[21st Round] Finals
“Greetings! Before you all are the 64 brave warriors permitted to join the tournament to earn the right to challenge our princess, whom we aptly nicknamed the Thorny Black Rose, for her hand in marriage! Let us welcome them!”
“Boooooo!”
“Boo!”
“Boooooo!”
Combat in Fantasy, a place with few entertaining activities, was a welcomed event for locals.
However, applicants who came to gain the favor of the Sword Princess, whom the people loved madly, were greeted with boos and angry exclamations.
We were no different than some rogues trying to take away their favorite idol, whom they were crazy about, after all.
“How dare those pitiful commoners…”
“As soon as I get her hand… We’ll see.”
“Those scum!”
The unwelcomed royals and nobles approached the arena, gritting their teeth and muttering curses.
It wasn’t surprising that most of the applicants had high statures in life.
The minimum level for participation was 300.
The top 0.1% strongest individuals were concentrated among the nobility, knights, and wizards.
Commoners in jobs such as agriculture, handicrafts, and fishing had few opportunities to level up.
They could gain experience by killing animals, but in fact, men who hunted animals all their lives wouldn’t even reach level 20.
“Everything is exactly as I remember.”
The 4th and 5th curriculums differed only in detail.
The Sword Princess, who was actually a married woman and the mother of my son Chris, was now older and stronger.
However, the difficulty of the tournament didn’t increase that much.
“Boooooo!”
“Boooo!”
“Booooooooo!”
Even the crowd booing the participants was similar to the previous tournament.
Regardless of who won and lost, the audience’s attitude would remain the same, which only seemed fair. It would be bad when one was applauded, and the other was booed, after all.
In the 1st round, even my companions argued that I couldn’t win. All in all, the atmosphere was invigorating.
“The Sword Princess will be mine!”
“Haha! Stop joking around!”
“Behold, the power of my swordsmanship!”
“It’s time to unleash my sealed power!”
The contestants of the tournament finally clashed.
The fights weren’t that impressive because the rules forbade killing the opponent.
Soon enough, my turn came.
“I present to you the 53rd participant! He hails from the Vailo estate, located at the north of the already cold Northern Continent! Please welcome Count Vailo’s second son, Harpy Hunter Kyo, with thunderous applause!”
“Boooooo!”
“Booooooooo!”
“Boooo!”
“And his opponent, the 54th participant whose origins can be traced back to Moskar! Sword King Parpar! Awesome nickname! Applaud him!”
“Booooooo!”
“Booo!”
Contender No. 53 and I, the MAX-Class Righteous Hero, went to the center of the arena as the audience warmly welcomed us.
I decided that I would deal with the opponents in a fair fight without using the power of the Demon Lord and the Hero.
As soon as we got close, my opponent immediately tried to provoke me.
“By hunting harpies, I became stronger and even faster than the winds themselves! Try to keep up with my speed!”
He seemed confident in his speed.
That was something that I was good at, too.
I answered him with the Righteous Hero’s smile.
“Is that so? Let’s have a fair fight and put our spines on the line.”
“Ah!”
“Show me this… faster-than-the-winds speed of yours.”
“I-I g-give up!”
“…”
He really was a windy man.
Contender #53 gave up without even giving me a chance to grab onto his spine.
Damn it!
That was unexpected.
“Well… Since Harpy Hunter Kyo has surrendered, Sword King Parpar advances to the next stage of the tournament! He’s really lucky to be able to save his strength for his next opponent!”
“Boooooo!”
“Booo!”
“Booooooooo!”
The first day of the tournament ended.
I thought I would show them the power of the skills I learned from Master Mollan!
But I didn’t even get the opportunity.
We had to spend the night under strict guard in a temporary accommodation provided by the Duke Q’ Swordsmanship Academy.
Participants could take care of their injuries, have their equipment repaired free of charge, and prepare for tomorrow’s battles.
However, it was impossible to relax.
Because the “battles” took place not only in the arena.
“Ouch! My stomach!”
“Is the soup poisoned?”
“Who did this?!”
Some participants complained of diarrhea.
As far as I knew, one of the chefs took a bribe and put a laxative in the soup, but the tournament judge dismissed their complaints, advising them to solve the situation themselves using appropriate skills.
As a result, three people withdrew from the tournament that night.
People whose level had exceeded 300 would tell others that at that level, diarrhea was no longer terrible since they could now control many processes of the body through the help of skills. However, if there were level 300 individuals, there were laxatives made from the excrement of level 300 monsters as well.
The next stages of the tournament went pretty quickly.
1/16 finals.
“I give up!”
1/8 finals.
“I give up!”
Quarterfinals.
“I give up!”
“Hmmm…”
Semifinals.
“Kh?!”
“I finally caught one!”
I was glad that my friends, delighted by the Righteous Hero’s smile, decided not to interfere with my objective and gave up, but this confused the public.
“This has to be some form of scam…”
“How many times has this happened?”
“The Sword King Parpar is suspicious.”
“He’s almost definitely a crook…”
Fortunately, the suspicion subsided when I managed to grab one of the participants by the spine before he could give up.
My reputation as the Perfect Hero shouldn’t be spoiled.
When would these ignorant fantasy savages realize that admiration should be shown in moderation?
6th day.
The final stage had begun.
“Greetings to all of you attending the final stage of our tournament! Today, we shall witness a legendary being, the Sword King Parpar, fight off against a mysterious swordsman named Porori, who hails from the distant Eastern Continent! Whoever emerges victorious from this battle shall earn the right to challenge our mistress, the beautiful rose, and the deadliest swordswoman across the lands of Fantasy!”
“Booooooooo!”
“Booooooo!”
“Booooooooooooo!”
Under the thunderous ovation of the speaker and the audience, the MAX-Class Righteous Hero and the insignificant Challenger A appeared and stood opposite each other.
Since he made it to the finals, I checked his stats out of courtesy.
▷ Race: Human
▷ Level: 451
▷ Job: Brave (Everyone = Level 1)
▷ Skills: Sword Mastery S, Dual Blade Mastery A, Dexterity A…
▷ Status: Concentration, Determination
So that was how he made it to the finals.
Brave.
If I encountered him during the first few days of my journey, I would never be able to defeat him.
But now?
He wouldn’t even be suitable for my warm-up.
“My name is Porori. I’m the one who will soon conquer the Sword Princess. I don’t know what tricks you used to get here, Sword King Parpar, but it won’t work on me— Tsk!”
“Oh?”
I attacked Challenger A right in the middle of his fervent speech, but he dodged my surprise attack.
Even though I wasn’t even using a sixteenth of my strength, I still didn’t think he would be able to dodge.
However…
“Kh?!”
There wouldn’t be a second time.
I immediately grabbed his neck between his 6th and 7th vertebrae, not giving him time to recover.
I had no time to waste.
BOOM!
Holding his neck, I pinned Challenger A to the ground.
He had a pretty strong skull!
“You surprised me.”
“Kh…”
“You are the first to hold against Sword King Parpar this long. You can be proud of that.”
“…”
Challenger A, delighted by the MAX-Class Righteous Hero’s praise, couldn’t find the right words to reply with.
“The fight is over! Everyone expected a fierce battle, but Porori, a swordsman from the east, couldn’t cope with Sword King Parpar’s sudden onslaught and was almost immediately defeated, leaving Sword King Parpar as the victor! Please support him with deafening applause!”
“Oh…”
“Hmm…”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Among the spectators during the finals, the academy students who watch and learn from the experienced fighters gave me, the tournament’s winner, a round of applause.
One of them was my son.
“He seems surprised.”
He probably caught and understood every move of the MAX-Class Righteous Hero.
His talent was really impressive.
But that was only natural, considering he inherited my spine.
▶ Awe: After the boring action scenes, the romantic part finally comes.
‘Hmm? Trainee Teacher doesn’t like action?’
I thought it was her style since she dreamt of becoming the heroes’ teacher.
▶ Difficulty: I didn’t say I don’t like it. I just love romance a little more, but not enough for me to neglect my work!
‘I’ll keep that in mind, Trainee Teacher!’
▶ Embarrassment: And I think cadet Kang Han Soo’s way of fighting with a righteous smile on his face is good for both action and romance. A man fighting for a lady’s heart is attractive in itself.
‘I’m ready to fight for your heart, Trainee Teacher!’
“Um…”
“What?”
“Sir Parpar, would you mind letting go of Porori? It seems that he no longer has any air left in his lungs.”
“Oops.”
I completely forgot about him since I was distracted by my conversation with the beautiful Trainee Teacher.
BAM.
Challenger A fell to the ground, gasping for air desperately.
There was nothing I could do. It wasn’t my fault that a level 451 fighter was that weak anyway.
“Kha-kha!”
“My Brave friend.”
“Huh?! How did you know… Kha-kha!”
“Relying on your profession alone is foolish.”
“…”
“The Sword Princess can’t be defeated in such a primitive way, after all.”
After our fair fight, I went to rest as I waited for the romantic part Trainee Teacher liked so much.
To save time, it would be nice to immediately “ask for the hand” of the Sword Princess, but the tournament had a specific schedule that I was instructed to follow.
It was extremely rare for challengers to win the tournament without injuries, after all.
Bruises, cuts, and broken bones were all common.
Only in children’s cartoons and books did the challengers’ limbs remain unharmed after fierce combat.
However, there were always exceptions.
The long-awaited event soon took place.
“Behold! The beloved daughter of Duke Qureil, the Northern Continent’s epitome of beauty, the warrior who single-handedly slew 954 ogres, the Order of the Black Rose’s Head, one of the three strongest knights of the Northern Continent, Guardian of the Eastern and Northern Continents, Commander of the Eastern Legion, Deputy Commander of the Northern Legion, High Priest of Mollan’s Teachings, the Rank 2 Mollan Paladin, bearer of Mollan Medal of Honor, Guardian Goddess of Moskara, Guardian of Kureil Manor, the Magic Sword Master, Snow Queen Elsha’s Friend, the Snow Mountain Conqueror, the Ice Princess’s bailiff, the Ice Troll Slayer, the Spiked Black Rose Sword, the Legendary Princess reincarnated almost 2,000 years later! Countess Kaisa Kureil!”
“Wow!”
“Yesss! Aaaahhh!”
“Woooo!”
The Sword Princess entered the arena to the enthusiastic cheers of the assembled spectators.
Her black combat suit, which looked like a combination of a woman’s dress and knightly armor, was impressive.
That was thanks to Duke Q for persuading his daughter from completely hiding her body under her armor.
Her golden hair was cut at shoulder height to keep it out of the way during battle.
A typical female knight.
But one shouldn’t fall under the spell of this strong but beautiful woman.
Deep down, she was a crazy bitch who, through her own fault, appeared in a nightgown and tried to kill the Hero who had to save the world.
It was time for me to go out as well.
“Behold! The man who wants to win the heart of Countess Kaisa Kureil. Sword King Parpar of Moskar!”
“Boooooo!”
“Boooooooooo!”
“Boooo!”
The stupid crowd didn’t even acknowledge the MAX-Class Righteous Hero.
Their attitude towards me wouldn’t affect the outcome of the battle, but I decided to create a romantic atmosphere.
“Addicted Spirit.”
“Heeheehee! My children! Support the Drug Hero with me!”
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop…
As soon as the First Spirit called them, innumerable spirits appeared in the air.
Earth, fire, wind, water, soul.
From inferiors to kings.
They all filled the arena to cheer me up.
“…”
“…” The Fantasy savages were speechless, but their silence didn’t last long.
The Soul Spirit King went to work, setting mind control in motion.
“The Sword King is so cool!”
“Good luck, Sir Parpar!”
“You will definitely win!”
“Long live Sword King Parpar!”
I entered the arena to the cheers of the crowd, appearing before the Sword Princess.
“Hi~”
“Do you call yourself the Sword King?”
“Yes, why?”
As expected, my taunt worked.
The Sword Princess’s face became flushed with anger as she glared at me. “That nickname goes well with your barbaric face, Sir Parpar.”
… Huh?”
What was this bitch talking about? Had she gone completely crazy?”
