Chapter 124: Super Rookies (1)
Land of Beginnings.
The place where most swordsmen gather, the three stadiums in the Land of Proof.
But it was hard to find talented people.
Unlike the two stadiums which carefully accepted selected gladiators, this place was a testing ground to see if people were really worthy to go ahead.
It was a place where anyone could knock on the door without any restrictions, whether it was a young man who ran away from home, or an old swordsman who was on the verge of death.
Nevertheless, the Land of Beginnings was popular.
Rather, the audience preferred this place.
The charm which came from uncertainty.
A unique atmosphere where a seasoned veteran and an idiot could stand together, mixed with a bit of anticipation at the possibility that they might discover the next master.
Add to that the proper betting, the feeling of exhilaration which came from unpredictability.
“Today too, give your best, children!”
“Not children? Then go up quickly! And stop staying here!”
“Look here, and there too! I think that that person is challenging for the third time?”
“Hahaha, grandpa! Don’t get hurt! This time, I hope you can move up!”
The swordsmen who heard those words raised their swords while looking at the audience.
Calm expression of a veteran, but a poor body.
However, that too was one of the fun elements in Land of Beginnings.
However, that was just the view of the general audience.
Andre, a reporter from Weekly Valhalla, who came to the place, was looking around the stadium.
And not just him.
People were waiting with magic cameras in their hands.
All of them were professional reporters covering the gladiator magazines, watching possible strong opponents with keen eyes.
All waiting for someone to show up, but after a while, the reporters broke into exclamations.
It was because of the appearance of someone.
‘Bratt Lloyd!’
The eldest son of the Lloyd family, a powerful noble family in Gerbera and is known as the best in the 27th batch of Krono.
Of course, he was still a young man under the age of 20, but he wasn’t being treated like any other swordsman.
‘Is that him? Not bad. But still a long way off. Of course, there are a few kids who are strong, but… still, there are a lot of areas to work on.’
When someone asked Ian for an evaluation of him, that was what he said.
An ambiguous remark which half complimented as well, but everyone knew the truth.
Just how strict Ian was to his students.
Needless to say, Bratt Lloyd is known to be the best among the ‘useful children’.
Although he wasn't from the west, him being here was enough to write an article.
‘Thank God. If I had come a few days later, I would have been late.’
‘I guess it is because he is a high-ranking noble, he must have connections in the Land of Proof. Seeing how he is taking the test right…’
It was just a day since the party had arrived in Eisenmarkt.
It was an act of slashing in, but the reporters didn’t care.
Their interest was in the pride of Krono, and to see how great Bratt Lloyd was.
While thinking that, another rookie appeared.
It was Judith, the genius commoner swordsman on the same level as Bratt Lloyd.
The reporter's expectations heightened when they saw her red hair.
Weekly Valhalla reporter Andre, hoped that the test would be exciting.
In his eyes, she was an incomprehensible candidate.
“Hinz, that guy is here too…”
Andre looked at the other side and saw Hinz.
Andre frowned at his appearance, but nodded at him.
Considering his career, it wasn’t strange for Hinz to be there.
He, who was more talented than any other reporter, couldn’t have missed this chance.
“Well… if this happens, we will end up competing for the best swordsman out there.”
“Huh? Did I hear wrong?”
“Nothing. This! If they both go to test at the same time, you take Judith’s side.”
Andre, who sent his stupid apprentice to Judith, focused on Bratt.
Still, thanks to the Land of Beginnings, and the recent boom, the tests were being conducted right away.
He didn’t like that he would miss the fight of one swordsman, but decided to focus on Bratt.
However, when he saw the opponent, Andre was disappointed.
It was because it was an old man who was bluffing about himself.
Clang!
“Match over! New gladiator Bratt Lloyd, wins!”
“Oh my, such a pity! I was feeling good this time!”
‘What feeling good shit!’
Because of the opponent’s poor skills Andre couldn’t even see the true skills of Bratt!
He couldn’t help but want to scream.
But the Land of Beginning was like this.
The test happens three times and at the end of the test, something interesting might come out, but it doesn’t have to always be interesting either.
‘If possible, maybe a hidden talent would come out… but it seems difficult this time.’
It was the moment when Andre was regretting the match.
Clang!
A particular sharp sound resonated followed by great cheer.
His head naturally turned to the direction of the sound.
A pretty handsome and gentle looking young man.
As the match was over, the expression of disappointment was visible on the opponent’s face.
And this wasn’t an uncommon thing in the Land of Beginnings.
Since it was a place where swordsmen of all levels gathered, one sided battles were far more common.
“Still, the opponent has pretty nice muscles… shocking.”
Andre mumbled as he looked.
But he turned away, he was too busy to look at someone else.
Bratt Lloyd and Judith were more important to him, and there were a lot more swordsmen he was keeping an eye on.
‘I need to see Charis and Garrett and I want to see Triston if possible…’
As he was thinking about that, the apprentice who was out to see Judith’s match was running towards him.
Andre asked.
“What happened?”
“Judith’s one strike finished it. The opponent was so bad and it wasn’t impressive at all.”
“Is that so… we can’t help it. Ah! Triston’s game is starting! Let’s go!”
“Yes, sir!”
Andre and the apprentice continued to wander around looking at the tests.
He wanted to see the matches of all the people he had in mind.
And in order to write an article quickly, he would have to prepare a draft.
Fortunately, Bratt Lloyd's and Judith’s tests no longer overlapped.
Clang!
“The match is over, new gladiator Bratt Lloyd wins!”
“Hmm… great skills.”
“Thank you. You were great too.”
Bratt Lloyd finished three fights.
He came down from the stage.
After waving his hand at the audience who were cheering, he followed the guide.
All the tests were over, but he couldn’t leave right away because the level decision had to be announced after all the matches were over.
The apprentice reporter who was watching it said,
“It looks like he is a master of a prestigious family.”
“Hm, right.”
“Wouldn’t getting an interview be difficult?”
“Yes.”
It was true. Despite waving his hands, Bratt didn’t once look at the reporters.
Apparently it looked like he had a bad experience in the past.
Andre grumbled.
“Anyway, that will be a problem. Clean and well mannered, huh? We can approach each other and talk about it in a polite manner, and if we push it too much, we might end up being shown a cold shoulder.”
“Hmm… right?”
“What? Who are those in front?”
“Ah! Judith's match starts now!”
As Andre frowned, the apprentice shouted.
Andre’s gaze turned to Judith.
Unlike Bratt’s third opponent, a capable swordsman stood against Judith.
“Great! Maybe… we will get to see some action this time… uh?”
The problem was that there was someone he spotted during the match.
Veteran mercenary, Charis.
Before hearing about Bratt and Judith, the reporters had high expectations of him.
But with what happened, there was nothing they could do.
Frowning, Andre said.
“Charis's match, you go and see it.”
“Yes.”
The apprentice immediately ran over to the other side.
Andre, who recovered his expression, focused on Judith’s match.
How long will the opponent hold up?
He wished it would be a long battle.
If not, at least to see Judith show off her skills…
With those thoughts in mind, he waited for the final test to begin.
In his head, Andre suddenly thought.
‘Hinz, that sly bastard, why isn’t he coming for this?’
It was strange.
No matter what anyone said, today’s protagonists were Bratt and Judith.
It wasn’t certain if some knight of a prestigious family or swordsman had come here, but unless there were no such people, these two were the only great ones.
In fact, all the reporters were here.
However…
‘Why isn’t Hinz here?’
Andre frowned.
He couldn’t understand the reason.
However, it was very, very strange to not pay attention to any other match.
‘Oh perhaps, is he hiding somewhere and secretly watching the matches?’
That could be too.
Unlike Andre, who stayed low, Hinz was an elf.
Hinz was handsome and had outstanding abilities.
Thinking that, Andre felt like throwing a tantrum.
It was the moment he tried to control his anger.
He saw the apprentice reporter run back to him again, and felt his anger burst.
“You bastard, why are you back again? I thought I told you to watch Charis’s match!”
“Uh? Yes…”
“Uh? What uh? Hurry up and do your task!”
Andre raised his fist.
He wasn’t a bad looking person, but to the apprentices he was a demon.
The apprentice trembled.
But he didn’t go back.
In a terrified voice, he said.
“T-the….match is over.”
“What?”
“It was won. Charis lost. Shocking.”
“Hmm, right… Charis won, lost?”
What did that mean?
Just as he was about to ask, the sound of swords clashing resounded.
And he looked at Judith.
The red haired swordsman had finished her match quickly and was descending from the stage.
Andre missed the important event and couldn’t suppress his anger any longer, and asked.
“So, Charis lost?”
“Y-yes! Lost in an instant. In fact, I couldn’t even see what happened properly. It was over while I was still running there!”
“Who was the opponent?”
“That one…”
The apprentice pointed to someone.
Andre, turned there.
And what caught his eyes was a young blonde with a gentle impression whom he had seen during the first test.
“…”
And it was the elf Hinz, who was writing something down while looking at the young blonde.