Chapter 210: Anger
"Argh! My head hurts."
Evelyn emerged from the water, holding her head.
"Eve! Are you okay?" Maya shouted.
"I'm fine… I think. This water… it feels so warm and nice," Evelyn said.
Maya and I both let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. But the way Evelyn said it, did the river actually have healing properties?
As I questioned it, the answer came immediately.
(Yes! Do you think that's just a normal river? No! It is infused with rare magical essence obtained from the Verdant Spring in elven territory. They say it even has the power to preserve youth!)
The commentator explained enthusiastically. The nobles and crowd were astonished, murmuring excitedly among themselves.
At one section of the crowd where the hooded group was seated, one of them suddenly tried to stand up in anger, but was stopped by the one in the middle.
"Don't. We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention." Piercing green eyes were visible beneath the hood, staring directly at him.
"But… the Verdant Spring-"
"Sit down, Thiras. Listen to her," another figure intervened.
Thiras clenched his fists before slowly sitting back down. "I apologize," he said quietly.
The woman then turned her attention back to the arena, her gaze fixed on the person they had been told to watch.
On the other side, Bob was sitting down, feeling relieved.
"Luckily, she's fine. I was just one second away from jumping into the river, you know," Bob said to Yui.
Of course, he was lying. He didn't know how to swim, even floating was impossible for him. He just wanted to make himself look better in front of Yui.
"Do you really know how to swim, Uncle Bob?" Michael asked, his eyes shifting between Bob's face and his belly.
"Of course I can! Hmph-?" Bob was about to grab some popcorn when he realized the box was already empty. A devilish smile slowly formed on his face.
"Hey, cute Michael. Can you buy me another box of popcorn? No… two boxes. You can keep the extra money."
"Ehh? But I want to watch Uncle Alan fight."
"Michael, don't say it like that. Uncle Bob is just asking you for a favor. Don't worry, the fight won't end before you come back," Yui said gently.
' Nice, Yui. That's right, listen to your sister, brat! '
Michael sighed before lazily standing up and walking toward the nearest stall behind the crowd section. Bob then shuffled his body, inching closer to Yui.
' Finally, the obstacle is gone for now. Hahaha! ' Bob laughed inwardly.
---
In the arena, after confirming Evelyn was fine, I turned my attention back to the man in front of me.
"Be careful, Alan. That guy is dangerous." Maya then explained the identity and ability of that man named Adu.
So basically, his power works like a magnet. He can mark people, and then switch his polarity to either push or pull them. Honestly, it's a very interesting ability. If I had that power in my previous world, my life would've been much easier.
For example, I wouldn't even need to get up just to grab the TV remote.
"So what I need to do is just avoid being touched by his hands, right?"
Maya nodded.
"Got it!" I already had a plan in mind. The enemy would surely come closer to use his ability, so I just needed to keep my distance and attack from range. It was simple.
I put away Gaia Sword and switched to the [Mage] class. Thanks to Maya being nearby, I unlocked two additional skills from the class.
Adu became alert at my sudden change in stance.
' This is the guy who defeated Colton by himself just now. I can't take him lightly.'
"Spark Lance!"
Immediately, I cast thunder magic toward Adu. Two high-voltage lances shot toward him.
"What a quick casting!" Adu was shocked. Usually, when a spellcaster casts a skill, there is at least a millisecond delay between the appearance of the magic array and the activation of the spell. For experts, they can exploit that delay to react in time.
However, the way I activated my magic instantly made him slightly too late to evade.
Boom!
A spark-filled explosion erupted at the center of the arena, drawing the attention of other participants who were busy with their own fights.
"Did he get defeated?" Maya asked me. If Bob were here, he would definitely get angry as that word was taboo for him.
And honestly, after seeing it happen a few times, I started to believe there might be some truth to that superstition.
From beyond the smoke and dust, a figure was still standing. Maya and I tried to get a clearer look.
What we saw was an unconscious person but it wasn't Adu. The man bore the crest of Blue Sword.
"You've forced me to use my trick this early. I just wanted to keep it hidden as my trump card," Adu said as he walked beside the fallen participant before pushing him into the river.
"That bastard! He used another participant as a meat shield!" Chloe, the Guildmaster of Blue Sword, shouted angrily as she stood up, placing one foot on the railing and clenching her fist. She wore a gown with a ribbon in her hair, anyone who didn't know her would mistake her for a cute, gentle girl.
"Ahem. Please, your manners, Guildmaster," her butler reminded her.
"Relax, Chloe. It is a tournament, but also a battlefield. Anything that helps us survive is permissible," Morn, the Guildmaster of Moonlight, said.
Chloe sat back on her couch, pouting as she folded her arms. She was clearly irritated.
Back in the arena, I was also angered by the way Adu used others. I hate people who hurt others, but I hate even more those who use others to protect themselves.
Overtaken by emotion, I rushed straight toward him. I switched back to the [Blader] class and equipped Gaia Sword in one hand and Embersteel Sword in the other.
"Alan, no!" Maya shouted.
Adu, meanwhile, revealed a devilish grin.
"Yes… come closer to me."