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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The audience murmured.
Reus stood there, fully armed with a helmet, armor, spear, and shield. It was clear at a glance that his equipment was top-of-the-line.
[The God of War rejoices in your armament.]
[The Sea Goddess has sponsored you with 5000 points.]
[The Most Beautiful Goddess is bored and wants you to finish the fight quickly.]
Reus sighed inwardly. Aphrodite was acting like she’d been struck by Cupid’s arrow, showering Ethan with praise and attention.
She kept using Reus’s channel to check up on Ethan.
If she weren’t a goddess, he would have told her off.
“Is that your trump card?”
Tesha asked, lowering her sword and taking a deep breath. She had managed to injure Reus’s heel, but the wound was shallow.
She’d been hoping to gain an advantage by dragging out the fight. But Reus was going to end it quickly.
“Let’s finish this.”
He couldn’t afford to prolong the fight.
The gods favored overwhelming victories.
Reus relied on their sponsorship to acquire items and enhance his abilities. He had to impress them.
He lowered his stance, preparing to end the match. He hadn’t planned on revealing his divine equipment in a mere school tournament, but…
“Upon the walls of Ilios, I swear an oath—”
Blue mana surged around his spear. The ground trembled, and the sky, visible through the hole in the arena’s ceiling, seemed to shake.
Tesha instinctively knew.
‘I can’t dodge this…’
Swords and spears were similar, yet different. Both were primarily used for thrusting attacks.
But their usage varied.
Tesha also shifted her stance, one leg back.
Blue mana swirled around her shortsword. She hadn’t been slacking off during the summer break.
She had grown strong enough to topple a hundred steel training dummies at once.
Reus charged, his spear thrust forward. Tesha poured all her strength and skill into a single counterattack.
Her mana converged at the tip of her blade.
BOOOOOM—!
Their mana collided, a deafening roar echoing through the arena. The virtual landscape was devastated, almost unrecognizable.
Tesha was thrown back, the force of the impact knocking the air out of her lungs.
She landed outside the arena and tried to stand.
But her body wouldn’t obey.
She clung to consciousness.
Reus was still standing in the arena. But he wasn’t unharmed.
His armor was shattered, his helmet broken, barely clinging to his head.
His muscular torso was exposed. He gritted his teeth, trying to maintain his balance.
His knees buckled, and he collapsed.
Tesha, seeing his fall, smiled faintly, then her vision went black.
“The winner… is Reus!”
The referee’s belated announcement echoed through the stadium.
Tesha slowly regained her senses, replaying the events in her mind.
If it had been a real battle, she wouldn’t have just lost consciousness.
She would have died. But she had managed to take Reus down with her.
“…”
Reus, despite his victory, wasn’t happy. It had been a closer fight than he had anticipated.
[The God of War is astonished.]
[The Goddess of Wisdom is amused.]
[The Goddess of Wisdom has sponsored you with 10,000 points.]
The gods’ reactions were similar. He might have won, but it was a pyrrhic victory. He had revealed almost all his cards.
Reus turned and left the arena.
“Reus! You’re the best! So cool!”
“Reus, marry me! That nonchalant exit was amazing!”
His fans cheered from the stands, waving banners and celebrating his victory.
‘I… I still lost…’
Tesha looked towards the audience, a bitter smile on her face. Her eyes met Ethan’s.
He was smiling. He mouthed the words,
‘Well done, Tesha. You were amazing.’
He meant it. Reus might have won because he was still standing at the end, but in a real battle, it would have been a mutual kill.
‘Ethan… thank you…’
His words of praise made her smile.
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That was the end of the duels for the day.
Sepia, Tesha, Tia, Reus, and Sonny were all much stronger than they had been in the original story.
The plot had diverged significantly.
During the Battle of Arvis, they had all risked their lives fighting the undead horde.
In the original story, the Arvis arc had been a relatively minor event, with Arthur and Tesha encountering a few undead during a courage test.
Arthur was supposed to have fought a Dullahan.
But the demon’s appearance had changed everything. Arthur and Tesha had faced Murmur, a demon general.
Compared to the original story, they had been through hell.
So, it was only natural that they were stronger now.
And Sepia had the Lemegeton, a grimoire that taught her new magic.
But why had Tia become so much stronger?
Had they all been motivated by each other’s growth?
I was waiting for Arthur at my second apartment. We had to discuss tomorrow’s match.
The doorbell rang. I opened the door. Arthur peeked in.
“So this is your other apartment?”
I nodded. It was a furnished apartment, so it had everything we needed.
A sofa, a table, a bed, kitchen utensils…
It was a good place to have a private conversation.
I made Arthur a cup of coffee.
“Thanks.”
Arthur smiled, taking the mug. He didn’t seem worried about tomorrow’s match.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. Are you planning to use your golden mana tomorrow?”
Arthur seemed to be thinking about it.
Are you seriously considering using your golden mana?
I suddenly felt the urge to summon the Colossus, the undead army, and the Ice Spirit King’s barrier.
“No. I think it’s better to keep it a secret…”
“I agree. It would make you a target for the demons.”
Arthur nodded. He had been thinking the same thing.
“I’ll also refrain from using the Colossus, the undead army, and the Ice Spirit King’s barrier.”
The Ice Spirit King’s barrier was a bit too much, even for a friendly match.
Arthur had a decent resistance to cold, but it would still restrict his movements.
“The Ice Spirit King’s barrier?”
Arthur tilted his head, puzzled. I just told him it was a special technique.
“Anyway, it’s going to be a one-on-one duel, then.”
“That’s right.”
It would be a fair fight. A flicker of hesitation appeared in Arthur’s green eyes.
“Ethan, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
I felt a surge of anxiety. People usually asked for favors when they needed something.
“What kind of favor?”
“Don’t go easy on me, just because we’re friends. Give it your all. I’ll do the same.”
I chuckled. That’s what I had been planning to do anyway.
“Oh, right. Tia asked if we wanted to go on a club trip during winter break.”
I had almost forgotten. Winter break started right after the finals.
“When?”
“I think it’s sometime in January? The dates haven’t been finalized yet. Tia said she would ask everyone and then decide.”
The weather was getting colder, and I was starting to crave a hot spring. A club trip to a hot spring resort sounded nice.
“I’ll think about it. Let’s talk about it later.”
We chatted for a while longer. As Arthur was about to leave, Tesha appeared at the door.
“Arthur… heehee…”
She giggled nervously.
“Tesha? What’s up? Do you need something?”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to Ethan. Ethan, can I come in?”
Tesha glanced at me nervously.
“Sure, come in.”
Tesha entered. I made her a cup of tea, just like I had for Arthur.
“How did I do today?”
She had asked to meet me after her match. She had wanted to know what I thought of her performance.
“You were amazing. Really.”
“Really? I did well?”
She looked up at me, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, like a puppy waiting for praise.
“Yeah, you did great. You were amazing.”
“Since I did so well… could you… you know…”
Ah.
I knew what she was going to ask.
I had been dreading this. She had actually arranged this meeting to ask me to punish her?
“Sorry, I can’t.”
“What? Why not?”
Tesha looked disappointed.
It wasn’t me taming the princess. It was the princess taming me.
“I said I would if you won.”
“But… I tried my best…”
Tesha mumbled.
“You said I did well.”
This was awkward.
Ever since Tesha had discovered her… tendencies, I had been wondering if it was my fault.
“I’ll train even harder! So please… as encouragement…”
This was driving me crazy. I wasn’t sure about my own… tendencies yet. I had to meet with Yuffie.
Until then, I didn’t want to get involved with the heroines.
Tesha was usually very responsible.
But would she neglect her training if I refused? That would be a problem.
I hesitated, then spoke.
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