NOVEL WEB Chapter 744
Group D: Paul Röpke (Austria) vs NoName (National Exchange Tournament Committee from Luxembourg) – Arlington AT&T Stadium
Bbangbbang-!
The road to the stadium was rugged.
Countless vehicles converging at the enormous arena with a capacity of 120,000.
“Whew, I think running would be faster.”
“Then let’s run together.”
“No way, no way! You have to save your strength, Unni!”
Saetbyeol spread her arms wide, trying to stop me.
Daldaldaldal—
She was shaking her legs and biting her nails.
For some reason, it felt like my family was more tense than I was.
Suk-suk—
“Huh?”
“Your hair is sticking out.”
Luri, who was sitting next to me, suddenly tidied my bangs.
She clasped her knees, placing her hands on them and closing her eyes.
“Na-me, did you bring your wand?”
Now even Dad is involved!
“Of course I brought it…! We’re going to the National Exchange Tournament, would I forget my wand?”
“Wow, Na-me is even yelling at Dad now…”
“Dad’s just trying to get the last word in.”
A healthy tension is good, but too much worry only builds stress.
However, the reason my family was all on edge was clear.
‘Recently, Röpke bulked up.’
The monster from Austria, Paul Röpke.
16 years old, 192 cm tall, 116 kg.
A beast that can dash 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, even without aura.
Perhaps that’s why Professor Cheon’s expression was pale as ever.
“Have you practiced submissions a lot?”
“Well… I’ve practiced, but if they don’t catch me, it doesn’t matter, right?”
“Oh dear. I’m worried, really worried.”
Recently, I heard from the Korean national team that my opponents were practicing submissions.
Submissions are techniques used to inflict pain on the opponent through joint locks and chokes.
Basically, the rules for the National Exchange Tournament are very unfavorable for grapplers.
The difficulty is structured into quarter, half, and full submissions, with penalties of 10%, 15%, and 25% respectively if you tap out.
Even if I manage to pull off an Omoplata or a Peruvian Neck Tie while getting sliced up by a sword, would that really be worth it?
‘If that were possible, it’d mean there’s already a significant skill gap between the two fighters.’
How desperate must they be to come up with submission strategies to face me?
“Still, I’m curious. Should I try to see if I can escape?”
“Na-me!”
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
I smiled while massaging Dad’s shoulder.
“But I can’t imagine doing a joint lock on you, Unni. What would happen if it actually occurred?”
“Right? I’ve never thought about it before.”
I had never seen a 190 cm man applying a joint lock on a 130 cm child even once in my life.
Surprisingly, it was an extremely rare sight that I hadn’t even experienced in my past life.
Saetbyeol’s eyes twinkled.
We began to let our imaginations take flight.
“What if you applied an armbar on Unni?”
“Then Röpke would choke my chin with one arm and break my shoulder with the other, turning it into a chicken wing or something.”
“Oho…? Ehh…! Is that right? It kind of feels like social suicide.”
Suddenly, Saetbyeol shivered, rubbing her arms.
“Uh… it does feel a bit weird.”
I felt uncertain too.
The source seemed to be somewhat reliable.
Should I really do it?
* * *
The current time was 2 PM.
There was about an hour left until the match started.
As soon as I arrived at the waiting room in the stadium, I went over the six matches that had already taken place.
“Overall, the participants’ skills seem similar to previous years.”
“Mhm.”
Luri was pulling at the skin around her eyes with her finger, focusing on the screen.
“This is your first time watching the National Exchange Tournament, right? How is it?”
“Not even close to your toenails, little creatures.”
“Just be objective!”
“There’s clear evidence that they’ve received professional training from an instructor. However, their risk-taking tendencies are high, and most strategies finish within two to three moves. In short, they’re idiots—”
“Just as expected, it’s Luri.”
“Eh-heh.”
Luri flapped her arms in joy.
Was it because this was supposed to be a spot for wings?
“Ah, hem.”
She quickly straightened her posture and stood up from the sofa.
Suddenly, noisy voices mixed with excitement came from outside.
The voices gradually approached our room.
Knock, knock—
“Who is it? Ah, Cecilia, hello.”
“Na-me! Look who’s come to find me!”
“Who’s here… whoa!”
I jumped up at the sight of a familiar face.
“Emika!”
“Fufu, I present to you NoName the Wizard.”
“So happy to see you, hee hee.”
“You’ve grown a lot, Na-me. But you’re still small and cute.”
I warmly shook hands with Emika.
“I almost didn’t recognize you since you’re in casual clothes.”
“I put my martial arts name aside for a bit to meet friends today.”
She usually insisted on wearing strange uniforms, but this time she appeared in casual sky-blue jeans.
“But how did you two meet?”
“I came to tease Cecilia. That fool wasted a whole year.”
At Emika’s sudden taunt, Cecilia flinched.
“You’ll see in November. I’ll smash you at the Japan Cup.”
“It’ll be tough on home ground though. Oh, by the way, NoName. There are more of us outside. If you’re okay with it, can I let them in to say hello?”
“Yeah. That’s fine.”
Then I realized that there was a lot more than just two or three people.
“Yahoo! Na-me-chan! Quickly greet everyone!”
“… Uh, hi.”
Narita Mei and Narita Hiroyuki.
“Nice to meet you, NoName… CEO? Wizard?”
“Hey! Remember me? I regretted not going to the snowball fight last year.”
David Everett and Levi Huning Jr.
“I’m really jealous. Getting to participate in such fun events every year while being young. Isn’t that right?”
Luri Ruohan from the Mudang Sect.
“Well, I had plenty of fun last year, so not that much?”
“That’d be true for you. You made it to the semifinals and became a national hero.”
“Hee hee, Na-me! So cute!”
Even Giselle Fischer’s eyes became all sparkly.
Pachik-pachik—
And I saw someone doing jumping jacks behind Everett and Huning Jr.
“Love Unni?”
“Whoa there are so many people. Na-me, congratulations on participating in the National Exchange Tournament!”
“Wow, you all really gathered? No one said anything about coming together!”
“Of course, it would be more touching as a surprise. How about we give Na-me a hug?”
Swoosh—
Luri stretched out her arm to stop them.
“It’s okay. I don’t dislike it.”
At that, Luri looked slightly surprised.
Looking back at my past life, was this behavior too discordant?
Love grabbed me under my armpits and lifted me up.
“No way.”
“Why?”
“You’re so light. How can you even fight like this?”
Shaking, shaking—
Love shook me up and down to gauge my weight.
“I really do look light!”
“Do you want to try lifting her, Mei? Is Na-me okay with it?”
“Yeah!”
“Go ahead!”
I felt like a doll being passed around among the others.
“Of all opponents, it’s the big guy from Chicago. Are you confident, NoName the Wizard?”
Huning Jr. said.
“Do you know Paul Röpke?”
“Yeah. He joined the league last year. He’s a promising junior.”
“I see. If he tries to put me in a submission hold, what do you think will happen?”
“Puhaha! What did you just say? Submitting you? To you?”
“Why not? This isn’t a gym match, it’s a National Exchange Tournament. No one’s going to take it easy on me just because I’m younger. Plus, I have the advantage in winning rate.”
“Hahaha, ha ha… hmm?”
Levi burst out laughing, then suddenly turned serious.
Meanwhile, I was being passed from Mei to Ruohan, then from Ruohan to Emika, and finally from Emika to Giselle.
“It’s certainly not a strategy that’s impossible. Why couldn’t I think of such a clever idea last year?”
“If it’s to that extent, you would be labeled as a loser.”
“Aha.”
“Shwww.”
“Huh?”
Giselle Fischer lifted me high.
“Oops, sorry. I got too carried away.”
“Eh heh, it’s okay.”
“What should I do? Should I put you down, or do you want the boys over there to try lifting you too?”
“I’ll try it. Just how light am I?”
Suddenly Hiroyuki grabbed the back of my clothes like he was picking up a cat.
“This little guy’s getting cocky.”
“…!”
I grabbed his arm firmly and quickly turned my body.
A light jump, I hooked my legs around his neck, lightly twisting, and Hiroyuki lost his balance.
“Whaaaah!”
Boom-!
His body flipped through the air and slammed into the ground, and I landed gracefully, looking down at him.
“Hey, you’ve been talking about me a lot on those shows lately, huh? What’s this about 120 cm or whatever? Is the pay you get for that nice and sweet?”
“Grrr, that’s a misunderstanding…! One-tenth…!”
“What?”
“Japanese shows only give me one-tenth the pay of Korean shows…”
“Hey, that’s not the point!”
I delivered a firm flick to his forehead.
Pachin-!
The ultimate skill I learned from Professor Cheon.
Snap-!
“Gahhh! That hurts!”
I didn’t forget to break the aura barrier with my left hand.
I dusted off my palms and said to the kids.
“Let’s all go out for dinner after today’s match.”
“Sounds good!”
“Is that on you, NoName?”
“Yep.”
“Yay! Make sure to win!”
“Fighting! We’ll slowly head to the audience seating!”
Amid cheerful chatter, my friends rushed out together.
“Na-me Unni…”
“Huh?”
Suddenly—
I felt the warm touch of a little child enveloping me.
The last one remaining, Luri, took a step forward and hugged me.
“Eomeoni, please don’t get hurt. Forgive me for not being able to trust my lord.”
“Eh heh, I won’t get hurt. Thank you for worrying about me.”
I gently closed my eyes.
The preparations for the first match of the Texas National Exchange Tournament in 2054 were complete.
[Group D Match 7]
[#2 Paul Röpke (Austria)]
[#4 NoName (National Exchange Tournament Committee from Luxembourg)]
When I opened my eyes again, the whole world was a golden wave undulating.
My vision ignited.
Veins flowing along my muscles.
A distant echo of jealousy resonating.
“Indeed… I miss my Eomeoni—”
“Luri?”
“Yes.”
“Now go away.”
“Yes!”
How long have I waited for this moment?
I bit my tongue.
A bitter metallic taste spread throughout my mouth.
It felt like it awakened the primal instincts deeply seated within the Aura Heart.