"Brilliant!"
In the stands, Exchange couldn't help but applaud. As an Explorer, he originally thought that the one nicknamed Assassin Queen, Eve, was doomed. Unexpectedly, she managed to break out of a desperate situation.
Face? Who cares about face? As an Explorer, that's meaningless. Once you finish with this world, you leave—who's ever going to see her again?
Surviving and completing the mission is what matters.
Earning End Coin isn't shameful.
"What the heck? Is she surrendering? Does that count as a fighter?"
"Hahaha, this is the representative of Koyo Academy Group? What a joke. So much for a new era of female fighters—she knelt the moment she faced a man."
"And this is supposed to go down in history? Haha, I guess it will—but only as a black mark!"
"..."
After a few seconds of silence in the audience, loud laughter and jeering erupted.
The people from Koyo Academy Group were the most embarrassed. Soryuin Shion's fists clenched until they turned bluish-purple as she looked at the kneeling figure below. "What exactly are you trying to do?"
She had accepted Eve's request, thinking it was just overconfidence that made her challenge the Fang of Metsudo in her first match.
She wasn't afraid of Eve losing, but she never expected this outcome.
Was Eve sent by an enemy faction to sabotage them? Did she do this on purpose to disgrace them?
Surely she didn't just kneel because Gusion's presence overwhelmed her as soon as she stepped onto the stage, right?
The arena was in chaos; even the host, Sayaka, didn't know how to smooth things over. "Oh—what happened? Did the Fang of Metsudo strike when we weren't looking? What's going on with the Assassin Queen kneeling like that?"
Gusion twitched at Sayaka's commentary—he wanted to know what was going on too.
"What do you mean? If you won't fight, are you surrendering? Or do you want me to carry you out?"
Gusion frowned. "If you're on the stage, I won't treat you as a woman. You have three seconds to surrender."
At this moment, Eve felt relieved. The monster before her wasn't a slaughter-crazed maniac; he was someone she could communicate with.
Because of Gusion's confusion and the crowd's discussion, thirty seconds had passed since the match began—her main mission was complete.
Now eligible to return, she could have the End Space pull her out immediately. The anomalous disappearance would be explained by the contradictions of space.
But she didn't leave right away, as that didn't fit with the teachings of the Survival Guide.
"Thank you for sparing me, Onii-chan~. Here's 3,000 End Coins. Go easy and send me out."
Eve, or rather, Explorer Assassin Queen, whispered.
She had used him to complete her mission; Gusion would soon figure it out and probably be annoyed. As fellow Rank explorers, they might meet again in other worlds. According to the Survival Guide, she needed to be sensible—otherwise, she might get killed next time, or maybe even find another powerful leg to cling to.
"Huh?"
Gusion was completely bewildered. He never expected to get extra income just from a knockout match. Why was the other side giving him End Coins?
He didn't get it, but he wouldn't refuse free money. After hearing there was cash, he suddenly found Eve much more pleasing to the eye—what a beautiful, lovely girl!
He leaped up and gave her a drop kicked in the stomach, sending her flying over a dozen meters just as she was getting up.
The kick looked fierce, but he used skill—Eve wasn't injured, and landed lightly.
But Eve played along, fell, rolled her eyes, and almost started foaming at the mouth.
The referee was stunned for a few seconds before checking her condition and announcing, "Winner: Fang of Metsudo, Gusion!"
But the atmosphere in the arena was odd—there were no cheers. The Fang of Metsudo hadn't shown any overwhelming strength; to the other fighters, Gusion's kick wasn't that powerful, yet Eve went down.
Was that a fixed match? Was there a scandal?
"What a strange match. Too bad—we didn't get to see the Fang of Metsudoe's true power. Guess we'll have to wait for the next challenger."
Sayaka tried to keep things lively, but everyone was whispering and suspected the Katahara family was fixing the match.
As Katahara's daughter, Sayaka knew her father wouldn't do that, and with Gusion's monstrous strength, why would he need to?
If you were going to fix a fight, you wouldn't have someone drop to their knees at the start—it's too obvious.
Gusion left the arena and found Eve waiting for him backstage, initiating a trade.
"Oh? You're pretty rich."
Gusion was surprised; the trade panel showed 3,000 End Coins. Most explorers didn't have that much money to spare before entering a world.
"It's all I have left. To be honest, I made a lot in this world. I had to get past you to survive, so thanks for letting me go."
Eve said her main mission had several stages, and she even did a side quest at Koyo Academy; she'd earned over 10,000 here.
But the penalty for failing the last main quest stage was erasure. She had no way out—if she fought Gusion, she knew she'd die.
"Not bad, you know what's up."
Gusion nodded, satisfied. This was the first time he'd met such a sensible explorer—compared to Exchange, this girl was much more reasonable.
"Just call me Eve, Onii-chan~. There's a lot of danger here, so I'm heading back. Maybe we'll meet again."
With that, Eve turned and ran. At the other end of the corridor, Shion appeared, clearly coming to demand an explanation.
Gusion pocketed the End Coins and returned to the lounge, content and ready for the real drama to begin.
...
Twenty miles off Ganryu Island, beneath the calm surface of the sea, a submarine floated silently.
Through the camera, they watched the elimination matches live and monitored every move on Ganryu Island.
"The Fang of Metsudo has been replaced? That's interesting. Looks like your student was a failure."
The blond, muscular man with slicked-back hair and sunglasses lit a new cigar as he spoke.
If Erioh were here, he'd recognize this man as Edward Wu, the traitorous leader of the Westward Faction!
"He was just a failure who fled halfway through the Guritual, hardly a student of mine. He only learned a bit of the Niko Style."
On the other side, a white-haired middle-aged man lounged on the sofa, speaking lazily. He was the last remaining "The Other Tokita Niko"—one of Shen Wulong's top lieutenants and one of the strongest of the strong.
"Heh, but I heard your other student, Kiryu Setsuna, is dead too. Is the Niko Style really that useful?"
Edward Wu's mockery was unrestrained, making The Other Tokita Niko's veins bulge.
He sat up and glared at Edward Wu. "Edward, do you want to die?"
"Oh? Do you know who you're talking to?"
Edward Wu stepped forward, their auras clashing, making the minor Worms in the sub shiver in fear.
"Enough, now's not the time for infighting."
Just as the two were about to fight, a helpless voice spoke up—a handsome man with long, pale-gold hair.
He was Xia Yan, supreme leader of the Worm, and a close associate of Shen Wulong.
Xia Yan rubbed his forehead with one hand. "The Tiger's Vessel was killed—things are bad enough. Must you two make it worse?"
In his words, Edward Wu and The Other Tokita Niko's killing intent faded—not out of fear of Xia Yan, but of Shen Wulong.
Xia Yan looked at the two strongmen before him. "Do you remember our goal this time?"
Edward Wu smiled. "Of course. With the Tiger's Vessel destroyed, it's time to return the favor. Kengan Association deserves its end."
Yes, this time, the Worm had mobilized on a large scale, sending out three top experts—to wipe out the Kengan Association's leadership on Granryu Island!
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode