Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 155: Never Too Late

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today’s the big day! By the end of today, we will know who among these soon to be knights stands above the rest and earns the title of Knight Captain!"

Cheers resounded throughout the colosseum. The audience was split into two main groups: those who supported Victor and those who supported Sol. Though there were a few fans for the other two contestants, most had already concluded that they didn’t stand a chance of winning.

Those supporting the fighters were easily identified by the hats, shirts, and other merchandise inspired by the contestants. Talented crafters had created all sorts of items, but one was the most popular. People waved elemental swords of fire, ice, and earth throughout the arena. The elemental swords weren’t real but expertly reproduced by crafters to appear similar to Sol’s Lipon. Made out of cloth like materials and painted into the appropriate element, they had no real capabilities but served perfectly as memorabilia for fans to wave around.

"I see many of you have bought shirts and other items to show your support for the fighters, and I love it! Wow! Some are more passionate than others! That woman over there is fully geared in Sol merchandise! What a committed fan!"

Oeser pointed at a woman with bright red eyes who was fully geared from head to toe in Sol paraphernalia. The woman was Amber, who, on her way to the colosseum, overheard from a merchant that one should buy those items to show their support for their favorite fighter. She found it logical to support Sol in his endeavors, which were also for her sake, and bought out the merchant’s entire stock. What she couldn’t wear was sitting in her inventory unused.

Upon being called out by Oeser, Amber immediately went invisible, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

"Aww! She’s a shy one, but passionate nonetheless! Let’s not waste any more time; I’m sure all of you can’t wait to see some action! Without further ado, let’s start the first match of the day."

As Oeser introduced the first fight of the day, which was Victor against the 11th ranked contestant, someone within the VIP section stood up and made his way to Commander Zaman.

A young man with vibrant green hair approached the knights, and upon seeing him, one of them who was seated next to Zaman stood up and allowed the young man to take a seat.

"Hello, Orion."

Orion sat down next to Zaman and slumped in his chair. Without wasting any time, he immediately got to the point.

"Why did you let him compete?"

Orion pointed with his chin towards Victor, who was walking onto the stage to meet his opponent.

"Because he earned his place by placing first in the test."

"Noooo, really? I thought it was a lottery for who gets to compete. You know damn well what I mean."

Zaman found it odd that Orion was irritated. The Guildmaster was known for being more laid back and went with the flow.

"Did you find something?"

Now it was Orion’s turn to be confused. "You didn’t?"

"Our intelligence gathering… has been rather slow lately."

The Royal Knights weren’t specialized in covert intelligence gathering, which was mostly left in the hands of the Royal Shadows. Most outsiders, including Orion, didn’t know that, as the existence of the Royal Shadows was an extremely well kept secret. What the Royal Knights were better at was completing missions and leading campaigns. They sometimes had missions where they gathered intelligence, but it was usually under the public eye, which was ill suited for this scenario.

Orion raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "I see… Well, regardless, it’s too late now to change anything."

"It’s never too late. Explain."

Zaman hated the concept of something being too late to change. If one had time to talk about how late it was to change something, that time could be better spent actually doing something.

The two stared at the arena in silence as Oeser announced the start of the match. The wand shot an array of colors, and Victor’s opponent immediately dashed towards him.

Orion sighed. "Sorry for the poor word choice. It’s not that it’s too late, but not wise to take action now. Stopping the tournament now will give them even more leverage, which they will use against you. It’s better to let it play out now and hope for the best. I would tell you more, but I don’t want to be seen taking any sides in this conflict."

Zaman didn’t respond as he watched Victor cast a single spell and knock out his opponent instantly.

"We have a winner, folks! I believe this also beats the record for the fastest victory ever at 2.34 seconds! The previous time was held by a knight who won and became Knight Captain of his year! Is this a sign?"

With the fight already over, Orion stood up and said one final thing before leaving.

"While I’m staying neutral, that doesn’t mean the other guilds are. Tell the princess to begin gaining favors and try to win them over. Oh, and I wouldn’t bother with the Alchemist Guild."

"I see… Thank you, Orion. I’ll remember this favor."

"Don’t mention it."

...

"Daaaaamn, that was quick. He even set a new record."

Aron leaned forward in amazement at how quickly Victor took care of his opponent.

Nataly scoffed, "That’s nothing! I’m sure Sol could also break the record!"

Aron wasn’t sure. "Maybe if his opponent surrenders."

"He just might. Everyone he has fought has surrendered."

"Hey, guys, I’m right here…"

Sol was sitting not far away, hearing the two of them discuss his own capabilities. The three of them, along with 20 others, were in his waiting room, which was completely unexpected.

At first, it began with Nataly meeting him in the morning to accompany him. He didn’t mind and let her tag along. Soon after, they bumped into Aron, who tagged along because he wanted to see the waiting room since he heard it was very nice. It was there that Sol made a mistake.

The addition of Aron somehow attracted more of the new knights, whom Aron took the liberty of inviting to come along and join them. At first, Sol didn’t mind the first or second person joining, but it quickly spiraled out of control, and now it became a "Sol watch party" in his waiting room.

Although it was unexpected, it made the atmosphere much more lively, and in the end, he was happy with this outcome.

"Alright, guys, I’m heading out."

"Good luck!"

"You got this!"

Everyone gave their support as Sol headed over to the arena to meet his opponent. The audience cheered upon seeing him enter, with many waving their fake Lipons in the air.

"And for our second fighter, give it up for Henral!"

A man carrying a large shield lumbered into the arena. There were noticeably fewer people cheering for him, but that couldn’t be his fault. Though he had put on a wonderful display of his strength in the previous two days, Oeser didn’t paint him like he did with Sol as a chivalrous knight.

"Are both of you ready?!"

Sol nodded. "Yes."

Henral grunted. "Hmm."

"Then begin!" Oeser’s wand shot out the colorful array, and the duel officially started.

Henral immediately spoke. "I surrender."

The colosseum quickly fell silent.

From the audience, a loud spectator could be heard wondering, "Doesn’t this break the record for fastest victory?"