Day two of the tournament, rounds four through seven. In the fourth round, I faced off against a C rank, winning despite my being blindfolded, but the fifth round...

"Well, Nene has been showing us that an adventurer's strength can't be judged by just rank alone, and she's been non-stop winning hands-down, despite a new handicap every round, ever since she entered. But folks, I wonder if that streak is going to end now, as she is up against the winner of the last 16 tournaments, it's Erufanica's top S ranked adventurer, the [Sword of Frozen Starlight], ASTRA! Her mithril greatsword is EXTREMELY sharp, it's REALLY fast, and it's VERY strong. Place your bets, we have a fight!" (Announcer)

"I'll give you a chance to surren-" (Astra)

"Don't waste your breath. I look forward to fighting you, I want to know how strong an S rank is in this country. Besides, I have a 177 to 0 win/loss record against the S ranked [Impartial Flame] Douglas from my home country, so... I think I'll win. Mind if I grab one of my swords? I want to see which is stronger, your mithril greatsword, or my Dragon Fang" (Nene)

"Sure, go ahead... What's it made from? A Dragon's fang?" (Astra)

"No, it's made from my grandfather's teeth... Of course it's made from a Dragon's fang" (Nene)

I pulled out a bone-white blade, while her pale bluish silver sword seemed to dwarf mine in size, with an almost glass-like quality. At the signal, we dashed towards each other, and I blocked her two-handed strike with my sword, held in one hand, my other hand free, claws extended, when my sword broke. I quickly grabbed her blade with my hand, my claws digging into her blade, before I tightened my grip further and shattered her sword.

"I give up. I no longer have any way to attack Nene" (Astra)

"Sorry, I didn't mean to break your sword completely, you can have one of my many swords to replace it. Come by the east training field to pick one out after today's matches are over" (Nene)

"Really? You don't have to do that. I knew that I risked my equipment getting damaged irreparably when I signed up for this, and I can get another on my own easily" (Astra)

"Yeah, but... I have more than I think I'll ever be able to get rid of, despite my lifespan of several tens of millennia, and as it's my own fault for not keeping my strength in check, I would feel bad for making you have to spend more than some families would ever earn to replace it if I didn't do anything to make up for it" (Nene)

"Sorry, did I hear that right? Did you say you'll live for thousands of years? What are you? A Demon? Vampire? I don't know of any beastkin that can live that long..." (Astra)

"I'll tell you when you come pick up a sword, how about that?" (Nene)

"Oh right, sorry folks. I was stunned by what I saw. Nene just SHATTERED a MITHRIL sword with her BARE HANDS... Well, she was wearing some gauntlets, but... with her raw strength, she shattered a mithril sword. ASTRA LOST TO THE DARK HORSE OF THIS TOURNAMENT! WITH THIS, IT'S ALL BUT CERTAIN THAT NENE WILL TAKE FIRST PLACE!!! OK, who's the one sponsoring her... if she doesn't have one, she will by the end of the day, unless she doesn't want one at all... Ah, here we are... so, it's Earl - yep. Nene, I'll bet that Earl Faren Gramm is VERY pleased with his investments in regards to you!" (Announcer)

"Don't you know it!" (Gran, via my double casting of {Gate} to let him get his head into the announcer's room)

"Ah, speak and he shall appear! So, Earl Faren Gramm, tell us about the connection you have to Nene. How did you meet her, and how long ago? Will she be working for you after this tournament is over?" (Announcer)

"I met her when she was going to meet with one of my other friends to talk about escorting him and his daughter back to his own city after the birthday celebration... so, about a week ago? I plan to bring some work to her at times, but she's not going to be given a permanent position such as my personal guard or anything like that. She is an adventurer, she goes where she wills, and I don't want to tie her down. She's also a friend of the adventurer who saved my life while I was on my way to the capital, so I trust in her strength" (Gran)

"That's fair enough. Sounds like you haven't doubted that she would win since before this even started? For once, that kind of trust in a D rank underdog isn't misplaced at all, barring some sort of unexpected freak accident, but... I think Nene could come out from a Dragon attack unscathed" (Announcer)

"Well, I did win against a pair of Ancient Dragons on my own a few years back, so... you're not wrong" (Nene)

"Did I just hear what I think I heard? Nene has beaten, on her own, A PAIR OF ANCIENT DRAGONS, and that was BEFORE she registered" (Announcer)

"I'd like to point out that I have a few hundred Ancient Dragons as my summons, so..." (Nene)

"WHAT?!?! I DON'T - huh? Oh, sorry. We need to cut this now, the next match was supposed to start by now. Nene, please clear the field... and please, don't show them all off here at the same time... some people would have issues with seeing that many Dragons in one place, especially Ancient Dragons" (Announcer)

"I'd say that just about anyone would panic if they saw 265 Ancient and God Dragons in one place" (Nene)

"GOD DRAGONS?!?! DID YOU JUST SAY GOD DRA- I know! She's already leaving, so I'm not- oh right, I do have to introduce the next contestants... Sorry about that folks, next up, we have rank A's..." (Announcer)

My other matches for the day were against an A and a B rank, so nothing eventful happened. The next day, rounds eight through eleven, were where things got interesting. I would go up against three S ranks in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh rounds, also known as the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Two of them hadn't participated before, and the merc I went up against in round eight wasn't any worse than any of them. I still beat the first two without any problems though. My {BDT} had never been refilled, as it hadn't lost any of its magic power even going into the semifinals, a feat never before seen in the hundred-something year history of this annual tournament.

"Well, this is something I'd never thought I would say, but... Here we are, watching a 12 year old D rank fighting an S rank in the Semifinals, with betting odds 37 to 5 in favor of the D rank winning this fight, and 55 to 3 in her favor for winning the whole thing! She's gone through the entire tournament placing some type of handicap on herself each round, often using her opponent's specialty against them, sometimes in a more limited form, such as when she faced a summoner with only one out at a time, and no more than two total, as well as limiting herself to only dodging, and without magic to boot. Another example is when she challenged a master of ice magic while only being able to use ice magic herself. She also has tied her hands or feet together, or blindfolded herself. When asked why she does so, she said that, for her, the tournament is not about winning but about finding something that is challenging. Give it up for the [Draconic Empress], Nene! Up against her, we have the S rank who has, on his own, taken out an Ancient Dragon... wait, Nene topped that achievement... uh... Well, it's what he's known best for, so... It's the [Dragonslaying Fist], ZERO!!!" (Announcer)

"Hmmph. It really is true that looks can be deceiving. What will you do to restrict yourself as you fight me? Tie your hands together? Your feet?" (Zero)

"I'm going to make this fun. I won't use magic, I won't summon anything, and after I leave the ground as soon as the round starts, I won't touch the ground until I beat you" (Nene)

"You... Does that mean that you aim to win in one motion?" (Zero)

"No, I mean that will use my own body to fly, and my own body to attack you. Dragons do it, so why can't I? I am known as the [Draconic Empress] after all" (Nene)

"YOU HEARD IT HERE FOLKS, NENE SAYS SHE CAN FLY WITH SHEER MUSCLE POWER ALONE! SHE WON'T TOUCH THE GROUND, SHE WON'T USE MAGIC, SHE WON'T SUMMON ANYTHING. SHE PLANS TO WIN WITH JUST HER BODY!!! READY... BEGIN!!!" (Announcer)

With that one word, I shot into the air, and, punching and kicking the air, I started moving around as if I was flying through the air, changing direction wasn't perfect, but I could do it. I shoved a kick into his skull as I passed, and shaved off about 25% of his {BDT}. Soon after, I landed a punch on his shoulder, followed by another and a third, quickly reducing him to 50%. He landed a grazing punch to my cheek, and I lost 2% of my {BDT}. The crowd went wild at that tiny hit, but Zero kept getting pummeled, and he lost without getting to hit me again. I won, without touching the ground after I left it. That made the crowd grow even wilder, and the announcer became incomprehensible for a short while after I did so.

"WHAT NEXT? WILL WE SEE A D RANK WIN THE TOURNAMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY?! WHAT WILL SHE DO TO LIMIT HERSELF IN THE FINALS?!?!" (Announcer)

In the finals, I faced off against an S rank who uses a spear made of an unknown metal or metal alloy, and my method of limiting myself? I had my hands tied behind my back, my feet tied together, blindfolded, and not able to use any magic besides my Hoard. All I could do was use a spear with my mouth, and to use my Hoard to get a new one when needed. All in all, it was my hardest fight, and yet... one I had little trouble winning. My scales were impenetrable, and I could hear his movements, even though I couldn't see them. I lost another 7% of my {BDT}, as well as more than just a few of my spears, but... I wasn't satisfied with this fight that still posed little to no challenge to me. The crowd was satisfied, however, and the King pretended that he'd never met me before when we spoke during the closing ceremony. After the ceremony, I was almost immediately asked how I was so good at courtly behavior.

"Well, long story short... maybe too short, but... anyways, it's because of my parents. They were hoping that I could, one day, hold some kind of position in the palace, or perhaps that I could marry some nobleman's son. Sadly... The Empire is no more, the palace is gone, and there are no noblemen from the Empire still alive, so those hopes are moot. Hmm? Why am I only D rank? Sadly, they make you start at F rank" (Nene)

I answered more questions like that for about an hour, until I just said "OK, that's enough, I would like to have some time to myself, eat, and then sleep for a while. I'm going to be leaving on an escort quest tomorrow morning, so... it looks like I'm going to be saying goodbye to you all here. Sorry!" and used {Gate} after jumping to a nearby rooftop.