NBAA Vol. 6 Chapter 2 Part 6
—A few minutes later, a soldier from the arena came to greet Reito, who had finished the reception and was waiting in the waiting room.
A soldier accompanied him to the south gate entrance that led to the arena.
In singles matches, the participants fight on a special cobblestone ring. Victory is not recognized unless the opponent disables his opponent, declares a forfeit, or forces them to step out of the ring for over 10 seconds.
“Enter the gladiators! From the north gate, we have Amelia, an A-level adventurer who has obtained the sponsorship of one of the Kingdom’s noblemen, Baron Valentino! And from the south gate, Luna, the “Black and Silver Swordsman” of unknown origin, hired as a representative of the Dalton Trading Company!”
The arena was filled with the voice of a female member of the Beastman.
The north and south entrances to the battlefield were opened, and Reito, disguised as Luna, and Amelia, holding a battle axe nearly twice her size, entered.
The spectators at the arena were excited at the sight of the two competitors and delivered a mix of cheers and cursing before the two reached the center of the ring.
“Come on, Amelia! I’ve got 30 silver coins on you!
“Hey, Black and Silver Swordsman! Don’t just lose like a fool!”
“You look pretty cute, Luna~!”
Most of the people in the audience were cheering for her, perhaps betting money on Amelia’s victory. On the other hand, few cheered for Luna (Reito), who was not even known to belong to any adventurers’ guild.
Eventually, the two appeared on the cobblestone ring and faced each other.
“Best regards.”
“My pleasure.”
Amelia politely bowed her head, while Reito only lightly bowed, keeping an eye on her.
“Amelia! Kill that rude bastard!”
“Don’t lose!”
Reito’s attitude seemed to be frowned upon by some of the audience. They cheered for Amelia even harder.
“Let’s begin the match. Are both of you ready?”
“No problems here.”
“Go ahead.”
“Well then… let the games begin!”
A soldier acting as the referee signaled down to the playing field.
It was Amelia who attacked first. She attacked before Reito could even draw his weapon.
“Whirlwind!”
“Hey, now!”
She swung her battle axe, and Reito stepped back to dodge it.
Amelia continued to swing her battle axe like a Beyblade after missing, taking advantage of the footholds on the playing field, where escape routes are limited.
“Come on! Aah!”
“Woah… that was close.”
“Hey, what are you doing? Knock her out of the arena!”
“Kick her ass!”
The crowd jeered when they saw Reito dexterously avoiding Amelia’s attack.
Most of them had placed large bets on Amelia’s victory. Even though she was an adventurer from a different region, many were confident of her victory, as she had risen to the A rank. Hence, they are annoyed with her inability to hit him.
While moving around the playing field, Reito gripped the broadsword on his back and withdrew it, taking advantage of his opponent’s attacking movement.
Against the battle axe, which was swung away, Reito swung his broadsword and hit it.
The blades of the two weapons clashed, and it was not Amelia’s battle axe that prevailed but Reito’s Extermination Blade.
“Uh-ryah!”
“Kya!”
What the hell?
“You bounced a bullet back!”
The audience was astonished by Reito, who repelled a blow from Amelia, a dwarf with better arm strength than humans, even though she was small in stature.
Meanwhile, Reito himself winced at the shock left in his hands. Both of his hands were numb beyond expectation, and if he had not activated his battle technique, there is no doubt that his own sword would have been more likely to have been knocked out of him.
“There’s no time… “Limit Boost!!!”
“Ngh… Physical Strength Accelerator!”
They simultaneously activated skills that increased their physical abilities and also lept forward at the same time.
Amelia swung her battle axe laterally without changing her battle strategy, while Reito swung his Extermination Blade as if trying to intercept her.
“Spin!!!!”
“Strike Blade!”
Amelia swung her battle axe while spinning her whole body, while Reito used every muscle in his body to guide his broadsword.
Intense metallic sounds echoed through the arena, and the bodies of both players were repelled.
“Ngh… I’m just getting started!!!”
Amelia forced herself to regain her stance and swung her battle axe down on Reito’s head, but Reito responded with a skill he had recently learned.
“Interception!”
“What!”
“Interception” is a dangerous skill that could result in a wound if the timing of the attack was not perfect, but this time he succeeded brilliantly and sent her battle axe flying out of the game field.
“What! Is it over already!”
“You dumbass! Run and pick that shit up already!”
“Ngh…!” Amelia grunted.
“As if!” Reito said
Amelia ran off to pick up the weapon she dropped, and Reito followed her.
He tried to activate his “Shrink Ground” skill, which allowed him to instantly move to any place within a ten-meter range connected to the ground. However, Amelia had already left the ring, so Reito used his “Leap” skill to close the distance between them.
“What!!”
“Did you see that!?”
“She’s so fast!?”
The crowd was surprised to see Reito jump off the field with a mighty leap of his feet.
Having closed the distance between him and Amelia, he started running with his Extermination Blade in hand and snuck up behind her. And just as he was about to swing the broadsword down toward her back to prevent serious injury, Amelia turned around with a smile on her face.
“Got you!”
“What?!”
Before Reito knew it, Amelia had a small crossbow pointed at his face that she had hidden in the long sleeve of her right arm. She fired away mercilessly.
As soon as he saw the arrows approaching his face, Reito quickly turned his upper body to dodge them.
“Damn it!”
“Wow, you’re really good.”
Amelia was impressed and picked up the battle axe she had dropped and faced Reito.
Glad he managed to avoid the arrow, he called out to Amelia, who had changed her tone of voice.
“Where did that come from?”
“That’s right. My performance was pretty cute, right?”
“I don’t know about that.”
Amelia had a cheerful smile on her face, a complete change from her earlier demeanor.
Facing Reito with a battle axe on her shoulder, she had a ferocious look in her eyes that reminded you of a predator.
At that moment, a voice was heard from the playground.
“Both players have fallen out of the field! In this scenario, both players must return in time, or they will be disqualified!”
Hearing this, Reito remembered that he would be defeated if he did not return in time.
“Well, excuse me!”
Amelia started running toward the playing field in response to the sound of the live feed.
“Oh, wait…!”
Reito tried to chase her, but Amelia had her left arm ready to fire an arrow from her crossbow during her escape. She had planted them in both arms.
Amelia laughed as Reito shielded himself from the arrows with his broadsword.
“Wow, you dodged my attack again… You’re pretty good at this!!”
Amelia leapt toward the playing field. But Reito was not about to be beaten.
He pressed his palm against the ground to activate the “Earth Block” magic, manipulating the earth and sand on the ground to create a dirt wall in front of her.
“I won’t let you get away!!”
“Whoa!”
“What’s this!? What’s this!? A wall of dirt has suddenly appeared in front of Amelia!”
Amelia screamed and fell to the ground as she hit the wall.
Leaving no stone unturned, Reito moved to the playing field.
Amelia hastily returned to the playing field from an area not blocked by the earthen wall. They were able to return within ten seconds of each other.
Amelia yelled at Reito.
“You little… jerk!”
“You’re forgetting to act cute.”
“Shut up! I don’t care about that anymore!”
Amelia removed the bow guns from both hands, grabbed her battle axe, and ran.
Reito sighed, gripped his broadsword, and activated his “Observing Eye” skill to predict the trajectory of his opponent’s attack.
Then, Reito raised his broadsword and repelled the battle axe being swung down with his “Interception” skill. The “Observing Eye” skill was valuable when spotting an opponent’s movement.
Amelia’s battle axe was again repelled.
“What? That’s absurd… How can a human being have this kind of power?”
“Are we done yet?”
“Ngh!”
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!”
Reito held the blade of his Extermination Blade against Amelia’s neck. The crowd cheered at the sight.
If he could knock her out or keep her down for ten seconds, it should be a victory for Reito.
“Do you want to forfeit?”
“Heh, heh… well, calm down.”
“Don’t move… Do you think I won’t cut you?”
“Ngh…”
Reito glared at Amelia, who tried to back away with an affectionate smile on her face.
Amelia’s cheeks scrunched up at his “Intimidation,” and she realized that her life would be shortened if she spoke out carelessly.
But then she looked at her body and realized that there was still a way to reverse the situation.
“You little!!!”
“Ngh!?”
Earlier, Amelia had collided with the dirt wall created by Reito. In doing so, she ended up with gravel stuck to her clothes.
Amelia grabbed a handful of gravel and threw it in Reito’s face. The sand got into the eye that was not wearing an eye patch, causing Reito to hold his eye, and Amelia took advantage of the opportunity to run to where her battle axe was located.
“Dumbass!!!! Here’s my…”
“Who’s the dumbass?”
“What in the!?”
But before Amelia could reach the battle axe, Reito’s voice snuck up behind her.
When she turned around, the sight of a fist approaching her face spread out before her, and she felt a strong impact on her face.
“Gale Thrust!”
“AUGH!!!”
“Woah woah woah woah!”
Letting go of his Extermination Blade, Reito’s slammed his fist into Amelia’s face, blowing her away with a flourish. The spectators were astonished at the sight, and Reito touched his hand to the eye patch over his right eye and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew… Thank you, Ferris.”
Thanks to the “Mirror,” the magical device of the eye patch, the right eye was not blinded by the gravel.
However, even if both eyes were blocked, Reito’s “Mind’s Eye” skill would have enabled him to capture Amelia’s movements.
“Guh, gosh…!”
“Wow, you can still stand. But you’re finished.”
Amelia got up, nose still spewing blood, and reached for her battle axe.
Reito approached Amelia with the Extermination Blade back on his back, stepped on her back, pulled out the Reflection Sword, and put the blade in front of her face.
“Surrender.”
“Ugh… damn it, I get it… I give up!”
“Oh, no! Amelia has been confirmed as a forfeit! The winner of this match is Luna!
Woah woah woah woah!”
The words of the soldier acting as referee echoed through the arena, and the cheers of the spectators echoed through the arena as Reito was declared the victor.
◆◆◆
—After the match, Amelia returned to the corridor from the north gate, and when she reached the waiting room, she rested her back against the wall and let out a deep sigh.
It’s not that she was grumpy about my defeat. She was just exhausted. She had been defeated many times before reaching this age, and this was not the first time a young and upcoming adventurer had defeated her.
“How far will that little girl go?”
She took out a pipe she had hidden inside her clothes and tried to light it.
Then she noticed footsteps approaching. She sighed and did a trick before lighting the pipe.
“I’ve found you! You useless bastard!”
“Wait, Baron, wait!!”
It was Baron Valentino who opened the door roughly. Behind him were private soldiers.
“Wow… for a fat guy, you sure can move quickly.”
“Shut up!”
The waiting room was forbidden to anyone other than the athletes and arena officials, but they probably forced their way in or bribed someone from the arena management to enter. Surprisingly, the obese Baron was in good health, and the private soldiers behind him were more exhausted.
Amelia thought for a moment and decided to apologize cutely.
“Baron, I’m sorry I lost… ♡”
“Shut up! You made me lose a lot of money! Do you know how much I bet on that game?”
The Baron yelled at her with a look of indignation on his face. He had bet a large sum of money, believing that Amelia would win, but had lost dozens of gold coins as a result.
When Amelia lit her pipe and said nothing, the Baron yelled some more.
“How dare you ask for so much money upfront and then lose to a little girl like that! I’m going to make you pay back every penny I paid you!”
“I’m sorry – I’ve already spent all your money.”
“This woman! I’ve had enough. Seize her!”
The private soldiers were flabbergasted by the sudden order.
“Um… but…”
“We can’t fight an adventurer…”
“You useless losers!”
All adventurers with A-rank qualifications are high-level individuals; no ordinary person could compete with them. Most of the soldiers employed by the Baron were originally from a mercenary guild, an organization different from the adventurers’ guild. Still, most of them had been dismissed for lack of ability. They had lost their way after being kicked out of the guild, and the Baron simply welcomed them with a cheap salary.
Incidentally, adventurers specialize in exterminating monsters, while mercenary guilds specialize in fighting against humans. Their work is often against humans, not monsters, and they often fight instead of soldiers in defeating bandits or wars.
It would have been impossible for an active member of the mercenary guild to win, but people who had been dismissed for lack of ability had no chance.
The Baron emitted an angry voice with a blue streak on his temple.
“Damn it! I’ve had enough!!! I will report this to the guild! I will personally tell the guildmaster and have you fired.”
“I hope you won’t do that. I like being an adventurer, despite what it may look like.”
“Shut up! I’ll make you regret taking me lightly.”
Suddenly, the Baron felt dizzy, and his vision began to waver. Unable to comprehend what was happening, he held his head.
A mysterious feeling of weakness also overtook the soldiers’ bodies.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Oh, so it’s finally working? After all, the bigger you are, the longer it takes for the medicine to work?”
“Y-, You…!”
Amelia looked down at the Baron, who had collapsed to his knees, waving his pipe.
Before they knew it, the pipe smoke was spreading throughout the corridor. The Baron and his soldiers were deprived of their physical freedom by inhaling the poison contained in the smoke.
Note that Amelia, due to years of training, possessed the rare skill of “Poison Resistance” and was unaffected by the smoke.
“I’m not going to let them report me to the guild. I’m going to let you go.”
“You… you mess with me, the… kingdom will not be happy…”
“Don’t worry. I was on the job to get rid of you in the first place.”
Amelia approached the Baron with a smile and a grip on her battle axe.
The Baron looked at her in horror and desperately tried to escape, but the poison from the smoke prevented him from freeing his body.
“Wait, wait… forgive me, forgive me! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“Haha… I’ve already investigated your attempt to betray His Highness and passed the information on to the female fox elf tribe.”
“What are you talking about… I really don’t…”
“Goodbye then!!”
Amelia smiled and swung her battle axe at the Baron, who begged for his life.
Immediately after, a spray of blood splashed down the aisle, and a few seconds later, the screams of other soldiers and the sound of flesh being cut and torn echoed through the air.
A few minutes later, a cleaner went to clean the waiting room, saw the blood-soaked devastation of the room, and rushed to report it to the arena’s management – the “Battle Association.”
However, by the time the cleaners opened the door, the body was already gone, leaving only traces of blood. The arena searched for Amelia, who was supposed to be the last person to use the waiting room, but she had already disappeared from the arena – and she was long gone.