Those Who Had The Spotlight

When the other heroes heard the lady, they quickly scooted over to the sides, forming a circle and leaving the two of us who had the number 1 in our heads.

As they did that, the same magic barrier from earlier also appeared and enclosed us just before the other heroes.

The other guy, my opponent, is a blonde-haired man with a fairly handsome face. Judging by the sword on his waist, his main class could be a knight or a spellblade.

It seems like I didn't have to guess as the woman who will probably mediate the battle spoke again.

"Alexis Grand. Main class is Knight and sub-class is Swordmaster. He is a hero from the planet Locus who subdued the Demon Lord, Astaroth."

The woman looked at the other guy and said that When the people heard what she said, they seemed to have become afraid but sighed with relief at the same time as they didn't have to fight the man. 

After, the woman then looked at me before speaking again.

"Cien. Main class is Ranger and sub-class is Marksman. He is a hero from the planet Horensia who subdued the Demon Lord, Luciel." 

The heroes who heard mine had faces that showed both mocking and pitiful expressions.

Eh? What's going on!?

"He only has a tier 1 sub-class?"

"Not just that, his enemy has a tier 2 sub-class! That guy is done for!"

"But the fact that he defeated a demon lord should mean that he's at least competent."

"Haha! I don't know about you guys but I doubt he can defeat a tier 2 Knight!"

The heroes who were watching us had different thoughts. Well, it's not like I can blame them. I have no clue about what was going on either.

As I was wondering about that, I suddenly heard Stella's voice inside my head.

[Master, I have concealed your true class for the moment.]

Why?

[There is no time, I will explain it later, however, master should just do what he plans to do.]

...Alright, I'll be waiting for that explanation. 

When my opponent, Alexis, heard that, he smiled cockily and locked gazes with me before speaking.

"You heard them~ How about you just surrender to make this easier for the both of us?"

"If any of you wishes to surrender, then stand still and let your opponent kill you."

However, I wasn't able to reply earlier as the woman interjected, making Alexis shrink back a little but he didn't lose his confidence.

"Now then, arm yourselves and begin at my count!"

When the woman, who became the mediator, said that, Alexis drew his sword. It was a golden broadsword with bronze carvings and rune alphabets near the sword's guard.

Meanwhile, I activated my spatial storage, which is a thin but wide bracelet. It glowed and a magic-powered revolver appeared in my right hand. It had a black metallic finish with gold accents.

"3!"

When Alexis saw my weapon, his eyes widened for a bit as it must be because of my weapon's design that looked distinct. The same goes for the audience.

The reason why Stella had to conceal my class must be important, however, using my weapons shouldn't arouse any suspicions.

Well, in the end, no one said that you can't use other weapons. There are no restrictions when it comes to equipping weapons either. This isn't a game after all.

"2!"

As the count nearly reached the end, my expression turned cold and I opened my mouth to speak.

"Unfortunately, I do not plan on dying here either."

"1!"

When Alexis heard that while looking at my face, I saw that his eyebrow twitched a little.

"Begin combat!"

Right as the woman finished the count, I immediately pointed my gun at Alexis. When he saw that, he quickly charged in a stance of holding his sword with both hands while it was positioned in his back.

[A heavy slash!]

Stella called his attack but I already had a guess. I took out a Smoke Grenade from my spatial storage almost instantly, at the same time, activating it.

When Alexis cleaved straight vertically, the grenade on my hand quickly exploded and the smoke covered nearly the entire area.

"Damn it! Don't hide you coward!"

Alexis roared but I didn't pay him any attention, the only thing I had to focus on was killing him.

[Be careful master! His senses should be enhanced as well, he might be able to discern where you are, albeit faintly.]

Yeah. As if to test that, I took another artifact from my spatial storage, it was a pair of earrings that I forgot to wear earlier. When I put them on, they quickly activated, creating specialized glasses that could let me see through the smoke.

These are my Appraisal Glasses that I upgraded for this kind of condition. When I finally caught sight of him, I fired my revolver. Since my aim is even better than most people from the Marksman class, even a hero shouldn't be able to dodge this.

As I did that, Alexis turned to my direction and used his sword to block the bullets.

[Threat Detection! He's onto you, master!]

My bullets were made of Mirandium, the strongest metal alloy in Horensia. It wasn't able to pierce his sword but on a closer look, it seemed to have made a crack at least.

But I can't count on that, I need something that will take him down with one shot. Right, it's about time I show off for a bit.

I ejected the empty cartridges and reloaded my revolver before he was able to get to me. With the help of my specialized spatial storage and telekinetic magic, the reloading was fast.

My revolver has a cylinder of 8 cartridges. I loaded the first five with the regular Mirandium Bullets and the last three with special ones.

"What's wrong!? All you can do is run!?"

Alexis said that as if to taunt me. He was faster when it came to running speed but I was more agile, as I was able to dodge his attacks, especially the heavy ones.

I didn't speak as I continued to bait him, firing one of the regular bullets periodically. However, as I was at my last three loaded bullets, Alexis suddenly stopped moving.

The smoke was dissipating faster, no, it was being repelled.

[Master! That's a powerful skill!]

Yeah, I feel that as well. Alexis is gathering mana in the environment and mixing them with his own. Seeing that, I couldn't help but brace myself.

[Please move continuously! You wouldn't be able to take that!]

I could feel the worry in Stella's tone. However, don't worry. I already have the best way to deal with this.

[Wha-]

Stella seemed to have become more worried but I have to settle this now. With my game-breaker artifact!

Thinking of that, I took another grenade from my spatial storage before activating and and throwing it on the ground between Alexis and me.

"HAHAHAHA! This skill also provides me with hyper-magic armor! What's that gonna do!? Eat this! Conqueror's Shift!"

Alexis said, full of confidence as his skill finished charging but at the same time, the grenade activated, producing a field that extended just up to the barrier in our battlefield.

"Anti-Magic Field Grenade."

I said that with a smirk as Alexis' skill stopped charging just before he managed to unleash it. For a while, he looked at his sword in confusion before staring at me.

That's right, Mage or not, in the end, skills consume mana. That very fact made classes only seem like a distinction for other's weapons of choice. That's why a weapon like this grenade can be considered a game-breaking artifact.

Even though my gun is magic-powered, it's only because I can increase the speed of the bullet with lightning magic or other types of enhancements with different elements. But even without that, the gun can still function normally, albeit slower with regular firepower.

Although, at most, the grenade can only stop the activation of direct magic spells or skills. It can't completely disable mana on the field, making it unable to deactivate artifacts or spells that are already active. 

Artifacts can also function normally as they're not considered as direct magic activations.

The barrier was also still there after all, though I doubt it will be deactivated by that grenade. That's why the grenade is more like an Anti-Magic Disorientation Grenade, too long.

Fortunately, it recognized Alexis' charging of his skill as activation and not activated already, completely stopping it.

As Alexis was about to stand up, I fired my revolver once, shooting a bullet but the moment it hit him, the bullet tip burst open, discharging a wire that roped his arms to his body, making him drop his sword.

That's one of my trick bullets, the Wire trap Bullet. Then, I fired again, this time, the bullet that hit him released an electric shock, enough to kill a bear but it can only immobilize a hero.

"AAAHHHHHH!!!"

Retreating farther away, I shot my last bullet, Explosive Bullet. When it hit him, there was a large explosion that covered nearly the whole area. Fortunately, the ring I hastily wore earlier activated, protecting me with a magic barrier.

After the additional smoke cleared up, Alexis couldn't be seen. The only thing remaining in his place was his sword, albeit half of it was destroyed and that part was charred.

[Master...]

"Good work, Hero Cien. You have successfully completed your evaluation. As for your results, our judges have deemed you as an S-Rank hero with a threat designation of a country. Congratulations. You may remain in the facility if you wish to watch but you can also leave. The staff near the exit will bless your necklace as proof. Concluding evaluation."

The woman who was the mediator said that. However, I ignored her for a bit and walked to where Alexis had died, picking up his sword before turning to the woman.

"I can keep this, right?"

The woman nodded so I stuffed it in my spatial storage along with my gun. Then, I walked outside of the barrier and sat alongside the other heroes who were looking at me like a rare animal. Some are in awe while some are still in doubt.

My actions indicated that I wished to stay and watched so the woman didn't pay me any attention anymore and proceeded with the next battle.

[Master, do you regret killing him?]

I tried watching the other heroes' battles and decided to ask Stella's reason for concealing my real class later but I was too absentminded to do that properly until I heard her voice in my mind.

Nah, it's just that it seemed really unfair. He might be an asshole and he's pretty cocky but he also saved a world the same as everyone else. He should've at least earned that much.

[Is that so? I'm not too well-versed in human emotion but I assumed that what master was feeling was a deep sense of regret.]

Eh? No, it's not really that deep... it's just that...

[Master regrets using an Explosive Bullet as you weren't able to salvage his sword at considerable condition.]

...Seriously?

[Master's brain waves do not lie.]

Now, that makes me feel kind of complicated. Could it be... that I'm actually the asshole!?

[I have detected that master's words contain inaccuracies. Allow me to reiterate, master has always been an asshole.]

Isn't that worse, though!?

[Are you feeling better now, master?]

...This AI... I see, so that's what she's up to huh? As I thought of that, a smile spread across my face, not caring even if the other heroes think that I'm an idiot.

You are now my emotional support AI!

[No, thanks.]

Stella retorted to my declaration with a deadpan tone. If she had a body right now, I probably wouldn't get tired of looking at her, even speaking with her.

[I highly doubt master's words. If I possess a physical body, I'm sure master would rather get touch-feely and violate my entirety.]

You think I'm a sex-crazed beast!?

[No, but I know that master is a pathetic virgin who hadn't felt touching or the touch of a woman despite living a full life already.]

You can't be sure of that! I have lost most of my memories, right? Who knows, maybe I was originally a ladies' man or something.

[I believe that's what you would call a womanizer.]

That's the negative one.

[I fail to see how the other is positive?]

It's a matter of perspective.

[Then, I believe that if master were to actively find women, he would build a harem like the asshole he is.]

Hold on, harem!? Where did you learn that word!?

[...From my data archives.]

You hesitated!

[It's just your imagination.]

As Stell and I were on our usual banter, in my mind, I suddenly took notice of the people becoming more hyped. What's happening?

[It appears that the current heroes in the field are triggering the men's primal instincts.]

Wait, what? I was wondering what Stella meant until I turned my gaze to the current two heroes and the mediator's voice resounded as well.

"Ingrid Velent. Main class is spellblade and sub-class is Ethereal Weaver. She is a hero from the planet Mithel who subdued the Ancient Dragon, Tiamat."

She's a beautiful woman who exudes an aura of elegance and maturity. She has long crimson hair that extends up to her waist, and a pair of reflective yellow eyes that almost seem golden.

Her pure white skin that has absolutely no blemishes makes her an eye candy for the other male heroes.

"Laurielle Hestia. Main class is Fighter and sub-class is Berserker. She is a hero from the planet Nox who subdued the Evil Demi-god, Eve Of Rebirth."

In opposition, the other woman had a tanned skin tone, she wore short black hair and a pair of crimson eyes. Since she's a fighter, her choice of clothes is lighter, revealing more skin.

That's why her toned body with light muscles made her figure perfect for a woman who works out. Even to the others, her beauty didn't get overshadowed by her opponent, Ingrid. 

Their figures also made me reflexively stare at them like the others.

[Master, women don't like it when a spineless man simply stares at them.]

How do you know that? I thought you were not a woman.

[M- my data archives indicate such.]

What a convenient excuse. As I thought of that, Stella didn't reply any further, as if she was sulking but I also paid her no heed. 

Right now, these two beautiful women are about to have a death battle. It's not really my thing but it's definitely something that can make anyone interested.