Chapter 88: First Match of the First Round

The participants in this mock battle tournament are the following 16 people:

Sheila, Velvet, Ren, Mika, Yui, Shoji, Lua, Portia, Lois, Rozzo, Lime, Thread, Mash, Moji.
Additionally, we have Joel and Brittany, who joined through special recommendations.

And so, the first match of the first round is Ren versus Lua.

Ren, the de facto leader of the Hero’s Party, makes his appearance right from the first match.

Well, since Ren and the other top contenders were seeded into different brackets, it was inevitable that one of them would appear in the first round.

Even though they haven’t been in this world long, everything I’ve heard suggests their skills are exceptionally high.

With Donnie, the main rival, sitting out this tournament, I think the chances are high that one of Ren’s group will win.

Facing this overwhelming favorite is Lua, a former knight of the Lusanso Kingdom.

I don’t really know how strong she is, but my first impression of her was in a beat-up state, so I can’t help but think she might not be that strong.

However, according to Sheila, the Lusanso Kingdom has the renowned and capable “Lusanso Knights.”

If Lua was a member of that group, it wouldn’t be surprising if she were even stronger than Donnie.

Most knights from Lusanso are likely to be part of that order, so perhaps we might see an upset right from the first match.

Excited by the possibilities, I decided to observe the match.

“Ren and Lua. Are you both ready?”

“I’m good to go anytime. Skills are allowed, right?”

“Yeah. But if you cause serious injury, you’ll be disqualified on the spot—so be careful.”

“Got it. Lua, let’s have a good match.”

“It’s an honor to fight a Hero. Please go easy on me.”

Ren and Lua shook hands, and shortly afterward, took up their weapons.

For safety, they’re using wooden weapons this time.

Ren wields a wooden one-handed sword, and Lua has a wooden spear. Based on their stances, Lua looks more refined and gives off a stronger impression.

“Then… begin!”

At Donnie’s signal, Ren was the first to move.

There’s no sign of him using a skill yet, but his movement is extremely fast.

Lua, on the other hand, takes a solid stance, showing no openings. She even seems to be aiming for a single decisive strike.

Looks like this could be an exciting battle of offense and defense.

My eyes sparkled as I eagerly watched how the match would unfold… but contrary to my expectations, it ended rather quickly.

The winner wasn’t Lua, who had been aiming for that one big strike—but Ren, who overwhelmed her with a flurry of attacks.

Ren’s initial move seemed normal enough, but once he dodged Lua’s counter-thrust, it was like he shifted into a higher gear—three gears higher, in fact.

He was glowing with a yellow aura, so I assume he activated some sort of skill.

From there, Ren launched an incredible series of attacks. Lua tried to create distance for her spear, but Ren didn’t let her get away—he closed in and landed three solid hits to win the match.

While it wasn’t the intense back-and-forth I was hoping for, both fighters showed off their high skill levels, making it a very enjoyable match.

“—Match over. Winner: Ren.”

“Alright! I did it. Lua, thanks! You okay?”

“Yeah, no injuries… but your strength really surprised me. I had some confidence in my skills, but I couldn’t do anything.”

“That’s not true! That thrust almost got me. I had to make sure you couldn’t try it again.”

“Thanks for saying that, but… still frustrating. Ren, win the whole thing for me too.”

“Yeah, leave it to me. I’ll definitely win.”

After that conversation, Ren and Lua shared a firm handshake.

Everyone—including me—gave them a round of applause.

The mood was great, and it really was a fun and fantastic event from the first match.

More than anything, it’s nice not having to participate myself. I definitely want this mock battle tournament to become a regular tradition.

Next up is the second match: Moji the Cat Mage versus Lois, a former adventurer.

Though Moji is known for doing great work on the farm and was overwhelmingly favored to win based on pre-match predictions… Lois came out the victor.

The main reason for Moji’s loss was that he had used up MP during farm work in the morning. Early in the match, Moji had the upper hand using magic, but once his magic power ran out, he was stuck on the defensive.

If he had landed just one more hit, Moji might have won—but the match ended with Lois showing off his raw strength and clinching the victory.

Still, even if Moji had managed to win, he likely would have forfeited the next round. So in the end, it’s probably better that Royce advanced.

That said, based on what I saw, I don’t think Lois stands much of a chance against Ren.

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