[Thank you for waiting, everyone!]
The announcer's voice echoed thunderously through the Tartan Colosseum, amplified by a magical loudspeaker.
[The Black Dragon Festival is here! A heated battle soaked in blood! I can’t wait to see what kind of powerful contestants appear this time!]
“Wooooaaaahhhh!”
At the announcer's words, the audience burst into a collective cheer.
[I can really feel your energy, everyone! I can’t wait to see what kind of hot, intense, and heart-pounding battles the contestants will give us! Of course! We have high-ranking priests on standby so the contestants can fight without holding back! Even if they lose an arm or leg, don’t worry! As long as they’re alive, it’s all good! Oh, and don’t worry about the medical bills either—the organizers will cover it all!]
“Hahahahaha!”
At the familiar Black Dragon Festival joke, the audience laughed naturally.
‘Hmm, looks like they even have high-ranking priests on duty these days.’
Nellin thought back to her previous visit to Tartan.
Back then, there was no Black Dragon Festival—just daily duels in the Colosseum.
They had potions and some priests for safety, but no high-ranking ones.
So if a serious injury seemed likely during a match, the organizers had to make a quick judgment to stop it—or, if it was too late, chalk it up as a tragic incident.
‘Guess I won’t be needing that elixir.’
The elixir, known as the pinnacle of potions.
Nellin felt lighter knowing she wouldn’t need the one she’d secretly packed before leaving the forest.
[This year too, we have many powerful fighters participating in the Black Dragon Festival! I wish we could watch every one of their battles! But reality isn’t that kind! Only 64 contestants can advance to the main tournament!]
Creeeeaaak!
The iron gates installed in the Colosseum lifted, and the waiting contestants all stepped into the arena at once.
There appeared to be about 140 contestants.
With only 64 advancing to the main tournament, more than half would be eliminated.
From the audience, Nellin observed the contestants.
‘There are a few decent ones. Not on the same level as the ones I trained, though.’
From what Nellin could see, she wasn’t worried about Godrick’s party getting through the preliminaries.
So, for fun, she started sizing up the other contestants.
‘That guy looks like he can fight. That one looks flashy but probably useless. Hmm? That girl is…’
A girl entered Nellin’s sight—silver hair with a white tint, wolf ears, and golden eyes like burnished gold.
‘Why does she look so fierce?’
Her hands wrapped in bandages, the girl exuded a violent aura as she entered.
She wasn’t unleashing it recklessly, but Nellin could tell—just a slight provocation and the killing intent would explode.
‘So even without that disaster of a kid, there’s someone like her.’
Nellin had met people like her before.
Survivors of black dragons who had lost family or friends.
Among them, those who were consumed not by grief but by rage and hatred often had that same vibe.
***
[Well then, everyone! Let the Black Dragon Festival preliminaries begin!]
As the preliminaries began, Godrick’s party stood back-to-back, staying alert to their surroundings.
They weren’t the only ones.
Other contestants who had formed parties in the waiting area also moved back-to-back like Godrick’s party.
Of course, there were also those who moved on their own, trusting in their individual strength.
Smack!
“Guh!”
“Go down already.”
“What the—this brat—ugh!”
“How is that a ‘Frost Fist’? That hurts like hell… gah!”
The girl known as the "Frost Fist" moved fiercely, taking down the contestants around her.
Following her lead, the other contestants began searching for prey and launched into action.
Clang! Claaang!
Thud!
Whoosh!
Smack!
Crunch!
Boom!
Swords clashed with swords, fists with fists, and spells exploded across the arena.
“Who the hell cast an explosion spell in this cramped space?!”
“Wahaha! Now this is art—ugh!”
“You’re dead!”
With the full-on brawl underway, the Colosseum grew more and more intense.
The audience went wild at the chaotic spectacle.
“Yes! Go! Go!”
“You better survive! I bet on you in the prelims!”
“Ahhhh! Why did you go down there?!”
“Oh God, please, please, please! Protect my living expenses!”
Once the brawl started, Godrick’s party didn’t just stand around on alert.
Even though they stayed together, they had to fight eventually—otherwise, the preliminaries wouldn’t end—and others began charging at them too.
Amid the scattered chaos of battle across the arena, Godrick’s party calmly monitored their surroundings and only dealt with those who came toward them.
“Hey! Def, take the left!”
“Uh, okay!”
“Hawane, don’t go showing off and end up getting hit.”
“Heh, with my current skills, all of them are nothing but—”
“Then you want to take on that silver-haired wild kid over there?”
“Focus on the task at hand.”
Clang!
Thud!
Claaang!
Godrick’s party steadily took down their opponents with the skills they had honed over time.
As time passed and the number of contestants dwindled, attention began shifting toward them.
“Who the hell are those guys?”
“Never seen them before, but they’re pretty skilled.”
“Are those four part of the same party?”
Their individual skills aside, the way they worked together made it obvious—they had been a party for quite some time.
So no one rushed to fight them carelessly.
If the enemy had good teamwork, they could always face them one-on-one in the main event.
There was no need to mess with Godrick’s party now and make things harder for themselves.
However—
“Next.”
There was always someone who didn’t care and charged in regardless.
The girl known as Frost Fist slammed the ground and rushed toward Def, fist extended.
Spotting her movement, Skol urgently warned Def.
“Def, block it!”
“Uh, ah!”
Def braced himself and blocked her punch with the flat side of his double-handed axe.
CLAAANG!
The sound was nothing like what you'd expect from a fist hitting an axe.
A powerful shock traveled through the axe and into both of Def’s hands.
If Nellin hadn’t trained him, the shock alone would’ve made him drop his weapon.
But thanks to that special training, Def's toughness allowed him to endure the impact and swing the axe in return.
“Haaaah!”
The axe hit the girl midair and sent her flying.
But spinning in the air, she rolled out of the fall with agile breakfall technique and sprang up again, glaring at Godrick’s party.
Her menacing eyes were so fierce that just meeting her gaze was enough to make someone flinch.
Under that pressure, Godrick’s party all thought the same thing.
Why are her eyes so scary?
A less experienced group would’ve faltered from just the look in her eyes, but Godrick’s party, hardened by Nellin’s training, were tense but not overwhelmed.
Noticing that they weren’t pushovers, the girl prepared to launch an even fiercer attack.
“Waaah!”
A contestant who saw her fly earlier thought it was his chance and rushed in, swinging his sword at her.
Whoosh!
But the sword sliced through empty air.
Before the blade even moved, she had twisted her body and leaped, and as it swung—
SMACK!
“Urgh!”
Her foot landed square on the attacker’s face.
‘She’s fast.’
‘Whoa, amazing reflexes.’
‘How’d she dodge that?’
‘She’s incredible.’
The entire Godrick party stared in awe for a moment at the swift movement.
The girl who had taken down the attacker turned her gaze back to them.
She was coming for them next.
Godrick’s party took their stances and braced themselves.
Just as she was about to charge again—
[The preliminaries are now overrrrr!!! Contestants, please stop fighting!]
The announcer’s voice boomed across the Colosseum.
Hearing the announcement, all the contestants looked around.
Scattered around them were the fallen.
Those still standing in the vast arena now numbered less than half of what had first entered.
[There are 32 contestants remaining who will proceed to the main tournament! Please give a round of applause and cheer for those who survived the preliminaries!]
“Wooooaaaahhhh!”
At the announcer’s words, the audience burst into applause and cheers.
Of course, not everyone was cheering—some were sobbing because their chosen fighter had lost—but their sorrow was drowned out in the celebration.
***
“Congrats on clearing the prelims, guys! Dinner’s on me tonight, so eat up!”
“Thank you, Sister Marin!”
Godrick’s party and Nellin headed to a restaurant to celebrate with a meal.
“For tomorrow, just do some light training and get lots of rest. You’ll need the energy for the main tournament the day after.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The main tournament would be held two days after the preliminaries.
It was said to be for managing player condition and setting up the match brackets, but it also helped build up audience anticipation and betting action.
Godrick’s party, having spent a lot of energy and mental focus in the prelims, started eating faster than usual.
Watching the four of them laugh among themselves, Nellin chuckled and said, “You guys worked hard today. Even from the stands, I could clearly see how tense you were.”
“Really?”
“Isn’t it only possible to notice that because it’s you, Sister Marin?”
“What do you mean ‘because it’s me’? It was obvious—you guys had your backs stuck together the moment it started. But still, you handled it well and fought great. Makes me feel proud for training you. Don’t you think?”
“Your training really paid off, Sister Marin. I knocked down a bunch of idiots who came at me head-on! Hehehe!”
“Yeah. Skol, you looked like you were having a blast.”
“I-I think I survived today thanks to your training too. That girl’s punch at the end was really strong.”
“Right? I didn’t put you through that endurance training for nothing. Still, it all turned out okay in the end.”
“What do you mean by ‘okay’?”
“You know... that girl Def mentioned. If any of you had fought her, one of you probably wouldn’t have made it past the prelims.”
“Are you serious?”
Godrick asked, and Nellin nodded.
“Yeah. That girl had a seriously deadly glare. She looked like she could actually fight too. I did train you all, but going up against her one-on-one would’ve been really rough.”
“Gulp… Then, who would win if you fought her, Sister Marin?”
“Sigh, Hawane. You blockhead. Are you seriously asking that?”
Smack smack!
“Ah! Ow!”
Nellin whacked Hawane on the head with her spoon, then pointed her thumb at herself and declared proudly,
“Of course I’d totally crush her.”
“Yesss! I knew it!”
“Right?!”
“S-Sister Marin is insanely strong!”
“Damn right!”
“Well, that girl’s eyes were creepy for sure, but honestly, Sister Marin was way scarier when she was training us.”
Smack!
Nellin’s spoon this time smacked Godrick square on the top of the head.
“Ow! W-Why me…?”
“You sounded like Hawane just now.”