Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Mysterious Gladiator (2)
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Clang! Clang!
I couldn't believe it.
"Grgh! You're tougher than you look! I thought you were just some worthless punk hiding under that weird helmet...!!"
Kaaang!
I'd won the match without even knowing how.
His left hand had thrust out a sharp slash.
I should have been sliced clean in half at the waist by that strike.
"Hup...!"
But I'd spun my body around smoothly, flowing like water as I redirected my sword behind my back to block his slash.
Then, keeping the momentum of that spin, I'd unleashed a slash at the dual-wielding killer with my twin blades.
Kaaang!
"Gaaah!!"
Surprisingly, the killer who'd blocked my sword couldn't withstand the force and flew through the air, crashing dozens of meters away.
"Hah, hah."
I stared blankly at the tip of my outstretched sword.
My breathing was ragged, but the blade's end didn't waver in the slightest.
'How did I...'
Dozens of exchanges had flown back and forth.
The killer's eyes had flashed with murderous intent as he crossed the swords in both hands, unleashing a barrage of unpredictable attacks.
And I'd deflected that storm of slashes.
With just a single sword.
Even counterattacking at the end with a natural motion.
And once more, that unidentified voice echoed in my head.
'Don't give your opponent a moment to breathe. Close the distance the instant it opens.'
No sooner had the voice faded than my body kicked off the ground and shot forward on its own.
"U, uwaaaah!!"
The killer, still dazed on the ground, gaped and screamed at my sudden approach.
I kept my speed and swung my sword again.
Shiiiiiik!
The sound of the blade cutting air rang out like the cry of a sharp bird.
"Hiiiik!"
My sword collided with the two scimitars blocking the killer's front.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Kaaaaang━!
A deafening roar.
The ear-piercing sound morphed into an explosion, swallowed by the arena crowd's cheers.
Thud, plop.
The two scimitars that had blocked my sword shattered unbelievably, falling to the ground in pieces.
And I halted my motion, pressing the blade to my enemy's throat.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ The w-winner is the gladiator from the west━!! Incredibly, Azrol from the east has been utterly defeated!! An overwhelming skill gap where not even a hem was grazed!! Ahh, incredible!! I'd won the match without even knowing how.
A bizarre voice echoed as if shouting right beside me.
I didn't know the mechanism, but the announcer's voice from the center of the spectator stands came through crystal clear.
"Jeeenjaaang!! Kill him!! I bet my entire paycheck on that bastard!!"
"Not even beer money now!! Hey, west side!! Kill that fucker!!"
"Reverse bet!! Shit, I believed in you!! Long live Helmet Nobles!!"
The voices bursting from the stands mixed joy and despair.
Some cheered my victory with flushed faces.
Others cursed him in rage at his defeat.
And I, at the center of that feverish attention.
"Hah, hah..."
Just stood there dumbly, staring at my sword in disbelief.
…
'What the hell just happened.'
After the match ended.
I returned to the cold waiting room.
But something was different this time.
The servant of the man who owned me had prepared fruits, liquor, cold water, and a towel in celebration of my win.
I soaked the towel in cold water and wiped down my sweat-sticky body.
Then draped it over my still-feverish head and stared blankly at the floor.
The sensations from moments ago still lingered in my hands.
'Is this... this body's memory?'
The unidentified man I'd suddenly possessed.
He seemed to be a wanted criminal for some crime, and by my guess, an incredibly skilled fighter.
Nothing else explained what had just happened.
'My body moved way too naturally.'
I'd never held a sword before.
Back in Korea before possession, I'd never even properly learned taekwondo, let alone fencing.
This was my first time nearly being killed by someone, or holding someone's life in my hands.
Yet.
For some reason, despite all these intense firsts happening at once.
My heart remained cold.
My body was hot, my mind clear, my chest beating calmly.
But.
'What is it... something's...'
There was an emptiness in my cold heart, like a hole had been punched through.
I tried wolfing down a handful of the fruits my "master" had brought, thinking maybe I was just hungry.
But it only confirmed the emptiness wasn't hunger.
I just sat there in the waiting room, dazed.
"3702."
Then my number echoed from the corridor again.
Startled by the sudden call, I hurriedly jammed the helmet onto my head.
Around then, the guard who'd dragged me earlier approached the bars.
"It's an event match. You've been picked as a participant. Get ready and come out."
"Y-Yes...? B-But my match is over...!"
"Means your matches aren't done. Quit yapping and come out!"
Clang!
As if to warn me not to resist, the guard slammed his baton against the bars.
Then I was dragged to the arena again.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ This is the last match of the day! Uh... This wasn't on the schedule, but... The crowd showed no signs of tiring, their heat undimmed.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ By the decision of this arena's owner, Eorite himself! Double the payout! An event match where correct winner picks get double the dividends! The arena erupted in cheers at the announcer's words.
"Long live Eorite!!"
"Damn, double?! I'm betting everything!!"
"Yaaaah!! Cradooos!! I believe only in youuu!!"
It was a scene straight out of madness.
But more than those crazy gamblers, my eyes went higher.
To a woman in the special seats that seemed reserved for VIPs.
The reason I stared at her was simple.
She was watching me with a strange smile.
'...Who is she?'
Even from afar, her dress screamed wealth, and she was stunningly beautiful.
I couldn't guess her age from the distance.
But in this rowdy place, her gaze stayed fixed on me alone.
It gave me an odd feeling.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ Now, introducing the east side fighter for this event! The champion of our east side, known to all—Crusher Crados!! '...Crusher?'
Drums boomed alongside the announcer's voice.
Then, from the opposite entrance—where the killer had stood earlier—a black silhouette approached across the empty arena.
Moments later, I gaped at his appearance.
"Uwoooooh━!!!"
The 3-meter giant's thunderous roar shook the air.
The crowd responded in kind, their voices hoarse with frenzy.
"Crados!! Crush that idiot helmet freak and kill him!!"
"I believe only in youuu!! Chaaamp!!"
"Don't chicken out!! Helmet Noble!! You can win!! Show me the miracle of a reverse bet!!"
A chilling spectacle, everyone pouring their passion into expecting a bloody, desperate fight.
Amid that onslaught of madness, tension made my body tremble again.
'How do I beat something like that...!!'
My opponent wasn't another gladiator.
That was a monster.
No different from the beasts in games.
Crados proudly flexed biceps bigger than my head and hefted a massive hammer.
The sword in my hand looked like a toothpick compared to it.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ Now! The rookie who showed insane skill in his debut match today! Nicknamed Freak Helmet—Pigeant! Can he survive Crados in this event match?! The announcer didn't even say "win."
His opponent was a hulking monster barely human, the champion of this bloodbath arena.
The bets seemed to be on whether he'd smash my head or if I'd survive.
"Don't run!! Show you're different from the others!! Pigeant!!"
"Ignore that crap!! Run no matter what!! Circle the arena a hundred times if you have to, just survive, you idiot!!"
"You braindead fuck! You wanna turn the event into hide-and-seek?!"
"Fuck, I bet everything!! Crados, I believe only in you!! Bring me luck again!!"
No one in the arena expected me to beat that monster.
Just survival.
That's all they wanted from me.
Only then did I realize what they craved.
Tales of sobbing, snot-nosed wretches crawling desperately, limbs severed but still struggling to live.
That's what they enjoyed.
And sadly.
"Fuck.... Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
That's what my future would be.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ Now, the final match of the day! The event match... begins!! Bwoooo━!!
The trumpets blared over the cheers, and the match started.
The hulking monster advanced toward frozen me, shaking the ground.
"Heh heh heh, what's wrong? Cute little friend. Wanna live...? Then run!!"
Thud thud thud thud!!
He'd approached leisurely at first, but displeased by my freeze, he charged threateningly.
His huge strides covered distance in seconds.
His overwhelming size made me feel like an infant.
"H-Hiiik!"
Finally snapping to, I turned to flee.
But.
'...Don't.'
That voice echoed in my head again.
'Don't run. Fleeing in battle is admitting defeat.'
A calm, indifferent male voice I'd never heard before.
But it made my body move on its own again.
My fleeing legs halted; I stood firm, gripping my sword.
'Still...'
Thud thud thud thud!
"Uahaha!! Given up everything knowing you're dead anyway?! Wise choice!!"
'This is too much!'
No matter that the voice had led me to victory before.
I couldn't imagine beating that monster.
So I just stood there dumbly, awaiting death.
The monster would close in and crush me with his hammer.
That would be my end.
If not for the voice, I could've at least run.
"Yaaa!! What're you doing, idiot!! Run already!!"
"Yeah!! Running's pointless! Crados kills more brutally once he gets into it!!"
"Fuck, fuck!! My money!! You fuckerrr!!"
But my body ignored me.
As if the voice's commands were etched into it, I stood tall, facing the monster head-on.
And when the hammer-wielding killer loomed right before me.
"Die!! Gotta finish quick and eat!!"
Whoooosh!!
The hammer sliced air like a beast's howl, eclipsing the sun and casting shadow over me.
'Ah, so this is how I die.'
Resigned, I closed my eyes.
Then.
My arm, unlike my surrendered mind, moved on its own.
And blocked.
That hammer.
💥 BLOCK! 💥 ━Kaaaaang!!
With one hand on my sword.
"......Huh?"
"Wh-What?!"
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ Aaah━!! H-He blocked it!! Crados's crushing hammer!! The rookie gladiator blocked it with just one arm!! "W-Wwaaaah━!!!"
Everyone panicked.
The hammer-swinging monster, the announcing emcee, the watching crowd.
And me, who'd blocked the hammer.
"Why... is it blocking?"
"You mocking me━?!"
No way.
It was just a mutter of pure disbelief.
But Crados took it as mockery, pressing the hammer harder against my sword.
Yet my arm didn't budge.
'Why the hell...'
I couldn't understand.
It defied common sense.
It wasn't comprehensible.
Incomprehensibly so.
Because his pressing hammer felt so light.
"Gr, grrrgh...!! You rat...!!"
Crados pushed with all his might, gouging the dirt at his feet.
He was easily 3 meters tall.
A 3-meter behemoth, scrawny or not heavier than me, covered in bodybuilder bulk.
That monster's weighted hammer felt weightless...?
"Uryaaaah!!!"
Furious that tiny me blocked his power effortlessly, Crados roared.
Bam bam bam bam!!
And hammered down repeatedly.
"Grk━!!"
My body instinctively deflected the barrage with my sword.
"This, this, this... you wanna go━!!"
The more he did, the wilder Crados swung.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ Amaziiing!! West side gladiator Pigeant!! Easily blocking Crados's fierce assault again!! Unbelievable!! The champion━!! Can't take down the rookie like this?! Cheers and jeers exploded each time the hammer clanged off my sword.
No matter the crowd's reactions.
"Hraaaah!!"
Crados swung his massive hammer even fiercer.
"Kgh!!"
I blocked them all in a trance.
'If I hold out like this...!!'
I can do it.
I can survive.
I could see death veering away.
If time ran out like this, I'd finish this damned match and return to the waiting room.
Then.
I could get another chance to escape━.
Crack.
"......Huh?"
A foreboding crackle sounded before me.
"Hryaaaah!!"
The next hammer swing.
Kang!
I blocked it with my sword again.
"......Wha?!"
Craaack.
Spliiinters━!!
The sword snapped in half.
⚙ ANNOUNCER ⚙ Aaah━!! Th-the sword broke! Pigeant! He blocked every attack with power rivaling Crados━!! But the swoooord━! His sword couldn't withstand the force━!! Like slow motion, it split in half, shards drifting lazily.
Time seemed frozen.
I stared at my broken sword and thought.
'I'm fucked.'
Hope of survival had just dawned.
Now no sword to block the hammer.
Run...?
But if caught?
Block the hammer barehanded?
Dodge every attack?
Ah, I'm gonna die.
I'll struggle but die anyway.
As those thoughts raced by.
'━━'
An unintelligible murmur brushed my mind.
Then my hand.
Moved on its own again.
Dropping the broken sword, it extended empty toward Crados.
'What are you trying to do...!'
I couldn't fathom what this body wanted amid the sluggish scenery.
Then.
'......Make.'
Unconsciously, I chanted inwardly like a spell.
━Swift Fabrication.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Swift Fabrication Info flooded my mind.
A virtual space listed countless categories.
Weapons I'd seen somewhere, somehow familiar.
I selected one like drawing a sword from a sheath.
Then.
━Shwaaaah!!
Tap...
"Gh, ...hk."
Suddenly, I'd rocketed to Crados's rear—the east entrance he'd come from—landing lightly.
A massive iron greatsword filled my hand.
At the same time.
Crados let out a short groan and dropped to one knee.