Handsome Lord, Please Mind My Heart

Chapter 26: Enter Honey Bean Cake and Grim Dumpling

The day for stage three came sooner than I expected. The previous night, Kaijin treated me to all the food I could eat, yet the next day came crashing in faster than I could digest them. Before I knew it, I stood on the arena facing my next foe. I still have no idea about the whereabouts of Honey Bean Cake, but I was not worried because I have a hunch she's in good hands.

There was one thing that caught my attention though. Up in the judges' seat, the warlord emitted dangerous oura the whole time that it affected the always cheerful crowd. His face was molded into a dark scowl. Sensing the sinister presence from him, the crowd reluctantly cheered in their already sorry state.

However, once I set my foot upon the stage, his glare immediately intensified towards me.

Is it just me or is he glaring at me. Now what did I do to offend him this time? I thought to myself. Not wanting to offend the warlord any further, I shot him an attempt of a dazzling smile showing him my gratitude.

He gave me a chance to participate. I must do my best to make it up to stage five. But for some reason, his sinister wave only grew profoundly over the area. The evil miasma grew so thick that it felt like a great pressure befell upon us all. Then, one of the judge reluctantly put a calming hand on Lon Daiyu's shoulder in hopes of calming him down. The warlord's glare turned to him, but he understood and sighed very deeply like an old man. No matter what, the tournament must continue with my match in the third stage.

With each passing stage, the participants became fewer and fewer. However, it also means that they were way stronger than previous opponents. Was it sheer coincidence or was it fate, for this time my opponent was none other than Tashida Makoto. I haven't seen him since that incident in the room, and it is my pleasure to forget about him. But here he was standing before me with the same arrogance. I noticed he still looked dubious, but nowhere near shock. He and his mother must've found out I hadn't been disposed of long ago.

Upon closer inspection, I sensed a great power of inner strength emanating from him. His sudden increase in power was what surprised me. The last time we met, I defeated him without using any inner strength, and now his power multiplied many times over. If I remember correctly, the rules did mention the use of power up tools/armor/weapons for enhancements. I soon noticed an unusual bead necklace around his neck and sensed the immense energy from it.

Tashida Makoto smirked after noticing my gaze on his unusual necklace.

"Do you see something you like?" He asked in a mocking tone. Ewwww! Our eyes met for just a second but it was enough to send poor Pot Belly (stomach) churning.

"This is a very rare and powerful Meteor Crystal forged into small beads by an ancient master. It's over two-thousand years old. While you may have tricked me last time, I will make sure you will die after our fight. With this Meteor Crystal, even you won't stand a chance! Muahahaha-muahahahahaha!" While he was too busy showing off, my attention was too focused on my poor stomach to even give him a second glance.

"Hey! Are you even listening ugly shorty?!"

Shorty...shorty...shorty...shorty...That very word echoed across my mind like rippling waves. In case you forgot, my biggest pet peeve is someone calling me short. My gaze swiftly switched to him, making him flinch backwards.

"Enough! Let's start so I can end your days of tormenting." I initiated an attack for the first time and swiftly ran straight towards him. Tashida did not defend and met my attack with his giant spear. I start throwing small needles infused with my inner strength. Just like the darts before, they were to pursue the enemy until immobilized. But his powerful spear created a gush of strong wind to counter attack. He jumped and twisted his body in midair to gain momentum and swing the spear at me. The strong wind blew my needles away and stopped me in my tracks. His wind power was enough to blow me away, but my evasion skill kept me attached to the ground. While I was blocked by his wind, he pressed foreward swinging his spear continuously at me. I had no choice but to block with my inner strength. I was trully relieved my inner strength was just enough to block his spear from piercing my skin.