Open your monster encyclopedia

Lindsay stretched his body briefly; his chosen weapon for the competition this time was still a one-handed sword.

After all, his two teammates had both lost their matches: Claire had encountered a silver-level opponent and failed to break through the opponent's shield, while "Broken Arrow" was defeated by a bronze-level adventurer, simply because when he tried to harass with his bow and arrow, the opponent used a combat skill to rush him to the face.

This time, when facing a silver-level opponent, even if it might be a mage who isn't good at melee combat, I must use my best weapon to deal with them and not be careless.

However, Linsel didn't quite understand why the other party would participate in this tournament if he was a mage. This tournament was a martial arts competition, and participants were not allowed to use magic. In other words, it was assumed that all the competitions that adventurers could participate in were martial arts competitions.

But when his opponent stepped onto the stage, Lindsay instantly understood.

The weapon the opponent was using was a long staff, which he had chosen from the weapon rack next to him, resembling a magic staff.

The wooden staff had a hollow, thick circle at one end, but he swung it around effortlessly in his hands.

Judging from his stance, he's actually a melee mage.

"I forgot to introduce myself," the other person said, pointing his staff forward. "'Wolf Slayer,' have you ever heard of the infamous 'Stuck Staff'?"

"A 'stiff cane'? Never heard of that..." Linsel couldn't help but chuckle a few times.

"Your attitude is so frivolous. After today's match, you'll remember this title."

After the referee announced the start of the battle, the man who called himself "Stuck Staff" saw that Linssey was not moving and did not intend to attack first, so he brandished his long staff and charged forward first.

Linsset tentatively thrust his sword forward, blocking the opponent's staff strike while simultaneously retreating backward.

This process allowed him to become familiar with his opponent's physical condition: he was not as strong as himself, but he was very agile and seemed to have a wealth of combat experience.

This reminded Linsel of the veteran adventurer "Goat." It seems there's a reason why this "Stuck Staff" is still an adventurer in his thirties.

The staff of "Stasis" gleamed as he struck Linsset repeatedly with it.

The opponent's attack was unusually fast, and Lindsay could only rely on his muscle memory to block it.

Before he knew it, he was hit on the right shoulder and immediately felt a burning pain.

It seems to be a combat technique specializing in long staffs or clubs, and the opponent's rapid staff attacks show no sign of stopping despite the effort. If I continue to passively defend, my defense will eventually be completely breached.

"Your blocking skills are decent, but you're still too green." "Stasis" made a threatening remark while attacking, which annoyed Linsel, who was struggling to defend.

Does this guy even have time to talk? He's underestimating himself.

Fortunately, Lindsay, with his proficient combat experience with a small sword, finally managed to keenly detect a flaw in his opponent's movements.

"Stuck Staff" focused solely on relentlessly attacking with his long staff, neglecting the movements below his body. Perhaps his strategy was to quickly defeat him with rapid staff strikes.

After understanding his opponent's fighting intentions, Linsel immediately shifted his weight to his left foot while taking a blow from the opponent's staff, and suddenly kicked out with his right leg.

"Stasis Staff" did not expect that Linsel could suddenly kick out while blocking. His legs were hit, his footing immediately became unstable, and the speed of his staff combo became slower.

The perfect opportunity is now.

Taking advantage of the brief opening during a parry, Linsel immediately countered with his wooden sword, striking his opponent in the ribs.

"Stuck Staff" grunted and took two steps back, stopping his attack. At the same time, after this strike, Linsel felt an extremely smooth sensation in his right hand.

Have you gained some new insights into the one-handed sword specialization? You're getting closer and closer to the next level.

"Stuck Staff" took two steps back: "Looks like a fast attack won't work on you, 'Wolf Slayer'."

Lindsay glanced out of the corner of his eye at the crowd outside the arena. The atmosphere among the audience was even more enthusiastic than yesterday. He also caught a glimpse of "Broken Arrow" standing up excitedly, and Claire's supportive gaze after her previous indifferent expression.

The performance of the audience and teammates proved that this match was very intense. If they could win, their reputation in Wind and City would surely be known to everyone, if not to the point of being a household name.

"You still have the mood to watch what's happening outside the game?"

"You really talk a lot." After saying this, Linsel immediately rushed towards the "Staff," and at the same time, the wooden sword in his right hand began to flash.

"Finally, you're going to use your combat skills too!" Seeing the changes in the wooden sword in Linsel's hand, "Stasis Staff" became increasingly agitated. He immediately placed his staff in front of him and began to rotate it with both hands.

This movement, resembling the rotation of a rotary fan, was his method of countering Linse's tactic.

But Linsel seized on this move. The faint glow of the wooden sword in his hand gradually disappeared. Instead of confronting the opponent's defense head-on, he turned to the side and used the tip of his sword to stab the opponent's side.

"Stuck Staff" reacted very quickly. He immediately turned around with Lindsay, always keeping his long staff pointed at the opponent, and slowly moved forward, relying on the high-speed rotation of the staff in his hand to force the opponent back.

However, just as the tip of Lindsay's wooden sword was about to touch the opponent's weapon, he immediately withdrew it, and the blade flashed again.

"Why are you just spinning around and not attacking?" Sweat poured down "Stuck Staff's" head, but he still didn't stop his defensive dance of the long staff in his hand.

He knew that if he stopped, his increasingly tired movements would create obvious gaps, and he would be immediately struck by Lindsay's wooden sword.

Linsset had already circled behind his opponent, and his right hand was fully charged.

This time, instead of using feints to deceive the opponent, the combat technique was activated as intended, and the wooden sword in hand was slashed at the "Stuck Staff" that had just turned around and was in a hurry to deal with it.

The moment the powerful wooden sword touched the long staff dance circle, it made a crisp sound, knocking the wooden staff in "Stuck Staff"'s hand away and sending it flying to the side of the stage.

The wooden sword whistled through the air and struck its opponent in the chest, knocking him down!

"I...you..."

"Stuck in the Staff" lay on his back on the table, clutching the spot in his chest where he had been struck, muttering something unintelligible. At this point, Lindsay could no longer hear him at all.

Because the soundproofing was gone after the match, his ears were filled with the enthusiastic cheers of the audience.

The referee announced loudly, "In the duel between numbers twenty-three and twenty-four, number twenty-three, Lindsay, has emerged victorious!"

That's great! We won against this silver-level opponent without relying on monster abilities!