014 – Tournament(1)
Tigris made 4 rings, and Jane enjoyed Lenny’s cooking until her stomach exploded.
There was no reason to be in the forest of fog anymore, so I decided to get out of the forest of fog.
Getting out of the misty forest was twice as easy as getting in.
“Here! You can go all the way here!”
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Jane led Tigris and Lenny earlier.It was very convenient because there was no need to use a reiki compass, just walking blindly.
And the evil spirits that often appear were taken care of by Jane.
“Hey! isn’t it off? Just Mr. Pak!”
In the first place, because of the amulet, it could not do any harm to Tigris and Lenny, but if the demons or demons possessed by the sound of a living person’s breathing only showed their face, Jane drove them out.
Although Tigris had entered the Forest of Fog 4 times, including before returning, it was the first time he had wandered around the Forest of Evil Spirits so comfortably.
Maybe 4 hours or so?
A blue light was seen in the distance.
It was the spark of the blue lighthouse that guided the lost travelers of Fogwood.
At the sight of the blue lighthouse’s flames, Jane furrowed her eyebrows.
“I don’t like that flame.”
“Isn’t that flame that only drives out evil spirits?”
“So you’re saying I’m a demon?”
“I don’t know why. Then it happened.”
Since it wasn’t a question of much, Tigris brushed off his curiosity.
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Jane was upset when she seemed to be ignoring her.“Does it seem strange that I don’t know? 170 years ago, there was no such blue flame, so of course we don’t know.”
“Who said what?”
“Ugh…! Kwang!”
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Jane rushed to Tigris, but only passed through Tigris’ body.After that, he punched Tigris, but there was no response, so Jane flew to Lenny and started fighting.
“Lenny. Tigris is tormenting me.”
“More than that, Tigris-sama. Why do you keep talking nonsense?”
“Isn’t it okay to talk half-heartedly if I’m about 170 years old? As usual, I’m like Tigris’ great-grandmother or great-great-grandmother.”
“Have you lived that long?”
“okay. So, say something to Tigris instead of me.”
“…my grandmother doesn’t listen to me, what can I do?”
“Are you calling me Grandma?! hey hey!”
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Jane broke Lenny’s cute cheeks.Lenny trembled as if it was tickling.
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Jane could only contact Lenny without any restrictions.He said that in order to come into contact with other objects or people, one must consume spiritual power.
Since it was a 170-year-old spirit with a grudge, she did not lack spiritual power, but Jane was not inclined to use it for useless things.
As she got closer to the blue lighthouse, Jane furrowed her eyebrows.
“Something is starting to get worse. Something makes me feel like a pest.”
Lenny tilted her head.
“What do you mean?”
“Something like, ‘Shut up because humans don’t need it!’ I feel bad for hearing this. I just exist as myself, so why does my value change depending on human needs? tt!”
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Jane slipped into Lenny’s bag.The bag contained Lenny’s cast iron pan.
The cast iron fan vibrated.
– I’ll be here, so if you can, call me after that blue flame disappears.
“I see.”
Tigris and Lenny stood in front of the blue lighthouse.
There were guards yawning in front of the blue lighthouse.
In fact, to be called a security guard, the vigilance was too weak.
As long as there was a blue flame, evil spirits would not come, so the disgrace was lacking.
“Well···. You came in 5 days ago and came back. Happy birthday. ha ha. Come in.”
The guards checked the identity cards of Tigris and Lenny, wrote them roughly in their journals, and stood languidly with their backs.
‘The discipline of the military has loosened a lot.’
I must admit that blue flames are awesome magic.
However, because they believed in the blue flame too much, the guards were not properly trained and their standards were crawled.
Since the guards looked like this, Rota would have easily conducted chimera research in the Forest of Mist.
Rota started researching a chimera based on evil spirits in the Forest of Mist, and created chimeras that are not affected by blue flames and occupied Fogwood at once.
The destruction of Fogwood was seven years later, so it is a rather distant story.
However, as the entire southern part of the empire was taken over by the evil spirit chimeras developed in the Forest of Mist, countermeasures seemed necessary.
‘That’s something to think about later.’
Of course, it was premature to discuss measures for the fog forest.
The priority was to prevent the massacre in Victory, which will happen next year.
At the age of 19, he made as many as four rings, but he was still uneasy.
If you get a call from the Night Fox right now, you have to run and kill Levis right away.
The minimum requirement of 4 rings was completed, but the armament was insufficient.
‘So we must win the tournament.’
It was possible to cut Levis only when there was a sleeping ‘black iron sword’ in the 3rd place report.
And it was good to get artifacts that could be done as a safety device.
There was a lot to do, but there was only one thing Tigris could do now.
This shortcoming was to harden the body to make it tougher and tougher.
“I’ll get a room in Fogwood and practice.”
Fog Wood was full of mana, so it was a very suitable place to train.
There were about ten days left, so I thought it would be good to practice here.
The cast iron pan vibrated violently.
– No, dear! I hate those fireworks!
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Jane hated Fogwood full of blue flames, but she couldn’t break Tigris’ decision.* * *
November 20.
Tigris and Lenny arrived in the capital Victoria.
As we headed to Exit 4, Baiton was waiting.
“I’m glad you seem to be okay.”
“Did nothing happen?”
“Princess Linia has sent you a letter.”
“A letter from Linia?”
“Yes, it is. Here it is.”
Tigris received the letter.
[To your brother Tigris di Norberd]
Linia’s handwriting was written on the outside of the envelope.
It looked like it was written one by one by hand on the inside as well.
‘Why do you have to have a telegram?’
It wasn’t a secret letter, and Tigris didn’t know why he had to send the letter.
“Is there anything else besides this?”
“The opponents in the tournament qualifiers have been decided. My name is Tom Smith, a former mercenary and a swordsman with two rings.”
He was a memorable person.
As a mercenary with two rings, there was no need to prepare anything.
More important than that was the competitors they would meet in the finals or semifinals.
Baiton cleverly delivered the information Tigris wanted.
“According to the other rumors, mercenaries with four rings were on the battlefield.”
“A mercenary with four rings?”
Among mercenaries, it is rare to have 4 rings.
To go from 3 rings to 4 rings, you need to have talent in Auror operation, not just because you have talent, but because you have to learn how to operate Aurors.
Unlike knights, mercenaries did not pass on advanced skills such as Auror operation to others, so it was safe to say that there are very few mercenaries in their 20s with four rings.
At that moment, a man’s name suddenly passed by.
“What is your name?”
“My name is Gordon Daker.”
It was the person Tigris expected.
Gordon Daker.
A disciple of the current Black Meister, Bergan von Einwolf.
After winning first place in the Young Blood Tournament, Berggan, who recognized his genius, was a legendary genius who greeted him as a student himself.
However, I knew that they died together during the Black Meister assassination four years later.
‘Is Gordon going to be Berghan’s pupil after this tournament?’
Those who made it to the finals of the tournament could not come out again, so this time, it seemed that Bergang caught the eye and became a disciple.
‘Then I’m going to face the sword for the first time.’
My normally quiet heart started beating unusually loud.
Tigris was surprised that he was slightly excited.
Tigris had never shared a sword with Gordon.
Because Gordon died without even sharing the sword.
‘Did I still have a sense of victory?’
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Just being able to share the sword with the genius chosen by the Black Meister was exciting.What kind of sword will Gordon use?
As a mercenary, will you use crude swordsmanship?
Or will he perform a ruthless swordsmanship without consideration as he has been through countless battlefields?
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Just as it was difficult for a wizard to resist curiosity, it was difficult for a knight to bear his sympathy.“Let’s head to the penthouse first.”
“yes. All right.”
Tigris got on the carriage.
To calm this excitement, I decided to read Linia’s letter in my hand.
I cut the envelope neatly with the paper knife provided in the carriage and checked the contents.
[It’s been two weeks since I haven’t seen Tigris brother. By the time this letter arrived, it must have been three weeks, right? Time seems to go really fast. It’s starting to snow in Norverd, so it’s very difficult to walk, but the capital might be a little better. The capital would still be a little warm, wouldn’t it?]
There was nothing important in the letter.
It just started snowing in Norverd, so it was not important to say that he trained his sword while hitting the snow, that kittens were born in the estate and that the users took turns taking care of them.
However, Tigris smiled at Linia’s affectionate handwriting without realizing it.
[… Lastly, if you really have time, I hope you can send me a letter. I’m curious what happened during that time. I’ll just reduce this. Linia Olym.]
‘It’s a letter…’
If I had to put it into words, the users would send me a telegram, but I don’t know why they’re sending such a letter.
However, Linia always asks me to send her a letter, so it’s annoying, but I think she’ll do it.
After all, when you send a telegram, you have to write it down and give it to the user.
As soon as Tigris arrived at the penthouse, he immediately went into his study, grabbed a fountain pen, and wrote just one sentence.
[I made another ring.]
Tigris’ handwriting was very neat.
As if pulled from a telegram typewriter.
* * *
The preliminaries date is fast approaching.
Tigris entered the largest gladiator arena in the capital.
The gladiator did not engage in bloody savage gladiators like in the past, but presented a splendid gladiator that provided pure spectacle.
It has been transformed into a sport that brings joy to people by dividing the sum of gladiators in advance and dividing them into colorful gladiators.
It meant that the world had begun to be engulfed in peace.
When Tigris showed the wolf pack to the match staff, the staff checked the schedule and handed out the papers.
“It is an honor to meet you. Confucius Tigris. May I ask for one autograph here?”
The document contained points to be aware of when participating in this tournament.
For example, if you take someone’s life, you will be eliminated unconditionally, or if you are injured during a match, the lowest level potion will be provided, but all treatment costs after that will be paid by the individual. There were several things written about it, such as returning it.
Tigris already knew about it, so he signed it right away.
“Then would you like to follow that staff? We will guide you to the dedicated waiting room.”
Tigris entered the VIP waiting room, not the general private waiting room.
The VIP waiting room was not something that ordinary nobles could enter, but could only be assigned to high-ranking nobles like Tigris.
Ironically, the reason such a dedicated waiting room exists was because of commoners.
It was to separate them from the sons of high-ranking nobles, fearing that commoners would not be able to rest comfortably and control their condition even in the waiting room.
It was called a VIP waiting room, but it was a little more luxurious than a normal private waiting room.
Tigris was quite satisfied, of course, but most of the nobles were not satisfied with this VIP waiting room.
– This is my waiting room?! Are you asking me to sit in this cheap chair?!
– ruler! I’ll pay the money, so buy this chair right away. right now!
‘···The soundproofing is not good.’
Tigris sat on the mat and meditated.
When I concentrated, there was no sound.
how long has it been like that?
A knock on the door was heard.
“Sir Tigris di Norberd. Ten minutes before the start of the match.”
Tigris opened his eyes.
Then he came out with the sword lying next to the mat.
The staff politely guided Tigris to the stadium.
When I came out of the arena, the sound of sword clashing was full.
visor-! visor-!
The huge stadium was divided into a total of 8 sectors, and preliminary rounds were held.
Since it is a tournament that is held once every four years, there were a lot of people who applied.
They all had their own goals.
Mercenaries to raise their ransom.
Knights to get honor.
Students graduating from Imperial University to objectively grasp the level of their skills.
Someone wants to see the Emperor’s long life in person.
who money.
Someone wants to join the Golden Knights.
They were sharing their swords for different reasons and purposes, but their passion to win heated the stadium.
Tigris entered the stadium located at the very center.
A mercenary with red hair stood in the arena.
Tigris’ opponent, Tom Smith.
Tigris was strangely not unfamiliar with the man’s face.
It must have been a face I had seen somewhere.
“It’s very unlucky to meet Nari from the first qualifying round. Three rings?”
As soon as Tigris heard the man’s gentle tone, a man came to mind.
– lily. Don’t die. Even if other people die, Na-ri doesn’t deserve to die. Don’t die, survive to the end and kill them all.
The image of a red-haired mercenary who stood firmly on top of the collapsing Norberde Wall and wielded a sword with his body covered in blood-stained armor flashed past Tigris’s eyes.
Among the many mercenaries that Tigris had met, there was only one reason to remember the red mercenary.
It was because of his fierce fighting spirit.
When he lost his right hand, he switched his sword to his left, and when he lost his left hand, he took a knife in his mouth and cut off the orc’s neck.
– lily···! knife···! Give me a knife! Put the sword in your mouth!
It was a difficult situation to get up because he was already exhausted, but he glared at Tigris with demon-like eyes that he would kill at least one more orc.
It is still unknown whether a mercenary who was not a knight and was drawn to money tried to defend the Norberd Wall to the point of dying.
But one thing is certain: Tigris owes Tom.
Without the 94 mercenaries, including Tom, one million civilians escaping Norverd would have been slaughtered.
‘Heaven has given me a chance like this.’
Tigris was delighted that the unknown mercenary was named Tom, and that he had the opportunity to repay Tom for his favor.
Without knowing it, the smile was small enough.
Tigris looked into Tom’s eyes.
Although he knew that Tigris was rumored to be a three-ring swordsman, he did not lose his fighting spirit.
“Why are you carrying a sword?”
“What’s wrong? It’s about eating and making a living.”
“Then why are you in this tournament?”
Tom said with a smirk.
“Why would a mercenary come here? I’m here to raise the price. Of course, I’m here to promote not only my ransom, but also the mercenaries… I met Nari from the beginning, so I only blew 10 silver.”
Tom drew his sword.
“Let’s stop chatting and fight. lily. You seem to be underestimating me, but even the knights who hooked me up are not enough with my fingers, toes, and the middle one.”
“Looks like you’ve been through a lot of wars.”
“Kalbob alone is 8 years old. When Nari wielded a toy sword, I was rolling through a real battlefield. So, it is a no-brainer. lily.”
Tigris drew his sword.
“Don’t do that.”
“···Nari, which is not very interesting, has been caught.”
Tom slurped his taste buds as he saw Tigris not coming in due to provocation.
Tigris looked at Tom’s unique readiness and opened his mouth.
“Judging from the way the sword is held up and the position of the feet, it seems that he has mastered the windswept swordsmanship of the House of Daytons.”
Tom was hot.
“It’s not… lily.”
“I know that unique pose is ready for the use of Windswept Type I Wind Dash.”
“The Daytons aren’t even that famous, they went extinct seven years ago, you know that?”
“Then how could you learn the swordsmanship of a family that disappeared 7 years ago?”
Tom looked at Tigris and said.
“Because…it’s not that great. lily. This is a swordsmanship that I developed uniquely.”
“I know how a war mercenary can learn the swordsmanship of a swordsman family. So there is no need to hide it from me.”
“… huh.”
There was only one way for a war mercenary to learn the swordsmanship of a swordsman family.
It was to secretly steal the secrets of an extinct family and learn it.
It was possible because there were no knights of Gaheon to protect the family that was destroyed.
“···I will make no comments.”
However, the fact that the mercenaries secretly learned the swordsmanship of the extinct family of knights could not be revealed because it could earn the hatred of other knights and nobles.
Fortunately, Tom steals the swordsmanship of a baron’s family on the outskirts, so even if he uses it openly, the nobles didn’t know much about it.
Tigris took the same pose as Tom.
He raised his sword above his head, the tip of the sword aimed at the opponent’s heart, and bent his left foot forward as if he was about to jump out at any moment.
Tom was surprised that Tigris’ posture was more perfect than his own.
Tigris opened his mouth, remembering Tom, who slashed the orcs like a demon and faded like a brilliant flame.
“Let’s test how good your windswept swordsmanship is.”
“…it’s because it’s not a big deal.”
Still, Tom corrected his posture by looking at the posture that was the standard textbook of Tigris.
As more power was applied to the left foot, the muscle was pulled tight as if it was being thrown forward.
And as promised, the two collided towards each other like arrows that left the demonstration.