Ora Ora!

Character: Harrot

Level: 5 Defense: 30

HP: 52/52

Strength 21, Agility 11 -1 (Equipment Burden), Intelligence 9, Charisma 7

Skill *Power Strike* Lv. 6

Running Lv. 3, *Weapon Mastery* Lv. 3

*Inventory Management* Lv. 1

*Heavy Strike* *Light Strike*

Two-Handed *Weapon Proficiency*: 130

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Although Harrot's battles and training over the past few days had not raised him another level, his Weapon Proficiency had improved tremendously.

He had already read 95% of the "Sword Fighting Manual." He would soon finish it completely and gain 1 point in Weapon Mastery.

He had also more or less mastered the "Dragon Slaying Sword Art" and could instinctively use its moves. It was a massive improvement over his previous wild attacks.

After warming up, Harrot quietly waited for his turn at one of the Gladiatorial Arena's entrances.

The Bald Man did not disturb Harrot. He merely replaced Harrot's sword with a sharper greatsword.

That would have broken the rules when fighting other gladiators, but when facing magical beasts, there was no need to care about such details.

Although quite a few spectators found Man-Beast Combat too cruel to watch, it was still generally popular. And today, the famed "War God" Harrot would face a magical beast alone. How could anyone miss such an exciting battle?

The stands were nearly full, and even several young nobles had come, eagerly anticipating today's gladiatorial match.

The host had already begun warming up the crowd, shouting through a horn, "Magical beasts have always been synonymous with terror and power! And today, our War God Harrot will challenge a powerful and terrifying magical beast all by himself!"

The iron gate before Harrot opened. This time, he would enter first. It seemed people generally believed the magical beast was stronger than him, the so-called War God.

There was an unwritten rule in the Gladiatorial Arena: the weaker side entered first.

Today, Harrot no longer had the calm composure he had shown in previous matches. He ignored the host's nonsense and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to adjust his state.

Before long, he heard the host shout, "The magical beast takes the stage!"

The iron gate at an entrance across the arena from Harrot opened, and an enormous "hyena" charged out.

The Bald Man's claim that it was "not very large" was only relative to other magical beasts. But for a "hyena," this thing was absurdly huge—over a meter tall and more than three meters long!

The hyena magical beast had blood-red eyes. It fixed its gaze on Harrot, the closest target, and charged toward him with a roar.

It had not eaten for several days. Starving with hunger, it immediately began hunting the moment it saw its "prey."

This magical beast isn't that big. As long as I can deal with its magic, I can win! Harrot encouraged himself inwardly.

Harrot stared intently at the charging magical beast, not daring to relax in the slightest. Magical beasts usually made obvious movements before casting magic, so preparing to dodge in advance would make it easier to evade the attack.

When the hyena came within roughly ten meters of Harrot, it suddenly stopped and opened its jaws wide, as if it were about to spit something out.

Here it comes. Harrot hurriedly widened his eyes and watched for any movement. What kind of magic will it be?

The magical beasts bought by the Gladiatorial Arena were not particularly strong. One reason was the difficulty of capturing and imprisoning them; another was the need to ensure the audience's safety. The arena walls could not contain overly powerful magical beasts.

Harrot stared fixedly at the hyena magical beast, his mind racing. Fireball? Ice arrow? Stone spike? Wind blade?

Humans in this world could not learn or master magic, and there had been little research into it.

The Bald Man only knew that magic roughly fell into four types—earth, water, fire, and wind—and had information on the four most basic and common spells. He knew very little about higher-level magic.

However, most magical beasts the Gladiatorial Arena had purchased before only knew those four common basic spells, so Harrot could only judge based on that.

Yet something that horrified Harrot happened. The hyena magical beast did not use one of those four basic spells!

A pale green, semi-transparent whirlwind swept toward Harrot.

The whirlwind was enormous, more than five meters tall and over four meters wide. It was also incredibly fast. Wind Magic was the fastest among the four types of magic!

Even with 10 points of Agility and Lv. 3 Running, Harrot was still too slow to dodge.

I can't dodge it! I can only take it head-on. I hope that +30 Defense holds up! In his desperation, Harrot raised both hands to shield his head and took the spell head-on.

The gale tore at Harrot's body like countless small blades slicing through his skin. In an instant, his body was covered in wounds.

"Aaaahhh!" The whirlwind continued to envelop Harrot, spinning and cutting without end. It made him feel as though he had been thrown into a meat grinder. The intense pain made him scream miserably; death by a thousand cuts was nothing compared to this.

After enduring it for several seconds, the wind stopped. Covered in blood, Harrot collapsed to the ground in a miserable state. There was not even a palm-sized patch of intact skin left on his body.

Harrot's greatsword had long since flown somewhere unknown. Blood poured from countless wounds, staining the ground around him red.

He looked like he only had half a breath left. Forget continuing the battle—he probably could not even stand.

The audience was stunned by the sight. They had thought that even if Harrot, their War God, was no match for the magical beast, he should at least have held out for a while. How could he be instantly defeated without any resistance at all?

The hyena magical beast let out several cruel roars and smugly strode toward the "incapacitated" Harrot. It was about to begin its "meal"!

"By the sun, this can't be real!"

"This is too cruel! Can a single person really fight a magical beast like this?"

"Get up! Don't give up just like that!"

The audience shouted fiercely, utterly unable to accept such an ending.

Harrot remained motionless on the ground while the hyena magical beast drew closer and closer.

Quite a few spectators with weaker nerves could not help closing their eyes. Even the "fans" who had been cheering Harrot on felt despair, and their cries gradually died away.

Scarface sneered wickedly. "Hahaha! You wouldn't show me any respect, so this is what you get for resisting me!"

The Bald Man was also greatly alarmed when he saw Harrot struck by that unknown and powerful magic. He barely managed to restrain the urge to rush in and save him.

Although he cared deeply about Harrot, the rules of the Gladiatorial Arena could not be broken. If he were transferred away by the Count because of an impulsive act, Scarface would only oppress the other gladiators even more viciously.

At this moment, he could only place his hopes on Harrot's terrifying vitality. After all, Harrot had survived a troll's hands!

But what about Harrot? What was his condition now?

Harrot's mind was exceptionally clear, but he was incredibly tense. He only had 20 HP left! 20/52!

The power of that spell had far exceeded Harrot's expectations. He had thought that with the "+30 Golden Bell Shield" protecting him, he would not be seriously injured.

After all, though the whirlwind was a magical attack, its effect resembled physical damage from blades cutting into him, and his "+30 Defense" could reduce that damage.

The whirlwind's slicing came from all directions and struck repeatedly. Logically, it should have been perfectly countered by Harrot's Golden Bell Shield. After all, 30 Defense was equivalent to slightly thinner chainmail. The tiny wind blades might have been sharp, but they lacked force.

Unfortunately, magic's power was simply unreasonable. The 30 Defense could not block all the damage, and Harrot was still severely injured.

His HP had dropped by 32 points in one go, leaving him with only 20 out of 52. Thanks to his semi-datafied body, Harrot still retained full combat strength.

But who knew whether that magical beast could cast another spell? Twenty HP was not enough to withstand another hit. Harrot hurriedly played dead on the ground, hoping to fool it.

The hyena magical beast was not particularly intelligent, and it had great confidence in its own magic.

It did not believe Harrot could still resist after taking that magical attack, so it confidently walked toward the "dying" Harrot.

This "whirlwind magic" was fast, covered a huge area, and was extremely difficult to evade. Once it hit, its spinning cuts had outrageously lethal power. It truly was hard to imagine anyone enduring it head-on!

If anyone else had taken that attack, even the immensely powerful Bald Man, they would have been sliced directly into minced meat!

No matter how strong the Bald Man was, he did not have invisible armor protecting him like Harrot did. No matter how tough his muscles were, they could not withstand the cutting of magical wind blades.

Of course, that was only if he took it head-on. In an actual fight, the Bald Man's reactions and speed gave him a chance of dodging the spell.

The hyena magical beast reached Harrot's side, opened its jaws wide, and bit toward Harrot's throat, ready to finish off this tenacious enemy.

Suddenly, Harrot sprang up. He raised his left hand to block the hyena's bite, while his other fist slammed into its stomach.

Though the hyena magical beast possessed powerful magic, its physical abilities were limited. Its bite force was not terrifying, and it had no chance of biting through Harrot's arm while the Golden Bell Shield protected him.

As for Harrot, with 21 points of immense strength, Lv. 6 Power Strike, and the amplification of Heavy Strike, that one punch broke one or two of the hyena's bones.

The hyena released Harrot's mouth in pain and tried to retreat so it could cast magic again. It felt Harrot's strength was too great and no longer dared to fight him at close range.

How could Harrot give it that chance? He lunged forward, dragged the hyena back, ignored its counterattacks entirely, and wildly hammered it with his fists.

Countless wounds on Harrot's body burst open again from his intense movements. His entire body felt itchy and painful, and he could not help crying out. He simply roared as he punched the magical beast before him.

"Ora ora ora! Ora ora ora..."

For no reason, Harrot thought of the word "ora." It had been a line he particularly liked in his previous life, so he simply borrowed it now.

The hyena magical beast had never encountered such a vicious enemy before. Its spirit was instantly crushed, and Harrot's iron fists battered it until it staggered on the verge of collapse.

"Ora ora ora..."

Harrot felt that the beating was not satisfying enough, so he grabbed the hyena, hurled it into the air, and kept punching it so it could not fall.

The hyena's head, stomach, chest, and limbs all suffered Harrot's heavy blows. Blood burst from its entire body, and it could no longer resist.

"Ora ora ora..."

The "+30 Armor" was extraordinarily effective in close combat, greatly mitigating the recoil from his attacks. Even when his fists struck the hyena's hard bones, they suffered no damage at all. It had somewhat of the feel of "Armament Haki."

Despite the agonizing pain throughout his body, Harrot performed beyond his limits. He threw punch after punch without pause, keeping the hyena bouncing up and down in the air for more than ten seconds.

When he finally stopped and allowed the hyena to fall to the ground, the terrifyingly powerful magical beast was completely dead. Its body had been beaten into a pile of mush, with barely a few intact bones remaining.

If dog lovers from his previous life had seen this, they would have lodged serious protests and condemnations!

Unfortunately, there were no "condemnation lovers" in this other world. Every spectator cheered wildly for Harrot and showered him with rewards.

They had witnessed Harrot take that terrifying magical attack head-on, collapse to the ground covered in blood, then rise again and use his badly wounded body to beat the magical beast to death. It was a heroic feat.

Although the gladiatorial match had been extremely brief, ending in less than two minutes, it still left the audience boiling with excitement. Many spectators continued shouting, "Ora ora!"