Hyped city

{{{Author note: - I know this chapter release is a bit late… I'm sorry for that. RL can be unpredictable sometimes.

-There are some minor differences in names between DanMachi anime and novels. Some of these differences: Development/Advanced Ability – Hostess of Fertility/ Benevolent Mistress – Pallum/Prum… Names in the novels are more familiar to me, so I usually use them 'intentionally and unintentionally'. Sometimes, there are differences that I'm not aware of, and I only find out about them from the comments. Anyway, I thought that it should be pointed out since some people never stop commenting; "why is this written like this? – That's a wrong name …etc." It's clearly stated in the Intro Chapter that I will be using the novels as my source (not the anime nor the Wiki), this also includes names.

- Btw, there was a good translation for the Solo Leveling novel (better than the "Dry Saliva" one). It wasn't completed, so not many people read it (it stopped at chapter 130 or so). Anyway… sometimes I name skills according to it. (e.g. Ruler's Hand/Dominator's Touch).

- You people are starting to notice that the MC is weaker than Jinwoo when he was at the same level. The reason is the algorithm I made to match the two leveling systems (DanMachi and Solo Leveling). To make an algorithm I had to assume that all stat points had the same values but that is not true… A quote from SL novel ch.14: "What if, as the Stat's value rose up, the weight was also added as well? If that was the case, then such a destructive power output could easily be explained away." … As you can see in the phrase; the value of Stats increases as their number increases. Anyway, I canceled that and made the value constant which will make the MC weak 'compared to Jinwoo at the same level'. As compensation, the MC's leveling ability will be faster and easier than Jinwoo's even at the 100s.

- Finally, I'd like to thank you all for your support, comments, reviews, and stones.}}}

===========

The city was bustling. The second War Game was finally here. You would think that the people wouldn't be as hyped since they just witnessed a War Game last week. But no, there is no such thing as too much entertainment.

Just like the last week, there was an atmosphere of energy and passion not normally seen within the city wall. Every bar opened early; workers at restaurants and food stands stood ready for the incoming onslaught.

The game received so much attention due to a few gods demanding that posters be hung all around the city as an advertisement. These deities wanted as big of an audience as possible to build tension, the more tension the more fun it becomes.

Also, the Guild was more hyped this time since the game will take place in the Coliseum. Unlike in Hestia and Apollo's game, the guild can sell the attendance tickets and make some money out of it this time.

The posters themselves were dominated by Argus Familia's sword with demonic wings emblem and Miach Familia's healthy human body emblem. The two emblems were drawn against each other and under them, you could find advertisement encouraging people to buy tickets and watch the event live.

Almost no adventurers even considered prowling the Dungeon on a day like today. Instead, they were jam-packed into their favorite bars with even more adventurers coming in every moment.

All the seats in the Coliseum were reserved. Rich deities, workers, citizens, and even foreign merchants who were in the city for business, anyone who could afford the ticket was present in the Coliseum. Not a single one could contain their anticipation as they waited with bated breath for the opening bell.

"Test—test, one...two...Ahem. Gooood morning and good day! I'll be providing blow-by-blow analysis of today's events, the chattering fireball himself, Ganesha Familia's Ibly Archer! Some of you may already know me as the Fire Inferno Flame. Remember that name!"

On the commentary stage, A dark-skinned man was the commentator for the War Game. He sat with a magic-stone voice magnifier clutched in his hand.

"Joining me today to add his own insights into the festivities is none other than Lord Ganesha himself. Lord Ganesha, a word, please!"

"—I am Ganesha!" He struck a pose as he yelled at the top of his lungs. The god received a round of applause.

"Yes, thank you very much for that!"

The Guild had worked with the merchants to turn this match into a holiday of sorts. Many people from other cities around the world would come to Orario to watch the battle, meaning more customers for the merchants.

But, of course, no one was looking forward to the War Game more than the gods.

"Woah, they're livin' it up out there!" said Loki with her face plastered to the window, looking down at the crowds.

Many deities had gathered on the thirtieth floor of Babel Tower. All of them were on the edge of their seats, overflowing with excitement. Miach and Argus, the two gods at "war" in this battle, were among them.

The ones not present in Babel Tower had chosen to watch the game live from the Coliseum, in the bars among the people, or with their followers from their own homes.

"Well then, Ouranos, we need your permission to use our 'power."' Hermes's powerful words echoed around the chamber.

They were answered a moment later. "—Granted."

The response spread throughout the city, the heavy syllables heard everywhere from the Guild headquarters to the bars to the crowd gathered in the Coliseum. Deities all around Orario cracked their knuckles and set to work.

Mortals far and wide gasped in amazement as hundreds of "windows" appeared all over the city. The gods were only allowed to use one specific type of Arcanum—the "Divine Mirror."

Any god or goddess could use their power of clairvoyance to show what was happening at a different location at any time. It went without saying that it was to increase their enjoyment of life in the Lower World. This way, every deity in Orario could watch the War Game alongside their children.

Magic "windows" of various sizes filled the bars, the Guild's front garden, and Central Park. Each of the circles hovered in midair, showing different angles of the coliseum.

"Now that the mirrors are in place, I'll set the stage once again! Today's War Game is a Battle Royal match between Miach Familia and Argus Familia! Both factions' combatants are already in place and waiting for the signal to begin!" Ibly's voice echoed through all the bars in the city.

A roar of excitement erupted from the crowd as Ibly raised the voice enhancer back to his lips and started giving background information.

"All bets in—?! Won't accept any once things get underway!" The owner of one such establishment raised his voice to cut through the din of his patrons as well as the commentary.

Merchants and adventurers alike were laying odds and making bets on the outcome of the War Game. Those who had lost money last week, due to Hestia Familia winning against the odds, were betting to earn it back and those who had won were aiming for a streak of luck.

Their favorite ale in one hand and large amounts of money in the other, the patrons made their bets and took their seats in front of one of the many "windows."

"Team Argus and Team Miach. Outnumbered almost thirty-to-one in Argus Familia's favor... Good luck!" The Owner announced the end of the bets.

"That's still pretty high… Didn't the underdog win the last time?" "That's exactly the reason… a miracle can't happen twice in a row." "The last time was a siege where strategies and tactics had an effect… But this time, it's impossible… It's a battle in the arena." A group of adventurers chatted in the corner of the bar.

"Moreover, when looking at combat potential, Apollo Familia can't be compared to Argus Familia…" "Right, it THE Argus Familia… Who the hell in their right minds would go pick a fight with them?" "But still, some people went and bet on Miach Familia." "It's gotta be those deities again!"

Gods and goddesses were known for going after the jackpot rather than making safe bets. The adventurers looked at three in particular with blank stares as the deities became more and more enthralled with the mirror in front of them.

"Uhh!" "It's time, it's time!" "Come on!" Tickets in hand, all three were shaking with anticipation and praying with all their might.

-------------

On one side of the fighting stage, stood four combatants. Above them, fluttered a flag with an emblem of a healthy human body. They stood in a certain formation;

At the back, closest to the wall stood a chienthrope with a longbow in her hand and a quiver full of arrows on her back. She had long brown hair, purple eyes, dog ears, and a tail. Captain of the Miach Familia Level-2 Third-class adventurer known as the Miyal Hound, Nahza Erisuis.

A shy human girl with long dark hair and light green-colored eyes stood right next to Nahza while clenching an expensive-looking staff to her chest. The Mirabilis, Cassandra Ilion is a Level-2 Third-class adventurer.

Closely in front of them, as if to guard them, stood the unblinking, Daphne Lauros. She had short red hair and honey-colored eyes with two shortswords sheathed on her waist. She's a well-known Level-2 Third-class adventurer under the alias, Laurus Fuga.

A few steps ahead of them, Rick was standing. It seemed that he would be doing all the attacking while the rest would be supporting him from behind.

He was a compact, clear-cut man, with precise features, the look of an athlete (lean and tall with powerful shoulders and large, perfectly balanced movements), a lot of very soft black hair, thoughtful dark brown eyes, and a short beard (which he doesn't normally keep, but under the circumstances, he didn't get the time to shave).

He carried Heartseeker (a beautiful dark gray longsword with an impressive black handle) in his hand and carried Beast lord Sword (a well-made bland steel longsword).

He wore a white suit with golden decorations. It looked very expensive; the kind of clothes people would wear to a high-class party, not to a battle... In fact, all Miach Familia's clothing seemed out of place. Not a single piece of armor was worn by any of the combatants.

…

Argus Familia started entering the fighting stage, one after the other, through the door located under their flag…

Veteran adventurers flowed into the stage wearing good armor and high-quality equipment… the features of confidence and savagery filled their faces.

A mercenary squad… the title fit them well.

The last to enter ware both the captain and vice-captain of the Familia…

The sinister-looking voluptuous Level-4 Amazon wore nothing but golden undergarments and a pair of big heavy battle gauntlets with the head of a lion engraved on each hand. Captain of Argus Familia the "Lioness", Lyra Arnette.

And the Level-4 smug Forest-elf wore battle-robes and carried around a high-class staff. Argus Familia's vice-captain the "Incinerator", Ickler Usher.

Each of them carried a chair as they entered… they put the two chairs down, sat on them, and crossed their arms and legs.

The audience's voices were raised in gasps and murmuring. The two Second-class adventurers' behavior is clearly meant to belittle and provoke their opponents.

This was when Ibly's voice echoed throughout the Coliseum to declare the start of the War Game,

"Good people of Orario City! Behold as the two Familias meet in this fighting arena for an epic battle worthy of songs! RING THEEEEE BELL!"

TING~!

""We surrender!""

----

Two days earlier…

Miach finally returns to the Hephaestus building and he tells us 'Familia members' about the rules of our War Game.

'What the hell is this?' Miach accepted the worst possible conditions. What was he thinking? What kind of reasoning did he come up with to accept such conditions?

Does he have absolute faith in us… to win in a Battle Royale? No, We are overwhelmingly outnumbered. It's not the kind of battle where we can use strategies to overturn the numerical disadvantage.

Or did he accept the conditions while thinking that we can't win? Our losing scenario would be; Argus Familia kills me- they may (or may not) kill Cassandra and Daphne- They will definitely leave Nahza alive to be their potion-making slave. Then, Miach Familia can live on.

No, Miach is too good-natured to do that... That leaves us with the last possibility: 'Miach is outright stupid'.

Now, he's apologizing to Cassandra and Daphne for getting them involved… Don't accept such ridiculous conditions and you won't have to apologize.

Anyway, what's done is done. I interrupt Miach's apologies and ask:

"What about my sol… my tamed monsters? Did you get the permit to take them ?"

"I apologize… both the Denatus and the Guild offered the firmest of refusals. After the incident in Monsterphilia, they are even considering canceling the next year's Monsterphilia.

Even THE Ganesha Familia couldn't prevent the monsters from going on a rampage, the public will not let it pass if they permitted a no-name Familia like us to bring monsters to the surface." Answered Miach.

Then what did you do to help? You've been only putting one obstacle after the other in front of me. You should've just stayed here protected by Hephaestus and let me deal with Argus Familia, I would've eliminated half of them by now.

But no, you had to act like a god and do your thing; Complicate the situation even more.

No, Rick… focus, focus!

How can I fight while protecting the three girls at the same time? No matter how I think about it, it's impossible.

Fighting two adventurers with stats higher than me will take every ounce of my concentration. I wouldn't be able to keep up with them while worrying about someone else.

I try to think about strategies I can use, all of them are useless. If it was a group of monsters, it would be easy to defeat them with some clever tricks. But our opponents are a group of highly experienced veterans, they can counter every tactic I know.

Even if I do something unique and unpredictable, they adapt quickly. And they have the strength to crush every move I make, simply by targeting my teammates.

It's impossible, I can't do it with the girls in my tow. But according to the War Game rules, they must participate in the battle.

I'm not cruel enough to watch them die as I fight. Well, killing them would be kind of Argus Familia. I think they would torture them to make me lose concentration at the sound of screams.

No! Even if I'm that cruel, I must not let anyone die. My victory shall be undisputed. I shall eradicate the squad once known as Argus Familia with zero casualties.

But in order to do so, I have to get rid of my allies... (They must participate in the War Game).

'YESS-AAAA! … I found a loophole!'

…

I wait for Miach to not be in the room (I'm quite annoyed with him right now.) to start talking with the girls.

"Daphne, Cassandra, this fight isn't yours. So, I think that you shouldn't fight." I say.

"It isn't and we shouldn't." Daphne gives a short answer. It seems that she thinks I'm initiating some sort of a pep talk.

"Then don't fight," I say.

"Were you dozing off when Lord Miach explained the rules? Every existing member of our Familia must fight." Says Nahza.

"No, Miach said nothing about fighting. He said, 'must participate in the War Game'. You three shouldn't fight. Once they announce the beginning of the battle, you should surrender at once and leave all the fighting to me." I say.

"Absolutely not! We can't let y…!" Nahza Objects.

"Don't speak for them, please. They have nothing to do with our Familia's problems." I look at Daphne and Cassandra, "By surrendering, you have nothing to lose. Even if I get killed, the punishment for losing the War Game doesn't include you two. You can leave Miach Familia after that." I say.

"I-I agree… We mustn't join this battle." I just noticed; these are the first words that Cassandra spoke since I met her.

"Cassandra! If we do that, we will be shunned. It would be the third Familia to fall to their ruin after we joined them." Daphne disagrees with Cassandra.

"Daph, we can't join this battle… w-we mustn't. You have to listen to me this time." Cassandra presses more.

Wait a second, isn't Cassandra a seer? She can see visions that tell her about the future. I want her to tell me exactly what she saw, but I can't ask her out of nowhere. I have to wait until she tells me about them.

"Alright, alright… this time I'll listen to you. I value my life after all." Says Daphne.

"Good! The same goes for you, Nahza. You can't join me on this fight." I tell Nahza.

"WHY?" She asks defiantly.

If I'm the MC of some anime right now, I would say something like 'I got us into this, and I'll solve it/It's my fight, not yours'. And this always makes the MC's friends want to help him even more.

So, I'll be blunt here.

"Because you're a burden. You're so weak that you can't even beat Cassandra in a fight despite you being a fighter and her being a healer. If you join the fight, you would be a liability.

You'll make me forgo the target of beating the other Familia and focus on protecting you. And if I do that, I won't be able to keep up with the fight and I'll die.

You want to know why you shouldn't join the fight! … The reason is that you'll only cause my death. And you won't even share that fate with me, they won't kill you because you'll be their precious potion-maker.

Don't join the fight… maybe then, I'd have a chance to stay alive. Can you do that for me, Nahza?"

She looks at me with a speechlessly… then she just storms off the room.

Oh, damn! … This was too much. I've been on edge for a while ... I just shouted all the accumulated tension at Nahza right now. She doesn't deserve all this…

The first sentence was enough to do the trick, but I laid it all on her. Upsetting her like this saddens me, I consider her as sister.

This will take a lot of time to heal… I hope her personality doesn't get affected because of this.

"Please?" I say as I look at Cassandra and Daphne.

"Understood." Says Daphne as they get up and go after Nahza… Maybe they can soothe her a little.

------

""We surrender!""

The two words spoken by Cassandra and Daphne shut everyone up.

Daphne in the front raising both her arms in the air as a sign of surrender. Behind her, Cassandra was doing the same, but she was also holding Nahza's right hand and raising it in the air.

Rick turns around and looks in her eye, she hesitated as she looked back at him then she raised her other arm and said: "I surrender!"

"Daphne Lauros, Cassandra Ilion, and even Miach Familia's captain Nahza Erisius have surrendered! … The surrendered combatants please leave the battlefield!" Ibly's voice was the only voice that can be heard in the coliseum.

The audience held their breaths waiting for Rick's reaction. If he surrendered too, then they paid their precious gold to buy the tickets for nothing. The weapons haven't been drawn yet.

Rick continued watching the backs of his leaving allies with a sad look. Then he turned around and took a sword stance facing 28 veteran adventurers (2 Level-four/ 5 Level-three/ 13 Level-two/ 8 Level-one).