Special Training

Group 7's small venue was in an uproar. If not for a group of burly men maintaining order, some spectators might have jumped in and beaten up that tall, thin young contestant who was still standing there in a daze. After all, losing so cleanly to a child was simply too outrageous.

"Great!"

Unlike the furious spectators, Nahash and the other children clenched their fists, their faces filled with delight.

Just from the first match alone, they had won over twenty days' worth of meal money.

"Split up and collect the money, then get ready to bet on Big Brother's second match."

Nahash acted as the gambling commander, while Akame, Kurome, and the others split up to place bets on Big Brother winning. Before the Gambling House closed betting, they also spread rumors that some fool was betting on the Dark Horse, getting more people to bet on Big Brother's opponent instead.

Half an hour later, in Group 7's round of twenty-four to twelve, Broly once again easily defeated his opponent. This time, it was a young man wearing red boxing gloves. Whenever he threw a punch, the howling Punch Wind from his fists could be heard.

Unfortunately, Broly easily blocked his punch, grabbed him, and tossed him straight out of the ring, eliminating him. Once again, cries and curses erupted from Group 7's small venue.

"Damn it, why is it like this again?!"

"Bastard, I refuse to believe a Kid can breeze through the Preliminary Round without any obstacles!"

"Wait, could that Little One, number 48, really be a Dark Horse?"

Another half hour passed. As the twelve-to-six matches began, Broly once again threw out an opponent who had not underestimated him, but whose Strength Gap with him was simply too great. The way some people looked at him began to change.

Especially after news came from the First Venue and Fifth Venue that seed contestants favored by various merchant groups had been eliminated in the Preliminary Round by two other children, the spectators at the Seventh Venue all stared intensely at Broly, who was sitting on the ground at the edge of the venue to rest. They believed he was the Seventh Venue's greatest Dark Horse.

"This is bad, Broly Big Brother."

Broly was sitting at the edge of the venue, bored as he waited for the next match he could finish in one move, when he suddenly heard Nahash's voice from behind him.

"What is it? What happened?"

Broly turned around and asked.

"Everyone thinks you're a Dark Horse now, Big Brother. No one is betting on your opponent to win."

Nahash said with a bitter expression.

"Uh, what's wrong with that?"

Broly had not caught on yet.

"We can't earn meal money anymore."

Nahash stated it succinctly.

"What?!"

Broly's eyes widened, and he felt as though happiness had vanished in that instant.

"Big Brother, it's fine. I have an idea."

Cornelia spoke up then.

"What idea?"

"Come closer. I'll tell you quietly."

They were in the venue, after all. Some things could not be said loudly in public.

Broly jumped onto the spectator stands, then leaned over the edge to listen to Cornelia's idea.

"Like this, and then like that. Big Brother, do you understand?"

Cornelia whispered into Broly's ear, then asked after explaining her plan.

"Mm, I understand."

Broly thought about it and nodded. Cornelia's idea was basically about baiting people into taking the hook.

In the six-to-three round, Broly's opponent was a Scar-faced Big Man. The man had a wild, fierce aura about him, and the Old Wounds exposed across his chest and arms showed that he was someone with extensive combat experience.

The man did not underestimate Broly just because his opponent was a child. In fact, those who had made it to the fourth round of the Preliminary Round had basically already eliminated all the lucky contestants.

This time, Broly did not solve his opponent as easily as he had in the first three matches. Instead, he struggled greatly as he fought him.

That's right, he had to struggle greatly just to fight the opponent before him. He had to control his strength while also making it look like he was already giving it everything he had. For someone with such terrifying power, that was truly a rather difficult task.

The man threw a punch. Broly made a blocking motion, and the man's fist was easily stopped by him.

But after a brief pause, Broly himself flew backward, rolling several times across the ground before barely stopping at the edge of the ring.

After getting back up, the young Saiyan recited with great emotion, "What an amazing punch. I actually couldn't block it. I nearly fell out of the ring and got eliminated."

In the spectator stands, Mine: "..."

That acting was utterly awful.

"As expected of Broly Big Brother! He could even block such a powerful punch."

Beside her, a group of children shouted.

"No, what are you all doing? How could anyone possibly believe this?"

Mine said in a lowered voice. She truly could not stand that ridiculously exaggerated acting any longer.

"Damn, so he isn't a Dark Horse. He just got weak opponents in the first three rounds. I even bet on him winning this time!"

Yet a spectator nearby actually cursed aloud, leaving Mine dumbfounded.

No, you actually believed such exaggerated acting?!

Mine's expression practically had those words written all over it.

"Go, Broly Big Brother!"

Kurome shouted, and her cry immediately roused the boy on the stage.

After being knocked down three times and getting back up three times, stirring the surrounding spectators until they gradually began chanting for him to defeat his opponent, Broly finally threw a difficult punch and sent his opponent flying out of the ring.

"Ah, what an incredibly thrilling match! Although Contestant 48 was somewhat lacking in strength, he relied on tenacious endurance and willpower to defeat Contestant 7. Let us congratulate Contestant 48 on this victory."

Broly looked completely out of breath, yet not a single drop of sweat trickled from his forehead. If not for how filthy he was and the footprints all over him, no one would have believed he had just gone through a grueling battle.

"The three-to-one match will be tomorrow. Rest well tonight and strive to qualify tomorrow."

Seeing Broly's bedraggled state, the referee knew just how powerful the other two opponents fighting for a place in the Qualifying Round tomorrow were. Though he did not think highly of this child who had reached the Fifth Round through luck and a bit of strength, he still offered Broly some encouragement.

"Okay. I'll definitely qualify."

Broly said with certainty. Aside from a few footprints and his dirty appearance, he had not suffered a single injury.

Which was only natural. He was a Saiyan, after all.

"So, everyone, wasn't my act of looking weak pretty good?"

After leaving the venue and meeting up with the other children, Broly asked.

"It was absolutely amazing, Broly Big Brother! Especially when you got knocked down the third time—I even saw someone in the stands tearing up the betting slip they'd used to bet on you winning."

"But after you knocked down your opponent at the end, that person was rather pathetically bent over on the ground, searching for the slip they'd torn up."

The children laughed. Anyone who dared look down on their big brother deserved to be a little embarrassed.

"Broly Big Brother, after you acted weak in the fourth match today, not many people will bet on you winning in tomorrow's two Promotion Matches. As long as you keep acting weak then, we'll definitely make even more money."

Cornelia said.

"What a pity. In the fourth match today, so many people bet on you winning, Big Brother. We put all our money on you, but we still earned less than we did in the earlier matches."

Nahash sounded regretful.

"There's nothing we can do about that. After losing so many times, the bettors aren't idiots."

Akame had noticed during the third match that people no longer believed there were fools willing to gamble on a Dark Horse. Instead, they increasingly believed Broly truly was that Dark Horse, and the betting trend had shifted from his opponents to Broly himself.

"I think that if you really plan to use the exaggerated acting you showed in the final match today tomorrow, people will definitely see through it."

Mine rubbed her forehead. While many naïve spectators had believed their exaggerated performance, she had also noticed other audience members wearing disdainful expressions, their mouths twitching. Clearly, those people could tell they were being fooled.

Of course, they might not be certain yet, but after seeing it another one or two times, they definitely would be. And the truly major betting opportunities would only come after they entered the Qualifying Round.

"Then what do we do?"

Once Mine explained what she had observed from people's expressions, Akame, Kurome, and the others could no longer remain calm. Whether they could earn more money would determine their future quality of life, so they immediately turned to Mine. During their time together, they had all learned that Mine was a Girl with ideas.

"It's simple. We need to improve our acting—especially Big Brother's acting." Mine put her hands on her hips, then raised a hand and pointed at Broly. "When you acted weak just now, whether it was the way you flew away or the things you said when getting back up, it was all too fake."

"But my opponent really was weak. If I hadn't rolled away myself, he couldn't have sent me flying at all."

Broly defended himself.

"That's exactly why you need Special Training. You need to make your weak appearance look more real!"

As a mixed-blood of a Different Race, Mine had once learned acting on her own in order to survive.

Perhaps she was not a professional, but she was still better than the children here—better than Broly.

"Tonight, we'll begin Special Training!"

She said.