Chapter 232: Farmers and Friendly Toads

Showing real interest in the moderator for the first time today, Auren carefully listens to her sudden announcement, looking slightly displeased.Did I... overdo it? Bad news? Hopefully it doesn’t mean...

“It looks like... a few Floor Masters have decided to withdraw due to... what? I mean injuries sustained in their earlier battles...” the moderator says, clearly reading from a note that was just handed to her.

“What?! This is supposed to be the world's highest martial arts tournament?”

“Withdraw?! Is this a joke? Give me back my money.”

“Cowards!”

“Liars... they are just cowards!”

“I want to see more shit! Let that Sword God fucking go!”

After a series of loud complaints, the audience begins yelling slurs, boos, and angry screams, some targeted at the moderator, some at the Floor Masters.

“Let me finish, you idiots!” the moderator yells, briefly dropping her polite façade. “Aaahem. Excuse me. While this is certainly... a shame, this is not uncommon in Battle Olympia where fighters stake their lives! Only Floor Master Dani, who was supposed to go up against Auren, and Floor Master Ga, who was scheduled to fight Floor Master Kamakiri, have withdrawn,” the moderator tries to explain. “Everyone still has to win at least two times... that includes Floor Master Auren.”

“Hmm, fine then...”

“Those cowards didn’t stand a chance anyway.”

“I’ll drop out of the Ga fan club, he was always weird...”

“Well... looks like I don’t have to worry about my target dropping out... for now,” Auren comments softly.

“Auren, since so much attention is on you, I don’t recommend going through with this... job. You don’t need the money, and it might hurt your reputation,” Ura says, giving a strong recommendation.

“She is right,” Neffi agrees. “Why take the risk? This will hurt your reputation.”

“Hell no!” Vanessa states immediately. “Remember that asshole... give him hell, Auren! He is a scumbag; he deserves it.”

Auren shrugs, not bothering to reply.

The matches quickly continue.

Two quick matches take place, with Gama dominating his fight after a brief struggle against Floor Master Ameha, who uses a strange bell to attack his opponent directly. Gama, however, seems well aware of his abilities and skillfully dodges his attacks by keeping his distance until finally catching him with his tongue, paralyzing him.

After another fight that Auren simply considers mediocre, between two Nen abilities that are nothing more than very basic applications, Auren can’t help but wonder why they chose their respective abilities in the first place.

These Hatsus... are they serious?

One Hatsu allows one of them to run in a straight line at incredible speed, while his opponent’s Hatsu is able to pull his target back two meters, as if a ghost drags him backward.

The fight is boring, involving only the most basic tactics. In the end, the one who can run at high speed wins by using brass knuckles to land a strong attack.

An Enhancer... and an Emitter who also seems to use Manipulation. This is... extremely basic. These Floor Masters... could it be they hastily stumbled across Nen and then came up with these simple abilities? It seems to me they are incredibly basic, and their effects are quite minuscule...

“Godspeed, Yamanezumi won decisively! What a brilliant match!” the moderator yells excitedly.

Despite Auren’s dissatisfaction, the crowd is seemingly well satisfied and claps loudly.

The next Floor Master, Kamakiri, wins by default, and so does Auren.

After another thirty-minute break, Gama has to fight again and manages to win against his opponent, Yamanezumi as well. Using his tongue, Gama immediately counters his opponent’s simple charge almost effortlessly. He blocks the attack, suffering only minor damage, and then instantly counters by wrapping his tongue around his opponent. Forced to stop, and with the ring limiting his ability to keep running, the man has no real escape and falls victim to its paralyzing ability. Still, he manages to flee to the other side of the ring using his Hatsu. The same thing happens again... and again.

Thus, the battle ends after three repetitions, the paralyzing effect of Gama’s tongue finally bringing the fight to an end.

With Gama having earned his spot in the final, Auren can’t help but stare in disbelief.

Such a... pathetic contest. Did I perhaps make a mistake... I wanted fame... I wanted reputation... what is this? The level seems to be even lower than the last one, which happened two years ago.

Finally, it’s Auren’s turn.

The crowd immediately perks up, cheering wildly, while his opponent slowly walks into the ring, already carrying his two weapons: two Kama, which are usually medium-length wooden sticks with straight blades attached to them. They are similar to sickles or billhooks, originally used as simple farming tools. However, Kamakiri’s have curved blades that are quite a bit longer than usual, making them deadly weapons, far more suited for combat than farming.

As he walks up onto the stage, Auren takes a good look at his opponent. A middle-aged man with long, wavy blond hair, wearing a thick and long black coat as well as a tall top hat.

As far as the trash in this competition goes... he seems to be a step above the rest. Still below the so-called champion... and even Gama.

“Your last fight was quite impressive... I didn’t think you were this strong. It looks like we were all mistaken in focusing on other competitors. It is an honor to cross blades with you,” Kamakiri says politely.

You won’t get to... sorry.

“I have just one question,” Auren replies.

“Yes?” Kamakiri asks, clearly pleased by Auren’s interest.

“Did you change your name to Kamakiri, or did you choose your weapons based on your name?” Auren asks, genuinely stumped by his strange opponent.

“I’ll tell you...” Kamakiri says, smiling just a little. “If you beat me!”

“Not if...” Auren replies, his voice growing colder before activating Ren, not holding back. “When....”

“It looks like our two participants are ready!” the commentator yells.

“A—Approach...” the referee yells, his body shaking slightly as he stares at Auren.

Doing as told, Auren approaches the referee, while Kamakiri activates his own Ren, though he still looks wary.

The referee briefly explains the rules, leaving out anything unnecessary.

“Get into positions!” he yells, stepping back before the fight has even begun.

Auren takes just a single step back, while his opponent takes five.

“Ready... Fight!” the referee shouts, quickly walking toward the edge of the ring, seemingly wary of the approaching battle.

Immediately, Kamakiri reacts by wrapping his Kama in a tremendous amount of Aura.

Without hesitation, he hurls both of them toward Auren.

Raising his concentration to the limit, Auren prepares to catch them, adjusting his stance. Focusing on the Kama, Auren suddenly hesitates, seeing strange movements on the Kama which suddenly spin faster, thus adjusting the flight path and speed.

No... I can’t catch both of them. His Kama are controlled... is he a Manipulator?!

Carefully, Auren sidesteps one and focuses all of his attention on the other, which suddenly arcs at the last second. Auren predicts the movement correctly and catches it.

“Incredible! Floor Master Auren has caught Kamakiri’s special Kama! His Kama Thrower has been rendered completely ineffective!” the moderator excitedly relays.

“You can have it back...” Auren says, using Limitless Water to apply a generous amount of Aura onto the Kama, using Shu, making its blade longer, sharper, and far deadlier before throwing it back with all of his might at his opponent.

Now...

Not waiting for his opponent’s response, Auren dashes forward using Rhythm Echo and Shadow Step, using the returning Kama as a distraction.

Kamakiri slips both hands into his coat, grabbing two more Kama before shifting into a special stance, focusing all of his Aura into the weapons.

“Kamakiri has taken on his signature stance!” the moderator can only announce before Kamakiri barely manages to deflect Auren’s Kama, striking it with both of his own. Even so, the Kama still manages to cut into his shoulder, his block not strong enough to completely throw it off course.

Meanwhile, Auren’s illusions have already surrounded Kamakiri.

“What?! Kamakiri blocked it, but suddenly there are five... ten... fifteen different Aurens?! What is happening?! Floor Master Kamakiri is surrounded!” the moderator exclaims as the crowd goes wild.

“This is crazy?! He has multiplied.”

“This Auren has so many tricks...”

“Isn’t he a swordsman? He is not even using his blade.”

“Am I drunk? Am I seeing straight?!”

Groaning in frustration and pain, Kamakiri desperately slashes at the illusions, only for Auren to suddenly appear behind him and strike him viciously using a powerful neck chop.

Kamakiri instantly buckles, his legs giving out as he drops onto the ground.

I can’t, and I won’t disrespect my opponent... that means... no holding back!

Auren follows up by stomping on his opponent’s back, forcing his body to crash into the ring floor as several of his bones crack loudly.

Auren then kneels on his back and transforms his hand into a claw, holding it right next to his opponent’s neck.

“Do you surrender?” he asks, his voice ice cold.

However, before Kamakiri can reply, the referee suddenly darts forward, waving his arms wildly.

“Stop! This fight is over!”

“Booo!”

“Let them fight!”

“Kick off this referee!”

The crowd goes crazy, shouting angrily at the referee.

Auren immediately stops, jumps off his opponent, and takes a good look at the crowd.

They want to see blood... this competition is really... without any class... or dignity. It’s just the height of violence.

Seeing Kamakiri struggling on the ground, Auren helps him up.

“Your technique with that Kama is not bad,” Auren says, seeing no reason to mock his opponent.

Kamakiri smiles weakly. “I didn’t stand a chance... as for the answer... I was raised on a farm. My family farmed rice for decades, and we used these Kamas. One day I made the decision to become rich and a stronger fighter! So I slowly decided to—”

“Okay, okay,” Auren interrupts, waving his arm dismissively. “Enough, sorry that I asked. Good luck in the future! Nice fight!”

He immediately leaves the stage, leaving behind a stunned Kamakiri.

Didn’t want to know his life’s story.

The audience applauds Auren, and he can’t help but glance toward Prince Benjamin, who is watching him with clear interest.

Neffi, Vanessa, and Ura are not surprised by Auren’s victory in the least and simply congratulate him casually.

“Now it’s your target...” Ura says. “Think about what you want to do.”

“No need, I’ve accepted this commission... and I don’t spare people like that!” Auren says decisively.

Out of view, Auren quickly conjures Eternity without its sheath and carefully hides it inside his sleeve, resting it over his bracer, its hilt barely concealed. He then uses In to hide it completely.

Finally, after another short break, Auren enters the stage again.

Taking a deep breath, the moderator yells loudly, hyping up the crowd. “Finally! The finale of Battle Olympia! On one side, the highly dangerous, paralyzing toad of death—Gama!”

What a lame name.

“Hehe, what a lame name,” Vanessa yells from the ring, sounding amused, Auren briefly glancing at her.

...Am I... similar to her?

Briefly shuddering, Auren focuses on the battle.

“And of course, Auren, who defeated the reigning champion by breaking what was thought to be his unbreakable defense!” the moderator continues excitedly.

“Floor Master Auren... I hope for a fair battle. It’s truly an honor... seeing your skill. I just want to learn,” Gama says, pretending to be polite, even bowing slightly.

I have seen your true self yesterday evening... I know about your deeds. Do you think I’ll fall for... whatever this is?

“Of course,” Auren replies, smiling softly.

Time to die.