At the golem competition site, the was about to take place.

In a simulation, each side decides who is the best without destroying the other.

That's what it's about. Weapons and armor are made to order. The weapons are custom-made, made of specially treated wood.

Mr. Tolf, I assume you have some kind of armor as well?

Of course. The armor is made of specially treated leather that changes color when the weapon strikes it.

I see. So if it gets colored, you lose?

That's the short version. Very simple rules.

Also, magic is not forbidden, but you don't get points for it.

So it's a contest of martial arts?

"I see. Interesting rule. ...... is to give priority to martial arts over magic."

I understood that if you get a blow, you lose.

"...... might use magic to check them when the situation calls for it."

Jin heard this and tried to envision the battle in his own way.

"But magic won't color the armor, will it? ...... What kind of principle does it have?"

I am also impressed by the interesting settings of armor and weapons.

"Are they impregnated with chemicals like pressure-sensitive paper?　No, but it would leave marks even if it were not a weapon, so I wonder if the chemicals soaked in the weapon and the armor react with each other to produce a color.

Jin tried to imagine a mechanism that would make the hit points colored.

Now, the mock battle is about to begin!　First, the preliminary round!　A group battle of many against many, divided into four blocks!　The winner of the preliminary round will participate in the main tournament!

Since there are 38 competitors, 9 or 10 of them will be fighting at the same time.

In short, a battle royal, Jin imagined.

"...... In that case, I think the theory was to attack the strongest opponent by gathering the rest of the competitors together."

Erza responded to Jin's soliloquy.

"I think that's not fair.

"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it, but it's not a battle between knight and knight. It's not a one-on-one battle, it's a survival game.

"......It's true, maybe."

Erza is not familiar with this kind of martial arts, so it is not surprising that she has such an opinion.

"It's more of a strategy, or a tactic, if you will.

"I understand the theory, but..."

The point seems to be, why did they take such a way to decide who is the "strong one"?

From that point of view, it is not hard to understand.

"Indeed. In a battle royal, there is a possibility that the strongest person will be eliminated.

"That's what I mean."

Since this was a policy of the tournament management, Jin could not comment on it.

While we were talking, the preliminary round of the battle royal was underway.

The battles that took place in the area that was divided into circles were not in the form that Jin had expected, but were simple melee battles.

In the first group of qualifiers, two players, No. 1<> and No. 16<>, remained until the end, In a one-on-one fight, <> was killed and the game ended.

In the second group, number 2 <> had overwhelmed the other golems with his speed and was finished.

In the third group, the final battle was between No. 35<> and No. 40<>.

"Oh, that one hasn't been decided yet, has it?"

Jin was intrigued to see the battle projected on the huge <.

< and are heavy warrior types.

However, in the record of 500m run, <<> is ahead by 3 seconds.

That is, the difference in basic performance.

In the third group of qualifiers, the last two remaining competitors are engaged in a fierce battle!

It's a great battle between the two finalists in the third qualifying round! Neither of them is giving an inch!

In the eyes of the MC and the commentators, they may have looked evenly matched, but from Jin's point of view, there was still plenty of power left in the hands of Altkrieger.

Finally, Donald's <> shows one of his seriousness. He increases his speed by one step.

The <> had the balance and skill to turn power into speed.

In a battle that seemed evenly matched, Altkrieger's cleave hit the Iron Warrior's torso.

A red streak was clearly left there.

He was still strong!　The winner of the third group of qualifiers is number 40, Altkrieger!

The audience, who were watching the great match on the magic screen, gave a hearty round of applause.

Then came the fourth group, number 41, with <>.

Surprisingly, there were still three <> left in this group after the hotly contested third group had ended.

Of course, one of them was <>. And numbers 15 and 29. Both of them were the top 10 ranked players in yesterday's total.

(......)

Jin was convinced that his guess was correct.

(Priority is given to learning the opponent's techniques.)

Number 41 was trying to learn as much as possible of his opponent's fighting techniques while cutting corners to the extent that he would not lose.

As he had expected, the fighting behavior of No. 41 was visibly changing compared to that of the beginning of the preliminary round.

At first, he was serious at best and inflexible at worst, but as he eliminated one or two opponents, his moves improved rapidly.

I can say that I became able to cope with irregular attacks.

Or should I say that they have learned to respond outside of the manual?

I guess we are learning after all.

"...... brother Jin, that golem has an incredibly wide range of motion in its joints."

Erza also mentioned her observations.

"Yes, that's true.

Jin thought that it might not even be an endoskeleton.

In the case of an endoskeleton, the range of motion of limbs and other parts is determined by the joint settings.

The same is true for an exoskeleton.

However, <> is different.

It can bend anywhere, and there is no limit to how it bends.

However, there is no <> that supports such a movement, so you have to build it yourself.

"......I guess that's it. ......"

Jin thought that there was no doubt about the purpose of No. 41's participation in this golem competition (gompetition) by using the forced method of jumping into the competition.

"But the ultimate purpose is still a mystery. ......

Even if they literally completed a golem with <>, what they want to do with it and what they intend to do with it is not clear.

"It would be different from a sales pitch. ......"

If that is the case, they could have made a lot of money if they had sold it to Count Galana, as was reported.

Since he did not do so, we can assume that he came here for something else, not for money.

"Is it honor, after all, or ......?"

When Jin thought about it, he heard a loud cheer.

Number 41<> had won the fourth group.

"Ah, it's over. Next is the main draw.

Well, the four finalists have been decided!

I guess it's a foregone conclusion. I'm looking forward to it.

Erich Ziffro's Stahlritter, Jarui Dahle's Zabelaar, Donald's Altkrieger, and Jix's < at No.41 will fight in the main tournament.

But it is almost lunch time.

After a short lunch break, the main battle will begin in the afternoon!

* * * *

"Father, the old man has called."

Reiko whispered to Jin as he got up from the judges' table.

"It seems to be quite urgent."

"I understand."

Jin pretended to go to the restroom and contacted the "Mere Old Man" in a deserted corner.

Reiko is on the lookout for him and Elsa is ready to listen to what he has to say.

It's me, the old man. Is something wrong?

<

The old man briefly explained that the carriage in which Vivienne and Lecole had collided with the carriage was loaded with the .