Unfortunately, my opponent in the quarterfinals was not the last of the three piglets. He lost in the second round, giving the feeling that he lost the round on purpose.

As a result, one of them did not receive my physiotherapy.

In any case, there was no need to aim for the head anymore, so as soon as the match started, I hit my opponent with a double-edged axe.

"N-not now!"

But it seemed that this guy did not want to lose to the savage. The opponent showed a desire to continue the duel with his bare hands even after losing his sword. So I showed him respect and also threw away my axe, took it with my bare hands and broke his spine.

"The winner is Bjorn Yandel of the house of Baron Martoan!"

It was a bloodless victory, but the reaction of the crowd was not bad.

"Oooh!"

"Knight Crusher, Little Balkan, Bjorn son of Yandel!"

It seemed that the sight of the man folded in half was quite arousing to the crowd.

This impression was not much different from that of the baron. As soon as I returned to the tent, he said, wide-eyed:

"This match!" I even got goosebumps! Throw a person in the air and catch him with your knees? Where did you learn this technique?

Hmm, if I had to answer this question, it would be from a cartoon I watched a long time ago, although only today I learned that it is physically possible. Nothing is really impossible for a barbarian.

– I'm going to take a short break until the next match.

"Hm? Oh yes.

With the baron's permission, I closed my eyes. Not because I wanted to sleep or anything.

There is only one match left.

When the goal was already in front of me, my heart pounded.

***

The long-awaited finale has begun.

"Sir Albatross, of the house of the Earl of Ferdehilt, and Bjorn Yandel, of the house of Baron Martoan, please stand up!"

The rival was a knight-apprentice under the command of Count Ferdehilt, the host of the banquet and the one who invited me to take part in the tournament. I didn't know about the consequences, but the fight itself didn't bother me very much. Watching the previous matches, I had a good idea of the opponent.

"Nice to meet you.

The giant knight holding a huge sword bowed briefly. Looking at him, I grinned.

I think I know what the Count's character is.

A knight was different from a researcher. For them, the essence was nothing more than a means to help in fencing. Therefore, most of them chose essences related to the stats of Physique, but the combinations of essences differed from house to house. After systematic research, several effective combinations were adopted as the standard, but each character had to have a different concept.

Orc Warrior, Giant Golem, and Cyclops, right?

The opponent was a typical power knight. Perhaps with a priest in mind, there was more emphasis on Physical Resistance than Regeneration, and his high level of muscle strength was combined with a full set of armor made of lithinum, a Class 2 material. It was practically a walking tank.

He spent a hell of a lot of money on a simple apprentice knight.

When I learned the Count's preferences, I was once again surprised at his wealth. One rank 7 essence and two rank 6 essences: He must have bought them in test tubes. I wonder how much they cost?

Plus, the equipment he wears is far beyond the level of an explorer from the 3rd floor.

For a moment, I thought that the Count might not have even considered my chances of winning. That's how unsurpassed this man was.

The rest of the participants were mostly level 2 and possessed rank 7 essences at best.

"Where's your gear?" – the opponent asked when we were facing each other right before the start of the fight. He must have been puzzled as to why I had entered the arena with only an axe, unlike in previous matches.

I answered laconically:

"It's inconvenient.

This was not the goal of provoking him, it was the truth. Heavy plate boots, a helmet with excessive patterns, a belt, shoulder guards and so on. If I couldn't count on protection, then at least that shouldn't prevent me from moving.

- I see. Well, with this kind of equipment, I'm sure it's hard to fight the way you usually fight.

Fortunately, my opponent didn't misinterpret my words, but that was it.

"I was worried that it would end too easily, but I'm glad that you seem to be serious about this fight.

That calm expression and manner of speaking expressed the certainty that whatever I did, victory would be his.

I did not feel the need to prolong this conversation.

"I'm glad.

If the enemy relaxed his vigilance, it was better for me.

I pulled back my weapon, which touched the enemy's weapon, and increased the distance. The enemy did the same. When the distance between us was about 15 meters, the referee raised the flag. This meant that we could now attack each other.

"Come on."

The enemy took the starting position and clanged his sword.

At the same time, it was as if I saw the scenario he was counting on drawn in my head. A savage with overwhelming strength enough to earn the new title of Knightbreaker, and a true knight who cements his victory with finesse and grace. The crowd applauds, the host admits.

A rosy future is unfolding like a solid road.

*Smirk*

I could just tell how easy that bastard's life was. Regardless of whether my predictions were correct or not, if you want something, you have to be more desperate. You always have to think about how well things can go when things are going well, but vice versa too.

Still, seeing him so careless, it's a good thing I hid it until the very end.

'Behellaaa

In a tournament organized by the Count, I used this combo for the first time.

***

[You have used [Gigantization]. Your threat level and physical stats increase in proportion to your size growth].

[You have used [Wild Surge]. Your threat level is temporarily increased by 3 times, and your physical stats increase in proportion to this value].

***

[Gigantization] and [Wild Splash]: When these two skills were used together, the threat level would increase greatly. In proportion to this, the stats of Constitution. The downside was that the [Wild Splash] only lasted 30 seconds. But so what? At least during this time, I was able to experience what it was like to take high-quality drugs.

But I did not expect that everything would be so in vain.

Could this be a side effect of the excessive increase in the threat level?

The threat level was applied regardless of the identity of the target.

— Uh, uh, uh...

An overwhelming feeling of fear seized the enemy.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Even as I let out footsteps like a big monster and rushed forward, the knight stood still, stunned.

"Eeek!"

As I lowered the axe, he dodged it by rolling on the floor and began to run away in a hurry. But he couldn't run forever in this tiny arena. Like a boxer, I deftly cornered him and reached out to grab him. But at this moment.

"O - out of the arena! "The final round was decided without a proper fight when this bastard ran away from the arena.

It makes it easier for me, but...

The reaction of the crowd was cold. Fortunately, the criticism was not directed at me, but the knight who had shown dishonest behavior was sharply booed.

"I didn't understand... Once again! I can do it right!

When he came to his senses, the knight went up to the arena again, demanding a second match with the referee, but it was too late.

"How far are you willing to go to humiliate me?" The Count said coldly. The knight hung his head.

"The winner is Bjorn Yandel of the house of Baron Martoan!"

Damn. Maybe I shouldn't have used [Gigantization], I thought suddenly.

As a result, I won easily, but even I felt uncomfortable.

Perhaps I even angered the Count...

It was bad news for me, as someone who was actually worried about the consequences, not winning the tournament. I never thought that the trick of hiding my full power to the end to exclude even the slightest variable would instead lead to such a variable.

Damn, I didn't know he'd run away like that.

He wouldn't try to get revenge on me, would he?

I was a little nervous inside, but the Count himself went up to the arena and laughed merrily, handing out the prize in the form of a necklace and a trophy.

"Haha!" I was impressed by today's speech.

Not reaching my shoulder, the Count patted me on the forearm. I couldn't tell if he really didn't hold a grudge or if he was just pretending. While I was trying to read his behavior, the Count whispered so that only I could hear:

"I'll contact you separately when you're more prepared."

— ... Will you contact me?

"You don't need to know the details. Until then, don't pay attention to the other nobles. Got it?

I didn't understand, but I nodded my head, because it was clear that I had to nod.

Look at those fierce eyes...

It seemed that if I refused, something bad would happen. Be that as it may, the long banquet ended with a ceremony. There were many people who stayed and enjoyed their seats until dawn, but not Baron Martoan.

"I'm tired. Let's go back.

Heading back to the mansion with the same people as on the way there, I got all my gear back. I was paid for hard work, as promised.

"You did a good job today. I'm sure your name and mine will be on everyone's lips in town for the next few months. So if you ever have any problems, feel free to contact me.

It seems that the baron liked me very much, since he said so, even if it was empty words.

Well, considering everything I've done, I'm sure he should be pleased.

"Then go home." I'm tired too. I've got a wagon ready for you, so you can ride home with it.

"Thank you!"

It was already 2 o'clock in the morning when I left the royal capital of Carnon and returned to my lodging in Ravigione. I was tired physically and mentally from everything that had happened during the day, but...

Maybe I should start?

I sat down not on the bed, but at the table and proceeded to the final calculations.

The fee for the work was 1 million stones, as promised at the very beginning. 2 million gems for participating in the tournament. Another 1 million stones for winning. A reward of 300,000 stones for handing over the championship trophy to the baron.

A total of 4.3 million stones in cash.

Was it the result of having a wealthy client? It was hard to believe that such a large amount was earnings in one day. And that was not all. Knight Crusher. New nickname or not, I didn't expect to get it so soon.

No7777 - Necklace of Garfas.

Now I had an item in my hands that, if you were unlucky, would never fall into your hands in the next half of the game. Of course, to awaken the hidden object, you would have to spend a huge amount of money, but it was impossible to deny that it was a great luck. So I made up my mind again.

Best Game Consoles

 

How many stacks of luck have I already accumulated?

From now on, I have to be careful even about how I breathe at all.

***

The next morning after the banquet, one issue was at least half resolved.

What are these letters...?

As soon as I woke up, the mail began to arrive non-stop. All the letters were sent by the nobles, who asked if I could be present at the banquet. For reference, the letter also contained a promise to pay a reward for participation. It was a sum of money that almost convinced me that I could do this business for the rest of my life.

So that's what the Count was talking about.

His words that he would call me when I was ready were still ambiguous, but I was sure that was what he meant when he said to ignore the invitations of other nobles.

Hmm, how big of a loss is that?

So, I answered everyone with words of refusal. If I had simply ignored them, the proud nobles might have retaliated, but if I had participated, it would also have drawn the Count's wrath.

What the hell was the Count thinking?

To be honest, he scared me the most. Although he continued to treat me favorably, these guys always went crazy when things went wrong. The fact that his intentions were unclear haunted me.

Why would such a count be interested in a simple barbarian explorer?

The next time the community opens, I have to research the graph.

With a new task in mind, I hurriedly finished packing and headed to the magic tower.

This is the last month for the study.

The three-month promise she had made to Raven was coming to an end. However, the purpose of today's visit had nothing to do with this.

"Oh, are you here?"

When I arrived at Raven's personal lab in the morning, she, unlike the average person, greeted me as a normal person.

"So, where is the senior I have to help with research today?"

"Oh, well—" Raven stammered.

For some reason, this caused an ominous feeling.

That was the very moment.

"It's been a long time.

As if he was waiting, an elderly man with white hair jumped out from behind the door: the Master of the Altemion School, whom I called "The Old Man".

"Phew...

Without any explanation, I immediately understood the situation.

"I think you said it would be your senior.

"I'm sorry. The master insisted.

So he forced her to make changes. I looked at the old man, who laughed benevolently.

"Haha, don't be so nervous. This is not such a grandiose experiment.

That's for me to judge.

When I looked at him to explain, the old man opened his mouth in a sinister tone.

"This is an experiment to see if my magic tool can discern an evil spirit!"

Deuce. You're probably joking.