Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 139
139. Mari-nee and Odd Battle
When I was left speechless by the unexpected reunion, Ben spoke proudly.
“He was a warrior respected even in Xenoa. Now, however, he is a gladiator owned by Liberta.”
Indeed, back then, Jade-san said he was a slave, but I never imagined he was a gladiator.
“The reason we chose this place for the signing ceremony is so you can enjoy the entertainment Liberta prides itself on before you return home. This way, please. We’ve prepared special seats for you.”
The sudden invitation left the Caldian delegates perplexed, and they turned their eyes toward me.
Since I’m here as a proxy, it might be problematic to refuse.
I nodded in agreement, and Ben guided us to a place in the middle tier of the arena, where the stage was clearly visible, like a terrace.
There were red velvet chairs with lion heads adorning the armrests.
However, three of these chairs were white, black, and gray.
The red might have been chosen to represent Caldia.
After all, the king’s clothing is also red.
On the stage below, Jade-san walked forward slowly.
Although his legs were still shackled, the chains had been removed.
But his clothes were completely different from before.
When we met on the pier, he wore simple hemp clothing.
Now he was dressed in clothing similar to what martial artists wear.
“It looks similar to Daoist clothing, but the pants are baggy like harem pants.”
Indeed, the embroidery on the martial artist-like clothing was unusually intricate and detailed.
It’s beyond just being high-quality; staring at it gives a sense of visual discomfort.
“Is Jade-san the same type of fighter as you, Roulette-san?”
“He doesn’t seem to be holding any weapons, but…”
“Is there something bothering you?”
“His demeanor is strange. Facing a strong opponent without showing fear or aggression is unusual.”
Now that she mentioned it, his presence hasn’t changed since we first met.
He seems calm, as if he’s just casually stopped by while taking a walk.
Roulette-san and I watched, holding our breath to see what would happen.
Meanwhile, Mareus-san and Kanna-san commented.
“It’s like a gladiator fight between a beast and a human. Just like in the movies.”
“Boys love this kind of thing. I wanted to see a naval battle, though.”
“It could be possible since we’re in a maritime city… Hey, don’t you like this too? You always say you’re not a boy, yet—oof!”
“I’ve told you before. Girls don’t like insensitive boys, Mareus-chan.”
Kanna-san, girls who care about such things usually don’t deliver a liver punch to shut someone up.
Apparently, it was quite effective on Mareus-san, as he gasped for breath, desperately trying to get some air.
Next to him, Graham-san looked at him with a mix of fear and sympathy, likely because he had tasted Kanna-san’s elbow strike earlier.
In front of us, as we wondered whether to feel tense or not, the heavy chains binding Argos were suddenly undone.
He glared resentfully at the chains that fell to the ground, and then all the eyes on his body turned towards Jade-san.
“Must be tough for you, having all those eyes. You must see things you don’t want to,” Jade-san said with the ease of someone talking to a friend.
But Argos seemed to take his words as a provocation.
“VORRRAAAH!” it roared, charging at Jade-san with his arms wide open.
His movement was much faster than it appeared, and with his large body and spread arms, there was little room to escape sideways.
If Jade-san showed any sign of dodging, Argos’s many eyes would immediately track and adjust his course.
“What kind of counter move is he planning… Wait, he’s not moving,” Mareus-san commented.
“A counterattack? But without a weapon, against that thing, he’d be knocked away and seriously hurt,” Kanna-san noted.
It was like getting hit by a dump truck.
Yet Jade-san remained in place, swaying his upper body as if loosening up.
“Could it be that he’s…” Roulette-san murmured to herself, seemingly convinced of something.
When I turned back from looking at Roulette-san, Argos was already right in front of Jade-san.
There was nowhere to escape, and I imagined Jade-san being thrown into the air. But in the next moment, Jade-san sidestepped Argos’s charge.
“Wha-?” Graham-san muttered in disbelief.
Having fought Argos, his reaction was probably stronger.
Mareus-san and Kanna-san looked puzzled, while Roulette-san was staring intently at Jade-san with a serious expression.
“It was just a moment, but Maria-san, didn’t you see it too?” Roulette-san asked.
“If it wasn’t my imagination, just before Argos collided with Jade-san, his massive body seemed to tilt slightly.”
“Exactly. That person just adjusted his body slightly to match that tilt. So rather than dodging, I think he made Argos dodge in some way,” Roulette-san explained.
Made Argos dodge… But there was no sign of the terrain changing, nor any indication of magic being used.
What on earth did he do?
Argos prepared itself and now launched a series of punches.
The wind from its punches made Jade-san’s clothes flap, but not a single blow landed.
I wasn’t the only one confused by this.
“Who is this guy, calmly standing there while being attacked at close range by those massive punches?” Mareus-san wondered aloud.
“Even if there was a trick, it takes incredible guts. He’s a real man, so manly and wonderful. If only he were about forty years younger,” Kanna-san said.
“Yeah, well, your preferences don’t really matter right now…” Mareus-san responded.
Mareus-san bit back the rest of his words at the last moment.
Judging by the way he was holding his upper right abdomen, he must have learned from earlier.
However, Kanna-san, talking about forty years younger—that’s practically a cri… well, I’ll follow Mareus-san’s example and not comment further.
“But just dodging won’t win the fight,” Kanna-san noted.
“That’s not true,” Roulette-san interjected. “He’s been counterattacking as well.”
She pointed at Argos’s torso.
From a distance, something small and shiny was visible, which hadn’t been there before.
“Are those… needles? But they seem too thin to be effective as an attack.”
At first, I thought they were aimed at his eyes, but they were clearly just embedded in his skin.
Besides, even if he aimed for the eyes, there were too many to hit them all.
Argos swung his powerful arms in frustration, but none of his strikes connected with Jade.
Rather, from our vantage point, it seemed like Argos was deliberately missing.
Judging by Argos’s angry expression, that clearly wasn’t the case.
“How can he move freely under Argos’s gaze? Even a frontline job couldn’t withstand that,” Graham-san wondered, astonished.
Jade-san calmly dodged every attack, occasionally embedding a needle in Argos.
By the time the thirteenth needle was in place, Argos’s massive body tilted significantly and collapsed with a ground-shaking slam.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as all of Argos’s eyes closed.
There was no sign of significant damage, so…
“Asleep? No way! Putting a monster of that class into a status effect, that’s incredible,” Mareus-san exclaimed.
“A mysterious dodging technique, and the ability to subdue a named monster… That man is impressive,” Kanna-san admired.
“He’s definitely not just a frontline job,” Roulette-san agreed.
Next to the unmoving Argos, Jade-san stood without a drop of sweat, his demeanor unchanged from before the fight.