Chapter 99: Underground Arena (5)
“What?”
“What did he say?”
“Didn’t he just say something? I couldn’t hear it clearly.”
“Hey! Shakin! Stop yapping and fight already!”
The spectator stands erupted into chaos. They sensed something was off with the atmosphere. The noise was so loud that it was impossible to hear exactly what Shakin had said, but judging by his grave expression, it was clear something had gone terribly wrong.
Of course, no one could have predicted that the words “I surrender” had come out of his mouth. Who would’ve thought? To come this far and surrender without even throwing a single punch?
But the moment Shakin, despite the referee’s attempts to dissuade him, reiterated his intention and fled the arena like a fugitive, it dawned on everyone. That drunken bastard had actually run away from the championship match stage.
“…Huh?”
“No way, is this for real?”
“…”
“…”
“…What the hell! Does this make any sense?”
“It’s a scam! I bet on that bastard! My money! Give me my money back!”
“Yeah! If the match was canceled before it even started, doesn’t that make it void? It’s void, right?”
“What are you talking about? The match started, so surrendering is valid. Surrender loss, Shakin! The winner is Harang! So, those who bet on Harang, like me, deserve the payout!”
“What? You bastard, you wanna go at it right now?”
“Hoh, if you’re so confident, come at me, you idiot!”
“No, but seriously, is this how it ends? Is this right?”
“Damn it! Do you know how much I paid for these tickets to watch this match?”
“That drunken bastard, why’d he suddenly surrender and pull this crap? Did he need to take a dump or something?”
“Hey! Shakin! Come back! Get back here!”
A brief silence.
Then, a storm of curses, accusations, mockery, and rage poured out like a tidal wave.
The deepest part of the underground arena turned into absolute pandemonium. Guards rushed back and forth, desperately trying to prevent a riot. Even they were visibly flustered, as this situation was entirely unexpected.
‘That bastard Shakin! Screwing us over like this!’
‘I’ll catch him and kill him somehow!’
‘No, the real problem is the higher-ups. Calling a drunken nobody for a so-called championship match? Even if they were short on fighters, this is ridiculous.’
Most of the guards shared these thoughts as they scrambled about.
But Harang’s thoughts were different.
‘That Shakin guy, he’s quite skilled.’
I could tell from the moment he walked onto the stage.
Even in his staggering gait, there was a lightness and stealth, and his breathing was steady and controlled. If I had to classify him, he wasn’t so much a swordsman as an assassin. That’s probably why he fled upon seeing me.
‘Most assassins fear me, after all.’
For a moment, I wondered what would’ve happened if I’d used ‘Acting Lowly.’ Would that technique, which induces carelessness, work on assassins as well? It was an intriguing thought.
But since things had turned out this way, I had no choice but to save it for another time.
“Still, it’s a pity.”
I muttered softly.
It was true. That drunken Shakin guy seemed like the strongest person I’d encountered in the Dark City.
I couldn’t be sure since we didn’t cross fists, but he was probably on par with Philip Portville, wasn’t he?
It was regrettable. A strong opponent like that could’ve taught me something valuable. Just like when I fought the Jeten Guild Leader and gained insight into snake swordsmanship.
“…Well, no helping it.”
I resigned myself.
It was already over. Dwelling on it would only hurt me. I waved to the crowd, who were spewing what could’ve been cheers or curses, and followed the referee’s instructions to exit behind the stage. There was no time to don the championship belt or hold a ceremony. In this atmosphere, quietly disappearing was the right move.
And so, the underground arena’s greatest spectacle, the championship match, ended in an absurdly short time.
***
“What should we do, Badin-nim?”
“…”
And watching all of this was the owner of the underground arena, Badin.
He was exerting every ounce of effort to suppress his boiling rage. If he didn’t, he might’ve smashed the head of the subordinate who’d just asked him that question.
What the hell was going on?
What was the problem, what was Shakin so dissatisfied with, that he pulled such a stunt?
That was the only way Badin’s common sense could process it. He couldn’t accept that a powerhouse, who’d reached the Graduate level over a decade ago, would get scared and flee without even fighting. There had to be some other reason.
‘Of course, a nobody like me can’t just go ask him directly. Damn it!’
Bang!
Crack!
Badin slammed his fist down. The wooden table shattered into pieces, scattering debris that scratched the skin of his subordinates. Yet, no one moved. The atmosphere was too menacing.
About a minute passed like that.
Having reached a conclusion, Badin finally spoke.
“Let’s do this. Harang must’ve used some dirty trick on Shakin’s side. Say he poisoned his food. That way, we can nullify this betting round.”
“But Harang’s side won’t accept that, will they?”
“Of course not. So…”
Badin paused for a moment before continuing in a heavier tone.
“…we kill him.”
As he finished speaking, a deathly aura emanated from his face.
***
The day after the match, I went down to the inn’s first floor as usual and ordered food. It was a hearty stew with charcoal-grilled whole pig, mushrooms, potatoes, lamb, and more. It was a lot for one person, but I always ate like this. It tasted good.
‘Come to think of it, Ulrik really did a great job as a guide.’
It was true.
Now that everyone knew I was the underground arena’s champion, no one tried to scam me. But when I first arrived here, it was a nightmare. Without Ulrik, I might not have even made it into an inn and would’ve been sleeping on the streets.
The current situation was similar.
Thanks to his advice, I’d made a big splash in the underground arena. But I couldn’t move on to the next step. I didn’t know enough.
Should I just wait for the people from the five major guilds to approach me?
Or should I seek them out myself?
But even if I wanted to, I didn’t know where to go.
As I mulled over these stagnant concerns, a longing for Ulrik welled up in my heart.
Of course, I wouldn’t see him again. He’d left the Dark City to treat his sick wife.
‘…What if that was a lie too?’
“Your food is here.”
“Mmm. Thanks.”
That was as far as my thoughts went.
Looking at the steaming dishes, I licked my lips. It was unfortunate that things weren’t progressing smoothly, but when I thought about it, the situation wasn’t that bad.
I’d find a breakthrough if I ate and thought it over slowly.
Nodding to myself, I picked up a spoon and took a bite of the stew.
A moment later, I frowned and said,
“…Is this poisoned?”
Crash!
Boom!
That was when it happened. As soon as I muttered to myself, the wooden walls of the building exploded as if hit by a catapult. The customers on the first floor looked toward the shattered walls in shock and quickly ducked. Burly men with tattoos indicating their affiliation with the underground arena were striding in.
Fortunately, they didn’t harm the regular customers. They just kicked them out with a moderate shove, leaving only me in the room.
“…”
“…”
A tense silence during the standoff.
I thought to myself.
‘This feels a bit different from what Ulrik described.’
I recalled what Ulrik had told me. He said that if I made a name for myself in the underground arena, the higher-ups would take notice. They were always thirsty for talented people and would try to recruit me.
But the current atmosphere was far from that.
The underground arena staff, gripping vicious weapons and glaring at me with murderous intent.
The poisoned stew, conveniently served just before they stormed in.
And most of all, the middle-aged man in luxurious clothing, hiding among the crowd and sending sharp glances my way—he felt the most dangerous.
It was clear.
They were here to kill me.
‘Is there some kind of misunderstanding?’
I made a troubled expression.
I couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. Because of that, I couldn’t think of a way to handle this. Even as a red-eyed man, who looked like he’d taken stimulants, charged at me with a fiery yell, my thoughts didn’t stop. Whoosh! A metal club came swinging right at me.
‘Let’s not hurt them for now.’
Reaching a temporary conclusion, I stepped back and dodged the club. Whoosh, whoosh! The attacks kept coming, but they were futile. Slipping through them like an eel, I shouted,
“Look, I think there’s been a misunderstanding… Ugh. Could you maybe calm this guy down? The one swinging the club at me? I’d like to resolve this with words. Whatever it is.”
“…Why’s that bastard perfectly fine?”
“Yeah, we got a report that he definitely ate the poisoned stew… You! You didn’t lie, did you?”
“N-No way! I saw it clearly! He took a big bite of the stew laced with a lethal dose!”
“Damn it! Then what’s going on?”
The inn employee stammered tearfully, and the underground arena officer who heard him lost his temper. It was only natural. The guy who’d supposedly eaten a ton of poison was moving with incredible agility, so of course they were baffled.
At that moment, the arena’s owner, Badin, who’d been silent until now, spoke up.
“A Graduate-level powerhouse can use Aura to prevent poison from spreading in their body to some extent.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s something I can do myself.”
“Then what should we…”
“We need to distract him. Either overwhelm him so he can’t focus on controlling his Aura, or shock him emotionally…”
“Should we tell the boys to move in more aggressively?”
“Hold on. Doing that right now would cause too much collateral damage… Hmm! Yes, that’s the way.”
Nodding, Badin gestured toward the back. A subordinate stepped forward with a heavy sack. Taking it, Badin smirked wickedly, pulled out its contents, and said,
“I don’t know how much friendship has built up between them… but it’s worth a shot.”
With that, Badin flung the object toward me. The round thing rolled through the chaos, reaching exactly where he’d aimed, and came to rest at my feet.
“…”
Ulrik.
The swordsman Ulrik, his face contorted in pain from his severed neck, was staring up at me with wide, bulging eyes.