Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta

Episode 117: Astonishing Newcomers

Liliera

The participants in the next qualifying match were Mina, Meguri, and Lune, a team of three.

Surprised that they were all called, the three nodded at each other. It was an unspoken understanding to form a team.

And with the signal from the referee, the players started moving. Their target was Mina, who could be recognized as a magician at a glance, and the players attacked her.

“Take this!”

However, Mina had anticipated this and used body enhancement magic to strengthen her own body. With a big leap, she escaped from the encirclement.

“W-What is this?!”

“How can she be so light?! She’s not a magician?!”

The players were surprised by Mina’s unexpected agility and their attention focused on her. But that was a mistake.

“Got it.”

“There’s an opening!”

“Aaaah!”

Meguri, who had concealed her presence, and Lune, who pretended to target Mina, launched a surprise attack on the players who were focused on her. The players, taken by surprise, were knocked out with a single blow. It’s quite ruthless of those two to target the opponents who are clearly skilled.

And as the players’ attention shifted to Meguri and the others, Mina activated an incantation-less magic.

“Side Burst!”

A gust of wind magic was unleashed, blowing the players out of the arena. Knowing that Mina wouldn’t miss this opportunity, Meguri and Lune had already spread out to avoid the direct hit of the magic and firmly planted their weapons on the stage to prevent themselves from being blown away. Ah, I see. That’s why Mina used a low-damage wind magic.

And after Mina’s magic wore off, only three players remained on the stage. …Ah, luckily there are three players at the edge of the stage.

Two of them… Ah, the two who talked to us before the match. So, six more players left. I wonder who will be the last one to be eliminated?

“Um, I forfeit.”

Just as I thought, one of the three remaining players, whom I didn’t know, trembled and turned pale before jumping off the stage.

“Ouch!”

It seems like they were in a hurry and fell when they jumped off, but well, the height difference between the stage and the ground is only about one meter, so it’s not a serious injury.

“M-Match over!”

The referee, who was stunned by Mina’s magic, quickly regained composure and declared the end of the match.

“Well, as expected.”

Looking at the stage, Mina and the others were high-fiving each other, celebrating their qualification for the next round.

“But it’s still the qualifiers, so we can’t let our guard down.”

But I can understand their feelings. It’s their first martial arts tournament, after all.

“Now, how about Rex and the others?”

Well, I’m not worried about Rex, but I’m a little concerned about the other two.

“Especially that priest’s child…”

After all, among those strong personalities, they’re the most normal ones.

Gyro

“Number 77!”

“Oh, they called me, Norbu.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Norbu, called by the referee, nervously stepped onto the stage. Geez, he’s too scared.

“What’s with that kid? He’s so stiff.”

“Why is a priest participating in the qualifiers?”

“Who knows, but he’ll probably be targeted and eliminated first.”

“Those guys who fight against that kid are lucky. It’s like having one less rival.”

Other players nearby laughed at Norbu.

“They don’t understand, those old guys.”

That’s right, they have no idea how strong Norbu is.

“Match start!”

“Oops, can’t miss the match.”

After all, this match is important to me too.

“Hyahh! Get out of here, you weaklings!”

“Eek!”

The surrounding players immediately attacked Norbu. Overwhelmed by their presence, Norbu froze and couldn’t escape. And the players’ weapons were swung at Norbu.

“Well, he’ll be fine.”

“Heh, this kid’s attack is too weak…”

“What?!”

The players who attacked Norbu exclaimed in confusion.

“I-I was surprised…”

Norbu let out a sigh of relief.

“What? Why did they stop attacking?”

The spectators nearby tilted their heads in confusion as the attacks on Norbu suddenly ceased.

“No, they didn’t stop attacking. They were stopped.”

Yes, the players didn’t stop attacking.

“They were stopped.”

The players’ attacks were completely blocked by Norbu’s defense magic.

“Hey, Norbu, counterattack!”

“Y-Yes!”

When I called out to him, Norbu, who remembered that the match was still ongoing, swung his mace and launched an attack on the large player in front of him.

“Yes, a weak attack from a little brat like you won’t work!”

The player who laughed off Norbu’s attack was blown away. And when his huge body hit the ground, he twitched and fainted.

“S-Sorry! I went too far!”

Norbu, flustered, rushed to the unconscious player and immediately used healing magic. Well, it seems like he just fainted, so he won’t die or anything.

“…”

The players who were targeting Norbu were taken aback and took a step back. But thinking that this was a chance while Norbu was focused on healing, they once again launched a coordinated attack.

“Die, you monster kid!”

“Huh?”

All of their attacks struck Norbu’s head.

“W-What…?”

The faces of the players who thought they had finally succeeded twisted in disappointment.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“I-It’s not working?!”

Haha, they’re really scared. After all, Norbu’s equipment is specialized in defense, as my brother said.

Norbu isn’t good at moving quickly like us, so my brother and he decided to focus on increasing his defense to block the enemy’s attacks.

In fact, Norbu’s attribute is earth, which is suitable for defense, and when he uses body enhancement magic, he has the highest defense among us.

Norbu’s clothes, which look like ordinary priest robes, are actually specially made with various dragon scale powders and fibers made from the bark of an ancient plant called Ancient Plant. …Or rather, my brother can even make clothes. Seriously, my brother can do anything, he’s amazing!

In addition, the priest robes are equipped with magic items that increase magic defense, and my brother said they can withstand dragon breath. They can even withstand magma, my brother said. I don’t know what magma is, but if my brother says so, it must be amazing.

“Now it’s our turn! Earth Bind!”

After finishing the treatment for the fallen player, Norbu activates his magic, causing the ground around him to ripple and grab the feet of the surrounding players.

“W-What is this?!”

“Here I go!”

Norbu swings his mace and the players, sensing danger, try to escape, but the players whose feet were caught fail to escape and are blown away by Norbu’s attack.

Yes, this is the special fighting style my brother came up with for Norbu, who is slow on his feet. Catch them so they can’t escape and then attack!

The players whose feet were sealed by Norbu’s magic are blown away one after another by the swing of his mace.

“T-That kid is dangerous!”

The players who finally realize Norbu’s strength start targeting other players. They seem to think it’s better to defeat other players and be selected as one of the five qualifiers rather than fight against Norbu.

“But Norbu isn’t the only dangerous one.”

“…”

“Wow!? What’s with this guy?! He’s so strong barehanded!”

Over there, a player with a masked face and a strong physique is grabbing other players and throwing them out of the arena. Seriously, that guy has incredible muscles.

“Haah!!”

Nearby, a player with a bucket helmet is fighting other players with dual swords on equal terms.

“Damn, I wish I could’ve participated in this match too.”

My match didn’t have any strong opponents, but there are so many interesting guys here, and I envy them.

“Especially that one over there.”

I look at the fourth player among those who are fighting alongside Norbu. That player is dressed entirely in black armor, with a black helmet, black sword, and a black cloak. Their movements are clearly superior to the other players, and the red lining of their cloak flutters like flames when they move.

Without a doubt, they are the strongest among them.

“Ah, I really want to participate.”

And as expected, Norbu, the masked player, the player with the bucket helmet, and the player in the all-black armor were the last five standing, along with another player whose face was hidden.

“They’re all hiding their faces. Is that some kind of trend?”

“With this, all the qualifying matches are over! The main event will be in two days! Make sure to prepare well, players!”

And so, the qualifiers for the Dragon Emperor’s Ritual and Dragon Princess Ceremony came to a successful end. Now, I’m looking forward to the main event!,The nobles of the capital city.

“It seems that the qualifying rounds of the Dragon Emperor’s Ritual have ended.”

Fellow members report the information they received from their subordinates hidden in the town of Tatsutron.

“So, what happened? Has the true identity of the Dragon Emperor been revealed?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then there is a high possibility that the Dragon Emperor is participating in the main event. How many of our assassins were able to participate in the main event?”

“…”

For some reason, the fellow member furrows their brow and falls silent.

“What’s wrong? How many were able to participate in the main event?”

We had a large number of assassins participate in the qualifying rounds. In case we couldn’t eliminate the Dragon Emperor in the qualifiers, our plan was to fill the main event with assassins, excluding the Dragon Emperor. That’s why we only allowed skilled assassins to participate, so that no outsiders would interfere.

“Only three.”

“What!?”

This is ridiculous, it’s too few!

“Only three assassins were able to participate in the main event.”

What does this mean!? The assassins who participated in the Dragon Emperor’s Ritual were all elite warriors who underwent rigorous training! There’s no way they could lose to mediocre adventurers!

“It seems there were several unexpectedly strong players in the qualifiers.”

Unexpectedly strong players!? Could it be that opposing factions sent troops to protect the Dragon Emperor!? But there shouldn’t have been any powerful subordinates among them!

“And also…”

“And also?”

Is there something else!?

“There were too many assassins participating in the qualifiers, so the allocation of players was done by drawing lots. And by chance, the assassins we sent ended up participating in the same match…”

“Ohhh…”

What a disaster. The assassins we sent ended up annihilating each other in a friendly fire…