Chapter 163 – Start Of Ranking Match (2)

Around nine in the morning, Roman faced Jayden and the match was decided in a second.
And then before noon, Roman was facing the 98th ranker.

‘To think Jayden got defeated in one second.’

The 98th ranker, Delli.

He was deeply concerned.
Roman Dmitry’s presence wasn’t as intimidating as the rumors said, but he heard that Jayden, who was the same level as Delli, was overwhelmingly defeated.

When he thought about it, the opponent seemed arrogant as he scheduled a match against Jayden at nine in the morning, and sent a letter to Delli saying he would fight him at noon.

‘Cheeky brat.’

His stomach churned in anger.
He knew that he would lose but he had no intention of throwing flowers in Roman Dmitry’s path, so he accepted it.
His goal wasn’t to win but to make Roman waste his stamina.

His plan was to drag the fight for as long as he could, so Delli took a defensive stance while waiting to be attacked.

And finally….

Flutter.

The signal was given.

Roman kicked the ground, and Delli, who was trying to defend the sword, caught the opponent’s strange movement.

Puak!

“Ack!”

A short scream of pain.

And that was all.

Going against Roman, buying time also required skills.

“… 99th ranker Roman Dmitry knocked out 98th ranker Delli and shall move to the 98th rank.”

The viewers were shocked, but Roman didn’t even look back.
Far from being happy at his victory, he just walked away.

Four hours later, Roman met the 97th ranker.
He fought three matches a day.
It was a shocking move.
Roman wasn’t really expecting to be defeated by the opponents ahead of him, so he continued to move forward, calculating the time.

The 97th ranker also reacted like Delli.
He couldn’t stand it and promised to make sure Roman had to put up a tough fight.
But he was defeated in just three seconds.

The 97th ranker collapsed as he coughed up blood and wasn’t even in the state to check how he was defeated.

Three consecutive wins.
The people who were present were shocked.

“… what are we even looking at?”

“He defeated three rankers in one day.
Even though they are in the bottom ranks, they are talented swordsmen in Cairo with 3-stars or more.
Does this make sense? Defeating them within ten seconds or less?”

As they were doubting their eyes, Roman was already moving for the 96th ranker.
As if he didn’t even need time to recover from the fatigue, he left right after the results were declared.

The people followed him.
How far would Roman Dmitry go? That was what they wanted to witness.

And in two days, Roman moved to the 91st ranker.

At that time, Jayden, who was his first sacrifice, regained consciousness.

He had a terrible nightmare.
After dreaming of a monster eating him alive, Jayden woke up with a cold sweat.

Thus….

“Huk, huk.”

He was gasping for air.

In his dream, the monster took the form of Roman Dmitry, and Jayden, who was desperate to win, witnessed that he couldn’t win.

“… what happened?”

“What happened? You tried to fight Roman Dmitry but couldn’t even handle one attack and fell down.
You fainted and were unconscious all this time.
But do you know what the lucky thing about this is? Everyone who fought Roman Dmitry after you hasn’t come to their senses yet.”

His heart sank.

In just one day……

But the people Roman dealt with?

Jayden thought it was strange and asked,

“People? How many people did Roman Dmitry fight with?”

Clench.

The infirmary doctor’s hand stopped.
He had a long history of knowing Jayden, and he knew that Jayden was a veteran who had been struggling for a long time.

The fight with Roman—he understood it.
But as a result of what just happened, Jayden’s choice can’t be defended now.

“Right after your fight was over, Roman Dmitry defeated a total of five rankers on the same day.
In the morning, he fought you in the 99th rank; at lunch, the 98th ranker; before the sun went down, the 97th and 96th rankers; and in the evening, the 97th ranker.
Do you know what it means? Roman Dmitry fought five matches, but he didn’t even gasp for air.
You weren’t his opponents in the first place.”

“… insane.”

He cursed.
Only then did he realize that Roman Dmitry was fucking insane.
People naturally thought that the match for the 99th rank was a plan to save his face, but with this, it seemed like Roman was intent on going from the bottom to the top.

How could such a monster even exist? From the way he makes a bold judgment to how he puts his thoughts into practice, Roman Dmitry felt so extraordinary.

It was then…

Throb!

“…?!“

When he tried to move, pain rose.
Jayden looked at the infirmary doctor with a puzzled look as he said,

“A follower of Dmitry said that his master is someone who believes choices come with a cost.
You will not be able to move your body properly until next month.
I don’t know what kind of tricks Roman Dmitry did, but he completely messed with the muscles inside your body.”

One month.
It was a huge price.
Recalling the nightmare of being eaten by a monster like Roman, he felt his mouth turn dry.

“We need to stop the other ones.”

The rankers above the 90th rank would also try to deal with Roman.
And like himself, they would not be able to do much.
With his body not moving properly, Jayden didn’t want them to have the same experience as him.

And so he hastily wrote a letter.
He was going to send them to all the rankers except for the ones at the top.

[I, who was once ranked 99th but has now been pushed down to the 100th rank, am warning you.
Dmitry is a monster we cannot deal with.
I couldn’t even last a second against him, and because I was unable to face reality, I am unable to move for a month.
If you do not wish to have the same experience as me, do not stand in the way of Roman Dmitry.
Confronting Roman Dmitry will never be able to give you experience, just horror.
Please listen to what I am writing.]

And he sent the letters.
He hoped all of them wouldn’t make the same mistake.
Now was the moment for Cairo’s lower rankers to hold their breath and face reality in the face of a monster named Roman.

Roman took down the 85th ranker.
The people felt odd.
They knew he defeated Jayden in one second, but even though fatigue must have built up from his hectic schedule, the 85th ranker couldn’t do much and got defeated.

It was an overwhelming victory.
People who witnessed this realized how much of a monster Roman was starting to present himself as.

And by then, a letter had arrived for the rankers in Cairo.

“… I give up.”

“Look at the letter from Jayden! That ignorant bastard sent me a letter like a frightened kid because he lost to Roman Dmitry.
And this is not a warning we can turn away from.
It doesn’t matter that we are in the 80th ranks, but now even the 85th ranker collapsed like a 99th ranker.”

“The people’s rumors mean nothing.
Roman intends to defeat all rankers from the bottom to the top.”

The rankers from the 84th and above began to give up.
It has only been three days since the opening of the Ranking Matches, but people have begun to open the way for Roman.

They were afraid.
The rankers who dealt with Roman, including Jayden, told them the cost of fighting against him, and everyone felt intimidated by how they were unable to use their bodies properly after the fight.

Wasn’t Roman’s ability proven in the last fight?

The idea that the rumors were exaggerated was wrong, and the people who followed Roman were just trumpeters announcing Roman’s growth to the world.

But sometimes, despite the warning, there were people who still made the choice to fight Roman, just like the 80th ranker, but they surely paid the price for it.

Kwak!

“Kuak!”

He fell face down.
Saliva and blood came out of his mouth, and his eyes were unfocused.
The match was over.
And this time too, Roman overpowered the opponent.

‘This isn’t enough.’

The opening of the Ranking Matches.
Roman didn’t simply wish for honor.

After finishing the Rankings Matches, the people in Cairo, including Marquis Benedict, would force him to make a choice.

That was why he intended to make his presence known through these fights.
And let them know what kind of strength the existence they wanted to recruit possessed.

And he gave Dmitry’s followers a reason to believe in themselves, and should a situation arise where a fight would ensue in Cairo, this would give them morale.

And….

At first, he didn’t like the rankings.
Just like how Valhalla challenged the rankings to make their presence known, Roman wanted his name to be at the top.
So he chose to move from the bottom of ninety-nine strong people.

And if he decided to not side with any of them after this, no one would oppose him.

‘The opening of the Ranking Matches is just a signal for the future.
The Salamander continent is in a situation where its land can be a whirlpool of war at any time, so I need to do this.
And I need to have Cairo Kingdom under my control.’

People overlooked what kind of man Roman was.
They never imagined that he was a man from the outskirts with so much greed.
So the nobles just continued to watch and hoped that Roman would get tired from this.
And if he collapsed without taking the top spot, then they would force Roman to make a choice.

Even now, not many people believed that Roman Dmitry was the best swordsman in Cairo.

In just one week, the rumors that doubted Roman died down.
Due to his overwhelming skills and the repeated declarations of abandonment, Roman Dmitry quickly reached the top.

From the 39th to the 31st, all the top rankers in the ranks of 30s gave up.
They accepted defeat as if they had discussed it beforehand.

But the 30th ranker accepted his match.

“Fernando.
What are you doing?”

“You heard the rumors too.
Your body would turn into a mess after fighting with that man.
There is no way you can face Roman Dmitry who is a 5-star swordsman and is in the top ten rankers in Cairo.
Everyone below that should just surrender, so why make a reckless choice?”

“Listen for once.”

The same rankers came and told him.
Just like they said, they had united.
Seeing some surrender and others choosing to fight, the ones who surrendered looked miserable.

So they just all chose to stay happy.
They gave up their matches since they didn’t even have a chance of lasting one minute.

“It is my choice to make.”

Fernando showed a determined face.
The 30th Gatekeeper—that was his nickname.
People say that the 30th rank was great in itself, but Fernando knew that his nickname wasn’t just a compliment.
It was a kind of mockery to him.

Even though he was immediately placed as the 30th ranker, the reality was that, when a new talent appeared, the rankings would be pushed from there.

If one of the top rankers didn’t die in the battle with Kronos, then he would have been in the 31st.

“Stupid bastard.
So you want to fight to ruin our reputation?”

“At least say the truth.
It wasn’t me who ruined your name, but your own weakness in admitting defeat out of fear.
So do not force me to act like you.”

“Fuck.”

“Oh, that stuck-up bastard.”

The other rankers just turned their heads, feeling frustrated.

Their thoughts? He understood them, but Fernando wasn’t going to give up.

‘They and I are different.
People who are gifted will improve their skills even without having to risk their lives in war, but I have to do this.
The moment I decide to step back I feel like I have regressed.’

Fernando—people always expressed their doubts about him.
If his sword skills were truly great, then why was he placed in the 30th rank?

But there was a fact that people didn’t know of.
Since birth, Fernando has never had a smooth mana flow in his body.
The problem was that even after reaching 4-stars, it was impossible for him to demonstrate it.

That was the reason he had no choice but to remain in the 30th rank in his later years.
And so he tried to solve the problem in different ways.

Experience—he fought against many strong people.
Based on that, he accumulated experience in how to make his sword technique work.

Even if his mana couldn’t overwhelm the opponent, he tried to gain an edge with his sword technique.
As a result, he was ranked 30th.

He could defeat those with 4-stars or lower with just a sword technique, but he had no way to deal with stronger opponents that had an overwhelming difference.
So whenever a genius came up, Fernando would step aside.

People ridiculed him for how he stayed in the same position for ten years, but Fernando had a hard time accepting this.

Actually, avoiding the challengers was one way.
But by accepting each challenge, Fernando hoped to gain something.

‘According to the rumors, Roman Dmitry’s sword technique is known to be perfect.
I won’t be able to block the opponent’s attack a few times with my skills, and I hope to improve a little after fighting with him.
That is all.
My reputation as ranker means nothing here.’

The ranking was a façade.
In the end, swordsmen speak with their skills.

Fernando always trained, and no matter what people said, he swung his sword until the sun went down.

And this was his identity—sloth.
It was because his skills had stagnated in the same spot, not because he was lazy.

He imagined dealing with Roman Dmitry.
Fernando fell into a trance and didn’t stop swinging his sword until his body was drenched in sweat.

And like that, the day was bright.

“Phew.”

He took a deep breath.

He stayed up all night but didn’t feel tired.

Then he stepped forward.

From now on, he would deal with the real Roman Dmitry.