“Number 29! Please make your way up to the arena!”

It was finally my turn to come up on the stage. The one before me was a werewolf named Lycaon. He was a sight to behold, with black fur that covered a tall and muscular body, a long snout with razor-sharp fangs and claws that could rend through armor as easily as slicing through butter. When you get a glimpse of his piercing eyes, you could feel a deep sorrow emanating from his gaze, in stark contrast to his rough and eerie body. I noticed this when we passed by each other.

With quick strides, I was standing in the arena. I stopped myself in front of the announcer.

“Hello there, young miss! Care you state your name and where you come from?” Nevar asked calmly. Even though it’s been hours since the preliminaries started, Nevar’s voice had yet to waver slightly due to all the commentating he has done individually. From my perspective, you could call him one of the best in his profession.

I tried my best to suppress the nervousness in my voice and spoke into the microphone.

“…It’s Laila and I come from Igni Town.”

An unfamiliar sparkle briefly shone in Nevar’s eye. “Another representative of Igni Town? What is your relationship with Isaac?”

“Uh, does it matter?” I replied cautiously. Why is he asking that kind of question suddenly? Is it for entertainment purposes?

“Just humor us for a moment,” he whispered into my ear. Nevar was now somehow pleading with me using his bird face, similar to puppy-dog eyes. Or more like raven-eyes?

I inwardly sighed and surrendered. “Okay… He is my brother.”

An evil smirk spread across his beak as he turned to the audience. “And there it is, folks! We have a sibling rivalry going on! From Igni Town no less!”

Well, that’s my bad. I should’ve seen that coming from someone of his profession. I could only facepalm my embarrassment as Nevar got the crowd riled up.

“Well then, Laila, how many will you take on? The same as your brother, perhaps?”

I thought long and hard while I watched from the sidelines. I feel as if Isaac was easily able to decommission the golems because of his [Energy Manipulation]. Since Torqinite was embedded within their chests to power them, he probably scattered the mana elsewhere, causing them to cease functioning. Doukour got by through brute strength that I couldn’t hope to compete with. I think I’m strong myself, but I mostly rely on my agility, so I should take full advantage of that perk. Might have to think of this as a training session…

“I’ll start with one of them and work my way up. Am I able to do that?” I asked Nevar. At my inquiry, I was given a skeptical look by Nevar.

“Er, If I’m understanding correctly… you want to start off small and gradually increase the number of golems?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged at my nonchalant answer and backed away. “Whenever you’re ready, miss!”

Hm, okay then. How should I do this? Should I just use my fists and test the waters? Nah, too barbaric. Maybe activate [Mana Weapon Construction]? Not that either. I shouldn’t show others my magic too carelessly. I want to keep the element of surprise and use it to my advantage.

As I was pondering, a single golem had been activated and advanced towards me.

I muttered the word Status and navigated toward Inventory. Reaching my arm out, I pulled out the black rapier Venny has crafted. This would be my first time doing a trial run with it, and the perfect lab rats were laid out right in front of me.

The golem was mere inches away from my face, dead set on punching me square in my jaw. A quick thrust to its core caused the golem to buckle forward and collapse. I stared at the black rapier in awe. It felt like I was stabbing a knife through tofu. Its weight is nothing to scoff at either. That was all well and dandy, but…

I glanced over at the announcer. “Hey, Nevar. Can you speed things up? Make the golems activate one at a time in intervals of two seconds.”

“C-Certainly! Mages! You heard her!”

The two mages that were on the opposite ends of the arena the entire time nodded their heads at my proposal. A single chant from them later, and the golems were now waking up quickly, charging at me with faceless expressions. I sidestepped one attack that was aimed at my left shoulder and stabbed right through its head. Another golem tried to dive kick me, but it was futile. It met the same demise as its clone. That’s two down, 28 more to go.

With every attack, I evade and counterattack, moving forward and never back. Now that’s three. One swept its legs, but I simply hopped over it, crushing its head beneath the soles of my shoe. And that’s four. Stab, slash, kick, dodge was all I did, like a drone whose sole purpose was to fight. I wasn’t paying attention to the announcer or the crowd. Their voices sounded distant and gargled as if I was underwater. My concentration was dead set on the golems. 16, 17, and 18 had fallen. If I were to view this in the eyes of others, it would be like watching a scene of an assassin laying waste to their victims, leaving no one alive. No witnesses. 27, 28, and 29. Before I knew it, I was down to the last survivor. Stepping over the pile of bodies, I calmly strolled up to it and just punctured the Torqinite crystal in a swift motion.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

And there goes 30. That was a great experiment. Back in the Inventory you go.

My rapier disappeared out of sight and was now stored in the Inventory. The thunderous cheering startled me and snapped me back to reality. When I looked up, I could see Kara and the others waving at me frantically, their faces grinning when we made eye contact. I returned the favor by waving back at them.

Nevar jumped back into the arena with a fire lit in his eyes. “Laila has finished her bout with the golems! She had finesse with each thrust and wasted no energy with minimal movement! Truly a spectacular sight!”

As I wandered back to my original spot, Isaac was giving me the thumbs up and mouthing the words: ‘Great job out there!’

“While the golems are reset, may our final participant of the day please step forward,” Nevar announced. When I heard we had one more participant to go, I turned my head to see a certain individual calmly climbing up the stairs. Once the announcer noticed who was last, his hand trembled.

“Last but not least, we saved the best for last! Give a round of applause for our first place winner of last year’s tournament… ZELKE!”

It was as if a nuclear bomb had been detonated in the center of the stadium, causing the audience members to erupt in a loud cry. The atmosphere in the stadium gradually altered as everyone pounded their feet on the ground.

Nevar expected this reaction and nodded in approval. “I like the enthusiasm in the building! Well, Zelke, would you care to tell the audience where you come from?”

The man stood firm, eyes completely shut, not even acknowledging the question Nevar has asked.

Nevar wasn’t bothered by Zelke’s action and simply chuckled. “Haha! The same as usual! Straight to business, eh? No matter. Since we all know what you’re going to ask for, let’s give him all 30 of the golems! Now that the golems are rebuilt, you may start whene-“

The announcer lost his words as Zelke’s eyes opened, and an abundance of mana was released, similar to a chaotic typhoon. The mages managed to get away in the nick of time, as his mana surged over the golems, resulting in an overload of power within their cores that created a dazzling display of fireworks. I was taken aback, my body instinctively tensing, as he stepped down from the arena, arms crossed in a show of courage. His face was a mask of indifference, not betraying a single emotion, as though this event was insignificant.

Nevar adjusted the collar on his suit as he cleared his throat. “T-T-This should be expected from Zelke! The fearsome warrior has made the golems burst with just his mana alone! Zelke has definitely gotten stronger than last year! Ladies and gentlemen! This now concludes Port Silis Annual Tournament preliminaries! Let’s take a look at the leaderboards to see who made the top 16 and will advance to the main tournament!”

The leaderboard emerged, and the rankings were listed. In first place was Zelke, not surprising. Second place was reserved for a frowning Isaac. After that was Myra, Doukur, me, and others. The person who got sixteenth place had 16 points, which I found kinda funny. A few moments later, the leaderboard was now gone, and the announcer was finishing his closing statement.

“The main tournament will officially start tomorrow afternoon, so don’t be late! After the brackets are created for the top 16, they will be posted for all to see. So, until then, may you have a good rest and be fully energized!”

Once finished, he and the mages then disappeared in a puff of smoke and feathers. Clapping resonated across the stadium while people were already exiting. I took that opportunity to make my way back to the lobby.

“I should meet up with Clein and the others. They probably weren’t expecting us to join the preliminaries… Oh, there they are.”

Clein was chatting with the family of four with excited faces. Kara was the first to spot me and gleefully rushed toward me. I hoisted the animated girl up and sat her on my shoulders, pinching her cheeks.

“Laila! You were so awesome there!”

“Heh. You think that was awesome? Just wait till tomorrow! Or the day after, depending on when my fight is.”

“What about me, huh?” said Isaac, popping up from behind my shoulder.

Kara squinted at Isaac and pouted. “Meh. You were cool, but not as cool as her! All you did was raise your arm and boom! They fell over.”

Isaac clicked his tongue in frustration. “Damn! I thought people liked that kind of stuff. I’ll have to rethink how I fight…”

All I could do was roll my eyes as Isaac and Kara bickered amongst themselves. After we rejoined Clein and the others, we headed straight back to the inn and were feasting on Mel’s cooking. As we ate, Clein asked us a question.

“So, Isaac, Laila, how did it feel being around people near your level?”

“Near my level?” Isaac scoffed. “The only noteworthy person there was Zelke, and probably that Myra person. Other than them, no one is near my level.”

Clein turned his attention to me. “What about you, Laila?”

I momentarily stopped eating and gazed out the window. “Hmm. I think there were a lot of strong people there, and it wasn’t just Zelke and Myra. There’s also Doukur and Lycaon. However, when Zelke released his mana, I felt my heart freeze over. Like it was ripped out of my chest and stuffed into an icebox.”

Isaac set his spoon down and leaned back in his seat. “His mana? Bah, I bet I could use my [Energy Manipulation] on him, and he wouldn’t be able to wield it. Probably.”

“Probably?” Clein asked.

“I mean… if my opponent is way stronger than I am, my magic wouldn’t work on them. The training Solgen made me suffer through may not be enough.”

He’s right. It’s only been a month and a half since we’ve been in this world and gotten powers. There’s no way we’ll easily defeat a foe who has gone through years of training, especially someone like Zelke.

Clein was silent for a moment as he studied our faces. And then, out of nowhere, he snapped his fingers.

“Then how about I tell you a little more about Zelke? Maybe that will better your chances of defeating him.?

Cleins’ words got Isaac’s attention. “Oh? Do you know him personally, Clein?”

“I wouldn’t say I personally knew him. He was a commander in the squadron I was stationed in during my time on Craidol.”

“During your time on Craidol?” Me and Isaac said in unison. That question seemed to have baffled Clein since he gaped at us, speechless.

“Uh, how much do you two know of the war on Craidol?”