Chapter 6: The Legendary Battle, The True Usage of Skill Points
2024-11-18 Author: Amnesty L
The Royal Castle of Rorona Rent.
Located in the deepest part of the entire Royal Capital, it was a royal castle built on a hill. From afar, one could see its city wall, connecting over twenty massive, round towers. It separated the populace of the Royal Capital from the royal castle, and combined with the height of the hill, gave the entire royal castle a status that signified its dominion over everyone.
To the west, below the hill where the royal castle was built, stood a massive arena. The annual Royal Court Tournament also commenced in this arena. Such trials were not merely grand events; they were also a way for the Re-Estize Kingdom to display its military prowess to outsiders.
An uproar!
A clamor!
Amidst the noisy clamor of the crowd, Tang Zheng, wincing at the cost, arrived at the arena and took a seat in the outermost section. His gaze swept towards the massive Combat Stage at the center of the arena. From his vantage point, he could only make out the silhouettes of people on the Combat Stage.
For such a spot, it had cost him a full 5 silver coins!
"Quite a profitable business indeed."
Tang Zheng's gaze swept over the packed crowd in the surrounding seats, and he sighed inwardly. Witnessing historical events certainly satisfied a certain curiosity for the extraordinary.
But!
If he had known the price was so steep, he wouldn't have come. After all, he already knew the outcome.
Tang Zheng thought with a hint of resignation.
The Warrior Captain and Nail Clipper had yet to appear. On the Combat Stage below, several figures seemed to be conducting inspections. And positioned directly north of the Combat Stage was the only spot in the entire arena that stood significantly higher than the rest—a round, tower-like Viewing Platform.
There was no need to guess. That was clearly the Viewing Platform reserved for the Kingdom's nobles and Royal Family.
Compared to the almost boisterous atmosphere in other areas, the location of this round, tower-like Viewing Platform was excessively quiet. This stillness gradually spread to other areas, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over the heated atmosphere. Even the surrounding chatter slowly diminished.
Tang Zheng reached up to tug at the collar of his coarse linen clothes, shrugging boredly as he calmly watched the scene unfold. Others might not have understood the reason for this slightly eerie atmosphere, but he knew a thing or two. Ostensibly, this level of competition was to find powerful warriors for the country and to promote its national strength.
But in reality!
From the very beginning, the Royal Court Tournament was a stage for the various nobles to flaunt their subordinates and display their own military prowess. All commoner participants were merely stepping stones for these noble lords. This involved the Kingdom's inherent noble system!
Aside from the eldest son, the other sons of the great nobles could not inherit their titles. This led to the creation of another title within the noble system: Knight! This title carried no fiefdom and was a noble rank limited to a single generation, yet it remained a coveted goal that the younger sons of nobles vied for. This was not only for the status of nobility but also because once the title of Knight was obtained, the Royal Family would pay a high stipend, essentially eliminating any worries about one's livelihood.
Of course, this was also a strategy of the Royal Family: to have the offspring of these nobles form a new generation of the Pro-Royal Faction! The Royal Court Tournament thus existed as an open and above-board strategy. Therefore, exceptional noble scions who distinguished themselves in the trials would be granted the title of Knight.
However, starting a few years ago, participating nobles or their retainers were gradually defeated by commoner adventurers, which caused the nobles' dissatisfaction.
And now!
The appearance of Gazef and Brain, who had swept all before them to arrive here, took things even further. This had turned the Royal Court Tournament into a stage for a duel between two commoners!
"Hah."
Tang Zheng smiled. He could perfectly imagine that the expressions on the faces of those noble lords were anything but pleasant right now. After Gazef's victory, he should have rightfully received the title of Knight. The result, however, was the creation of a new position—Warrior Captain—which emerged from this very situation. The reason this duel was known among the commoners as the "Legendary Battle" was precisely because the Royal Court Tournament was abolished after this very match. Clearly, no noble wished for a second Warrior Captain to emerge.
However.
This had little to do with Tang Zheng. Compared to the future Great Tomb, these matters were ultimately just minor squabbles. No matter how displeased the nobles were, this match could neither be stopped nor terminated!
After approximately ten minutes, Tang Zheng's expression sharpened, and his gaze grew serious as he watched the future Warrior Captain and Nail Clipper walk onto the Combat Stage simultaneously. After they stepped onto the Combat Stage, the two shook hands and seemed to exchange a few words.
However, from his current seat in the audience, Tang Zheng could only make out their figures; he naturally couldn't hear their conversation.
Soon!
The two separated again, turning and putting some distance between them before facing each other.
At this moment!
All the clamor from the audience vanished. Every gaze was fixed intently on the two figures on the Combat Stage, as if fearing to disturb their duel.
Swish! Swish!
Almost the very next instant.
Gazef and Brain moved simultaneously. Despite being separated by nearly twenty meters, they collided after just a brief charge.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The two sword-like weapons instantly collided, unleashing fierce sparks.
"So fast."
Amazement flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes. His gaze could barely track their figures. He couldn't see the swords they wielded clearly at all. He could only see continuous sparks erupting around their bodies.
Tang Zheng leaned his head back. They were simply not the same kind of creature as ordinary people! The sheer power displayed during their clash was something he couldn't feel at all when watching the anime. Only by witnessing this level of combat firsthand did Tang Zheng truly grasp the unbridgeable chasm between ordinary people and these powerful individuals!
And this was merely around Level 20?
For some reason, Tang Zheng suddenly understood the feeling of despair Nail Clipper must have experienced when facing Shalltear. The title "Nail Clipper" was by no means a derogatory term!
Whoosh—
On the Combat Stage, a faint blue light suddenly flashed around Brain's body.
The next moment!
Brain instantly appeared behind Gazef, as if by teleportation.
However!
Gazef seemed to have anticipated it, rolling his body and quickly widening the distance again.
"Is that a Martial Skill?" Tang Zheng's eyes widened slightly.
A Martial Skill was a unique technique not found in the game YGGDRASIL, exclusive to this Otherworld, and could be understood as a warrior's magic. Using it required consuming something called "Concentration," which was simply one's mental focus. The more Martial Skills one used, the more "Brain Fatigue" would increase. It was a value that didn't exist in the game, making it closer to reality.
Whether in the anime or the light novel, the power displayed by Martial Skills was actually not weak. It was simply that human level restrictions made Martial Skills seem less powerful.
Suddenly—
Buzz!
The stat panel appeared before Tang Zheng's eyes.
"Skill 'Flowing Water Acceleration' discovered. Requires Basic Warrior-type Class. Current conditions not met..."
"'Genius' job class activated. Conversion successful. Learning conditions met. Do you wish to consume 1 skill point to learn?"
Tang Zheng saw the information that appeared on the stat panel, a look of surprise and realization in his eyes as he muttered, "So that's how skill points are used!"
(end of chapter)