In the audience, Jiren watched the Legend Fighter tournament matches with a surprised expression alongside Karen.
To Jiren, Noirin always seemed like the youngest little sibling.
But the fact that she could speak up even in front of a famous bard was both impressive and astonishing.
“Noirin really knows how to talk well.”
“Right? Jiren, I was surprised to find out Noirin has such talent.”
Karen, who was peeling an apple next to Jiren, felt incredibly proud of her little sister’s growth.
“But Jiren, can’t you do the same?”
“Oh, no way! With so many people here, I feel suffocated. It’s too much for me.”
Jiren shook his head vigorously at Karen’s words.
Then, comfortably munching on the apple Karen had peeled, he said, “I just like being here like this.”
“Me too, Jiren.”
Amidst the noisy arena, Jiren and Karen enjoyed their own time.
Meanwhile, Jiren glanced over to where Yuren was located.
He saw Yuren sweating between Julia and Sylvia.
“By the way, shouldn’t you learn some common sense, Yuren? If you keep this up, there’ll be a war at home.”
“Exactly. I feel sorry for Julia and Sylvia.”
To both of them, Yuren was like a hero.
However, even they felt there was a problem, which was Yuren’s ‘love life.’
Yuren’s judgment became bizarrely odd when it came to romantic relationships.
What could be the reason?
He had a decent face, a lot of money, and noble status with a territory, and it seemed there shouldn’t be an issue even with polygamy, so why was he acting like that?
Both were worried about Yuren’s future like his father and the peace of the Irene School.
*
At the Coliseum where the Legend Fighter tournament had begun,
JYJ, with his overwhelming presence behind red sunglasses, and the neatly groomed handsome boy Noirin, holding a microphone-shaped voice amplifier crystal ball, started the proceedings.
The competitors for the first match were already on the stage.
On one side was a cheerfully looking blonde pretty boy, and on the other was a cute girl with short pink hair, dressed in a neat uniform.
“Shall we hear the competitors’ resolutions before the main event begins?”
“Yes, JYJ!”
The two approached Mineva first.
Mineva appeared to be more nervous than when working at the Minister’s Office.
“First, Mineva, you faced defeat against Bean but managed to come back through the loser’s bracket. Please share your thoughts.”
“Thank you for giving me another chance. This time, I will win with the wishes of my comrades from the Zephia Game Center on my back.”
Mineva had been utterly defeated by Bean in the preliminaries.
However, she managed to advance to the finals by defeating other losers like herself.
Fans from Zephia Game, represented by the shaved-head gamers, were cheering with banners.
[You’re the best!!!! Mineva!!] , [Go Pink Curie!!!!]
“But aren’t you afraid? Your opponent is Johan, the champion of Tetric Rubel.”
“Fear doesn’t solve anything. Therefore, I will face this match with courage and confidence.”
Mineva recalled the words she learned from her master, Lord Herness.
JYJ couldn’t hide his admiration for her confident response.
“Yes! That was the resolve of Mineva, feeling like a true champion!”
Having heard Mineva’s determination, the two moved on to Johan.
“So, Johan, what’s your mindset for the game?”
“As always, I hope this match brings joy to everyone watching. Hahaha!!”
Johan’s interview was quick and just like him.
But that alone was enough.
There was a certain nonchalance reserved only for the top.
“Oooh! Johan’s resolve gives off a sense of calm at the peak.”
The two of them prepared to start the game as they headed towards the Legend Fighter crystal ball.
“Then, let’s commence the match between Mineva and Johan from now!!!!”
With JYJ’s announcement, the character selection screen for Legend Fighter appeared.
Within 60 seconds, the players had to select their characters, and neither would know what the other chose until both selections were made.
“How will the match proceed, Noirin?”
“Mineva is a well-known Curie gamer from the Zephia Game Center. It will be important to see how she deals with this Curie opponent.”
“Right! I wonder what character Johan will pick… Wait! What’s this!!!!”
JYJ, while hosting, was taken aback by the character selection screen.
Character selection wasn’t revealed until both players made their choices.
The only exception was when one player chosen randomly.
That exception was happening right now.
“Johan picked random!!!!”
“What?! How can this be!!!! The first pick of the tournament is random!!! Mineva looks completely flustered by this unexpected pick!!!”
Johan’s choice startled JYJ, Noirin, and Mineva.
Choosing random implied two things:
I can do anything well. And I can win with just this.
“Is it arrogance? Or provocation? Johan is getting us all hyped right from the start of the tournament!!!”
“This match is certainly unpredictable from the get-go.”
Thus, the Legend Fighter match began with unexpected twists.
While Mineva pondered Johan’s pick, she pulled out the card she was most confident in.
“Yes!!!! Mineva has selected Curie!!!”
“Starting off with the strongest card. I wonder what character Johan will choose?”
As the game started, Johan’s chosen character appeared on screen.
It was…
“Oh!!! Alicia has been selected!!!!”
It was the Dark Elf character Alicia who used wrestling in the Black Forest.
Noirin was ecstatic to see Alicia.
“Dark Elf Alicia from the Black Forest isn’t a bad character choice. By the way, I remember having a tough time against a lady in the Black Forest. It was truly painful. To what extent, you ask…?”
“Noirin?”
“Oh! I’m sorry. I just recalled the time when I was learning martial arts for game development.”
As Noirin and JYJ were bantering, the loading ended, and the game screen appeared.
Pink Curie and Dark Elf Alicia appeared as the game began.
『Round 1 Fight』
“The match has started!!! Curie is dominating the space with her jump kicks right from the start!”
“Great start for Mineva!!”
The quick-jumping Curie began attacking Alicia with rapid jump kicks.
However…
『Hyaah! Hah! Hyah!』
“What!? Is this even possible!!!”
Johan’s Alicia began to evasion the jump kick attacks from Curie solely with steps!
It was the most effective counter to evade Curie’s attacks.
If only it could be done.
“Johan’s Alicia is dodging all of Curie’s aerial kick attacks with just steps!!”
“Class is eternal! Johan starts showing us divine play from the beginning.”
While evading a few attacks, Alicia’s special move activated as she caught Curie from behind.
Alicia slammed Curie down to the ground.
『Wraaaah!!! Boom!!!』
“It hit!!! Alicia’s slam down! Curie’s health drops 30% in an instant!!!”
“This is what makes Alicia terrifying. One moment of carelessness can turn the tides.”
Having taken significant damage from Alicia’s grab, Curie collected herself and started attacking again.
Once again, Curie initiated her jump attacks, this time connecting jump kick to low heavy kick, but Alicia didn’t show any openings.
“Mineva wants to see if she can win with Alicia through aerial fights, but Johan isn’t giving her the chance.”
But can even a monkey fall from a tree?
An opening appeared in Alicia.
“Aaaaah!!!! Alicia got hit by the heavy kick!!!! Staggering!!!”
As Alicia staggered due to the heavy kick, Curie didn’t hesitate to unleash her ultimate move.
『Yahhh!!!! Dance of the Burning Dragon!!!!』
“Mineva is using her ultimate move!!! Will she turn the match back to square one with this?”
“Wait!!! Is that…!!!”
But just at that moment, Alicia activated her signature move.
『What are you looking at?』
“An illusion!!!”
“An illusion right here, Johan!!! You just wasted Curie’s ultimate move!!!”
Illusion was a counter-command move.
It required the player to input a command and be attacked within the designated time to activate; otherwise, it had a significant delay.
Johan accurately predicted this and used the illusion to let Curie’s ultimate slip by.
And then…
『I’ll send you to the Black Forest!』
“Aaaah!!!! Dodging Curie’s ultimate, Alicia’s ultimate strikes back!!!”
Having captured Curie from behind, Alicia activated her ultimate.
Alicia caught Curie and began a backdrop.
“Once, twice, threeeeece!!! Curie’s health is down to zero!!!!! Johan wins!!!!”
As the third backdrop ended, Curie’s health hit zero, and she lost.
It was a truly unfortunate defeat, but at least she managed to land a heavy kick, so it wasn’t a total failure.
Their battle proceeded straight to the second round.
“What character will Johan pick for the second round?”
“Right? I believe that with Johan’s skills, he will show an excellent fight regardless of the character chosen.”
This time, Johan selected a proper character.
The audience anticipated what character it might be when suddenly…
“OOOOOOOOH!!!!”
“Ah! Karuga?! Both Johan and Mineva have chosen Karuga!!!!”
The protagonist, Karuga, was chosen.
The crowd was thrilled with the Karuga mirror match, but Noirin watched the screen seriously and remarked.
“Karuga mirror match, this will be tough for Mineva.”
“Why, Noirin?”
“Karuga gets stronger the better he predicts the opponent’s moves. Plus, he has very strong anti-air moves, so if Mineva, who enjoys aerial attacks, isn’t careful, she could easily get caught up in that.”
Just then, Mineva’s Karuga unexpectedly jumped too fast.
A reckless jump for Karuga could be deadly.
As it went…
『Triple! Puh!』
“Ahhh!!!! Barely finished my sentence, Mineva jumped and hit Karuga’s anti-air!!!!”
“Oh no, this is bad.”
At the moment Karuga’s Somersault Kick exploded, Noirin gazed on in dismay.
The moment Karuga was hit with the Somersault Kick, what awaited was endless Karuga’s infinite combo nightmare.
『Puh! Pak! Thud! Radek!!! Pak!!! Triple!!!! Pak! Puh!!!』
“Mineva’s Karuga!!! Down goes!!!”
“Ahhh!!! Noooo!!!”
When Karuga fell, the voice of Pink Curie, Mineva, echoed beautifully in the clear sky.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s cruel, but that’s the world of competition.”
Noirin offered hollow consolation to Mineva.
Thus, the first match of the Legend Fighter tournament ended with Mineva setting a record of being eliminated twice in two days.
