Chapter 151 – Colosseum Tournament (3)
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“Mr. Kalt! You passed the preliminaries!”
Nellis passed the preliminary rounds of the Colosseum tournament smoothly.
And Nellis Party was eating at a restaurant to celebrate passing the preliminary round.
“Good job, Nellis.”
Hehe!”
“Nellis, did you know that? Scarlett cheered you on hard. She told you to cheer up loudly.”
“What? Really?”
“Hmph! You’re the hero of our party, but it would be ugly if you lost in the preliminaries. Of course, I tell you to cheer up!”
“Yeah~?”
“What, that face! Don’t solve it right away!”
“Ugh! Bo, don’t pull my cheeks~!”
Nellie, freed from Scarlett’s pinching of her cheeks, stroked her own and said.
“But I had no idea that so many people would come along the way.”
What surprised Nellis was something that happened during the preliminaries.
When the number of participants available for battle has been reduced by half.
Those wearing the same armbands on their forearms came in at once, picked up or dragged the fallen, and disappeared from the stadium.
“I found that surprising too. Isn’t it difficult to intervene in the middle of a fight like that?”
As Scarlett expressed her doubts, Kalt began his commentary.
“That way we can run the preliminaries smoothly.”
“What do you mean, Kalt?”
“Think about it. There are so many participants, and half of them have already fallen. Everyone is lying on the floor either injured somewhere in their body or passed out. How can they fight properly in such a situation? It is common for people to trip over someone who is down while dodging an attack. Girl?”
“Ah… I guess so?”
“Besides, if you collapse bleeding, your life could be in danger if you wait too long. If there’s even a rumor that too many people die in the preliminaries, the number of participants could decrease, right? Then the Colosseum will only lose.”
“Hmm, so it’s all about money?”
“That’s right. This is a gambling city. Well, thanks to that, no one dies in the Colosseum. What’s more important in the Colosseum now is survival rather than money.”
“Survival?”
“In a situation where the Demon King is showing signs of resurrection and even the heroes have appeared, it shouldn’t be known that something like a ‘gambling match’ is being used to reduce the power to fight against monsters and demons, right?”
If you tell the wrong rumor, the gambling city itself will come to an end.
With those words, the three immediately understood the Colosseum’s life-first measures.
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The next day.
In the Colosseum tournament, Nellis showed a significant difference in skill.
She went 1-on-1 against a player in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, and was able to quickly attack and counterattack, just like she did in the preliminaries.
And that scene cheered not only the host but also the audience who had bet on Nellis.
[Female warrior… No! A new divinity! Nellis, the indomitable hero! This time too, we showed an overwhelming victory! I am really looking forward to seeing what they will show in the semifinals!]
“You’re good!”
“Ahhhhh! I got it! Furthermore, I got it!”
“You’re the best, Nellis!”
“Hmph! That’s not all Nellis’ skills are like!”
“Scarlett is more excited?”
“Noisy!”
Unlike the preliminaries, the soundproof barrier did not work in the finals, so Nellis felt embarrassed by the many shouts.
Hehe~.”
But at the same time, she felt something regretful in her heart.
Because it was easier than she thought.
When she watched the competition with Kalt, she thought she could do it, but when she faced it in person, she was a bit dull.
A person who clearly has good power but shows weaknesses due to poor posture, a person who is only fast but the trajectory of the sword is so straight that it is easy to avoid if the timing is right, a player who threatens by swinging a weapon in a flash to deceive the opponent, but in the end that is all he does, etc.
A fight with a strong man that made Nellis nervous in her imagination! She hadn’t experienced the same thing yet.
‘Difficulty C monsters are more difficult to deal with.’
A difficulty C monster fought in a swamp-like dungeon.
Nellis thought the Lizardmen were a bit more tense.
However, this was ultimately a gap in senses that occurred because Nellis’ potential skills had grown explosively through Kalt’s guidance and hypnosis.
Kalt, a strong man who solved the fundamental problem through hypnosis and won victory over the demon as a member of the warrior party, extracted only the extracts that could make her stronger in one-on-one battles every day and carefully taught Nellis to infuse them.
Originally, this could be said to be an opportunity that no one else could easily obtain.
So, even though I don’t know about monsters, I still have no experience with PvP other than Kalt.
Nellis’s mental standards were similar to those before she met Kalt.
[At las! Semifinal! With the indomitable hero Nellis! A familiar face at the Colosseum! Veteran fighter! This is Talagis, the Awl Fist!]
“Cheer up, Nellis! I bet all the money I won this time on you!”
“Go, Thalagisuu! Show the rookie the taste of your seasoned fists!”
“Aaaaa! Thalagis! Cheer up!”
“King! God of Light! Lord Nellis! Please give me money! Money!”
Nellis’ semifinal opponent.
That’s the person who made Nellis’ cheeks puff up in the waiting room.
He called himself Talagis the Awl Fist.
“Hey~ Was it Nellis, the indomitable hero? I never expected that the opponent who I thought was just a rookie participating for the first time would make it all the way to the semifinals. How clever of you to hide your skills?”
“I’ve never hidden my skills! I just made a mistake!”
“Hot, when you see her looking so scared in the waiting room, don’t think she’s a new chick? That’s actually too much, isn’t it?”
“Ugh!”
It was true that she was nervous in the waiting room, so Nellis just puffed out her cheeks.
“But! Your advance is over! Because even women won’t respect this awl fist of mine!”
“Hmph! I don’t think anyone would get punched like that!”
[Oh, oh! It’s hot! This is a hot conversation! It looks like it will be a very exciting match! Then the semifinals! Second match! Please get started!]
Cuuuuu!
A loud bell sounded, and the match began.
“Let’s go! Just because you’re a hero, you shouldn’t ignore the fighters of the Colosseum!”
Talagis clenched his fists and moved nimbly, wondering if the word ‘veteran’ shouted by the audience was nonsense.
‘Quick!’
And while Talagis’s speed was not as fast as Kalt’s, it was not yet at a level where Nellis could easily overpower it.
Talis closed the distance in a short period of time.
Before Nellis gets any closer.
I swung the sword before the distance narrowed to the fist where it was difficult to swing the sword.
“Ha!”
“It’s responsive! But it’s slow!”
Awl Fist Talagis.
A Colosseum fighter who worked as an adventurer but changed his job after finding money in the Colosseum.
A person who can win with a probability of 7 to 3 even against someone stronger than himself with his unique skill and insight.
Judging from Thalagis’s experience, Nellis’s skills gave off the feel of a girl from a good family.
Good house girl.
In other words, a person who received gifted education from a wealthy family that can hire a skilled tutor and has skills, but does not have much experience in interpersonal competition.
In other words, they were the type who thought Talagis was easy to deal with.
Of course, Nellis was not a girl from a good family, but rather a villager who grew up in an ordinary village, but there was no way Thalagis knew that.
Thalagis ducked and dodged Nellis’ sword, while at the same time he stepped to his feet and swung his fist.
‘Taste the stinging fist and know the heartlessness of reality, girl!’
Talagis punching Nellis’ side.
However, Nellis does not have as much experience in interpersonal combat as Talagis thinks.
Percussion!
The person who always fought against each other was Kalt, whose skills were far superior to Talagis.
Before Thalagis’ knuckles could make contact, Nellis kicked the ground and fell behind her.
Thalagis’ fist roars and swings in the air.
Meanwhile, Nellis adjusted his stance and assumed a thrusting stance.
“Ha!”
A sword thrown towards Talagis’ shoulder.
“Ugh!”
Kaang!
Using his seasoned experience, Talagis escaped danger by striking the stabbing sword with his knuckles.
‘What, I’m sure I’m not used to interpersonal combat, but why is my reaction so good!’
In the preliminaries, Talagis only saw Nellis, who was still in a confused state due to the gap caused by tension.
In the quarterfinals of the round of 16, each player was in the waiting room, so they could not be seen.
Nellis was not thinking about anything vague like a sense of disconnection, but was just moving and thinking according to Kalt’s teachings.
In other words, the state of giving up thinking.
Therefore, Nellis’ movements were as natural as when he was sparring with Kalt.
However, even so, Talagis was not easily defeated.
Kang!
Kakakang!
Chang!
‘This person… Strong.’
So far, we have been able to counterattack and win with just one or two hits.
However, when Nellis dodged and counterattacked, Talagis responded by either dodging or striking Nellis’ sword with his knuckles.
‘What are you really doing, you lady! ‘
Meanwhile, Talagis was embarrassed.
I thought she was a girl from a good family who lacked experience in fighting people.
The more he swings the sword, the more he looks like a swordsman with refined skills.
Usually people like that have a different vibe, so Nellis, who seems so gentle, has this kind of skill.
Rather, Talagis felt a sense of disconnect.
‘If things continue like this, time will continue to drag on. Then… Use that method!’
Nellis decided to use a secret trick.
“Haaa!”
Nellis swung her sword sharply, showing her weakness.
‘Now is the time!’
Nellis had unexpected skills.
However, Talagis thought that he was too impatient due to his lack of experience and showed his shortcomings.
“Haaa!”
Thinking this was his best chance, Thalagis dived into Nellis’s arms and swung his fist into her side.
“No! My money!”
“Go, Thalagis!”
Thalagis and the audience thought.
After being hit by Thalagis’s fist, Nellis will fly to her side.
But.
Kaaaaang!
“Huh?”
Rather than being thrown to the side, Nellis made the sound of something hard hitting Talagis’ knuckles.
‘What is this… !’
Sigh!
Talagis was caught off guard by Nellis’ sword, which he had prepared in advance, and cut Talagis down.