TGMBS 05

Chapter 05

New Battlefield (5)

-Hello, Nova Arena fans who love the arena! I’m NJA’s caster Shinohara Kenichi. Beside me is commentator Ito Masanori, who has been with Japan’s Nova Arena since its early days.

-Hello, I’m Ito Masanori.

-Many of you may be wondering why we’re commentating on an amateur league match rather than a pro league match. But how could commentary be left out of a big match like this! The moment we heard the demon and the Ninja were matched, we rushed right over!

-First, right from the start, the Ninja is taking the distance advantage. His positioning is very impressive. It looks like movement born from experience. He’s not rushing.

-On the other hand, the demon is playing passively, thoroughly engaging in a probing battle. He’s chosen not to engage recklessly from the beginning!

-But if this continues, it will inevitably keep going at the Ninja’s pace.

Sss.

With a sharply cut breath, the Ninja’s curved sword drove in.

Go Taemin lightly raised his sword and deflected the attack. A tingling pain traveled up his palm.

‘His strength is no joke.’

If his body had been poorly trained, even if he’d blocked that attack, his head would have flown off along with the sword.

Chaeng!

At that moment, the Ninja’s curved sword bent its trajectory like a snake and aimed for Go Taemin’s flank.

He had read Go Taemin’s sword path and modified his attack direction. And it wasn’t even a single attack.

Go Taemin stepped back steadily and focused on defense.

‘Not just his physique, but his technique is good too.’

It’s not the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong. Go Taemin had learned that truth bitterly over the past 10 years on the battlefield.

The opponent was a veteran among veterans who had ground through 12,000 matches in the amateur league alone.

The consecutive sword strikes choked his breathing.

The guy maintained precise distance, not giving any opening for a counterattack.

Feinting in and pulling out, pulling out and thrusting back in—his skill was exactly that of a hunter.

Go Taemin calmly received the Ninja’s attacks while moving in a circle along the outer edge of the altar.

It wasn’t that there was no timing for a counterattack at all. But each time, the opponent would either retreat first or completely change his attack trajectory.

It was as if he was predicting how Go Taemin would counter.

Go Taemin smirked.

‘Well, with 12,000 matches, I suppose that’s only natural.’

Fighting an experienced opponent is a very tricky affair.

The solidity of not making mistakes is a given, and the sense for timing when to strike and retreat is eerily sharp.

The opponent before him was exactly that.

‘Now he’s even fishing.’

Go Taemin pretended to be overwhelmed and subtly pushed his sword into the opening the opponent revealed.

The Ninja then, as if he’d been waiting, ignored that attack and thrust at Go Taemin’s forehead.

A red line twisted violently on his retina as if warning him.

Give up flesh to take bone.

It was certainly a movement seen mainly from experienced opponents.

Go Taemin, as if savoring the chilling sensation brushing his forehead, slightly turned his head and deflected the trajectory.

A gap of a single sheet of paper.

The Ninja’s curved sword only cut through empty air it couldn’t reach.

-The demon, that was dangerous just now! If he’d gone in wrong, he would have been retired on the spot!

-The skill gap is quite noticeable, more than I thought. This isn’t so much that the demon is lacking, but rather that the Ninja’s capability is outstanding.

【Heart Weakling】 Wow.. This is the first time I’ve seen the demon pushed back

└Undefeated promotion, looks like it’ll be cut off with just 1 win left?

└Of all people, his opponent is the Ninja, that’s too much. He’s the strongest in the amateur league!

└It’s already a problem now, but considering the Ninja is stronger in long fights, the demon might have no chance.

└The amateur league is more fun than I thought

【Grass Cutter Craftsman】 I told you. The strongest amateur is the Ninja

└The Ninja is a guy who’s rolled around in amateur for 5 years. Even his win rate was 40% at 4,000 matches, and now he’s about to promote.

└What does that mean?

└It means in his last 8,000 matches he only had 1,100 losses. That’s how he matches a 70% win rate

└He was a crazier monster than I thought

└This isn’t the demon being weak, it’s the Ninja being too strong

Chaeng! Chaeeeeng! Chaeng!

The Ninja struck at his chest, thigh, and shoulder.

Slash. Thrust. Slash again.

Each attack was concise yet disciplined.

Moreover, it was very smooth.

If it doesn’t connect, he immediately withdraws. If blocked, it naturally leads to the next attack.

Receiving the sword and deflecting the consecutive slashes, Go Taemin fell into thought.

Chaeeeeng!

The impact traveling up the blade made his arm tingle.

‘No unnecessary movements either.’

Chaeng!

A slash with a changed trajectory follows, and agile footwork immediately follows.

‘Each attack is incredibly tricky.’

It wasn’t just the level of having fought a lot.

This was a flow refined through countless combat experiences.

Refined movements that made the name ‘amateur league’ seem colorless.

Truly worthy of being called the strongest.

But the longer the flawless offense and defense continued, the more Go Taemin’s breathing sank deeper and calmer than usual.

‘But aren’t his movements too mechanical?’

The red lines engraved on his retina were drawing a consistent pattern.

If at first he was barely able to follow the trajectories, now he could roughly guess where the Ninja would aim even before the red line was drawn.

Chaeeeeng!

The moment he received the sword, the Ninja pushed him hard.

Go Taemin’s back was pushed toward the broken stone pillars at the outer edge of the altar.

-Ah…… Regrettable. Over 5 minutes into the match, and the demon’s proper counterattack still hasn’t come out.

-It’s a somewhat frustrating flow given the high expectations. Was the pressure of the final 1 win too much?

Go Taemin entrusted his body to the Ninja’s sword pressing him.

His feet were pushed back, and his back approached the stone wall at the outer edge of the altar.

The Ninja, riding the momentum, dug in one step further.

That was the moment.

Seogeok—

“……!”

The left arm wrapped in black cloth shot up into the sky.

The Ninja, eyes wide open, staggered back.

-Oh! What just happened! The Ninja’s left arm has been cut off!

-The moment he entered the gap, the demon pretended to be pushed back and exposed an opening, then cut off the Ninja’s left arm as he came in! A perfect counter!

The Ninja, even with his left arm cut off, kept his gaze fixed on Go Taemin and readjusted his stance.

Regardless of what the opponent did, Go Taemin immediately closed the distance and dug into the Ninja’s gap.

Chaeng!

The Ninja, barely blocking his heart from being pierced, hid into the darkness of the ruins where moonlight didn’t reach.

Go Taemin also followed into that darkness without hesitation.

‘The stage is perfectly set.’

Now, it was time to decorate the highlight of this show.

* * *

Seogeok!

First, a short slash grazing the lower body.

It was a light probing attack to break his balance.

Seuk!

A thrust half a beat late immediately following.

It was a strike to draw his attention.

Only then did the Ninja react.

The curved sword in his right hand drew a diagonal line and counterattacked.

‘He took the bait.’

The red lines filling his vision all pointed to one place.

Go Taemin slightly leaned his upper body back and twisted his sword. And at the same time, he stepped with his left foot and dug inward.

Along with the sound of blades clashing, the swords grazed past each other. A dull sensation traveled up his fingertips.

And……

Seogeok—

The moment the Ninja attempted a counterattack, Go Taemin’s sword carved into the opponent’s flank with a shorter trajectory.

-Oh! The Ninja just took a big hit!

-The demon had perfectly read the timing of the counterattack! He deliberately leaked an opening and precisely cut the moment he came in. A truly textbook feint!

The Ninja stepped back.

Go Taemin didn’t close the distance excessively, but maintained a gap he would never lose, pressing the opponent.

The Ninja was certainly strong.

His judgment was good, and his responses were fast.

Movements refined through 12,000 real battles had no openings.

But the skill he had accumulated was powerless before the answer sheet spread out before Go Taemin’s eyes.

‘A machine with accumulated data is no longer scary.’

Seuk— Seuk—

Go Taemin’s sword indifferently cut through empty air along the red lines.

No matter how the Ninja reacted, his blade was already digging into the opening beyond.

In the instant the opponent’s breathing collapsed under that pressure, Go Taemin lowered his body and dug deep inward.

The Ninja reflexively entered defense.

As if he’d been waiting for that moment—

Seogeok!

A chilling sound spread through the night air.

This time, from lower left to upper right, a large wound was carved into the Ninja’s chest.

-Second critical wound! The Ninja has been deeply cut once again!

-The attack just now was the same. He deliberately induced a reaction and precisely targeted that moment! The demon has completely seized the flow!

The commentary booth stirred.

But in contrast, Go Taemin’s movements grew calmer.

Consecutive sword strikes pressed the Ninja.

Yet it wasn’t that he clung persistently to the opponent.

He piled up wounds wherever the red lines were empty, gnawed at his breathing, and steadily pushed him to the edge of the cliff.

Chaeng!

The Ninja barely endured with his sword aimed using one arm.

But his center had already collapsed.

Go Taemin closed one more step.

Instead of swinging his sword, he pushed in with his shoulder and erased the space with his torso.

Thud!

The Ninja’s back hit the broken stone pillar.

It was the moment his escape space disappeared.

-Ah! He’s been driven into a dead end! It’s a crisis! There’s no more space to retreat!

-The biggest problem is that even in the darkness, the Ninja can’t seize the initiative at all! Isn’t this battlefield the type he prefers most! But his usual sharp in-and-out striking isn’t coming out at all!

The Ninja gritted his teeth.

With only one arm, he raised his sword and tried to force his center to hold.

But the tide had already turned heavily.

Go Taemin crossed the boundary line where the Ninja’s blade tip seemed just barely able to reach like a ghost.

One step.

And another step.

Using the red trajectory drawn before his eyes as a milestone, he bound the Ninja’s gaze and breathing simultaneously at a gap of a single sheet of paper the opponent couldn’t cut through.

-Truly amazing! The demon is showing more seasoned skill than the Ninja!

-Look, he still doesn’t go in immediately. He’s waiting for the moment when the Ninja has no choice but to move.

The Ninja’s shoulder twitched very slightly.

A sign of counterattack, to reclaim the flow one last time.

The Ninja’s curved sword came in low.

‘He took the bait.’

There aren’t many options available when cornered.

If stealth and distance control are impossible, only one thing remains.

A single, life-risking breakthrough.

Pabat—!

The Ninja’s body scattered into the darkness as if dispersing, then the next moment dug into Go Taemin’s blind spot.

A final ambush, swallowing even the sound of stepping on debris!

But in Go Taemin’s eyes, even before the Ninja appeared, a single red line crossing the pitch-black darkness was vividly drawn.

Go Taemin slightly twisted his body along that line.

Like an action actor whose movement path was already decided, he slid into the momentary space where the curved sword cut through empty air and passed by.

And—

Thud!

-Ah……!

-The demon dodged it! No, he didn’t just dodge—!

The final strike the Ninja swung cut through empty air.

Conversely, Go Taemin’s sword precisely pierced through his heart.

The body of the masked man froze on the spot.

With eyes wide open, he couldn’t move even a single step more.

Shortly after, as the sword was pulled out, the body that had endured 12,000 desperate battles collapsed helplessly.

Thud—

[You have defeated participant ‘3.’]

[Victory!]

The commentators shouted in excitement.

-It’s over!

-Match over! The demon has defeated the Ninja…… and finally succeeded in the first undefeated promotion in amateur league history!

-Ah…… This is a moment we’ve waited for so long. Everyone, Japan has finally produced a talent who can aim for the Super League!

└WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

└Eh??????????

└Insane.. I got goosebumps

└I’m watching this live

└Wow

└I’m going to sleep all day today

└I screamed

└Wow

└Wow

└Did you see that last movement?

└Undefeated promotion is here!!!!!!! It’s finally here!!!!!!!

└The Ninja actually lost..?

└Undefeated promotion!!!

└He was completely reading him

└Even watching it again, it doesn’t make sense

└I got goosebumps

A tremendous amount of comments poured into the streaming chat.

It was truly an amazing thing.

For a participant who had appeared less than a month ago, everyone who watched the match was enthusiastic.

And that too in just an amateur league match.

[Participant No. 2,749]

[Record: 100 matches, 100 wins, 0 losses (Win rate: 100%)]

[As you have met the conditions, a ‘Pro License’ will be issued. We sincerely congratulate you on becoming a warrior!]

[Pro league matches will proceed after contract signing. Accordingly, please wait for a moment.]

[The contract will be delivered in person by a Nova Arena staff member as soon as possible.]

[If there are additional notices, we will inform you separately.]

The fallen man’s body slowly scattered into light, and before long, only silence settled over the ruins.

Go Taemin stood on the altar where the battle had ended, bathed in pouring starlight.

100 matches, 100 wins, 0 losses.

And so, he succeeded in engraving his name on this new battlefield as well.