Ch.111Rise Up, Gambling God (8)

“Then… begin!!!”

As the referee lowered the flag, the two competitors began their clash.

Whoosh-!!

Karas chose to immediately close the distance toward Tina.

It was a calculated move, knowing Tina was a gunner. His strategy was to close the distance first, then cut her down with a single slash. Deflecting a bullet or two would be nothing. His plan was based on the certainty that a swordsman like himself would definitely win once the distance was closed.

Bang-! Bang-!

Tina immediately responded by firing her model gun. However, Karas calmly dodged the bullets.

“But… everyone here can either dodge or deflect bullets… is that normal?”

Eri complained beside me.

“Don’t dig too deep into that, Eri. It’s like a rule of fiction.”

I said while patting her bottom.

“Fiction? What are you talking about, Shota?”

That’s just how it is.

Anyway, Karas easily dodged the bullets and succeeded in closing the distance.

“It’s over!!!”

Karas immediately delivered a sword strike.

Clang-!!

Tina had no choice but to hold her rifle like a sword to block Karas’s attack.

But the distance had already been closed. Tina wasn’t weak, but there wasn’t much she could do now.

Heh-!

At that moment, a laugh could be heard from behind Tina’s helmet.

“What…..”

Karas looked at Tina in confusion.

Clang-!

Tina swung the butt of her rifle widely, pushing Karas back.

“This woman… what strength…!”

Whoosh-!

Tina threw away her rifle and immediately closed the distance toward Karas.

Thump-!!!!

Right after, Tina lifted Karas’s body high into the air.

“No!! I thought she was a gunner, but she’s a martial artist?!”

Did she deliberately fake it during the preliminaries?!!!

“Hyah!!!”

With a cute battle cry, Tina mercilessly bent Karas’s waist while holding him high in the air.

Crack-!

A violent sound that didn’t match her cute battle cry was heard.

“Urghhhh….!”

With that, Karas collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

“Aaaaah!!!! Competitor Tina!!! Secures a splendid victory!! The gun was just for show!!!!!”

The announcer shouted loudly, riding the atmosphere.

“Woooooooooo!!!!”

The crowd erupted in cheers at the unexpected outcome.

“Hyah!!”

Tina jumped up and down while raising her fist high. It was a ceremony that showcased Tina’s unique healthy charm.

Her large breasts bounced too, by the way.

Anyway, that concluded the round of 16.

——–

Next, the quarterfinals.

“Gonazaemon’s disciple… Arigiri Shota. Sorry, but your fighting capabilities have all been analyzed based on big data.”

A guy wearing sports glasses prepared for the match said with a smile.

Ah… so there’s that type of character. The glasses-wearing analyst type. I’ve never seen a strong one among those types.

“Your probability of losing is 99 percent. I’ve also researched that Blazing Stance of yours. The limit of Gonazaemon in his prime was about 15 minutes… according to my analysis of the matches, your limit is about 3 minutes. If I hold out, victory is mine.”

The glasses guy said with a smile.

Surprisingly impressive? Big data. He accurately pinpointed my time limit.

“You’re so confident you can last 3 minutes against me?”

But… this made me a bit angry.

Looking down on the time it takes to cook 3-minute curry. When you’re hungry, it feels surprisingly long.

“Of course. I’ve perfectly figured out how to counter you.”

The glasses guy said.

“Knowing a boss’s strategy doesn’t mean you’ve conquered it. Life is a real-time action game, you know?”

I smiled as I raised my sword.

“Then… let the match begin!!!”

With the announcer’s shout, I immediately rushed toward him.

However, my choice was not to use ‘Kiryu Second.’ I simply charged at him while holding my sword.

“What… he’s not using the Blazing Stance?!!!”

His prediction seemed to be shattered by that.

“It’s only the quarterfinals. It would be a waste to use up my strength here.”

Clang-!!

Our swords collided. The glasses guy also had enough skill to reach the quarterfinals. He was calmly blocking my sword strikes.

I still had many powerful opponents left. I needed to conserve the total amount of Kiryu Second as much as possible.

‘Saito Kana….’

Since I entered the competition, my target was Saito Kana. I had prepared a new technique specifically for him. I couldn’t afford to waste my strength.

Screech-!!

The glasses guy and I continued our deadlock with our swords pressed against each other.

“Hah… you’re really underestimating me. Without your Kiryu Second, we’re evenly matched, aren’t we?”

The glasses guy grinned.

“Indeed, our sword skills are similar.”

I acknowledged that.

However, there was a clear difference.

It was basic physical strength. I had the muscle power trained through my intense leveling up.

“Haaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!”

I immediately began pushing forward while our swords were locked.

“Wha… what…!!”

The glasses guy exclaimed in a panicked tone. His body began to be pushed back helplessly.

“Kiyoooooooooooh!!!!!!”

My goal was simple!!! A ring-out!! Like an enraged bull, I pushed him toward the edge of the arena.

Crash-!!!!

“Damn… I need to dodge…..!!!”

The glasses guy chose the stopgap measure of simply creating distance from me.

But he had already been pushed to the limit. There was no space behind him to create distance.

“Hyah!!!!!”

I just pushed his body hard with my forehead.

With that, the glasses guy toppled over backward spectacularly.

Crash-!!!!

The glasses guy rolled grandly outside the arena.

“Arigiri Shota! Victory!!!”

The referee immediately raised the flag.

Having lost due to the overwhelming difference in physical strength, the glasses guy seemed to have lost his fighting spirit. After that, I leisurely took the match and secured the victory. No matter how much strategy you plan, in a one-on-one fight, physical prowess cannot be ignored.

With that, the quarterfinals ended, and my advancement to the semifinals was confirmed.

Now there were four of us. This would determine the rankings from 1st to 4th place.

The advancing competitors included me and Saito Kana.

Tina had also advanced. Abandoning her gun-shooting concept, she happily beat other competitors with brass knuckles on her fists. Seeing shock waves emerge every time she swung her fists, I was reminded once again that this was indeed an otaku fantasy world.

Lastly… there was a bald man with a beard. He was a strange man with tape over his mouth. One word was written on the tape.

‘Vow of Silence’

He truly didn’t say a single word.

Thumbs up!

When spoken to, he would only give a thumbs up. A crazy thumbs-up man. It seemed that most swordsmen in this world weren’t quite right in the head.

‘But he is strong.’

I wasn’t sure what sword style he used, but he had advanced by easily defeating his opponents. In my opinion, he was the second most dangerous after Saito Kana.

“This Warrior Cup has a high level of competitors. Before we draw the brackets… there’s one tradition in the Warrior Cup. You have the right to designate your desired opponent.”

Warrior Saito Tetsu spoke up.

Oh… there’s such a system? Interesting.

“Is there… anyone who wishes to make a designation?”

Tetsu asked, looking at the four advancing competitors.

Raise!

Saito Kana and Tina raised their hands almost simultaneously.

Thumbs up!

The thumbs-up man just gave a thumbs up to the air. Was he cursed to die if he didn’t give a thumbs up every few minutes?

“I designate Arigiri Shota.”

Saito Kana said.

“I’ll designate Shota-san.”

Almost simultaneously, Tina also spoke up.

Wait… why suddenly? Seriously.

“Hmm… you’re quite popular, Arigiri Shota.”

Tetsu said with a grin.

“In this case, the one who received the duel requests has the right to decide. What do you think? Who do you want to fight first?”

Tetsu asked.

“Beep beep beep. The end of the human world has arrived. Beep beep beep.”

I immediately started running my electronic brain.

My goal was to win the championship. The biggest obstacle was Saito Kana. While the thumbs-up man and Tina were also strong, Saito Kana was on another level entirely.

But right now, Saito Kana was at full power. He had good luck with the brackets and had only faced weak opponents. Facing Saito Kana at full power had low odds of success.

Tina was somewhat more manageable.

Honestly, making such calculations makes me seem like a coward and an unmanly man. I’ll admit that.

But… my true desire was to win the championship, even if I had to resort to such tactics. It’s not like I was cheating. I was just being unmanly.

“I’ll go with Tina-san.”

I said.

“Hahaha! My granddaughter would be angry if she heard this!”

Tetsu laughed heartily.

Then, Tetsu stared at me intently.

“You really want to win… I didn’t expect there would still be such a fool.”

It seemed Tetsu had noticed my strategy.

“Oh!! Looking forward to it! Shota-kun.”

Tina smiled at me with her eyes.

“Uh… yeah.”

I nodded. I thought about using informal speech, but I didn’t know her age, so it felt awkward.

“Really… just scheming to win. How arrogant.”

Saito Kana’s mood seemed to have soured considerably.

And so, Tina and I were matched up.

The thumbs-up man’s opponent became Kana.

“Well, before that… it’s about lunchtime. Let’s eat and digest properly before fighting. After all, we all do this to make a living.”

At that moment, Tetsu clapped his hands and said.

Ah. It had indeed become the time between 1 and 2 PM, when humans are hungriest and most cruel. Food is king.

“We’ve reserved catering. Everyone enjoy your meal.”

With Tetsu’s words, a large number of lunchboxes arrived.

What? When he said meal, I expected something better… just regular lunchboxes? I was a bit disappointed.

After receiving one lunchbox per person almost like a rationing system, I returned to the waiting room. When eating, it’s always tastier to eat with my girlfriends.

However, that disappointment didn’t last long.

“Woooooah!!! So delicious!!!!!!”

It was the most delicious lunchbox I had ever eaten in my life.

Despite being a lunchbox, it had an incredibly luxurious taste.

“Kiyoooooooh!!!!!!”

I couldn’t stop making strange noises while eating. My chopsticks… my chopsticks won’t stop!! Someone, please, someone stop me!!!!

“Shota. Stop acting crazy while eating. It’s not polite.”

Eri scolded me almost in mom mode.

“Really… look at his overreaction. Hehehe. Is he going to take off his top again?”

Taiga looked at me with anticipation while chuckling.

If you expect it so much, it’s only right to respond accordingly.

Flap-!

I took off the top of my uniform.

“Hahaha!! He really took it off!!”

Taiga burst into laughter.

“Really! Taiga!! Umi!! Stop Shota!! You should eat quietly!”

Eri shouted toward Umi.

“Kiyoooooooh!!!!”

Umi was also eating while making strange noises. She had become Shota 2.0.

“Umi’s gone crazy too!!!”

The screams of Eri, the only sane person, echoed all around.

Anyway, the meal proceeded in a warm and cheerful atmosphere.

Bang-!!!

There was a sound of something being pounded on the wall, but I ignored it for now. Come to think of it… the next room is Kana’s waiting room. Were we too noisy and causing trouble? I should apologize later. That’s what I thought.