Flashy Adventurer System : Show Off to Get Stronger!

"BAHAHAHAHA! Did you see that, brother Banar?! That, right there, is the fate of Shye Crowley! BAHAHAHAHA!"

"KEKEKEKEKE! Indeed, brother Alan! Arthur didn't even use a single skill higher than those of the common tier, and the "quick-cast mage" was defeated so easily! Even if Shye Crowley performs a bit better than this Marlon Fuego, his chances of victory against such a heaven-defying genius would be close to zero!"

This time, it was Seira who was on the receiving end of the insults as more people sided with Arthur Vermillion.

Indeed, although Shye Crowley was a stronger mage compared to Marlon Fuego, what could he do against such a dominant and unshakeable warrior like Arthur?

Even if his spells were a bit faster to cast and a bit stronger than that of Marlon, they could see him suffering the same fate.

It seemed that the match between the two wouldn't even be close judging from how Arthur dominated the flame specialist.

Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the notorious lackey.

"HAH! Why is it so smelly here? Probably due to casuals talking about shit, they don't know again…Eughh…Clearly, you guys don't know how strong my boss is! If this Arthur Vermicelli attempts to do this pretentiousness against my boss, all he will receive is a solid slap on the face!"

This time, other people couldn't help but join the squabble.

Seira was truly getting on their nerves!

"Hmmph! You worship your boss too much, midget. Obviously, he hasn't experienced the world yet! Once he fights someone of Arthur's caliber—John Oni, for example—he will crumble like an old house!"

"YOU will crumble like an old house! After all, you look like an old house, dusty and ugly!"

…

The squabbles went on for a while, even though she was alone, Seira stood her ground firmly akin to a loyal general who will never let her city fall.

As for Shye, he couldn't help but laugh at Seira.

The little midget truly had a vicious mouth like him—a worthy underling!

…While Seira and a few angry young and middle-aged men were squabbling, the fourth round finally got underway, Corey's voice once again echoing across the four corners of the arena.

"Did everyone have a nice short break? I hope you guys did as the fourth round of the Balkrow City Rookie Adventurer Competition will now begin! Referee, please show us the fourth-round matchups and the schedule randomization of each match!"

Nodding at Corey, the referee pressed a button on the small mana-powered device he was holding.

This action prompted the letters and numbers on the holographic screen suspended above the stage to change rapidly for a few seconds before eventually stopping and revealing the match-ups and sequence of the matches.

Pausing for a few moments to read the words on the holographic screen, thousands of eyes widened.

Finally... There were two matches where four of the top ten rookies were pitted against each other!

Naturally, such exciting matchups were bound to elicit thunderous cheers from the audience.

As anticipated, due to the initial brackets, Shye found himself among the four "fortunate" top ten rookies matched against each other.

His opponent was the ninth-ranked Payne Keller, an archer-class rookie from the Bloodsteel Adventurer guild.

'Nice!' Shye inwardly celebrated yet another chance to earn a sizable amount of points.

Recently, he had a breakthrough in terms of earning system points, realizing that he had to put a bit of effort into analyzing what the crowd wanted instead of just showing off the way he wanted to.

For example, if he simply obliterated Bonza with a barrage of skills while not even letting him get close, the crowd would be impressed, sure; however, what they wanted was different.

They wanted to see glimpses of how his match against John Oni would go.

And so, he did just that.

Promptly after showing everyone how skilled he was in defending himself against the ruthless attacks of scouts in the form of his graceful and masterful melee defense, the points he earned skyrocketed to more than triple what he was initially earning.

'Hmm…What could the crowd possibly want in a mage versus archer matchup?' Shye pondered.

His match was scheduled last as one of the highlights of the fourth round, hence, Shye took his time to think of what the crowd wanted.

He was slowly getting better as an entertainer—a side job that he needed to master as someone who needed to show off to grow stronger.

…As Shye pondered deeply, the matches commenced

To everyone's surprise, the opening match featured John Oni facing off against a rookie known as Pokyuu Pine from White Peak Adventurer Guild, who had remained relatively unnoticed until his third-round match against the 12th-ranked rookie Jeremiah Howard, where he decisively revealed his true strength by utterly dominating the fairly renowned rookie in a head-on clash between warriors.

Astonishingly, even though his opponent this time was none other than the famous John Oni, there wasn't a hint of nervousness in his face, only enthusiastic anticipation.

If he could defeat John Oni here, his fame would skyrocket throughout the city!

"Begin!"

Bolting forward like a true warrior, Pokyuu's shield clanged as he raised his weapon horizontally, seemingly "casting" a few enchantments on his shortsword.

John Oni, being a master scout himself, knew that Pokyuu had a fair chance of defeating him should he underestimate the guy, hence, he didn't dare use the basic scout opening template, opting instead to assume a defensive stance while waiting for the warrior to attack.

John's plan was to let Pokyuu attack first, dodge his attacks by a hair's breadth, and counterattack masterfully to see what the guy was up to.

He was sure that the dark horse knew his fighting style, hence, he decided to allow the guy to counter it while being vigilant himself.

Upon sensing the first sign of danger, John planned to momentarily retreat and assess the situation—a brilliant plan from a master scout.

After a few more milliseconds, Pokyuu finally arrived in front of John, courageously brandishing his shortsword diagonally downwards, making it difficult for John to dodge.

His plan worked as he was able to force John Oni to face him head-on.

Only, a downward diagonal slash was too easy for John to parry.

Masterfully angling his dagger, John effortlessly parried Pokyuu's attack, however, just as their weapons made contact, blade shards made of mana suddenly exploded from the sword.

*SPURT!*

"J-JOHN ONI HAS BEEN WOUNDED!! POKYUU, THE CROUCHING TIGER, DRAWS FIRST BLOOD!!"