I wasted a little time apologizing to Daniela after that, which meant we had a late start as we joined the early crowd headed for the arena . I drank some water for what was probably the tenth time that morning as we waited in line . Judging by the number of people, it was clear that today was especially popular .
“People really want to see Rankers fight . ”
“We will be late…”
Daniela was right to be worried . Because it could mean that we’d be at Lemon’s mercy yet again… Well, Lemon was probably somewhere in the line as well . And given how serious she was about such things, she was probably way ahead of us .
“Perhaps this is one place where we can rely on your skills, Asagi . ”
“What? Here?”
I immediately knew she was talking about Legs of the Forest Wolf . But not only would it disturb everyone here, but it would also draw a lot of attention .
“You could go in the alley over there and trigger it?”
“Hm…I guess . ”
It seemed like a bit of a waste to leave after waiting all of this time . However, the line wasn’t moving any faster . With Legs of the Forest Wolf, I could get to my destination the fastest .
“If you’re going to insist on it . Let’s go . ”
“Hehe . I knew you would agree . ”
Daniela chuckled . I apologized to the people around us as we made our way out of the line . Then we entered a back alley where I took in a deep breath and drank some more water .
“Can you give me some as well?”
“Here . ”
Daniela had created a clay cup out of earth magic . I filled it with water, which she quickly drained . As a sloppy person, I just had the water pour directly into my mouth . I looked like some kind of circus performer, and kids started staring at me… Then I saw Daniela return her cup to mana and decided that I should probably start doing the same .
“All right, let’s go . ”
“Yes . ”
As she was ready, I picked her up and activated the silver and green wind around my legs . There were streaks of white as well, a unique feature of Legs of the God Wolf . It was like Daniela had been added to my colors .
The wind around my feet carried us up, and I landed on a roof . The sun was now up in the sky and Daniela’s hair glistened beautifully under it .
“That’s a lot of people…”
“Will they even fit inside of the arena?”
Looking down at them now, it was hard not to worry . It had already been quite packed yesterday…
“Well, we are going to sit in the front with Lemon . ”
“It’s a bit dodgy, but it’s only for today . ”
From tomorrow on, we would no longer be spectators . We would be fighting . So it only seemed right that we take it easy today .
And so I blasted off towards the arena . And there, we quietly slipped in through the special gate .
“Ah, Mister Asagi and Miss Daniela . You’re early today . ”
“Good morning . Well, it’s Rankers today . We wanted good seats . ”
“Hehe . There’d be plenty left now . You go on right ahead . ”
“Thank you . ”
We bowed politely and entered the arena . While it was still early, there were a decent amount of people inside . As for the front row…hmm, yes, there were empty seats . And there was not an ash-colored head in sight . So we would be able to repay our debt to Lemon .
“Huh? You two are sure early!”
“Eh?”
“Oh . ”
As I nodded with satisfaction, a voice called us from behind . When I turned around, it was none other than Lemonfrost Grasilf, with her ash-colored hair, that stood there, looking at us with a surprised expression .
“Oh, Lemon . ”
“Yes . Good morning . ”
“You are a fast one…”
“What?”
We had wanted to surprise her by securing front row seats… Upon hearing this, Lemon told us that she had been particularly excited for today . There was nothing to do but laugh and then we all headed for the front .
Due to how early we had come, there was quite a long wait until the game actually started, but the time had finally arrived . The Rank Adventurers were on the stage . There had been a massive group of eighty people yesterday, but there were much fewer people today . It seemed closer to twenty .
“And yet, they have come from all over the Empire . ”
“So there are so few Rankers, huh?”
What did they call Rankers again?
“Rubies . ”
“That’s right . By the way, is there anything above Rank?”
“There is . ”
According to Daniela, there were only a handful of people with those ranks . . And above that, there was S . And then further on, S+, SS, SS+, SSS .
“That’s a lot more than I thought…”
“Well, there has to be, for the races with longer lives . Anyone can strive to reach the top . But for us, the path to our limits is a long one . But it means there are more mountains we can climb . ”
There was an SSS rank because someone had reached that level in the past . Of course, it would never happen for me, but I now hoped that Daniela would one day reach it after I was gone .
“Ah, it’s about to start . ”
Lemon’s voice brought me back from my reverie . The fighters were spreading out, weapons in hand . In order to maintain fairness, they all wielded weapons and wore armor that had been prepared for them . The blades were all blunt . As for armor, there were light, heavy and robes . That wasn’t particularly great for people who relied on enchantments, but there was nothing you could do about it .
It made me wonder what would happen if I entered the fight with my own equipment . My AGI was higher than most, but I doubted I could match the fighters who had lived much longer than me .
Still, you could apparently wear your own equipment in the main fight, so that was a relief . I also had the magic decoy tool .
“Begin!!”
I focused my eyes as soon as the voice sounded . Every fighter moved at once . Weapons swung in every direction . During the B-Rank fights, there were people who fell on the first or second strike .
But this was an Rank game . Losers sometimes turned into clay and crumbled, while others were swallowed up by a furious current of water . The storm of magic and weapons seemed too large to fit on the stage .
“I don’t even know where to look!”
“Senior Asagi! Over there!”
I looked to where Lemon was pointing . I saw someone who had conjured multiple sword-shaped lightning bolts that floated in the air . The man had golden hair, just like his weapons . His opponent had constructed multiple layers of earth walls, and seemed to be pushing him towards the boundary . The lightning-wielder must have seen he was at a disadvantage, and so he quickly moved away and changed his target . He dashed through the field in a zigzag pattern, just like a lightning bolt . And then he swung his sword into a fighter who had been using wind magic .
However, before his weapon connected, a pillar of ice shot out of the ground right from under him, blowing him into the air . It was quite a surprise attack . While he struggled to regain his balance in the air, it did not help him stay within the boundary .
“I’m getting dizzy!”
“Ah!”
“What now!?”
Daniela leaned forward as she watched . There were two people who had thrown away the provided weapons and were now fighting with swords they had made with stone and ice . If I wasn’t wrong, it was very difficult for users of earth magic to create stone like that . That meant that this fighter was incredibly skilled .
The fighter who fought with the ice sword was also quite impressive . As someone who also used ice magic, I could just tell . There was a lot of energy in that thin, supple blade . I had never seen ice like that before .
I tried simulating it with Jack of all Trades, Master of None, and it was clear that it took incredible skill . The magic had to allow the ice to constantly change shape while also maintaining it . It was ridiculous… But if I could do it, maybe I could create an ice whip one day? It was an amusing thought .
The fighter with the thin ice sword was pushing the enemy back with precise thrusts . The fighter with the rock sword had cuts all over his hands and was clearly losing his calm as his swings grew wilder . The ice fighter didn’t let that go unpunished and so charged forward and landed a kick, throwing his opponent off of his feet . And then the ice sword was pointed at the man’s neck . The defeated man raised his hands in surrender, and so the ice fighter nodded and moved on to the next target .
“That was amazing…”
Daniela also fought with a narrow blade and seemed to be quite moved by this display of skill . She now leaned back into her seat . As I had always watched Daniela closely, I could also recognize the skill . Or at least, I think I did . The precision of the thrusts and thosee bold steps . It wasn’t something that anyone could do .
The dizzying battle raged on . There was one desperate fire user who tried to burn the entire stage in a sea of fire . This caused several users of water magic to unite and create a giant wave to push him out of the field . Several others were caught in the attack, while others were electrocuted or even frozen . However, there were also fighters who cut through these attacks with their blunt swords as if they were nothing . Seriously, these freaks were about to give me a heart attack .
Still, all things must come to an end . The start had been a storm of magic . The middle was a combination of swords and spells . And at the end, it seemed like it was the sword that had the last word .
Because it was the fighter with the thin ice sword who stood there at the end . And also one other, a hooded, slender fighter who fought with three short swords held in each hand for a total of six .
Hmm . I hadn’t even taken notice of that last one .