I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 167: Ranking (6)

All eyes turned to Arin as she spoke.

“For Yuri?”

When someone asked back, Arin responded casually.

“We just need to decide the rankings among ourselves, and later ask Yuri to assign Gunther’s position.”

There was immediate disagreement.

“Hmm… but to do that, we’d need someone else to compare with besides Gunther, right?”

“Poppy and I spar with Yuri often, so we can ask him to decide based on us.”

Saying that, Arin turned her gaze to Yuri, as if asking for his opinion.

Yuri, who met her gaze, scratched his ear.

“Me? Why? Sounds like a hassle.”

“Do it, even if it’s a hassle.”

“Ah, let’s just do it half-heartedly. We’ve already got the most important rank decided, and the rest are meaningless anyway, so why put in so much effort?”

“It matters to us.”

“Hmm…?”

At Arin’s firm response, Yuri smacked his fist into his left palm.

“Aha, so this is what it’s about?”

“…What do you mean?”

“You mean it’s one of those situations where the lower beings of the human world are fighting over who the strongest among them is, while ignoring a celestial being like me?”

“…….”

While there was some truth to his words, hearing him say it himself was incredibly annoying.

But no one dared to openly refute Yuri’s words…

“Annoying.”

“I’m hungry.”

…No, there was someone who did.

Arin, with her arms crossed, and Poppy glared at Yuri with sullen expressions.

Under their gazes, Yuri put on a troubled look.

“Ah, the jealousy and envy from those ranked below the undisputed number one… Ah, being the standout number one is such a tiresome position.”

Seeing his expression of loneliness, Arin pouted and asked.

“So, what do you think of Gunther’s skills? Compared to Poppy and me?”

“Hmm…”

Yuri’s brow furrowed at Arin’s unusually serious demeanor.

‘Why is she being so serious all of a sudden?’

If Yuri had to choose the most laid-back person he knew, he would, without hesitation, pick Arin.

Whether it was quest results or monthly evaluations.

Yuri had never seen Arin take the initiative in anything.

She lived her life with a “go with the flow” attitude.

That was the Arin Yuri had observed so far.

But today, she was behaving unusually assertively.

‘Did something provoke her?’

If anything could have, it was only one thing.

Gunther’s enlightenment.

‘…Is she upset too? I’m the one who spars with her all the time, but Gunther’s the one who had a breakthrough?’

Since Yuri had felt similarly, he assumed it was only natural for Arin to feel the same.

This was partly true and partly not.

Gunther’s enlightenment was indeed what had triggered Arin.

However, the emotion that arose in Arin was not annoyance but jealousy.

It was the feeling you get when a friend you thought was closer to you suddenly gets along strangely well with someone they just met.

A peculiar jealousy that’s too awkward to directly express to a friend.

That was what Arin was feeling now.

However, since Yuri had never been that close to anyone before, he couldn’t recognize the shift in Arin’s emotions.

But, having at least some perceptiveness, Yuri decided to match Arin’s seriousness with his own.

“Hmm… compared to you and Poppy.”

After much deliberation, he reached a conclusion.

“Arin, if you and Gunther fought, Gunther would win.”

Arin’s brow twitched.

Her expression was clearly filled with dissatisfaction.

But her expression softened slightly with Yuri’s subsequent explanation.

“And if Gunther fought Poppy, Poppy would win, and if you fought Poppy… you would win.”

Seeing Arin’s slightly furrowed brow relax, Yuri chuckled and continued his explanation.

“You all counter each other perfectly.”

Gunther lacked the destructive power and speed to break through Poppy’s defense.

However, he had full-body armor and agility to block Arin’s arrows.

And Arin had her ‘peculiar archery’ that could strike beyond Poppy’s shield.

Thus, Arin, Poppy, and Gunther were all in a loop of countering one another.

“Based on that, decide your rankings among yourselves. Or just go with a three-way tie for second place.”

With that, he waved his hand dismissively, signaling not to bother him further.

“Well, if you put it that way, I guess that’s it.”

“I’m hungry.”

Neither Arin nor Poppy objected to Yuri’s assessment.

They trusted his judgment since they knew his skills better than anyone.

Seeing Arin and Poppy’s acceptance, those around them began to align with Yuri’s opinion.

Just as the matter of Gunther’s ranking seemed settled.

“What about me?”

A voice came from the entrance of the arena.

Everyone turned to look back.

And the owner of the voice came into view.

Clang-.

There was Clarice, now clad in full armor.

Clank- clank-.

She pushed her way through the crowd surrounding Yuri and stood before him.

“How do you think I compare to those three you mentioned, Yuri Holland?”

Yuri answered with a disinterested expression.

“Who knows? I haven’t really seen much of your skills.”

“…….”

Clarice clenched her fist slightly.

‘Does that mean what happened back then wasn’t even memorable enough to stay in his mind?’

Clarice had once tracked Yuri and clashed with him during the arm band snatching quest.

That battle had been a complete defeat for her.

Back then, without proper equipment, she couldn’t fully demonstrate her skills and was easily overpowered.

Afterward, she used her weapon crafting rights to get herself full-body armor, and recently, she’d made small improvements, so she was feeling confident.

However, her confidence crumbled like a sandcastle when she saw Gunther blown away by Yuri’s single strike.

‘With my skills, I can never defeat Yuri Holland…’

Feeling disheartened by the harsh reality before her, Clarice had regained her resolve after witnessing Gunther’s enlightenment.

She shifted her mindset in a different direction.

‘Yeah, the fact that Yuri Holland is an insurmountable stronghold… maybe that’s actually a good thing.’

By aiming to chase after the absolute powerhouse that was Yuri Holland, wouldn’t she also rapidly grow?

Just like Gunther had found enlightenment by not giving up and continuing to challenge today.

With that thought, Clarice had swiftly left after Yuri and Gunther’s battle ended.

She had then appeared fully armed, ready to challenge Yuri.

Clarice assumed a stance towards Yuri and shouted.

“I challenge you to a ranking match, Yuri Holland! This time, I’ll show you my true skills. So you won’t forget me!”

Clarice’s sudden challenge surprised the onlookers.

And that surprise quickly turned into admiration.

“Even after seeing what happened to Gunther, she still wants to challenge him.”

“Clarice, you….”

The 50th batch who had been whispering quietly quickly stepped back from Yuri and Clarice.

Meanwhile, Yuri let out a soft sigh.

“Ha, this is really annoying.”

It was troublesome.

So troublesome that he wanted to give it all up, but he had no choice.

The higher ranks couldn’t refuse challenges from the lower ranks.

‘Did I take the top rank too early?’

He regretted not holding back and waiting until later to make his move.

And he certainly hadn’t expected that someone would challenge him right after seeing Gunther get carried away like that, so he was a little surprised.

Yuri stared intently at the challenger standing before him.

‘Clarice Van… was she the one who uses that armored fighting technique or whatever?’

A knight who didn’t wield a sword.

The opponent used a unique martial art that involved full-body armor as a weapon.

Seeing her, the annoyance that had been boiling up inside Yuri gradually dissipated, and a different thought crossed his mind.

‘This probably won’t be the last person to challenge me.’

Someone had stepped forward despite knowing what happened to Gunther.

There was nothing stopping the others from doing the same.

‘Is it really wise to just knock down every challenger that comes my way?’

Yuri shook his head inwardly.

‘No, if I have to accept challenges anyway and spend my time on them… I should gain something in return.’

And for Yuri, there was only one thing to gain from opponents who were weaker than him.

It was…

‘Experience.’

The current 50th batch of the Cradle.

Even though their skills paled in comparison to his now, they were once the scions of families he wouldn’t have even dared to look at.

Not just any random families, but the distinguished ones with renowned names.

And what they carried was the refined martial art that their families had honed over generations.

That was exactly what Yuri aimed for.

To experience the high-level martial arts that were developed in line with each family’s unique characteristics.

This was perhaps a valuable experience that could only be enjoyed within the Cradle.

Yuri had one more thing in mind.

‘Who knows? Maybe I’ll find something worth picking up, like Tethsha’s Chwisung.’

In other words, if there was a martial art that looked promising, he intended to extract its principles.

This was a special kind of thievery that only Yuri could pull off.

And for that, the process and outcome of the sparring from now on would be crucial.

‘If I beat this guy up too, the challenges might really dry up…….’

So, he needed to take it easy.

He wanted the others who watched this duel to think, ‘Oh, if it’s just like that, then I can give it a try too!’

With a sly smile, Yuri beckoned Clarice with his sword.

“Come on, come on, let’s get started. I’ll give it my all to face you!”

“……?”

Clarice flinched for a moment at Yuri’s sudden change, from a face full of annoyance to one of amusement.

But only for a moment.

Whoosh—.

Clarice let out a long breath, then dashed fiercely at Yuri with her eyes shining.

“Here I come!”

“Bring it on!”

The duel between Yuri and Clarice unfolded differently from the one with Gunther.

Clarice was desperately throwing punches with all her might.

Meanwhile, Yuri moved gracefully, lightly probing the openings of his opponent.

If the duel with Gunther had been a one-sided beating, this duel with Clarice resembled more of a guided sparring session.

While the other 50th batch members had question marks floating over their heads due to the vast disparity in skill, only two people had exclamation marks above theirs.

‘He’s up to something bad again!’

‘I’m hungry!’

Unlike Arin and Poppy, who grasped the truth, the rest of the 50th batch watched the match with keen interest.

‘If he could take it easy like that, why did he beat Gunther up so badly? Was there something between them?’

‘There’s a huge skill gap between the two.’

‘A duel with someone that skilled… would definitely be beneficial for me.’

‘Hmm, if the duel goes like this, I might have a chance… No, I definitely want to try!’

As moths gradually gathered around the bonfire Yuri had lit, the duel in the arena was heading towards its conclusion.

Bang—!

Clarice was flung back and skidded across the ground.

Cough—.

“I lost…….”

Clarice coughed up a bit of blood and admitted defeat, kneeling on one knee.

He looked up at Yuri, who stood tall.

‘He’s really… strong.’

Yuri’s swordsmanship, which continuously poked and prodded at his weaknesses, felt like it was pointing out all his flaws.

As he faced Yuri, Clarice felt as if he was being guided by the elders of his family.

‘That’s how wide the skill gap is between Yuri and me.’

With such a significant skill difference, he wasn’t resentful about losing.

Instead, he felt refreshed after pouring everything out.

Seeing Clarice’s faint smile, Yuri beamed back.

“Wow, your armored fighting technique is pretty impressive!”

Yuri’s eyes gleamed like a predator spotting its prey.

‘Looks like there’s quite a bit I can take from this one.’

Yuri pondered what to extract to make sure it would be worth the trouble.

However, unaware of Yuri’s thoughts, Clarice took his words at face value and smiled proudly.

“The Van Family’s armored fighting technique is ranked among the top 100 martial arts on the continent.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Yuri didn’t know what the top 100 martial arts were, but it sounded good!

Yuri’s eyes sparkled.

“Alright, alright, let’s spar again sometime!”

“I’d be happy to.”

Although he didn’t have an epiphany like Gunther from this spar, Clarice felt he had gained quite a lot.

So there was no way he would refuse Yuri’s offer.

He even wanted to ask Yuri himself.

As they were about to wrap up, Clarice asked another question.

“So… what’s my ranking now?”

Yuri casually replied.

“Well, your skills aren’t lacking, but you’re quite a bit behind the three who are tied for second. So you’re around fifth place now.”

“…I see.”

Clarice’s face stiffened slightly at Yuri’s evaluation.

But he didn’t object.

He had decided to trust Yuri’s judgment.

Just as their duel was about to come to an official close.

“If you two are done talking, can I go next?”

Nellie Blanc jumped down from the audience stands and approached Yuri.

She spoke formally to him.

“I challenge you to a ranking match, Yuri Holland.”

Seeing the moth that jumped into his bonfire, Yuri grinned brightly.

“As much as you want!”

And from that moment on…

The ranking quest of the 50th batch began to veer off in a strange direction.