Up on the auditorium, Cycelia watches Straf enter the arena. With his sword already drawn, he is utterly showered in cheers by the audience. Most everyone delivers a standing ovation, and seeing as others are standing up, Cycelia stands up to clap as well. The thundering applause lasts a minute, and then some.
「…And there he is, ladies and gentlemen! You know him, and you seem to love him, as well! Straf! Katastrof! Vindict!」
The announcer points his palm at Straf, and the applause begins again as soon as he says his name.
《Go Straf!》
Cycelia claps quietly, drowned out by everyone else's furor.
「As we are still awaiting contestant Sturm, who was far from being the spectators' favorite! His cautious and evasive fighting style made his matches dull for the audience, but they undoubtedly worked! Sturm has climbed to the top, and only Straf stands in his way to the grand prize of 50 gold coins!」
《50 gold coins… That's a lot. But if you'd bet…》
Cycelia's eyes drift to the betting tables.
「Regardless of who wins, 10 gold coins await the bout's loser! If he survives, that is! Take your time betting, ladies and gentlemen! The betting period will be extended considerably while we await contestant Sturm! While we're at it, we have interviewed contestant Straf!」
The announcer sweeps his hand across the audience above, and a small trickle of people goes up the stairs to bet. Cycelia looks back at Straf, who's grinning heavily below.
《…That's really, really easy money. Straf is just a monster! If I win the bet with all I have, I can pay him back for everything, and then still have all the money I need for a team of mercenaries!》
Cycelia gets up out of her seat, and jogs up the stairs to the bald bookie.
「Here's some of his questions and answers…」
The announcer says, as he begins to read through a piece of paper he just received. Cycelia reaches the table, and slams all her coins on it.
「All on Straf!」
Cycelia exclaims, much to the bald bookie's surprise. The gambling clique vocalizes their surprise at the pile of gold, and nods with approval for Cycelia's gambling guts.
「…You sure about this, lady? Even Straf isn't betting on himself-」
「He can't lose! He's way too strong!」
She leans towards the bookie onto his counter. He sighs, shakes his head, and begins counting her coins. The bookie returns her the black metal tokens, after scribbling in his ledger.
「Lady, Straf has a good approach to this. Take your winnings when you can.」
He shakes his baldness again, in a futile attempt to caution against overzealous gambling.
「What are the odds?」
She asks, scooping her tokens.
「…Apparently everyone thinks the same thing. Fate can be fickle, lady. I've seen it happen.」
Feeling that he sufficiently undermined the confidence in Cycelia's bet, he takes the next one from a nobleman also betting on Straf. Cycelia stares at the tokens in her hand pensively, before returning to her seat.
「…And it kills with its noxious emissions! No wonder contestant Straf thinks the tournament is a joke, if such deadly beasts plague his home!」
The announcer continues delivering trivia from Straf's interview, much to the spectators' joy as they applaud Straf. Cycelia sits back down, and Straf spreads his arms at the announcer while shaking his head with an incredulous expression, as if to ask him what exactly is he talking about.
「On the other hand, we still know absolutely nothing of contestant Sturm! And it seems we may never know! Ladies and gentlemen, the betting period will be closing shortly, but we are still awaiting for contestant Straf's opponent! Surely he would not miss out the most important match of the tournament!?」
The announcer shrugs with his hand, sounding slightly nervous…
…
In one of the private booths, a tall spearman sits on his chair. His dark, lizard-like eyes observe the green-cloaked, wolf-masked man enter and walk towards Straf.
「And there he is, ladies and gentlemen! Will it be a battle of giants, or will it end in seconds!?」
The announcer points his palm to Sturm, a few members of the audience clap quietly, but are quickly drowned out by jeers. He stops in front of Straf, just off the center on his own half of the arena, and Straf stares at him with a grin. Neither of them moving, and Straf not even blinking.
The spearman adjusts the grip on his broad-headed spear, and his slit pupils snap to a peculiarity he noticed. He watches Sturm's green cloak wobble and jiggle ever-so-slightly, even as he stands completely still.
「Magic, huh…」
The black-haired spearman takes his serious gaze off Sturm, dismissing his cape for enchanted as he loses his interest.
「…Versus! Sturm! Combatants, prepare yourselves!」
The announcer lifts his arms, and keeps them lifted for a prolonged period of time, as the arena goes dead silent…
…
「Hmpf. I'm glad I didn't tell Falcon after all. I'd have a hard time explaining myself now.」
In another private booth, the old mage talks to himself as he looks at Sturm and Straf's staredown. The announcer is still holding his arms held up, squeezing the absolute maximum of anticipation out of the audience.
「Now… Let's see how well you do against the genuine article, you little cheating rat… Hm?-」
Something odd catches Willow's eye, as he glances at Sturm for just a second.
「Fight!」
Gonnnnnnngggggggggggggg…
The announcer shouts out, and the gong rings out. The final match of the quadrennial summer martial tournament begins. Straf and his opponent still haven't moved despite the gong signaling the fight is already underway.
「…What is that? Enchantment-?」
Willow furrows his bushy brows as he squints at Sturm's cloak, but he then disappears from his focus.
「What!?-」
His eyes snap open as Sturm and Straf appear in the center of the arena, with a massive cloud of dust kicking up and trailing behind them.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clangclang! Clang! Clangclang!
A terrible deafening noise of metal on metal echoes out from the center of the arena, but no visible blows are exchanged. Sturm stands exactly the same way as he was, and Straf is standing with his sword pointing backwards over his opposite shoulder.
A cloud of dust explodes from between them, as if it were a smoke cover spreading across the entire arena rapidly, and making it impossible to see what is going on.
「What!? How is this possible!? This goes beyond just a simple haste-!」
The old man shouts out, standing up from his chair with his eyes wide open. He props himself up on his staff as he watches the dust fly.
Clangclangclangclangclangclangclang!
More terrible metallic clamor comes from the arena, and the dust is blown away, allowing the audience to see what is happening once again. Sturm and Straf are standing back where they were before the match started, albeit they have swapped places.
「Ladies and gentlemen, what happened!? Contestants Sturm and Straf seem to have exchanged blows, but could anyone see them do it!? It looks like Sturm was really holding out on us all-」
The announcer can't even finish his statement, before Straf disappears into a trail of dust shooting towards Sturm across the arena.
Clang! Clang! Clangclangclangclangclang!
More dust explodes outwards from Sturm's position, obscuring the arena. Violent currents of wind blow it away, revealing Straf pointing his sword at Sturm, who is standing near the arena's edge.
「Ladies and gentlemen, Straf seems to have gained an upper hand somehow! And even I am left wondering how! Those joining us just now are unlikely to appreciate how big of a turn of events this bout is!」
The announcer sounds genuinely as excited as the audience, who are outright screaming while standing and smashing their palms together, and throwing their arms up. Meanwhile, Willow is staring at the fighters with his eyes wide open, and his teeth clenched shut.
《This is bad… This is possibly the worst case scenario… I was prepared to deal with Straf. How am I supposed to get rid of them both!? Do I just cross my fingers one kills the other!?》
Clang! Clang! Clangclangclangclangclangclang! Clangclang!
Two trails of dust run parallel to each other in a spiral towards the center, and an ear-piercing sound of metal on metal echoes out from them, as Willow can barely grasp the battle below him.
「This is not possible… This has to be a trick! But how!? I've watched all of Straf's fights! It's not possible he was holding back this much! He could have beheaded every single one of his opponents before they even realize he took a single step!」
Spit flies out of Willow's mouth as he shouts in utter disbelief.
「Why would he be holding back?… Think… Think!」
Willow drops into his chair, rubbing his narrow beard intensively.
Clangclangclangclangclang!- Banggg!
Another round of horrible smashing comes from the center of the arena. Without a warning it changes into noise of something metallic shattering.
「What an awful racket, ladies and gentlemen! Did one of the swords break!?」
The dust clears once more. Straf and Sturm are standing a few paces away from each other, though Straf now has a worried grin on his face. Both of them hold their swords in hand pointing the tips at the ground. The audience keeps cheering non-stop throughout the course of the entire battle.
「It appears not, ladies and gentlemen! How long can this high-intensity battle go on for!?」
Just as the announcer finishes his rhetorical question, Sturm shoots out at Straf, turning into another trail of dust. In blink of an eye Sturm reaches him. Another explosion of dust appears from between them.
Clink clink clink!
Where Straf was standing a dust cloud appears, and it shoots into a wall behind him. The spectators hear a sound resembling a millstone being turned, and then a few very loud thuds…
…
At the same time, up on the auditorium…
Cycelia is rocking back and forth in her seat, leaning sideways to see past the spectator standing and jumping in front of her. She observes the battle with fierce attention, not taking her eyes off the arena for even a split second. Smoke clears from where Sturm was standing, and he is still standing in the same spot, unmoving.
Cycelia stops moving as well, her eyes drift with concern to the dust cloud where she suspects Straf is.
《He blocked or parried his hits, right? I hope he's not injured, or worse…》
Her brows furrow with worry as she thinks about Straf. The dust around the wall thins, Cycelia stands up with her eyes wide open, and the crowd gasps. The entire arena falls silent, when they see Straf amidst rubble from the wall on the ground. She immediately grips onto her medallion, and her heart skips a beat.
Straf still doesn't move as his opponent is standing still, watching him. The announcer doesn't know what to say, and is also staring at the two below in silent shock.
A moment of silence passes…
Goooonnnnnnnggggggg…
Even the gong sounds like it can't believe it, as it signals the end of the final match between Straf and Sturm.
「Straf… Lost!?」
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Cycelia exclaims, utterly shocked…
…
「Ladies! And! Gentlemen! We have a winner! Sturm has defeated Straf Katastrof Vindict in a major upset! But did he kill his op- Oh no, there he is! Straf seems not any worse for the wear!」
Willow listens to the announcer declare the winner of the quadrennial summer martial tournament, shocked and unsure what to think. He witnesses Straf get up without any assistance, or without any visible injuries to a deafening applause from the audience, despite his loss.
「He lost?… To a cheater? How is that possible?」
The old man speaks to himself as he watches Sturm make his exit into the dark corridor. Straf grins as soon as his opponent is out of the arena, and he points his thumb up at someone in the audience. Willow lowers his head as his mind races, trying to make sense of it all.
「Unless… No. That's ridiculous. I've seen both of them… Unless… At these speeds… Is it really impossible?」
He mumbles to himself as he watches Straf exit. The mage closes his eyes, then snaps them open. He shoots out of his chair again.
「Wha-!?」
Breathless, the mage can't believe his manasight as he stares down at the empty arena.
「Why is the arena flooded with so much mana!?」
He shouts the question directed at nobody in particular, as he stares at the thick fog in the arena that only he and his fellow mages can see. It swirls and slowly rises, glimmering in brilliant colors that are indescribable to those who can't see them
「I was right!? All along, I was right!? From the very start, my hunch was correct!? This is why his cloak…」
The mage's voice trails off, and he turns around, heading for the door out of his private booth in a hurried step.
「I need to find him. And quick…」
Willow mumbles to himself, swinging the door open with much unnecessary force…
…
Cycelia stands in the lobby, fidgeting with her medallion as she's deep in thought with concern on her face. She notices Straf arrive out of the side hallway.
「Ah, Straf… I'm sorry, but it was a good match! I'm sure you gave it your all-」
「Meh.」
Straf shrugs, grinning and unbothered.
「Huh? I thought you'd be really upset about it-」
「Nah, I got a good amount of gold. I still have to go pick up my tournament winnings, want to tag along?」
Straf asks nonchalantly, without even a sliver of detectable anger in his voice.
「Yeah!」
Cycelia smiles, happy that Straf isn't a sore loser. They squeeze past the crowd flowing outside and walk into another empty side hallway.
「So, did you have fun?」
Straf glances at Cycelia with a smirk.
「Yeah! I was really worried that you got hurt at the end! I'm glad you're okay.」
She nods with a smile, then pouts as she walks beside Straf with her hands behind her back.
「Yeah, well, there was nothing to worry about.」
「Still… I can't believe you lost. I guess the only thing certain in the world are death and taxes, huh?」
She looks down as she thinks for a second, then glances back up at Straf's face. They lock gazes, and Straf scoffs.
「Nah, I can dodge both fairly well at this point.」
「Huh?」
Cycelia tilts her head, and they walk winding stairs upwards to the highest level of the arena. Straf leads Cycelia further through the empty hallway, and they reach large double doors with armored guards posted on each side of the door.
The door swings open, and a massive armored man exits the room beyond. Cycelia recognizes him, and her expression immediately turns from contented into nervous.
「Oh. Fancy meeting you here. Shame about your match, huh?」
Roland the Wall says, as he physically looks down on Straf.
「Meh.」
Straf shrugs in response.
「Good thing you took my words to heart. Nobody likes a sore loser.」
Roland nods, looking down at Straf. His eyes are only small glimmers of reflected light behind his helmet's dark eyeslits.
「From the way I see it, I'm just a one big winner.」
With bored eyes, Straf shrugs again in response to the massive man with a massive shield, leading to him belly-laughing loudly behind his helmet.
「That's the spirit, brother! What are you going to do now?」
Roland swoops his armored hand down on Straf's shoulder with a loud clank, and asks.
「Kill the king, I guess.」
Straf shrugs again, rolling his eyes and adding a little tilt to his head as he does so.
「Shit, really? You were serious about that? Well, good luck. I'm gonna go back to being an adventurer myself.」
Roland shrugs his massive steel pauldrons as well, with a clatter.
「That fits you. I don't think any party is going to find a better tank, unless that dyslexiac sends a real one over with a crew.」
「Wha? Tank? Dyslexiac?」
His helmet tilts as new words enter Roland's vocabulary.
「Forget it. I think it's a good idea. I'm off to pick my reward up. See you around, Roland. Or never, I guess. Get that mace, buddy.」
「Yeah, I will.」
Roland nods in response as the guards pull the door open, and Straf enters with Cycelia. They shut the door behind him.
「Straf. Katastrof. Vindict. Am I right?」
A man in a white suit asks as he spreads his arms, sitting in a chair behind a heavy dark wooden desk.
「Wow. Finally someone recognizes me, huh?」
Bored, Straf shrugs with his hands in his pockets. He takes a glance at the rough-looking guard in sleeveless leather armor standing beside the white-suited man. His crossed arms are massive, and he stares at Straf with cautious eyes, and a very serious expression on his scarred face.
「Of course! Naturally! You are the fan favorite, in spite of losing! What a match that was! The tournament truly draws in extraordinary people! And sometimes not even people! Haha!」
The man in the suit chuckles with a wide grin, praising Straf. Straf rolls his eyes in response.
「Okay. Can I get my gold now?」
「Of course! Henrich, could you?」
The man in the suit looks at the bald, scarred guard, and the guard nods his bald head. He unties a coin sack from his belt, and holds it up before Straf.
「10 gold. Count if it you want-」
「Nah. If you fuck me on the payment, you'll just regret it.」
Straf takes the sack with a smug smirk, its contents jingle faintly. The guard's eyes widen and something akin to fear flashes on his face, but he quickly recovers his composure.
「Hohoho! No worries! We know rough types like you don't like that! Don't worry, we're an honest establ- Wow! What is that!?」
The man stands up from his chair when Straf throws the coin sack into his [Portable Storage], and shuts it immediately.
「Huh? That's just my inventory. So long, and thanks for all the coin.」
He turns to the door, and Cycelia bows politely before rejoining Straf by his side.
「Wait! What do you mean inventory!? How does that work!?」
They leave the room, and the man shouts through the open doors before they close.
「Well, that's that. I guess I should turn this shitty sword in and buy myself a real one. Want to go shopping again, Lia?」
Straf grips onto his rented sword, looking at it. He then glances at Cycelia and asks.
「Yeah! But, um… Could we stop by that restaurant from yesterday?」
She nods happily, then starts anxiously fidgeting with her sapphire-gemmed medallion.
「Uhh… Why? Are you hungry?」
Straf's brows rise as he looks at Cycelia with suspicious eyes.
「I just wanted to… Thank them for the great time yesterday.」
《…And apologize…》
Bashful, Cycelia looks down.
「Yeah. Sure. No problem in that case. But the sword comes first.」
「Yeah.」
Straf shrugs, and Cycelia meekly nods in reply as they head down the stairs…
…
Down below, at the private booths…
Willow waits outside a booth door in the hallway. A muscular, exotic-faced spearman in a short-sleeved blue jumpsuit passes by him, clanking the shaft of his broad-headed spear onto the floor with echoes.
「Shien, are you not?」
Willow calls out to the man. He stops in his tracks, and slowly turns his head around.
「And if I am, what's it to you, old man?」
His vertically slit black eyes coldly glare at Willow, as the spearman looks over his shoulder at him.
「What did you think of the last match?」
The old mage inquisitively strokes his beard as he asks. The spearman scoffs.
「You've stopped me to chitchat? Hmpf. It was an interesting fight. Both of the fighters were very swift, but speed is not be all, end all… Is that all? If it is, bother me no more.」
Not bothering to look at Willow any longer, the spearman replies while facing away. Once finished, he takes another step towards the exit.
「Both the fighters?」
Willow asks, quoting the man and stressing his first word. The spearman stops after a single step.
「What are you implying?」
He once again glares over his shoulder at Willow, his black shoulder-length wiggles a little from the quick turn of his head. The mage scoffs with a smirk.
「So what you are saying is, you did not find a beast worthy of your attention in the tournament?」
Willow asks, stroking his narrow beard with a grin. Shien turns around.
「Old man, if you have something to say, say it. I have no patience for games with your kind.」
Shien walks up to Willow. The young, tall spearman towers over the small, hunching old man. His lizard-like black eyes glare daggers down at Willow with a cold, disdainful expression on his curiously feminine face. The mage looks up in the man's unusual eyes, supporting himself on his wooden stave, and then smugly grins ear to ear…