NOVEL WEB Chapter 187: Lucky
"Jin Woo, what are you doing? He is the prince—pay your respect," one of the young men said.
Vritra stood at one end of the line and bowed slightly in front of the prince before speaking, "It's a pleasure to meet you, prince."
The prince stared at Vritra for a few seconds, then he nodded and, with a chuckle, he spoke, "I had heard a lot about you. Your fights have gained a lot of popularity. Though it would be impossible to defeat those legion-ranked warriors with your current strength, what do you think about joining me as my advisor?"
'Ah, so he is here only to make me join his side? Is that really all?' Vritra wondered. After showing a surprised expression on his face, Vritra spoke, "Thank you very much, prince. If I really lose, then I would love to join you on your great journey."
"Haha! You are indeed quite smart. Good, I will send you the invitation after the competition ends. I am really impressed by your performance," the prince said with a smile. After saying a few encouraging words, he turned and walked away along with his guards.
{Sin Point Gained: Envied +19}
All the others looked at Vritra in envy. One of them sighed and spoke in exasperation, "Jin Woo, I can't believe the crown prince himself came here to meet you. You are really too talented and lucky."
They talked for a while before the rude head guard came once again into the hall. He glanced at the twenty participants and wrinkled his nose, but since the prince's guards seemed to be lingering there, he held back on his nasty comments.
"Follow me out, all of you. Today's match will be different. Each of you will be paired against anyone among you all, and you would have to defeat your opponent to reach the next level."
By the time the explanation ended, they had arrived outside, and the loud cheering of the crowd shook the entire colosseum. The place was too crowded, and some special arrangements seemed to have been made today for the arrival of the king.
Like setting up a high stage with a throne beside the arena, the number of guards was even higher, and the whole place was decorated even more nicely.
"It's TK here, and we are here to witness the fight between the top talents of the Blue Kingdom!!" TK jumped onto the arena and shouted with all his might.
"Today, for the first part of the competition, the stage will be divided into ten parts, and the fighters who defeat their opponents will move to the next round," TK announced as, in the next moment, barriers formed over the large arena.
"Let's welcome our fighters!!" TK said as Vritra and the others walked into the open. The spectators roared wildly, waiting for some great battles.
{Sin Point Gained: Watched +48,356}
{Sin Point Gained: Expected +42,524}
{Sin Point Gained: Pitied +26,704}
…
The moment Vritra stepped onto the arena, sin points poured out wildly, their speed faster than ever. Looking around at the spectators with a smile, Vritra located Vanessa, Fiona, and Diana easily. The three women were cheering for him as well.
"Now, all the participants, please enter the barrier where your number is indicated. May strength and luck be with you. And Jin Woo, I have high hopes for you, but it's a pity that you are yet to reach the Legion rank, sigh…" TK spoke, mirroring the emotions of many in the crowd.
Vritra saw his number twenty and walked into the barrier. There were four legion-ranked warriors in total—he hoped not to face one right off the start.
After a wait of a few seconds, a man at level 815 walked into his barrier hesitantly. It was one of the people Vritra had knowingly chosen to decrease the competition in the last round.
While the boy was hesitant because he had passed both rounds due to Vritra, he didn't want to repay his help and kindness by being rude—not to mention, Vritra's level was much higher than his own.
"I admit defeat. I can't attack someone as noble and kind as Jin Woo, who helped me so much previously." After speaking, the young man walked out of the barrier, heaving a sigh of relief. He avoided the defeat and even gained public sympathy.
"And we have got our first winner just like that!" TK announced before focusing on another match.
Two more people admitted defeat who were put against two of the legion-ranked fighters, while the remaining legion fighters ended up facing one another.
Vritra just stood calmly as he observed the fights of those four fighters. It wasn't long before the fight was over, and now among the ten fighters, only three legion-ranked fighters remained.
"Now, it is time for our round two! This time, there will be five partitions. Make sure to stand till the end!" TK said before jumping out of the arena as the barriers disappeared and reformed.
Now the arena was divided into five parts, and two names were written over each part. The participants made their way into the barriers.
Vritra sighed in relief, as again he was about to face a rather weaker participant among the top ten. But unfortunately, this time, the legion-ranked fighters didn't end up against one another.
Just as the match started, four of the young men admitted defeat immediately. Vritra's opponent made the same excuse, and the other three couldn't fight against the legion-ranked warriors.
"Hmm… These rounds are rather peaceful. Even our crowd has become so silent; there are barely any fights. Anyway, we have our five top fighters!!" TK clapped and then continued:
"Out of these five, one of them will be able to move to the next part without fighting. And that name will be selected by our dear spectators! So, who do you believe should be sent directly to the next round?"
"JIN WOO!! JIN WOO!!" Everyone was shouting this name—after all, his popularity was much higher than all the others.
Vritra felt happy that instead of Daddy V, he used Jin Woo. Otherwise, these people would have never voted for Daddy V. Instead, they would have forced him to fight the legion warriors right from the start.
"Alright, so it has been decided! Jin Woo will head to the final round directly! Yes, you haven't heard it wrong—this is the decision right from above! Don't we all want to see the greatest mind against the oppressing force? Who do you believe will win?!" TK said, making the crowd excited once again.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead. This job wasn't easy—he had to always keep the audience excited and also make the higher-ups happy.
Soon, the next round began. Vritra stood calmly at one corner of the arena. One warrior directly admitted defeat since he didn't want to face a legion rank.
While the two other legion-ranked were facing one another, after a long and hard fight, one was knocked out.
After a short break, the semi-final began, and the two remaining legion-ranked fought against one another until one of them came out victorious.
"And number 4 has become the winner of this round! Now number 4 will be facing off against Jin Woo—the fight we all awaited!" TK said.
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