Longing(Side: Riku Salvatore)

Riku Salvatore was walking with a heavy gait toward the round arena.

Waiting in the arena was his opponent in the final round of the tournament.

Riku's opponent, Zack Prower, was leagues above him in terms of strength

and was also one of the champion candidates of this tournament.

Nevertheless, even though the previous Riku, the one before "THAT"

match, might have eagerly stood on the arena, the current him didn't feel

like doing that.

The reason was that match. It had slapped him awake and made him aware

that there was a sky above the sky above him.

Kai Heineman―there was no reason to investigate, but Riku had realized

Kai had been hiding his true strength when he was still in Lamour.

Although Riku's master, Shiga, claimed that Kai's victory during the

elimination match was due to cheating with an item, Riku knew that the

problem wasn't in physical strength. Slapped awake by Kai's remark, Riku

had finally understood the one fact that not even his master realized. An

unsurpassable wall lay between Kai and the other participants of that match,

including Riku. Compared to Kai Heineman, Riku and the other

participants were no different from toddlers who just learned how to crawl

around.

And it was the same case for Riku's opponent in this match, Zack. Zack had

reached a height in martial arts that far surpassed Riku.

The spectators cheered as Riku climbed up the arena. Riku had managed to

reach the final round of the tournament purely by luck. He had been

trembling in fear at the edge of the arena when Kai had spared him. In his

ears, the audience's cheers weren't directed at him, who had entered the

final in such an unsightly manner. In short, the audience was cheering for

Zack.

（Well, that's only natural.）

Riku was only reaping what he had sowed. He blamed himself for never

taking martial arts seriously prior to this tournament. For him, martial arts

was only a means to gain fame in society.

Riku regretted the fact that he had passed the preliminary round. Since even

if he had lost in the final preliminary round, he would at least retain his

pride as a swordsman.

「I'm not even qualified as a warrior anymore…」

His muttering disappeared amongst the cheers of the audience when the

female emcee introduced Zack.

Immediately abstaining after a match's start was allowed in the final round.

Riku had watched several of Zack's matches. Zack apparently had zero

interest in a gutless opponent. He wouldn't attack his opponents as long as

they surrendered at the start of the match.

At this point, Riku had achieved the goal set by his master, advancing to the

final round of the tournament. Not surrendering at this point would only

sully the fame of the Heineman-style. Therefore, Riku's master, Shiga, had

strictly ordered Riku to surrender right after the start of the match.

There was nothing wrong with Shiga's opinion. After all, it was impossible

for Riku to beat Zack. And that was also Riku's original intention.

The referee finally stepped into the arena.

「FIGHT!」

He gave the signal to start the match.

Riku tried to raise his right hand to surrender, but strangely, his body

refused to move. Trembling, he grasped the wooden sword he had never

cared about until now, refusing to let it go.

「Ain't gonna surrender, eh?」

Zack, who had been showing no interest toward Riku until now, squinted

his left eye and looked at him.

「…」

Riku pointed his wooden sword toward Zack in silence.

（What in the world I'm doing now?）

Even Riku himself had no idea why he had pointed his wooden sword

toward Zack. There was no shame in surrendering in front of an opponent

he couldn't win against. And most of all, his master Shiga had ordered him

to do that. Shiga was the current instructor of the branch family faction with

the most influence in the Heineman-style dojo. Going against such a man

would only make Riku lose his status in Heineman-style.

And yet, his trembling limbs entered a fighting stance on their own.

「Then, I'm gonna crush you.」

Zack spoke while cracking his fingers.

「UWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!」

Letting out a warcry, Riku entered a fight he couldn't win, for the first time

in his life.

Zack's right fist, which felt as hard as a rock, landed a clean hit on Riku's

abdomen, sending him flying. Riku bounced back on the floor until he

reached the edge of the ring.

When Riku tried to prop his body using his wooden sword, a sharp pain ran

through his entire body. His left eyelid swelled up from internal bleeding,

taking half of his eyesight from him.

「Riku, stop showing such an unsightly figure! Surrender now!」

The hoarse voice of his master, who kept shouting the same order from the

audience seat since a while ago, rang in his ears.

「Oioi, he still wants to have a go despite being so weak.」

「He's so weak that even I can beat him with one hand.」

「Your master is right. Surrender quickly since you're just being an

annoyance.」

Riku could hear the jeering mixed with sneers coming from the audience

seats.

Strangely enough, the current him didn't care about that. Sure enough, his

fight with Zack was like a quarrel between an adult and a child; it couldn't

even be regarded as a match. Riku thought that the him before "that match"

might have felt the same way if he were watching this match from the

audience seats.

「RIKU, Stop smearing mud on the Heineman-style's name!!」

「SHUT THE HE*L UP! This is my fight! How to end this fight is mine to

decide!」

The words coming out of Riku's mouth were a rebellion against his master,

something he would've never even considered until now.

With this, Riku would surely lose all status in the Heineman-style dojo that

he had built until now. Yet, he didn't even feel a grain of regret at all. In

fact, he felt refreshed.

When Zack saw that, a ferocious smile appeared on his face.

「You're weak. That much is true. But, at least, you're the best opponent

I've fought so far in this tournament. That's why from this point, I'll treat

you like a proper warrior.」

The moment Zack said so, his figure vanished from Riku's field of view.

The next moment, a shock ran through Riku's solar plexus. Almost at the

same time, his face crashed against the cold, hard floor of the arena.

The last attack had incapacitated him. Then, amidst his hazy

consciousness―

「Make sure to watch the match between me and Kai Heineman. You'll

find what you're looking for in that match.」

Riku heard Zack's parting remarks.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

By the time Riku had regained his consciousness in the medical bay, the

figures of his fellow apprentices and his master, Shiga, couldn't be found in

Luserhall anymore.

Riku's relatives lived in Lamour. He was the pride of his parents. Riku

estimated that his foolishness during the fight against Zack would've

already spread around Lamour by now. Although he did feel ashamed for

his blood relatives, he didn't feel a shred of regret about his choice.

He was looking for a carriage to Lamour, but…

Make sure to watch the match between me and Kai Heineman. You'll find

what you're looking for in that match.

He recalled Zack's parting words. The thing he was looking for. It was akin

to a guiding light for the current Riku, who was looking for a goal.

Thus, he had decided to stay in Luserhall until the end of the tournament.

Since Kai Heineman was the holder of 『The Most Incompetent in This

World』 gift, the tournament committee didn't even allow him to have a

proper fight.

Incompetent apostate! That was the label everyone fixed and approved for

Kai. They believed that Kai wouldn't be able to win the tournament just

because of his gift.

Such reasoning was normal in Lamour, Riku's hometown. And Riku had no

intention of blaming the audience either. The reason was that their eyes

were clouded by the doctrine, just like him prior to THAT match.

Thus, Riku endured the unpleasant feeling he felt upon seeing the

committee's farce. Then, a white-haired old man appeared and took control

of the situation. Anyone aspiring to become a martial arts expert would be

extremely familiar with this man. This old man was the old friend and a

rival of the grandmaster of Heineman-style and was also the grandmaster of

the Kaien-style, Aaron Kaien.

Aaron took over the role of the referee and announced the start of the match

between Kai and Zack.

The whole stadium fell silent during the match. Even the audience members

who were booing until that point looked at the nonsensical match unfolding

before them with dumbfounded expressions.

Zack, whose strength was seemingly unsurpassable for the current Riku,

couldn't even land a hit on Kai. Even if he hadn't taken swordsmanship too

seriously before, Riku had been training in the way of sword ever since

childhood. What Kai Heineman showed in the fight wasn't some flimsy

trick like talent or mere physical strength. It was the final destination of

everyone who walked on the path of martial arts.

「Eh?」

When Riku came to his senses, his field of vision was blurry. He wiped his

eyes with his sleeve and realized that they were his tears. Then, Riku

strained his eyes again as if to burn every single moment of the fight

between the absolute strongman, Kai Heineman, and his challenger, Zack.

◇◆◇◆◇◆

―Fortress city Lamour, Dojo of Heineman-style.

The skin of his hands, which gripped the wooden sword, had already torn. It

was painful, but Riku kept swinging his wooden sword like a madman. The

sun had already set a long time ago. At this time, the old Riku would be

hanging around with his friends in the commercial district of Lamour.

His body had long since reached its limit. Nevertheless, he kept swinging

his wooden sword, all because of the match he saw on that day.

（Someday, I will also―）

The fight between Zack and Kai had left a long-lasting impression on

aspiring martial artists.

Whether it was skill, physical abilities, or mind, Zack was top-tier in all of

them. But, Kai's level was even higher than that. No, maybe "higher" was

an understatement.

Kai Heineman had already broken the limit of humanity itself. Thus, Riku's

goal wasn't Kai. His goal was Zack, the man who had challenged the

martial god called Kai Heineman.

Riku had no idea how long it'd take for him to reach Zack's level. But,

someday, he would challenge the martial god just like Zack and perform the

supreme dance of martial arts with his own hands.

That was Riku's lifetime goal. Thus, he kept swinging his wooden sword.

「You're working too hard.」

Maybe because he was too focused on his training, he failed to notice that

another person had entered the dojo.

Since Riku had blatantly opposed instructor Shiga's order, he was now

being avoided by everyone he considered as his friend. He was treated like

air in the dojo.

If there was someone who spoke to him―

「Grandmaster!」

Riku stood in panic and bowed to the elderly figure in front of him.

Although his current standing in Heineman-style was weak, Grandmaster

Elm was still the idol and the goal for young swordsmen such as Riku and

his peers.

「Don't mind me. Continue what you're doing.」

The grandmaster cheerfully spoke as he sat on the floor.

It seemed he had no intention of speaking to Riku. He might simply want to

observe a disciple's training.

After pulling himself together, Riku started swinging his wooden sword

again.

Finally, when he was too weak to even raise his hands, Riku fell face-up on

the floor. This had become his routine. He returned home only after he

couldn't swing his wooden sword anymore.

「Did something happens to you?」

The Grandmaster asked with a serious look on his face.

This person is the grandfather of that Martial God. Shouldn't he be the first

to discover the strength of Kai Heineman, that Martial God?

No, Grandmaster is a human. On the other hand, Kai Heineman is a

Martial God. If Kai really wants to hide his power, maybe not even his

grandfather would realize that. Especially because Kai is his grandson.

Elm had no idea about Kai Heineman's advancement to the final round of

the tournament. After all, Shiga along with the Heineman branch family had

gone all out to hide that news.

Since the news was hidden until now, Riku thought that Kai might have

wanted to hide his strength from his grandfather too. Therefore, there was

no reason for Riku to divulge Kai's secret.

That was why―

「I saw the pinnacle of martial arts.」

Riku decided to tell the truth without revealing Kai's identity.

「Pinnacle of martial arts… Are you referring to Roman or assistant

instructors?」

Riku shook his hide to the sides at the Grandmaster's question.

「Not those fakes. It was a genuine Martial God.」

He answered.

「Martial God? Is he even stronger than me?」

「Yes.」

Strangely enough, the Grandmaster didn't get angered even upon hearing

Riku's reply.

「So, are you swinging your sword to defeat that Martial God?」

「No, I won't be able to beat that personage with my meagre talent.」

「I see, so why are you swinging your sword?」

「To challenge him! And then, engrave my martial arts in that personage's

memory!」

Even Riku himself was shocked by his answer,

「Martial God… Martial God, eh…」

The Grandmaster nodded again and again with an amused expression, but…

""

「Swordsman Riku, come to the dojo early in the morning. I shall guide

you myself.」

This was an extremely unexpected jab for the current Riku.

「Y-Yes. Definitely!」

Riku stood up, albeit with difficulties, and bowed to Grandmaster.

Even after the Grandmaster had left the dojo, Riku was still trembling in

delight. The Grandmaster's teaching wasn't something he could normally

ask for unless he had reached instructor class. And from the way Elm had

spoken, Riku assumed that the Grandmaster would train him in person.

「With this, I can become even stronger!」

Riku started to swing his wooden sword again, dreaming of the day when

he could finally challenge that person, the Martial God.

===

Character Design: Kai… Whose hair colour changed for no

reason+Murasame(above), Raikiri(Below Murasame), and Unbreakable

Stick