Chapter 15 The Match Of Genesis(I)
On a bed large enough to contain four grown men, a certain white-haired protagonist was opening his eyes, due to the sudden intrusion of the sun through the window.
"Where am I?" Looking at the unfamiliar environment, Elric couldn't help but think he was back on the blue star.
However, the loud, sudden knock at the door brought him back to reality.
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
"Yawn~ come in," following Elric's lazy reply, an expressionless goblin shaman and a fox loli with slightly puffed cheeks, entered the room.
"You sleepy head, uncle Moses and I have been waiting for you all day. Daddy has already gone to the arena!"
Seeing Aoma's expression, he could tell she was quite annoyed that she had waited for a while.
"Thank God I learned some coaxing skills from bringing your kid to work day, back on the blue star," thinking back to stopping his bosses' children from laughing, a wry smile couldn't help but show on his face
"Yes, yes I'm a sleepy head, can lady Aoma forgive me?" Unfortunately, Aoma seemed to be immune to such coaxing methods.
"Humph! Follow me, Uncle Sebastian is waiting for us."
After a quick meal, the three of them immediately went out of the mansion to where the carriage was parked. However, the conversation of passersby immediately drew the attention of Elric and the others.
"Have you heard, there's going to be a warrior's battle!"
"Warrior's battle?"
"Yeah, a warrior's battle, we haven't had one since that incident."
"Shhhh, we aren't allowed to talk about 'the incident'."
"Anyway, let's hurry and get seats, the arena seats would most likely be filled soon."
With that, the group of four immediately rushed toward the arena.
"Young master, right this way, lord Reinhardt has already gotten ready. All that remains is the arrival of you two." Standing in front of them, with his signature black suit, white gloves, and the handkerchief he most likely never uses, was the ever-so-faithful butler Sebastian. With Seba's guidance, they immediately entered the carriage.
Thinking back to the earlier passerby's conversation Elric couldn't help but ask.
"Sebastian, what's the incident?" With this question, the temperature in the carriage seemed to drop by a few degrees, even Aoma stopped swinging on the shaman's beard.
Taking a deep breath and making a face that was completely different from the easy-going butler persona, Sebastian looked at Elric and warned him in an uncharacteristic, but serious tone.
"Master Elric, I don't know where you heard about the incident, but never try to talk about it in public, because this would lead to prosecution by both the town residents and the church."
"Hmm hmm," nodding her head, Aoma agreed with Sebastian.
"However, don't be too down, if you're curious ask lord Reinhardt. He'll most likely tell you." Feeling the change in mood, Sebastian couldn't help but try to change the topic.
"It's okay, I just heard a passer-by say it so I was curious," waving his hand dismissively with a smile on his face, Elric followed Seba's pace to change the topic.
"Thank you for understanding, master Elric." After saying this he continued to lead the carriage to its destination.
"Hey, Moses! Aren't you curious about what happened right now? What 'the incident' is?" Whispering in a low tone, a flash of cunning could be detected in Elric's eyes. Obviously, he had other intentions with this question.
"Humph!"
"Humph!"
Unfortunately, he was met with both a cold snort of a cute fox and a not-so-cute goblin.
"A.I. chip, remind me in the future to find out about 'the incident', I have a feeling it's going to be important later on."
[Task established!]
"Sigh…. it seems I have a lot of tasks to fulfill." Thinking of this, Elric couldn't help but be glad for this function of the A.I.
"Bets! Bets! Place your bets!"
"Tickets! Tickets! Step right up and get your tickets!"
"Candy haws! Get your candy haws!"
As the carriage drew closer to the arena various shouts could be heard.
"Elric you're back!"
"Young master you're back!"
"Yarrrit!"
"Keuekk!"
The loud shouts of Davis and George in the back, as well as the goblins, quickly made them stand out from the crowd.
"Calm down you guys, how was your night?" Feeling their excess enthusiasm, Elric couldn't help but think, maybe their enthusiasm for him was too strong.
On the other side, Zriork and Slohet were discussing something with serious faces. Thankfully they seemed to have reached an agreement.
"Hahaha, human you made it! Try not to die!" With a loud laugh, Slohet came over to Elric.
"I should say the same to you," as a skilled master of bluffing, Elric could not be outdone.
After a few more discussions, Slohet and Elric were escorted to where they were needed by arena personnel. While Davis, Sebastian, and the rest went to join the audience.
One hour later, the arena was filled to the brim and at some point, someone had come to the stage with a loudspeaker in their hands. Elric gazed at it with curiosity at how it functioned compared to the ones on the blue star.
"Welcome everyone to the great arena, I'm your host and referee for today's warriors' battle, Bobo the lion-man." Standing in the middle of the arena holding a mic was a large lion-man with a black and white striped shirt with plain black trousers. It made Elric reminiscent of the matches he watched with idle curiosity in his other life.
"Before we begin, I would like to explain the rules of the game." Taking a look at the crowd, Bobo's lips immediately turned up in a smile.
"There is only one rule…. There are no rules, this is a warrior's battle!!" Shouting under the mic he skillfully put the crowd in the mood.
"Warrior's battle!"
"Warrior's battle!"
"Warrior's battle!"
The screams of excitement filled the arena
"Ladies and gentlemen, races of the beautiful land of Elias, welcome to this warrior batttttlllleeeee!!!!"
"To my left, we have the conqueror of orcs, the divine warrior, the great chief of the red skin tribe Slohetttttt!"
With the introduction of Slohet, the crowd immediately went into a frenzy
"Slohet!"
"Slohet!"
"Slohet!"
"Slohet!"
Especially the goblins, they seemed to be having a competition for the loudest voice
"Yarrrit!"
"Yarrrit!"
"Yarrrit!"
"Yarrrit!"
Standing in the left corner Slohet could be seen waving to the crowd, with a smile full of confidence for the upcoming match.
"Cough, cough" After waiting for the crowd to die down Bobo immediately turned to the right.
"To my right, we have a human named Elllllriccccc!"
"...….."
"...…."
"...….."
All of a sudden, an awkward silence filled the air.
"Booo!'
"Booo!"
"Get off the stage!!"
Seeing the challenger was a weak human, most people wanted a refund of their money, thankfully not everyone was angry.
Reinhardt, in the V.I.P. stand, seemed to have expected this and watched it with a smile. Davis and George, on the other, had ignored the weird atmosphere and started to shout in support of Elric
"You can do it, young master!"
"Go Elric, you can do it!"
Unfortunately, their voice was drowned out by the unhappy crowd.
"Haha, let's calm down everybody, why don't we give the contestants a chance to have a word with each other," diverting the audience's attention, the sounds of dissatisfaction immediately died down.
"Haha, human although we have gotten along these few days, on the orders of my lord, I shall send you to your death today!" After saying this Slohet pointed his mace to Elric.
"If your 'lord' is who I think he is, regardless of the outcome, I'll be leaving this arena victorious," not to be defeated Elric immediately snapped back with a cunning smirk.
"There you have it, folks, the battle you've all been waiting for can officially begin!" And with that Bobo signalled the start of a match that changed the course of Elias forever.
This match was called 'the match of genesis' by later generations.