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The first bout today was that of Iñigo, the swordsman who uses a rapier, against Hilda, the queen.

I was able to watch the bout from the edges of the arena, as today is my turn to fight on the second day of the quarterfinals of the tournament.

It was an overwhelming victory for the queen…

At the beginning of the fight, her rival tried to receive in the best possible way the constant attacks that she launched at him, not giving him space to counterattack.

But after a few minutes, Iñigo's resistance was over, and the queen kicked him out of the arena with a kick in the abdomen.

Now it's my turn to fight. And my opponent is Charity, the orc blacksmith.

As I climb into the arena, I see through the images Azur sends me that Deirdre can't seem to decide whom to root for, as she is looking from one end of the arena to the other. Places where Charity and I are getting ready, waiting for the signal to start the fight.

Joaquin is next to Deirdre and Azur in the stands, and that just gives me even more incentive to put up a good fight. If there's anyone in the world I'd like to impress, it's him. At the end of the day, if it wasn't for him, I'd still be in the crossroads town doing who knows what... I'd probably be living on the streets and eating garbage.

I know my opponent is one to be reckoned with, as I've seen her previously in the tournament. So, this time, I'm going to tread carefully, slowly testing her abilities against my own.

When we are given the signal, the fight begins and I let her approach me on her own.

I dodge the side swipe of her large mace by ducking at full speed, and use the move to try to land a thrust in her abdomen. But she deflects it with the handle of her mace and throws a punch with her right hand that sends me flying several feet backward.

Hmm. It was a good idea to dodge and not try to block her first blow. With that strength behind such a large mace, it would be foolish to try to parry his blows.

"That was a good hit. I didn't know you were that strong."

"I'm not that strong. As you may have noticed from the stuff I sold you, the limit of enchanted items that can be equipped doesn't consider my creations... Let's just say I'm just a little over geared," she says with a strange smile.

Good. I already know her strength, now let's test her speed...

I run at full speed around her, forcing her to stay alert without moving. And, after a few moments, I start firing mana bullets at her without stopping running.

At first, she manages to stop the projectiles, moving the hammer at an incredible speed.

But little by little I increase the firing speed, reaching the point of keeping my sword in my inventory to shoot with both hands.

As a result, most of the shots slip through her defenses and Charity falls to her knees from the strength of the impacts.

When I see this, I launch myself into a physical attack, since I don't like to beat her with magic if she doesn't use it. And, drawing my sword again, I try to give her a slash aimed at her head.

She blocks with her arm armor and tries to give me an upward hit with her mace.

However, we are too close for her to swing her weapon properly.

Taking advantage of this, I move in even closer. And, holding her by the waist with my left hand, I pull her tightly to me, until our bodies are pressed against each other, which makes her mace a dead weight in her hand. For, although she can still try to hit me with it by flicking her wrist, she can't make any really relevant attacks since she can't swing her arms.

That I have come so close takes her by surprise, and she is shocked for a moment. So, I use her confusion to reposition my sword, aiming for her neck.

"I think this is the moment you surrender," I whisper in her ear, smiling.

"Yes, I think it is. I just wanted to participate to show my strength to these people, so that I could serve as a deterrent to all those who want to attack us lately. I'm sure you've also been in some trouble yourself for being in a group with Deirdre, even if I haven't heard about it... But I think making it to the quarterfinals is more than enough to serve my plans."

"Yep. You've already shown your strength" I say, still smiling, as I pull my face away a bit to look her in the eye, but without directly confirming her hint "so now what are you going to do?"

"I guess I should start by telling the audience that I give up," she says, laughing. "We've already been talking for too long while we're so close... This is starting to stop looking like a fight, and begins to look like something else... Deirdre must be getting jealous," and, when she sees my shocked expression, she shouts, "I SURRENDER!", and breaks free from my grip, laughing even harder at my face.

...

When I return to the stand, Joaquin and Deirdre greet me with congratulations. And we get ready to watch the bouts of the second-best in the group stage.

Some of them are frankly disappointing for what would be expected to be the 'best' of the kingdom. I don't know what they are trying to achieve by competing in this tournament without the strength to back up their actions.

But others are pretty good. I guess they don't really have the strength or speed to take on Deirdre or me, but they should be able to take on the monsters between the 30th and 40th floors of the labyrinth with no problem.

None of them can participate for the main prize, as they were disqualified from the main tournament, but they can still try to get a paid spot in the expedition by demonstrating their skills.

As we enjoy the entertainment, I remember Charity's words. And I think about how Deirdre has been a little off since I went up to the stands...

It's weird because, when we entered the stadium, she was the same as ever...

But she can't really feel anything for me, can she?

We've only known each other for a short time...

"What did you think of my fight?" I ask, testing the waters.

"It was a great fight," she replies, and although I see her smile, I notice a certain coldness in her voice. "But you're lucky you didn't make that last move on our continent. Because the Wolf would have kicked your ass. Charity is his wife."

"Ahh," I say curiously, surprised by that name. "Really? I didn't think Charity was married. Anyway, it was just a fight, nothing more... and… is this ‘Wolf’ strong?"

"Yes. He is the main engine of resistance against the oppression towards my race," she says and a dreamy smile emerges on her face. "When I was little, he was my hero."

"Ahh," I say, and suddenly I don't know what else to say. So, I continue with the first thing that comes to mind "I would love to meet him".

"Ohh, you will meet him. If you're still determined to join me..." she says in a suspicious tone.

"Yes. Why do you think I might have changed my mind?" I ask quizzically.

"I don't know..." she says, and I notice how her tone of voice returns to the same as always. "I thought it was worth asking."

I don't know why I feel like I dodged a mana bullet...