Chapter 160

Маgiс Swоrdsman Kаrnоs.

Не wаs born with a naturаl tаlent for Мana.

If his tаlеnt hаd bееn sоlely fоr Manа, hе would hаvе еntеrеd the Мagiс Towеr аnd bесome а Mаge, but his talent fоr Мana wasn’t that ехceptional.

In shоrt, it wаs a rather ambiguous tаlеnt.

‘Still, when it cоmes tо this swоrd, I’vе nеver been inferiоr to anуоnе.’

Howеvеr, Кarnos рossessеd a talent for thе swоrd that was fаr suрeriоr to othеrs.

It was an eхtraоrdinаry talent possеssed bу оnlу the tоp 1%.

‘It’s a bit disаррointing that mу oрроnеnt is аn old mаn, but judging bу his swоrd stanсе, which is quite good, we should be able to have a decent Match.’

Karnos had heard the name of his opponent, Dramos, for the first time in his life.

Moreover, Dramos looked so frail on the outside that he seemed like he would collapse if poked.

Yet, the way he held his sword showed not a single flaw, which for some reason made Karnos feel a bit nervous.

As Dramos and Karnos stepped onto the Arena and each drew their swords, Rodion shouted once more.

“Alright! Then, let the Match between contestant Dramos and contestant Karnos begin!”

Along with Rodion’s shout, numbers counted down on the giant monitor screen that appeared in midair.

As soon as the countdown ended, the Match began.

‘First, I’ll draw out my Mana and seize the momentum with an Aura Sword!’

Karnos, born with an innate talent for the sword and also able to use Mana, found that when he used Mana to create an Aura Sword, most opponents would panic or be surprised.

In a One-on-one Match like this, seizing the momentum first was important, so he immediately began drawing out his Mana.

Whoooosh…!!!!!

As Karnos drew out his Mana, blue Mana bloomed around his body.

All that blue Mana seeped into the sword Karnos was holding.

Then, a blue Aura Sword formed around his blade.

Karnos looked at Dramos with a triumphant expression.

‘Huh, no reaction at all? The old man seems to be trying hard to maintain his composure. I guess I need to properly show him my power.’

Actually, feeling a bit slighted and angry, Karnos decided to end the Match in one go.

“Hey, old man! If you die after pointlessly entering a shady tournament like this, don’t blame me. I have no intention of going easy on you just because you’re old!”

Karnos charged at Dramos with a lightning-fast movement.

The spectators in the stands couldn’t even see where Karnos had gone in that instant.

In less than two seconds, Karnos reached Dramos and swung his Aura Sword.

A full-powered, all-out Single Strike.

He had raised his Aura Sword to its maximum, and his sword-swinging posture showed no flaw at all.

So far, those who had blocked this strike could be counted on one hand.

Even as his sword approached Dramos, Dramos remained standing, using his sword as a Staff.

To anyone watching, he looked completely defenseless.

“What’s wrong with that old man…?!”

“Is he really going to die like that? He doesn’t seem to have any will to fight.”

“Shouldn’t the tournament officials intervene? Why aren’t they doing anything?!”

The people in the stands shouted with worried voices.

The tournament host, Rodion, also glanced at the officials, wondering if he should stop the Match, but the officials were sitting calmly.

‘Why aren’t they stopping the match…?’

Since so many Matches were held simultaneously during the Preliminary Rounds, even the host Rodion didn’t properly know Dramos’s true strength.

Only Viscount Aldrik knew Dramos’s identity, so he couldn’t possibly have dreamed that Dramos was a powerful Swordsman.

However, Bellua and Sir Binsen, the managers of this Underground Arena Tournament, had clearly witnessed Dramos’s strength with their own eyes during the Preliminary Rounds.

“Hoh, that Swordsman handles Mana quite well? Bellua, who do you think will win?”

“Why ask something like that. You know it too, Sir Binsen.”

“You saw it during the Preliminary Rounds too. That Elder is quite proficient in Swordsmanship, contrary to his appearance. No, I think he’s stronger than any Swordsman I’ve seen so far.”

Both Binsen and Bellua were Mages close to Level 170, so they could tell at a glance that Dramos was a strong individual.

They had already confirmed Dramos’s strength during the Preliminary Rounds.

Swipe—

At that moment, the sound of something being cut was heard.

“What the! How on earth…?!”

The moment he came to his senses, Karnos’s sword had been severed in two.

Dramos, who had been standing while leaning on his sword as a Staff, had somehow raised his sword forward.

Most surprisingly of all, the sword Dramos held was also imbued with blue Mana.

“That, that’s an Aura Sword!”

“Crazy, is that an Aura Sword? Why is it so big?”

“What just happened all of a sudden?!”

People in the stands opened their eyes wide and shouted in surprised voices.

The most surprised was none other than Karnos himself.

‘I definitely didn’t see anything, but when on earth did he…! And what is this overwhelming Aura Sword?!’

Karnos hadn’t seen anything.

He, who thought his talent for the sword was superior to anyone else’s, couldn’t believe that he hadn’t even noticed when his opponent had swung his sword.

The old man who had looked like he would collapse any moment now seemed like a towering mountain.

Dramos smiled and slowly spoke to Karnos.

“Hehehe… Will you continue even now? Your sword is broken, so you might die at the hands of the old man you looked down on.”

“I-I’m sorry!! I surrender!”

Realizing this was the old man’s final mercy towards him, Karnos immediately bowed his head and declared surrender.

“Hey, you bastard! What the hell are you doing?! I Bet on you because you acted so high and mighty during the Preliminary Rounds, and now you surrender like this?! Give me back my money!”

“Right! That bastard was acting all tough, but why is he suddenly surrendering to some old man like that?! Is this match-fixing?!”

Then, the spectators who had Bet on Karnos began to boo and curse.

Indeed, before the start of this final Round of 64 Match, when looking at the Betting Odds, an overwhelming 8-to-2 Bet had been placed on Karnos.

“This is definitely match-fixing!”

“Give me back my money right now!!”

As the spectators’ dissatisfaction began to rage, Rodion put the microphone to his mouth and shouted.

“The winner of the final Round of 64 Match is contestant Dramos! It seems the spectators are very angry. Let me say this in advance: there is absolutely no match-fixing in the Underground Arena Tournament, so please rest assured.”

“No, this is ridiculous!”

“Give me back my money!”

Rodion tried to placate the spectators, but the dissatisfaction showed no signs of subsiding.

After sighing briefly, he spoke again.

“The Underground Arena Tournament is held with the honor of Viscount Aldrik at stake. As such a tournament, there is absolutely no match-fixing, so please refrain from further cursing.”

“…….”

“…….”

As the name of Aldrik, a Noble, was mentioned, those voicing complaints fell silent as if by magic.

Causing more trouble here could lead to serious consequences.

“Hehehe, you made a good choice. Your attitude was arrogant, so if you hadn’t surrendered, I was planning to cut you down with this sword.”

“I-I’m sorry…! But, by any chance… may I ask who you are?”

“Just an old man who’s gotten on in years. Still, your Talent seems outstanding, so it would be good for you to learn some humility from now on. I hope you realize through this opportunity that you were a frog in a well.”

“Thank you, Elder! Thanks to you, I received a valuable lesson! Thank you!”

Although Karnos was eliminated from the tournament, through his Match with Dramos, he realized how weak he truly was.

That above the sky, there is a higher sky, and above that higher sky, there is the universe.

“Now, everyone! All Round of 64 Matches have concluded! The Round of 32 will begin in 20 minutes, so please return to your seats by then!”

With Rodion’s shout, a brief break was given.

Khan, Byutek, and Sharin, who had just watched the final Round of 64 Match, remained silent without saying a word.

‘I couldn’t… see it at all. In that case, even Yata’s Mirror is useless. With my current strength, defeating Dramos is absolutely impossible.’

For Khan, this was the first time he properly watched Dramos’s Match.

Seeing it directly like this, he could truly feel how strong Dramos was, and it seemed his Level far exceeded 300.

Byutek and Sharin were equally surprised.

‘Master is really strong…. Can Hyungnim Khan defeat Master? He looks too strong….’

‘That person… is too dangerous for our Master to face…. Besides, if a Mage and a Swordsman fight One-on-one, it’s naturally disadvantageous for the Mage! Master won’t get seriously hurt fighting that person, right…?’

Byutek and Sharin also wondered if Khan could really win against Dramos.

Although Khan was etched in their minds as a strong being, the Swordsmanship skill Dramos had just shown was also truly overwhelming.

As silence flowed between the three, Byutek hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Ha… haha! Master is quite strong, but still not as strong as Hyungnim Khan! Haha….”

“Byutek, there’s no need for unnecessary talk. That Dramos fellow is an extremely strong person.”

“What are you saying, Hyungnim! Master is strong, but I still think you are stronger!”

In response to Byutek’s words, Khan said nothing and ignored him.

‘First, I need to clear the next Quest.’

Now, he must somehow reach Level 90.

Otherwise, he will never be able to overcome that huge wall named Dramos.