“Good morning, everyone! Today is a wonderful day! The sky is clear with no cloud in sight, as if the gods themselves cleared this day for this very moment! Today is the 487th annual knight selection tournament! A glorious day for the new knights to show off their prowess in full display of the entire kingdom.”

Cheers erupted from the audience as an announcer appeared in the middle of the arena. The platform beneath him began to glow as it floated off the ground and into the center of the arena.

“My name is Oeser Sobren, your announcer for these coming days! It's my job to keep all of you informed and give the play-by-play for those who can’t keep up with the fighters' amazing speed!”

Oeser’s platform floated as it looped around the edge of the arena.

“People from all over the kingdom have gathered to witness these knights! I even know a few of you have traveled from nearby kingdoms as well! From common folk to nobles and even Princess Valerie herself, everyone has gathered for this special occasion!”

Oeser pointed towards the VIP section of the spectators' area where Princess Valerie sat alongside other prominent figures. She didn’t expect the announcer to specifically point her out, but with grace, she stood up and waved at the citizens.

“WOAAAH!”

Everyone cheered at the sight of their beloved princess.

“I’m sure everyone wants me to shut up already and start the match, so let's get on with it! To start the first match, we have the man who achieved first place in the knight selection, give it up for Victor!”

Victor walked onto the arena, smiling and waving at the audience.

“And on the other side of the arena, we have Reginald!”

A large man carrying a massive claymore walked onto the arena and brandished his weapon, causing the dust around him to scatter.

“While he may have placed 16th among the contenders, don't mistake it for him being weak! That means he is the 16th best among the nearly two thousand applicants. Everyone who is competing in this tournament can’t be treated lightly!”

Among those in the VIP section sat Commander Zaman, who shook his head at the announcer's words.

‘Maybe some other year, but not this one. I see a few have noticed it already.’

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Zaman’s gaze moved towards the leaders of non-royal family factions: the young-looking man Orion, who was the guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild, alongside the other guildmasters of the other profession guilds; the three nobles, Sigurd, Vanessa, and Ian, who were the figureheads of their respective noble factions; and the foreign representatives from Sylmasera, Delvania, and the Sapphire Scales Alliance, who had come to spectate as neighbors to Crestelia.

Each group had their own ways of assessing the strength of the contestants, and all had already figured out that Victor had A-Rank strength. None said anything or questioned Zaman's decision to include Victor in the competition, as it was under his jurisdiction to run it how he wanted, but they all understood the winner was already decided.

The announcer continued, “The rules are simple. You will fight until one side is unable to continue or surrenders. No potions or other consumables are allowed, and only two unique items can be used by each fighter. Are both fighters ready?”

Reginald yelled, “Yes!”

Victor nodded.

Oeser took out a wand-like item and pointed it in the air, “Then begin!”

The wand hummed as it shot out an array of colorful lights alongside an explosion that could be heard throughout the colosseum.

Reginald instantly used [Blinding Fury], massively increasing his strength at the cost of his consciousness, and blazed towards Victor. Normally, Reginald wouldn’t commit to such a risky move off the bat, but he had heard rumors of how strong his opponent was. If the rumors were true, he didn’t stand a chance unless he went all out from the start.

Oeser narrated as the fight continued, “Reginald is starting off strong with [Blinding Fury]! A risky but powerful move that more than doubled his strength! It seems he wants to end the fight already!”

With only the thoughts of winning in his muddled mind, Reginald used a combination of movement skills to charge towards Victor. His massive unique sword swung down with all his strength as he used [Fell Cleave].

“[Flame Burst].”

Fire erupted around Victor in all directions with incredible force. The fire not only burned Reginald but also blew him away towards the other side of the arena.

CRASH!

Reginald's body slammed into the wall of the colosseum, creating a large crater. Burns covered his entire body, charring a significant portion of it. The crowd waited with bated breath for the man to stand up and fight once more, but as each second passed, the realization dawned upon everyone that he was already knocked out.

Oeser stuttered in shock, “W-w-wow! What a fight! With a single cast, Victor was able to stop Reginald’s powerful charge with [Flame Burst] no less!”

Medical personnel ran onto the arena and placed Reginald on a stretcher, taking him away for treatment.

“For those who aren’t well-versed in magic, [Flame Burst] is a beginner-level spell! Almost every new fire mage learns it, as it's usually taught in magic academies and books as one of the easiest spells! But this wasn’t any normal [Flame Burst]! Victor's mastery over magic is so high he is able to increase the grade of the spell from early beginner all the way to early advanced grade!”

“VICTOR!”

“VICTOR!”

“VICTOR!”

The audience cheered for the winner of the duel as the man himself gave the crowd another wave and walked out of the arena.

Sol, who was spectating silently while sipping a drink, almost spat it out after seeing how quickly the match was decided.

‘I didn’t think I had to use [Analysis] against my competitors, but it seems I underestimated them.’