The new D rank champion is known

We then get interrupted from our conversation by a loud cheer from the crowd, followed the judges sounding their gong. The victor seems to be wearing the blue cape that the members of the Blue Legion always wear.

“So, just one more duel and then the tournament will be over, huh?” I ask.

“Not quite.” Kiara explains. “First there is the award ceremony where the winners receive their rewards. After that are the show matches where the S ranks duel each other.”

My face lights up in surprise and I quickly look at Aelbrecht.

“Sorry Darx.” Kiara answers in the guild master’s place. “But Aelbrecht duels only once every ten years. It has now been 5 years since his last duel. You will have to wait another 5 years. This year there will be in fact only one match, between Agnes and Kase.”

Kase. When I hear his name, I have to think back of my duel against Url. The ‘friend’ he was talking about. He could have only meant Kase, right? It appears my expression darkens enough for Kiara to become concerned for me. She holds one of my hands and says, “Five golden coins is a lot of money. So, I get that you’re upset at getting cheated out of it. But in a way, becoming an A rank is an even better award. You can now take on more difficult quests and earn money faster. And when next year’s tournament comes around, you can become the A rank champion instead.”

I sigh and reply to Kiara by saying, “That’s not it.”

As the E rank finalists start their match, I start explaining how my duel with Url went. First, I tell her about him having seemingly more skills than a B rank is supposed to have. Then I also tell her about the silence charm he used on me, so I was unable to stop the match by yielding. I also tell her about his threats of cutting off my leg and the hint that Kase convinced him to do it.

“Well, he could have been using an artifact that increased his strength or his speed. That could make it appear as if he has a strength skill while in actuality he doesn’t. So, you thinking that Url had too many skills might be a misunderstanding on your part.” Kiara says as Aelbrecht gets up and walks away. I guess he understands that we no longer have questions about the archon class and leaves to attend to other businesses.

“I guess.” I sigh. “But what about the other two things?”

“Well, people sometimes end up getting hurt during these tournaments. It happens.” Kiara shrugs. “That’s the reason why even killing your opponent by accidents means the **** penalty. It makes people hold back and reduce injuries. But what you described there is Url going for an intentional maiming. That would be punished. It is just such a rare thing that I don’t know of anyone who intentionally maimed his opponent. So, I don’t know which punishment it would be.”

And yet, Url was willing to do it anyways. Which means the punishment is not hard enough, or Kase promised him a big enough reward that it is worth it.

“The silence charm however is very much illegal.” Kiara continues. “I don’t know why anyone winning a match would want to lengthen it. It sounds like a bad idea. But any participant must be able to yield whenever he feels the need to. So yeah, you should have told the judges that Url was carrying a silence charm and used it on you.”

“Seriously?” I ask and look at Kiara with wide eyes. “You mean if I told them Url could have been disqualified instead?”

Kiara cocks her head and replies, “Eh, more like both of you would have been disqualified. Followed by the losers of the semi finals both being promoted to the finals and then Monica would have another chance at becoming the B rank champion.”

I lean back and sigh. So even that would not have helped me. Well, better Monica than Url. But I guess it’s too late to go and tell the judges now. If Url is smart, he would have already gotten rid of that charm and when they don’t find it on him, I will be judged for making a false accusation and my guild will be punished for it.

Kiara notices my irritation, so she leans in close and whispers, “Hey, from my perspective, you have still won the B rank finals. So, you can look forward to another ‘reward’ tonight.”

I understand what she means with ‘reward’ so that makes me smirk.

“And since it is the final match you won, I will make it extra special.”

I give her a big smile and say, “Oh, now you’re just spoiling me.”

Kiara and I are so focused on each other that we forget about the thousands of people in the arena and are about to actually kiss in public. But before we give in, the judges interrupt us again, calling out the E rank champion now.

Like Kiara explained, the awarding ceremony happens now. The champions from each division are called up again. All 5 are to walk to the center of the arena and stand next to each other in ascending order. Rank E starting on the left and rank A ending on the right. That is when the judges leave their position and actually walk towards the champions. Coincidentally, I notice Aelbrecht nearby. He ignores the judges and walks past them, to the higher region where the guild members of Oblivion have gathered. Wait, he was sitting right next me when I talked about my duel against Url. He’s not going to talk to Kase, is he? Or Agnes? But no, he walks right past them without even glancing. I notice Kase and Agnes both turning their heads to him, but when he ignores them, they return the gesture.

Anyways, the judges are now at the champions. First, they give a bag to the E rank champion. That must be the 50 silver coins reward. E ranks are usually limited to the easiest and most mundane quests, or when they take on a bigger quest, they need to gather in a large party which splits the reward significantly. For someone like that, I presume half a golden coin must seem like a fortune.

The D rank champion at least gets a full golden coin. I hope he spends it wisely, like getting some better armor. It will increase his chances at success in future quests or next year’s tournament.

Next is Lacey, the C rank champion. She receives 3 golden coins as a reward. That is a significant reward. She could certainly buy superior quality of all the gear she uses this way. But would she use it to upgrade to metal armor, or on higher quality leather armor.

Next is Url receiving 5 golden coins as a reward. He shouldn’t. The dirty cheater.

Finally, is Leona, whom the judges award with 7 golden coins. I am compelled to think back of when I first met Leona. How some bad humans didn’t want to give her directions to where the awakening ceremony was being held. Then also all the times when Gerald was being mean to her. Even when she won her last match she was met with negativity from some people. But despite all of that hardship, Leona never gave up. Those 7 golden coins are well earned.

After that, the audience applauses for the champions and everybody returns to their respective guilds. The judges also return to their seats and have an announcement.

“And now, as for the final match for this year’s tournament, we have a duel between S ranks. Agnes, the trustworthy and well-respected leader of the Oblivion guild versus Kase, the newest S rank and Oblivion’s hope for the future. As usual, the reward for winning is a private audience with queen Zara and Princess Kathleen.”

Following this message, Kase and Agnes both enter the arena and take their positions like usual. Both of them are wearing expensive armor. I’m not sure what materials they are made from, but I’m sure it’s high quality and it is even decorated with gold and silver finishing. As the wealthiest guild, Oblivion can certainly afford it.

A lot of people are cheering at them. Not just from the Oblivion section of the arena, but from all around. It is hard to tell which S rank they are cheering for. I can’t say I am interested in seeing Kase win. But I am curious about Agnes’ fighting style. Originally, she was classified as an archer, but I heard that she was so enamored by the rifle that she wanted to learn how to fight with that. So, she spent a few years living in the dwarven capital to learn how to fight with a rifle. I wonder how she adjusted her skills for use with a rifle.