F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 273: Manager’s Nightmare

"O-O-OMARU DISMANTLES SEIGETSU IN A FLASH OF SHARP BRILLIANCE!!" Hostess Nathalie roared to the heavens, her sweet voice tainted with a hint of wild passion.

She could not help it.

She took up the profession of a tournament hostess for the simple reason that she loved duels, especially upsets from dark horses, and Omaru...was the darkest horse Nathalie had ever laid her eyes upon.

Until now, the fact that a mere F-ranker had made it to the second day, much less to the top sixteen, made zero sense.

She was sure that the media and the Neonet would explode after today, and she was part of the history, even the breath of it.

Nathalie could already see Omaru being marketed as an inspirational story.

Perhaps many powers would even support him in the shadows just to sell the impossible dream, encouraging the lower-rankers to not give up too easily, which, in turn, would allow the guilds and corporations to make more money off lowlives.

"Who?! Who still dares to doubt him?!" she continued. "Showcasing skills worthy of an S-ranker, Class 70’s representative, Omaru, advances to the top sixteen!!"

Her words were tailed by thunderous cheers that rose to the pleased heavens as the crowd celebrated the birth of a true dark horse.

Initially, there were still doubts about Daru Finnley, Omaru’s capabilities, as the way he took out his opponents seemed more like he was defeating them through tricky-to-deal-with Sword Skills.

How could they think so now, when he sent his opponent flying in a direct clash, then finished him off the moment he landed?

That was a solid S-worthy performance!

Not to mention, the skill he used should be the absolute apex of F-tiers, if it could even be justified to be in that category.

This meant that the once-mad tickets of "Omaru to the Semi-finals" and "Omaru Finalist" were now more possible — another source of nightmare for the managers of the betting stations.

This was a blunder that made them sweat coldly.

The managers desperately prayed to the heavens for Omaru’s defeat in the next round, or they would lose their jobs and never find one again in the same field, effectively forcing them to start over in life.

Why were they so stupid as to give him the odds of an A-ranker?!

There was one manager, however, who was biting his nails in sheer horror.

Two bettors in his station purchased two tickets each with the abominable first-day rates.

While their tickets were "Omaru - Finalist" and "Omaru - Champion", who can say for sure that the darned F-ranker cannot defeat an S-ranker, especially now that Alopecion proved a bit shaky?

Just the "Omaru-Finalist" coming true would wreck them. If the other one came true as well...

The SwordBet Manager shuddered.

Meanwhile, in the respawn point, Seigetsu stared at the ground in utter bewilderment, but he was able to recollect his wits faster than Daru’s previous opponents.

It seemed that his boss indeed knew better than he did.

His task was to draw out more of Omaru’s abilities for his boss to analyze, which meant that he was being ordered to be mere cannon fodder.

He, an A-ranker, a sacrificial lamb to an F-ranker? Wasn’t Skylar underestimating him too much?

As it turned out, however, the young tyrant wasn’t.

This Omaru was a legitimate threat. Remembering the F-ranker’s silence, Seigetsu gritted his teeth.

The bastard, too, didn’t think he was of too much significance.

’Bastards!!’ the A-ranker cursed inwardly as he exited the competition area and made his way over to the reserved seats for the defeated competitors.

While he harbored a bit of resentment towards his boss, Seigetsu hated Omaru more. He wanted to witness him being toyed with by Skylar.

He could accept being inferior to an SS-ranker, but not a lowly F-ranker, even if that F-ranker defeated him.

If this Omaru was really an F-ranker, he would hit his ceiling soon, and Seigetsu would have his revenge then.

One of Omaru’s lives would be enough to satiate his hatred.

Daru, oblivious to the thoughts of his vanquished foe, had already returned to his seat, glancing at Iris’ station.

’I hope she arrives soon.’

Today’s schedule was very lax, as there were way fewer matches compared to the first day. So, Nathalie decided to take things as slowly as she could, subtly keeping track of Edelweiss’ arrival.

They could only wait for her until the last match of the Round of 32, after all.

Still, zero progress was unacceptable, so the next match got underway not too long after the spicy appetizer.

The A-rankers slashed at each other’s futures, cutting soft ceilings on their foes’ achievements.

One’s run would end for another to continue.

With every match that concluded, a brighter future was decided, and a spot in the illustrious top 16 was occupied.

Around four matches later, Cody was called.

His eyes were a molten lava of determination and a lethal blade of focus as he ascended the main stage. Across from him stood his opponent.

Solbrand’s eyes reflected resolve, too, but his wasn’t as whole as Cody’s.

He had been watching Cody Han’s matches since earlier, knowing they were bound to clash, and since he couldn’t find any significant weakness he could exploit, Solbrand was a bit intimidated.

He fancied himself slightly superior. Suddenly finding the battle uphill triggered his nerves, though most of it was because he was unwilling to be on the receiving end of an "upset".

If only mere unwillingness were enough... 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Unfortunately, in a battle of blades, the sharper one usually ended up victorious, and it was clear from the moment the two competitors ascended the stage which among them was sharper.

Cody had rid himself of unnecessary thoughts; Solbrand had not.

The instant the referee pulled his hand skyward, the difference was made clear.

Alopecion’s underling hid the creeping unease through aggression, attempting to overwhelm his opponent using quantity.

He even invested his Sword Skills quite early to get Cody’s composure to break.

Only, the longer his foe calmly dealt with his attacks, seemingly content to absorb his aggression, the more Solbrand lost his cool.

He felt it instinctively — everything about Cody — he hated it...because it reeked of his defeat.

Solbrand tried to calm himself down and copy his opponent’s calmness, but how could mere imitation be able to compare?

Not to mention, he was truly frustrated deep inside, and his composed exterior was but a meaningless shell.

The only thing Solbrand’s aggression did was ruin his mental state and his stamina expenditure.

The longer the battle lasted, the more compelled to rush things he felt, as he knew he was bound to run out of steam first.

He had to finish Cody Han off, and fast!