“Another boring one” I commented, just another muscle head fest, maybe that noble just now can put in a better show, at least I hope so, it would be a shame if someone so prestigious turns out to be disappointing.

“Those of round three get down there!” A man yelled out. This one I’m not a part of nor is Rosia, but let’s see who is there.

…

Hm? I think I saw that man somewhere before… that elf stereotype look… being an archer… 

“Begin!” The announcer yelled out. 

Right, that guy who wisefully walked away, considering how perceptive he was I wonder if that’ll help him out here.

“““Raaahhh!””” Some people began with a battle cry then rush in immediately, clashing in the middle of the arena, swinging at each other and being reckless, that guy meanwhile doesn’t go in like an idiot, he’s an archer so charging in is the worst thing he could do.

He began readying his shot already.

*Shoot* *Shoot* *Shoot*

And three people have been incapacitated from that, quite the marksman, he choose to go for those in the chaos in the middle. 

“Gotcha!” Someone proclaimed rushing in to attack him.

*Evade* *Stab*

“Wha!?” However he evade the easily telegraphed attack and stab him, putting him out of the fight. The guy who went after him was not bad in the physical department either, but his brain is smaller than a pea, that was just embarrassing to look at.

*Shoot* *Shoot* *Shoot*

He reload and shot at fast rate, shooting three more people and put them out of commission. Subtly moving around so no one could pinpoint his direction and destination.

*Stab*

He’s also pretty good at sneaking around as well. Stabbing another guy down.

“Rah! Who’s next!?” The chaos in the middle stopped as one man come out victorious, he’s wounded however so I don’t see where he got his confidence from, then again humans would be quite intimidated by a foe with such bravado.

*Shoot*

Except that guy, who shot him down immediately. Only three people remained. One is a swordsman, one is a spearman, and the archer guy.

“You’re mine!” The spearman said dashing toward the archer.

*Lunge* *Evade*

Archer guy was trying to shoot at the incoming attacker but his speed and reach with his spear means there wasn’t enough window of time to fire a shot, he have to dodge instead.

*Swing* *Duck*

The spearman then swing his spear horizontally to knock the archer guy down, but he ducked and evade the attack barely.

*Thrust* *Evade*

The spearman then thrust forward, the archer guy evade again but the dodging the fourth time might not be so easy.

“Haaa!” Suddenly the guy with a sword ambushed the spearman from the back, with the archer seeing this immediately runs away while the spearman is taken by surprise.

*Slash*

And with that the spearman died… well he’s simply out of commission, as if people here would aim for each other’s life, they’re humans… heh.

*Shoot* *Shoot* *Shoot* *Shoot* *Evade*

Multiple shots is fired by the archer who is now making distance between himself and his opponent, who managed to dodge the four attack, pretty agile but I doubt he can catch up if the archer guy keep firing arrows.

“[Wind Arrow]!” The archer guy chanted as one particular arrow is enchanted with wind element and-

*Shoot*

Fired, hitting the guy dead on, with him falling onto the ground shocked at the speed of that attack, wind is the best element to put on an arrow, as it elevates the trouble of air resistance, and with wind all around it can help with the speed and trajectory as well if one can enhance the ammo well with said element.

The archer guy look around and realize he is the last one standing, breathing a sigh of relief no doubt. He’s not particularly strong but rather skilled in a few areas with good reaction time as well. 

In a few moments the next game will start, the crowd have been cheering this whole time but I can’t be bothered paying attention to them.

“What do you think?” I asked Rosia.

“That guy is above the rest, that’s it” Rosia replied. She doesn’t seem to think of him too highly, she’s not a type of person to underestimate someone, but her attitude might make people think she is. She just doesn’t want to admire what feats her foe achieved, simply how dangerous they might be toward her, there’s no excitement to be have here, at least most of the time. Just good combat skill and sense overall with this guy, nothing too noteworthy.

“Those belong to round four get down there!” A staff yelled out. Speaking of that I need to memorize the round I would be in. I’m in round nine, and Rosia’s is eleven. Hopefully after we clean up our mess we won’t meet in the first or second round, but hopefully not the last… since having one of us as the Hero isn’t the most ideal, with us having to separate to retain the charade and possibly broke it in the most… hold on I feel like I’m missing some points here. I need to think more on this topic…

“The next round is starting” Rosia said. Right, I need to look into anyone interesting or someone who might be fun to mess with.

 

#####

 

And… absolutely nothing. What a bore, just some more muscle heads, and the one winning isn’t anything noteworthy, he’s pretty young and that’s about it.

“Haven’t we seen that person before?” Rosia asked. Have we? Must’ve been a disappointment, otherwise I would’ve remembered.

“Really? When exactly?” I asked.

“In case you have forgotten, that guy you beat up for wanting to be a hero, something along those lines” She clarified. Be a hero… Oh! It’s that guy, he called me shady and think I’m up to no good, which is both true and false, I wasn’t trying to do anything particularly malicious at the time, and the whole destroying the academy was a last second decision made after I unknowingly created an earthquake, most likely due to the mana supply keeping the city all pristine, stable and sometimes afloat, have been cut off. 

“Right, he’s pretty arrogant and have high hope for himself. He’s not weak by any means in the standard of this place, but he aimed for something he could never achieved ignorant as he is” I replied.

“This guy… I hope he won’t recognize me” Rosia muttered. How would he recognize her?

“How exactly? Was he a classmate of yours? Someone you’re acquainted with?” I asked.

“A classmate, he’s annoying and always talk big, that’s all I really remember about him” She answered. I can vouch for that myself.

“Yeah, well we’ll meet him soon, no need to think about it further from now, let’s see how the next round will go” I recommended. 

“True enough” She agreed.

“May those of the next round proceed to the arena!” Huh. This guy sounds way more formal and polite about it, guess that guy can’t come in to announce that every time. Whatever.

…

“Oh it’s that noble guy” I commented. He seems very capable just right of the bat.

“Begin!” A man announced, and of course people rush in, with some sitting back so they won’t get sweep by the chaos.

The noble guy immediately went on the offensive as well, but he wasn’t gunning for the chaos in the middle, instead those who tried to stay low.

*Slash*

It’s not the most noble of tactic but whatever it takes to win.

*Slash* *Clash* *Smash*

The conflict in the middle is absurd just like always. Like kids having a pillow fight, it’s not that it’s not entertaining, but it can only be so creative and easy to follow.

“[Thunder Bolt]!” The noble guy chanted as bolt of electricity appeared and-

*Zap*

Zap a great deal of people in the middle, he’s good with magic as well.

*Dash* *Parry*

A guy tried to rush in and attack him, seeing his magic must’ve attracted the guy’s attention, but the noble guy seems to know that such an action will do so, considering how well he composed and ready to counter the attack.

*Slash*

And with that another guy down.

“Oi! Get this pompous guy over here!” Someone pointed out. And those not in the chaos or noticed his spell from within immediately targets him. He managed to stay compose and stands battle ready still, so he might be fine.

*Dash* *Parry*

An axe swings toward him is casted aside, no doubt with a great deal of force as he buckled his stance slightly.

“Gotcha!” Another man behind him announced. What a moron.

*Thrust* *Evade* *Grab* *Stab*

Instead of getting hit by the spear from behind, he shift his body to the side with his body already off balance to the side already, evading the attack, and grab onto the spear missing its target still having its momentum, catching himself from falling, and force its movement onto the man still slightly off balance from the parry with the guy trying to ambush him react in surprise instead and unable to take the control of the spear in that time, incapacitating the big guy. A very fast reaction time and decision making. Still speaking of incapacitation since people don’t want to die or kill each other, the whole thing is like everyone is a one-hit point wonder after just one well-placed strike, sure in battle it would greatly put someone at severe disadvantage, but the fight will still continue regardless.

*Swing* *Throw*

The noble guy then swung the spear that guy still held onto and released the force and pushed the guy back, putting him off balance.

*Dash* *Slash*

And quickly rush in to attack him before he can recover, another guy down.

“Don’t ya think this is over you pompous ass!” Another guy yelled, I thought I was exaggerating with the whole uneducated low-life comment, I guess I was closer to the truth than I realized.

*Slash*

He got hit for his trouble before even managing to swing his weapon. This is also a cringe fest I swear. I don’t even need to pay attention to see who wins.

 

#####

 

Yeah the prominent looking guy with some sense in him wins, who could ever see that coming? 

Well let’s see what’s next on the menu.

“Do you think he can be the one taking the role of the Hero?” Rosia asked.

“I mean he is the best substitute so far, but what can be done with him if he gain that position? We could maybe wager with his sister, but really that sounds more troublesome than it’s worth” I replied. I don’t have any plan for the so called ‘Hero’ that came out of this, unless one of us get the number one spot somehow… I was thinking about that wasn’t I? Feels like there’s something we could do with that position… but what exactly is the thing? I very much don’t want that position, I don’t know full well how Rosia felt though, and I don’t believe this is the best time to discuss such a thing. Let’s just wait things out.

 

#####

 

This one is round six, nothing interesting... I’m starting to get bored… maybe we should go somewhere else more quiet, there’ll be an intermission after this match anyway, so it’ll be like roughly an hour before my round start if the intermission is included.

“Say Rosia, let’s just go somewhere else and discuss our plan for today” I said to her.

“Very well” She immediately replied, and so both of us walk elsewhere, outside the colosseum.

 

#####

 

“So what plan do you have in mind now?” Rosia asked no doubt realizing that I figured something out, or at least have a clue.

We’re actually in a space of no realm right now, a place that is rather strange, it’s like a screen shown when starting a 3D software, grid patterns and all, or to put it another way it’s like we’re in cyberspace looking place right now with grid all over the place, but that has nothing to do with it. The space of no realm is weird, it have all the necessities for something to live in, matter and energy, and they’re made into the white blank ground we stand on, or blue colored ‘sky’ around us, yet nothing lives in it. There are multiple of them as well, and the size is very varied, Kaa-san link any portal to one of this space since there’s no consequence with messing around in them since there’s nothing else. A perfect training ground with no obstacles whatsoever, yet so convenient and odd, like a model built for testing, with no refinement or additions, and never put into the finish product.

“You see… I think… perhaps you should try playing hero” I said. 

“Excuse me?” Rosia responded sounding reasonably confused, we agreed that neither of us should play hero, yet here we are now.

“You heard me. I think it’s better to have one of us that their side to manipulate them for more shit and giggles” I admitted. Honestly I like to create some sort of stories full of dramatic irony that would be worth lifetime of laughs, though considering I can’t die of old age and my power it’ll probably be until the end of time. Still not completely sure how should I plan it out or how to circumvent is being on the opposite end aside from holding back against her to create a more even narrative.

“Seriously? And how long do you expect me to put up this charade? Assuming you actually meant it” Rosia asked, looking quite skeptical.

“Well… that depends, I think the best time would be when they thought they got all the right person for the job, march their army to some arbitrary field, then I show up, and you switch side, then toy with them for a bit, how about that?” I said.

“That’s such a… how is this supposed to be fun?” Rosia asked.

“Well I think more thought could be put into it for certainly but for now that’s all I could think of, with what Kaa-san suggested this morning I could easily shapeshift myself as the ‘Demon Lord’ so no one would figure out my ‘true identity’ so to speak, and play both side” I replied.

“For someone caring for the theatric as much as you, I would expect you to come up with epic moments or something of the sort, I think unless you make both of our first impression outstanding we won’t get much reaction out of anyone” Rosia noted. 

“That is certainly true…” I replied... maybe I should think of something from the old world… or maybe some of the video games I have played before… Oh! That one scene the blonde guy get stabbed while blocking a lance blast. That one was memorable, let’s try that without the stabbing.

“From your expression it seems you come up with something, out with it” Rosia demanded.

“Okay so when you win the tournament, I’ll fly high up in the sky, shoot an arrow of darkness at you-”

“Giant spear of darkness you mean” She corrected.

“Yeah that. And you’ll block it, giving off the impression that humanity is still at stake, while giving you some much needed respect as well, even if you probably not too enthusiastic about that” I finished.

“Is there any failsafe in case you messed things up the first time?” Rosia asked.

“Ouch… Well I could teleport back and assist you in blocking the ‘Demon Lord’ blast as well. No need to worry” I replied.

“Okay then… still are you serious about this?” She asked, not in distaste for the plan, but to test how willing I am to go through with it. I mean like hell there’s anything else to do, so might as well. 

“Yeah. What else are we to do? Besides I doubt this’ll cause much harm to those humans anyway, and apocalypse bring out the best in people, I’m doing them a favor more than anything else” I answered. Perhaps that last point was a bit condescending, and it was, but at the very least I don’t want to play around with destruction, there’s only so much joy that can came out of that.

“...If you say so, better bail me out sooner or later” Rosia replied, guess it’s official then.

“And this goes without saying, don’t overwhelm opponents immediately, appraise their ability first then… hold on” I said then remembering something very much important.

“What?” Rosia asked.

“We forgot about [Apprasial] again! Anyway as I was saying if they’re strong then try to prolong the fight, don’t end it immediately and suck the fun out of everything, got it?” I explained.

“Yes, heard you loud and clear” She replied. Guess that’s settled.

“Okay then, let’s leave this space and go back” I said.

*Zoom*

And here we are in inconspicuous and witness free alleyway. Very convenient.

“Say Maova, what about the sword?” Rosia asked. Right that’s something we should keep in mind as well… it’s a legendary sword for the chosen… Ah I think I got an idea!

“Try to act like you’re making some sort of incantation, and act like the sword comes to you, then pull it out and use it in the final round” I purposed. That sounds rather epic if I do say so myself.

“And that would solidify my place even more… hopefully I don’t have to deal with them” She replied, her ‘family’ that oh so going to collapse.

“Well considering how vulnerable they are right now, lack of heir and soon their treasure, there’s nothing to worry about” I reassured.

“That sounds quite pleasant… but if we were to use it for the final round then we would need to steal it before then do we not?” Rosia asked.

“Yeah, but when to secure it is the question. I guess any time before the final round is okay, and I doubt the nobles are home with such festivities going on, so really any time is fine” I said.

“Then we could do it right now could we not?” Rosia asked.

“Yeah we could… I mean do you want to? There’s still a good deal of time left” I asked in return. There’s a gut feeling I have that that sword is more than just a powerful sword, I could tell from the first time I’m seeing it, and Rosia act strangely around it as well. What next I think is what Rosia’s spotlight, revelation about her that I, nor her, expect to exist.