NOVEL WEB Chapter 21
“There’s such a huge crowd, Jiren!”
“Right? It’s absolutely packed!”
As Jiren and Karen looked at the overflowing audience at the coliseum where the Tetric tournament was being held, their hearts raced.
The Tetric game being used for this tournament was Tetric 2, which they had created.
Both felt nervous that Game Magic was being showcased in front of so many spectators.
“Seems like things have gotten really big, huh?”
“Yeah, I wonder if Yuren-hyung expected this?”
Yuren-hyung had mentioned something about being used for an event.
But neither Jiren nor Karen could have imagined that it would take place in the heart of the Empire with thousands of spectators watching.
“Maybe so? Because…”
“Well, it is Yuren-hyung we’re talking about.”
Jiren felt that Yuren saw something beyond his sight.
At first, he thought it was just a delusion, but now it felt clearer.
A foresight only achievable by geniuses or those who had reached the pinnacle of their craft,
though they didn’t know the term for it, the disciples sensed that Yuren possessed such a trait.
And that made them even more excited.
They couldn’t help but wonder how far he would take them.
“Disciples! I’ve brought food! Come, take one each!”
As those words were spoken, Yuren, the Master, and Noirin returned with food.
The three, having bought plenty of the coliseum’s famous sausage pies, distributed them to the disciples.
“Thanks for the meal!”
“I’ll enjoy this!”
Irene and Yuren sat down to happily bite into their sausage pies.
The meaty aroma and crispy bread, along with the sweet sauce, spread delightfully in Yuren’s mouth.
“Nothing beats having a hot dog—or rather, a sausage pie—at the arena.”
“That’s right! You’re spot on, Yuren!”
Enjoying the sausage pies, the Irene School prepared to watch the matches.
In the center of the arena, a massive screen made of Grand Slime displayed the matches from every angle.
Watching the preparing players, Karen spoke up.
“Do you think Julia will win?”
Upon hearing Karen’s question, Irene and Yuren exchanged serious looks before responding together.
“Umm… it might be tough, right?”
“It’ll be difficult, Karen.”
“But Julia seemed to do really well!”
At their firm statements, Karen felt puzzled.
From her perspective, Julia certainly performed well.
Yet, Karen was oblivious to the level of skill Yuren and Irene had seen and experienced.
“Julia might be good, but the competition she faced during the qualifiers was on a completely different level.”
“The opponent who beat me was incredibly skilled. I don’t think Julia can manage it.”
The firmness of those who had seen true expertise made Karen silently wish for Julia’s success.
Meanwhile, Yuren surveyed the arena, declaring,
“I have a feeling, but…”
Having felt a familiar sensation in this other world’s first E-sports tournament,
Yuren’s intuition became almost like a certainty.
“It seems the protagonists of this tournament are already decided.”
*
In the arena where the Tetric tournament commenced,
JYJ, with his red sunglasses radiating overwhelming presence, held a microphone-shaped crystal ball and began the event.
The players for the opening match were already on the field.
An intelligent boy with glasses and a cheerful smiling girl were the competitors.
“Before proceeding with the first round, let’s hear the players’ resolutions!”
JYJ first approached the glasses-wearing player, Bean.
“Bean, what’s your resolve for this game?”
With his usual expressionless face, Bean responded.
“I don’t think words are necessary. I’ll just show the results.”
“Ooooh~ Bean is overflowing with confidence! Now, how about you, Julia?”
JYJ moved to Julia next.
Julia, with her usual high spirits, answered,
“I’ll give it my all for the prize money! Hahahahaha!!!”
The audience burst into laughter at Julia’s enthusiastic response.
Satisfied, JYJ chuckled cheerfully and remarked,
“The prize money is important! We’ve heard Julia’s determination!”
With that, the brief interviews concluded, and the players took their places.
The giant screen displayed the Tetric game interface.
A digital screen that felt out of place in a fantasy world, yet all eyes were glued to it.
“Now, let’s start the first round of the game!!!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With JYJ’s declaration, fireworks exploded in the sky, and the first match began.
“Wooooaaaah!”
“……………”
Julia immediately gave her all, matching the blocks.
In contrast, Bean surprisingly took his time aligning the blocks.
“Ah! Julia’s piling on the pressure with rapid movements! She’s clearly skilled enough to reach the finals!”
At the start, it was clear to anyone that Julia looked strong.
Encouragement for Julia erupted from Karen and Noirin.
“Go, big sis Julia!!”
“Surely, Julia won’t lose, right?”
However, seeing the profound level of skill, the two felt differently.
“No. That’s…”
“You’re right, disciple. Julia is in danger.”
Before their words could settle, blocks began stacking up on Julia’s screen.
“…………”
“Uh? Huh!? Oh!!?”
Bean had expertly prepared combos, and as large numbers of blocks were destroyed at once, Julia’s screen saw blocks appearing three to four at a time.
“Ah!! Bean has picked up the pace! Dominating speed! Overwhelming combo!! Julia is getting overwhelmed!!”
“This can’t be! I can’t lose like this.”
Overwhelmed but still striving to resist, Julia made a frantic move, mistakenly placing a ‘T’ block in the wrong spot.
That was a critical mistake, causing blocks to reach the ceiling on her screen.
“Game Over!!! Julia’s blocks have hit the sky! Game Over!!!!!! Bean triumphs in the first round!”
“Nooo!!!!”
Defeated, Julia shed tears of despair.
In contrast, Bean remained calm, as if victory was expected.
The overwhelming performance displayed from the onset thrilled the audience and JYJ alike.
Immediately, the next round began.
The tournament rules entailed a best of five format, with the first to win two rounds declared the winner.
Julia mustered her determination for another shot.
However…
“Round 2! Bean is starting off by tormenting Julia! A single line combo! Is this some sort of mockery!? He’s teasing Julia by sending exactly one line at a time!!”
This time, Bean started bothering Julia by sending just one single line combo at her from the beginning.
Dealing with single lines is easier, but the pace was on another plane compared to Julia.
“Ahhh!!! It’s too fast!!!”
Julia couldn’t keep up with Bean’s flurry and sank quickly into despair as the second round commenced.
“Game Over!! Julia sinks with this match!!”
With her dreams of 100 million gold vanishing, Julia felt defeated, while Bean remained unfazed, leading to the conclusion of the first match.
“As expected…”
“That player 2222 is truly remarkable. You’re right, disciple.”
“Yes, that player seems likely to reach the finals.”
Yuren sensed a premonition that this player would become a long-term acquaintance.
What was another matter entirely was how Julia returned, crying, to be comforted.
*
“Now, we’ll proceed with the second match!”
Just as the excitement from the first game lingered in the arena,
the second match commenced.
“This match appears to be the biggest age-gap contest of the tournament.”
JYJ pointed to the two individuals stepping onto the arena.
On one side was a mischievous boy with yellow hair, the same age as Bean, while on the other stood a burly Dark Elf warrior with scars on his muscular face, arms crossed.
“This bout features a 15-year-old genius from the East, player ‘Johan,’ against the 781-year-old Dark Elf warrior ‘Elbaf’ from the North!!”
JYJ approached Johan with a light step.
“Johan, how do you plan to approach this game?”
Johan struck a peace sign toward the camera, replying cheerfully,
“Haha! I hope everyone enjoys this match!”
“Well, well! It’s great to see a player who thinks of the viewers! Let’s hear from Elbaf as well.”
JYJ approached the muscular Dark Elf.
He responded with a weighty warrior’s tone.
“I can’t lose to the great-great-grandson of my descendant; I’ll give it my all!”
“Awesome resolve, Elbaf player! No matter how tough, you plan to bring your A-game!”
The players took their positions, holding their crystal balls, and JYJ declared the start of the second match.
“Let’s get this showdown between the boy and the Dark Elf warrior underway!”
Human vs. Dark Elf
Genius vs. Warrior
Boy vs. Adult
An unconventional second match began.