Round 2: Battle Royale (2)

"What…happened?"

The arena was completely silent when the majority of all the participants collapsed, blankly staring at the unbelievable scene in front of them. Soon the moderator began to speak, his voice shaking with excitement.

-"A..Amazing! It had only just started, but almost all the contestants had been disqualified! I wonder who the perpetrator of this was?!"

In the arena, only 8 contestants were left, each one of them staring at the other in utmost silence.

A tense atmosphere slowly builds up in the whole colosseum, the spectators excitedly expecting the first move.

"What the hell just happened..."

One of the remaining contestants in the arena, Felix Schwizsteiner, from the nearby kingdom of Orega, looked around in disbelief, not being able to comprehend the situation.

Although he had seen many things in his career as an adventurer, never before had he such a scene before.

Multiple hundreds of people collapsed at the same time, seemingly falling into a deep slumber.

Raising his head, he looked over to the other contestants, examining their reactions.

Only 8 of the previous hundreds of people remained, so there had to be a reason why they were the only ones remaining. Something that would connect them all.

However, most of the other remaining contestants also didn't seem to know what was going on, looking around the arena in confusion, just like him.

Emphasis on most.

"Is this your work, boy?"

On the other side, around the edge of the arena, a tall, cloaked figure began to talk, releasing a rough, masculine voice. He looked over at another cloaked figure, his gaze seemingly remaining on that person.

Although the cloaked man asked it as a question, it wasn't meant as one. He already knew what the answer was.

"Why would it be my work?"

In an amused voice, the other figure responded. Contrary to the first cloaked figure, this one sounded rather boyish than manly.

Judging by his height and his body stature alone, that cloaked figure seemed to be young.

"Besides that, you just assumed my gender and age. That's not very nice of you, sir."

"I certainly apologize for that mistake." The man chuckled. "However, sensing such things is just something that comes with experience and skill."

"I see. I assume that you are a pretty skilled fighter, then?"

"I can bet on that."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Felix and all the other contestants just silently stared at the two cloaked figures, watching as they casually conversed.

Rather than just conversing, the two figures seemed to ignore everyone else in the arena, talking like it was a normal day.

"After the sudden collapse of the participants, things seemed to come to a halt! Are they perhaps still paralyzed from the shock of the start?!"

The moderator's voice began to speak again, the previous excitement in his voice vanishing, replaced by a confused tone.

'All the remaining contestants have at least passed the seventh tier...so why..?'

Although Felix and all the other contestants felt disrespected by the nonchalant attitude of the two cloaked figures, nobody dared to move.

These two people passively emitted an aura that spread the same message around.

'Interfere and you will die.'

Even without lifting a single finger or having to use much energy at all, both of them managed to keep the entire arena at bay.

"I suppose you wouldn't mind showing me some of your power then, Mr. adventurer?"

"Haha, it seems like you are not just all talk, mage."

Again, without anyone knowing how they did it, they both began to casually reveal information about each other. Information that usually could only be obtained by being acquainted with the other person.

However, judging by the content of their dialogue, it didn't seem like they knew each other.

"I see! The battle had already begun!"

The moderator, who had amplified all sounds in the arena, said as they could finally hear the conversation between the two cloaked figures.

"Although it seems like this, the battle had already begun! In their minds, they are already trading blows and trying to gauge the level of their opponent. Is this what a fight of the highest caliber looks like?!"

Naturally, the moderator misinterpreted the silence and the lack of action as a sign of a mental battle between masters, but he couldn't be any farther from the truth.

No, rather the reason why everyone except both of them wasn't moving or talking was fear.

For some reason, an indescribable fear spread around their body at the sole presence of these two beings.

Felix and all the other people in the arena knew that if they both started their battle, it would look like a showdown between monsters.

Like a catastrophe created by nature itself.

Shiiiiing—

The taller one of the two cloaked figures began to release a deep chuckle, before slowly pulling out a sword that was hidden beneath his coat and repositioning his stance.

"You want to experience a fraction of my power, you say? That I can give you."

The voice of the sharp man grew cold to the end of his sentence, his previously warm tone turning into a serious one.

"I would love to experience the powers of an S-rank adventure."

The taller man chuckled shortly before his voice turned into his usual serious tone again.

"You figured even that out, huh?"

The bodies of both of the figures turned tense, both of them going into a fighting stance, as they almost simultaneously released their mana-

-"What is this overwhelming power?!"

The moderator spoke again, surprised by the sudden development of the battle. Where prior, nothing but silence reigned. Suddenly, a terrifying wave of mana washed all over the colosseum, filling the audience and the contestants with feelings of dread and fear.

However, what made people so special was their individuality. As such, there were also people who reacted differently to fear.

Instead of trying to run away from it, some people try to face their fears, completely neglecting the possibility of failure.

And the same thing also happened in this situation.

"Don't ignore us, you assholes!"

"Do you think that you're better than us?!"

Instead of retreating from such a threat, they rushed directly into the lion's nest, challenging the two cloaked figures each.

Infuriatingly for them, the two cloaked people kept ignoring them, which just raised their irritation against the two people.

Raising their own weapons, both of them approached the two figures, extending their arm and preparing a strike.

CRUSH—!

When they entered the range of the two contestants, almost instantly, both of them were crushed into the ground by an invisible force, with none of the two cloaked people lifting even a single finger.

"Then show me what you're made of, mage!"

With an intense roar of excitement, the man increased his mana output, raising the density of the mana inside the Colosseum.

"Just call me 'wanderer'."

Ignoring the other parts of the man's sentence, the wanderer spoke in a soft voice, his voice embracing the ears of everyone who heard it like the warm comfort of a cozy bed.

"I would prefer if you just used that name."

"I see...if that's the case..." The man stopped for a moment, lowering his head to the ground, as he started pondering. "Yeah, that would fit."

"What would fit?"

"Steel."

"Huh?"

"You can just call me Steel, then."