Inside the waiting room, Nic was bored because the matches weren't being shown.
Marin tapped Nic's shoulder. "It seems they deliberately don't show the matches so that their techniques won't be known and countered by the waiting participants."
Nic nodded, then looked at Yami, who had been silent and facing away the entire time. She was standing still, which confused Nic.
What Nic didn't see was that Yami was holding back her constantly pounding heartbeat because the effect of her affection was very strong. She was blushing and felt weird when looking at Nic, which is why she chose to distract herself.
Meanwhile, Marin was used to Nic and was actually embarrassed and nervous too, but she calmly ignored it.
Meanwhile, outside, Noctis clearly observed the match from above the Colosseum.
Nic used the God of Animal Skill to use telepathy with Noctis.
"What have you seen?" Nic said telepathically.
Noctis explained that most of the participants' swordsmanship techniques were standard, but there were a few who were very fast and often appeared behind and above.
Nic nodded in understanding, and that was enough for him.
After several matches, Nic was finally called. He walked out with Yami, who was still silent and covering her mouth.
When stepping out of the corridor and entering the arena, Yami was shocked because when she looked up at the special spectator area for Kyu higher-ups, she saw Kyu Kazumi there.
She thought Kyu Kazumi was on patrol and had no notification that Kyu Kazumi would watch directly.
Nic's opponent was a man named Kenji who had trained hard for 5 years to become a samurai. He had even been recognized by other higher-ups, but Kyu Kazumi had not acknowledged him yet.
The man looked up at Kazumi and said, "This time, I will make you acknowledge me, Kyu Kazumi."
Yami bit her lip because if she lost, it would be difficult for other Kyu higher-ups to notice her, as this was the only way to get their attention. She didn't care about the Cherry Blossom as she had seen it often.
Meanwhile, Nic immediately stepped forward, but he forgot to bring a katana, causing everyone to laugh and Yami to fall silent.
"W-why didn't you take my katana! Take this quickly!" Yami said, holding back her embarrassment.
"Oh, I thought it was provided, hehehe," Nic said, taking Yami's katana.
Kenji looked at Nic confusedly. He just smiled, thinking his opponent was not serious and would not be difficult for him.
Nic walked slowly, holding the katana incorrectly, making everyone murmur that this would be a quick match.
Yami's face immediately darkened seeing that, but suddenly Marin nudged her.
"Hey, calm down, you have to watch the match first... sorry for being presumptuous, but I also underestimated him initially, but someone told me he is unique and unpredictable," Marin said.
Hearing that, Yami could only give a stiff smile, hoping what Marin said was true.
Nic looked at Kyu Kazumi, who wasn't looking at Nic at all, making Nic even more challenged in this position.
"Hehe, Zeta, it's been a long time since I felt something like this... activate the God of Samurai skill," Nic said with an evil smile.
Kenji prepared with a typical samurai stance, but Nic's stance was very different from all of them.
Nic stood straight, then pointed his katana at Kenji with one hand, without holding it with both hands.
Kenji was confused, but without further ado, he immediately dashed quickly behind Nic, exactly as Noctis had mentioned.
Nic moved forward slightly and reversed his katana backward, blocking Kenji's katana.
Kenji was surprised. "Huh... how could he react that fast in that strange position?"
Kenji immediately attacked aggressively, targeting Nic's blind spots and vital points to quickly take him down, but all of them were blocked by Nic with just one hand and very quickly.
Nic could read Kenji's movements because he knew all the samurai techniques with this skill, making it very easy for Nic.
Every time Kenji attacked, Nic easily parried and immediately showed his sharp edge by slashing Kenji's body, but only his clothes were torn, there was no blood at all.
"...." Kenji was stunned.
Nic looked up at Kyu Kazumi and was surprised. She didn't show any reaction, making Nic even more curious.
A few minutes later, Nic easily defeated Kenji, making all the spectators wonder who this participant really was.
Yami turned to Marin, and it turned out that what she said was true. "You weren't lying, after all..."
Marin laughed. "Yeah, I was like you at first, I didn't believe in him."
After that, Nic continued to fight until the final and started to be noticed by the Residents of the Kyu region. They were very curious because Nic was not a Kyu region but could be that great with samurai techniques.
In the final, Nic fought a girl who was quite great. She was cute but very agile and deadly; her previous opponents were even seriously injured.
"Please don't hesitate to attack me!" said the samurai girl named Sayuri.
Nic nodded and prepared.
But before she could attack, Sayuri suddenly had difficulty breathing and coughed. She clutched her chest and immediately fell.
But the irony here was that none of the Kyu staff helped because they were forbidden to interfere as long as the person hadn't been declared defeated. Here, Kyu Kazumi looked annoyed and wanted to get up, but...
Nic stepped forward. "Zeta, activate God of Health."
[ But Master Nic, you will also suffer shortness of breath, and you are currently in a fight. ]
"Just do it. I can still handle it."
[ Alright, active. ]
Nic wanted to touch Sayuri's hand, but she swatted it away.
"Sorry! I'm fine! Just attack! Maybe this is your chance!" Sayuri said, trying to resist and stand up again.
"Don't pretend to be strong." Nic said and immediately pulled Sayuri into his arms, making all the spectators confused.
Nic immediately channeled the power of God of Health, and Sayuri quickly stopped struggling to breathe and was healed, leaving her surprised and shocked.
Meanwhile, Nic immediately felt severe shortness of breath, but he endured it and asked Sayuri to continue.
"Wait... why did my pain suddenly disappear... hey, this is not normal... what did you do just now? You were the one who did this, weren't you?" Sayuri said, convinced that Nic was the one who made her illness disappear.
Nic coughed softly. "Ugh, it wasn't me... let's continue."
Sayuri was silent. She was absolutely certain that her opponent had cured her illness, so she chose to raise her hand and surrender. Everyone was surprised by what happened.
Sayuri's Supporter were unhappy and said Nic influenced Sayuri because he hugged her.
But Sayuri shouted loudly that it wasn't true. She chose to surrender because there was nothing left for her to win.
With that, Nic won the Tournament, but before that.
Suddenly, Kyu Kazumi jumped down from above and stared sharply at Nic. "Fight me." The tip of Kazumi's katana almost touched Nic's face.
The atmosphere instantly became silent. Kazumi's gaze was very sharp, and Yami panicked.
"Oh no, why is Kyu Kazumi challenging him... this is bad, even though I wanted to meet her!" Yami said, sweating.
Meanwhile, Marin just turned her back and said this would be the end.
Nic smiled and accepted. "Alright, I'm ready if that is the request of the Kyu Phenomenon." Nic raised his katana beside Kazumi's, and it almost touched her face too.
They pointed their katanas close to each other's faces, creating a tense and rare atmosphere.
To be continued...