Chapter 16 - Hayato

Theo got himself a high grade sword for the competition as he was worried that some people might link the sword his father gave him to the Ashwell county.

After getting a good rest he went to check who his first opponent is. He didn't seem to recognise the names, after looking through the list of people he will possibly be fighting, Theo decided to go to the fighting ring he will be sparing in and watched the match.

The fights didn't look very impressive as they were both intermediate grade swordsman. He then activated his all-seeing eyes and look at all the contestants that are in the same section as him.

He found a few that have higher Danger levels but none that he couldn't manage. However, one caught his attention.

Name: Hayato Inosuske

Species: Fox Beastman

Age: 21

Danger level: 8.1

HP: 1050/1050

Theo was excited to see a beastman for the first time instead of reading about them. Hayato looked exactly like a human which wasn't a surprise as beastmen are able to morph between their human - like appearance and their beastman appearance. It's impossible to tell apart a beastman from a human when they morphed. Theo however, had the system and all - seeing eyes.

The fox beastman looked like an Asian with bright orange hair and sharp features. It reminded Theo of those Korean actors he had seen on Earth.

Noticing a gaze, Hayato looked back to see a young man with black hair and red eyes that could be seen through the two holes of his mask looking right at him. The masked man didn't even try to hide his gaze and continued looking for a while before looking away.

'No way, did he find out? No one should be able to know I'm a fox since I'm in my human appearance. He probably looked at me for some other reason. I'm being paranoid.' Hayato though.

Although the competition is open to all races, it was still slightly dangerous for them if alone like Hayato. He lost his parents as a child and trained himself with the sword passed down by his father. He didn't have any family members as his parents said that they were banished from the tribe before he was born and he distanced himself from people fearing that he would be captured and sold as a slave growing up.

Thus till now, he was still afraid of being discovered. After a while he realised that no one could tell that he was a fox unless he used his beastman powers or transform so he went around and interacted with people but didn't make any long term friendship. He knew that although they were publicly accepted, they were still shunned.

He wanted to participate in the competition and hopefully win the price which he could sell for alot of money. Hayato was actually quite poor as of now, he earned money working as a mercenary. Since he worked alone, he didn't get alot of missions.

The indifferent gaze Hayato felt from the man just now sent chills down his spine. Although he looks young, his gaze made Hayato feel like he had been stripped naked and his secrets exposed.

'I should be careful if I ended facing him'

After the fight have been completed, the referee could be heard shouting through a common sound amplifying artifact.

"Number 56, Indra!"

"Number 52, Scarface!"

Going up the stage with the high grade sword on his hand Theo looked at his opponent. Although scarface had a bigger body, a scar on his face with a good built which would intimidate most contestant. Theo found his stats below average so Theo knew it won't take much to win this fight.

"It's dangerous here boy, I won't kill you but I will leave you with a memory to not overestimate yourself and recklessly join fights." Scarfaced said while laughing.

Scarface was actually satisfied with the opponent he had, knowing he wasn't a good fighter he still wanted to participate trying out for the price. His opponent Indra looked like a noble kid wearing a mask to hide from his family during the contest who is looking for a thrill, an easy target. It would be a good start with his first win.

As soon as the referee signalled the fight, Scarface rushed towards Theo with his sword and gave a slash. Instead of using his sword to parry, Theo turned his body to the side and the sword missed him with a whoosh.

With his current stats, Theo didn't even need to use his sword as he could easily dodge them. Starting to get embarrassed, scarfaced slashed his sword faster and harder towards Theo which is constantly miss at a hairs length. Getting bored Theo used his speed to move behind Scarface and chopped the back of Scarface's neck with his hand causing his opponent to faint instantly.

The arena was eerily silent, the referee remembered something then announced,

"Number 56, Indra Wins"

Immediately after the crowd started to cheer. Many contenders looked at Theo with a complicated gaze. The gab between scarface and Theo was too much to their liking.

The next few fights continued uneventfully for Theo. He would parry with his sword a few times before incapaciting his opponent with his sword rested on their necks, forcing then to surrender.

In between his fights, Theo would observe Hayato when it was his turn. He was surprised to find that Hayato was using a Katana which be didn't know exist in this world.

Hayato as he expected was very skilful as well, winning all of his match so far.

As time went on, the more contestants to drop out from losing more than 3 rounds or the inability to continue due to their injuries or lack of Stamina. It had to be noted that they have to fight many rounds today in order to proceed or have a chance at the top 16.

Theo and Hayato had won five out of five rounds so far. From the sixth round onwards, Theo found the contestants he faced were getting more brutal and skilfull which forced him show more of his swords mastery.

For being such a formidable swordsman at such a young age, he has become one of the crowds favourite and attracted the attention of the nobles who came watch this section.

The nobles spectating assumed Indra to be the young master from a larger martial noble family who hid his identity and participated without his family's consent thus donning a mask as there are a few powerful martial families who would train their heir swordsmanship from a young age away from public eyes.

A few of the nobles could be heard guessing and discussing with each other as to which noble family this young master is from.

The rounds of 10 finished without a hitch and both Theo and Hayato were selected for the top 16. Theo didn't get a chance to fight with Hayato during his 10 rounds in the end. Hayato turned out to be stronger than he expected, in addition to being a fox beastman which gave him higher agility and speed, Hayato was also very skillful in using his katana.

Both Theo and Hayato were part of the 7 out of 16 participants that was able to win all 10 rounds making them extremely popular during the contest.

Theo left right after the top 16 was announced, avoiding the other competitors and nobles who was looking to socialise with him as many were curious of his identity.