The Scent of Hwanjong in the Arena
With Adam practically buzzing beside me, gold coins in hand as we stepped into the arena, I caught a scent I couldn't ignore. There was a Hwanjong here. For the past year I'd cleaned their containment cells with the diligence of a devoted mother, yet what I felt now wasn't joy—it was unease. What the hell was a Hwanjong doing in this place? I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth and sent a cautious message to Naram noona.
“What!?”
“?”
Adam's puzzled gaze landed on the sparrow-drone. “N-no, it's not… I mean…” Naram noona stammered, trying to recover from her earlier shriek.
Beyond the arena floor, the thick stench of blood mixed with the unmistakable scent of a Hwanjong. My nose never lied about these things. To me, the smell of a Hwanjong was the most intoxicating perfume in this world. Just as the aroma of roasted meat makes a human's mouth water, the scent of a Hwanjong triggered the same reaction in me.
I couldn't rule out the possibility that it was the Wormhole. Even if it wasn't, there was another reason to seek out the Hwanjong. This was an unfamiliar world where anything could happen. Just like when I'd absorbed the Neck-Snapping Statue and snapped the swordsman's neck, gaining a Hwanjong's power would surely help me navigate whatever came next. As someone who couldn't die, the only thing I had to watch out for was something like D-I-11's time isolation ability—and even then, I wouldn't be in real danger.
I attached a photo of a smug-looking commoner.
“Suho-nim.”
“?”
“Why have you been smiling to yourself this whole time? You stopped following me. Is something exciting happening?”
Chatting with Naram noona was the most exciting thing in the world, but I had to set that aside for now. We still had to rescue Adam's little sister.
“Yeah.”
I quickened my pace to catch up with Adam, who had already moved ahead. He worked at the arena. He and his sister had nearly been sold to the Holy Light Church, but somehow he'd managed to change their fate. For the past two years he'd searched tirelessly in foreign lands until he finally learned that his sister was fighting here as a gladiator.
“Healing magic isn't common, after all. Treating injured fighters preserves the value of their merchandise, so the manager would have found the ability quite appealing.”
Adam had actively showcased his magic, caught the manager's eye, and secured employment without much suspicion. At first he'd planned to use his position to help his sister escape, but as he'd said, the surveillance was tight.
“It really is strict.”
Armed guards patrolled the arena's interior, watching everything. Adam greeted them casually and continued.
“It's the largest entertainment venue in Sunflower Town. Fights where life and death hang in the balance are popular for all sorts of reasons. The fact that you can gamble legally here helps too. Unlike illegal dens, there's no risk of getting ripped off.”
In short, the arena was a gathering place for gamblers and dopamine addicts. We arrived at a door adorned with gold carvings.
“Manager-nim, it's Adam.”
“Come in.”
The manager was a middle-aged man. Despite his neatly trimmed beard, his most striking feature was the massive gut that looked ready to burst through his clothes at any moment. The room was filled with luxuries made of gold and jewels—he'd clearly amassed considerable wealth.
“I've brought enough money. Now, as promised, release Eve and set her free.”
Adam and Eve. Easy names to remember. Adam looked desperate to see his sister. From his expression and breathing, I could tell he was overjoyed. But moments later, his face began to twist with despair. The manager's answer was refusal.
“Things have changed. That promise we made? Forget it. You'd be better off using that money to secure your own future.”
“What… what do you mean?”
“It means Eve still has to keep fighting as a gladiator.”
“Manager-nim!”
Adam slammed his hands on the desk and shouted. “You promised that if I brought twenty thousand solar, you'd free Eve! How can you go back on your word like this—!”
“You little bastard! Who the hell do you think you're talking to with that kind of disrespect!”
The manager roared back, his voice thick with rage. “I treated you well because you're the only healing mage around, and now you don't know your place! Guards! Drag these bastards out right now!”
“Manager-nim! Please keep your promise! You clearly said you'd release Eve back then…!”
“Shut up!”
Adam's pleas were cut short. Guards who had been on watch burst in and hauled him away. I, who had been quietly observing, was swept up in the chaos and thrown out in an instant. Adam struggled desperately, even reaching for the artifact he'd once used on me, but I stopped him.
“Don't cross the line.”
I intervened before things reached a point of no return. I could die and come back no matter how many arena guards surrounded me, but Adam only had one life.
We were expelled from the arena just like that.
“Adam. I don't know why you're so worked up, but cool your head and come back to apologize to the manager later.”
The arena guard seemed to be on friendly terms with Adam. Once his task was done, he returned inside without another word—probably a decent guy. I memorized his face.
“N-no… Eve… my Eve…!”
Adam stared at the arena with a vacant expression, then tried to rush back inside. There was no light left in his eyes. All that remained was obsession and despair.
“S-Suho, shouldn't we stop him first?”
“Yeah, we should.”
Naram noona was right. At the institute I'd seen all kinds of people—from researchers down to the Class 4s destined for the incinerator. I'd never lost my own reason to anger, but I'd seen plenty of others meet grim ends after doing exactly that.
“Stay here and calm down.”
“Suho-nim, you heard him! That vile manager said he won't let Eve go! How am I supposed to stay calm in a situation like this!”
“Then die.”
I spoke in a cold voice.
“……”
I didn't know much about this world's sense of ethics. But after a year surviving at the bottom of the institute, my instincts warned me that provoking the manager in a place overflowing with madness and violence would lead to the worst possible outcome. The result was obvious.
I couldn't let Adam die.
“Don't calm down. Go pick a fight with the manager and get yourself killed. If you die, I lose any reason to save your sister. You and your sister can die together nicely right here.”
Adam's face contorted. He bit his lip, his hands trembling, but he couldn't muster a single retort.
“Emotions you can't control don't just cloud your own judgment—they put everyone around you in danger too.”
A Hwanjong was right in front of me. That alone was reason enough to invest my time. “I understand wanting to save someone. So if you really want to save your sister, calm down.”
Maybe he'd seen something of himself in my expression. It wasn't like me to say so much.
“Yes.”
Adam lowered his head. I took a few silver coins from the pouch he was holding. This much should be enough—it wasn't a small amount.
“Noona.”
“Yeah.”
“Where's that guard? Send me his location.”
“Check the messenger!”
I headed toward the guard who had been kind to Adam, following the photo Naram noona had sent.
For some reason, I felt a little embarrassed.