Mammon POV

Something was odd about that girl. I could tell she was strong just by looking at her, but then she decimated not 1 but 3 A ranks.

Her name was Rose, but she seemed unfamiliar with it, and something didn’t sit right with Royce’s explanation in the letter.

Plus, the fact that she could do that almost instantaneous movement. That was terrifying. Her skill was unmatched and the fact that she and Dallel hit it off was odd.

Dallel was known for being troublesome in conversation. The only person that could handle him was Jalad, and even Jalad got annoyed by him at times.

But that tournament battle was the icing on the cake.

Weapons didn’t seem to affect her, and that spell she used after was an advanced spell. She said she was 19, but her power is far stronger than her age.

“Guildmaster, you called me?”

“Ah, Saliad. I heard you were in the tournament.”

“Yes, but I couldn’t show my skill in the preliminary round. Noone wanted to face me.”

“Well, no kidding, you are an S rank. Frankly, there were concerns about letting you sign up in the first place.”

“Well, Galswell told me that it would be a good idea.”

“That makes sense, his predictions almost always come true.”

“Do you think my match is in this tournament?”

“Possibly, but I don’t see why anyone would want to kill you, you are a hero after all.”

“Oh please, I fought a few monsters, that’s all.”

“Saliad boy, the Dragon Patriarch and Matron aren’t regular monsters.”

“I get that, but I won through surprise.”

“That’s way better than many can do, though now that I think about it.”

“What?”

“There is a girl, the name’s Rose. She decimated the 3 Aces with ease when they tried hazing her. She also brought down Calsen and freed all of his slaves. She also seemed to gain both Dallel and Jalad’s respect.”

“Really, so you think she may be my match?”

“Potentially, I personally hope you two fight, it would be incredible to see.”

“Well, I’ll look forward to it.”

_

The roster got posted in the guild hall.

I looked at it, huh that’s cool.

My first match was against a guy named Galswell.

“Who’s Galswell?”

“You don’t know?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, he’s a legendary A rank fighter. I reckon he could even give you a run for your money. He’s known as the dragon wrestler.”

“Dragon wrestler?”

“Yeah, he supposedly led the charge against the last dragon nest and fought the Patriarch. He and his party won, leading them to legends. Most of us just see him as kinda puny though. Probably because of his age. Though, most people think it was actually the mythic fighter in his party that killed the patriarch.

“Mythic fighter?”

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

“Yeah, you see the guy on the other side of the board?”

Following his finger, I see Jalad’s first fight, Saliad.

“Poor Jalad.”

“Saliad is an elven warrior a little over 100. He’s an S ranker. Frankly, he’s going to win.”

“Hmm.”

So, that’s the warrior who bested father? I would have to fight him to win.

“Why do you look more confident now?”

Dallel walked in with Jalad.

“Well, I see someone who may actually give me trouble on the list.”

Dallel followed my pointing before snorting and Jalad started complaining.

“How come I’m against such a powerhouse my first round?”

“Well, the kitten isn’t much better off. She’s fighting Galswell.”

“Dang, who are you fighting? Some rando? Favoritism!”

Dallel started laughing.

“I’m surprised you are talking about the Mythic Dragon Slayer as troublesome, Rose. Frankly, I heard you took down the 3 Aces, that’s all well and good, but he could decimate them easily as well. There’s such a power difference between A and S. A can fight legendary monsters, but S can battle mythics. And he killed a mature draconic patriarch. A’s can destroy armies; S’s can destroy nations.”

“None of you have seen me fight seriously.”

“I agree.”

Mammon walked out.

“’Pparently, Rose here fought a dragon ‘erself.”

The adventurers looked at me in shock.

“I didn’t kill it. I scared it with dragonsbane while it was distracted by Sir Royce.”

They all calmed quickly. While still impressive, it was a lot less so.

“Yeah, but the letter from ‘im also said to keep you a low profile, so I’m thinking he and you are underselling your involvement.”

Mammon was certainly smart, so I decided to omit.

“Yeah, I ran like the devil himself was after me when the beast turned to kill me. I came back in time to place dragonsbane.”

“’See. Well, don’t tell me if you don’t want. Just don’t throw the tourney. Bet ‘lotta money on ya, lassie.”

Jalad and Dallel clearly have raised their opinion of me. Humility is something that is lacking these days.

“Hey, looks like me and you are fighting in the second round, Dallel.”

“Huh, well, Rose, looks like I’ll test your metal sooner than expected, and I want to let you know before the round. This gear is S rank. Your little defense trick won’t work.”

“I see, well, I’m still winning.”

We smirked at each other again.

“Just please don’t burn down the arena.”

We both looked at Jalad before simultaneously saying,

“No promises.”

He merely sighed.

_

On the first day of the competition, I watched the fights. I was in the second bracket, meaning my fight was the next day.

Jalad was destroyed by Saliad, while the other matches were quite close. I was surprised to see Darsen in the arena. He was destroying his opponent, another wolfkin. As expected of a mature.

The rest of the day was spent consoling Jalad.

On the Second day, Dallel decimated the rando he was paired with. Then the moment I was waiting for happened.

“Mrs. Hood, your round is about to begin.”

I went down to the arena and saw an elderly man simmering with magic power.

“A little girl? I’m offended. I defeated the Dragon Matriarch and Patriarch singlehandedly. I can decimate you.”

Yeah, he was not strong enough to defeat father or mother. Heck, while his magic was bigger than what I expected, he was about as strong as the Aces together.

“Stronger than expected.”

“Ah, so you can see my strength. You may be stronger than I originally thought as well.”

He seemed not to be an idiot. While his claims were baseless, he clearly had enough brain to fight. Perhaps he will be a challenge.

“FIGHT!”

He immediately sought to take me down in a single blow. I dodged, narrowly avoiding his blast. The shield around the arena swells with the energy of his blast. Not weak, but certainly not strong enough to beat me.

I struck at him, and he barely dodged me. He was fast. He used a legendary magic,

“Nuclear Oblivion!”

I needed to counter that.

“Obliviate!”

I erased his magic with a massive amount of my MP, but mine was so deep that he could never win in a battle of attrition. While he was reeling from my counter, I took advantage and pushed my fist into his gut. Blood spurt as he realized I was no joke.

He leapt back, barely holding on.

“Greater heal.”

His wound closed and he got serious.

“I underestimated you.”

“As did I. Few would still fight after that blow.”

He laughed and then began striking at me with stronger magic and I kept using Obliviate.

We exchanged a few blows before he realized that there was no way he would win at this rate.

“Well, I can no longer hold back. Let’s see if even dust remains.”

I got on guard.

“Divine Destruction!”

He realized that I couldn’t counter that. Smart. His magic knowledge is incredible. I won’t lose, but he will certainly deal some damage.

“Life Foundation!”

He smiled, after all, even life foundation couldn’t survive that. His blast hit me head on. From the arena’s perspective I was just killed. Cheers erupted.

“Well, it looks like Galswell wo-”

I started laughing. The arena went quiet as I stood up. My skeleton was in full view. Only loose pieces of flesh hung on.

“Life eruption.”

My flesh and clothes started to reform on my body as Galswell realized that I was far stronger than he was. His ultimate attack was laughable to me. He realized he’d lose and casted it again, but this time, I was ready.

“Divine Oblivion.”

My spell shot his and caused the barrier to shake. Galswell was low on mana and tried getting distance by running, but I was faster. I kicked his leg off and thrust my fist through his chest, right next to his heart. This paralyzed him and made me the winner.

“I-it l-looks like Rose won.”

The arena was silent. After all, I looked death in the eyes and laughed at it. I walked out of the stage as I finished healing. Healers came out immediately to heal him, and they wheeled him to the infirmary. As I left, I saw a smiling elf. Saliad had watched my fight and taken interest in me. His smile gave me shivers.