Slowly but surely, Lilium had fought their way to the finals tournament, Ryan’s party awaiting them on the other side. Now the championship round was nearly upon them.
In their assigned waiting room, the girls enjoyed some tea and snacks as they discussed strategy. Every minute felt like an eternity.
Laplace had wandered off to explore the arena, claiming she was “bored of waiting.” Lately she’d (mostly) gotten the hang of walking like a normal person, so the others felt comfortable letting her go off on her own. Her progress was kind of touching, in a way.
“Alright, we’ve got Ryan’s team right where we want them. Now it’s time to give them what for!” Nadine exclaimed brightly.
Thinking back to their previous battles, a certain observation crossed Tanya’s mind. “You know, Nadine, for Level 3, you’re pretty impressive.”
“Huh? I-Impressive how?” Nadine asked, her lavender braids swaying as she tilted her head quizzically.
As far as they’d been told, this Level 3 Healer had next to no combat training. If it wasn’t for Tanya, she would still be working the reception desk at the Adventurers’ Guild.
“I mean, you were dodging spells and arrows left and right!”
“O-Oh... uhh... was I?” Nadine laughed nervously.
“You were! I mean, obviously I was doing my best to deflect anything that came at you, but in those group matches, I knew some attacks were inevitably going to slip through the cracks one way or the other... and yet you avoided them all with the grace of a dancer! I don’t know if I should be confused or relieved!”
“...I...”
“Don’t worry, I’m still going to defend you either way. It just got me thinking, like, wow, it almost feels like she’s a pro—”
“Stop!”
Tanya shrank back in surprise.
“Sorry, uh... You’re just really overthinking it,” Nadine stammered, her smile stiff. “Anyway, um... sorry for shouting at you. I know a Level 3 Healer has no right to talk back to her party leader...”
“No, no. If anything, I should apologize. I clearly made you uncomfortable,” Tanya replied as she tucked a strand of pale pink hair behind her ear. She could tell from the look on Nadine’s face that it would be unwise to continue this line of conversation. Instead, she took a big sip of tea sweetened with flower nectar. Mmmm.
“Is that Tanya? It is! Hey!”
“Ugh! Ryan!”
Sure enough, who should walk up but Ryan himself. Out of shape and balding prematurely? That’s him, alright.
“What do you want? A knuckle sandwich?”
“You know we’re not allowed to fight outside the stadium. Anyway, I just came to give you guys a heads-up, since I’m a nice guy.”
“What is it?”
“As with last year, we’ve hired some outside assistance. He’s gonna wreck you, Tanya. You don’t stand a chance against a man’s raw strength.”
“Gross! You’re not even embarrassed about phoning it in!”
Strength is unisex, jackass! Not that I expect YOU to understand that, Tanya thought bitterly.
All the while, Nadine fidgeted quietly, and it was obvious she had something to say. Then, finally, she spoke. “Excuse me,” she called in the direction of Ryan’s Mage girlfriend(?), Katherine, who’d shown up with him.
“Hmm? What’s up?”
Like the majority of the other female combatants, her outfit was rather skimpy. And now that Tanya had grown accustomed to fighting in actual, functional armor, she found herself feeling a bit sorry for the woman. Aren’t you cold in that?
“You’re... Katherine, right?”
“Hmm? Yeah, that’s my name.”
“I, um... actually went to adventuring school with you. Not in the same class or anything, since I was taking Healer classes, but...”
“What are you, my stalker? Creepy! I don’t know you at all!” Katherine whimpered in a syrupy voice, clinging to Ryan.
Just then, a deep, intimidating, yet oddly peculiar voice called out: “Uh, hellooo? Leaderrr? How long are you going to stand around chattinggg?”
There stood a large, dignified man dressed in robes, a smug smirk plastered on his craggy face.
“Oh, hi there, Master!” Ryan exclaimed in a toadying voice.
“Yes, hellooo, my dear Leaderrr. I’ve been looking for youuu.”
Nadine took one look at this robed man and gasped. “That’s...!”
“Whoa, what?! Nadine, you know that guy?!”
“Everyone knows him—he’s famous! Haven’t you heard of Goliath the Master Mercenary? As a Mage, he’s undefeated, or so they say. But he never commits to one particular party, so no one’s been able to measure his exact stats... If I had to guess, though, I’d say he’s at least Level 90!”
“Ninety?! Then how did he get into the Sparring Tournament? It’s supposed to be off-limits to any party with an average above 70... and Ryan’s party isn’t that underleveled!”
As far as Tanya knew, Ryan’s party level was juuust high enough to make the Rank C cutoff.
“Well, the thing is... Because Goliath refuses to let the Guild measure him, they only have outdated records from when he first registered... and on file, he’s only Level 40.”
“That’s it?!”
“Keep in mind, one’s level measurement isn’t the be-all, end-all. Two adventurers at the exact same level can have vastly different combat abilities based on the amount of fighting experience they’ve acquired. And Goliath, well... he’s fought a lot.”
“He sounds... formidable.”
Nadine nodded nervously.
“Hah!” Ryan scoffed. “Master Goliath is formidable, alright. Don’t forget, he’s the Master Mercenary! The perfect pawn to use against your all-girl slumber party.”
“Oh, Ryan, you’re so smart! I knew we could count on you!” Katherine fawned. Considering she was picking at a hangnail as she said it, this praise couldn’t have sounded more transparently fake if she’d tried.
“Alright, forget about these chicks! Let’s go, Master!”
“Hoohoo! I’m not gonna lose to these little ladiesss, that’s for suuure!”
“You better not, okay? Because I do NOT want to have to fight, got it?!”
Kissing ass: the one skill Ryan had bothered to polish.
“Oh, and one last thinggg!” Goliath turned back to Lilium and sneered. “Maybe you should try wearing women’s clothes for a chaaange. Show us some tits and ass, or else everyone will think you’re a maaan!”
Tanya swallowed hard.
You might be a Master Mercenary, and your level’s a total mystery... but I’m gonna wipe that nasty smirk right off your face.