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Riftan’S POV - Under The Oak Tree - Chapter 19
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“It’s a big crowd.” Ruth grumbled as he passed through through the dense swarm of people.
Riftan headed for the amphitheatre. In front of the magnificent building in the daylight, it was filled with merchants lined with stalls, gamblers playing betting boards, and thousands of people who came to watch the game.
Somehow, as he made his way through, saw the soldiers guarding the arched entrance. Riftan showed them the entrance ticket and entered the building. As if it was natural, Ruth tried to follow him, but was stopped by the soldiers.
“Hey, are you a contestant too? Show me your entry ticket.”
“Well, I’m with him…”
Ruth called his name anxiously behind his back. Riftan pretended not to hear him and continued on his way. Following the soldier’s lead, they passed down a long corridor shrouded in dark shadows, emerged into a spacious waiting room where men of sturdy physiques were gathered in a moment, everyone’s eyes flew to him.
Riftan could sense that they were deeply scrutinising his abilities. He too looked closely at the competitors. On the left side of the room, about thirty mercenaries were gathered, and on the right side, knights with shields were preparing weapons and armour. As he watched them from all sides, he walked to the corner and sat down, his interest in the mercenaries quickly lost.
“It is said that a group of skilled knights from all over the world participated in this competition.”
“Since it will be a great prize, the competition will be fiercer than in the last tournament.”
“Shit, have you seen it? They treat us like bridesmaids. It’s a spectacle made specifically for the knights to shine.”
Riftan looked out the window, hearing the voices of the mercenaries complaining. Thousands of people crowded into the stands surrounding the stadium. He rolled his eyes from side to side in case he could find her, and at that moment a man who looked like a priest entered the waiting room with a bodyguard.
“The competition is about to begin. Before the fights begin, I will give you a few warnings.
This contest is a sublime event that takes place in the presence of high ranking people from all over the world and the Holiness of the Holy Father. Therefore, confrontations must be fair, and if the opponent surrenders, the attack must stop immediately.
Furthermore, the use of magic or magical tools is not tolerated, and death is not tolerated for attacking an unconscious or seriously injured and incompetent person.
Attacking unprotected opponents is also not allowed and please refrain from excessive cruelty. This contest is to honour the spirit of Wigru and the 12 Knights, and I expect everyone to come with discipline and reverence for the art.”
After the priest laid out the precautions in a solemn tone, he taped a turn sheet to the wall and exited. After checking his turn, Riftan sat down by the window.
His turn was the fifth. The knights’ engagement was scheduled to continue only after the mercenaries’ engagement was over, and because of that, the nobles were likely to start watching in the afternoon.
Riftan made a dull expression and brushed his hair roughly. The thought of feeling cheated did not escape his mind.
“First shift starts! Kyle Secon! Dermed Eden! Come out!”
As the soldier shouted aloud, two mercenaries pulled their helmets over their heads and walked towards the entrance of the arena.
After a while, a deafening shout echoed through the air and a sound of cheering began to be heard.
Riftan sat with his head leaning against the wall and waited for his turn. Even those who seemed quite experienced watched him for weaknesses, but soon stopped paying attention to him.
“…What am I doing in a place like this?”
Most of the skills he learned were for hunting monsters, not for face-to-face confrontations. Although he had traded swords with knights he had fought several times, he took advantage of the terrain as much as he could and did not hesitate to try surprise attacks or cut opponents from behind if necessary.
The pure fencing battle will be different from using all kinds of weapons such as chains, daggers, hooks and ropes to cut off the enemy’s breath. The uncomfortable feeling of arriving at the wrong place rarely disappeared.
“Riftan Calypse! Cedric Gayron! Come out!”
After an hour and a half, their turn came. Riftan slowed down and pulled a helmet over his head. His opponent was of enormous physique, heavily armed with thick steel armour.
Riftan looked at the heavy sword on his back and narrowed his eyes. He walked side by side towards the entrance, revealing his yellow tooth menacingly towards him.
“This is a handsome boy.”
Riftan lowered his helmet. And the man burst out laughing.
“You’re so unfortunate that it is me, Gayron, your first opponent. But don’t worry too much. At least your limbs will end up attached.”
Riftan looked at the stadium at the end of the tunnel with an indifferent gaze. Flags symbolising family and affiliation waved vigorously throughout the audience, and trumpets and drums blared from people who seemed to be well beyond the 10,000 shouted at once.
Riftan laughed. Didn’t they say it was an event to celebrate the spirit of Wigru and the 12 Knights? He didn’t seem to find that veneration in the crowd.
The reason they came here paying an expensive admission fee was simple. To find stimulating entertainment. At this new glimpse, Riftan relaxed a little.
“Go to your own location!” The soldier in charge of the tournament shouted at him, pointing to the centre of the stadium.
Riftan slowly walked there and stood face to face with his opponent. As the tense air flowed, the soldiers raised the flag high to signal the start of the confrontation.
Riftan drew his sword from his waist at the signal. His opponent sneered like a bastard and drew the sword from his back. It was a huge great sword with case 6 kbet (180cm) in length. He seemed to be quite a famous guy in Osyria, and he heard his name shouted everywhere.
“Gay-ron, Gay-ron, Gay-ron, Gay-ron!”
He heaved his chest and took a deep breath as if absorbing the thunderous support with his whole body.
“Can you hear? This is the best body and will be the winner of this competition. I have been in all kinds of battlefields. Even the knights who are competing on behalf of the nobles are no match for me.”
“…”
“I was going to forgive you if you gave up, but I can’t any more. We’ll have to put on a show to live up to these expectations. Come on baby. I’ll give you a special chance to strike first.”
“…Then let’s get started.”
Riftan ran over without hesitation. The opponent’s face changed in an instant. As if a sense of crisis spread across his face as he saw the sword flying towards his head at a terrifying speed, Gayron immediately swung his greatsword. Riftan stopped the great sword that weighed several times the weight of his own as if it were a tree branch.
He saw clearly on his face a look of astonishment. He quickly tried to straighten his stance, but it was too late to respond to the next attack. Riftan stabbed his sword relentlessly into his side without missing the space where his arm bounced upwards. A blade pierced through the gap in the armour penetrated flesh and muscle and rose sharply behind his back.
“Oh, oh…!”
His opponent gasped wildly or opened his eyes. Riftan immediately unsheathed his sword from his body. Dark red blood flowed across the armour.
He stepped back and tried to secure a safe distance, but Riftan did not give him a moment. Gayron, staggering with one hand clutching his side, dropped to his knees and cried out as Riftan ****** the sword into his neck.
“I-I surrender… I surrender!”
All this happened in less than three minutes after the flag that started the fight was raised. The soldiers standing uncomprehendingly blew a trumpet to announce the end of the match. A tremendous shout erupted all around.
With serious eyes, Riftan watched the scene as the priests cast healing spells on the loser, then turned and looked around the place. The Duke of Croix’s banner was in the boxes at the top of the stands, next to the box where the banner of the Royal Family of Weddon stood.
However, they were quite far away and there were so many people that it was difficult to see their faces. Even the women wore veils on their heads.
Riftan narrowed his eyes and then resigned himself and looked down. As the mercenaries said, high-ranking nobles may not have attended yet.
He left the stadium.
****** ******** *******
Riftan played four more matches during the day. And because all of those fights ended in five minutes, he was nicknamed Calypse a blow.
The next day, Riftan scrunched up his face when he heard people gathered at the stadium entrance shouting that nasty title at him. From hybrid to dragon slayer, which were nicknames he had been given before, but the strange nickname he was given this time was the worst of all.
“Hey, is it true that you were the dragon slayer who became famous in Libadon?”
When he entered the waiting room he received harsher stares than the day before. As he sat there, ignoring their hostile stares, a middle-aged man with a blackened face suddenly approached and spoke.
Riftan frowned. He wore a common outfit but he was a man who had a refined atmosphere like that of a big head. The man looked at him with a nice smile and sat down next to him.
“I went to a bar yesterday and was excited when I heard your story. There are already rumours that you are a terrible monster hunter who caught ten half-dragons on his own.”
“…And what’s so important about that?”
The man blinked as if he was a little surprised by his frank tone when he spoke and spoke calmly.
“I was curious to know what kind of person you were, because of all the fuss you caused, so I came to see you. When I saw you from afar, you looked older, so I thought you’d be in your mid-twenties, but looking at your face, you’re younger than I thought. How old are you?”
Riftan looked at him as if he didn’t want to answer. The man smiled as he touched his beard, neatly groomed to look interested.
“You seem to have a good spirit. Living in a group will cause a lot of trouble.”
“…”
“How about horseback riding? The mercenary’s life doesn’t seem to be long enough, but you must have been out on the battlefield, right? Do you know how to ride a horse?”
“…If you don’t have something important to tell me, don’t talk to me. I don’t like people who pretend to be close and friendly.” Riftan replied seriously without hiding his unpleasant expression.
The man smiled slightly, shrugged his shoulders and stood up.
“I apologise for disturbing someone who is about to fight in a showdown. Please accept it as a way of cheering your success in the future.”
“….”
“Now, see you next time.”
The man walked towards the place where the knights were. Riftan’s eyes widened when he saw him talking to the knights who were participating in the game. He was not like a contestant. He came to cheer up a colleague?
“…I’m imagining unpleasant things.”
Riftan grunted slightly and looked away from the man. Just in time, the soldier shouted his name out loud. Riftan put on his helmet and rose from his seat. His first confrontation was with a royal knight of Arex.
As he walked towards the stadium, a disgruntled wave came over him. It seemed insulting that a hybrid with pagan blood was his opponent.
Riftan put his helmet on his head, watched with his cold eyes. A stadium surrounded by lights with a narrower field of vision. Standing in the middle of it, he turned to find the Duke of Criox’s banner and heard a belligerent voice.
“You’re not really interested in ‘the knight’s sword’, are you?”
The knight said with wrinkles around his eyes, as if scorning him, Riftan looked down.
“That sword belongs only to knights. It is not something for mercenaries to covet.”
Riftan frowned at the absurd words he said, he turned towards the main seat where the pope sat.
A sword was stuck in front of the altar surrounded by the Holy Knights. Come to think of it, it was said that a group of knights from all over the world participated because that sword was the winning prize. Riftan drew his sword and twisted his lips stiffly.
“Aren’t you scared that you will lose the winning prize to a mercenary?”
“What audacity…!”
“You asked and I answered. If you have anything else you want to say, say it with your skills.”
The knight stiffened his face with seriousness and drew his sword.
“Good! I’ll explode it for you so you can understand it with my sword!”
“You’ll definitely be the champion! Will Calypse, who defeated a Drake, ever get tired of beating humans?” Ruth clenched the beer and screamed triumphantly. If he wins in the next two matches, he kept hearing chatter in his ear.
“Mr. Calypse is invincible! I’m buying for Calypse!”
Riftan raised his weapon and parried an attack that struck him. Their blades clashed and sparks flew. The man’s face was slightly distorted. The knight immediately stepped back, he thought it would be disadvantageous to compete with the force from the front. But Riftan did not give him the chance to attack again.
“How many times did you think I’d give you the chance to swing a sword, you fool!?”
If he took a step back, he would die then and there. Riftan ****** his sword without mercy and without missing the moment when his weight was slightly tilted towards the head. Riftan continued to propel himself and smashed his face relentlessly with the handle of the weapon.
As the helmet on his face collapsed, blood gushed like a fountain from his nose. Not stopping there, Riftan swung the weapon and aimed it at his forearm. A shiny black blade pierced through the armour and half lodged in the knight’s thick arm. A high-pitched groan erupted from his mouth.
“…If you don’t want to have one arm, surrender.”
The knight glared at him fiercely with a distorted face. Riftan pushed the blade deeper. Then the knight who had been pursing his lips as if he was holding on, cried out.
“Oh… I surrender.”
Riftan drew the sword and corrected his stance. Soon there was a cry of “One Shot Killer Calypse” from all sides.
Riftan scrunched up his face. He thought about finding out who gave him that nickname.
Even though his opponents from then on were knights, his winning streak continued. He surprised himself. He thought he was no big deal, that he was just a regular mercenary, he didn’t think his skills would be so overwhelming.
“The results are certain! How can Sir Calypse, who vanquished a drake, be defeated by a mere human being?”
Ruth gulped down and exclaimed triumphantly. Riftan had only two matches left to win, then he would be the champion of the competition. The wizard, who won handsomely from bettinga lot of money on him, was smiling from ear to ear.
“Sir Calypse is invincible! From now on, I will suuuurely follow him around!”