Chapter 233: Doubtful Accomplishment—Meeting on Top of the World

The referee briefly explains the rules, and Auren once again steps back, waiting for the referee to start the fight.“Get ready to fight...” the referee says, his arms still raised, glancing between Auren and Gama.

However, before he can officially start the match, Gama suddenly makes a move. He lowers his body and opens his mouth widely, as if spitting something, but Auren sees nothing. Still wary, Auren decides to react anyway.

I need to use Gyo... and dodge!

Instantly, he reacts, using Gyo and jumping into the air. Now he sees what Gama did—a large clump of Aura just barely passes beneath him.

Aura... liquid... seems sticky. He was spitting something. Could it be? His tongue is just his first ability... the paralyzing effect, he has another one? He hid it! He made it seem like it was an effect of his tongue when it was something else entirely. It seems to be a Transmutation ability... but it’s relatively slow and easy to dodge. Obviously, he is not a strong Emitter, but he’s passable enough, I guess. He almost had me. I guess he was holding back a joker as well, pretending to just rely on his tongue. I knew something was off when he turned all polite.

“What is this?! Floor Master Gama seemingly made a move, and Auren reacted, jumping into the air!” the moderator yells, clearly amused by the sudden turn of events, happily narrating the scene. “What is going on? The referee will have to make the call. What an exciting start!”

“Did he cheat?”

“I saw nothing.”

“Just fight! Start!” the referee yells, clearly confused and unsure what just happened.

No use arguing...

As Auren is still in the air, Gama smirks deviously and spits three more Nen bullets at him, made of the same viscous-looking Aura.

Auren instantly reacts by gathering his Aura in his hand and blasting a powerful, high-pressure wave of watery Aura forward, relying on Limitless Waters and Emission.

The concentrated blast is pushed forward with tremendous force and easily obliterates Gama’s Nen bullets and continues flying toward Gama.

Trying to dodge, Gama is still struck and blasted backward off the stage, crashing onto the floor below, while Auren safely lands back on the ring and looks down at his opponent.

Not seriously hurt, Gama yells animalistically as his tongue suddenly grows in size while he jumps back into the ring.

He’s risking it all... a desperate gamble.

Auren dashes forward as well, completely unharmed.

Before Auren reaches him, Gama stretches out his tongue, covering it in a thick layer of his transmuted Aura.

Time to cut off that nasty tongue.

Auren calmly covers his left glove in a large amount of Aura, causing the Regalia to fully activate its effect. Using its sharp grooves and ridges, the tongue is instantly covered in hideous, gory-looking cuts as it briefly slides across the glove before Auren grips it tightly and stops it. Despite the Aura-covered tongue that appears and acts slimy, the Regalia, with its special ability, is deeply inserted into the tongue, similar to a fishing hook.

“Auren has caught Gama’s tongue! What a move! His gloves look quite sharp?! Is that a special weapon? I don’t see his sword by the way, has he decided to rely just on his martial arts and claws, much like last fight? What can Gama do now?! For the first time during this contest, he is in serious trouble!” the moderator narrates, while the crowd goes wild at the sight of the outstretched and now bloody tongue.

“That is crazy, look at his tongue! It’s totally mangled.”

“Ewww, disgusting, cut it off!”

“Squash that toad!”

“Look how disgusting he looks with his tongue stretched out like that.”

Auren does not hesitate. He draws the hidden Eternity from his left sleeve, using his empty right hand, and cuts off the tongue that he’s holding in his left hand in a lightning-fast motion. With the tongue severed, large amounts of blood immediately begin dripping onto the stage.

Gama’s eyes grow wide in sheer terror. His body freezes for a split second before finally reacting.

Panicking, Gama desperately tries to speak, but because of his severed tongue and the blood filling his mouth, only gargling sounds escape. He raises his hands toward the referee, but before he can signal anything, Auren suddenly appears directly in front of him and beheads him in one smooth motion, Eternity moving so fast that the slash is not even visible.

Dead end...

Feeling a large amount of Aura gush into Eternity, though far less than what he felt from Cleifer, Auren notices another slight change in his blade. The white wave pattern briefly expands by the tiniest amount, the Aura apparently strong enough to slightly evolve it. Satisfied, Auren stops the Conjuration, and Eternity disappears. The process, however, still continues, Auren faintly feeling it through the mark on his chest.

After a moment of silence, the crowd having gone silent, the moderator picks up her narration.

“... Oh my... Floor Master... Gama has been beheaded... by an invisible blade?! Was it his claws?! Auren cut so fast, I didn’t even see it! Floor Master Gama... he... he is dead!” She announces, looking completely shocked. “Once again... Floor Master Auren has decisively won his battle! What incredible dominance! This was not a fight... it was a one-sided slaughter! After a surprise attack before the official start of the match, Gama tried to ambush his opponent, but all he earned was his scorn and cruel revenge...! How ironic, how cold... how typical.”

The crowd claps and cheers loudly, Gama clearly not being particularly popular.

Auren briefly picks up multiple comments, some excited and satisfied, while others sound outright deranged, only deepening his loathing of the entire format.

“Incredible!”

“Fuck, I lost all my money! Go to hell, Gama, you useless toad!”

“The youngest winner of Battle Olympia!”

“That kid is crazy... how strong will he be when he fully grows up?!”

“I want more blood... this wasn’t enough! Give me back my money!”

As if forgetting Gama’s demise, whose lifeless and beheaded body is now being collected by staff members, the moderator smiles brightly and hypes up the crowd even more.

“Please congratulate... the winner of Battle Olympia... AAAAuuureeeennnnn Nilllllum!”

Looking up toward the moderator and the VIPs, Auren suddenly feels his phone vibrate.

He quickly takes it out and sees that exactly 2 billion Jenny have been wired to him. He has also received a message from Illumi that simply reads: “Pleasure doing business with you... Congratulations.”

Since when do the Zoldycks outsource? Well... I guess they owe me a favor now as well.

“Please, Auren, come up to the stage!” the commentator calls out.

Not quite able to refuse, Auren confidently walks toward the stage with the VIPs. The president of Heaven’s Arena is there, along with a few officials—Jort among them.

The president approaches Auren confidently and shakes his hand before leading him to a small podium with several cameras pointed directly at it. He steps behind it and immediately begins a small speech.

“Much like I said yesterday, as the winner of Battle Olympia, you have become part of history—not only of Heaven’s Arena, but of martial arts in general,” the president says, looking at Auren before turning toward the cameras.

Doubtful... whatever, I’ll take the title... whatever it’s actually worth.

“However, that part is still small... insignificant. Do your best to continue and improve your legacy. Enjoy your penthouse on the highest floor of Heaven’s Arena, a view not many get to enjoy. Don’t let the sun blind you or make you arrogant, as you are still young and full of potential,” the president finishes before sitting down and leaving the podium.

“Now, Auren, please step in front of the microphone and give us a few comments,” the moderator says, gesturing for him to approach.

“Thank you for that speech, President. Just like you said, I’ll make sure to increase my influence... on martial arts. Do not expect to have any other Battle Olympia winner except me for the next few decades. Of course... getting challenged for my Position as a Floor Master would put me in a most... foul mood. I really wouldn’t recommend to anyone to find out how that would manifest in my behavior. “

The crowd and everyone else around Auren go silent upon hearing Auren’s declaration and thinly veiled threat.

“Of course I’ll gladly participate in the next Battle Olympia in two years, of course, only if I don’t have anything else important to do that might cause me to miss it... thank you for the title,” Auren says before immediately walking away, leaving the audience—and even the president—stunned.

He then casually walks past the many VIPs until he is standing right in front of Prince Benjamin.

“Uhm... well, that’s it then, dear spectators! Please stay tuned for new matches in the 200 class starting tomorrow. We have...” the moderator announces, promoting a few upcoming fights while the audience slowly begins to leave. Some look confused, some clearly angered, but all of them seem engaged and entertained.

“See...” Auren says casually. “I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

“Indeed... that seems to be the case,” Benjamin replies, while a few of his bodyguards dressed in military uniforms slowly inch closer.

“Stop!” Benjamin suddenly orders. “Do you really think you could stop him, even if you wanted to?”

The prince’s bodyguards immediately withdraw again, looking somewhat ashamed of themselves.

“How about we talk in the supposedly highest penthouse the world has to offer?” Auren suggests.

“Color me interested,” Benjamin says, standing up and towering over Auren, who barely reaches his waist.

“...just let me collect a few friends. Your men are, of course, invited to come along as well. I’ll ask the manager who handles my business here to guide us there,” Auren says casually.

Exactly ten minutes later, a somewhat surprised Jort escorts Auren, Neffi, Vanessa, Ura, Prince Benjamin, and his men—four highly trained soldiers—to the penthouse located on the 251st floor of Heaven’s Arena.

“It’s a nice apartment, I guess,” Auren says upon entering, looking out of the massive window, the city below stretching far beneath him at a terrifying distance.

“Damn... I feel like I’m floating in the sky. What do you say, Prince? Even you, as a royal, don’t get to enjoy such a view, right?” Vanessa asks Benjamin.

Benjamin briefly glares at her, meeting her eyes directly. However, Vanessa holds his gaze without shrinking back.

“Indeed...” Benjamin replies. “You are still young... how about joining the Kakin Royal Academy? You seem quite competent.”

“I am a Hunter, no thank you,” Vanessa replies, sounding amused. “Feel free to hire me, though. I’ll give you a discount.”

“Do you even have a rate, or do you just make it up on the spot?” Neffi asks, looking annoyed. “Also, I am far more qualified than you’ll ever be.”

“Oh? Show me your license, then,” Vanessa retorts with a smirk.

“Ignore them,” Auren says. “They like to bicker. They’re called Vanessa and Neffi, and it’s honestly rather amusing. If it annoys you, just shut them down forcefully. Anyway, this woman here is my agent, Ura. She not only made me a fortune on the betting market, which she can update me on right now, but she also acquires a lot of interesting items for me, namely, my gear.”

Ura then steps before Benjamin, shaking his hand.

Despite her personal feelings, Auren is almost shocked by her mental strength as she acts like the prince is just another business partner.

Good... I guess she passed the test. I can use her.