The World's Ego

Your Purpose

Third Person POV

The first round of the tournament began with Gozer and Mezer's battle. Both were monsters who used melee attacks. Gozer wielded a shield and axe while Mezer wielded a shield and lance as both clashed in a physical brawl. Despite its twists and turns, Gozer emerged victorious thanks to <Ultra-speed Regeneration>, which healed the grievous wounds dealt by Mezer's lance attack. However, despite their injuries, with their skills, their damaged bodies healed up instantly. The second round was Masayuki against Jinrai, but as Jinrai had declared before, he simply shook hands with Masayuki and gave him the win.

The third round involved Gobta and Kai, an A Rank adventurer wearing a full set of rare equipment. Gobta, on the other hand, had special-grade gear tailored for him.

"Get ready, set, battle!"

Muttering under his breath, Kai activates a skill and unsheathes his sword, swinging it at Gobta as his armor stopped the blade.

"Huh? You're nothing but some goon, how dare you wear such unbefitting armor...!" Kai scowled in displeasure

"Eyyyy, that was way too fast!" Gobta squeals out

Rimuru grunted inwardly as soon as this happens, "Uh oh... He let his guard down. By this point, Kai will probably start targeting his joints to get past the chinks of his armor."

"Hmph, how about this then?" Kai scoffs as he sent a series of slashes at Gobta

Gobta was barely dodging them, looking desperate and exhausted. Though there were some expectations for the match, Gobta seemed to be looking for a chance to run out of the arena instead.

"Well, it can't be helped... Gobta-chan entered this tournament through recommendation while he was asleep in that meeting..." Rimuru sighs in her thoughts

However, Kai's own movements seemed odd and they finally discovered why.

"That man... I think he's actually trying to inflict grievous harm on Gobta." Rimuru notes this with narrowed eyes

"It seems that this man has a pretty disgusting character. Even though Gobta isn't really upright either, this man's actions are far more unpleasant to watch." Shion scoffs with displeasure

Kai laughs at Gobta as he consistently tries to run out of bounds, only to be blocked by Kai with his sword strikes.

"Gobta sure has sharp eyes. If he couldn't see the path of his attack, he wouldn't be able to flee for long." Shion praises

Rimuru nods in agreement with a small smile. Despite having taken a few punches, Gobta was indeed doing a good job of reading the movements of his opponent and dodging his consistent strikes. This finally gets Rimuru to shout something to motivate Gobta to fight seriously.

"Gobta-chan! You've always wanted a special prototype fishing pole, right?! If you win, I will have Kurobe make one for you! So show him what you are made of!"

This perks Gobta up as he smiles widely, "Seriously? Then I'll use my ultimate move!"

"Gahahaha! Quit bluffing, you trash! I am the strongest, you stand no chance!" Kai laughs mockingly

"Summon! Come, come to me!"

As the captain of the Goblin Riders, Gobta could summon Star Wolves and he also had the <Unification> skill which could most likely turn the tides of the battle in his favor, but... what bolted out at Kai was different than the wolf that anyone was expecting.

"... Eh?" Rimuru blinked in confusion, checking her shadow and finding the shadow space empty, "Er... Ranga?"

Looking back at the battle, it was Ranga who bolted out of Gobta's shadow upon his summoning call and smacked Kai unconscious.