Novel Full Chapter 201: Cedric Vs Fidelis [1]: Underestimated
Chapter 201: Cedric Vs Fidelis [1]: Underestimated
"What a truly interesting opponent," Seth said with a chuckle as he lay on the arena floor.
On his chest was the very same parasitic flower he had previously attached to Conan.
The flower was slowly turning from white to red as its timer had just reset after an explosion that caught him completely off guard.
Slowly approaching him was Conan, who now had a head full of green hair.
Behind him were a couple of vines that quickly moved to restrain his opponent before he said, "I guess it’s my win."
"It is indeed," Seth agreed, "I surrender. "
"WHAT AN ENTERTAINING FIRST MATCH," the herald’s voice was heard just after Seth’s surrender, "CONAN OF THE ACADEMY TAKES THE FIRST WIN OF THE TOURNAMENT STAGE!"
The crowd immediately responded with an eruption of cheers.
The academy students were the loudest, naturally, but even the neutral crowd couldn’t help responding to what they’d just witnessed.
Aside from the Saintess, most thought someone couldn’t contract multiple spirits at once.
And yet, what they just witnessed proved that thinking wrong.
Even more surprising was the fact that the first year had been able to contract a spirit similar to his opponent’s.
Or at least, that’s what they thought.
Alvíss, sitting in one of the stands, had a satisfied smile on his face.
There was only a single thought going through his head as he watched Conan win, Finally, the world will bear witness to my genius."
For now, Conan was his Magnum Opus, and he was very proud of it right now....though, some upgrades were still in order.
Back in the arena, Conan allowed his hair and eyes to take their normal brown as the vines and flowers on Seth crumbled.
"You have to introduce me to this old man Alvíss later," Seth said as he extended his hand for a shake, "after all, that was quite the fight."
"You weren’t that bad either," Conan’s response made Seth chuckle as they shook hands.
The two walked off the arena and headed towards the preparation area, leaving behind the cheering crowd.
Darius was the first person Conan saw when he walked in.
"That was incredible!" Darius said immediately and at full volume.
"Thanks," Conan said, dropping into the nearest chair.
"It seemed you got stronger," Darius said again, placing a hand on his chin as he observed Conan for a while before grinning, "I can’t wait for our fight."
Conan simply nodded and turned towards Adrian’s direction.
The butler glanced at him for a while before giving what Conan interpreted as a pleased nod.
It seems his benefactor was quite satisfied with his performance.
He then turned back to the magic tool broadcasting the happenings in the arena, and the group noticed that the next pairing was about to be announced.
"THE SECOND MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT STAGE," the herald announced, "REPRESENTING THE NORTH, LORD CEDRIC ARDENT."
The cheering came from both the people from the North and some fourth years from the academy.
They were curious to see how far the genius Ardent that had easily aced their final dungeon exams would do against the other geniuses of Avera.
To be fair, they thought of it as unfair to the others; after all, Cedric had all the training and experience of a final year academy student, whilst the others didn’t.
Cedric looked at the screen before him, quietly waiting for his opponent to be announced.
Though the magic tool displaying the pairings already gave him an idea of who he would be fighting.
But he still waited for the herald to announce it, and the herald did just that.
"AND REPRESENTING THE CHURCH, FIDELIS."
Cedric turned towards his opponent, noticing that there was still the same smile on his face.
"Good luck," Renelle suddenly spoke up, pulling his attention towards her.
"Thank you, dear sister," he said with a smile, "pay close attention as your older brother shows off."
With that, he walked towards the entrance with quite the easy confidence, which successfully got a chuckle out of Renelle.
She watched him leave before turning back to the screen.
Adrian, on the other hand, had no expression on his face as he looked at Fidelis walk past him and towards the doors.
Still, he chose to say nothing and just watch the fight.
The moment Cedric stepped out the doors, he was welcomed with loud cheers from the crowd, which was the exact opposite when Fidelis walked out.
It wasn’t that no one liked the church; it was just that the church preferred silence as the highest form of praise towards them.
Cedric looked at his opponent from across the field, and the easy expression on his face didn’t change, but his eyes had gone a bit cold.
He had seen the Church’s other representative fight during the dungeon raid, so he had a general idea of what he was dealing with.
And he didn’t particularly like it.
His opponent wasn’t one to be underestimated....was what he thought, but,
"BEGIN!"
BOOM!
Cedric’s eyes widened as something slammed into his stomach, launching him directly towards the barrier covering them.
"Forgive me," Fidelis said as he withdrew his extended palm that he had slammed into his opponent’s stomach, "but since this is a fight, the goddess won’t mind me hurting you."
There was still the same smile on his face, but Cedric couldn’t deny the power behind his attack.
Slowly standing up, he wiped the blood off his lips and looked at his opponent, "I guess she wouldn’t also mind me hurting you."
Fidelis tilted his head slightly at that.
"Of course not," he said pleasantly, "after all, this is a festival of celebration."
The smile never left his face.
Cedric rolled his shoulder, noting that the hit had been considerably heavier than it looked.
This was not what he had seen during the dungeon raid.
Back then, the two seemed to be using light mana, but now Fidelis was only using it as reinforcement.
Which meant he was currently being underestimated.
Cedric let out a breath, and ice started forming around his feet.
He’d been planning to read his opponent first before committing, but that option had already been taken from him.
"Fine then," he muttered to himself, "I’ll just have to adapt."