Editors: Ana_Banana, Sei
“Then I hereby declare the opening of the Championship!”
“Wooooh!”
“…”
The Uruk Arena.
Min Ha-rin stood in the center of this arena, receiving the enthusiastic cheers and applause of the audience.
She wasn’t alone.
All of the Champions and Fighters from all over the world who had come to participate in the Championship were gathered in the arena.
But Lukas wasn’t among them. In the end, the Championship had started before he could arrive.
Min Ha-rin was worried about her Master’s safety. But she eventually shook her head and forced herself to calm down.
This was a situation that Lukas had already imagined from the start. He had already mentioned the possibility that he wouldn’t return in time for the opening ceremony.
‘What he went to do wasn’t something easy.’
Nevertheless, she was sure that he would be fine.
It was still many years too soon for a disciple like her to worry about Lukas.
Rather, she should be more worried about herself at that moment.
She looked around,
Lukas was right.
The Champions, no. None of the Fighters in the arena were easy opponents.
It wasn’t just those from the major cities. Even Fighters from small and medium cities were overflowing with fighting spirit and the desire to win.
Among them, there were a few Fighters who were particularly fierce.
Lee Jong-hak of the Babylon Arena was one of them.
“…so that’s the guy.”
“Probably.”
“He looks pretty weak on the outside.”
“Shambar is the same.”
“Well.”
And so was Kran.
In fact, he was the center of attention not only for the spectators but for the other Fighters as well.
This couldn’t be helped.
After all, he was the one who killed the previous Champion of Kisura and one of the top three contenders for the title of Grand Champion, Shivar, with a single blow.
Min Ha-rin also looked at him.
Kran stood there with a blank expression on his face. He didn’t release his fighting spirit or aura like the other Fighters.
It was like standing naked on a battlefield as bullets rained down.
No.
He probably didn’t consider the hostility and killing intent of the others to be a threat at all.
“Then we will commence the draw!”
While the Fighters observed their competition, the host completed the ceremonial greetings.
In the middle of the stands was a place where large, colourful chairs were placed. This area had a lot more space compared to the other parts of the stands.
This was the place where the city lords and aides of the major cities who had sponsored the Championship as well as the powerful people from the other islands sat.
Without exception, all of the other seats in the arena were filled.
Whether they were expensive or cheap, all of the tickets had been sold out in an instant.
This clearly showed the public’s interest and enthusiasm in the Championship.
“Then, Champions! As I call your names, please come up to the stage!”
In addition to creating a match-list, the drawing ceremony also served the purpose of briefly introducing the various Fighters.
“Nonto Arena’s Pog!”
The crowd cheered as the various Fighters were called to the stage.
The degree of their cheering showed the level of interest they had in that specific Fighter.
Naturally, the host also made the effort of introducing the strong Fighters in a more dramatic manner.
“Babylon’s Whirlwind! Liiiii Hao!”
“Waaaaaah!”
When his name was called, the crowd erupted. Min Ha-rin also turned to look at Lee Jong-hak.
He climbed the steps of the stage with his characteristic calm expression and proceeded with his draw.
[C-15]
The Championship had been divided into four groups.
They were groups A, B, C, and D, and each group had a total of 16 people.
It only took a simple calculation to determine that one would need to win 4 matches in order to advance.
Even if one were to fail after advancing from the group stage, they would have still made it to the semi-finals.
However, none of the Fighters there would be satisfied with such an ending.
Since they joined the Championship, they naturally wanted to win.
The eyes of the Fighters burned with fighting spirit.
Suddenly.
The host began speaking in a more heated voice than usual.
“Attention everyone! I will now introduce the top contender for the position of Grand Champion!”
His voice, which was amplified by sorcery, was loud enough to shake the arena.
As they looked at him with anticipation, everyone in the crowd could even feel the tips of their fingers tingling with excitement.
“The Fighter King of Spera….! The Undefeated Champion…! Shambarrrrr!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
An incomparable cheer swept through the arena. It was as though dozens of explosives had been detonated at the same time.
More than half of the audience members left out of their seats and shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Shambar! Shambar! Shambar!”
“Shambar! Shambar! Shambar!”
Then they began to chant his name like crazy.
The entire arena shook.
Nevertheless, this reaction was to be expected.
The man who walked towards the stage had a subtle smile on his lips.
He was called the undisputed favorite to win the Championship.
The Fighter King, Shambar.
His official record was 491 wins and 3 losses.
He was the holder of the insane win rate of nearly 99%.
Even the three losses he suffered were only a small blemish that he’d acquired when he was still a rookie. Ever since he’d reached the top of the arena, he has continuously held on to his winning streak.
‘…this is a man who is at the [peak of mortality].’
This was a stage that Lukas often talked about.
A stage that he hoped Min Ha-rin would reach someday.
The Fighters looked at Shambar with tense expressions. Their eyes were affixed to his fingers that were slowly going into the lottery box to draw his number
Soon, the host shouted.
“A-2!!”
Some of the Fighters’ expressions became sullen, while others let out sighs of relief.
None of the Fighters gathered had any intentions of avoiding a fight, but they still didn’t want to fight the strongest candidate in the Championship from the very start.
‘…perhaps…’
Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but wonder who was stronger between Kran and Shambar.
“Herui Arena’s Rin Summers-!”
Suddenly, Min Ha-rin heard her name.
There was restrained applause from the stands.
Although this kind of reaction was common for Champions from small cities, her pride was still bruised a bit. This proved that she had the blood of a Fighter.
As she walked up to the stage, she felt several eyes focus on her. Some of the Fighters whispered to each other about her Dragon Armor. They were able to realise with a glance that it was not simple.
As its name suggested, the draw involved each Fighter placing their hand in a box filled with rocks of the same size and made from the same materials.
Each stone was engraved with letters and numbers, so the results would be known as soon as they pulled them out.
Min Ha-rin put her hand in the box and immediately pulled out the first stone she touched.
“B-8!”
She wondered if she should be happy that she wasn’t in the same group as Shambar… or even Lee Jong-hak.
Min Ha-rin let out a small sigh of relief before walking off the stage.
“Ah! I think a lot of people will pay attention to this one too!”
The host smiled mysteriously for a moment before continuing.
“The greatest dark horse in this Championship! No, I should call him another contender who is being compared to Shambar! I’m talking about none other than the Conqueror of Kisura, The One Shot Killer, Kran!”
Once again, the heat of anticipation could be felt by the audience.
But unlike before, the arena remained as quiet as a cemetery.
Crunch-
And within this strange state of silent excitement, the sound of Kran’s footsteps was exceptionally loud.
All of the Fighters, including Shambar, were looking at Kran.
After walking up to the stage without a single change in expression, Kran reached into the box in an uncaring manner.
And he picked up a stone without any signs of hesitation.
“C-7!”
“…!”
When she heard that, Min Ha-rin turned to look at Lee Jong-hak.
Group C was the group that Lee Jong-hak had been assigned to. In other words, Kran and Lee Jong-hak were in the same group.
“…”
Lee Jong-hak’s expression remained calm, but his heart was pounding so loudly in his chest that it was almost impossible to hear his thoughts.
His clenched fists were covered in cold sweat as his eyes remained locked on Kran.
Kran also turned to look at Lee Jong-hak at that moment.
“If you don’t… want to die…”
Then, for the first time, he opened his mouth.
His voice sounded weak and came out in a broken manner, but it was still able to reach Lee Jong-hak’s ears.
“…then give up.”