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Chapter 43 - Chapter 23 – Semifinal Begins and the Final Challengers

The morning air in Govart City was tense — not from the cold, but from the silence before a storm.

After the fierce battles of the quarterfinals, it's now time for the semifinals — only four monsters remain, each vying for a place in the final match.

I stood in the contestant's waiting room, still wearing my cracked, rotting shell.

My children observed from a distance, camouflaged and alert, hope gleaming in their gaze.

---

**The Four Semifinalists:**

1. **Stinky Golem (Me)** – The spiky rotten egg nobody expected. With the power of stench, energy absorption, and an evolving Titan Stench, I'm now a serious threat.

2. **Velthra** – A black-scaled creature the size of a horse, resembling a small dragon with wings of lightning. It hovers low, spits electric blasts, and moves like a blur.

3. **Mozarka** – A transparent purple crystal slime that absorbs magic attacks and reflects them. The audience once thought it was weak — until it outsmarted a massive beast with layered reflection traps.

4. **Durlog the Flesh Sculptor** – A tall, lean monster with a stone mask. He wields curved knives and body art magic: carving his own flesh into weapons and rapidly regenerating. His fighting style is part dancer, part executioner.

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We all waited our turn to step into the arena. Deep down, I knew — this wasn't about survival anymore.

This was about proving that even the foulest stench could become legend.

The announcer's voice thundered:

> "Ladies and gentlemen! Get ready! These semifinals will decide who deserves a place in the finals!

> Four monsters, each unique and deadly — and the battles are about to shake this very arena!"

I exhaled slowly, feeling Titan Stench simmering back to life inside me.

It was time to evolve again.

Time to break past the limits I once accepted.

---

The first semifinal match would be mine — versus **Velthra**, the lightning-winged beast.

My children gave me silent encouragement with their trusting eyes.

We've come far. But this journey isn't over.

I, a rotten spiked egg, will prove that **stench** isn't an insult —

…it's a **legend waiting to be written**.

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