F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 267: Unshakeable

The world froze.

To achieve a one-strike victory against a B-ranker was demonic, but against an A-ranker? Such a feat was outright devilish, and the crowd forgetting to breathe was understandable.

A wave of "oohs", full of awe, fear, and respect, rode the winds and swirled in the arena.

The Sky Prince reveled secretly in his flawless victory, his heart ticklish, yet his face remained playful-impassive.

There was not even a subtle change in his expression as he descended the stage. Still, he glanced in a certain direction.

Daru followed the young man with a fiery gaze, his long-curious heart stoked. He could already imagine how intense their battle would be.

The rowdy crowd only settled for whispers after some time.

Hostess Nathalie’s mouth, meanwhile, never stopped working, her words a blazing poetry in motion as she stirred the hearts of those watching.

The first round...it indeed delivered far more excitement than it was supposed to, thanks to the two Dark Horses.

Omaru and Moonpiercer...they ran the show.

The Sky Prince did, too, but his was more of making a statement. Sending a message that they could try, but no one would shake his position...that his becoming the competition’s champion was an inevitability.

Perhaps the dominant display was for the eyes of the S-rankers?

Either way, the tournament proceeded with its schedule, utilizing the participants’ quick break to run advertisements on the stage.

The brands definitely didn’t lose out by investing in this novice competition.

The scouts and journalists are also busy in their own ways, temporarily leaving their husks at their seats to make a quick list of names back at their office in Neo-Earth.

Most categorized the names in tiers, though they acknowledged this was but a rough draft.

They had to see more.

Soon, the much-needed-for-some quick break ended, and Nathalie got back to her seat.

There was barely any breathing room. However, this was how day one was supposed to be: a crucible to separate the strong and the weak.

After all, on day two, the matches would be given better visibility, as they would happen one at a time — all on the main stage.

This was the dream for novices.

They would only be cradled for a short time before being let loose in a brutal world, and to their misfortune, even shorter this year due to unexpected, balance-tipping novice events.

Having a spot in the top 32 would not only allow the novices to automatically pitch that they are among the top even in their tier to the top guild, but they could also use it to further prove their competence.

For B-rankers and A-rankers, just making the battle difficult for those a tier higher would already be a massive win.

In any case, day two is the golden audition ground, and everyone is determined to make it there.

The second round of culling began shortly.

There were still a hundred and twenty-eight class representatives remaining — a majority of them B-rankers, and Nathalie called most of them to be the side shows to the highlight match in the centre.

The young hostess was truly a natural, keeping the hype of the spectators easily alive with genius strokes in match sequencing.

There would be a standard batch of B-ranker matches followed by a batch with a decent highlight match with an A-ranker, and from time to time, an S-ranker would be called.

The arena sang in a chorus of steel, grunts, and thunderous cheers. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The competitors fought like their futures were at stake...because it was.

While they would definitely not struggle to make a living, as they are all high-rankers — with the exception of Daru in the eyes of the public — their opportunities would lessen, absorbed by those who defeated them.

They could very well end up in a decent but mediocre guild if they didn’t work hard enough.

Only the top-rankers have the luxury of not worrying about their futures too much.

After all, their sword-tiers and growth ceilings would already speak for them, and their swords need not talk at this stage.

Time passed, and the matches concluded one by one, too.

More B-rankers and a few unfortunate A-rankers were eliminated once more.

The Dark Horse, Elune Tseradze’s second match, was less exciting than the first one, simply due to the fact that she fought a B-ranker like herself and vanquished her foe with mere average to above-average effort.

It was as though she were an A-ranker herself, throwing the betting ecosystem into disarray.

Cody, the S-rankers, and the Sky Prince won their matches easily, too.

This time, it was only Daru who had the capability to carry the entire show of the second round on his shoulders.

It could be said that he was unlucky, pitted against an A-ranker in the brackets this early.

But he wasn’t fazed, and was, in fact, pleased.

Fighting on the last batch of the second round of the Inter-class Representative Competition, Nathalie’s intense yet smooth voice danced in the air like a Flame Sprite, igniting the slightly blander atmosphere.

"Class 70’s Omaru and Class 47’s Aureus, to the main stage, please."

Everyone sprang up on their seats, erupting into enthusiastic hubbub. None dared discuss the current matchup with the Sky Prince’s in round one.

No. They’re just too different.

Everyone was discussing whether Omaru would be able to hold his ground against Aureus, a middling A-ranker.

Survival was the core of the topic, basically, and most certainly not domination.

It was unknown whether he won through a trick mixed with the element of surprise in round one, so they wanted to see if he could replicate the feat, but this time against someone far more competent.

This would also be a test to see whether he deserved the spot a top A-ranker like Sylphina was forced to give up on.

Would the wondrous F-ranker win through his neat trick again, or will he be forced to fight a regular battle? If so, would he be overwhelmed, or would he be able to stand his ground?

In the end, his sword was of the utter garbage-tier, and it was very difficult to trust his ability to hold a capable fight despite having proven himself once.

Daru, meanwhile, was only curious, but he was not too excited.

He had already encountered this Aureus guy before, after all, in the Sunblade Savannah. He was a member of Alopecion’s Honey Badger Hunting Party.

A coward, in simpler terms.

He met the A-ranker’s smirking gaze calmly, gracefully pulling out his tachi as he walked to the centre of the stage.

His only interest in Aureus was whether he was a changed Bladeborn or not.