Main Tournament (1)

And so the main tournament began.

The first match took place right after the opening ceremony and it was my turn to fight.

I wonder if it could be called a royal match, as there was a special VIP section in this arena where the Great Demon King, or Core Number 6, was seated. It was an observation seat that allowed for an overview of the entire stage from a high position.

… Aidi and Rokuko were also watching from there.

"Kehma, do your best!"

Rokuko didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she was sitting next to the Great Demon King. Core Number 6 crossed his arms and looked down at the stage with ease.

In his line of sight were me and my opponent. My opponent was a martial artist with prominent sharp canine teeth… This was probably a vampire. It seemed that he'd overcome his weakness to sunlight.

"Hey, you country bumpkin from the empire. Don't make a fool of yourself in front of the Great Demon King."

"Huh? Oh, right. Sure, do whatever your best is I guess."

"What!? You're asking for it! I'll go all-out from the start!"

… I provoked him because he provoked me first, but isn't his tolerance for provocation a bit low?

Ah, no, maybe it was just encouragement. He got angry because I returned his words with sarcasm. Yeah, it's a cultural difference.

Well, anyway, I ended up angering the vampire martial artist, and we faced each other on the stage of the arena――

"Begin!"

"Uwoooooo!!"

"[Elemental Shot]"

"Nuoo!?"

—The first move, [Elemental Shot]. My go-to strategy right there.

However, the beam I fired was deflected by the bandaged fist of the martial artist vampire. There was a sound like something hard colliding with each other.

He was probably coating his fist with magical power. If not, there would be a hole in his hand.

"Gu, my demon fist is resonating with it, what!? What kind of magic is that? Shoot more!"

"Uh, what…"

And then, the martial artist vampire stopped and demanded more shots. What's with this guy? He looked happy… Where did his anger go?

I decided to comply with his request and continued to fire [Elemental Shot] in rapid succession.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"The winner! Kehma Golen!"

In the end, the match took on the aspect of an endurance battle, but since I could essentially shoot indefinitely, I managed to push through. The match ended up being just the vampire martial artist happily deflecting my [Elemental Shot] without me moving a single step.

There wasn't any vampire element to it… or maybe it was the high level of magical power?

"Ah, that was good training. You said your name was Kehma, right? Would you mind doing this again sometime so that I can practice my demon fist? It's been years since something could pierce my fists like that."

"Uh, no thanks."

This vampire called it training. What happened to the match?

"Match? It was a heated battle between the sturdiness of my demon fist and the superior magic of Kehma-sama!"

I guess that's one way to see it.

And so, after that, I was forcibly handed a memo that looked like a business card with his contact information written on it, and my first match ended.

 

 

A while after returning to the waiting room, Wataru's match began.

In the arena, it was possible to watch the matches from the waiting room through a mysterious monitor (probably a dungeon function monitor).

Wataru's opponent was an elf. A mage who could fight alone by using a bow and arrow for containment and magic to finish off the opponent.

Moreover, it seemed that the elf didn't have to worry about running out of arrows as they were using a magic tool to replenish them. I want that too. Well, the arrows disappear after a few seconds.

"Hey, Empire Mage-san. Are you interested in that quiver?"

Apparently, I was looking at it with such a greedy face that the arachne participant spoke to me.

"Wouldn't you be stronger if you just used magic?"

"I was just thinking about how nice it would be for my friends to have. What is that thing?"

"That quiver is a magic quiver, a magic tool. Don't you have something like that in the empire?"

It seemed to be a magic tool made by alchemists in the Demonlands. When infused with magical power, it creates arrows. The arrows disappear after five seconds though.

… Mmm, that's amazing. So the material is magical power?

"Well, it's not that practical. Unless you're in a confined space like this arena, the arrows will disappear before they reach the enemy. There's no time to aim."

"Is that so?"

… If I integrated that into the crossbow traps in our dungeon, it would be incredibly convenient. There would be no need to replenish arrows and we could make the most of it since we wouldn't need to aim.

"Speaking of which, there's also a [Warehouse Quiver] that can summon quivers stored in a dungeon's warehouse. However, the further away it gets from the warehouse, the more magical power it consumes, making it practically useless."

"… Sounds rather unfortunate, doesn't it?"

"There's also the [Infinite Quiver] owned by a demon famous for his 'Magic Bow' moniker. They say that its arrows replenish as soon as they're used, but apparently only demons can use it."

Ah, that might just be the quiver with a magic tool that uses DP to produce arrows. Demons refer to Dungeon Cores after all.

… Could they be circulating these shitty quivers to claim their own quivers as magic tools…?

"Well, anyway, Wataru really is the Flame-Seared Grin. He's effortlessly defending against everything."

"Ah, that's our Wataru."

Looking at the monitor, Wataru was smiling as he deflected all the arrows with his sword and swatted away all the magic spells, not allowing a single attack to reach him on the battlefield.

"Hey, Empire Mage-san. That arrow just now was definitely on a trajectory that wouldn't hit, so why did Wataru deflect it?"

"Maybe he's just enjoying himself and decided to deflect everything?"

"I see! That makes sense!"

I answered the other participant who had struck up a conversation.

"That smile, it's the smile of a slaughterer… sends chills down my spine, it does."

"Hey, hey, you'll be facing him if you win your next match. Don't be so timid!"

"Ugh, but my right arm that was cut off on the battlefield is throbbing!"

By the way, his right arm had been fully regrown. Recovery magic was quite advanced in the Demonlands.

"Hey, don't ignore me! I'm the one who will win next and challenge the Mad Swordsman!"

"Hmph, you're Gaigankin! Hehe, very well. I'll take you on as a warm-up!"

And again, yet another unfamiliar nickname was revealed… Wataru, just how famous are you?

And so, after appealing to the audience more than enough, Wataru secured an easy victory.

… Oh, by the way, Arachne-san was defeated in her match against Sebas, so she said she would be cheering for us from the audience seats tomorrow. It was a pretty good match, but Sebas was as strong as expected.