"Drin boy… I hope you don't interfere between me and Tuan. I just want to deal with this fire bastard. I have no intention of fighting with you or winning first place any longer."
Drin remained quiet for a while. But before he could even think about replying, he heard Tuan chuckle from behind him.
"Hahaha! Will you think you can make a fool out of Drin? Defeating me means winning this competition for you. That's because I have enough Titus points to help you surpass Drin's Titus points easily.
Let me tell you one thing, Drin. I'm very weak and tired right now. I'll lose to this guy within seconds if you DON'T interfere in our matter."
A blue vein on Drin's forehead popped when he heard Tuan's unabashed response. This was blatant blackmail. Tuan was saying that should Drin choose to act as a spectator, he would lose his position as the first place holder.
William had had it with all the mocking he had suffered from Tuan while he was chasing him down. The guy not only mocked him but his mother as well, making him want to beat the close combat expert all the more.
Of course, William was aware that Tuan was doing all that to distract him while he was chasing the guy. But what infuriated him more was the fact Tuan's strategy worked and he had managed to run away towards Drin with him on the toe.
Upon hearing Tuan's blackmail, Drin turned to face him without worrying about William. He looked the guy in the eye before speaking up in a cold voice.
"Tuan, I suggest that you don't try to use blackmail on me. If you are that weak, maybe I'll eliminate you on my own. Let my first place become even more prominent.'
William got stressed when he heard Tuan speak. But he wanted to see the frightful reactions of Tuan at that point even more than getting his second place back.
But Willaim saw Tuan speak with the same nonchalance and carefree attitude as before. He heard him speak to Drin next.
"What would you gain by attacking me anyway, Drin? Your ranking in the tournament is already set. Adding a few more points or an entire bulk of them by defeating one of the top three rankers shouldn't change anything for you, right?
Besides, if I stay in second place, I'll give you all of the Extols I would win."
Tuan looked at Drin and flashed a businessman-like smile. Then he looked at William and smirked.
William concluded that Tuan was determined to take second place in the tournament even if it meant losing prizes. The event was broadcast live. They were not required to sign binding contracts to make such claims.
Even if Drin ends up not taking up the offer, Tuan was fine with it. After all, he only needed to delay his showdown with William long enough till the tournament got over.
William decided to act. He used his movement spell and disappeared from his spot. But just when he was about to make his move on Tuan, he received Drin's interference.
Drin effortlessly blocked William's broadsword with his relatively feeble-looking Katana before speaking up.
"You'd have to forgive me, William. The offer's too tempting. Besides, Tuan is right. I can't let you get his points and gain the first place over me."
William started laughing maniacally when he heard Drin's words. He responded in kind.
"Hahahaha! Drin boy, don't think I'm scared of you just because I asked you nicely. Think this through. Is that your final answer?"
Drin didn't reply with words. He just grabbed his Katana firmly and stared at William. He was also paying attention to Tuan, in case the guy who had set the two up against each other wanted to take advantage of their situation.
Drin had not thought of Tuan as a schemer when he had first seen his battle. But he had to give it to the guy for coming up with such a simple yet effective plan.
'The betrayal changes a person.'
Drin thought to himself while he saw William continue his laugh.
"Hahahaha! If that's what you want, Drin, then so be it.
You and me. Let's dance."
William and Drin then started fighting officially when only a few minutes were remaining. Both of their fan booths grew wild as they saw the fight they had been waiting for unfolding in front of their eyes. The organizers of the tournament were also pleased after predicting that the sales of their array disk recordings would be record-breaking.
Meanwhile, the cause of this fight had created a sufficient distance from the battlefield. Now Tuan was looking at the fight from a safe distance while he waited for the final moments of the tournament.
'Haaash!'
Tuan breathed a sigh of relief when he made Drin fight his battle for him. He knew that he couldn't break his Tuan character anymore even with his newfound ranking status and fire element attainment. Besides, William and Drin weren't opponents he could take on effortlessly.
Using Layla's potion again, he reduced his rank to that of his previous self. Because he was now only a step away from reaching the Adept rank. He had kept himself away from checking his status to not feel emotional about his own progress. The butcher decided to check his stats only after the event was over.
Eren's previous life ended when he was a D-Rank adventurer in the solid stage. He had entered that rank when he was well past his prime in that life.
Compared to his previous self, his ranking advancement in this timeline was astronomical.
'Focus, Eren. Now's not the time to think about the past.'
Eren criticized himself as he watched Drin and William fight.
Contrary to what both Drin and William had been thinking, Eren had no plans to play spoiler in their battle that was only meant to give the tournament's audience its needed pay-per-view.
Eren didn't have to take risks because the competition wasn't about the last person standing. It also wasn't about knowing who is the strongest ranker among all the contestants.
This tournament was about gaining maximum numbers of Titus points. So that's what Eren had focused on from the very beginning ever since he had planned to switch places with real Tuan.
By this time, the rest of the contestants present in the subspace started gathering around the battleground of Drin and William. Katalina, Ketsu, Lily, and Wilder were among them.
Those who had stayed till the last day of the contest were allowed to stay in the subspace even when their wristband got snatched or destroyed. It indicated that they would win consolation prizes according to their rankings in the Top 10.
Suddenly, for the first time, a giant spectral screen appeared right above Drin and William's battlefield. It displayed a countdown timer that was slowly reaching zero.
"10…"
Each of the contestants mumbled the displayed digit in their head or out loud. By this point, they had given up on improving their ranks and came to accept the current rankings. Hence they all relaxed a bit and waited for the thing to get over.
"9…"
'This is it.'
Butcher thought to himself before contacting Katalina who was standing not too far away from him.
'Kat… It's time.'
