NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57
“Finally! The tournament you’ve all been waiting for is upon us! I am Clonara, your commentator for today’s event!”
A woman with vibrant orange hair and round glasses was stirring up excitement.
“Joining me today as a commentator is none other than…!”
Drumroll!
The sound of a drumroll played, setting the stage.
“Tada! It’s the Sword Demon, Professor Karen Orbon!”
“Hello~.”
As Karen appeared in the commentator box, the crowd erupted in cheers.
“It’s Karen!”
“The hero of the war!”
“Blood Sword Punch! Blood Sword Punch! Blood Sword Punch!”
“Aah! She’s looking at me!”
Wild cheers burst from the crowd.
Clonara could feel Karen’s popularity resonating through her.
“Hmm~ The energy is quite heated! Let’s keep this vibe going! Now, I’ll introduce the rules of today’s tournament!”
As Clonara spoke, a display emerged in the center of the training hall.
“This tournament will take place in the second floor of the Demon Gathering, also known as the ‘Converging Forest’!”
The Converging Forest.
A forest where demons gather.
As the name suggests, various monsters were hiding, waiting for prey.
Moreover, due to the nutrient-rich corpses of monsters, countless plants have absorbed toxic elements.
Even the most skilled adventurers could find their lives at stake in this dungeon.
However, the main adversaries in today’s tournament are not those monsters.
“In this place, today’s participants will compete against each other!”
The theme of this tournament is succession and unity.
It’s crucial for two people to work together.
“Scattered throughout the Converging Forest, the key to this tournament, ‘relics’, are hidden! There are a total of four types of relics!”
These relics were secretly hidden by the tournament committee beforehand.
This is the key to victory.
“The condition for victory is simple! If one person equips all four relics and 10 minutes pass, that team automatically wins! Easy, right?!”
“Of course, you can steal what other teams have found~.”
Karen supplemented the explanation in a languid tone.
“If a relic is stolen before the 10 minutes, the timer resets! You need to gather the relics and survive for another 10 minutes!”
But…
“If that were all, it wouldn’t be fun, right? Each relic carries a curse inscribed on it!”
This is why the tournament values unity.
As one gets closer to victory, one person becomes incapacitated.
“The curse of four relics will be quite burdensome~.”
“Ah, is Professor Karen feeling the strain too?!”
“I can push back the curse with my strength, but wouldn’t it be a tad harsh for the students?”
To win, one person must endure the curses of all four relics while the other defends them for 10 minutes.
“It looks like it will require a high degree of strategy!”
“Or~ you can just sweep everything away with overwhelming power.”
“Hahaha! That joke is really funny!”
“…….”
“Right? It’s a joke… right…?”
Clonara gulped as she saw Karen give a meaningful smile.
“Well, anyway! From now on!”
Drumroll and boom!
A small fireworks display erupted in the center of the training hall.
“The relic scramble begins!!”
*
“Are you sure we go this way?”
“Yup! Just follow what the fresh-faced newbie says.”
Even so, “fresh-faced” and “newbie” don’t really match, do they?
The first-year student partnered with a senior swallowed those words and followed behind.
“It’s important to grasp the creator’s intentions very well~!”
The senior posed dramatically as she extended her finger.
“So, junior. Where do you think the relics are hidden?”
“Hmm… maybe in the center of the forest? Since that’s where a lot of monsters come and go.”
“Hoo. Just as I thought, kids really are kids.”
The senior replied in a pretentious tone.
“The crux of this tournament is the competition between students! Do you think such a grand tournament is held just to hunt monsters?!”
“Please, stop dancing around and just get to the point.”
“You’re dying to hear your senior’s insights? Hehehe, alright, I’ll quickly tell you.”
As the junior began to regret not rejecting this senior’s offer, she came out with her own answer.
“The hidden relics will be in places where the students’ competition can flourish. In terrains that are easy to hide in!”
“Easy to hide in….”
“Like caves or pits, areas densely packed with trees, or huge rock crevices.”
“Oh….”
So there is some thought and logic in that person after all.
The junior clapped her hands in realization.
“But, how do we know if any of those areas are around here?”
“You’re lucky to have a senior like me on your team.”
The senior shrugged with a grin.
“To be honest, ever since the venue and theme for the tournament were decided, I studied the terrain and ecology of the Converging Forest! It’s practically my backyard now!”
“Oh, so that was why you kept dodging training sessions.”
“And based on my info…”
She pushed through the bushes and took a few more steps.
“There’s a big cave nearby!”
It wasn’t mere boasting.
The two quickly found the entrance of a large cave.
“Wow! This is amazing, senior!”
“Whoa! It’s really here?!”
“…Huh?”
“…Ahem. Forget it, let’s go inside.”
As they entered the cave, a cold and damp breeze rushed at them.
Keruk!
Then, unmistakably, the sound of monsters echoed.
“Is it a monster guarding the treasure? Bring it on!”
“Or maybe it’s just its habitat.”
There were three goblin huts.
While a single goblin’s combat power is low, once they band together, the difficulty of eliminating them can’t be underestimated.
“Five goblin warriors, three archers, and… none of the shaman!”
“Let’s quickly suppress them and search.”
The two students drew their swords.
Despite how it looked, participating in the tournament meant they had some skill.
Scrag!
Sscrap!
They could easily defeat a few goblins.
“Ha ha! Easy-peasy! At this rate, victory is within reach!”
.
.
.
“Crap… I’m gonna die….”
“See, I told you not to overdo it… I’ve never seen someone throw out sword techniques like that against goblins.”
The senior panted heavily, taking heavy steps.
“It feels like we’ve already spent thirty minutes, yet no relics are showing up! I must have killed at least a hundred goblins!”
“…Could it be that we’re really mistaken? What if there were never any relics here in the first place…?”
“W-What? That can’t be! They must be here!”
The senior stomped angrily, trying to reassure herself.
Just when the uneasiness was creeping into her mind,
“…Huh?!”
She saw it.
A golden box embedded in the corner of the cave.
“Hey, hey, hey! That…!”
Actions over words.
The junior quickly rushed over and opened the box.
Swoosh!
A brilliant cascade of light poured from the inside of the box.
Inside was a necklace adorned with large blue gems.
“It’s a relic…!”
“It’s really here!”
They had found one of the four relics already!
“This is amazing!”
An overwhelming sense of joy and pride washed over them.
“We have to be the first ones to find it, right?!”
“Of course! It’s only been an hour since the tournament started!”
“Whooooo!”
Their feet started to dance with excitement.
But then, that’s that.
“So who’s going to wear this?”
“Huh?”
“It said in the rules, ‘To carry the relic, you must wear it.’”
Hmm.
Ummmm.
“Well, obviously it’s not going to be you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m stronger than you. Isn’t it more efficient for the weaker person to bear the curse while the stronger one protects them?”
“…Are you saying you’re stronger than me?!”
“Who, what?!”
Just then, a small argument seemed to be brewing.
Klugugugugung!
A strange aura swept through the space they occupied.
“What—what’s happening?!”
Suddenly, from a distance, something swung about.
Whoooosh!
A blade of blue light.
「Demon Sword Technique」
「Stone Rain」
From the cave’s ceiling, stone swords grew and rained down.
“Wahh!”
“Ugh!”
The two separated to evade the attacks.
Klugugugugung!
Dust filled the air.
After quickly regaining her senses, the junior shouted toward the direction of the senior.
“It’s an ambush from another team! We have to run…!”
“Cannot escape.”
Thud!
In that brief moment.
Someone approaching their location set something down on the ground.
“Ugh…”
The senior was already subdued and unconscious.
“Hah…!”
A bitter smile appeared on the junior’s face.
“Thank you, thanks to you, I didn’t have to exert myself to get a relic, huh?”
“Jane… the head of the student council….”
Jane Rune.
She smiled mischievously.
“When did you start following us?”
“Well… since the beginning? Yelling loudly when you’re not aware of your surroundings, what do you think will happen?”
Did she follow them from the moment they dealt with the goblins until they found the relic?
“Looks like you’ve pulled the rug out from under us.”
“Don’t worry. That rug will bring home a trophy for victory.”
The junior silently handed over the necklace.
It was foolish to exert more effort in an already predictable fight.
“Thank you~.”
As Jane received the necklace, she winked.
“Just you wait. Elma, Ran.”
I will make sure to return the loss we suffered during practice matches.