NOVEL NEXT chapter 41
41. What’s the Point of Existence for a Hack Writer Who Writes Clichéd Plots?
Originally, Kefir merely held her sword horizontally, passively enduring the wild and savage attacks of Louis XXIII. After creating some distance and muttering some words to Louis XXIII that I couldn’t quite catch, Kefir “switched to the offensive.”
Swordplay danced in the air, followed by Kefir’s hand sweeping across the blade. This was no mere show-off move, for in the next instant, her rapier was coated with a layer of faint crystal, emitting a chill that grew more intense with its movement. Centered around Kefir, the chill almost swept up all the sand and dust in her half of the arena, conjuring a cerulean storm.
Louis XXIII, who had been so full of bravado just moments ago, was stunned into stillness, his legs starting to wobble.
“What… what is this?”
“I don’t know either.”
With a gentle wave of her sword, the chill attached to it “led” the circling storm around her, crashing against the barrier.
“You too…”
“Because this is something I thought of in a dream last night. Having two types of strength but using them separately is such a waste, so I wondered what would happen if I combined them.”
Kefir explained calmly, as if the person in front of her was not her opponent, but merely a practice dummy she used regularly.
As for Louis XXIII, her expression suddenly became very interesting. More than anger, it was panic. She hurriedly shouted towards us!
“Wait, wait! Time out! Kefir is cheating! She’s cheating!”
The onlooking judges around me fell silent, awkwardly choosing to ignore the praise they had just heaped on Louis XXIII. Even an outsider like me knew that Kefir wasn’t cheating. Louis XXIII’s outburst only served to expose her mediocrity and cowardice, as well as the mismatch between her heart and her actual strength.
“Louis XXIII, who’s the real cheater here? You know best, don’t you? And let me tell you something: having power is useless if you don’t know how to use it. Even if you reached the ninth rank of ‘Saint Seal,’ I would still… not lose to you.”
Kefir swung her sword, and at the same time, the “blizzard” behind her swept out in all directions in an instant, not only engulfing Louis XXIII in a moment but also striking the barriers around the arena from every corner. Before a blink, the barrier began to emit the crisp sound of cracking, frightening Louis’s servants who immediately ran to repair and reinforce it!
Hmm, as an ordinary person, of course, I couldn’t understand, but I could guess from my own “script experience” that Kefir must have combined magic and martial skills, which is the legendary…
“High-level enchantment!”
A surprised judge beside me jumped up, inadvertently stealing my line.
Then, the other onlooking judges, as if they had forgotten their earlier comments that “Kefir couldn’t do it,” began to praise her one after another.
“If it were just a special effect on the sword, it wouldn’t be much, but this is clearly a seamless combination of magic and sword energy! With this, her status as a ‘genius’ in our empire is undisputed! I haven’t seen such a talent in decades!”
“The last one was Zerola, right? Like father, like daughter, they all like to hide their strength and play weak…”
This is called the protagonist playing the fool to catch the wise. You flip-flopping bandwagoners don’t understand a thing.
Another collision sound within the arena silenced everyone. At this moment, within the sightline, inside the barrier, a “blizzard” had already descended, blurring everything except for Kefir’s steady stance, like a goddess.
Moments later, the storm dissipated, and all returned to silence. Kefir was unaffected by the chill that had almost reached the judges’ seats. Her white hair fluttered down as she brushed off a piece of ice from her shoulder and slowly stepped towards Louis XXIII on the other side.
There, Louis XXIII was shivering, covered in frost, crouched in a corner with her head in her arms, trembling so much she couldn’t even speak. And all of this was surely the result of Kefir holding back. If the blizzard had been directed at Louis XXIII instead of randomly striking, we might now be looking at a statue of ice.
“A duel demands stopping at the first touch,” Kefir maintained her composure to this point, not indulging in the thrill of victory, truly the real protagonist.
After all, the outcome was self-evident.
Kefir pointed her sword symbolically at Louis XXIII, then turned to look our way.
“Sister Wang, I believe the result is clear.”
Indeed, my script has changed too.
Kefier first feigned weakness, then played the pig to eat the tiger, easily defeating Louise XXIII.
“Sister Wang?”
Seeing no response from Louise, Kefier asked again and walked towards us, leaving the martial arts field.
“…”
I turned my head to look, but Louise’s expressionless face seemed to be just an illusion. She immediately grabbed Kefier’s hand with a “sparkling” grip and happily announced the result!
“I think everyone agrees, so the winner this time is Kefier! Congratulations~”
“Thank you, Sister Wang.”
“Ah~ Sister Wang, I was really scared just now. I didn’t expect Kefier to become so powerful. Now it’s going to be difficult for you to choose a suitable husband for her~”
“Sister Wang, can I exchange this kindness for something else…”
During the conversation, Louise XXIII, who had finally come to her senses in the martial arts field, began to shout.
“Wait! Queen! She cheated! Clearly, I already…”
Clearly, you’ve already cheated, so why can’t you beat her? So she must have cheated too? What kind of logic is that?
“Ah~ Alright, alright, XXIII, I’ll comfort you later~”
Saying this, Louise interrupted Louise XXIII’s nonsense and personally went over to support her.
Louise XXIII, who had just been struggling violently, suddenly softened, supported by Louise and a maid who ran over.
“Sorry, Kefier, I still have to settle Louise XXIII first. But you are the winner this time~ Hurry up and get ready for the trip. Sister Wang will prepare the documents for you soon, so you can go to the ruins as the final candidate~”
“Thank you, Sister Wang!”
Even the usually “cold” Kefier was beaming with a smile.
Then, she tilted her head in confusion and looked over.
“Charlatan, what are you staring at Sister Wang for?”
“Nothing…”
I withdrew my gaze.
Louise XXIII’s nonsense almost revealed the fact that she cheated, and she was knocked out and taken away by Louise IV.
That was no support…
But I don’t want to get involved in Louise’s affairs, attracting a bunch of ‘death, death, death’ scripts. Kefier’s script is already normal, and next, I’ll happily cling to Kefier’s coattails for the sub-quests.