「This is……what can I say, there’s an amazing number of people.」

Rei murmured to himself.

He was inside the arena’s competitor waiting room at the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

Next to him, Rhodes spoke up, just as surprised.

「Well, the fighting tournament attracts participants not only from all over the Bestir Empire, but also from surrounding countries. It can’t be helped that there are so many people.」

Rhodes looked around, somewhat restless but also relieved that there weren’t as many people looking at them as he had expected. He spoke in an attempt to hide his restlessness.

On a side note, they were in a different waiting room from the three in Luzi’s party, Wind Dragon’s Fang, probably due to the number of people who had registered.

Rei replied as he tried to calm Rhodes down.

「What is more surprising is that there isn’t an opening ceremony for the fighting tournament.」

「Hm? Oh, I see. Well, with so many people, it would take a long time to hold an opening ceremony. Thinking about it, there will be an opening ceremony for the finals though, which is also the main tournament, which makes sense.」

As Rhodes had said, there was an opening ceremony, but it would only be held when the main tournament started.

This was done partly to ensure the safety of the Emperor, the imperial family, and various nobles who had come to watch the event, and partly because the level of the qualifying rounds was generally low.

However, at the same time, the lower level of the qualifying rounds meant that it was a lot rougher, so the betting was also a lot more exciting, which many people looked forward to.

Naturally, Rei joined in on the betting and asked Elk to bet a few gold coins on him to win the qualifying rounds.

Rhodes was stunned when he saw this but didn’t say anything in particular, nor did he bet on himself like Rei did either.

In addition to Rei, who gave Elk the money to bet on himself, Daska, Elk, and Min, who had also come to watch the tournament, placed their own bets on Rei and Rhodes.

「Besides, not everyone is here, right? We can’t see Luzi around.」

Rei murmured as looked around and Rhodes nodded, confirming once again that he couldn’t see the familiar faces who they had been training with for the past two days.

「I guess so. If you look at it……that’s there a mix of strong and weak people. It’s true that if the tournament started from here, it would be a waste of time. All things considered, a battle royale for the qualifying rounds isn’t wrong……right?」

Rhodes was speaking to Rei, but his words were heard by several participants near them.

Unfortunately, the people in the waiting room were in high spirits as the qualifying rounds were about to begin, so they couldn’t ignore what Rei and Rhodes were saying to each other with knowing looks on their faces.

More so because Rei looked quite small, in addition to wearing a mage’s robe.

Hearing themselves being criticised, a man in his 20’s stood up from where he had been sitting as he went over to Rei and Rhodes.

「Hey, you brats, you’re talking a lot, but do you know where this is? It’s not a place you should even be, is it? No, that warrior brat over might be trying his luck, but the one in the robe, you obviously don’t belong here.」

The man was clearly speaking to Rei, who was only up to his chest, height wise.

The other tournament participants seemed to have nothing better to do as there was no sign that the qualifying rounds had started yet. They started jeering, as if finding a great way to pass the time.

「That’s right, even if a kid like you can come along, you’ll just lose in the qualifying rounds. Just go home and suck on your mother’s breasts.」

「No, no, that’s impossible, his mother is sleeping in my bed at my house right now.」

「Hah, you really have bad taste in women.」

「In the first place, a warrior might still be okay, but the one wearing a robe clearly doesn’t have any armour underneath, it’s obvious he some sort of mage. The qualifying rounds might be manageable, but in the main tournament……if he get’s that far, he’ll definitely lose in the first round.」

「There’s no way he’ll get to the main tournament in the first place.」

The participants all jeered loudly, but of course there were a few who could see through Rei and Rhodes’ real skill.

They looked at the other participants, who were still jeering, with a hint of pity. The stronger ones kept their distance in order to avoid getting caught up in the commotion that was about to occur.

They didn’t want to get caught up in anything, but they also wanted to check Rei and Rhodes’ abilities. That was what they though.

As a matter of fact, participants in the tournament were prohibited from fighting each other before the official rounds, if they did, at worst, they could lose their eligibility to participate.

However, those rules only applied to the main tournament. Due to the battle royale nature of the qualifying rounds, where countless people gathered, the rules were not as clear.

As a result, every time the tournament was held, a number of participants would always withdraw before the qualifying rounds even began. Nothing would usually be done as it was just recognised that those who were good enough to make it to the main tournament wouldn’t have any issues.

「Something bothering you?」

Rei asked the person approaching them with a glare.

The man, sensing that Rei didn’t care for him, stretched out his hand towards Rei, veins bulging under his skin.

He wanted to grab Rei’s robe, pull him close, and punch his hidden face under the robe to teach him a painful lesson on his position.

But, because Rei pulled his body back slightly, all the man grabbed was air.

「Pfft, look at him. He tried to grab the kid and ended up being the one looking like a kid.」

「Hey, hey, don’t tease him too much. He looks like a bundle of nerves already.」

「Yeah……what should I say, shouldn’t we stop him before he embarrasses himself any further? All this commotion with the boy……he is a boy, right? Judging by his voice, he’s probably a boy. I don’t care if the boy gets hurt, but it won’t be good if he also gets hurt as a result.」

「Hah? What are you talking about? If he has trouble dealing with a brat like that, he doesn’t deserve to participate in this tournament.」

Voices of ridicule could be heard around the man.

After trying and failing to grab Rei’s robe, his body trembled as he endured the humiliation……

「If you don’t have anything else do to, how about we stop here? I’d like to take it easy until the qualifying rounds start.」

The man couldn’t bear hearing such words, that seemed to be shaming him, from Rei.

「Don’t joke around you damn brat!」

He swung his fist.

As someone participating in the fighting tournament, he didn’t randomly swing his fist, but rather held his stance as he punched straight out, using the power gathered by twisting his body.

He was clearly someone who was good at combat, but this time he had picked the wrong opponent.

Rei had already experienced fighting Vihera, who specialised in close quarters combat. Even if the man had some skill, Rei could only say he lacked strength.

He used his palm to knock away the fist aimed at his face.

It was a kindness that Rei used his palm instead of a fist.

「What-!?」

The man had to have understood that Rei was quite capable from that series of exchanges.

Normally, the man would have been able to get the blood out of his head after understanding his opponent’s strength and quietly retreat.

However……their current location wasn’t the best for that.

The fighting tournament was the biggest event in the Bestir Empire and there were many talented people around them.

If he were to back away now, he would be considered nothing more than a clown, since he had been the one to attack first.

In the qualifying rounds that were about to begin, the other participants would target him, seeing him as easy prey. Not only that, there was a possibility that this would even cause issues further down the line with his work after the tournament.

In other words, even though he could tell the difference in ability between himself and his opponent, there was no way for him to retreat.

「Tch-, damn it!」

He pulled back his arm that had been knocked aside as he threw multiple punches towards Rei.

Unlike his previous attack, it was a series of attacks that focused entirely on speed, rather than putting the force of his entire body behind them by twisting.

He kept unleashing jabs like in boxing without taking a breath.

That quick flurry of fists was proof that the man was more than just talk.

Even the others around him who had been jeering couldn’t help but stare at the speed of his fists.

Rei was also momentarily surprised.

Having fought Vihera several times, her style was to take advantage of her physical ability to land powerful hits.

Of course, her speed wasn’t slow either, in fact, she was probably faster than the man who was trying to slam his fists into Rei.

However, it was a rare experience for Rei to encounter someone who increased the speed of their attack by sacrificing the force behind them.

「I see, that’s a pretty good speed.」

Rei muttered in admiration, but it didn’t stop him from deflecting all the man’s punches with his right palm.

At this point, the others in the waiting room couldn’t help but acknowledge that Rei’s skill was higher than theirs.

Those who had noticed Rei’s ability earlier and moved away carefully observed Rei to see if they could find any weaknesses or quirks.

「Well, it’s about time. Get some sleep.」

The man, who was now wearing an expression of disbelief at the situation where all his fists were knocked aside, clenched his teeth when he heard Rei’s words.

He sensed that Rei was about to make his own attack. And, he knew that he had no way to avoid or block it.

Knocking aside one last punch, Rei was about to move his body forward……

「What are you doing!」

At this moment, a voice echoed out into the waiting room.

When all the participants turned to the direction of the voice, they saw a man in his 30’s wearing a uniform that indicated he was a member of the tournament’s management committee.

Even if some conflicts between participants were tolerated, they couldn’t keep fighting in front of someone from the management committee.

「……Tch, you got lucky this time.」

As the man said that to Rei, a large amount of sweat poured from his forehead.

The temperature was still quite warm and there were many people gathered inside the room. In addition, until just a moment ago, he had been throwing punches rapidly.

But even with all that considered, the amount of sweat on the man’s forehead was abnormal.

The man himself knew it. If he had continued to fight like that, he would definitely lose.

The sweat on his head was proof of that.

Even so, the fact that he threw those words out despite feeling defeated was probably due to his strong sense of bravado.

As if he were the only one who knew that, the man glared hatefully at Rei before leaving and going to the back of the waiting room.

He knew that if he stayed in front of Rei like this, his facade would definitely fall off.

Seeing the man leave, Rei also eased his stance.

Next to him, Rhodes looked over with a somewhat exasperated expression.

There was already going to be a battle royale after this, which would be tiring in various ways, so he didn’t understand Rei’s intention of fighting here.

Even if he didn’t waste his stamina here……Rhodes thought about it for a moment, before remembering how much stamina Rei had and quickly realising that it was pointless to worry about him.

Even after sparring consecutively with Rhodes, Luzi, Vaycul, and Mosst, followed by all four of them at the same time, Rei had hardly lost his breath. Rhodes couldn’t imagine just how much physical strength Rei had.

「……Well, it’s fine. If you get too excited, you might be disqualified from participating, so please do so in moderation.」

The management committee member spoke with a sigh.

It wasn’t the main tournament, just the qualifying rounds. Since so many restless people had gathered, he only warned them lightly before stating his business.

「Qualifying block C will begin soon. Anyone who’s name is called should follow.」

At those words, everyone in the waiting room, including Rei, grew quiet as they waited for their names to be called.

The names of those participating in the qualifying block was called in order……

「Rei.」

After confirming that his name was called, Rei took a step forward.

Rei, although some people reacted when they heard that name, the name itself wasn’t that rare.

Besides, no one connected Rei with Crimson, probably because of the rumours that he was a big man.

That said, a few people still seemed somewhat suspicious.

Following Rei, the names of those participating in block C were called out one after another, but Rhodes’ name wasn’t among them.

(Well, I guess they decided that having Crimson and the son of the Axe of the Thunder God fight in the same qualifying block would be a loss for them in many ways.)

Thinking to himself, Rei and the others who had been called up followed the man from the management committee.

「……Don’t think you can pass the qualifying rounds safely.」

Rei couldn’t help but let out a sigh when he heard that man who had tried to punch him earlier whisper as Rei passed him by.

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