Forgive Your Enemies (3)
The dim colosseum floor reeked of sweat and congealed blood, littered with weapons scattered every which way.
"No way they expect us to pick these up and fight with them?"
Yes! That's right!
A drone hovered above Jeonghyeon's head, blaring out a mechanical guide voice.
A drone wrapped in mana? What the hell?
The pissed-off participants probably weren't supposed to smash it. It looked like a regular drone on the outside, but it was shielded by a thick mana barrier.
"Jeez."
Jeonghyeon seemed to be the star of this round. In the center of the vast colosseum, a long electronic billboard hanging from the ceiling displayed his image exactly as the drone captured it.
Pick up one of the weapons there, and the Colosseum will begin!
"Fine. Sounds good."
Jeonghyeon activated Appraisal toward the floor.
F-rank, F-rank, E-rank, D-rank... What the hell, all these low-grade pieces of crap...
Forget usefulness—they all looked like they'd shatter after a couple swings.
"Oh."
Amid the junk, he spotted something decent.
And of all things...
Grade: B
...gauntlets.
"Ha! This has gotta be some Demon King bullshit, right?"
Jeonghyeon scowled, venting his irritation as he slipped on the gauntlets. The fit on his hands wasn't great.
Memories of a past life manifest as a curse.
Gauntlet proficiency greatly reduced.
Gauntlet Proficiency: -50%
Of all the bullshit.
He'd thought he'd scored something decent, but the wind went right out of his sails. It made him even angrier imagining Malekith cackling at him.
Fine, whatever. Might as well treat this as a chance to grind weapon proficiency.
At least it was a silver lining. To evolve Epic Weapons, he needed to Liberate them anyway, which required proficiency. This could be a fun way to rack it up.
He swung the gauntlets through the air a few times—whoosh, whoosh—and the watching drone suddenly started screaming.
Aaah~! The challenger grabs the gauntlets! Our hosts must be thrilled~!!
"Shut up. Talk quieter."
What a feisty challenger we have! How many rounds will he survive before challenging the boss?! But first, what was your job?
"Self-introduction out of nowhere?"
At that, the drone buzzed closer and whispered into Jeonghyeon's ear like it was confiding a secret.
The crowd needs to know who you are to bet or not. Play along properly, yeah?
"Ah, got it, got it."
Truth be told, Jeonghyeon was starting to enjoy the spectacle, so he decided to play along properly.
"Uh... I was a field porter."
Field porter! What's the highest-rank dungeon you've cleared?!
"Eh... Didn't do many dungeons. But I climbed the Tower pretty high. Like, floor 20?"
[......]
The drone didn't respond to Jeonghyeon's words.
No laughter either. The spectators looking down should be snickering by now, right?
Wahahaha! If that's true, it's insane—if bluffing, still hilarious! Let's see how long you last! Place your bets, everyone!!
Instead, only the guide voice laughed, hawking bets to nonexistent crowds.
"Wait, where are the spectators to bet? Don't tell me the only watchers are those gangster punks?"
Wahaha! What a funny guy! All our customers are watching this fight remotely via broadcast and placing bets!
The guide drone buzzed closer again, chattering away.
That line was gold—viewer count spiked. Push harder! And please don't die here!
Yeah, right.
Jeonghyeon nodded vaguely, and the guide drone flew off to a distance.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Three volleys of spotlights blazed down.
Only then did the colosseum arena come into clear view.
"Hmm."
The floor hadn't been cleaned in ages—bloodstains clumped like a red ice rink.
A grinding noise came from the opposite iron grate, and Jeonghyeon's first opponent emerged.
"G-Good, good. L-Let's see who you are."
The hulking man, who stuttered badly, was so massive the grate was too narrow—he had to sidle out sideways. His muscles were grotesquely swollen, like he'd juiced up on something hardcore.
A rag wrapped his face, hiding his expression, but drool soaked the bottom, making it visibly damp.
Disgusting.
The brute approached, slamming his massive axe into the ground—thud, thud. It'd terrify any civilians dragged here from the west, but Jeonghyeon had other thoughts.
That axe blade's gonna dull like that. Do I really gotta hit that drooling chin?
Here we go! Will it be Newbie Breaker Huxley's 41st win?! Or does the new challenger advance?! Bet on #31 channel!
This scrub didn't even warrant Appraisal, yet he'd killed 40 already. Jeonghyeon was getting the picture of how they toyed with the weak.
"Come on, let's get started. Must be getting rusty from the wait."
[...Wah! Such guts! Great!! Let's begin!!]
Dooong-!
A cheap sound effect boomed, and Huxley charged, axe raised high.
Posture full of openings. It was practically begging to be hit, no weak spots needed.
"Whew. They're light, at least."
Jeonghyeon took a couple casual steps in place—tap, tap.
"Here I go!"
Splat-!
He kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
"Let's see if you can take it!"
Jeonghyeon slipped inside the brute's range and swung a precise punch at his liver.
Crack-!
The impact reverberated through the gloves.
"What... it actually hurts a bit?"
He'd trained grip and striking power with swords, but direct impacts to the fingers weren't his forte.
"Guhk!"
Doesn't seem to have gone in deep...
Liver shot. A boxing technique straight to the liver—most people crumple from it.
But the guy just groaned, center of gravity steady. No real damage.
Jeonghyeon leaped back, creating distance, clenching and unclenching his fist to check Huxley's status.
"N-Not bad. You."
Huxley clutched his right side. No clue if it worked.
Or maybe...
Even if it lands, this bastard might not feel it.
Jeonghyeon powered his fist again.
He didn't know much hand-to-hand, but he'd trained sporadically with Han for swordless scenarios. Memories of Han, the warrior from the far east of Afraksas—a fist-fighting tribe—surfaced calmly.
Thanks... Han!
Jeonghyeon charged again.
The axe had long reach, but slow wind-up—perfect for hit-and-run.
Thwack! Thud-thud!
Ah! Sharp, fast strikes from the challenger! Those steps are toying with the slow Huxley! So flashy!
As the drone said, Jeonghyeon circled, striking from all angles: sides, solar plexus, gut, even down there. No rules in this—hit everywhere viable.
"Grr... ugh...! S-Strong!"
Huxley's stance crumbled. Gut shots made him hunch protectively.
Now!!
Perfect opening.
Power flowed from waist to shoulder to fist tip, slamming the iron-cast gauntlet dead-on into Huxley's drooling chin.
Snap!
The jawbone crunch echoed through the arena.
"Kehk!!"
Bloody teeth sprayed like shrapnel; Huxley's head whipped back.
"It's over, you fuck!!"
Jeonghyeon exploded condensed mana, whipping his other fist at the turned head.
Straight into perfect uppercut combo. Mana-boosted, impossibly fast for a human—it smashed Huxley's face dead-center.
Thud-!
A shockwave rippled behind his head. Huxley flipped his eyes back, out cold, crashing to the floor.
"Whew."
Like pounding a giant sandbag. Not bad at all.
Incredible!! The challenger crushes Newbie Breaker Huxley—who was on a 41-win streak—without taking a single hit!!
Viewers who bet on Huxley's streak—new challenger's era begins! Replay: 50 coins, next match: 150 coins!! Don't miss out~!
The guide drone shrieked excitedly, shaking the colosseum.
Coins and viewers? This some dark web stream?
He got the system now.
People watched from safe upper floors or West Branch spots, betting on fights. View fees too—profitable gig.
#31's probably this arena's channel number...
At least 31 channels minimum.
"Hey, viewer count?"
Huh? None of your business.
Hm. Fair enough.
No one'd leak external info to fighters.
Jeonghyeon pondered, then called out to the hyped hawking drone.
"We're partners in this now, right? You skim commissions too. Gotta rake in cash. I'll hype it up—promise a brutal show."
The drone hovered silently, propellers whirring...
Fine. Off-record.
The drone's light shifted red.
Current viewers: 20. Trailing #72's first place by 49. Most are betting bots—real viewers under 10.
"Total channels?"
99 total.
Dark colosseum, huh? Top channel at ~60 viewers—probably caps at under 500.
"Good. Spread whatever I say from now on. I'll spike viewers in one go."
Waha! Looking forward to it.
The drone's light went white again. With the go-ahead, Jeonghyeon stared it down, aiming his gauntlets.
"Listen up, you basement keyboard warriors. World's crawling with monsters to fight, and you're jacking off to this? Having fun?"
[?!?!]
"Don't care what you want. If you wanna see someone fight to the death, I'll give you the show."
Jeonghyeon pointed straight at the camera, like singling someone out.
"And once I smash all you pathetic shits..."
Half-joking, half-serious, he spat it out.
"Next up: the Jo Clan or whatever bullshit. You lot. Got it?"