Anyway, the results of the training would naturally be mentioned while describing the martial tournament. Detailing the training process step by step would only make things boring for the readers. The penalty for overusing the Mental Acceleration skill, the main character’s transformation event that I accidentally triggered, and the reason Liolikin resolved to change.
If I’ve described this much, it should be fine to move on to the next chapter.
So, I’ll boldly skip the subsequent training, change the subtitle, and shine the spotlight again on Saturday, November 29th.
And why this particular day? Because the martial tournament’s preliminaries are held over the last Saturday and Sunday of November—two days in total.
If possible, I’d even skip this and restart the story from the main round.
But I set a condition for Liolikin: “If you want to join me, defeat at least three opponents in the preliminaries.”
Thanks to that, this became an event I couldn’t ignore.
“Huff, huff… Ka, Karvald Austri… I, I’m so ne, nervous…”
Liolikin tried to shake off his tension, taking a deep breath as he voiced his feelings.
In one hand, he held a massive tower shield. In the other, a mace, breathing so heavily that he looked truly intimidating.
With his fierce appearance on top of that, I couldn’t help but wonder if his trembling came from excitement for blood and violence instead.
‘…Of course, that can’t be it.’
I could see the extras around us trying not to make eye contact with Liolikin. If I didn’t know how timid this giant in front of me actually was, I too might have lowered my gaze with the same humility as the others.
I reminded myself not to be intimidated and forced myself to speak in a calm voice.
“Don’t make such a fuss over the preliminaries.”
“Y-You really are amazing, Karvald Austri. You’re not even ne, nervous… So ca, calm as always…”
“Don’t try to flatter me. I won’t relax the conditions just because of that.”
“Th, that’s not what I, I meant…”
Even if he meant it sincerely and not as flattery, I had no intention of being grateful.
So instead of asking Liolikin what it was if not flattery, I ignored him and kept looking around.
‘There sure are a lot of people.’
Every student here was a first-year, as the preliminaries for other years were happening elsewhere at the same time.
Even so, the number of students visible was considerable.
According to the pre-released list of participants, 80 first-years had signed up.
With a total of 180 first-year students, that meant nearly half had thrown their hat into the ring.
No doubt, many of them signed up just for fun.
The preliminaries are meant to weed out those kinds of chaff.
That’s why, unlike the main rounds held publicly in the Colosseum, the preliminaries take place privately in the Academy auditorium.
Since each match is limited to five minutes, there are also decisions by judgment—victory or defeat—unlike in the main rounds.
‘But the biggest difference is that the main rounds are a tournament, and the preliminaries are league matches!’
There are sixteen groups of five.
Each student fights four matches, and the top two from each group advance to the main rounds.
If there’s a tie in win rate, advancement is determined by the professors’ evaluation.
“Karvald Austri! I checked the group assignments. We’re all in different groups! Isn’t that a relief?”
In front of the board with the group assignments, students were swarming.
Not wanting to get caught in that crowd, I’d postponed checking my group until the people dispersed.
But it seemed Reysir Daudabina had gone and done the very thing that was bound to be unpleasant.
“I’m in Group 1, you’re in Group 3. Vigdis Shalbrady and Liolikin are in Groups 9 and 15, respectively.”
Good thing I didn’t bother checking the board myself.
If I’d struggled through the crowd just to hear that, it would have been a waste.
‘So, with the group assignments like this, Reysir Daudabina and I have our preliminaries today, while Vigdis and Liolikin have theirs tomorrow.’
That’s for the best. The sooner things like this are over, the more at ease I’ll feel.
Liolikin, on the other hand, seemed relieved that, despite coming armed with his heavy shield and mace, he didn’t have to fight today.
Even though having another day to be nervous is hardly a good thing.
“There you all are! Have you checked your groups? I just did, and fortunately, none of us overlap.”
Vigdis appeared, chiming in late.
Her comment confirmed she’d braved the crowd like Reysir Daudabina to check the assignments.
“We were just talking about that.”
“Reysir Daudabina, you’re Group 1, right? You’ll be fighting the earliest.”
“That’s how it turned out, so cheer for me a lot!”
“Yes! I wish you good luck.”
I could hear the ease in Vigdis’s tone as she talked to Reysir Daudabina.
‘Now that I think about it, didn’t she go out shopping for clothes with Hailga a few days ago?’
She’s free to make friends and enjoy her favorite swordsmanship as much as she wants.
Perhaps her repressed nature has awakened, and she’s found the confidence that was hidden inside.
‘On the other hand, Liolikin’s stutter doesn’t seem to be getting any better…’
Maybe it can’t be helped, since he’s just innately like that.
Still, he’s never missed a single sparring session on Sundays, and even though he trembles, he’s never said he’d give up.
‘In fiction, a stutter is often used to show timidity and lack of confidence. If Liolikin keeps facing his fears and doesn’t run away, maybe his stutter will improve, too!’
As I reached that conclusion and finished my thoughts, the Mental Acceleration skill, which had been activating on its own, ended and time began to flow normally again.
A professor on the podium began to explain the rules and cautions for the preliminaries.
It was all written in the handout we’d received beforehand, so I only half-listened, but Vigdis and Liolikin, even though their matches weren’t today, were listening intently in a state of nervousness.
“Karvald Austri, aren’t you nervous?”
Reysir Daudabina wasn’t just half-listening to the professor; he was even trying to chat in a whisper.
When our eyes met, he grinned, looking about as far from nervous as you could get.
It showed just how much he trusted his skills.
“It’s just the preliminaries, isn’t it?”
“Oooh~, you sound confident?”
As I said, there are four matches in the preliminaries, so a single loss doesn’t mean you’re eliminated.
In other words, there’s no reason to go all out and desperately try to beat the evil young master of a duke’s family.
Wouldn’t it be stranger to be nervous, knowing all this?
Rather than explain this out loud, I just snorted and turned away.
I know this kind of behavior can seem tsundere.
But there’s no better way to cut a conversation short.
Besides, there’s no way to break Reysir Daudabina’s association of “Karvald Austri = tsundere” in his mind anymore.
Better to use that to reduce my interactions with the main character.
“Really acting all aloof, aren’t you?”
“……”
It’s still embarrassing to be treated like that, but there’s only about a month left until the closing ceremony anyway.
I’ll just endure it until then.
“…That concludes the announcements. Those scheduled for tomorrow’s matches may leave now, or stay and watch the preliminaries if you wish.”
Once the professor finished, a good number of students grumbled as they left the auditorium, muttering, “If that’s how it is, why not just announce the groupings ahead of time!”
They’d come all prepared and tense, only to be told to just go home or watch.
Of course they’d be angry.
‘It’s not the professors’ fault, it’s the original author’s fault…’
In the original, it was only briefly mentioned that the preliminaries were a league.
Reysir Daudabina was in Group 1 in the original as well, so after earning a main round ticket, he left the auditorium immediately.
Because of that, it sounded like the preliminaries were finished in a single day.
‘But in reality, that’s impossible.’
If five people play a round-robin, there are ten matches per group, each match five minutes, with sixteen groups.
Considering the time needed to call students and set up, it would take at least sixteen hours.
To finish in one day, everyone would have to skip meals and stay up all night.
‘The original author just set up the rules and numbers for the preliminaries and forgot to calculate the time.’
Since the original never directly stated that the preliminaries finished in a day, there was wiggle room, so now the event lasts two days.
But not announcing the group assignments ahead of time was straight from the original, so this disaster occurred.
In short, the original author’s sloppy approach just put the students through pointless drills.
“I will now call the names of the students in Group 1. Please come to the central arena when your name is called.”
Despite the students’ complaints, the professor on the podium calmly called out the names for Group 1.
Reysir Daudabina’s name was among them.
“I’ll be back, then?”
“Do as you like.”
“Hahaha!”
It wasn’t even a funny line, but the main character of someone else’s novel laughed cheerfully as he headed to the center of the auditorium.
Once all five students, including him, had gathered, the professors assisting with the event had two of them enter the makeshift arena.
Soon, the preliminaries began in earnest.
Maybe because it was the first match, the two students just eyed each other and exchanged a few light blows, unable to decide a winner even by judgment—ending in a draw.
Then Reysir Daudabina entered for the second match.
‘As expected!’
The main character of the original disarmed his opponent by knocking their weapon away, winning the match in under a minute.
After that, other students of similar skill level continued to fight.
Most of the students not in Group 1 were distracted and paid little attention to the matches.
But when Reysir Daudabina entered the arena again, everyone fell silent and watched.
Just one match was enough for everyone to start noticing the greatness of the main character.
This time, maybe feeling the pressure, his opponent not only coated his weapon with Aether as soon as the match began, but also activated his trait ability.
Reysir Daudabina, for his part, simply enveloped his spear with Aether. He didn’t add the Thunder Attribute.
Even so, he completely overwhelmed his opponent, who was going all out.
So it wasn’t surprising when his next opponent lost his will to fight and forfeited.
The fourth opponent did fight, but the result was the same as expected.
Reysir Daudabina advanced to the main round with a record of four wins in four matches.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.