Character : Nathan Fiore, Battle Tournament

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"A sword tournament?" I asked with genuine curiosity, and Uncle Josh nodded at me firmly.

"That's right. No origin powers are involved. Just you and your pure sword skills." Uncle Josh explains while cooking a dish for one of his customers, and I only stared while thinking at my own plate. "It's a form of entertainment, not just for the visitors who came for the university, but also for the citizens of Ellen. It's a massive event that is held every three to four months."

A battle tournament right before the university entrance exam? That's a little odd of a timing. But at the same time, it's a good business decision considering the amount of visitors coming to Ellen.

"Our mayor is a smart businessman. He noticed the amount of people coming to the city because of the university opening, so he decided to open the tournament nearing the day of the exam." Uncle Josh continued, and that raised my confusion.

"Then, why so close? The entrance is only a few days away."

"That's probably the goal. Because now more than ever, most of the applicants for the university are present. For sure, they will want to enjoy the festival before they hop on to the university. Don't you agree?" Uncle Josh said while glaring at me, and he noticed that I have been very slow at eating my lunch. "Hurry up and finish your food! I need hands cleaning the dishes!"

… Right, I forgot I'm his employee, now. He's so annoying.

In any case, it sounded interesting. I wonder where I can hop on and watch. I'm sure there will be so many people attending the event as well, like Lily for example.

"How much for the spectating ticket?" I asked Uncle Josh, but he only turned his confused glare at me.

"Why the hell are you watching? You're a mercenary, aren't you??" Uncle Josh pointed out, and I turned panicking after I realized what he meant.

The whole purpose of him telling me about this… was so that I can join the tournament?

"N-No, I don't want to join--"

"The prize is really good, though! Besides, didn't you say that you're quite good at using swords instead of your origin powers?" Uncle Josh pointed out again about the things I've successfully lied to him, and I am eating those words at this very moment.

It would've been easier if I just say I was an origin master, after all…

"That's true, but…"

"The ticket is really expensive. Only rich people and nobles usually afford them. For the poor people… well, they normally attended the event instead of watching." Uncle Josh added, and I can tell why.

Such an event must definitely be expensive to watch. For rich merchant families and nobles, it's easy for them to get the tickets. But for poor commoners, even someone like Uncle Josh, they will have to spend their entire monthly salary or even more to buy the ticket.

Joining the tournament was instead a much better option for the poor commoners. I don't know how much prize they are willing to give out, but at least they get a free seat on the contestants' waiting chairs.

But… do I really have to join?

"Uncle Josh, I'm not really in such a difficult situation to join a tournament like that…" I tried reasoning my way out of this, but Uncle Josh only sighed.

"I don't know how well-off you are, but you're not a noble, are you? Imagine what would your parents think if you won such a tournament." Uncle Josh said something that was rather interesting, and I realized something that I had long forgotten.

Dad… would one billion percent join a battle tournament like this.

Mom, on the other hand… will just cheer on the spectator's seat.

Then, I began to imagine it. If those two were watching me winning my first tournament, what would they be like? For sure, Dad would shout as loud as he could if I beat up everyone who went against me. Mom would shriek happily knowing that I won her a ton of money that was in the prize pool. She couldn't care more about me beating people up since she's not the type to do so.

I wonder what they would think if they saw the current me. How happy would they be?

The very next day, I found myself confused as I waited in line for the registration process. Uncle Josh was apparently very cunning, and I only found that out last night. The moment Sir Baltra and Sir Jacob, the two knights who were regulars at his shop, came by to eat dinner, he immediately made them force me to enter the tournament through peer pressure.

And now, here I am at the city's largest arena. Standing in front of a really scary looking knight at a table who is writing down the contestant's identities.

"Name?" The scary knight asked with the pen ready to write, and I gave him a fake identity I've thought of.

"Write me down as 'The Dragon Slayer'." I said to the knight, and he shook his head.

"Three people have already signed up with that name. Some use extra words, like 'The First Dragon Slayer', or 'The Greatest Dragon Slayer'. Pick your poison."

S-Seriously!? Wow, the people of this world are just so damn creative. Then again, I also thought of using that name…

"Damn… Just Nathan then." I said to him, and he wrote down what I said. I noticed that he is writing a little too much for the word 'Nathan', so I was a little concerned.

"Your weapon of choice?" He asked, and I patted the sword handle next to my shoulder behind my back.

"Sword."

"Type?"

"Longsword… I think." I tried remembering the name of my sword, but I think it's shaped just like a simple knight's sword.

"Origin?" He asked about my origin, which I remember is not really important considering this event was about physical combat.

"I thought we weren't using origins in the battles?"

"Countermeasures still needed to be prepared, in case some idiots used their origin in the middle of battle." The knight explained, and I understand their reasoning.

"I see… that's smart. Then, fire origin." I said after understanding, but the knight seemed to notice something odd about me.

"Are you… Prince Nathan of Fiordall?" The knight suddenly asked, and I opened my eyes wide from shock. 

I was about to run away from the scene, but the knight quickly lifted both his hands. "P-Please, listen to what I had to say… If it's really you, then I want you to know that the crown prince of Fiordall is asking about you through the knights."

Oh... I see what's going on, now.

"Then, I guess he requested the knights of Ellen to look for me?" I spoke of my guess, and the knight nodded.

"Yes, your highness. But, before I tell anyone about your presence… I'd like to hear from you about what you think. Should I tell the higher ups?" The knights asked while slightly bowing, not wanting to attract too much attention.

Haha. Look at this guy! He is so smart!

"You're doing great by not attracting any attention. And you're right, I don't want to be noticed by anyone. I'm just having a lazy stroll around the city by myself, so there's no need for any unwanted attention." I said how I felt, and the knight nodded firmly.

"In that case… may I be bold and ask to speak informally like before?" The knight then asked, and I noticed it must be uncomfortable for him to speak like this while sitting down.

"You may. Is there anything else I should know?"

"The crown prince alongside all the other high ranking nobles will be present to watch the tournament. Perhaps it would be good for you to wear a disguise. Such a thing is allowed, here." The knight suggested, and I smiled softly at him for being so considerate.

"Thanks for the heads up. It's for you." I took out a huge pouch of coins filled with numerous silver coins, and the knight was very shocked to find such a big bag of money in front of him.

"M-Many thanks, your… Mister Nathan!" The knight legitimately bowed at me, which easily grabbed the attention of the contestants lining up behind me.

As I hurriedly walked away, I could hear murmurs coming from the contestants as I passed the registration line.

"Wow. Bribing out in the open, huh!?"

"I bet all his opponents are gonna be easy."

Well… at the very least, no one suspected anything.

After signing up, I went back to Uncle Josh's restaurant and helped him as the waiter. I started working there because Uncle Josh needed a hand, and it's not too difficult considering a waiter's job was to simply bring food and take notes.

But now, my real job as a fighter is going to be tested.

The very next day, the tournament starts. There are only three days left until the entrance exam, and this tournament is shifted down to only a single day of endless battles.

Thankfully, the arena is very big. And since the tournaments are made of one versus ones, it will take forever for the entire contestants to fight if the whole arena was used for a single battle. Instead, the arena has been split into six, so that it can fit six battles all at once.

At a glance, it was very chaotic to watch. With six battles all happening at once, it's very difficult to keep an eye on everything that was happening. But once you watch for a while and decide which contestants to keep an eye on, watching all six battles at once was actually more enjoyable than watching a single battle at a time.

Bets were also made from the spectators as the game went on. In the beginning, not many spectators truly put in their money for the contestants. But, as the tournament goes on, the abilities of each contestant gets more transparent.

As the battle goes from round of sixteen to round of eight, nearly every spectator has placed their bets.

Mainly… because one contestant in particular has been so dominant in all of his fights.

"Once again, the opponent has been knocked in a single strike!!" The arena commentator said aloud through a speaking device. "The contestant 'Damjest Nethanden' is truly a remarkable warrior!!"

Hearing my odd name being mentioned after I won a battle, I let out a long sigh which made the interior of my mask turn smelly.

All I said was 'Damn, Just Nathan Then' to that stupid knight, and he wrote the entire sentence as my name…

Man, I even paid him money! It's pissing me off.