Chapter 246
Newt, the D-Ranker pyromancer . Baz, the man in the blue bandana with the underhanded tactics . I had assumed that Newt would make it a rather one-sided battle… I was wrong .
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Surprisingly, Baz showed that he could fight one on one as well . He was discerning enough to read the movements of sorcerers and fight accordingly . Perhaps he was also lucky to have an opponent like Newt, who was a very traditional type of sorcerer and was not particularly high in rank . Baz had clearly done his homework .
However, while Baz made a good show at first, with the way he dodged the Fire Arrows, he was eventually taken down by a spell called ‘Ignition Road . ’
“It is a subtype of fire magic . An original that had been created by someone a long time ago . You can see how it runs towards the target in a straight line there . It is quite unique . ”
I nodded as Master Daniela explained .
“At higher levels, the power and number of lines will increase . A very effective attack . ”
“I see… Newt’s was just one, but with enough training, it could be monstrous . ”
“With enough training, yes . ”
I sighed and watched as Newt returned to where we were sitting . He was thin and looked rather weak-willed . Like a flame that was about to be swallowed up by the waves… I bet he would have had more success as a researcher .
Next up was my very own Daniela .
“Daniela . Good luck . ”
“Aye . I will not let my guard down . ”
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She stood up and we bumped fists . Then I watched as she headed for the stage .
Her opponent, Neyti Miniado, jogged behind her . Neyti had only happened to survive while Bandi was fighting . He was most likely a permanent B-Ranker . And yet it took a lot to reach that rank . You could never be too careful .
“I look forward to…battling you . ”
“Aye . ”
Daniela was holding her bow while Neyti faced her with a sword and shield .
“Begin!”
The referee shouted, and the battle began .
Daniela jumped back to create some distance between them . And she fired off two arrows while still airborne . Neyti adeptly blocked them with his shield . However, it seemed to me that Daniela had meant for him to do that .
“Hmm . ”
“Ugghh…!”
Daniela stared at him . Neyti’s shield hand was opening and closing . It was clear that the impact had numbed his hands a little .
“He won’t last long . ”
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“Nothing but a lucky boy after all…”
Heinrich said as he sat next to me . Daniela’s arrows definitely packed a powerful punch . They were also of good quality . But she had held back quite a lot . And yet Neyti had barely been able to take it . There was too big a gap in their status, perhaps .
After that, Daniela continued to deliberately unleash arrows with just the right amount of force . Neyti either blocked them with his shield or rolled out of the way . It was quite awkward to watch .
He would occasionally leap forward and swing his sword, but Daniela always dodged it with ease . She could read his movements completely .
“It’s child’s play . ”
Adlus muttered . I had to agree with him .
“Well, that is enough . ”
“…Huh?”
After fifteen minutes, Daniela lowered her bow .
“I am sure you realize the difference between us now . You cannot beat me . ”
“No, I… Are you saying you were holding back…!”
“Why, of course . Had I not done so, you would have been dead before you first raised your shield . ”
Ddamn you…!”
“Yield . ”
Once he learned that he had been toyed with all of this time, Neyti’s lips quivered as his knees shook .
“…AAARRGHHH!!!”
He roared . It seemed that he had submitted to her . Then he threw aside his shield . The audience watched in silence .
“Why! Why is it always like this! This time…this time I was going to rise to Rank!!”
He stomped on the ground as he fumed . I suppose he was wallowing in despair after realizing it was an unwinnable fight and he simply didn’t have what it takes . It was pretty pathetic, but many B-Rankers were ridiculed if they couldn’t reach the next level . I could understand the pain of a goal that was forever out of reach .
I had been angry myself . Back when I was a part-timer . No, perhaps even that emotion had left me . I was just in a deep hole with no future that I could see .
And so I saw myself in Neyti . He was the ‘lucky boy’ who had somehow made it through the preliminaries against the odds . Kind of like how I had somehow come to this world . I had lived without knowing anything back then . But I did live . And somehow, I was given power and people who supported me . That’s how I made it this far .
I was only here due to a series of coincidences . However, you also needed to put in the work for those coincidences to have good results . It was one of the tricks to survival . It didn’t matter if you were late to start . You just needed to do it .
Neyti was at that forked road now . A coincidence had brought him here . He could admit defeat, or…
“Damn, damn, damn! This was the chance I was waiting for!! I am here, perhaps by accident, but I am still here!! I won’t yield!!”
He shouted . And then he gripped his sword with both hands and charged towards Daniela . Up until that point, he had always seemed to be a little hesitant as he moved . But now, I could see that he had a will to do nothing but to reach his target and defeat her .
“Well, I have my reasons as well . Sorry, but this is as far as you go . ”
“I can be strong tooo!!!”
Daniela threw her bow to the side and unsheathed her rapier before rushing forward to meet him . The distance shrank rapidly . Neyti raised his sword as Daniela pulled hers back .
“…!”
Neyti stopped . His arms were still up in the air . Daniela’s arm was outstretched . Her rapier had pierced straight into Neyti’s right lung .
“So…I can’t even swing my sword…”
“You tried . That is what is important . ”
The decoy bracelet on Neyti began to shake . It was taking the damage that he should have received . Daniela quickly pulled the blade out of him, and the bracelet exploded into shards that fell to the ground . Neyti crumbled .
“The fight is over!!”
Then the audience erupted with applause . Neyti had been ridiculed as the ‘lucky boy,’ but they had been entertained . After all, he had faced an Adventurer with an alias . With such determination, maybe he would escape his B-Rank one day .
Daniela sheathed her sword and picked up her bow before offering her hand to Neyti . He looked at it for a moment before slowly accepting it and allowing her to pull him to his feet . Daniela slapped him on the back and whispered something to him with a smile . He nodded and raised his head to look at the audience . Then he and Daniela walked back towards us . There was no hesitation there . He seemed quite different from the person who had walked out right before the fight .