It’s the final day, and once again, the venue is packed.
“It’s finally time.”
“That was too bad, Argo.”
“It’s fine. W-well, I let Shun have it in the end.”
“Are you mad you lost?”
Everyone laughs at Argo and Siphon’s back and forth.
There’s no doubt that Argo really tried and lost, but no one is mocking him for losing to someone one rank below him as an adventurer.
That match just captivated everyone.
“That Shun gets stronger the more he fights. I should’ve finished him quicker, but I got carried away and was having fun.”
Argo says while clapping. He has a point in that Shun had it easier in the second half.
He didn’t know this while he was fighting, but he’s thinking back to it now.
It’s not just the difference in stamina caused by their levels, I think Shun fought while paying the utmost attention to not move unnecessarily.
Like Geitz.
“It’s too bad about Geitz too. You almost got him, right?”
“No, it was a world of difference. I started attacking because I figured I couldn’t bear those vicious attacks, and I couldn’t handle it.”
Geitz denies what Guilford says.
He knew he couldn’t beat the beast king head on, so he counterattacked after sapping some of the beast king’s stamina, while his was still full. That was the plan, but the beast king’s momentum never slowed, so he was the one who got tired.
In the end, Geitz figured challenging with his swords was better than to keep going like that and doing nothing until the end.
But people who watched this back and forth were in awe, and I think Geitz’s reputation was boosted because now people don’t see him as a guy who just uses a shield.
And as we all talk about the previous days’ matches, two people enter the ring.
There are loud claps when they are introduced, and the beast king waves with a smile on his face. This is less because he feels like he’ll win easily, and more because this is just how he is.
Conversely, Shun looks a little nervous, still not used to this. It makes sense, considering he’s fighting in front of so many people.
Just imagining myself in that position, makes me feel like I couldn’t handle it. From that point of view, Shun is great.
◇ ◇ ◇
Five minutes later, the match starts. The beast king charges forward, and Shun chooses to stay and meet his attack.
The beast king relentlessly attacks, and Shun deals with it by blocking and sometimes dodging.
When Shun counterattacks, the beast king blocks with his gauntlets, and Shun dodges the attacks that follow.
But even that dodging is offensive, because he keeps his movements to a minimum and connects it to a counterattack.
This is dangerous against the beast king, but Shun decides when he should dodge widely or just barely.
The beast king is a fighter, so having distance between himself and a weapon wielding opponent is to his disadvantage. If he can get right in front of his opponent, that’s to his advantage, but the beast king can only do that because of his physical abilities and the way he can move his body.
By getting close and transitioning into an attack, he can have the opponent where he wants him. Even if his swings are dodged, he can grab or continue to attack again with backhand blows.
But Shun also knows this. He only dodges with minimal movements when there are no changes to the beast king’s attacks, and he dodges widely when the beast king is transitioning into another attack.
…This is all explained to me by Geitz.
He also says he didn’t do this when he fought him because he could block him completely before he changed.
“But isn’t this his first time fighting the beast king? Or did they do mock battles without me knowing?”
It’s the beast king, so that could very well have happened.
“They have faced each other, but they didn’t fight like this, I don’t think. I think Shun just learned from watching the beast king fight.”
Says Geitz, and apparently the beast king went to the training area practically every day when we were in the dungeon.
Ryuryu sighs, and I get from her expression that it was actually ‘practically every day’.
I focus on the fight again. If it was me, I would be using magic, and taking distance if I could.
Shun has the Swordmaster skill, and I think he can use it to attack from a distance, but he might be saving the SP.
Come to think of it, there were practically no matches where participants used skills. Was it just Neil? Ah, Geitz used Shield Bash too.
Rurika and Hikari don’t use theirs a lot in the dungeon either, because they’d have to drink potions if they overused them.
From that point of view, people might see skills as something to use only when the time comes.
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Thanks for the treat.
Next chapter for Halloween is getting released late?
It’s already daylight saving time here, so there’s an hour lag in the scheduling depending on where you are.