The wind spear was gone, but Slaraz remained dangerous.
With both hands, he formed a small vortex that began to grow. The air howled, pushing my round body slightly backward. Arena sand scattered into the air. The audience shielded their faces.
> "If I'm too light… I'll get blown away."
I spun rapidly, trying to roll lower to maintain balance. But this wind wasn't just a breeze. It was like an invisible wall trying to peel off my disguise.
Slaraz jumped, leaping into the vortex as if launched by wind, then dove straight toward me.
> "DIE, YOU ROTTEN EGG!"
**TCHAK!**
His foot slammed into my back. I was flung into the arena wall. Cracks began forming at the rear of my fake golem shell—not just the disguise, but a bit of my real shell, too.
> [Warning: Disguise layer weakening. Risk of exposure: 42%]
"Why do you keep fighting if you're not a stone monster?" he shouted.
I rolled back up. Didn't answer. Couldn't—not yet. I was preparing my last card: reflective stench.
I summoned foul gas from inside my shell. This time, not to attack directly, but to create a vortex of scattered scent—an aroma spiral to confuse direction.
> [Passive Skill: Misleading Aroma activated]
Slaraz froze.
"Huh? You… changed direction?"
He sniffed left, then right. But my stench was no longer centered. I had coated some small rocks with slime earlier and scattered them while rolling. Now, the smell spread randomly. He was disoriented.
I seized the moment—rushed behind him. But instead of ramming straight into him, I detached a piece of my golem disguise—a stone fragment filled with high-pressure gas.
> **BOOM!!**
A small explosion. Enough to blast Slaraz a few steps away. His eyebrow and nostril hairs were partly singed. He coughed, overwhelmed by the now-dominant stench filling the arena.
> "Y-You… damn monster…"
I reappeared from the other side, slamming into him at full speed. My roll hit his gut—not to injure, but to eject him from the arena.
Slaraz resisted, trying to brace himself with wind beneath his feet, but he slipped—thanks to the slime I had flung into the center of the vortex earlier.
> "GAH—!"
**CRACK!**
His body crossed the boundary and crashed outside.
> [Contestant 143-B wins.]
The audience fell silent for a moment. Then… the crowd erupted. They didn't understand what just happened, but they knew: the round stinky golem had won again—this time against a scent reader.
I slowly rolled toward the exit gate, maintaining my disguise as best I could. The cracks on my back began sealing automatically. But… that was close. One more hit, and my cover might've shattered for good.
> "Dad..." a telepathic voice echoed, worried. "We'll be more ready next time you need help."
I nodded silently.
But no. Not yet. It wasn't time for them to step in. This tournament was far from over, and I had to know—am I strong enough as a rotten egg... or not.