"A magic sword......"
Hulim studied the magic sword in Violet’s hand intently.
This was undoubtedly one of the rarest legendary-tier items in the world—something you might chance upon, but never actively seek out.
It had the unique property of binding to its master: no one except those recognized by the sword could wield it, and forcing its use would trigger a violent backlash.
Thus, while the magic sword stirred desire in countless hearts, all they could do was envy from afar. History had proven time and again that seizing a magic sword was impossible.
A magic sword taken by force would never recognize another master; instead, it would self-seal, becoming nothing more than a worthless piece of metal that couldn’t even cut through cloth.
And as a legendary-tier item, its power was naturally unparalleled. With a magic sword, its wielder could even defeat higher-ranked powerhouses—defying the usual order of strength.
A young maiden wielding a magic sword.
This allure was more than enough to capture attention.
In just two days, Violet’s fame had spread through every street and alley in Helinks—even overshadowing Boguna, the tournament’s favorite to win......
As Violet drew her magic sword, her opponent’s face paled drastically. It was clear that now the sword was revealed, Violet had no intention of holding back. He didn’t delude himself into thinking he could defeat a magic sword wielder armed with such a weapon!
But having come this far, who would concede defeat so easily?
Even in defeat, there was a way to lose with dignity. If he could fall in a brilliant display, his reputation might not suffer—in fact, it might even grow.
From this perspective, facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent wasn’t entirely a bad thing. After all, the attention drawn by a powerful rival would inevitably spill over onto themselves.
"Magic Sword Wielder, I know you’re strong, but I won’t give up easily! I’ll use every ounce of my strength to match your power!"
The mage—Violet’s opponent—shouted out his resolve.
"Good. I will honor your resolve with my full attention."
Violet nodded earnestly, gripping the magic sword with both hands and raising it to her chest.
"......"
No, you don’t have to honor it that seriously......In fact, could you go a little easy on me?!
The mage’s mind was screaming. He kicked himself for running his mouth—for bringing this on himself.
Ding——!
The match bell rang.
Whoosh!
Violet vanished from her spot in the blink of an eye.
True to her word, she was taking this seriously—she went all out from the very start.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Spare me......
The opponent felt like bursting into tears, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight back.
"Wings of Wind!"
Summoning wind-infused wings, the mage soared high into the sky.
"Now you won’t be able to hit me so easily......"
The mage looked down at Violet on the ground, who stared right back up at him.
"I’m attacking! Spear of Storm——!"
Green light gathered rapidly at the tip of his wand.
Violet watched calmly, then took a slow, steady breath.
Hum!
The magic sword in her hand erupted with a dazzling blue glow. When the light reached its peak, she lifted the sword above her head and swung it forcefully at the mage in the sky.
Boom——!
In an instant, the sword unleashed a torrential wave of blue magical energy, surging straight toward the mage.
"No way......"
The mage’s mouth hung open in stunned disbelief as he watched the beam of light rush toward him, engulfing him completely......
Thud!
A limp body plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily onto the arena floor.
The entire venue fell into a momentary hush.
Ding——!
The bell rang again.
"The winner——the Magic Sword Wielder! Violet!!!"
George announced the result at the top of his lungs.
"Great!" "Amazing!!" "Incredible!" "......"
The arena erupted into a thunderous roar of applause.
......
"So strong......"
Hulim tore her gaze away from Violet, replaying that final strike in her mind.
She hadn’t watched Violet’s previous match, so she hadn’t known what to expect. But now she understood: the magic sword lived up to its reputation as a weapon that could defeat higher-ranked foes. The power of that strike had clearly surpassed Violet’s own level, matching that of any Grade B powerhouse.
Most importantly, from Violet’s state after unleashing the attack, the burden on her wasn’t excessively heavy—which meant she could rightfully be considered a Grade B powerhouse.
"Four Grade B powerhouses......"
From what Hulim had learned about the history of the Royal Martial Arts Festival recently, no previous tournament had ever seen so many Grade B-level combatants......
"Hmm, is this the next match?"
At Bars’ words, Hulim turned her attention back to the arena.
The contestants for the new match had already stepped onto the field. One of them was unmistakably Luji Sloan.
"......Him again. It looks like this match will drag on forever."
"Yeah......"
Bars nodded in solemn agreement.
Nearly 100,000 spectators in the stands shared the same sentiment.
"God, why is it him again?! " "How did this guy even make it this far?! " "Please, someone—anyone—take him down already......"
The stands were filled with resentment toward Luji.
As for Luji himself—the source of all this frustration—he remained utterly unbothered, as expected.
"Ahem...... It seems our contestant Luji is 'popular' with the audience in his own unique way. Of course, this is also related to his highly controversial fighting style."
George tried to smooth things over for Luji, but the audience wasn’t having any of it. Boos erupted across the venue.
"Who would 'like' him! " "What does he think this tournament is?! " "Get out of here already......" "......"
On the arena, Luji’s opponent also wore a grim expression.
Unlike the audience, the remaining contestants knew better than to underestimate Luji. On the contrary, many believed he was far stronger than he appeared—they just couldn’t understand why he took the match so lightly, as if he’d forgotten he was even competing.
"Hey——"
Luji’s opponent spoke up.
"......I’m begging you. Can you take this match seriously? If you fight me properly, I won’t have any complaints even if I lose."
If Luji stuck to his usual style, he would undoubtedly be the most tormented person in the entire venue.
"......"
Luji glanced at him silently, then nodded slightly.
"Okay."
His opponent stared in shocked disbelief.
D-Did he just agree?!
He’d only asked on a whim—never expecting Luji to say yes so easily!
Could it be...... this guy wasn’t as bad as everyone thought? Maybe he’d only annoyed those previous opponents because they’d been rude to him?
It wasn’t impossible—after all, there were plenty of people with terrible attitudes......
"Oh, so you’re actually a decent guy~ It looks like you’ve been misunderstood a lot."
"......"
Luji didn’t respond, but his opponent paid no mind to the silence.
Ding——!
The bell signaling the start of the match rang.
"Here I come——!"
Luji’s opponent immediately launched an attack.
As for Luji?
He slowly lifted his foot and took a step back......
A few minutes later......
"Bastard! You bastard! BASTARD!!!"
Luji’s opponent was screaming in unbridled rage.
"This is what you call 'taking it seriously'?! Which part of you thought that was okay to say! Do you even have a sense of shame?! I can’t believe I trusted you earlier—I’m such a hopeless fool! BASTARD——!"
