Today, despite the cloudy sky, the voice of the live commentary continued to rouse the cheering audience in the stadium.

『Now then, the fighting tournament has entered its third round and the battles have become more intense. Unfortunately, today’s weather is cloudy! The heavens are probably holding back tears of joy over this fight!』

At those words, the cheers of the audience echoed throughout the arena.

They knew. Who was going to appear in the next match? How important were they?

『Yes, everyone here knows! Introducing, Noiz, the S rank adventurer of the Bestir Empire, the Immovable! On the other side, we have Luzi, the leader of the C rank party Wind Dragon’s Fang! Many people probably know of the power of his claymore, unleashed from his well built body, as it has shocked the audience in the past. There’s more, there’s more! This adventurer party actually consists of three people, the other two being the thief, Vaycul, and the mage, Mosst.』

The audience buzzed as the commentator’s words flowed through the stadium.

Because they were names they had heard before.

『They sound familiar, right? They should be. Those two competitors have already lost, but they both also made it to the main tournament. That’s right, Wind Dragon’s Fang is strong enough for all party members to make it through the qualifying rounds. What’s more, they haven’t fought in many tournaments to improve their skills before, this is their first time participating in this tournament!』

Those words must have been a surprise. The audience was silent for a moment, but they immediately erupted into cheers.

After this tournament, the name Wind Dragon’s Fang would definitely become well known throughout the Imperial Capital……and through the audience, they would also become known throughout the Bestir Empire and the surrounding countries.

Even though he realised that, Luzi didn’t seem happy at all as he appeared on the stage alongside the commentator’s announcement.

In fact, he could be described as being in a bad mood.

The reason was because of the cheers being directed towards him from the audience.

「I’ll be rooting for you in next year’s tournament!」

「Just being able to reach the third round in your first appearance is more than enough of an accomplishment. Next year, you can go even further!」

「You’re lucky to be able to fight Immovable!」

「Ahhhhh, I want to be trampled by Vaycul-sama as well!」

Those kind of cheers.

Luzi ignored the last one as it wasn’t directed at him, but he still gave a displeased snort as he reached for his claymore.

(Hmph, I wonder how many people here think I will win. ……Well, that’s fine. I just have to subvert their expectations.)

With those thoughts in mind, he swung the claymore on his back.

The larger than normal claymore made a wooshing sound as it was swung.

It had been custom made for Luzi, who was confident in his strength and he had killed many monsters with it.

Of course, he had plenty of experience fighting against humans as well. Dozens of bandits had lost their lives to this claymore.

Because of that, Luzi had no intention of losing as easily as the audience was suggesting.

……At least he hadn’t up to this point in time.

The moment Noiz took the stage and faced him, Luzi felt an overwhelming sense of intimidation that forced him to take several steps back.

Luzi was shocked as he realised that.

Noiz hadn’t done anything. He hadn’t even drawn his sword, he was just standing in front of him.

(This……is S rank……)

Luzi mumbled to himself as he breathed in.

He could only understand the feeling when they faced each other. How strong was the person facing him? ……No, the better way to express Noiz’s strength was that he couldn’t seen the full depth of his strength even while facing each other like this.

(But, I can’t afford to lose so easily in a place like this!)

He made a big swing with his claymore to rally his frightened heart.

From an outsider’s perspective, it might have looked like an attempt to intimidate someone who was a higher rank than him.

There was no doubt that it certainly held some sort of meaning.

But……Noiz was unphased by the aura Luzi was giving off and was even slightly surprised.

「Oh?」

That was all……that was all the sound Noiz made. But at that moment, the intimidation emanating from Noiz increased significantly.

Luzi gripped his claymore and stared back at Noiz without taking a step back.

(I see. By the time we get to the third round, the number of better people will increase. If I think about it, maybe participating in this tournament wasn’t that bad after all.)

Noiz gave a small smile as he pulled out his long sword from the sheath at his waist.

It was a motion that anyone who had used a long sword before would have repeated many times before. But, when Luzi saw it, he couldn’t help but gasp.

Smooth……yes, it was very smooth.

Even though he had only pulled out his sword, it felt like it was something amazing to witness.

「Heh……heh heh.」

Still……Luzi had already made up his mind and didn’t let himself be intimidated as a smile appeared on his lips.

Even looking from the sidelines, it was obvious that his smile was filled with bravado. However, Noiz didn’t mock him as he readied the long sword in his hands.

It was because it was rare for someone to be able to smile in the face of his intimidation, even if he was holding back.

Luzi also took up a stance with claymore in hand.

Then, after determining that both players were ready, the referee declared the started of the match.

「Match, start!」

『WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH-!』

Either side had yet to make a move, but cheers already rose from the audience.

It seemed that many people were interested in watching Noiz’s match.

「Uo……UOOOOOoooOH-!」

As if to cut off the cheers, Luzi closed the distance to Noiz with claymore in hand.

With that, he made a powerful swing.

He wasn’t going to wait and see. He knew that if he did that, against his opponent, he would lose in no time at all.

That was why he made the first attack.

He put all his strength behind the attack and it was undoubtedly the best attack he had ever made in his career as an adventurer in terms of speed, and technique……however, Noiz’s long sword, which seemed to be thrust out casually in response, easily deflected the blade of his claymore.

「What-!?」

Seeing that, Luzi let out a shocked voice.

Of course, he hadn’t thought he could defeat Noiz in a single attack. But……he still hadn’t expected his long sword, moved with one hand, to stop him so easily.

(I knew his speed wasn’t average, but……his strength is also beyond common sense. What a monster!)

Screaming internally as if to suppress his fear, Luzi used the momentum of his claymore to spin around on the spot, slashing at Noiz horizontally.

Rather than cutting, it was more of a crushing attack. If it connected, he was confident in shattering bones through armour, even if his opponent was wearing full plate mail.

However……his attack was once again easily intercepted by the long sword that Noiz casually held out.

If it had brought about some change in Noiz’s expression, Luzi would have sensed it. However, he couldn’t see any particular change in Noiz’s expression.

Part of the reason was because he couldn’t easily read the expression of Noiz, an S rank adventurer, while in battle. But Luzi could still tell in his heart that Noiz genuinely wasn’t surprised. He clicked his tongue loudly.

(This also doesn’t work!)

At that moment, as someone confident in his own strength, he was shocked that his attacks could be blocked with one hand. Seeing that, he decided to move away and start again.

「The power in each attack is passable. You’re also quite bold. Quick to know when to retreat as well.」

Luzi heard those words from Noiz.

He was being praised. There was no doubt about it, but it still wasn’t pleasant to hear those words, which sounded like they were being ticked off a checklist.

That was probably why. He had been about to fall back, but he made the quick decision to stop and make another attack instead.

Luzi was by no means good at thrusts. It was only natural as he used a claymore, which was overwhelmingly larger and heavier compared to a long sword, not to mention his claymore was larger than ordinary claymores.

In fact, even Luzi himself could tell that his thrust was severely lacking in technique.

Of all the people Luzi knew who were good at thrusting attacks, there was Rhodes, and he knew that his thrust was nowhere near as good.

But……in this case, the size of his claymore became a weapon in of itself.

Although it lacked technique and speed, it boasted overwhelming power behind it.

If an adventurer of his level were to face this attack, it would have felt like a wall was closing in on them.

But in this case, his opponent was a bad matchup.

「Did you sense something? But I can’t rate an attack based on instinct.」

Luzi made that thrust with all his strength. But, the tip of Noiz’s long sword, thrust out in response, firmly matched the tip of Luzi’s claymore, stopping its movement.

Stopping a moving claymore by matching the tips of their swords. It was a counter that could only be considered a divine skill.

And, of course, the person most surprised to see it was Luzi, who witnessed it up close.

「Wha-!」

That was the only sound that came out of his mouth.

However, that was enough to speak to the magnitude of his shock.

「That happened because you used an attack you’re not familiar with.」

With those words, came a heavy blow.

The next moment, Luzi’s body was lying on the ground.

He immediately pushed his hand against the ground as he stood up, looking around as he realised he was at the edge of the arena.

Looking back towards Noiz, he saw Noiz pulling back his left fist.

Seeing that and the clear fist mark on his armour, Luzi realised what had happened……and what had hit him.

Yes. Noiz had stopped the tip of his claymore with the tip of his long sword, held in his right hand, before punching him with his left hand.

Fortunately, his partner, his claymore, was still in his right hand.

He had been punched with such force that it had left marks on his armour. But despite being hit so far, he hadn’t let go of his weapon as he tried to stand up with a slight smile on his face, thinking he could still fight on.

「Argh-!」

Pain……severe pain shot up from the spot under his armour where he had been hit and he stopped moving for a moment.

Still, Luzi managed to move himself the next moment from his determination to lose like this.

(Damn, my ribs must have been taken out. What kind of strength must he have to be able to produce that much power by just punching with his left arm, his non-dominant arm?)

While muttering to himself in shock, he readied his claymore, making sure that the fighting spirit within him had yet to fade.

From just that series of interactions, he was able to understand that Noiz was someone far above him.

Even so……even so, after boasting to his friends, he couldn’t admit defeat so easily.

He understood that it was just bravado and meaningless stubbornness. However, it was what made Luzi the person he was, so there was no way he would retreat here.

「Phew……haaaa……」

He tried to catch his breath while enduring the pain running through his side.

Normally, an enemy would have taken this opportunity to attack, but Luzi had the strange feeling that the person he was facing wouldn’t do something like that. And he was definitely right.

Noiz just watched Luzi, not moving until he was ready.

At first, Luzi thought that he was being underestimated. But, once the difference in his strength was shown, he couldn’t complain.

Even though he had only taken one attack, he had already suffered an injury that made him struggle to move his body.

(But……still……that’s why!)

Taking a deep breath and holding back the pain in his side, he used all his remaining strength to dash forward.

「I can’t……lose that easily!」

Noiz rapidly closed in.

Luzi’s claymore was swung.

An attack that an ordinary adventurer would struggle to avoid struck Noiz……

「Brilliant.」

With those words, a heavy shock struck Luzi’s body again and his consciousness snapped away as he collapsed onto the arena.

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