Kill The Old Ones!

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”Hey, that’s gotta be a joke right?”

”Charles lost? How could this be?”

”Did he just lose to a nobody? That’s bullshit!”

”The Heir of the Atelier Family lost to a no-name thug? That’s gotta be scripted! There’s no way.”

”Idiots, all of you! It’s like you didn’t match at all! Charles did his best! The other guy’s just an anomaly.”

”Who even is he?”

”Look up, dumbass! The guy’s name is literally plastered all over the system screen.”

The audience erupted to murmurs as soon as the match between Ren and Charles was over.

Most of them couldn’t believe it. Actually, it’s more like they didn’t want to believe it.

Charles losing to a no-name gangster? Absurd! He’s a crowd favorite! The match was specifically rigged to give them the spotlight! How could he lose?

The ones that were the most surprised and indignant were the ones who bet on Charles winning. They thought that they could easily win big from this, but unexpectedly, they lost a lot.

They could complain, but the result of the match will stay the same.

Charles lost. He lost so thoroughly, at that. He went all out; that much was clear. He fully displayed his family’s main martial art, but it’s no use.

His opponent shattered his axe to pieces, and took him down with a single punch to the gut. One that was strong enough to make Charles lose consciousness right away.

Charles had to be carried off the stage while his opponent didn’t even shed a sweat after the whole thing.

”Soren Vire from the Banished Arms Clan.”

”The Banished Arms Clan? The outlier of the ancient martial clans?”

”It turns out that they have a representative. How surprising.”

”I couldn’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong with that guy.”

”I know, right? He shouldn’t be that strong!”

”He swatted every single one of Charles’ attacks like they were annoying flies. That axe was not blunt, and Charles wasn’t holding back. Yet not even a single wound was visible. That’s not normal.”

”Yeah, and his chakra didn’t feel or look like it has an affinity with earth or metal to give him such absurd defenses. It was pale blue, neutral chakra. How is that possible?”

”Is he cheating?”

”Don’t be absurd! You think that with this being shown live, he’d escape the eyes of the organizers? He’d be disqualified immediately if he were cheating! I’d dare say that even the City Lord is watching this right now, and he wouldn’t let someone cheat!”

”We’ve got a dark horse, then! Good! This makes this tournament more exciting!”

Ren’s previous matches weren’t scrutinized because frankly, his performance wasn’t too shocking. Or simply, the fame and performance of the other participants overshadowed his. But now that he had taken down someone with a large name and reputation, he could no longer hide behind the shadows.

The spotlight was now aimed at him, and his name was being widely discussed, so was his background.

Everybody was no paying attention to Ren. Even his fellow finalists are now looking at him with a new light.

They weren’t fools like most of the audience; they knew that Charles did all he could to defeat Ren, but his best just wasn’t enough. This tells them that Ren wasn’t here just to make up the numbers.

He was here in a fierce competition, and they have to watch him closely because he has yet to reveal his full capabilities.

Ren, of course, sensed the shift when he returned to the waiting room. He felt eyes inspecting him more closely; some of them even penetrated his clothes, very invasive.

But Ren didn’t shy away from their gaze. He walked to his seat and pretended he didn’t notice anything. He sat down, crossed his arms, and kept a bored look on his face as he waited for the next part.

Fortunately, Edgar had recovered from his shock and embarrassment enough for him to return to his job.

Edgar was definitely feeling the heat now. Before the match, he had overhyped Charles and neglected the other. He showed preference and bias when he should’ve stayed neutral.

But Ren just went up on the stage and slapped him, and the others, a bitter reality. Underestimating the opponent is the worst mistake they can make.

Edgar felt ashamed and embarrassed; he’s definitely going to receive a scolding from his supervisors about this. But that’s for later; right now, he had a job to do.

For Round 2, the draws were all done ahead of time.

Adrian Arclight vs. Julius Vermont.

Elena Frostmere vs. Erickson Kupkha.

Seraphina Whitelock vs. Lucian Skyrend.

Ren gets a bye due to odd numbers.

With the draws done, the audience got excited again. Some were disappointed that they won’t get to see Ren perform again, but seeing that the big names are clashing, they soon forgot about it.

Ren didn’t have any complaints. Going straight to the final round of the semi-finals sounds just fine to him. Even if he had to fight someone, he’d end up there anyway so no big deal.

While others prepare for the next round, Ren opened his chat and saw Alex flooding his inbox due to his excitement.

His previous messages were filled with his reactions about Ren’s conversation and fight against Charles.

But the main thing that caught Ren’s attention was Alex’s celebratory cheer after he won the match!

[Alex]: YES! YESSS!! THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT, CUZ! BOOGSH! AND HE’S DOWN! SOREN MAREK VIRE WINS! THAT’LL TEACH HIM!

[Alex]: YOU WON, CUZ! HOLY SHIT YOU MADE THAT LOOK EASY!

[Alex]: Whew, gotta chill with these.

[Alex]: OH, YES! CUZ, WE WON BIG! WE JUST GOT PAID BIG!

[Alex]: 50 mil, just like that! That’s how we do it, baby!!!

His loud and obnoxious cousin didn’t need to be convinced to bet on him winning the fight. Even though the odds were definitely against Ren, that didn’t stop Alex from betting on Ren, anyway.

And his faith was rewarded justly. He earned 50 million credits, after tax, because he bet big.

And Alex said ’we,’ meaning it wasn’t just him who made the bet. Mikel, Raymond, and Grandma Allen bet too. And they probably bet more than Alex did.

Of course, how could Ren not bet for himself?

Alas, he hasn’t been paid yet because he betted that he will win this whole thing, not just his fight against Charles.

Ren wasn’t really short on credits. He had earned a lot from his expeditions to the dungeons. Even if he gambled most of it, he could earn it back fast, so he isn’t worried about it.

But he also won’t shy away from earning more if there’s an opportunity. And it just so happens that the betting pool was just that.

So far, according to the public poll, Adrian Arclight has the highest chance of winning this tournament.

He was recognized as the strongest prodigy of Central City’s current era. Many have predicted that he will be the next big thing in this city, and many were paying attention to him.

Ren’s odds don’t even come close to Adrian’s. In fact, it shouldn’t even be mentioned at all. Even though Ren just displayed a surprising performance, it’s nowhere near enough to shake Adrian’s foundation in this city.

Well, that works just fine with Ren. His ambition exceeds the size of this city anyway, so yes, they’re definitely not on the same level.

Round 2 began shortly afterwards, and the results were more or less within the expectations of the audience.

Julius did his best, but he was against Adrian Arclight, so it didn’t matter. He lost, Adrian won.

The match between Erickson and Elena was just as straightforward. Eric’s bloodlust was chilled by Elena’s frost.

Elena’s ice crystals were too dense and hard for Eric to shred, and his ferocity was gnawed by the perpatuating cold that Elena resealed. It didn’t take long before Eric turned into a frozen statue and had to be carried off the stage.

The most interesting part was between Seraphina and Lucian.

Lucian surrendered to Seraphina, allowing her to win without a fight, but not before giving her a suggestive wink before hopping off the stage.

Others were puzzled, but not Ren because he had, unintentionally, seen their chatbox while in the waiting room.

**

[Ina]: Listen, can you lose to me? Please?

[Lucian]: What are you on, Seraphina? This isn’t a funny joke. My folks are watching this at home. You’re getting me in trouble!

[Ina]: Please! I need to fight him. Help me this once, okay? I’ll give you my earnings from the tournament. I need to defeat him!

[Lucian]: Who the hell is ’he’?

[Ina]: Soren Vire. I need to defeat him. His clan and mine had a bad history. I need to rectify this on stage to settle the hearts of my clansmen.

[Lucian]: Ina, you’re getting me in trouble. My folks want to see me fight Adrian on the big screen.

[Ina]: Please, Lucian. Like I said, everything that I win in this tournament is yours. Just yield for me this one time.

[Ina]: Also...you can have me for the next three days if you do.

[Lucian]: ...

[Lucian]: Make it a week and you have yourself a deal. I’ll handle my folks, too.

[Ina]: Deal.

[Lucian]: Deal. Have fun, babe. You’re mine tomorrow. wink

**

This put a smile on Ren’s face.