For the ninth match, it was a fight between the [Spear Techniques] Gift holder Rando-kun and Gori-chan.
Rando-kun have been playing an active role in the village from the early days as part of the hunting team. He was 16 years old, meaning he was young and still had room for growth, yet he was already one of if not the best among those who possessed the [Spear Techniques] Gift within the village.
“Khh! This should do it…!”
“Ufufu, you’re quite good with the spear, aren’t you? But to satisfy me, you have to thrust even harder! Maybe it’s still too early for you to have a go at me?”
Rando-kun launched multiple spear thrusts, but not one of them landed on Gori-chan. More accurately, Gori-chan was able to deflect each thrust with her bare hands.
“O-oi, what’s with that monster…no, I’m not talking about their appearance, well, maybe that too…but what I’m talking about is how they can perfectly see through each of those fast attacks. Definitely not just a muscle head.”
Much like how Raul was astounded by Gori-chan’s skill, the crowd was wild with excitement.
…mhm, looks like my prediction that Gori-chan will become the champion is correct.
After all, when I used Villager Appraisal on her, I saw the following:
Being a Double Gift was impressive enough, but her Fist Master Techniques was even on par with Gifts such as [Sword Master Techniques] and [Shield Master Techniques].
“Tee-hee, Is it my turn to attack now, right?”
“…!”
Gori-chan, who has been on the defensive this whole time, declared so while giving an impactful wink.
She then suddenly lifted one foot high up toward the sky. Upon seeing her exposed undergarments, some audience members lost consciousness.
“Take thisssssssssss!”
Immediately after shouting so, Gori-chan brought down her raised foot with all her might.
*THUDDD*
The ring was built with sturdy materials, but upon the impact of Gori-chan’s foot, a large web-like crack was created. Additionally, the impact created a thunderous sound as well as shook the entire venue.
Since Rando-kun was near enough the point of impact, he got knocked down on his behind. Using that chance, Gori-chan dashed forward to shorten the distance between them and then pinned down Rando-kun’s spear.
No matter how much Rando-kun tried to lift his spear up, it wouldn’t budge an inch.
“Heave-ho!”
“W-what are you––”
On the other hand, Gori-chan easily lifted Rando-kun up with one hand.
“Ufufu, once you get a bit stronger, feel free to have a go at me again ♡”
After saying so, Gori-chan threw Rando-kun.
Rando-kun was a bit slender, but he was by no means light. Even so, he flew all the way out of the ring.
What arm strength!
Rando-kun was unable to stop himself from touching the ground outside of the ring and was thus officially defeated.
“She’s definitely exceptional…what should I do if Gori-chan actually becomes champion…”
Like that, I felt another chill down spine.
◇ ◇ ◇
The exhilarating fights continued.
As to be expected of people who advanced to the main round of the tournament, each match was so full of action that there wasn’t enough time to blink even.
The winner of the 12th match was Alec-san, the dwarf Danba-san was the winner of the 13th match, and the former bandit leader Dorial for the 14th.
Eventually, it was time for the 16th match. This match was between Selius-kun and Bazara-san.
Bazara-san seemed to be a skilled soldier who refrained from tactics that exploited his enemy’s weak points. As soon as the match started, he took action. However, against Selius-kun who has grown in strength recently, he was gradually pushed back until he was unfortunately defeated.
And so, all of the matches in the first set were finished. 16 people advanced.
The next set was to be held the next day, so if a spectator from outside the village wanted to continue watching, they had to have secured their accommodations.
“Thank goodness I built a lot of hotels. There should be enough vacancies, I think.”
…what would have been their plan if there wasn’t enough rooms though?