Ro-Lente Royal Castle.
Located at the deepest part of the royal capital, it was built upon a hill. From far away, one could already see the walls formed by more than twenty circular giant towers linked together.
They separated the commoners of the capital from the royal castle, and together with the height of the hill, gave the entire castle a sense of standing above all others.
At the western foot of the hill where the castle stood, there was a massive coliseum. The annual Royal Tournament was always held there.
This kind of match was not only a grand event, but also one of the ways the Re-Estize Kingdom displayed its military might to outsiders.
Rustle, rustle!
Along with the noisy clamor of the crowd,
Aaron, feeling a stab of pain in his heart over the expense, entered the coliseum and sat down in a seat at the very outermost ring.
His gaze turned to the huge arena platform at the center of the coliseum. From where he was sitting, he could only make out the silhouettes of people on the platform.
Even so, this seat had cost him a full 5 silver coins.
"They really are raking it in."
Aaron swept his gaze across the densely packed sea of heads around him and sighed inwardly.
Being a witness to a historic event did satisfy a certain curiosity.
But—
If he had known the price beforehand, he would not have come. After all, he already knew the outcome.
Aaron thought somewhat helplessly.
The Warrior Captain and the Nail Clipper had yet to appear, though there were several figures on the platform below, seemingly inspecting things.
On the northern side of the arena was the only viewing stand higher than all the others, a tower-like gallery.
There was no need to guess.
That was clearly the viewing area reserved for the kingdom's nobles and royalty.
Compared to the near-festive atmosphere in other areas, the section around that tower stand was excessively quiet.
So much so that this state gradually affected the surrounding zones, like a basin of cold water poured over the blazing excitement.
Even the surrounding conversations began to die down.
Aaron tugged at the collar of his coarse hemp clothes, shrugged boredly, and watched the scene with a calm expression.
Others might not understand the reason behind this slightly eerie atmosphere, but he knew a bit about it.
On the surface, a tournament of this level was held to find powerful warriors for the country and to showcase the kingdom's strength.
In reality, however—
From the very beginning, the Royal Tournament had been a stage for the great nobles to show off their subordinates and flaunt their own military force.
All the commoner participants were nothing more than stepping stones for these lords.
This was tied to the kingdom's own noble system.
Aside from the eldest son, the other sons of nobles could not inherit the title. From this, another rank in the noble hierarchy had arisen: "Knight."
This title came with no fief and only applied to the holder's own generation, yet it was still something that the younger sons of noble families scrambled to obtain.
Not only for the noble status,
but also because once they attained the rank of Knight, the royal family would pay them a generous salary, ensuring they would have little to worry about in life.
Of course,
this was also a royal strategy—using these noble scions to form a new generation of "Royalist Faction."
The Royal Tournament existed for exactly this reason. It was an open and aboveboard tactic. Outstanding noble youths who stood out in the matches would be granted the rank of Knight.
However, starting several years ago, the noble participants and their retainers had gradually begun to lose to commoner adventurers. This had caused dissatisfaction among the nobles.
And now—
The appearance of Gazef and Brain, with their overwhelming performance all the way to this point,
had turned the Royal Tournament into a stage for a duel between two commoners.
"Heh."
Aaron's face showed a faint smile. He could easily imagine how ugly the nobles' expressions must be right now.
In truth, after Gazef's victory, he should have been granted a Knight's title. Instead, a new position, Warrior Captain, was created for him under these very circumstances.
This duel was known among the commoners as "the legendary battle" precisely because the Royal Tournament was abolished after it.
Clearly, no noble wanted a second Warrior Captain to appear.
Still,
this had nothing to do with Aaron. Compared to the Great Tomb's arrival in the future, these matters were nothing but petty squabbles.
No matter how unhappy the nobles were, they could not stop or cancel this match.
After about ten minutes,
Aaron's expression grew solemn. His eyes became serious as he watched the future Warrior Captain and the Nail Clipper walk toward the arena at the same time.
Once on the platform, the two shook hands and seemed to exchange a few words.
However,
from the seat where Aaron sat, he could only clearly see their figures. Their conversation was impossible to hear.
Soon,
they separated again, turned, and put some distance between them before finally facing each other.
At this very moment,
all noise in the audience vanished. Every gaze locked tightly onto the two men standing in the arena, as if afraid of disturbing their duel.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the next instant,
Gazef and Brain moved simultaneously. Though there were still about twenty meters between them, a brief charge was all it took for them to clash.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their sword-shaped weapons collided in a burst of intense sparks.
"So fast."
Shock flashed in Aaron's eyes. He could barely track their movements. The swords in their hands were simply impossible to follow.
He could only see the constant sparks flaring around them.
Aaron tilted his head back slightly.
They were practically a different species from normal humans.
The sheer power they displayed when they clashed was something he had never truly grasped while watching the anime.
Only by witnessing a fight of this level with his own eyes did Aaron finally understand the unbridgeable chasm between ordinary people and these powerhouses.
And this was only around level 20?
For no clear reason, Aaron suddenly began to understand the despair Brain had once felt when facing Shalltear.
The title "Nail Clipper" was by no means an insult.
Whoosh—
On the arena, a faint pale-blue glow suddenly flashed around Brain's body.
In the next moment,
he seemed to teleport, appearing behind Gazef in an instant.
However—
Gazef seemed to have anticipated this. He rolled away, widening the distance again.
"So that's Martial Arts." Aaron's eyes widened further.
"Martial Arts" were techniques unique to the other world, something YGGDRASIL did not have. They could be understood as a warrior's version of magic.
Using them consumed something called "Focus"—essentially mental concentration. The more Martial Arts were used, the more fatigued the brain became.
It was a stat that did not exist in the game and was actually closer to reality.
Whether in the anime or the light novels, the power Martial Arts displayed was far from weak.
It was just that human level limits made Martial Arts seem not all that overwhelming.
Suddenly—
Vmm.
The status panel appeared before Aaron's eyes.
"Skill 'Flow Acceleration' discovered. Requirement: basic warrior-type class. Current conditions not met…"
"'Genius' class activated. Conversion successful. Requirements met. Consume 1 skill point to learn?"
Seeing the message on the status panel, Aaron's eyes showed both surprise and realization as he muttered to himself, "So that's what skill points are really for."