power. I shall take this as a lesson going forward."
It seemed he understood, which was a relief.
He'd been getting carried away lately, so this was good medicine. If anything, I should be thanking Gobta for making him realize it.
When I said as much— "Of course, I am grateful to Gobta as well. Should he ever call upon me, I will not hesitate to lend my aid."
Ranga nodded firmly.
Gobta had also obtained the rather overpowered ability of Demon Wolf Summoning.
I hoped the two of them would get along from now on and help each other out.
According to Wisdom King, the Unique Skill "Demon Wolf Summoning" was essentially a degraded version of my own ability.
That meant I held superior authority over it, but it also meant there was no issue as long as I didn't need to summon Ranga myself.
From now on, I'd asked Ranga to assist Gobta whenever needed.
In other words, he'd be able to use Demon Wolf Summoning in the next match too.
With Benimaru vs. Gobta now confirmed, that was shaping up to be quite the spectacle as well.
—————— The lunch break ended, and the next match was about to begin.
Match Eleven:
A truly thrilling match.
Without a word exchanged between them, the match began smoothly.
The key point to watch was that both fighters possessed the ability to nullify almost all attacks.
Even devastatingly powerful techniques might fail to deal damage, meaning small, carefully accumulated hits could prove more effective.
In fact, in one-on-one combat, concentrating a single Fireball with all its thermal energy into a point dealt more damage than a Nuclear Strike Magic that scorched a wide area.
Nuclear Strike was ideal for mowing down rank-and-file soldiers without magical resistance — the wide-area heatwave would sear their lungs even if the heat rays and blast wave missed — but it was unsuitable for defeating higher-order combatants capable of deploying powerful barriers.
In a matchup between top-tier existences like Beretta and Diablo, the accumulation of small techniques mattered more than one big strike.
So, what kind of battle would unfold?
Diablo launched multiple Fireballs at Beretta without chanting a single spell.
The thermal output was so absurd he might have been trying to melt her outright, but naturally, heat-based attacks were useless against Beretta.
In retaliation, the unscathed Beretta clasped both hands together— "Saint-Demon Annihilation Cannon!"
A finishing blow unleashed through the Unique Skill "Saint-Demon Hybrid."
An opening gambit of devastating proportions. This technique combined the polar attributes of holy and demonic into an attack that could not be nullified.
However— "Fufufufufu. As expected, petty tricks won't work against me.
Moreover, if I keep toying with you like this, I may very well end up losing."
In an instant, Diablo had teleported behind Beretta, avoiding the attack entirely.
Having unleashed his ultimate technique only to see Diablo dodge it without a scratch, Beretta listened as Diablo spoke those words.
No matter how powerful the finishing blow, unless it traveled at the speed of light, Diablo could activate "World of Temptation" to evade it.
With this, Beretta's ultimate had been sealed. But without any panic— "I see. As expected of Lord Diablo. You are a Great Demon who has lived far longer than I, after all.
But right now, I am your equal. I ask that you hold nothing back — face me with everything you have!"
The moment those words left his mouth, he wrapped his arms in fighting spirit and charged at Diablo.
"Fufufufufu. The youngster speaks boldly, does he? Very well, I shall give you a proper match at full power!"
Diablo responded in kind, condensing "Demon Lord's Pride" in both hands as he moved to meet the charge.
An all-out melee erupted.
Punches were thrown and blocked, kicks exchanged and countered.
I'd thought Diablo would be at a disadvantage given his expertise lay in magic combat, but surprisingly, he was equal to or even better than Beretta in close quarters.
Gradually, Diablo's strikes landed more frequently, and Beretta was being pushed back.
In the end, whether in the spiritual world or the physical world, when neither side's abilities could overcome the other, it was fighting spirit that decided the outcome.
Shatter the opponent's will, break through their defensive barrier.
Whoever surpassed the other would be the victor.
It was a good match.
Because the content was easy for the audience to follow as well, the result was decided in terms everyone could understand.
Only one person stood at the center of the colosseum.
Diablo.
The victor was Diablo — a victory decided by the difference in fighting spirit.
"Well, your little scrap metal put up a decent fight.
But the one who beat my Lion Mask was even stronger!
Which means my Lion Mask didn't lose to your scrap metal!"
Milim was saying something to
She'd gone out of her way to say this right after having announced Diablo's victory over the loudspeaker.
She must have really held a grudge over what Ramiris had said to her.
Ramiris was gritting her teeth in frustration, but this was a straightforward gap in ability.
It was so obvious she had no rebuttal.
And so the third match of the day devolved into a gritty, bare-knuckle brawl, yet it was an excellent match that didn't give off that crude an atmosphere in the slightest.