Chapter 106 - His Name Is
"—No, no..."
It would soon be five minutes since the preliminary round began—no, it had only been five minutes.
And yet, as he glanced around the arena, which had already seen its numbers cut by more than half in the blink of an eye, Rotta let out a strained, twitching smile. "You've got to be kidding me."
Quite something, he'd thought? What a joke.
The young man from whom Rotta had expected something 'above average' had completely ignored the line of expectation he'd drawn, soaring far into the sky above it.
While fending off three other participants who were challenging him, Rotta's gaze was fixed on the other side of the arena—where multiple death effects bloomed one after another over the course of seconds.
The white and blue shadow dashing through the red phosphorescence was wielding yet another weapon he'd never seen before, a crimson spear.
However, upon seeing the single horn on its unsheathed blade, glowing a brilliant scarlet... there wasn't a player here who wouldn't realize what it was.
The [Ruby Bullet Rabbit]—the murderous rabbit that resides in the [Spiral Crimson Tower], a topic of discussion both here and in the real world for the past two weeks.
That horn, said to be unobtainable or its acquisition method unknown, was unmistakably it.
And thinking back, it all connected.
The unfamiliar ring, also glowing a spiral of scarlet.
And that hair ornament that had adorned his black and gray hair.
The rumor of a newcomer who had escaped the customary overbearing welcome party with an unbelievable method, just days before the uproar over the [Spiral Crimson Tower]'s conquest.
Furthermore, a little over a month ago, a certain rookie player's bombshell-like post had stirred up the forums.
And the name of that rookie player, clearly recorded on the non-anonymous message board, was—
"Haru...!!"
Honestly, what was he thinking, getting his hopes up?
What was he thinking, that he might see something interesting?
He'd spoken with a monster of that caliber, even shaken his hand, and yet failed to sense an iota of his true strength. What kind of 'Observer' was he?!
"I'm floored...! I'm absolutely floored...!!"
"—We're the ones who are floored!"
"—You're looking away while fighting three-on-one?!"
"—Could you at least face us while you fight?!"
And so, plaintive complaints reached him from the players he had been dealing with offhandedly.
...This wouldn't do. While he felt it was only natural to get engrossed, he had a role to fulfill and must do so sincerely.
"My apologies—well then, let's wrap this up."
He parried an approaching scimitar with his right hand and placed his left on the sword that had remained sheathed until now.
"Oh cra—"
"Your offense is lacking. You need more options."
One strike. He bisected the scimitar user with the momentum of his draw—
"W-Wait, I'm sorr—"
"I think your build is mismatched."
One strike. With the return swing, he lopped off the head of the magic swordsman stumbling beside him—
"You're not bad, but that's all you are."
"That's kinda the harshest—"
One strike. He cut down the short-spear user, who had all but lost his will to fight, in a diagonal slash.
Sheathing his sword in a single fluid motion, Rotta glanced around him. His eyes met with the players who had been observing his bout from a distance, but...
"Well, of course."
Rotta couldn't hide a wry smile as their gazes uniformly averted.
To think they'd challenge the 'Observer,' those three had some guts, at least. If only they had the skill to match, he would have gladly recommended them for the main tournament.
—However, for this time, and this time only.
"I suppose... there will be no recommendations."
He turned his gaze back—and in the now almost-empty battlefield, the young man, whom no one dared to approach anymore, was standing there, looking perplexed.
Rotta had thought he might be the type to greedily hunt down every last person, but it seemed his mentality wasn't quite that of a berserker.
...Although, to say he wasn't berserker-like after single-handedly devouring more than half the players was a ridiculous notion in itself.
—It's decided, then.
The winner of this block was already determined; it could be no one but him.
In that case, there was no point in continuing. Rotta could assume that the remaining few players, who showed no intention of challenging either him or Haru, had lost their will to fight.
"Yes... let's call it here."
With a nod, Rotta started walking.
As he headed toward the lone figure of the white and blue young man, Haru noticed him approaching—that wary look, he must have seen Rotta's fight as well.
Rotta let a smile slip out and raised both hands to show he had no intention of fighting.
And so the 'Observer', with nothing but joy in his heart, walked toward Haru, who was giving him a suspicious look.
◇◆◇◆◇
So, I was just rampaging around in a frenzy, and when I came to, all the players around me were gone.
Well, when I say 'gone,' I'm pretty much the culprit who made them disappear, but that aside, what am I supposed to do now that no new players are even approaching me?
I thought a battle royale meant a bloody fight to the last man standing, but it seems the few remaining have already lost their will to fight.
If I may say so myself, without any modesty, this is probably my fault. I did go on a rampage, racking up a kill count that even I find hard to believe.
But they were strong. As expected of the conflict-loving Istia, every single one of them was a formidable opponent not to be underestimated.
They just had bad luck with their opponent. I came into this as a complete unknown, packed with a host of unique elements—a walking, talking surprise box designed for first encounters.
Dealing with someone like that in a chaotic melee where you have to watch your surroundings must have been tough.
—In any case.
Putting aside the survivors who are staring at me like I'm some unidentified creature... Hey, Rotta, I saw what you did just now. Who the hell are you?
Don't think I'll let my guard down just because you're walking over with a smile and your hands up!
"It's easy to tell what you're thinking, you know."
"I'm not trying to hide it."
I already had [Panga Fool] at the ready in my left hand. I focused on Rotta's movements, prepared to activate [Fatal Leak] the instant I sensed anything suspicious.
"You don't have to be so guarded—Congratulations, Haru. You're the winner of this block."
"........................Wha, what did you say?"
Even I had to admit, the sound that came out of my mouth was particularly stupid.
Rotta let out a small chuckle and, still smiling with amusement, began manipulating a system window—
◇Congratulation!! Haru Wins!!◇
"Wh-huh?!"
Suddenly, a fanfare blared, and a system message appeared in huge letters across the arena sky.
Startled, I jumped back as a shower of glittering, confetti-like light effects rained down on me—and then,
"""—————————————————!!!"""
A massive roar of cheering, like a collective scream, blew away all my confusion, shock, and surprise.
"W-Whoa, oh, ooooh...—"
Uh, wait, wait, what should I do? What's the right thing to do here?!
As I, the utterly pathetic winner, floundered, unable to keep up with the situation, the approaching Rotta threw me a lifeline.
Well, not so much a lifeline as him unceremoniously grabbing my right hand and—
"Huh...?"
"It's the winner's duty. Come on, smile, smile."
Don't ask the impossible.
Forced into a victory pose with my fist raised high, my expression twitched as the cheers erupted with even greater heat.
I swear I was trying to smile, please forgive me, audience.
"After a performance like that, you might have even made some fans, you know?"
"Spare me... So, who are you, really?"
To my weary sideways glance, Rotta simply returned a deeply amused smile and...
"Congratulations on passing the preliminaries—the 'Four Pillar Operations Committee' wholeheartedly welcomes a super rookie like you."
He said this amidst the roar of the crowd, and gave me a wink that suited him to a frustrating degree.
What, it ended too quickly?
If I wrote tens of thousands of characters for a mere preliminary round, do you have any idea how long it would take to get to the main war? We'd be here for another two months, are you fine with that?