Fei was running. He was doing warm-up exercises for the tournament. Starting with light running and gradually increasing the intensity, he ran tirelessly to face the match in top condition.
His mentor, Yururu, was running alongside him.
“You shouldn’t be participating…”
“No, if Fei-kun is participating, I’ll do warm-up exercises too. Because I’m your mentor!”
“I see.”
They ran, stretched, and did various exercises meticulously, then returned to the match venue after working up a sweat.
“Well then, Fei-kun. I’ll be watching you closely from the spectator seats!”
“Yeah, I’ll go win this easily.”
Waving lightly, Fei left the area. Yururu watched his retreating figure until it disappeared, then headed to the spectator seats herself.
The arena was circular like a coliseum. The spectator seats were elevated like a two-story building so you could see the fighting square from above. She found an empty seat and sat down.
(I hope Fei doesn’t get into any dangerous matches…)
For now, she prayed that Fei wouldn’t do anything reckless or get injured.
“Is it okay if I sit here?”
“Huh, oh, yeah, go ahead.”
A woman next to Yururu suddenly spoke. She had beautiful green hair like a forest, wide eyes, and was quite attractive.
“I’m Lace.”
“Uh, um, I’m… Yururu.”
“Yururu-san, is it? Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
She was relieved that Lace didn’t realize she was from the cursed Garestia family just from her name.
“I’m actually a battle enthusiast.”
“Huh? A battle enthusiast?”
“They hold tournaments here every year, so I come to watch and cheer enthusiastically every time. I even research promising players.”
“Oh, I see.”
“The first match is supposed to feature last year’s champion, Barb, I heard.”
“I see.”
“In the first round, there’s a swordsman named Fei.”
“Oh, Fei-kun…”
“I guess you know him. I saw you with him earlier, so I wanted to hear more about him.”
“So that’s why you approached me?”
“Yes indeed. I was curious, so I came over to you.”
Lace seemed very interested in Fei. Perhaps she was intrigued by the fact that he was going to face last year’s champion in the first round.
“I’m really a battle enthusiast, and I compile information about past participants on cards and evaluate them.”
“On… cards?”
“Yes, yes. Well, this tournament isn’t that big—it’s a minor event—so it’s unusual for someone to document it so enthusiastically… By the way, this is the card for last year’s champion.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Barb
Male
Strength A Intelligence B Agility A Spirit C
He has tremendous overall talent. Excellent in swordsmanship, magic, everything. However, it’s concerning that he fights in a way that harms his opponents.
Weapons
Longsword, Martial Arts
Magical Affinity
Wind, Water
Appearance
Brown hair with fox-like eyes
The paper she handed over contained the above description and a full-body picture of the man.
“I see… so he’s this type of person. Lace-san is really good at drawing. It looks like an exact copy.”
“I’m good at drawing. I often get praised for it. But that’s not the point. I compiled it like this on the card, so I wanted to know more about participant Fei.”
“I see… um, what does it mean that this Barb person harms his opponents?”
She was curious about the phrase “harms his opponents” written on the card, so she inadvertently asked about it.
“Barb is a bit dangerous…”
“D-Dangerous?”
“Yeah, in last year’s tournament… Barb’s matches stood out because he forced his opponents to give up by hurting them.”
“Th-That’s…”
“This tournament prohibits killing, so I don’t think anyone will die, but… there are dangerous players like him participating.”
“F-Fei, will he be okay…?”
As she worried, the venue erupted. The first-round opponents entered. One was the player named Barb mentioned on the card a moment ago, and the other was Fei, Yururu’s disciple.
“Hmm, are you my opponent?”
“…”
“Oh? Ignoring me?”
“This isn’t a place for words. It’s a place for crossing swords.”
“I see, that’s true.”
Barb and Fei faced each other, each holding their swords. The audience gradually became excited as the match approached, and the atmosphere grew tense. When the match gong sounded, they both moved.
First, Fei swung his sword. Barb easily intercepted it and blew Fei away with wind magic.
“I see…”
“Hehe, looks like there’s quite a difference in power between us.”
“How about that?”
Ignoring being blown away, Fei attacked him again. However, Barb’s sword and martial arts, enhanced by starmetal, surpassed his speed.
Fei managed to deflect the sword somehow, but at that moment, Barb’s fist struck Fei’s abdomen. There was a crunching sound like bones breaking as Fei was blown away again.
“Heh, you’re unlucky to face me in the first round.”
“…Unlucky… Hah, is that so? Did you call me unlucky?”
“What?”
Fei smirked. Despite suffering significant damage to his abdomen from Barb’s fist, being blown away by wind, and bleeding from his mouth, he chuckled. In contrast, Barb remained composed. This match was easy for him, as the previous year’s tournament champion.
But Fei’s slight smile caught his attention.
“Unlucky. Unlucky, huh… You say amusing things.”
“So, what–“
“–The unlucky one is you.”
He was indeed laughing. Facing overwhelming adversity, confronting someone superior to himself, Fei was laughing. It was unmistakable.
“…I, the former champion—to be laughed at by you… How amusing… Let’s see how much you can endure.”
While Barb said it was amusing, inwardly, he trembled with anger. Fei was clearly weaker than him. He hadn’t even properly used starmetal manipulation. And the fact that he hadn’t used magic probably meant he couldn’t.
He was clearly inferior as a warrior. Barb, the warrior, enjoyed hurting weaker opponents. It was his hobby, his entertainment—to display his overwhelming strength before the masses, to crush and break his opponent’s spirit completely.
That had been his style up until now.
Up until now, there had been no one who wouldn’t submit. That’s how it always was. No matter who it was, once they were hit, once they witnessed his magic, they understood the difference in power and despaired.
Yet the man before him wouldn’t yield. Instead, he seemed to be filled with hope, with eyes that sparkled as if overflowing with it. And his laughter only made him more infuriating.
“Eventually, you’ll have to give up… maybe even die.”
“Die, huh… bring it on. Try to kill me. That seems even more enjoyable.”
“――!”
(What… is he… enjoying this? Dying?)
“How far can your smart mouth go?!!!”
Barb directed magic at Fei. High-pressure water guns, blasts of wind, reinforced punches—Barb tried everything.
Barb struck Fei’s head. Blood came out, but Fei didn’t seem to care. He just retaliated. His fists cut through the air, dancing with magic once again. But as soon as he touched the ground, he stood up immediately and ran.
“I see. So this… is the trial.”
Muttering incomprehensible words, laughing, Fei kept coming back at him. Bloodied, his clothes dyed red. Some of his bones were broken, but he didn’t seem to mind.
So what? Fei swung his arms as if to say, “What are you going to do?” With uncertain steps, like a zombie… Fei’s demeanor made him feel fear too. A madman who faced the overwhelming difference in strength without flinching.
(What, what, what, what is this!? This… shouldn’t be happening. It should be over by now. How long do I have to put up with this guy? I’m obviously stronger!!)
(――Yet why am I trembling?)
Slowly, Fei approached. A man of overwhelming mystery, whom the warrior Barb had never fought, seen, felt, or heard of before. Had there ever been such an abnormal person?
“W-what… are you…”
“Hehe, what’s wrong? I’m still standing.”
“Don’t come near me, you… monster!!”
“…What do I look like to you?”
Fei asked Barb. Saying that, he leaped again. To dispel his fear, Barb hit Fei as hard as he could. The sound of bones breaking and blood splattering. Not only that, but he also unleashed magic combining wind and water, enough to kill.
“Hey hey.”
“Isn’t this… a bit too much?”
Even the audience began to think that this match had gone too far. Clearly, this match was violating the regulations of the tournament, of the competition. It was all supposed to be for entertainment.
Yet Fei stood up again, ignoring all of that.
“Don’t stand up, don’t stand, don’t stand!! Just lose!”
“…Still, I can dance. How about you?”
Barb’s hands were trembling. What more could he do to him? Even after repeatedly rising, even after being subjected to violence that couldn’t even be called a match, Fei kept getting up.
“――Hey, I’m still standing.”
He had only ever tortured the weak. Barb, who had never faced a stronger opponent, had never been pushed to the brink by someone with otherworldly strength.
Watching this, True couldn’t help but hold his breath.
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Interdimensional strength? You mean otherworldly?
The tenses also seem off this chapter
fixed, thanks
Yep. Fei, the giver of trauma (I don’t mind it)
Bruh why all the Next Chapter link is so messed up. The link to Vol 2 ch 10 part 3 in Table of Content doesn’t even to the right chapter, it goes to the KoFi version.
Here’s the link for v2c10 part3 : https://gadgetizedpanda.com/2024/04/23/a-story-of-a-cannon-fodder-volume-2-chapter-10-part-3/