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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: bchen3
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The knights dragged away Bakugo, who seemed to have lost his spirit, from the center of the training ground.
Looking at Bakugo, his party members showed not even a single trace of sympathy for him. Rather, while their expressions held complex emotions about their defeat, most of them had expressions that suggested he got what he deserved. Some were whispering among themselves, and naturally, it probably wasn’t anything good.
‘I hope he learns something from this.’
Bakugo’s type wasn’t uncommon even among pros. Good skills for a rookie or prospect, high ego. Such personalities didn’t matter as long as they produced results. Even if those around them didn’t like it, people would turn a blind eye to some outrageous behavior since they brought in results.
But people can’t always win. Even I, who am uniquely evaluated among pro careers, barely maintained an 80% win rate. It meant losing 2 times out of 10. Among those, there were quite a few humiliating scenes that accumulated as careers continued. Such moments were when the karma they had accumulated would burst forth.
‘That’s why pros often act humble even if their actual personalities aren’t humble.’
Because in the world of competition, where it’s like standing on a blade’s edge, no matter how good you are, you’ll eventually lose. Especially in cases like this where they lost without even being able to put up much of a fight, Bakugo’s authority in that party would have dropped significantly.
Humans are calculating creatures. The moment they change to think ‘Do we need to lift up Bakugo while we receive such treatment?’ Bakugo would become alone again.
Still, even though his talent seemed ordinary, he appeared to be someone who had consistently put in effort and built solid fundamentals. If he could just reduce his overly inflated ego and form good relationships with party members, he seemed like someone who could definitely pull his own weight.
‘It’s just too much trouble to fix someone.’
With an ego so tremendous that he called himself king in front of others, it wouldn’t be broken by just one loss. As a bruiser, he was certainly good enough to be called the best among currently existing people, so I was somewhat tempted, but I shook my head.
Unless his spirit was completely crushed, he would only harm the party’s atmosphere and synergy if added now. I turned my attention away from Bakugo, who was leaving the stage with a dispirited expression, and looked at the next parties filling the stage.
“For the third quarterfinal match, Hero Oda Ryosuke-san’s party will face Hero Shoenji Ageha-san’s party. Would both sides please step forward.”
◈ ◈ ◈
The match between Handsome Delinquent and Shoenji’s party ended with Shoenji’s party’s victory not long after it started. Both sides had parties where their ace leaders were the main dealers.
However, unlike Handsome Delinquent who was still limited in mobility with only battōjutsu as his main skill, Shoenji’s mobility stood out distinctly throughout this match. Shoenji’s main weapon was a sword that looked like one used in fencing.
Moreover, perhaps because he had experience in fencing, his distance control without crossing lines was excellent. His steps were also superb, and like a butterfly, he bewitched the opponent’s tank before diving into their formation to shake it up.
And like Saito, since Shoenji was also S-rank, even though his party members were just a collection of amateurs with only numbers, they managed to match his rhythm and widened the cracks he created in the formation.
It was a flashy and quick victory that seemed impossible to have been created by a delicate fencing-style wooden sword. Even the defeated Handsome Delinquent’s party seemed unable to believe they had been defeated, rolling on the ground before a minute had passed from the start.
Shoenji, who had greeted his opponents with a smile, came down from the stage and approached me with a smile.
“Fufu. I’m embarrassed to have shown such an inadequate match. I hope it wasn’t uncomfortable to watch.”
“It was an excellent match.”
“Still far from Kid-san’s party though.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Expecting me to deny it out of courtesy, Shoenji opened his eyes wide at my words and then burst out laughing. After giggling for a while, he wiped the tears from his eyes and said with a gentle smile.
“We’ll meet in the finals.”
“Our party needs to beat Saito-san’s party to advance.”
“Couldn’t you at least make your expression a bit more humble? Your expression shows you don’t think you’ll lose at all.”
At those words, I just smiled awkwardly.
“I’ll take my leave first. I don’t really like noisy places. See you in the finals.”
Shoenji smiled elegantly and led his party away, leaving without even watching Luna’s upcoming match.
“Today’s final quarterfinal match will resume in 1 hour to allow for the Turtle’s fruit’s recovery.”
The next match would be between our party’s Luna and Saito’s party’s Ishiraki. I should stop by during the break time to show some support.
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“Kid-san has arrived.”
“Ah! You came!”
As I approached Luna’s party, Hanai, who had been standing like a totem pole, spotted me first and spoke in a gruff voice. Luna, who had been chattering away to her party members, spotted me and welcomed me cheerfully.
Overall, the party atmosphere didn’t look bad. They seemed to be maintaining appropriate tension too.
“Are the preparations going well?”
“Well, you can never be too prepared for these things, right? But I think we’re at a satisfactory level!”
Having someone like Luna certainly kept the party’s tension at a good level. Except for Hanai who was female, they were all men, and they seemed to be watching their behavior carefully at my appearance, rolling their eyes.
‘…Looks like they’re all after Luna.’
Since they were all men in their prime, I could fully understand their desire to look good to a pretty woman.
“…I’m not satisfied at all though.”
Turning my head at the voice from the side, Nogi was stuck in a corner with a dejected atmosphere, looking this way enviously. Next to him, Sagino and Hirao were sighing at his appearance.
“If you’re upset, you should have won.”
“…That’s too harsh, bro.”
“Well, it might have been a bit difficult at this point.”
Nogi’s party was one of the 5 parties without a priest. Moreover, they were an ultra-offensive party full of squishy bodies without a tank and with a ninja as their ace.
It was an all-or-nothing party composition that needed to collapse the opponent’s side in one go without going into a long battle. In reality, they were completely eliminated after failing to break down Ishiraki’s party, who belonged to Saito’s party, in the early game.
Still, with an A-rank ninja and two B-rank vanguards, they did have higher value compared to other parties. Honestly, their performance showed too clear a lack of practice compared to other parties.
“Well, it’s just the beginning anyway. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“How about sharing the rewards with the party later!”
“No. Absolutely not.”
This kid trying to get something for free. While causing a commotion trying to shake off the whining and clinging Nogi, and giving advice, time had passed and Luna’s party was called.
“I’ll be going then.”
“Sis! You must win! And about the rewards later, N-way split with the party!”
“Good luck.”
“…”
While watching Hanai-san who followed at the very back, nodding gruffly, I and the others moved to a suitable place to watch.
◈ ◈ ◈
It was a fierce battle.
Befitting her status as the only A-rank Defender, Luna skillfully erased the presence of those in front of the opponent. Although she took hits from Ishiraki’s magic, she didn’t crumble, and Hanai kept disrupting concentration by continuously firing arrows toward Ishiraki.
In such an intense exchange where gains and losses continued to trade back and forth, the match ended with Luna’s side’s victory as two arrows fired by Hanai destroyed the fruit.
“Fuha-! We won! High five!”
“Ha…high five.”
“Me…me too.”
Luna excitedly requested high fives from her party members, and the men awkwardly blushed as they received high fives from the beauty. Hey, friend? Could you maybe do that thing where you press your hand against your cheek while grinning somewhere less visible? We can all see you.
Even the gruff Hanai’s usually expressionless face was flushed with excitement from her two arrows that destroyed the fruit at the end, and she made a fighting gesture with her right fist clenched, trying to hide it from others.
“Tch.”
Ishiraki, who had seemed to have a strong competitive spirit, clicked his tongue in frustration at the close loss, and Saito and other party members came to comfort him. Then Saito looked at our side, approached with a smile, and sincerely congratulated me and Luna.
“I’ll be facing Kid-san tomorrow. And with Luna-san winning today too, 2 out of the 4 semifinalists are from the same party.”
“We were lucky.”
“But I hope I win tomorrow.”
“That might be a bit difficult, don’t you think?”
With a bit of psychological warfare, Saito left with a smile just as he had come.
“When did you get here?”
“…I’ve been watching the whole time. It was Luna’s… match after all.”
“Are you saying you didn’t watch my match?”
“Why would I watch that?”
School Lunch Kid, who had appeared at some point, made a blank expression at my words. I thought about giving him a knock on the head for speaking so annoyingly, but since he’d been completely eliminated by Saito in the quarterfinals, I’d let it slide today.
As I approached Luna to congratulate her, Nogi was rubbing his palms together and saying something to her.
“Um… Sis. About the rewards…”
“No. Way.”
“Ugh.”
Nogi hung his head at Luna’s firm refusal before he could even finish speaking. Although his behavior seemed like exaggerated acting, the atmosphere was good, so.
I congratulated Luna, said we’d meet in the finals, and then left.
‘It seems about time. Shall we go?’
The frustrating things should get better after today.
◈ ◈ ◈
Kudo Ren took a sip from his cup of drink and looked at the man leaving through the cup.
‘…The future has changed.’
Although Kudo Ren appeared calm on the outside, he couldn’t hide his troubled expression.
‘…I suppose it’s natural.’
He, who had been a B-rank priest, had become an S-rank samurai in this timeline. Considering that especially in these early competition trials, all those who were A-rank had been chosen as party leaders, perhaps it was natural.
When considering that the 16 party leaders from this time had the most influence in Elysium, the future had already changed significantly with one person being removed and himself being added.
The tournament bracket had also changed greatly.
And above all, the biggest change.
‘[Tyrant] losing to [Dead End].’
Originally, [Tyrant] had lost to Saito in the finals. And even then, it had been extremely close.
‘…At this rate, [Tyrant] might not even be born this time.’
Considering the conditions for skill development in this world of Elysium, [Tyrant] who had been thoroughly defeated by [Dead End] today might not unlock the skill [Tyrant] that was like his epithet.
Although [Tyrant] hadn’t been cooperative with other heroes and had caused many problems, considering that his achievements were not insignificant, it was impossible to know how many futures would be overturned.
That alone was problematic, but…
‘…That woman called Kinoshita.’
The gyaru woman currently belonging to [Dead End]’s party. She was a woman he had never heard of in the previous iteration.
But the fragments of talent she showed during the brief match couldn’t be ignored.
‘…Why didn’t someone with that much talent make a name for herself in the previous timeline?’
Too many things had changed from just the first month, before they even left the royal castle.
To avoid changing the future any further, he had induced losing to Saito by a hair’s breadth, but.
‘…It will probably be difficult to win.’
This timeline’s [Dead End]’s competition trial party was overwhelmingly superior to the previous timeline’s [Dead End] competition trial party, just looking at Kinoshita alone.
To begin with, the previous timeline’s [Dead End]’s party had completely different members, and they had been eliminated in the Round of 16…
…Although that Sakaki person was a bit strange too, he had shown surprising ability considering Kudo had never really heard his name in the previous timeline.
To Kudo’s eyes, which had long experience in Elysium, it seemed difficult for Saito’s party to win against [Dead End]’s current party.
That meant that Saito would not receive the reward given to the person who showed the most outstanding performance, regardless of the victory rewards and awards.
This would also have a huge impact on Saito’s achievements from the previous timeline.
Just how would this changed past affect the future?
Kudo Ren stared for a long while in the direction [Dead End] had disappeared, with somewhat anxious feelings.
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