167th Round
The competition proceeded busily over the span of two days.
“Area 36, commence battle!”
“Area 19, commence battle!”
Unlike the preliminaries, each match had a time limit of 5 minutes.
With a total of 500 participants matched up in pairs for 10 sets… 250 matches per set across 50 arenas. Each set took approximately 25 minutes to complete, meaning all 10 sets would take 250 minutes in total.
Of course, with the time required for cleanup and breaks between matches, the lost time was immense, and thus the main tournament was held over the course of two days.
“Winner of Area 36, Eric Schugart! Gains 10 points!”
“Winner of Area 19, Niauto Beressa! Gains 10 points!”
This main tournament followed a unique league system in which one could personally choose their opponent.
However, in the first set, just as in the preliminaries, participants were randomly assigned as the selection priority was based on the points of those with the lowest scores.
“Winner of Area 41, Blood-soaked Moonshadow! Gains 10 points!”
My first set opponent was a male hero around level 200.
He darted around the arena chaotically with a chained sickle, attempting some acrobatics to catch me off-guard. Instead, he ended up being cornered and finished with a swift penetration to the gut.
“Winner of Area 8, Jackson Frost! Gains 14 points!”
“Winner of Area 50, Vincent Garcia! Gains 34 points!”
Starting from the second set, matches were not only physical battles but also tactical ones involving the careful selection of opponents.
This is where the true nature of the main tournament began to show.
“Winner of Area 22, Tara of Dragonblood Valley! Gains 31 points! Bonus for consecutive victories, 30 points! Total, 61 points!”
A match normally awarded 10 base points.
From the second round onward, the remaining time was added as 1 point per 30 seconds to reflect how overwhelmingly the opponent was defeated. Additionally, if the opponent surrendered instead of being killed, 20 extra points were added.
Thus, even a win could vary wildly in point gain, ranging from 10 to a maximum of 39 points based on match performance.
“Winner of Area 31, Blood-soaked Moonshadow! Gains 39 points! Consecutive victory bonus, 30 points! Total, 69 points!”
There was also a consecutive victory bonus.
For each consecutive win, the bonus was 30, 60, 90 points… growing in increments of 30.
With this bonus, the points earned increased exponentially as one maintained a streak, making it crucial to continue winning.
“Winner of Area 31, Romello Divarto! Gains 31 points! Bonus for ending another’s streak, 50 points! Total, 81 points!”
Starting from the third round, there was an additional bonus called the ‘Streak Break Bonus.’
While consecutive victory bonuses increased by multiples of 30, breaking a streak rewarded points in multiples of 50. Defeating an opponent on a two-win streak earned 50 points, three-win streak 100 points, and so on.
“Winner of Area 26, Blood-soaked Moonshadow! Gains 37 points! Consecutive victory bonus, 60 points! Streak break bonus, 50 points! Total, 147 points gained!”
It wasn’t as simple as I thought, where ’10 consecutive wins would roughly guarantee first place.’
The structure of the competition allowed someone with much lower skill than me to potentially secure first place depending on the circumstances.
From the audience’s perspective, it provided an exciting, thrill-inducing structure. However, for the competitors, it was rather troublesome.
‘This system is more refined than I anticipated.’
Thus, I too had to flexibly adjust my hunting targets.
Naturally, my goal was the participants racking up the most consecutive victories, those at the top of the ranking with the most points.
Though, truthfully, since the end of the third round, I consistently held first place.
Consequently, the need for me to choose opponents was cleanly eliminated.
“Next chooser! Current 2nd place, Challenger #1933, Oscar Rail! Since only one opponent remains, the match is automatically selected!”
Surprisingly, there weren’t many trying to break my winning streak.
Well, in the fairly competitive main tournament, achieving consecutive victories implied superior skill. This was a competition where life was at stake, so it made sense that only those in desperate situations dared to challenge.
“His opponent is! Current 1st place, Challenger #112, Blood-soaked Moonshadow!”
So, those challenging me, who was marked as absolutely leading in points, were extremely rare. This was also largely true for other top-ranked competitors.
From the fourth round onward, the competition was effectively among the top-ranked participants. Accordingly, my opponents were often the current second-ranked participants.
I found myself humming a tune without realizing it.
“Chiliaryongkonae, chiliaryongkonae, chiliaryongkonkonae~.”
My fourth-round opponent was a warrior named Oscar Rail at around level 300.
He was a power-type warrior using a massive executioner’s axe, but upon seeing his level, I went ahead and used both my Ki technique and Ether.
I crushed him with an overwhelming power even for a power-type warrior.
“H-hah… I surrender.”
Surrounding Oscar Rail were dozens of magical blades suspended by mana, as well as Espada floating by his blade technique.
His axe had already been flung out of the arena along with his hand, which was now desperately being reattached by a priest.
It took merely 47 seconds from him surrendering with his ghostly pale face to him hurrying to said priest.
“Winner of Area 12, Blood-soaked Moonshadow! Gains 38 points! Consecutive victory bonus, 90 points! Streak break bonus, 100 points! Total, 228 points gained!”
By the fifth set, I was the only one still maintaining a four-match winning streak.
As the top-ranked participants were battling each other, all their streaks ended. A few had even perished.
I glanced at the scoreboard displayed on the large crystal mirror.
[1st Place: Challenger #112, Blood-soaked Moonshadow: 454 points]
[2nd Place: Challenger #39, Pike Belmont: 276 points]
[3rd Place: Challenger #1933, Oscar Rail: 248 points]
[4th Place: Challenger #1501, Cargas Omen: 192 points]
…
…
‘By the sixth set, I might seal this game.’
Calculating roughly, that’s what I projected.
With the next consecutive win, 120 extra points would be added, and then if I won again, another 150 would be added. With other participants’ streaks mostly broken now, the streak-break bonuses were at most 50 or 100.
If a participant high on the leaderboard were to face me twice more, then beyond this point, no one would be able to catch up to me.
‘Of course, under the assumption that I don’t lose.’
Immediately, the bounty shop points I could collect would be around 150 points. If I lost, the first place could easily be overturned.
One should never let their guard down, just in case.
“…Amazing! The named opponent is! Current 1st place, Challenger #112, Blood-soaked Moonshadow!”
At that exact moment, my name came out of the announcer’s voice.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Someone was challenging me? Who? Didn’t they see me tear apart the second-place challenger in 47 seconds?
Though not usually paying attention to the match progression, my full attention was captured then. I hastily looked at the crystal mirror.
“…”
And at the giant name that appeared in the mirror, I let out a hollow laugh and came to terms with it.
“An old grudge can only be resolved on a tightrope! You bastard! Even if I sacrifice myself, I must land a blow!”
And so began the day’s final match of the fifth round.
I recognized my opponent: black hair, black eyes, a similar build to mine, similar skin tone. A stocky young man wielding a massive broadsword.
Watching him boldly shout, all I could do was shrug.
“Well, yeah… Koreans can’t live without grudges.”
Wasn’t it said that ‘Han’ is a traditional sentiment among Koreans?
It was Han Seong-gwang. Somehow he had clawed his way through the losers’ bracket, coming back to avenge the humiliation of his defeat by a mere spoon during the qualifiers.
“Alright. Come at me. No tricks, just fight me fairly with swords.”
The words I just spoke were not a prepared taunt.
It was truly a remark I made out of admiration for Han Seong-gwang’s tenacity, and I generally keep my word.
Swish! Drawing only the sword Vestark, I took my stance against Han Seong-gwang.
“Area 42, commence battle!”
The heavy tension was shattered with the referee’s single word.
Han Seong-gwang and I simultaneously pushed off from the ground.
“Haaaat!”
“Huff!”
Keeeng!
Our cries and movements crossed paths. A fleeting silence followed.
And flop. Han Seong-gwang sank to his knees. A long wound was carved horizontally across his abdomen, and blood gushed out.
“Top notch.”
I coolly remarked as I shook the blood off Vestark.
Han Seong-gwang, meeting my playful gaze, his eyes widened momentarily.
“Hey, you… damnit, you… are Korean, aren’t you…!”
Han Seong-gwang muttered through his clenched teeth.
But he soon sighed in resignation, and raising both hands, he admitted defeat.
“Damn… you’re fast, son of a…”
To the young hopefuls in the audience, it might have appeared like a quick exchange, but in that short span, we had crossed swords five times.
Due to the level difference, I thought it would end in one exchange, but I was surprised by how fast Han Seong-gwang was.
“The one saying ‘damn fast’ should be me.”
‘Nevertheless, his level difference is too great.’
Were you really under the impression that I was weaker during the preliminaries and used that powder?
It was purely for dramatics’ sake. He doesn’t even come close to my level from the start.
“Waaaaahh!!”
Amidst an earth-shaking roar from the crowd, I let out a quiet sigh.
After slipping my sword back into its sheathe and heading back to the waiting room while contemplating how to properly deal with Hector Cassas,
Pssst. Something prickly sensation crept along my forearm.
“Huh?”
Looking down in surprise, I noticed a shallow sword wound.
“…”
I quickly fixed my gaze on Han Seong-gwang, who frowned and was being treated by priests.
‘Kid, you’ve got some fight in you.’
In fact, it wasn’t five exchanges but six.
Since I hadn’t noticed, he must have slipped in a hidden move. He got his wish to land a blow. Well, he succeeded, I guess. I smirked as I walked back to the challenger’s waiting room.
…
…
The first half of the main tournament, up to the fifth set, had ended.
And that night, while I was returning to my mansion, having received praise and celebration from Seseona,
“Big Brother! Teach me how you leveled up so quickly!”
Han Seong-gwang suddenly shouted in the middle of the street, bowing deeply.
‘What the hell is this now?’
Rubbing my forehead, I groaned from the headache.
I suppose the feeling when Danglang in Kern looked at me this way. I suddenly felt shame when I put myself in his shoes.
“I don’t take disciples. Look elsewhere.”
“Big Brother! I’ll do anything! I’m captivated by your strength! I’ll follow you like a dog for life. Please make me strong!”
“Ahhh, go away.”
“Big Brother! Come on, aren’t we both Korean! When we’re both stuck in this distant alternative world, where’s the Korean spirit? How could it be impossible?! What’s the secret, really?”
He’s even dragging out the Korean national identity now. Stop it, already.
The more you do this, the more you remind me of myself pestering Danglang. Stop digging up someone’s embarrassing history, devil, go away.
‘No. Wait a moment.’
I stared at the back of Han Seong-gwang’s head with disdain, then suddenly let out a low exclamation.
An idea struck me—a brilliant way to use this guy efficiently.
“Wasn’t it you who said you’d do anything?”
I asked with a meaningful tone. Han Seong-gwang slightly raised his head.
And as our eyes met, he flinched, and quickly stood up.
“Why, why are you doing this, Big Brother…?”
“Why, don’t be scared. You want to learn from me, right? Am I going to devour you or something?”
“Your eyes just now made it seem like you were going to…”
Han Seong-gwang was so shrunken in fear that his shoulders trembled each time I made a step towards him.
Every time I took a step forward, he took one back. This disordered standoff continued for a while until it quickly came to an end.
Clank. His back hit a wall.
“Hiiik.”
Han Seong-gwang startled at the sensation against his back. I had advanced right up to his nose. He sank to the spot.
As I silently looked down, Han Seong-gwang flailed his hands and hastily spoke.
“H-Hey, Big Brother! My rudeness was truly unforgivable in our previous fight! Please, save my life!”
“Forget the talk about saving your life. I said I’m not going to kill you.”
Unlike my words, I smiled sinisterly.
I squatted down in front of Han Seong-gwang and brought our eyes to the same level. Our gazes intertwined so closely.
Good. I’ve established my authority enough.
Now it’s time for the quintessential line from Korean movies you couldn’t miss.
“You. Let’s work on something together.”
