"That's... what a tremendous number of people,"

　It's Ray who mutters.
　This is a muttering in the waiting room of the players at the stadium on the outskirts of the imperial capital.
　Next to him, Rodos also opens his mouth surprisedly, not to be out to Ray.

"Well, it's a competition where participants gather not only from all over the Westian Empire but also from neighboring countries. It's no use having so many people."

　Relieved that there are not as many people looking around at them as they think, Rodos continues to speak as if to dispel the agitation within him.
　By the way, it was a separate waiting room, perhaps because of the number of people registered with the three of Luzzi's fangs.
　Ray mutters to calm Rodos down.

"What amazes me more than that is that the opening ceremony of the competition will not be held."
"Huh? Oh, that's it." Well, it's true that the opening ceremony would take a lot of time. With that in mind, I'm not convinced that the opening ceremony will be held in the final tournament, which is also the main game."

　As Rodos said, the opening ceremony of the tournament has been held since the start of the tournament.
　It was a measure for the safety of the emperor, the Imperial family, and the nobles who came to visit the site, and the qualifying round was basically low.
　But that's why the game is so rough and the betting is so exciting that quite a few people are looking for it. 　
　Of course Ray is also taking part in the bets, asking Elk for a few gold coins to win the qualifying Battle Royal.
　Seeing it, Rodos was dumbfounded, but he had nothing particular to say or bet on himself like Ray.
　As you can see from Ray's giving Elk money to bet on him, Dusker, Elk, and Minn also come to see the competition and bet on the faces of Ray and Rodos, respectively.

"And it's not everyone in this room, is it? There's no one like Luzzi.

　Rodos nods to Ray, looking around, confirming that he has not seen anyone he has trained with for about two days.

"Well, when you look at it like this... it's a mixture of strong and weak. It's true that playing a tournament in this condition is a waste of time. When you think about that, is the format of the qualifying round right?

　I was speaking to Ray and the words were heard by some of the participants close to him.
　Unfortunately, the people in this waiting room are beside themselves with enthusiasm because the preliminary rounds are coming up soon, so they cannot ignore what the two young men are talking about in a wise manner.
　It would be even more so if one side were rather small and only looked like a sorcerer in a robe.
　We are being licked. Feeling this way, a man in his twenties stands up from where he was sitting and approaches Ray and Rodos.

"My priests are all talking a lot, but do you know where this is? It's not a place where you can come. No, that warrior priest is wearing a robe, though I don't know if it's a test of his skills. You're obviously out of place."

　Tell that to Ray, who is only as tall as your chest.
　The other competitors around him probably had time to spare, as the preliminary round didn't seem to begin yet. shout at someone as if one had found a good way to spare

"Yes, even if such a priest comes along, he'll lose the preliminary round. Go home and smoke your mother's milk."
"No, no, that's impossible because his mother is sleeping in my bed by now."
"Oh, you, that's too bad a woman's taste,"
"In the first place, I still know the warrior over there. But if you're wearing robes, you're obviously like a wizard, aren't you? If you're in the qualifying round, you'll be sure to lose the first round."
"No, it's impossible to stay in the main battle."

　Some of the participants were naturally competent enough to see through Ray and Rodos.
　With a compassionate glance at the participants who still admire them, these influential figures distance themselves from getting involved in the uproar that's coming.
　I don't want to get involved in the disturbance, but I want to make sure that Ray and Rodos are good at it. You must have thought so.
　As a matter of name, it is prohibited for participants who participate in a competition to compete with each other before a match, and if they are not good at it, they may lose their qualifications.
　But those rules apply only to tournaments in the finals. The preliminary round of Battle Royal had become infamous in terms of rules, partly due to the innumerable number of rough people.
　As a result, every time a tournament is held, some people will abstain from voting before the preliminary round begins, but it will not be corrected in the knowledge that if they have the ability to play in the finals, they will pass without any problems.

"Did anything hurt you?"

　Ray glares at him and asks the other person who approaches him without any qualms.
　The man, who sees it as a lightweight, reaches for Ray, raising his blood vessels to the top of his head.
　Grab the robe, pull it, hit it in the face hidden in the hood, and instill it in the upper and lower positions with pain.
　The hand was stretched out with that in mind, but Ray pulled back and grabbed the air instead of the robe.

"Look, look, look, look, look, I'll try to put my hand in the person who licked me, and I'll do something more licked."
"Come on, don't make too much fun of me. I look so nervous and nervous.
"Ah... I think I should stop before I get any more embarrassed. There was a fuss here. Is that a priest... a priest? From that voice, I don't want to get hurt, let alone a priest, but I don't want to get involved."
"What? What are you talking about?" If you were to have trouble with such a little boy, you wouldn't even be qualified to take part in this competition, would you?"

　a ridiculing voice heard around one
　The man who tried unsuccessfully to grab Ray's robe trembled through the humiliation...

"If you don't have anything to do, are you ready? I want to relax until the preliminary round begins."

　If such words come out of Ray's mouth, which caused him to be ashamed of himself, he can't stand them any longer.

"Don't be silly, you bastard!"

　a wavy fist
　Even so, they only participate in competitions and do not pretend to raise their fists, but use their strength obtained by straightening up their wrists while holding their fists together.
　He was a man who was good at fighting, but in this case his opponent was clearly bad.
　Ray has already fought with Vihela, who is good at fighting. No matter how much I had learned about my skills, I could only say I was weak.
　Knock off the fist that came out to your face with your palm.
　It's not a fist, but a palm, is it at least a warm heart?

"What!"

　With this series of conversations alone, you must have understood that you have a great deal of ability to stand in front of you.
　Originally, this man had the capacity to step back calmly if he understood his opponent's ability, even though he was of a disposition to bleed easily.
　But in this case, I could only say that the place was bad.
　The biggest event in the Empire of Bestia is a competition, and many of those around them are powerful.
　If I step back here now, I'm nothing but a clown, for I've run over myself to Ray.
　In the upcoming preliminary round, other participants will focus on the game as a good game, and not only that, there is even a possibility that there will be a lot of problems in the work after the competition.
　In other words, I understood the difference in ability between the person in front of me and myself, but I couldn't definitely step back here.

"d*mn it!"

　Countless fists that pull back the knocked-down arms and release them in a row.
　Like the previous blow, a series of blows that emphasize only speed, rather than the force that comes from the rotation of the whole body.
　in boxing, a jab-like attack that lasts for a breath
　The rapid succession of fist attacks was also a decisive sign that a man was not just talking.
　Even men who were cheering around them could not help but peel their eyes at the speed of their fists being released continuously.
　Even Ray is momentarily surprised at the speed.
　She has several combat experiences with Vichela, who is good at fighting, but Vichela uses her physical abilities to deliver powerful blows.
　Of course, it's not slow at all, it's probably better than the man who's about to punch his fist at Ray now.But it was a rare experience for Ray to see an opponent slow down to the point of a blow.

"Well, it's a very good attack rate,"

　Ray muttered with admiration, but it remains the same that the man was knocking off countless fist strokes with his right hand.
　At this point, the others in the waiting room could not help but admit that Ray had more power than the man's.
　Those who first noticed Ray's ability and evacuated to avoid being harmed are closely watching him for any weaknesses or habits.

"Well, it's about time," Sleep well."

　A man with an expression of disbelief bites Ray's back teeth when all his fists are flapped off.
　It was because I sensed Ray's blow would be delivered. And he realized that he couldn't avoid or defend the blow.
　Wrapping off his wavy fist, Ray tried to move forward.

"What are you doing?"

　At that moment, a voice like that echoes through the waiting room.
　When all the players in the waiting room turned their eyes to the voice, they found a man in his 30s wearing a uniform to show that he was a member of the tournament's management committee.
　Despite the tacit approval of the disputes between the players, I couldn't keep fighting in front of the management committee.

"... you've got a life,"

　He told Ray that, but his forehead was full of sweat.
　The temperature is still quite high during the day, and the waiting room is full of athletes participating in the competition. And until recently he had been firing his fists in a row afterwards.
　When you think about them, the amount of sweat on the man's forehead is almost abnormal.
　Even a man knew it. If I had kept fighting like that, I would certainly have been overthrown.
　The sweat on my forehead was proof of it.
　Still, it must have been partly bluffing to throw away words like a sore loser.
　Perhaps he knew it only for himself, so he left Ray hatingly and headed to the back of the waiting room.
　Because I understand that if I stay in front of Ray, my bluff will definitely come off.
　When Ray sees the man leaving, he also frees himself.
　Next to Ray, Rodos looked somewhat dumbfounded at him.
　This is because Ray didn't know he was going to start a brawl here, even though there was a battle that would be exhausting in many ways.
　No need to waste any energy here... Rodos thinks so, but when he remembers how strong Ray is, he quickly realizes that it's useless to worry.
　Rodos and Ruzzi, Veicur, and Morst, playing mock battles against all four of them soon after, hardly disturbing them. On its own, Rodos couldn't imagine how strong he was.

"... well, that's all right." If you get too excited, you may cancel your qualification, so don't worry about it."

　The management committee says so with a sigh.
　It's not the tournament of the main game, it's still in the qualifying stages. I'll tell you what I've come to this waiting room once again, only to give a little warning that there are so many bloody people.

"The preliminary round, block C, will start. Follow him who is called by his name now."

　At the words, Ray and others in the waiting room wait for their names to be called.
　The names of those who will participate in the preliminary rounds will be called out in turn...

"Ray,"

　Ray steps forward, confirming that his name has been called.
　The name Ray itself is not so unusual, though some people react to it.
　Moreover, there was no one to associate Ray with crimson, perhaps because he was a giant in the spread of rumors about crimson.
　There were some people who seemed to be suspicious.
　With Ray as he was, the names of the participants in the C block preliminary rounds were called one after another, but Rodos' name was not included in them.

(Well, it must have been judged to be a loss to have the son of crimson and thunder god's axe fight in the same preliminary

　Whispering in private, Ray and others participating in the C Block qualifiers follow the man on the steering committee.

"...don't think you'll be able to make it through the preliminary round safely."

　Ray could not help but breathe out when he heard a man whispering his countless fists at Ray passing by.