Chapter 12 – Water Knows the Answer. – One
A room where moonlight comes in.
There were no servants in the outbuilding, so it was quiet.
Squeak-
The sound of the door opening breaks the silence.
White hair and small wrinkles.
A movement so elegant that it can be said to be the standard of a butler.
He was the butler of this mansion.
“Knight. A letter has arrived from the arena manager.”
Has the schedule finally been set?
It’s been a week since I decided to become bait due to the disappearance of an arena player.
I almost forgot because I was enjoying the day and night with Selena.
“Thank you.”
“Then I will go.”
He handed over the letter and left the room with his graceful movements.
“Let me check.”
I opened the luxurious-looking letter.
The content is simple.
A casual greeting and game schedule.
The story was that two days later, he would fight a man named Jaron, who was number one in the arena.
#1 in the arena.
In fact, it is a title similar to the strongest in this city.
Still, no worries.
Thanks to spending a lot of time with Selena for a week, my strength became stronger.
The problem is the culprits of the disappearance.
An unidentified group whose members and purpose are unknown.
There is nothing to guess, so there is not even proper information.
“What. “I guess we can meet and try it out in person.”
*****
“Waaaaa!!”
“Kill!”
“Tremend on that brat!”
An ear-splitting roar.
The arena is always noisy.
Even here, which is the players’ waiting room, you can get a general idea of how the game goes.
Look around.
Dwarf-looking arena players.
Everyone is checking their equipment right before competing.
Maybe there is a culprit among them.
After a while, the door opened and the arena staff came to pick me up.
“Yujin will be competing in a moment, so please wait.”
“Yes.”
Trap – plod –
I arrived at the stadium entrance after receiving directions from the staff.
It is currently closed off with iron bars, but it opens when the game starts.
The entrance on the other side, visible in the distance, was also blocked with iron bars.
And there, a lumpy man is staring at me.
Is that guy the champion of this arena?
It gives the impression that a big guy has his muscles squeezed.
The weapon in his hand is a huge axe.
The scars all over his body showed his skill.
“Ugh… I guess it wasn’t easy to eat it raw.”
Even at a cursory glance, he seems to be the strongest out of all the guys I’ve faced so far.
It is said that he has maintained the first place all this time, so his skills are guaranteed.
“You’ve waited a long time!!!”
The host’s voice resonated loudly throughout the arena.
“The match that will take place from now on is our hero! King of the arena! It’s Jaron’s game!”
The iron bars on the other side open and the guy walks out into the stadium.
“Waaah!”
“Jaron! “Knock that brat to pieces!”
“Jaron! Jaron!”
They really push me as the ace of the arena.
The cheers from the audience are loud.
Most of the audience here probably bet on Jaron.
“On the other hand, his opponent! Unidentified rookie! Eugene! “
Drurrrr –
The iron bars open, and we walk into the stadium.
Unlike that guy, his reaction was cold.
Unless you’re a crazy guy who bets just by looking at the odds, there won’t be anyone here rooting for me.
Jaron glared at me with murderous eyes.
“Abstain.”
It looks like he is quite confident in his skills
An attitude that seems to be full of arrogance.
“Is this a match-fixing request? “It would be a violation of the arena regulations.”
Jaron’s face distorted grimly at my sarcastic words.
“It’s a common phenomenon to lose confidence once you get on the field. Do not worry. Everyone else is like that too.”
“Now is the only time you can make fun of your snout.”
Jaron spits out like a beast growling.
But if I was going to be this scared, I wouldn’t have competed in the first place.
“You don’t have to worry about that, right? “My mouth has always been open, and it will always be that way.”
He fell for the provocation and looks like he’s ready to attack at any moment.
There is no one like him who has reigned like a king in the arena for a long time.
“I’ll make you beg for my life right away.”
“That’s terrifying.”
I can see the strength going into his hand holding the axe.
Let’s shatter the pride of this muscle mass.
“The match between Jaron and Eugene begins now!!”
With the emcee’s declaration, thunderous cheers erupted.
“Kill it!!”
“Send that kid to the other world!”
“Tear me limb from limb!”
I can feel the air trembling from the tremendous shouts.
Of course, the difference between hearing it and seeing it in person at the stadium is like heaven and earth.
“I’ll give up on going first. Especially.”
“Your turn will not come back.”
Assassin’s liquid—
Jaron’s ax swings, cutting through the air.
A huge ax that feels intimidating.
All the players he has faced so far would have been in a hurry to avoid or avoid this attack.
But my choice is different.
Head-on breakthrough.
Strengthen your body with mana. And then he hit his sword with all his might against the swinging axe.
Kang—!
The result of our combined forces was my victory.
The guy’s ax bounces away with a loud noise.
A muttering sound is heard from the audience.
“What… What!”
“How can you do that!”
“Jaron lost power?”
“This is my first time doing something like this!”
Jaron’s face turns red.
For him, this situation would be a wound to his pride.
The loud noises from the audience were also undermining his pride.
“This guy!!!”
Jaron started swinging her ax like a mad bull.
Due to my anger, I am stronger than before, but I am still slightly ahead.
A simple clash of powers without any skill.
Although the body was tired, the self was steadily falling apart.
“It would have been more difficult to fight with another player.”
My pride grew as I was supported by those around me for a long time.
The sense of defeat and provocation of being pushed out from the front blocked his rational judgment.
“Iike!!!”
Jaron looked as if he was going to chew me up.
When his anger reached its peak, he finally made a big mistake.
Excessively large movements.
It may have been his intention to beat me down with all his might, but he made a mistake in his judgment due to his anger.
“It’s easy for a guy who has lost his mind.”
Take advantage of the opportunity to raise the ax sharply and quickly swing your sword.
The black guy raised the ax and cut deeply into his arm.
“Keuuk!”
Jaron dropped his ax to the ground, bleeding.
I don’t know if he will survive, but at least he won’t have to pick up an ax with that arm again.
The arena that was noisy just moments ago becomes quiet for a moment.
The strongest defeat in the arena.
It must be a big shock to the people here.
Even the host, who had to declare victory, was at a loss for words.
After a while, the host, who barely came to his senses, opened his mouth.
“No… It’s amazing! The winner is a rookie! This is Eugene! It is the birth of a new hero!”
Jaron being carried out on a stretcher.
The audience was looking at him in shock.
There is no cheering for the new champion.
I understand.
If you lose money, you won’t be able to be happy because it will make you feel bad.
Thanks to you, I got a big share.
“Ruler! Then the next game… “
The host quickly proceeded with the next game to control the situation.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter to me whether the audience is embarrassed or sad.
I returned to the players’ waiting room with a happy heart, imagining my pockets getting fatter.
“Look.”
As I was happily returning to the mansion, a kind-looking man spoke to me.
“What’s going on?”
“I saw them fight, and it was amazing.”
A person with a good smile.
If you look at it from the outside, there is no such thing as a saint.
However, as someone who knew about the disappearance case, it was difficult for me to accept that smile as it was.
Rather, it would be more accurate to say that it is suspicious.
“If my opponent hadn’t lost his temper, I would have lost. I was lucky.”
“No. Even if he had played to his original ability, he would have lost.”
“Why did you call me instead?”
“Aren’t you interested in making money better than in the arena?”
It’s not at a suspicious level, so it’s safe to think he’s the culprit.
Wouldn’t he be innocent even if he were just beaten up and interrogated right here?
Still, since this is a group that even erases traces, it would be better to dig in secretly just in case.
“Isn’t money the more, the better?”
“Oh! After all, you are an unusual person!”
A man who praises with admiration.
As someone who doubts him, it only feels more suspicious.
Maybe he lured the missing people into a trap by gently cajoling them like this.
“Then follow me. “The person I serve really likes talented people like you.”
“Great. “If someone recognizes my skills, it’s worth it.”
“I like that you talk fast! “
That goes for me too.
I may have approached you thinking you were a cool rookie, but you were the one caught in the trap, not me.
“As expected, my eyes were not wrong. Now, let’s go!”
I’ll let you know right away that your eye is strained.
