Chapter 158

Jаimоn, whо wаs set to соmреtе in the first match аftеr the start оf the Round оf 64.

Нis арреaranсe, his ovеrаll phуsiquе—еvеrуthing abоut him was rаther ordinаrу.

Аn оrdinary fаcе, an ordinarу build, аnd an ordinary hеight.

Нowever, there wаs оne thing that was not ordinаrу.

His spеed.

‘Sо mу first орponent is that guу.’

Jaimon hаd livеd аn ordinarу lifе sinсe he wаs very уoung.

But at somе рoint, his life сhаnged аnd becаme extrаordinаrу.

Ever since he bеcаmе аn advеnturer and rеаlizеd he pоssessеd immеnsе tаlеnt.

‘Thаt guу’s mаgic skills аrе quite impressive, but he wasn’t that strong. I wanted to put him in his place for acting all silent and setting the mood, and now it’s perfect. I should really crush him properly this time. Or maybe cut off one of his arms?’

Of course, even if he cut off an arm with his sword, the mages on standby would reattach it with Cure Magic.

Jaimon wanted to inflict pain on Khan, his first opponent in the Round of 64.

‘I don’t like that smug look on his face. Tsk, I want to go punch him right now.’

Jaimon had also fought three matches in the preliminary rounds, and all three of his matches ended in less than ten seconds.

And all his opponents had lost an arm, a leg, or some other body part.

‘Should I just cut his throat?’

Actually, in the Underground Arena Tournament, even if you accidentally kill your opponent, you won’t be punished.

From the start, the participation agreement signed before entering the Underground Arena Tournament included a clause stating that the organizers would not take responsibility for deaths during the tournament.

‘Mages all seem to think they’re so great, and it’s annoying. I should just kill him.’

Jaimon, who had now stepped onto the arena, looked at Khan across from him and made a gesture of slitting his throat.

‘Oh, this bastard….’

Despite Jaimon’s gesture of slitting his throat, Khan’s expression didn’t change at all.

‘Let’s see if you can keep that arrogant expression even when you’re about to die.’

Jaimon had personally watched all three of Khan’s preliminary matches, so he knew exactly what level of mage he was.

As an adventurer who operated solo in Arcana, Jaimon would often form temporary parties with adventurers he met for the first time whenever he had a commission or entered a Gate.

The Adventurer’s Association had a system where solo adventurers like Jaimon could form parties with each other.

‘He’s definitely weaker than any mage I’ve ever partied with. The Magic Arrows he used were clearly Rank 1 Magic, Arrow Magic. There were quite a few of them, but all I have to do is dodge them all.’

The Arrow Magic Khan fired wasn’t that fast to Jaimon.

To utilize his speed, his greatest strength, he needed equally good dynamic visual acuity. After watching Khan’s preliminary matches, he was confident that if he ever faced Khan, he would win.

‘That guy is just full of bluster, pretending to be strong and setting the mood. He only uses Rank 1 Magic like Arrow, yet he acts all high and mighty.’

Jaimon planned to rush at Khan as soon as the match started and cut his throat.

The arena was quite spacious, but if he ran at full speed, he could reach Khan in just one second.

‘He’ll definitely panic and won’t be able to react properly.’

In fact, when a swordsman and a mage engage in a one-on-one battle, the swordsman has an overwhelming advantage.

No matter how hard he tried, Jaimon couldn’t picture himself losing.

While Jaimon was running multiple simulations in his head, Rodion shouted into the microphone.

“Alright, everyone! You’ve waited a long time. The Underground Arena Tournament’s Round of 64! The first match! Hmm… It looks like we can expect a very fierce battle right from the first match! The match will start in one minute, so those who haven’t placed their bets yet, please do so quickly!”

Before Rodion even finished speaking, the audience quickly manipulated the small machines in their hands.

Using these small, alchemy-made devices that resembled game consoles, spectators who had pre-loaded money could place bets by pressing a button to choose who would win between Khan and Jaimon.

“Alright! There are now 10 seconds left until betting closes! 10, 9, 8, 7…… 1. Betting is now closed! Now, shall we check the betting results?!”

As Rodion shouted, a screen appeared in mid-air, showing the betting percentages for Khan and Jaimon.

The difference between the two was smaller than expected, and Jaimon’s face turned red.

‘I’m rated lower than that trash mage? Do I look weaker? Damn it! I need to show my true strength this time.’

The screen remained for about five seconds before disappearing, and Rodion shouted again.

“Alright! The betting percentage difference between the two isn’t that large! It seems the audience expects Khan to have a slight advantage! Now, let’s see how the battle unfolds! The match countdown will begin now. 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Begin!”

As soon as Rodion quickly announced the start of the match, Jaimon immediately charged at Khan.

* * *

Bellua, the mage from the Yellow Magic Tower in charge of safety for this Underground Arena Tournament.

She was proficient in various types of magic, so her role was to heal the injured during the tournament and step in to impose sanctions if the matches became too violent.

‘That man named Khan, no matter how I look at him, he’s strange. Using Chantless Casting is odd, and only using Rank 1 Magic like Arrow Magic is also strange.’

Bellua had been paying close attention to Khan ever since she intervened in his match earlier.

To be precise, she couldn’t take her eyes off him because of the strange sense of pressure she felt from him.

‘I can somewhat gauge the Mana of even the Archmages, so why can’t I gauge this man’s Mana at all? Could he be a mage stronger than the Archmages of the Magic Tower? Seeing him use Chantless Casting makes it seem possible… but there’s also something unrefined about him.’

Bellua was an incredibly powerful figure even within the Yellow Magic Tower, so she had a good eye for talent.

As she stared intently for a while, Binsen, another mage from the Yellow Magic Tower beside her, spoke up.

“Bellua, you’ve been paying attention to that guy since earlier, right? I’ve been watching him too… He’s a really interesting fellow.”

“Sir Binsen, can you also not gauge how much Mana that person has?”

“Yes, that’s how it seems to me too. Even you, a Mana genius, can’t gauge it?”

“Yes, that person… somehow seems very dangerous. Where on earth did he learn magic….”

“I don’t know about that, but he might be someone who’s dabbled in Dark Magic, so keep a close watch. The moment he uses Dark Magic, we’ll subdue him and take him to the Magic Tower.”

“Understood…!”

Dark Mages, akin to a taboo, were enemies of all mages.

Therefore, Bellua and Binsen couldn’t dismiss the possibility and focused intently on the match between Khan and Jaimon.

The match began quickly.

Not long after the match started, Bellua and Binsen were staring at the arena with wide-eyed, shocked expressions.

* * *

As soon as the match began, Jaimon was the first to move.

Confident in his speed above all else, Jaimon ran at full speed toward Khan, who stood across from him.

At the same time, he tried to draw the sword at his waist and swing it.

But.

Whoooooosh…!!

Kukukukuk…!!!

Wheeeeeeng!!!!

A spectacle unseen in the previous matches unfolded from Khan.

An immense amount of blue Mana, never seen before, erupted from Khan’s body.

Simultaneously, Khan used a Skill.

‘An overwhelming amount of Mana…. But even so, he’s just a guy who can only use Arrow Magic, so if I close in and swing my sword, victory is mine……!!!’

At that moment, when he was absolutely certain he would defeat Khan.

A massive explosion occurred right before his eyes.

Mages usually need to recite an Incantation verbally when using magic.

But Khan clearly hadn’t recited any Incantation, yet suddenly, a massive black Flame Explosion erupted right in front of Jaimon.

[Skill ‘Fire Boom’ has been used.]

“Gyaaaaaaaah!!!”

Jaimon was confident in his speed, but it was impossible to dodge a Flame Explosion that occurred right in front of his eyes.

‘Just as expected.’

When using the instant-cast Flame Explosion skill, Fire Boom, as a single Skill, even those with considerable speed couldn’t easily avoid it.

So, Khan used the Fire Boom Skill for the first time this match, and fortunately, he was able to take out his opponent in one go.

“Gyaaaaaah!! H-hot! I surrender! I-I’ve lost! Please spare me! Please!!”

A black flame exploded precisely in front of Jaimon, blowing off his right arm.

Even now, black flames were raging on his body, but Khan had no intention of killing his opponent, so he withdrew his Mana.

Then, Jaimon, his entire body blackened and charred, fainted and collapsed to the ground.

Khan looked down expressionlessly at the fallen Jaimon.

“Don’t act so arrogant next time.”

If this weren’t a match, Jaimon would have died.

Khan wasn’t merciful enough to spare an opponent who had taunted him like that.

As Khan said those words, cheers erupted from the audience seats, which had fallen silent for a moment.

“Wooooooow!!!”

“Damn, he’s incredibly strong!!”

“Did you see that? A Flame Explosion suddenly happened?!”

Amid the cheers of the audience, messages began appearing one by one before Khan’s eyes.