The Tournament

The day of the tournament had arrived. When I mentioned the tournament to the Lirius Family, they quickly registered me, saving me the trouble. Finally, I visited Eris's blacksmith shop to pick up my armor and sword.

Eris: "Welcome! I was just polishing your armor and sword. So, what do you think? I can confidently say it's one of my best works."

Before me stood a magnificent armor, seamlessly crafted with blood-red wyvern scales and silver alloy. It was a lightweight armor, designed for my fast and agile combat style, but it looked remarkably durable and stylish. My sword, on the other hand, was as white and light as a snowflake.

"Everything looks fantastic. Thank you, Eris."

Eris: "I made the sword from the toughest teeth of a wyvern. Almost all my time went into forging this sword. It turned out to be a very sturdy and sharp weapon. As for your armor, I made it flexible and movement-oriented so that you can move comfortably. Lilith's armor is at the back. Where is she?"

"I saw her this morning through the portal—well, I mean, I saw her this morning. She said she had something to do before coming to the tournament. I guess she'll come to pick up her armor later."

Eris: "Alright then, good luck in the tournament. I'll be there to watch. You better win; you'll be good publicity for me."

"Hahaha, maybe you'll consider opening another shop elsewhere."

Eris: "Another shop?"

"Just a suggestion, something to think about for now."

If I told him to open a shop in a kingdom filled with monsters, he would probably think I'm insane. I need to attract every talented individual I come across if I want to grow stronger. After bidding farewell to Eris, I headed towards the location where the tournament would take place. It was a massive arena in the center of the city of Drynsoll, making me feel like a warrior in ancient Rome.

Malik was waiting for me at the entrance of the arena.

Malik: "Today is the big day. Are you ready?"

"More ready than I've ever been."

Malik: "I know you're doing this for Aiden, but remember, killing is allowed in this tournament. So, if you feel like you're about to lose, just surrender."

"I won't lose."

With courage and confidence surging within me, I entered the waiting area of the arena. After a while, the tournament began. People were called one by one to the arena, engaging in battles. The cheers of the spectators echoed through the entire city. Some battles lasted minutes, while others ended within seconds. I sat down, waiting for my name to be announced. I was incredibly excited, so much so that my entire body was trembling. Was I afraid? No, it wasn't fear. Perhaps all of this seemed amusing to me. Why was I here, risking my life even though I knew I was weak? For Aiden? Despite being close to him, was it worth risking my life for him? When did I become such a thoughtful person? I gathered monsters and even started building a kingdom. Do I really care about everyone this much?

No, they are my people. And no one can harm what is mine.

Tournament Announcer: "Number 24, it's your turn!"

It was my turn, and I was still trembling. I walked towards the entrance of the arena, hearing the cheers of the spectators through the iron bars in front of me. As the iron bars lifted, I moved towards the battlefield where we would fight. I saw a man floating in the air with some kind of magic, amplifying his voice to make a presentation. In the center stood the King, watching everything unfold without moving.

Referee: "WARRIORS, ENTER THE FIELD! ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE A FORMIDABLE WARRIOR, LOOKING MIGHTY WITH HIS COLOSSAL DOUBLE-EDGED AXE! ON THE OTHER SIDE, HAH? IS HE TREMBLING? I GUESS HE'S NOT READY FOR THIS FIGHT, BUT SORRY, MY FRIEND. ANYONE WHO ENTERS HERE CAN EITHER DIE OR SURRENDER, SO IF YOU'RE GONNA TREMBLE, SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY!"

Every word he said seemed to echo in my mind, and the trembling of my body was increasing. The audience was shouting, telling me to leave, and hurling insults. Was I truly scared? Did I come this far for this? Then a voice rose from the crowd.

Lilith: "YOU CAN DO THIS, MY LOVE! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

This voice could only belong to Lilith, and what was she holding? A heart with two figures drawn inside—were they me and Lilith? Was that why she was late? Hahaha.

Referee: "SINCE THERE'S NO RESPONSE, I ACCEPT THIS AS YOUR SURRENDER. SO, LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

The man in front of me continued to approach, and my trembling intensified with each step.

Axed Warrior: "Hey, is that girl your girlfriend? Can't be, right? Well, after I kill you, maybe I'll take her out for a meal."

I remained still, Lilith looking at me anxiously. The axed man came right up to me and tilted his head towards me.

Axed Warrior: "Hey, can you hear me? I'm talking to you. Ah, screw it. I'll just kill you right away."

Don't worry, Lilith, I'm not trembling out of fear. I finally understood; I'm filled with excitement because... because I truly enjoy fighting and putting my life in danger.

The man raised his axe to swing it at me. Without even using my foresight ability, I could see what he was about to do. I swung my sword, cutting his throat, and started walking towards the exit of the arena.

Referee: "WHAT? LEAVING THE FIELD? DID HE SURRENDER? WHY IS THE AXED GUY JUST STANDING THERE? HEY, YOU WON! YOUR OPPONENT SURRENDERED!"

The man hadn't lowered his axe since he raised it. Daichi had executed such a fast and sharp attack with his sword that no one understood what had happened until the man's head rolled off the place where it was and hit the ground.

Referee: "W-WHAT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, BUT IT SEEMS WE HAVE A WINNER! THE TREMBLING WARRIOR DEFEATED HIS OPPONENT WITH A SINGLE STRIKE!"

The entire audience sat in silence; no one understood what had happened. Then suddenly, voices rose, and they started cheering.

"Did you see that guy? He attacked so fast I couldn't even see!"

"Why was he trembling so much?"

"Maybe it was just a tactic to deceive his opponent."

"TREMBLING WARRIOR!"

"TREMBLING WARRIOR!"

It seemed like I had acquired a strange nickname. I moved to the waiting area and waited for the next match to begin. Why did I kill that man? I could have just disabled his arms and legs, or simply knocked him out. When did I become so ruthless? No, it doesn't matter anymore. I will destroy everyone standing in front of me and protect what is mine—my people, my friends, and everything I own.

The next battle started soon, and this time, my opponent was a sword master. The referee continued to shout and act as the announcer. My trembling had subsided, but I was still excited. I wanted to fight immediately; I found more pleasure in fighting than in acknowledging my weakness. I wanted to see how far I could push myself.

Referee: "SO, NO NEED TO WAIT, LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

Neil: "I've heard of you, trembling warrior. I don't have a nickname, so you can call me Neil. Of course, there's no point in learning that since you'll be dead in a moment."

I began watching him intently, using my foresight ability to see what he would say and even foresee his moves a few seconds ahead. Then suddenly, his image appeared in front of me. He swung his sword with speed from the right, but I managed to block it. What was this? Teleportation? He vanished from my sight suddenly. I used my foresight along with my mini-map ability, and I saw him appearing behind me. He made a thrusting motion towards my chest, but I managed to dodge at the last moment. His fast attacks continued to increase in speed, and he was getting faster. Could he really teleport? No, he was just incredibly fast. If he had teleported, my mini-map ability would have shown a sudden change in position rather than a movement.

Neil: "Hm? Figured out my ability, did you? My first opponent died without even realizing what it was. I guess you're a bit smarter, huh? Yes, I can't teleport, but I'm incredibly fast. Do you think you have a chance to beat me?"

Neil accelerated even more, and at some point, I couldn't block his attacks anymore. My arms and legs were filled with cuts.

Neil: "Do you still think you can defeat me? Come on! ATTACK ME!"

"Hahahahaha."

Malik: "Is he laughing? Has he lost his mind? He'll die if he continues like this!"

Lilith: "Look at him carefully, idiot. He's only getting superficial wounds. It's strange for me to say this, but it's like he's playing with his prey like a snake, he enjoys the fight."

Neil: "Do you find this amusing? Well, I'll finish it with this attack."

"Hey, is that all your speed? I expected more."

Neil: "YOU ASKED FOR THIS, YOU BASTARD!"

Neil reached his maximum speed, charging straight at me with all his power. He must have realized I was going to attack him, as he changed direction at the last moment and moved behind me. My swung sword didn't even touch him.

Neil: "It's over now."

Taking advantage of being behind me, he lunged at me with his sword at an incredibly high speed. I had failed in my attack... or so he thought. Just a few centimeters away from my head, I created a portal and made him pass through it. Then, I opened a second portal next to the first one, creating a portal that would accelerate him indefinitely. I had done this with a knife before, but a normal object like a knife had a maximum speed limit it could reach according to the laws of physics. However, Neil, with his speed ability, could bend the laws of physics. This ability would be his demise. In a few seconds, he accelerated so much that I could hear him begging to stop. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop because the speed generated when exiting and re-entering the portal trapped him in an infinite loop. Probably, his feet weren't even touching the ground. Once I was sure he had accelerated enough, I pointed my sword towards the front of the portal and removed the second portal. The moment I removed the portal, Neil flew towards my sword, and his body was split in half. He had flown so fast that one part of his split body flew to the right, and the other part flew to the left.

After a deep silence, the entire arena erupted once again with cheers for the Trembling Warrior. My body was covered in cuts and wounds, and I headed to the healer in the waiting room for recovery.

Referee: "AND THE WINNER IS ONCE AGAIN THE TREMBLING WARRIOR!"

Entering the waiting room covered in blood, I saw Lilith and Malik.

Lilith: "What is all this? Why did you allow yourself to be injured? Why did you kill him when you could have easily incapacitated him?"

"Why are you asking these questions? Haven't we killed plenty of people before? When you were in the maze, you killed hundreds, didn't you? At least I don't kill them and then eat them."

Lilith raised her hand to slap me, but I caught it before she could strike. Her eyes were filled with tears. Without looking back, she left.

Malik: "Hey, buddy, I won't interfere with what you're doing, but you shouldn't treat her like that. She was really worried about you."

"Anyway, I'm going to win the tournament and save Aiden. You don't have to watch me, so you can leave too."

Before going to the healer, I saw Arthur at the exit where Lilith had left. We made eye contact, but without saying anything, I went towards the healer.

Malik stopped by Arthur on his way. 

Arthur: "Was he like this before?"

Malik: "No, he could barely kill a goblin before I started training him. What did you do to him?"

Arthur: "I guess the situation is worse than I thought."

Malik: "Worse than you thought? What does that mean?"

Arthur: "I should have realized when I saw that he had the same ability as me, but I made a mistake by comparing him to myself. If what I think is true, foresight is just the beginning for him. He will become even stronger. Do you know what class he is?"

Malik: "He mentioned it once while we were talking. I think he was happy at first because he gained a special class called Strategist, but then he learned it was fff level, and he faced many difficulties."

Arthur's inner thoughts: "A special class? And the class is called Strategist? So far, I've only encountered two special classes. The King and that wizard kid. Is it possible that there are only three special classes, and all three are in the same place now? No, that's not the thing I should be worried about. If this Strategist class is what I'm thinking…"

I continued to fight in the tournament for hours, killing my opponents one by one. It felt like I wanted to kill more after each victory. The tournament continued until there were only two people left. I didn't know who the last opponent was, but I heard that it was a wizard. The final battle was announced to be tomorrow, so I decided to go back to the inn and get some rest. When I entered the room, I noticed Lilith wasn't there. In the corridor, I saw Malik, and he told me Lilith had rented another room. Was she angry with me? Anyway, it didn't matter. Tomorrow is the last day of the tournament, and I will definitely win.

I had a deep sleep and returned to the arena for the final battle that took place in the afternoon. The arena seemed even more crowded than yesterday. Since we were the last two combatants, we were summoned to the arena without much delay. As I entered the arena, I noticed that Lilith and Malik were in the same spot. Despite being angry with me, Lilith had come to watch my final match. I guess I should apologize to her later. Also, I'm already sorry for killing my current opponent.

Referee: "YES, THE TWO STRONGEST WARRIORS ARE HERE NOW! ON ONE SIDE, A BEAST WHO SLAYS ENEMIES WITH A TREMOR, AND ON THE OTHER, A MASKED WIZARD OF UNKNOWN IDENTITY! WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?"

We were facing the masked man, a wizard with a mask on his face. Is this his style? Does he think this is some kind of game? Anyway, I'll kill him and finish this.

Masked Man: "Hey, buddy, I didn't think I'd see you here. I never imagined you'd be the ruthless warrior. Well, everyone changes, right?"

"Buddy? Who are you?"

He brought his right hand to his mask.

Referee: "WHAT'S HAPPENING? DOES THE MASKED MAN AND THE TREMBLING WARRIOR KNOW EACH OTHER? IS THE MASKED MAN REMOVING HIS MASK??"

"I guess I've changed a bit too, haven't I? Daichi."

As he removed his mask, I remembered him.

"Saku?"