Chapter 99

The duel ended in an instant. The arena quickly fell silent.

A crossbow. Not the kind that shoots normal arrow-sized projectiles, but one loaded with slightly shorter javelins.

This… isn’t this basically a ballista? A one-person portable ballista.

No, wait. Do crossbows even exist in this era? Were they around in ancient Greece and Rome or the Warring States period? Were things really that advanced?

No, but that power is kinda suspicious, right?! That’s not something a person should be carrying around and firing! Firing javelins! Javelins! From a crossbow!!

“Hmph.”

The Dwarf Representative looked at the elf duelist who had fallen from the crossbow shot and grinned as if refreshed.

“This is it. Big and beautiful arrows. You can’t get that satisfaction from small, thin arrows.”

“The victory goes to the dwarves!”

With the judge, a hero, declaring the dwarves’ victory a bit late in understanding the situation, a huge cheer erupted from the dwarf spectators.

Hmm, well, as long as no one dies, anything goes, so using that secret weapon for a surprise attack like a sneak-thrust is fine, right? Right.

“Vi, vilainous!!”

But apparently, the Elf Representative didn’t see it that way.

“Villainous! Hiding weapons and making surprise shooting attacks!”

“Tch, that’s not villainy, that’s using your head. And this thing isn’t some all-purpose item, you know!”

The Dwarf Representative hoisted the crossbow onto his shoulder while speaking.

“It’s a newly made weapon, so while the power is solid, the accuracy is terrible. Without correcting the aim with a shield, out of ten shots, maybe one would hit!”

Hmm. So the big shield had a purpose beyond defense: aiming adjustments.

Smart thinking.

“Krk…krrk…”

“And another thing! The elves are the ones being cowardly! Shooting arrows from afar while the dwarves, who can only throw axes, just get hit one-sidedly! And now you’re calling that a ‘vile mouth’? Huh?”

Hmm. That’s definitely true.

The elves were the ones starting the fight with long-range attacks before the duel even began.

Of course, thanks to the dwarves’ defense, there were hardly any fatal strikes from the arrows.

“And this thing. Once you shoot, it’s practically a disposable weapon, so rapid-fire is impossible.”

The Dwarf Representative placed the front of the crossbow on the ground, stepped on it to stabilize it, then forcefully pulled back the string to set it.

The time it took during that process was about five seconds. Even with the dwarf’s great strength, that moment-to-moment loss of time in an important duel would be critical.

In the end, this weapon was only useful for its first pre-loaded shot.

So it really was a sneak-thrust weapon, wasn’t it? That crossbow.

“For such a problematic weapon, we somehow managed to secure a victory, so shouldn’t it be praised instead?”

“Krk…krrk…”

The Elf Representative tried to say something else, but…

“That’s enough.”

I cut in before he could continue.

“No more bickering. The contest has been decided. We said anything goes except killing, so bringing out new weapons like that and winning isn’t an issue.”

After all, the dwarves still have more hidden secret weapons they haven’t revealed yet.

If they had used mana stones more actively, the duel could’ve gone much smoother.

Ah, perhaps they already were using them. On their armor and shields.

Frankly, surviving as a living body riddled with arrows like a porcupine is pretty amazing. They must’ve been using enchantments to boost their armor’s defense.

Of course, they might not have been. The dwarves did sustain serious injuries.

The truth was unknowable. Hmm. Investigating the dwarves’ equipment further might reveal it, but I’m too lazy.

“Krrk…”

With my words, the Elf Representative couldn’t continue and painfully lowered his head, saying:

“I…acknowledge…defeat…”

Good. You should’ve done that earlier!

“Alright! The winner of the duel is the dwarves! The victor of the first Dwarf-Elf Racial Contest is decided to be the dwarves!!!”

With my shout, cheers erupted from the dwarves’ side, while mournful cries came from the elves.

Victors and losers. Joy and sadness. Light and darkness. Two clearly opposing atmospheres blending together in the arena.

Hmm. That was quite entertaining.

So…

“Elves, don’t be sad.”

I smiled gently and said:

“You’ll have another chance.”

Wouldn’t it be a shame to end such fun as a one-time event?

With my words, murmurs spread among the elves.

“Hmm. Considering the time sense of dwarves and elves… how about every ten years? What do you think?”

This sparked larger murmurs among the dwarves.

“Hmm. That seems appropriate. So henceforth, to prevent war between the two races, every ten years here there will be five duels.”

The voices of dwarves and elves merged into one.

Fierce duels where lives seem to be taken. Blood battles where all means are used to knock down opponents.

Seeing such scenes firsthand, how could it not be enjoyable?

Just like gladiators in ancient Rome.

I cast magic over the entire arena.

On this duel ground, no one shall die.

Instead, they’ll faint after considerable pain.

And if I add unbreakable magic… this duel ground will be usable without me worrying.

“I’ve cast magic on this duel ground. No one here shall die, so use it wisely going forward.”

I approached the Dwarf Representative and said:

“To the winner of the racial contest, I grant the authority to manage this arena and nearby area, along with the privilege of being named first when the two races are mentioned together.”

The quick-witted Dwarf Representative seemed to immediately understand what I was saying.

“To that.”

I briefly performed spatial movement and flew to Yggdrasil.

“Yggdrasil. Let me borrow a branch.”

“Ahh, sure. How’s everything going?”

“Things are amusingly progressing. I’ll tell you everything later.”

Having cut a branch of appropriate size, I returned to the arena.

“Did you just… disappear…?”

“Just spatial movement. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, spatial movement…?”

It’s similar to teleportation magic based on known coordinates.

By the way, I perfectly remember the coordinates of children like Yggdrasil who cannot move from one place. I can visit anytime.

“Anyway, I went to the World Tree. Now, let’s see… do you have the gem you intended to gift to the elves?”

“Ah, that… I entrusted it to one of my subordinates…”

“Have them bring it. We’ll need it.”

Following my words, the Dwarf Representative ran off on his short legs, retrieved something from another dwarf, and returned.

A fist-sized diamond inside a leather pouch. A gemstone close to its raw state, polished only on the surface.

Hmm. Such a fine gem could become even more dazzling with better cutting. Like the round brilliant cut diamond embedded in the Sword of the Hero.

Honestly, diamonds aren’t as satisfying unless they’re in that shape!

Magic blades hovered around the floating rough diamond, carving it. Fragments of the stone scattered, revealing the beautiful gem within.

Carefully cutting the large diamond rough while preserving most of it, a glowing gem slightly smaller than my fist floated quietly in the air.

“Oh. Ooooh… OOOOOOHHH…”

The Dwarf Representative was shedding tears at the sight of such a gem.

“Is, is this not magnificent… The true Eye of Sagarmatha. An eye that holds light…”

Hold on. It’s not over yet.

I placed the beautifully cut diamond on the Yggdrasil branch I held in my hand and wrapped them both in magical power.

The branch transformed according to my will into another form.

That form… a trophy. A trophy of victory.

Dwarves and elves supporting a large diamond back-to-back. Though due to the height difference, the dwarf stands on a small rock. Anyway.

Wrapping the divine mountain’s eye in a World Tree branch, adding detailed decorations made from mithril, and finishing with unbreakable magic to ensure it lasts.

Ah, maybe I should add location tracking in case of theft.

“To the winner of the racial contest, I grant the privilege to possess this trophy for ten years until the next contest.”

“Ooooh… OOHHHH…”

The Dwarf Representative seemed to have forgotten language entirely, only shedding tears of joy.

Good. I’ve prepared the stage for you. Now go make interesting use of it, dwarves and elves.