The Strongest Villain Sets Out: Reincarnated into a Merit-Based Clan, I Become the World's Strongest Swordsman - Chapter 66: How Disappointing

We registered for the tournament.

Each of us received papers with numbers written on them at reception and entered the colosseum with them.

The colosseum was already bustling with many participants.

Who would be my opponent in the first match?

I waited for the tournament to begin with my heart racing.

▼△▼

About thirty minutes passed.

Whether the organizers’ preparations were complete, the tournament finally began.

Participants called by the male announcer in succession competed fiercely on the central ring.

Even though the weapons were wooden, if you could use aura reasonably well, you could easily kill people.

Therefore, quite brutal matches continued from the very beginning.

“I wonder when my turn will be~”

Cornelia, who sat next to me, hummed while hugging my arm.

The soft, squishy sensation was quite troublesome and I couldn’t concentrate on the matches.

But since it didn’t feel bad, I kept quiet.

“With this many participants, it’ll probably be a while. I’d like to get it over with quickly though.”

When I gave Cornelia that response.

The announcer’s voice reached my ears with perfect timing.

“Next up is Luka Salva… eh⁉ L-Luka Salvatore-sama!”

Realizing that someone from the prestigious Salvatore Ducal House was participating, the male announcer became flustered.

Agitation spread from the surroundings, and everyone looked down at the person ascending to the ring.

“Good grief… I’m the center of attention.”

“As expected of Luka. So cool!”

“If you said you were royalty too, it would probably get exciting.”

“If Luka wants that, I don’t mind.”

Without even considering the risks, Cornelia immediately answered.

I chuckled and shook my head.

“I’m joking. It wouldn’t be fun if the opponent gets intimidated.”

“True.”

Saying that, I stood up.

I descended from a corner of the spectator seats to the ground and climbed into the ring while receiving many stares.

Before me stood a sturdy large man. So he’s my opponent.

“To think I could fight against someone from the Salvatore Ducal House, said to be the pinnacle of martial arts… truly wonderful!”

The large man showed off his bulging muscles with all his might.

Yes, yes, very impressive.

“You too, I believe those proud-looking muscles aren’t just for show.”

“Fuhahaha! My muscles are the finest art, trained continuously for decades! I won’t lose to anyone, no matter who they are!”

The large man boasted while wielding a sword as tall as himself.

Nice. He seems to be able to use aura too, so he’s not a bad opponent.

I also readied my sword and refined my aura slightly.

However, I immediately found myself shrugging my shoulders.

“Here I come, Salvatore heir!”

The large man kicked off the ground.

He held his aura-clad sword in a high stance and delivered a sharp blow.

It had enough power to seriously injure or instantly kill an ordinary person.

I blocked it with my aura-clad wooden sword.

The wooden sword laid horizontally perfectly caught the opponent’s large sword.

The ground trembled slightly.

“…Hah. No good. So disappointing.”

“Wh-what⁉”

I, who had calmly blocked the large man’s sword, let out a deep sigh at the sensation transmitted to my hand.

“You only do muscle training and don’t train your aura, do you? What a ridiculous output. There’s hardly any control either. Did you think you could take me out with such a piss-poor stream?”

I glared at the large man.

This guy’s aura was garbage.

It’s not refined, and while I can understand not compressing it, his control ability was still way too low.

When control ability is low, the refined aura dissipates immediately.

That’s why the power was weak.

Even a child could shatter the ground with that kind of strike if they trained their aura.

I did exactly that.

In the end, he’s just a muscle-brain.

Even though training aura would be more efficient than building muscles.

I want my expectations back.

Concluding that there was nothing more to see from this guy, I deflected his sword.

“Guh!”

With just a little force in my hand, I easily repelled the large man.

His prized muscles are powerless before aura.

“I’ll teach you something special. It’s aura over muscles. If you train your aura, you can even become the strongest.”

The current head of the Salvatore Ducal House and his daughter Norn were actually dominating through perfected aura.

Aura was the most well-balanced among all abilities.

Having the ability to use it but not training it wasn’t just a waste—it’s beyond that.

Today’s battle was a good lesson.

While maintaining my aura output at a constant level, I kicked off the ground and closed in on the large man.

His muscles couldn’t follow my movements.

I struck his wide-open flank with my wooden sword.

I held back considerably, and since he could use aura too, he probably wasn’t seriously injured.

At most, just one or two broken bones.

The large man who tumbled grandly across the ground and fell outside the ring never stood up again.

A moment of silence filled the colosseum.

The spectators couldn’t understand that such a child had one-sidedly beaten up a much larger adult.

Well, I guess they don’t know much about the Salvatore Ducal House.

Just rumors, probably.

The male announcer belatedly declared my victory in a loud voice.

Immediately after, thunderous cheers and applause echoed from the spectator seats.

At the same time, I felt several gazes carefully observing me.

So they’re marking me now? It’s meaningless in a tournament format.