Conan: I'm just an ordinary novelist

Chapter 271 The Best and Worst Times

Yun Xianhe pointed at himself, looking a little confused.

Seeing that he seemed not convinced, Wu Qi laughed.

Wu Yi on the opposite side felt helpless about his brother's bad taste, and turned to Yun Xianhe and said:

"Don't listen to Wu Qi. The age limit for the Little Warriors is under 12 years old. Just sign up for the normal Warriors Battle, Xianhe."

"The winner can choose any item from the city lord's treasury as a reward, but winning is not easy."

Wu Qi didn't say it explicitly, but Hiroki could hear the implicit meaning in his words.

In their eyes, the frail Yun Xianhe was obviously not a candidate for the championship.

Yun Xianhe smiled and did not argue. He ate while listening to the other party explaining some precautions of the competition. His eyes looked 'clear and stupid'.

Brainy? Why do you look not so smart?

Wu Qi was worried.

"The winner of a competition is determined by one party's inability to move. Injuries and the like are commonplace, but generally no one will die, unless two people are determined to fight to the death."

Wu Yi spoke in great detail, as if he was instructing his own younger generation.

Yun Xianhe glanced at the faint scar on the other person's arm. Without asking any questions, he silently drank the sparkling water and acted like an honest 'newbie'.

Hiroki, who was standing next to him, had memorized the entire process, his hands tightly grasping the strap of his shoulder bag.

After two months of learning adventurer skills, it’s time to test the results in three days!

"Brother, you have to work hard."

The sudden encouragement made Hiroki stunned for a moment.

He turned around and looked at Yun Xianhe who was raising his glass as if to invite him, and quickly raised his glass to clink with the other's.

The brave man smiled after receiving the response, and drank the sparkling water in the cup generously.

"Come on, little guys!"

"Good luck to you."

The two brothers Wu Qi and Wu Yi at the next table also raised their glasses to them, just like they were treating travelers who had visited this place in the past.

"Thank you."

"I hope you won't be scared by us then."

Yun Xianhe added this sentence, his heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses, hiding the evil taste in them.

"Hahaha! Let's talk about it after you pass the first day of preliminaries! By the way, if you want to participate in the competition, remember to prepare some good weapons."

At this point, Wu Qi looked around and added in a low voice:

"Go to the shop in the east of the city to buy long swords. They are cheap."

Hearing this, Hongshu paused and looked at Yun Xianhe with a strange expression.

The latter shrugged:

"Compared to the market price, that one is indeed expensive. After you sign up, I'll take you to choose your weapon."

"it is good."

After a meal, Yun Xianhe led Hongshu towards the city center.

According to Wu Qi and the others, the registration location for the gladiatorial contest is right at the entrance of the arena in the city center.

"Hello, let's sign up."

The guard in charge of matters sitting behind the long table looked up at Yun Xianhe and Hongshu, and pointed at the parchment placed at the corner of the table.

"It's a traveler. Fill out the form, roll it up and put it in the corresponding box over there. The battle list will be announced the day after tomorrow."

Yun Xianhe filled out his own first and threw it into the box in the advanced arena.

The guard just glanced and said nothing.

Every year there are young adventurers like this who want to compete with the veteran players, but you’ll know when you get beaten.

Hiroki filled out the form and put it in the box at the Little Warriors Arena.

The rules of the game have been completely changed, and he doesn't think that Yun Xianhe's creation can easily pass the level.

"The next step is to buy you a handy weapon."

The two walked on the street. There were quite a few weapon shops on both sides, but Yun Xianhe had no intention of stopping.

It seems like you look down on it?

"Let me think about it... Your stature, grip strength, and dominant hand... A novice sword is definitely not an option. Do I have to buy you a weapon suitable for mages?"

"…Should I bring that scimitar?"

"That material works with the pirates, but not here. It gets cut with one strike."

Hiroki was silent for a while.

Are the sea and the land two different worldview settings?

That’s right, it seems like there are adventurers everywhere here.

"Have it!"

Yun Xianhe's eyes lit up when he suddenly remembered a kind of long sword. He led Hongshu through twists and turns into a relatively dark alley.

The hustle and bustle of the main street was gradually swallowed up by the silence of the alley.

The narrow beam of light from overhead could not dispel the chill in the alley, but there was no musty smell in the air.

The dry cold air made Hiroki shiver, and he became more curious about the shops around him that had signs saying 'open' but seemed to have closed down again.

"where are we going?"

“A hidden century-old shop——”

When, when, when...

A regular sound of blacksmithing came from a distance.

At the end of the alley, a small house with white stone and black tiles sits in the sun. A huge stove is burning in the shed on the side, and the orange-red flames are extremely dazzling.

In the shed, a shirtless man was swinging a big hammer and smashing the mineral blocks.

At least from the flying blue sparks, Hiroki couldn't tell what the material was.

"Boss, I want a Morning Wind Sword."

when,

The sound of the hammer falling paused.

The man looked up at Yun Xianhe, and after just a glance, his gaze fell on Hongshu next to him.

The pair of obsidian eyes that shone in the firelight were very cold, not the threatening kind of coldness, but just as deep and damp as a mine.

"Go inside, there are two shelves on the second row on the right, choose your own size."

After saying that, the man continued to smash the mineral block in his hand.

Hiroki always felt that he seemed to have heard a scream from the blue stone just now. Was it an illusion?

"Okay. Let's go and look at your weapons."

Without waiting for Hongshu to think about it, Yun Xianhe pushed him into the house.

The weapon shop is more spacious than it looks from the outside, and with the large glazed windows installed all around it, the whole house seems very bright.

Various weapons were displayed on black wooden racks, shining brightly in the sun.

Yun Xianhe brought Hongshu to the second row of shelves and considerately lifted him up so that he could look directly at the Morning Breeze Sword placed on the upper two layers.

"This sword is lightweight and highly resilient. It won't break even when facing a heavy sword. It's very suitable for beginner adventurers with little strength."

"...I understand. How about you put me down first?"

"Don't you want to take a closer look?"

"Hmm...if you take it off I can probably see it, too?"

Seeing Hongshu who seemed to be unwell all over, Yun Xianhe put him down with understanding.

He took a handful of Morning Breeze and stuffed it into the other person's hand, muttering:

"Don't you like lifting high when you grow up? Conan likes it very much. Let's ask Hattori to try next time?"

Conan and Hattori in another virtual world sneezed at the same time.

Hiroki lowered his head and carefully looked at the sword in his hand, trying hard to ignore the mumbling of a certain unfocused hero.

"...Ahem! I think I need a slightly longer one."

"okay!"

After trying five or six swords in a row, and briefly trying other types of swords, Hiroki finally picked up a Morning Breeze Sword.

The two walked out of the store. Hongshu looked at Yun Xianhe who was paying and asked:

"Don't you need it?"

"Ok?"

When asked, Yun Xianhe looked down at Hongshu and chuckled:

"I do."

"The hero's personal sword?"

When Hongshu said this, the shop owner, the blacksmith from before, looked at Yun Xianhe hesitantly.

Hiroki froze when he noticed this change, and then realized belatedly that he seemed to have said something extra.

The atmosphere at the scene was a little subtle for a moment.

Just as Hiroki was about to use the Noah's Ark system to change the current character's memory, the man spoke:

"There are no heroes in this world, and there has never been a sword exclusively for heroes. You can't lift a regular warrior sword."

Hiroki, who indeed couldn't lift it, choked.

The man seemed not to notice that his words had hit a certain little adventurer.

His voice was calm, just stating the established facts:

"Shangshi City is a paradise for adventurers. The gladiatorial contest is to select brave warriors among the adventurers. If you pass, you can get a place to study in the Central City. There is an altar there that can test the qualifications of a brave warrior."

"Wait, you said there are no heroes?"

Hiroki was stunned.

Yun Xianhe, who was standing by, rubbed his head twice with a light laugh and said casually:

"Yes, this is an era where the brave have not yet been born."

“The best and worst of times.”