BXBX NOVEL Chapter 87
“Has this happened in the history of the competition?”
“Not even once. Still, wouldn’t Klinss fight well? He faced dozens of Werewolves alone in the Green Dragon battle. With that level of skill, it’s bound to be interesting.”.
“That’s right. Honestly, Klinssman’s sword skills surprised me.”
Those who recognized Klinssman saw his potential. On the other hand, James Chester, amongst the vast majority of students, protested that the situation was absurd.
“It makes no sense. Duels can’t be fought physically! The only reason he defeated the werewolves was that they didn’t use magic. In a match against a wizard, swordsmanship is futile. Powerful magic will burst before he can even unsheathe his sword. Can anyone handle such destructive power with a human body?”
In the end, most of the students agreed with James Chester.
“He’s right. The wizards participating in the tournament will be more than five circles.”
White Castle was the place where the world’s three significant forces presented their treasures. With the seventh circle limitation, talented people from the fifth or higher would swarm in, hungry for the prize. James Chester’s words posed a valid argument. Nobody had forgotten how Kang Min-hyuk had beaten James Chester and his cronies, but they saw the duel competition as an entirely different matter.
Although James Chester suffered Kang Min-hyuk’s wrath, it wasn’t seen as a magic problem. Kang Min-hyuk fought a perfect fight against the wizard, avoiding his opponent’s magic and cutting the flow of mana. Nevertheless, his lack of sorcery skills seemed to put him at a disadvantage. Even a third-circle wizard was considered a shallow state that couldn’t represent the essence of a wizard. A magician was seen as notable only when they learned the fifth circle engraving magic, so James Chester’s fight wasn’t enough to sway people’s opinion.
James Chester looked around, and when he confirmed Klinssman’s absence, he whispered.
“Did you know that Klinssman’s participation was made at the ‘request’ of the participants? Do you know what that means? The seniors don’t like Klinssman. They want him there to humiliate him officially. I bet he won’t even pass the qualifiers, never mind the finals.”
“Whoah.”
“Really?”
In Klinssman’s world, wizards had never been threatened by the existence of warriors – they weren’t knowingly weak in one-on-one battles. It was true that it wouldn’t be easy – Klinssman could quickly end up as a sacrifice. Nobody expected a wizarding defeat.
A few days later, the preliminary stage of the duel tournament was held.
* * *
Thousands of people flocked to the test site on the qualifying day – they were all Royal Academy wizards.
The allure of White Castle’s treasure drew together faraway graduates of every skillset, gender, and age to one place. The congregation of participants made a loud noise. As a meeting ground for students and graduates, there were many happy reunions and exciting conversations.
The supervisor stepped forward, “Let me explain the rules of the preliminary round. The duel competition is a glorious place where the best compete head-to-head for the prize. Sixty-four of you will advance to the finals, and the preliminary round grades determine the criteria for participation. If you don’t get in the 64th place, you don’t compete.”
It made sense to limit the number of people.
As James Chester said, a lot of talented people expressed their intention to attend. Many were enrolled third circle students, and some of those were graduates, which, in the duel environment, was considered a low-level skill. Due to the competition’s reputation, if everybody wishing to participate got through to the finals, the competition would become too crowded.
The evaluation method was simple.
“Participants will be dealing with monsters at first. They will face 30 C-class Armadillos, whose defense is strong. The speed at which these monsters are dealt with will be the criterion for evaluation. The Armadillo has been relieved of its aggressive instinct and so will not attack. If you can maintain concentration, a skilled wizard should complete the qualifying mission quickly.”
The mission was to face multiple enemies.
“I heard a warrior was participating?”
The revelation of the preliminary round was a little intimidating. It was one of the main reasons warriors didn’t participate.
“What if I fall at the first hurdle?”
Well, then he would fall. He wouldn’t get special treatment simply because he was in the minority. Armadillo was equipped with solid physical defense as well as magic defense. It would take a considerable amount of time to penetrate their tough skin – the favored method was range magic.
The preliminary supervisor affirmed Klinssman’s participation, which caused a lot of controversy from the beginning.
“A duel contest is a ceremony for wizards. To join, you must prove your worth. It won’t be easy. How on earth would you deal with multiple enemies faster than a wizard?’
It did seem impossible.
The preliminary supervisor confessed his thoughts before shouting: “The qualifier starts now!”
* * *
Beep-!
[Participation number 038: Klinssman]
Finally! As Kang Min-hyuk stepped up, he saw the cameras following. C-class Armadillo was a monster he knew well. As its name implied, it had an armadillo aesthetic but was a much more violent creature with a shell as tough as an armored car. In Kang Min-hyuk’s world, however, it was a D-class monster. Did that mean its attributes would be different? Both dimensions tended to use the same classification system.
As the qualifier supervisor said, Armadillo’s defense was very strong and required immense destructive power to break its shell…but that was the standard of wizards. A wizard would need to use a significant amount of firepower, whereas a swordsman would only have to attack the weakness revealed between the shells. That way, an Armadillo could be easily defeated by the sword. However, thirty was a lot. The numbers posed a problem, but Kang Min-hyuk wasn’t too concerned. People in the magical world were still trapped in prejudice, but Kang Min-hyuk was part of a civilization developed over 100 years.
That was a compelling advantage.
Beep-!
[start!]
Crack.
Kang Min-hyuk’s thighs swelled and gave him great speed. The time Klinssman had spent over the barrier made his body even stronger than before. Kang Min-hyuk raised full-powered mana and immediately erupted the energy toward the Armadillo.
‘Aura Wave.’
Sasasasak.
Mana blades emanated forward in a ranged attack that reinforced warriors could use. It used a lot of mana at once, so he couldn’t use it too much, but now he had no time to think about it. He had to finish faster than the wizards. Mana’s blade did not indiscriminately split the Armadillo’s shell but precisely penetrated the gap.
Sassasak!
Eh eh, eh, eh!
Armadillos screamed and sprinkled blood.
Elements that interfered with magic did not affect Kang Min-hyuk. The ground vibrated, and rocks rose, but Kang Min-hyuk was a swordsman who overpowered his opponent with physical ability. He jumped and avoided all obstacles and cut the lifeline by stabbing his sword into the Armadillo’s body.
Fuhwahahak!
Blood splattered.
Kang Min-hyuk’s swordsmanship was phenomenal, concise, and very fast. The moment the last Armadillo fell, they heard the voice of the system.
Beep-!
[Participation number 038]
[Qualification pass time 4 minutes 52 seconds]
[fourth position]
4 minutes 52 seconds was an incredibly fast time-frame to defeat 30 armadillos. However, in the preliminary round of 10 players, Kang Min-hyuk only ranked fourth.
“There are three people who processed faster than me?”
His heart grew cool in the realization that he was in a magical civilization. Magic was a developed science, and Armadillo couldn’t withstand magic’s destructive power.
“Maybe I won’t qualify…”
He didn’t expect to come fourth. As Kang Min-hyuk regretted that he hadn’t gone faster, the supervisors were astonished by his speed.
* * *
“Wow!”
“Oh!”
The supervisors watching Kang Min-hyuk’s preliminary round jumped up from their seats at Kang Min-hyuk’s swordsmanship. Their mouths fell open the minute he began to attack. They had always assumed that Armadillo could never be penetrated by anything but magic – even if a sword targets a gap and focuses solely on that, it would take a considerable amount of time to cause any damage. Even if Kang Min-hyuk had finished in ten minutes, that would have been extremely impressive, but he took less than five minutes! It made no sense. In the meantime, other participants completed the first phase.
[Participation number 031]
[Qualification pass time 3 minutes 34 seconds]
[Entry number 035]
[Qualification pass time 4 minutes 2 seconds]
[Participation number 039]
[Qualification pass time 4 minutes 9 seconds]
Their skills were outstanding. They all dealt with armadillos in less than five minutes, but that was predictable.
The previous three participants were all wizards of Circle 5 or higher. Armadillos could not sustain the firepower of Circle five, so it was possible to pass swiftly. The problem was that the number of wizards with circle five or higher participating in the duel never exceeded 64. Fourth circle wizards would probably take more than five minutes.
The preliminary supervisor had watched the proceedings as they appeared on the screen.
[Participation number 038]
[Qualification pass time 4 minutes 52 seconds]
“What?!”
Kang Min-hyuk convinced him that he would not pass in the qualifying round, but his timing showed the potential of passing through to the finals.
“Sorry. I should have done it a little faster.”
Kang Min-hyuk said into the camera.
The preliminary supervisor’s eyes widened.
“No way!?”
Kang Min-hyuk’s participation caused turmoil from the very beginning.