The Troublemakers (4): The Underground Arena
The bullets surged toward the spot where the two had been entangled in the blink of an eye. They had already pierced the half-demon’s body.
“Gk?!!”
It wasn't a clear, ringing sound. It was a dull, compressed, and very short friction sound, as if the noise had been sucked inward. At the same time, red blood sprayed from the half-demon.
“Dodge! Sion!”
I shouted, feeling like it was the right thing to do for my conscience. Sion had already vanished from my field of vision.
“You son of a bit… Ugh!”
—*Gweeeek.*
The guy was curled up behind me, vomiting gastric juices.
“I knew you’d dodge it.”
It looked like he had a bout of motion sickness from the side effects of his rapid-fire teleportation, but hey, he dodged it perfectly, so who cares? My judgment was spot on as always. Amazing, Sion! Let’s keep going all the way to the champion road together. Also, a thought keeps crossing my mind: he really doesn't have the qualifications to be a slit-eyed character. He should just walk around with his eyes wide open. Where in the world is there a slit-eyed character with such rich emotional expressions? You’re expelled from the Slit-Eyed Character Association.
Right now, it was more important to pay attention to that half-demon than to pat Sion on the back while he puked his guts out. The interior of the castle, which had been frozen solid by the bastard’s magic, was slowly melting back to its original state.
“Kuhk, huff…”
The man stood leaning against the wall, clutching his blood-soaked chest. With an extra wind-hole in his lungs, breathing must be a real pain in the ass. He gripped his wound with trembling hands.
Crackle!
His flesh froze, and a thick chunk of ice bloomed over the hole. He had frozen his own wound to stop the bleeding. Magic is seriously broken.
It happened in an instant while I was reloading my revolver, so there was nothing I could do. The bastard glared at me with sharp eyes, then threw his body toward the wall.
Kwang—!
The heavy stone wall shattered, leaving a massive hole. The man threw himself into the dark outside without hesitation and fled.
Tang—!
My meaningless shot through the air signaled the complete end of the battle.
“Sigh. Sion. We can’t sleep here. Our necks will freeze stiff.”
“You… right now… that’s… *hic*, important?”
Sion replied resentfully, unable to stop retching in the corner.
“I have to fix the shotgun that’s frozen solid anyway, and there’s no point in chasing that guy now.”
In truth, there was no reason to risk my life following him. That half-demon bastard didn't even appear in the original work I remembered. Besides, if I pushed for a pursuit here, Sion would likSly die from the side effects of teleportation first.
Leaving the retching Sion behind, I searched the castle thoroughly and grabbed the cleanest, fluffiest blanket I could find. It was a modest piece of loot, but an essential item for sleep.
“Let’s go. Let’s get some shut-eye at that fixer’s place.”
I led Sion, who looked pale after emptying his stomach, toward Dopang’s office. I knocked on the door upon arrival, but the inside of the office was silent. No response meant I could use it as I pleased.
I opened the door and walked in without hesitation.
“You crazy bastard, in someone else’s house…”
“Shh! You shouldn't be loud in the middle of the night.”
Ignoring Sion, who looked dumbfounded, I spread the blanket out in the middle of the office as if to show it off. So that’s why the office was so empty without a single piece of furniture. It was to ensure anyone could sleep comfortably whenever they laid down a blanket on the floor. She truly is a first-class fixer. To think she anticipated our discomfort and created such a perfect solution in advance.
I laid down on the blanket as if it were my own room. The soft texture melted away my fatigue. They say you suffer when you leave home, and old sayings are never wrong. Do they have that saying here too? I fell into a deep, unconscious sleep while having such frivolous thoughts.
The next morning.
What filled my vision as I blinked awake was a pair of yellow eyes.
“Are you awake?”
It was Dopang. She was looking down at me from right in front of my face, at a distance so close that our breaths were literally about to touch. The large eyes shining behind her ornate masquerade mask were staring straight at me.
For someone like me who has walked the elite path of all-male middle school, all-male high school, engineering college, and the military, this distance was excessively burdensome. But there was something more annoying than that.
My face was excessively damp.
‘Did the ceiling leak or something?’
Ignoring Dopang right in front of me, I wiped my damp cheek with the back of my hand and clicked my tongue inwardly. I’m a trespasser, so I have no room to talk, but the waterproofing service in this office is absolute garbage. I brushed off the unpleasantness and opened my mouth nonchalantly.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
A peaceful greeting as if nothing had happened. I wiped my damp cheek with my sleeve and coolly brought up the main point.
“Ms. Dopang. Did you succeed in the request to find the person?”
“Of course. Have you forgotten that I am the best fixer in Salem?”
Dopang replied with her nose held high. She’s really hard to react to. Honestly, I don’t care about her being a fixer or whatever. The lawless city of Salem is just a place whose name is briefly mentioned in the original novel, and the main characters never even visited it. I, too, have no intention of setting foot in this sewer again once I hook Tangbun.
“Ah, did you? So, where is that old man now?”
When Dopang just kept smiling in a burdensome way right in front of my face instead of answering, I waved my hand and lightly put up a wall. Come to think of it, she said she’d take the balance as a date. I had forgotten.
“Let’s do the date after the work is done. I’m a pretty busy person, you see.”
“Phew. You are truly stingy.”
Dopang pouted her lips and pulled a map from her pocket, spreading it on the floor. Sion, who had woken up disheveled, also came close to my side and looked down at the map.
“There. That old man is here.”
Dopang pointed to a spot on the map. But since I didn't even know the geography of this city, there was no way I could tell where it was just by looking at a dot. Sion narrowed his brows.
“Sion, do you know where this is?”
“It’s the underground arena. This is insane. Why on earth did he crawl in there?”
At Sion’s words, Dopang added one more thing.
“It seems he’s a rising star.”
“You mean he’s not just there to watch, but he’s a participant?”
Sion looked at Dopang in shock, then immediately snapped his head toward me.
“Flint, can’t you just give up on that old man named Tangbun?”
“Why are you making such a fuss? Didn't we smash those guys who were camping out at the Lord’s castle yesterday? Don't be scared of just one arena.”
At my relaxed question, Sion pulled at his hair as if he were dumbfounded and raised his voice.
“What should I do with this guy who has zero common sense? Haa… Yesterday, those guys were just thugs who were good at fighting! The ones who effectively rule this sewer-like city are the operators of the underground arena!”
Sion despaired, dry-washing his face. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Rule? Wasn't an arena just a place where they gather people who are good at fighting and gamble money?”
“The scale of that gambling is different! Whether they have an affiliation or are independent trash, all the astronomical funds that keep this city running come from the arena. Their money runs this city! Even nobles who are rotting with money come to watch for entertainment, and you want to poke that? That means you’re making the entire capital ecosystem of this city your enemy!”
So the arena is the real financier of this city. This has become a headache. At Sion’s blood-spitting explanation, Dopang, who had been listening quietly, chimed in with her signature smile.
“Correct. The arena is the most human place in this city. In a good way, or a bad way. Hehe.”
Dopang added as if to scare us. I don't care about things like that. Who am I? I’m a gun developer who supplies girlfriends (shotguns) to Count Lauri, who dominates the continent with commerce, and to Lucius, the biggest lunatic in the world. …Come to think of it, I feel a bit intimidated now?
“Well, it can’t be helped. We have no choice but to go in.”
I stroked my chin and quickly rolled my brain. Infiltration is essential to get Tangbun out anyway.
“Alright, I’ve decided. Sion, you register as an arena participant. I’ll infiltrate as a VIP spectator who sponsors you and the arena.”
“What? Why am I the participant fighting until I bleed, and you’re the VIP?”
“Because your ability is specialized for evasion. If it gets dangerous on the ring, you can teleport and run away well, right? I’ll find a way to take down Tangbun while watching the whole situation leisurely—no, keenly—from the VIP seat.”
It was a perfect and rational tactical deployment. But Sion’s face turned red and blue, and he screamed.
“You crazy bastard! Just be honest and say you want to suck honey from the safe VIP seat!”
“I want to suck honey from the safe VIP seat.”
“You son of a bit…!”
Sion lunged to grab my collar, but I lightly dodged him and looked at Dopang.
“Ms. Dopang. You can issue a VIP pass and a participant ID, right? I’ll pay a generous estimate.”
“Puhahaha! You are truly a very interesting person. Fine. I’ll just take 70 gold coins, nice and clean.”
…What? 70 gold coins? I doubted my ears for a moment. I don't know how the prices in this crazy lawless city work, but 70 gold coins to forge two IDs? Just how much is this fixer making by acting as an arena broker? I wondered if that’s why the city revolves around the arena.
Sion, who was muttering ‘If it’s for Mion…’ next to me, and Dopang, who was humming a tune as she went out to forge the IDs. I sat on the floor, disassembling my shotgun, and smiled faintly. The day I finally catch Tangbun is noS far off. But suddenly, Dopang, who was about to go out the door, stopped for a moment.
“I forgot to mention this, but do you know the arena sponsor rules?”
“Rules?”
“If the gentleman you sent out to the ring loses there, the handsome gentleman who is the sponsor will have his fingers sliced off in the spectator seat—that’s the joint surety rule. So, please wait a moment.”
…What?
“W-wait! Refund! Hey, you crazy swindler! Why are you telling me that now! Give me a refund! Don’t go out…!”
Dopang skipped out the door, humming a tune even after hearing my desperate screams. My face, which had been full of thoughts about using Sion as a shield and sucking honey until just a moment ago, hardened stiff. The fact that Sion’s insane laughter erupted next to me was a bonus.