Translation: Charlotte
Editor: Weasalopes
There wasn"t a lot of time to the finals.
One other fourth round match was already over by the time I returned to the waiting room.
The Defensive Focus team was already in the room.
I looked through the battle log of their fight.
I didn"t have a lot of time, so I didn"t get to really a.n.a.lyse the fight as much as I would like.
Three Heavy Shield Fighters in the front.
One of them was a dwarf.
They were probably trying to harden their defence while they used Weapon Artes to counterattack.
The players in the back were mostly there for support.
Every part of their team had proper thought put into it.
I looked at the Battle Log for their third match too… It was similar.
What was their weakness?
Jericho would be effective…
But it would be tough to try and break through their defence.
The rear consisted of one Sorcerer and two Hunters.
Well, they were focussing on defence.
I had to watch out for【Pitfall】.
Yep.
I threw one of my Tonfas of Torture into my《Item Box》, and pulled out my Enraged Pickaxe.
If I ended up taking a hit from 【Pitfall】, I could at least try to climb out.
「The finals are coming up. Please follow me.」
Led by a staff member, I moved towards the arena.
Alright…
How should I fight?
Yep.
Just as usual.
The tension was high.
Way too high!
The cheers were hurting my ears.
The Guild Leader was giving a speech, but who was really listening?
? ? ? Lv.13
Fighter On Standby
? ? ? Lv.13
Fighter On Standby
? ? ? Lv.13
Fighter On Standby
? ? ? Lv.13
Sorcerer On Standby
? ? ? Lv.13
Hunter On Standby
? ? ? Lv.13
Hunter On Standby
My opponents were on the other corner.
Yep.
They didn"t change up their equipment.
All the Fighters were as heavily-equipped as always.
The design in their shields was the same as always.
The Fighter in the middle had a very heavy-looking mace.
The Fighter on the right had a hatchet, that one looked pretty heavy too.
And the one on the left, the dwarf, had a long spear.
It looked like they were all planning on using their weapons with just one hand.
The Hunters in the back were similar.
They had bows, but they had two daggers in their belts too.
Only the Sorcerer had standard-looking equipment.
But I knew most of the damage would come from the Sorcerer.
I"d only seen【Fire Magic】and【Dark Magic】so far though.
【Enemy Burn】is a pretty annoying spell, but it wouldn"t be too much of a problem for me.
I was confident that Rig"s【Fire Resistance】would come in handy.
But was that really all they had up their sleeve?
Well, it was a bit too late to worry about that.
I got Rig to stick to me.
Jericho liquefied and stuck to Senki.
3 seconds.
A simultaneous…
Bow.
「Begin!」
The moment the match started…
Everyone started moving.
「Practiced Spirit!」「Meditate!」「Bless!」
I could hear everyone from the enemy team start to cast spells.
But they weren"t moving forward.
Were they completely relying on counterattacks?
Volff accelerated.
After pa.s.sing the centre of the arena, Volff stopped and growled.
「Gaa!」
But n.o.body moved.
Volff couldn"t find a gap to attack the rear.
Actually…
The Hunters weren"t even firing arrows.
They were completely fixated on casting spells.
It was still too early for me to use【Vibration】.
I decided to cast one spell first.
「Gravity Mail!」
I used a spell to strengthen myself.
But it was still too early for me to use【Vibration】.
Hmm…
No, don"t hesitate.
I gave up on using【Vibration】and decided to cast my next spell instead.
Next to me was Senki, along with Jericho.
I was confident that Jericho could beat any defence.
The two of them pa.s.sed the centre of the arena.
『Enchanted Aqua!』
『Mental Enchant: Dark!』
Strengthening spells?
But that wasn"t all.
『Flashlight!』
『Physical Enchant: Fire!』
『Psycho Pod!』
『Pitfall!』
I thought the spell was for me, but…
It was for Senki and Jericho!
And… What?
I felt like I heard another spell in there that should have no place in a fight.
A ball of light appeared in the middle of the arena.
What were they trying to do?
「Volcanic Blast!」
I shot out a【Lava Magic】spell.
Next.
「Vibration!」
I managed to interrupt a few spells.
But not all of them.
I aimed for the enemy Fighter"s foot with my staff.
A direct hit.
But soon, a mace came at me as a counterattack.
It grazed me, but it was nothing serious.
Hmm?
They weren"t using Weapon Artes.
The Fighters were casting spells.
Senki managed to jump out of the hole behind me.
He quickly ran up beside me.
Goki was on my left.
Did Senki leave Jericho in the hole?
I looked back to check.
I saw liquefied Jericho slowly crawl up the wall of the pit.
『Aqua Heal!』
『Cursed Shadow!』
I didn"t feel like I got hit by a spell.
But a pain started in my chest
Cursed shadow?
Oh no…
Did I just get hit by a Lv.10【Dark Magic】attack spell?
The ball of light kept floating in the middle of the arena.
It was carrying my shadow to the enemy team.
Was that it?
Was【Flashlight】not meaningless after all?
『Psycho Pod!』
Another one?
It was definitely a plan to prevent me from using【Vibration】.
「Gravity Mail!」
I used a strengthening spell on Jericho.
Jericho"s MP bar was still at over half.
Jericho could probably liquefy again…
Well then.
Go ahead.
Jericho liquefied and slipped under my feet.
Senki, Volff, and Goki started a frontal offensive.
「Vibration!」
I used one more Weapon Arte before joining my Summon Monsters in the front.
All the front-line Fighters" spells were interrupted.
But they didn"t start using Weapon Artes.
They just started casting spells again.
Senki"s attacks would definitely be difficult to deal with.
Or at least, that"s what I expected.
But the Fighter on the right used his shield well, and managed to stand his ground against Senki"s onslaught.
Woah!
I couldn"t underestimate them.
Goki managed to get a hit on the dwarf on the left.
With a sword in one hand and a hatchet in another, Goki continued attacking.
Although the shield took most of the attacks.
On the other hand, the dwarf"s counterattacks were small but accurate.
Goki tried to dodge the attacks, but just wasn"t that good at doing so.
I took on the Fighter in the middle.
I had a plan.
Rig could transfer from me to the enemy Fighter.
Volff jumped over the front line and ran at the players in the back.
How? By using Senki as a stepping stone.
Jericho was slowly approaching the back too.
But still, they kept casting spells.
They were thorough…
「Gravity Mail!」
My next spell was for Senki.
The next moment, Senki"s fist slammed into the enemy Fighter.
Of course, the fist was blocked by the shield…
But the impact sounded different.
【Gravity Mail】is pretty amazing
Or maybe it was just Senki who was amazing.
The opponent"s heavy shield wasn"t broken, but Senki managed to break the Fighter"s balance.
Senki immediately followed up with a kick.
To the shield…?
But it managed to send the Fighter rolling on the ground.
It was something I could probably never pull off.
Amazing…
In the rear, I saw Jericho beating down on one of the Hunters.
The other Hunter was fighting Volff with his swords.
Time for a brawl, huh.
『Cursed Shadow!』
Again?
Shoot.
The target was me again.
「Regenerate!」
I cast a spell on myself.
Just a recovery spell though.
「Vibration!」
Only one of my opponents was casting a spell.
But I still used it anyway.
No good, huh.
The casting process wasn"t interrupted.
What about Jericho and Volff?
They were struggling fighting against the Hunters.
Rig jumped off of me and was slowly getting closer to the Mace Fighter"s face.
A little more.
Just a little more, and victory would be within my reach.
Those were the thoughts that raced through my head as I struck the enemy"s foot with my staff one more time.
A hammer suddenly hit Rig.
I thought it would be useless, but 30% of Rig"s HP bar suddenly disappeared.
Huh?
A small marker was beside the other Fighter"s player marker.
A strengthening spell, huh.
But that attack gave me an opportunity.
I switched targets and stabbed the Fighter"s foot with my staff.
Goki slammed his hatchet into the left side of the Fighter"s skull.
A low sound resounded around me.
I was shocked that there was still some of his HP bar left.
He went down after the next sword attack though.
「Steam Shot!」
I turned and hit the Mace Fighter from close range with an attack spell.
I followed up with a sweeping kick.
But he didn"t even twitch.
I managed to distract him though.
Goki"s hatchet scored a direct hit on the arm carrying the mace.
But that still wasn"t enough to get him to drop the weapon.
『Cursed Shadow!』
Again!?
All the HP I regenerated using【Regenerate】was suddenly all taken out.
But I realised I wouldn"t have to worry about【Cursed Shadow】anymore.
The Sorcerer fell after a single fist to the belly.
It was just the Mace Fighter and the two Hunters left.
One of the Hunters was being tossed around by Volff.
The other Hunter left the circle while he was running away from Jericho.
Just one player left, huh.
But it wasn"t going to be that easy to reach a conclusion.
While it was difficult, Rig was still trying to cover his head.
Well even if he did manage to peel Rig off, he didn"t have any friends left.
And even if he wanted to peel Rig off, he would have to let go of either his shield or his mace.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The Fighter chose to try one last a.s.sault on me.
『Shield Rush!』
I slipped to the side but still took about half of the impact.
『Skull Splitter!』
More Weapon Artes came at me even while his balance was broken.
I took some damage… I think?
I took the opportunity to grab his right arm.
I pulled him at me and used his momentum to wrap behind him.
After locking his elbows behind him, I threw him at the ground.
Rig managed to completely cover him while he was rolling on the ground.
《Match Set! Please stop fighting!》
《【Staff】Level Up!》
《【Synergy】Level Up!》
《Summon Monster『Jericho』Level Up!》
《Please put one point into a desired stat.》
Hey!
Slow down with the info screens!
I was in a hurry, but I could take care of it right away, I suppose.
The stat that went up with the level-up was STR.
I put another point into DEX.
Jericho Mud Golem Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 6（↑1）
AGI 6
INT 5
STR 36（↑1）
VIT 36
SPI 6
Skills:
Punch Kick Magical Resistance [Slight] Self-Repair [Slight] Block Liquefaction
Guess that"s fine.
I returned to my corner of the arena.
I was about to bow when another info screen came.
《Summon Monster『Goki』Level Up!》
《Please put one point into a desired stat.》
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
For the time being, I gave a bow.
I thought I could leave, but I was mistaken.
A staff member told me otherwise after healing my HP and MP.
「We"re going to mend your equipment after this, but after this, would you please return to the arena and face the platform?」
Slow down, too many things happening at once!
Please let me focus on Goki"s stat screen…
The stat that went up with the level-up was VIT.
I put another point into INT.
Goki Rakshasa Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 20
AGI 16
INT 16（↑1）
STR 18
VIT 19（↑1）
SPI 15
Skills:
Bow Hatchet Sword Buckler Block Evade Hide Dark Attribute
I boosted Goki"s stats.
I wanted to think about it some more…
But it wasn"t over yet.
《Summon Monster『Rig』Level Up!》
《Please put one point into a desired stat.》
No, I was definitely happy about the level-up…
But I would love them to come one by one.
The stat that went up with the level-up was AGI.
I put another point into SPI.
Rig Yellow Pudding Lv1→Lv2 （↑ 1）
DEX 17
AGI 10（↑1）
INT 7
STR 7
VIT 10
SPI 8（↑1）
Skills:
Dissolve Shapeshift Viscosity Surface Tension Nullify Physical Lightning Attribute Fire Resistance
Is it over?
Good.
It"s over!
《You have won the finals of the tournament! Congratulations! 》
《You have received 3 Bonus Points for becoming the champion. You currently have a total of 37 Bonus Points.》
Good.
Looks like it"s over.
After my equipment was repaired, I was led to the centre of the arena.
「Ah, could you take off your helmet please?」
「Alright.」
I took off my helmet and held it against my side.
The team that I fought in the finals came out too after a while.
I felt like the Fighter in the lead looked familiar…
「It"s been a long time since I"ve last seen you Keith. Looks like I lost again. It was a wonderful fight.」
「Huh… Sure.」
「It"s Shelvie. We fought in the first tournament?」
Oh!
That female fighter…
How did I not notice?
Sorry…
Just looking at her physique, there was no way I could tell she was a woman.
「Sorry… I didn"t realise that it was you.」
「Well, that can"t be helped.」
「Sorry, please refrain from conversation.」
A staff member glared at us.
Oops.
An important-looking person was about to give a speech from the platform.
Wow…
I already knew.
His speech, with all of its boring stories, would probably send some of the audience to sleep.
n.o.body looked excited, to say the least.
I got ready for him to start…
But the speech didn"t start.
Instead, something else suddenly appeared on the platform.
Hmm?
Where"d they come from?
It was a strange group of beings with masks.
No, three of them didn"t have masks…
Six of them all in all.
『Humans, listen to the voice of thy masters.』
『Insolent humans, bow to thy masters.』
『Thou impure beings, thou must leave this land.』
Soldiers stepped up to protect the important-looking person who was about to give a speech.
Master and the others looked on with worried faces.
I looked at the intruders again.
Pantalone ? ? ?
Event Monster Magus ? ? ?
Paggliachio ? ? ?
Event Monster Magus ? ? ?
Zanni ? ? ?
Event Monster Magus ? ? ?
Innamorato ? ? ?
Event Monster Magus ? ? ?
Innamorata ? ? ?
Event Monster Magus ? ? ?
Colombina ? ? ?
Event Monster Magus ? ? ?
The first three had masks.
The other three didn"t
In any case, they were causing quite a ruckus.
『How insolent.』
『Too insolent… They truly are filthy creatures.』
『It is as you say, my lord. Truly filthy creatures.』
The three beings without masks laughed a hearty laugh.
「Might be “insolent” of me, but I think I have something I want to tell you guys.」
Somebody from the platforms shot the beings a reply.
It was Juna.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv17
Job Grand Summoner Lv3
Bonus Points Remaining: 37
Skill Sets:
Staff Lv14（↑1） Punch Lv11 Kick Lv11 Joint Lock Lv11 Throw Lv11 Evade Lv11 Block Lv11 Summon Magic Lv17 s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv10
Light Magic Lv9 Wind Magic Lv10 Earth Magic Lv9 Water Magic Lv10 Fire Magic Lv10 Dark Magic Lv9 Ice Magic Lv8 Lightning Magic Lv8 Tree Magic Lv8 Dust Magic Lv8 Lava Magic Lv8 Steam Magic Lv8 Alchemy Lv8 Pharmacy Lv7 Gla.s.smaking Lv6 Woodworking Lv6 Synergy Lv13（↑1） Appraise Lv12 Identify Lv12 Discern Lv4 Cold Resistance Lv6 Grab Lv10 Horsemanship Lv10 Precise Manipulation Lv12 Ropework Lv2 Jump Lv6 Acrobatics Lv3 Heat Resistance Lv7 Climb Lv6 Balance Lv2 Dual Wield Lv10 Disa.s.sembly Lv7 Physical Reinforcement Lv8 Mental Reinforcement Lv9 Speedcasting Lv11 Spell Effect Amplification Lv8 Spell Range Amplification Lv8
Equipment:
Staff of Torture x1 Tonfas of Torture x2 Capture Rod of Torture x1 Enraged Pickaxe+ x2 Silver Necklace+ Snow Leopard Push Dagger x1 Sturmtiger Push Dagger x2 Snow Leopard Bagh Nakh x1 Plains Lion Bagh Nakh x1 Fighting Bull Leather Armour+ Set Bracelet of Torture x2 Anklet of Torture+ x2 Rabid Horse Belt+ Rucksack Item Box x2
Items:
Survival Knife Woodworking Set
t.i.tles:
Old Summoner"s Pupil
Guardian of the Forest
Knower of the Middle Path
Spell Glossary
Martial Arts Fighter
Jericho Mud Golem Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 6（↑1）
AGI 6
INT 5
STR 36（↑1）
VIT 36
SPI 6
Skills:
Punch Kick Magical Resistance [Slight] Self-Repair [Slight] Block Liquefaction
Goki Rakshasa Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 20
AGI 16
INT 16（↑1）
STR 18
VIT 19（↑1）
SPI 15
Skills:
Bow Hatchet Sword Buckler Block Evade Hide Dark Attribute
Rig Yellow Pudding Lv1→Lv2 （↑ 1）
DEX 17
AGI 10（↑1）
INT 7
STR 7
VIT 10
SPI 8（↑1）
Skills:
Dissolve Shapeshift Viscosity Surface Tension Nullify Physical Lightning Attribute Fire Resistance