Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Back Alley Arena
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"Huu. Thought you weren't coming and was sweating bullets. You know how much money's riding on this match?"
No, more than that.
I never even showed these guys my entry ticket, so why was the bracket already made? Didn't Hans say he was a beast handler?
"Hold on. How'd you know I was coming?"
I asked, squinting my eyes halfway.
The man spoke in a casual tone, like it was no big deal.
"Rumors started circulating a few weeks back. The girl who fucks dogs is coming in as a fighter."
"You say that to my face and Bori rips your head off?"
"Whoa, sorry about that. Anyway."
What's 'anyway' supposed to mean.
I wanted to at least make Bori pretend to bite him, but there were too many eyes watching.
People around us were already staring with these expectant looks. Maybe they were hoping I'd kick up a fuss.
In the back alleys, a little cursing didn't even register as rude. Getting pissed at crude talk like that would just hand them an excuse.
An excuse to subdue me.
A girl who looks as young and fragile as me getting pinned down in the back alleys... Ha. It was obvious what they were after. Kill Bori and have some fun with me.
I wiped the expression from my face and spoke in a dry tone.
"Where'd you get that info?"
That poster looked like it'd been up for a while.
Yellowed glue, slightly torn edges. Been posted long ago. Judging by the discoloration... about a week or two. Right around when I mentioned I might consider the arena commission.
'Doesn't seem like Remilia...'
If it was her, she'd have told me.
I focused my gaze.
As I stared at him like I was scraping the ocean floor, the man flinched. The air felt heavier somehow. It wasn't my imagination. A thick pressure was emanating from Bori.
[Dominance established: No superior males present]
I could sense it instinctively. Authority's effect, probably. Right now, there wasn't a single male here 'superior' to Bori. Bori had seized control of the group's mood as naturally as breathing.
The laughter filling the area gradually died down, replaced by an awkward silence enveloping me and the man.
Bori crept up behind me, lowered his body, and fixed his gaze on the man. In the stillness, our eyes locked.
Unable to withstand the intense stare, the man spat out his words like a gasp.
"W-wait. Calm down! It's not like anyone can just enter as a fighter!"
"So?"
"Of course there was a tip-off! Some noble was asking around about you. That's all!"
"Heh..."
My employer, then.
I hugged Bori's forepaw and spoke with mischievous eyes.
"What'd they look like?"
"Blonde, yeah. Fucking gorgeous. More than a few guys lost their tongues for running their mouths in front of her."
A woman?
That was intriguing.
"Skip the chit-chat. How'd they know to come looking for me?"
"Less 'looking' and more like she was scouting decent fighters here when your name came up. A tamer who fucks dogs among the adventurers, they said. Your reputation precedes you, doesn't it?"
......I'm too tired to even curse inwardly anymore.
I waved my hand dismissively with weary eyes.
"Yeah, sure. Keep going."
"But the moment she heard about the dog-fucking, she said hire you on the spot and get the bracket ready. What power do we have? If a noble says do it, you do it."
Noble-like behavior, if nothing else.
Coming to the back alleys in person suggested she had some real strength too.
"...Huu. No, why am I even telling you this..."
The man seemed genuinely embarrassed by his cornered rambling.
The jeers from around us had shifted from me to him by now, and with a flushed face, he huffed and stomped back to the counter.
—Beep beep bwoop!
At that moment, an irritating buzzer blared through the entire lobby. It came from the massive iron gate at the center-north.
—Claaank!
The gate swung open, and people poured out from beyond. Among them, a yellow-coated middle-aged man—truly tragic about his balding head—who looked like the boss shouted.
"—30 minutes till the next match! Where are the fighters?!"
He glanced back and forth between Bori and me, then yelled with a relieved face.
"Perfect! The Wolf's Bride is here! You lot, clean up the arena! We start in thirty!"
At the man's command, the staff sprang into action. He turned on his heel and vanished the moment he finished speaking.
The staffer we'd roughed up earlier approached with a rotten expression.
"Saw that door open just now? Head in there. Your opponent's coming from the opposite side."
"That horned horse?"
"How'd you... Whatever. Be on time! So much money on this! You know what happens if you bail?"
If I bolted, it'd count as my auto-loss.
The gamblers who'd bet on me might even come hunting.
Money was involved, after all—they wouldn't let me go nicely.
I signaled Bori with my eyes.
'Can you win?'
"Keng!"
——No problem.
Good.
I'm all pumped up.
Time passed, and Bori and I headed beyond the iron gate.
Before entering, we underwent a few checks. Could I use magic? Was there mana flow in Bori? Arena rules allowed only drugs for enhancements, so mages were banned on that basis too.
But neither Bori nor I triggered anything. Not even drugs, let alone magic. I'd been worried the Status Window might get flagged, but apparently it was completely different from regular magic.
—Step.
We advanced.
——Waaaaah!
A roar that shook my ears. Dazzling lights stabbed my eyes.
As the noise and light faded, the packed stands came into view. Hundreds more were standing without seats.
——It's a real girl!
——Haa! This is gonna be good!
A beauty you couldn't even glimpse in the back alleys had appeared. Calling myself a beauty felt a bit embarrassing, but objectively, I was pretty. That much was certain. But precisely because of that—this was no place for me.
They murmured at the sight of me, then exploded into cheers.
——Beat her senseless then fuck her!
——Rape her and eat her up!
A single flower blooming in a field of filth. The shaggy back-alley gamblers couldn't help but get excited. Their focus had already shifted from the life-or-death duel to the post-defeat humiliation.
—Hello, everyone! Today's third match, the one you've all been waiting for!!!
The announcer's platform at the center of the stands.
The man standing there shouted with an excited face.
—The Wolf's Bride, famed recently as a skilled tamer!!! Petite stature and pretty face with a massive gray wolf that doesn't match at all! A combo truly worthy of the 'bride' moniker!
——Waaaaaah!!!
Cheers sticky with desire.
The announcer pointed to the opposite iron gate.
—Her opponent is!! The arena's fiend horse that tore apart nine fighters just months ago!!! The unicorn Arion!!
—Clank.
The opposite gate lifted, revealing a massive horse being dragged out by a thick rope around its neck. Several men clung desperately. Or more accurately, the men were being dragged by the horse. Their feet skidded as they couldn't handle the power.
Soon, the horse called Arion arrived at the front.
—Clank, clank.
It advanced, exuding a ferocious aura.
A crimson-black horse with a spear-sharp horn on its head. Its bulk was comparable to Bori's, or even larger. Its body was covered in fresh bloodstains and old scars. Had it rammed someone again on the way here?
"Hiiing...!!"
It shuddered violently, sending the men holding the rope flying.
Its ruby-glowing eyes had clouded over, lost to madness. The needle holes riddling its body made it impossible to guess how many injections it'd taken.
The men fled behind the gate like cowards. Since they didn't fully leave the arena, they were probably this horse's handlers and the fighters in this match.
—Jangle...
"...Hm?"
Chain noise.
One of Arion's forelegs was wrapped in black chains. Not ordinary ones. The surface was densely covered in sharp, barbed spikes, each glistening with some unidentified drug.
Equipment that hadn't been there at first sight.
"...Never heard anything about extra armor."
I clicked my tongue and muttered. Whether he overheard or saw my sour face, the announcer gleefully shouted.
——Nobody said no armor either! Hahaha!
What a prick.
I cooled my head and called Bori.
Showing off would just rile the gamblers more. Sure enough, some guy was already stripping and howling.
"I can heal most wounds, so don't hold back too much. Got it?"
—Whoosh.
I mounted Bori.
——Ooooh! What's this! She's mounting up to fight herself!!!
A frail body risking the ride, as long as she doesn't get bucked off? They cheered even louder at me mounting Bori.
They didn't know Bori and I were one. Anyway, I needed contact for Tender Care, so this was more convenient.
'Bori's handled plenty of excited ones.'
Arion's state was poor. Drooling like drugged, bloodshot eyes. Temper so vicious five men strained on the rope.
'Less animal... more monster.'
In this world, one thing separated animals from monsters.
The presence of reason—even if just beastly scraps compared to humans, animals had it, while monsters did not.
Bori could handle monsters like that easily.
A cheat skill that healed all Bori's wounds and boosted his stats.
'Better apply it early.'
I closed my eyes gently, kissed his forehead, and spoke tenderly.
"Gotta be careful not to get hurt, okay? I'll take good care of that excited body after the match."
Submissiveness +2
Bori's Strength +35 | Agility +35
Tender Care wouldn't trigger on flowery words alone. It needed sincere love, laced with a touch of submissiveness.
Submissiveness rise was inevitable.
I ignored it for now. With a somewhat flushed grin,
To keep up with Bori who'd broken 200 Agility, I'd be shitting blood.
And so, the shout signaling the start echoed.
—Match... staaarts!!!
—Boom.
Bori kicked off the ground before the announcer's signal even dropped.
Destructive acceleration that tore up the earth. Dust filled the arena.
I entrusted my body to Bori and lowered my posture. Fur obscured my vision. Fine. I didn't need to see. Bori's commands would guide attack or dodge timings. I'd roll left or right accordingly, or get flung off if he shook his hips.
Instinctively shared senses.
"—Kyeng!"
Before the dust even cleared, Bori charged right to Arion's snout and gaped wide for the scruff.
Bori's moves were relentless. Two gold coins on the line. Plus a noble involved—no half-assing out of pity.
"—Bori! Forepaw! Careful!"
But he pulled back his jaws and veered away.
Vital Bite ignored defenses, but Bori wasn't invincible. That weird liquid on the chain ends... could be poison. Even with two Tender Cares left, better avoid needless damage.
Bori bolted straight to the opposite wall. The frenzied horse charged, ignored. Bori exploited his signature mobility to circle round and round.
Bori's spins past 200 Agility were hard to track with the eye.
Dust flew where he ran, starting the next loop before it even settled. The crowd's cheers turned to silence. The dust storm invaded the stands. Coughs echoed clearly.
The horse stomped furiously as dust battered it. It wanted to glare, but dust blinded it.
Even in the storm, Bori pinpointed the foe.
And the moment the horse squeezed its eyes shut.
"—Grrr!"
Baring teeth, he lunged.
—Crunch!
He bit. I felt it vividly atop him. A savage tearing of skin and muscle echoed everywhere.
Bori had clamped the right hind knee.
—Craunch!
Arion thrashed, tearing Bori's mouth, but he chewed on heedless.
"Keehineigh–!!"
Arion shook its hind leg in agonized frenzy, flinging Bori, then kicked full force.
"Ugh!"
I barely rolled with it. Clung on desperately. To shield me, Bori exposed his side, reflexively rearing—and took the rib kick.
—Crack!
Ribs snapped.
Arion's power exceeded imagination. Bori couldn't rise on trembling legs and slumped.
"Bori! Still with me?"
"...Keong."
Not out.
Thank goodness.
—Aa! One strike! Arion's scorching hind kick! Doesn't look good for her! Would it be different without riding?! Hahaha!
The announcer mocked me. Riding Bori was more loss than gain, for sure. I was weak. Pathetically so next to Bori. Protecting me could get him hurt.
He'd crumbled his stance to guard me again, eating the kick. Bori's state was wretched. Torn mouth, shattered ribs likely puncturing lung—breathing ragged. But as long as conscious, Tender Care could fix it.
"Sorry. Shouldn't have come here. Just a bit more. Hang in there."
Huu.
First time using Tender Care twice.
Bori's Strength +35 | Agility +35
All wounds healed
As Tender Care triggered, the announcer's face twisted in panic.
—...What the hell? Hey! No magic allowed! Where's staff!
"—It's not magic, you moron!"
Cheers turned deathly quiet, crowd swarmed the now-muted platform babbling.
—I-I checked thoroughly! No magic! Trust me!
—Really no magic? Then what...
Bori fully restored, announcer's yells mere noise to me.
"——Kyeng!"
Bori rose stronger than before. Joy mixed with suspicion at the intensified aura, I opened the Status Window.
'...Does this stack?'
...Way more broken than I thought.
Unexpected boon surged my confidence. Arion limped, glaring. Right leg mangled near amputation, eyes still brimmed with rage and frenzy.
"Let's go. Don't take it twice."
First strike to Bori.
—Whoosh!
Charged, kicking up dust again.
Ferocious momentum. Arion reared, raising foreleg to smash on approach.
—Boom.
"Hiiing—!"
Right then.
Bori halted abruptly upfront.
—Boom!
Slamming forepaw, instantly spun around.
"—Aaaagh!!"
Centrifugal force lifted my body. Arion's horn grazed my clothes that close.
Back to Arion's front, Bori whipped hindleg into its jaw. Arion, upper body raised on foreleg, couldn't pivot fast, ate the hit clean.
—Wham!
Chin struck, Arion's eyes rolled back white. Toppled, foaming and convulsing.
"Hah, hah! Done?"
Yeah. Whatever.
Bori pettier than expected. Returned exact payback.
—......
Arena wrapped in silence.
The girl presumed doomed had won. Via mysterious tech healing all wounds for comeback. No defeat, no ravaging.
Outcome decided.
—W-Winner... Wolf's Bride!
Announcer desperately tried reviving mood, but far too feeble against the chilled stands.
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