Chapter 70: Round One
The day of the tournament marched towards them, but Will didn’t sit idle. Motivated by the fact that his life was on the line, he channeled all his energy into three things:
#1: Power. Will bribed/coerced a few solo Climbers into giving up their spot in an upcoming Kaiju hunt. It was impressive standing at the knee of such monolithic beasts, but looking back on it, the fights were kind of boring. The mercenaries had developed a nearly flawless method of subduing them, strapping them to the ground with high-power restraining abilities and thick ropes, giving everyone present an opportunity to take an attack on the creature before it was executed.
By doing this, Will was able to cross the boundary into Level 24.
#2: Information. He needed to know his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. This wasn’t some half-hearted attempt to fight in the tournament, test his strength for the fun of it and let the chips fall where they may.
His life and freedom were on the line and there was no excuse.
His first opponent was a chivalrous young man with brown hair and eyes, a little shorter than most with a Paladin Archetype and a deep-seated need to right the wrongs of the world.
Apparently he had a very tragic backstory. The kind one might expect of the hero of a romance novel, who was destined to unite warring kingdoms…according to Loth.
Will didn’t really read romance novels, and merely noted that he wouldn’t expect something he considered ‘cheating’ and mobility was not his strong suit.
#3: Equipment. Will still had an empty finger in his Phantom Hand, and the idea of leaving it clear for a potential future was kind of meaningless if he didn’t win, so he bought a buckler that enhanced blocking and counter-attacks.