Chapter 97
Chapter 97
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Knight's Oath (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arena!
This place, also known as the chicken coop, had simple rules. Once two opponents were matched, they fought in a Colosseum-like arena until one of them died.
Sever your opponent's life, and you win.
There were no penalties outside the arena whether you killed or were killed, making it a space where you could go wild without worry.
‘Best of all, Berserk resets with every match.’
The arena's purpose was to showcase fierce battles or overwhelming dominance. At the end of each match, it reset all skill cooldowns, status ailments, and even the aftereffects of Berserk.
Where else could there be such perfect conditions for Rokan to rampage?
That was why, in his previous life, Rokan and a tiny handful of berserkers had strutted around the arena like they owned the place.
A temporary double in stats plus immortality was an enormous advantage, after all.
Ziiing.
‘My turn.’
After waiting on the bench for a bit, his entry badge vibrated faintly.
It was signaling Rokan's turn to fight.
‘Fast queue times are the best part.’
How was this possible? Rokan was the only user to reach the Central Continent, and there were no arenas in third-tier cities.
The reason was simple. The matching system kicked in only when two or more users of the same rank registered. If just one registered, NPCs at the system's designated level appeared as opponents.
Thanks to that, he had to face NPCs up to level 190, but Rokan welcomed it.
It was a good way to warm up, and most importantly, the matches came quickly.
If another user had registered, he couldn't use the arena until they requested a match.
‘Gotta rank up fast before the others show.’
That was why he rushed into matches. Most would be Mercenary rank, but some Soldier ranks might pop up.
Waiting for matches could waste ages, so he planned to farm arena points and use them to climb ranks.
“Enter.”
Whoosh.
With the activation phrase, his view shifted. Rokan, who had been sitting on the bench, appeared in the center of the Colosseum.
‘Let’s see what we’ve got.’
[Ten-Man Slayer Swordsman Masimu][Lv 150]
Staring at the opponent with the long sword at his side brought up basic info.
Decent compared to current users, but woefully inadequate against Rokan.
‘Soldier rank, as expected.’
Rokan’s eyes, which had held a flicker of hope for a proper warmup, cooled once more.
Just a Soldier rank.
Expecting someone at this level to make Rokan tense was laughable.
It was designed to go up to level 190 max, so he’d hoped for more, but with no record, they’d stuck him with this small fry.
“First match, huh, rookie? No need to tense up. You’re just my eleventh sacrifice anyway.”
Oblivious to Rokan's thoughts, Masimu taunted him.
‘Ten wins in a row should get me someone decent.’
[Victory in the match.]
[Current win streak: None]
[Arena points +10 acquired.]
[Current arena points: 10]
“Ah…….”
Rokan, lost in thought for a moment, looked down at Masimu’s corpse with pity.
He hadn’t even meant to fight seriously, but a casual swing had killed him instantly.
“Woooooo!”
“Awesome!”
It was a ridiculous, almost accidental win, but it looked plenty stimulating to the crowd.
One casual axe swing like swatting a fly had decided the fight—what did that say about Rokan’s power?
Even if Masimu was all talk, he was still Soldier rank, so a promising newbie had arrived.
‘10 arena points, huh…….’
Pitiful compared to what Rokan needed for his goal, but against Mercenaries—who gave only 1 point—it was excellent.
‘Win streaks are the only way.’
Arena points came with streak bonuses too.
10 now, 11 for two wins, 12 for three.
Up by 1 each time, doubling extra points every 10 wins.
It’d take a lot of streaks for Rokan, but confidence overflowed.
He wouldn’t lose to level 200 trash.
Rokan queued nonstop, farming arena points.
[Your win streak proves your skill. Opponent changed to Soldier: Tier 4.]
‘As expected.’
A few more streaks, and a new alert appeared. Proven skill meant stronger foes.
Easier opponents helped streaks, but for the future, he needed tiers up.
Tier 1 was required for promotion.
Once there, no opponents meant no idle time.
‘Streaks it is.’
Confirming level 160 foes as tiers rose, Rokan shook off his battle axe indifferently.
Win, win again.
After two straight days of streaks, Rokan finally hit his arena point goal.
[Arena points held: 30,276]
Exactly 300 wins.
System capped streaks at 50, but uncapped, he could’ve bought the arena.
And he snagged a useful title.
[Man of 50 Consecutive Wins][Rare]
Cheers for achieving 50 straight wins in the arena! None on your stage will dare face you without fear.
[Effects]
-Aura debuff lowers stats of enemies in combat range via intimidation
A wide-area effect slashing enemy stats just by fighting.
Lately, all his gains suited multi-foe fights, perfect for Rokan's future plans.
War-specialized skills and items were never enough.
“Arena shop, open.”
With points banked, Rokan acted fast.
The arena shop let him buy combat gear with points, but he picked something unrelated.
[Warrior’s Honor][Magic]
Use to gain 100 Fame.
He chose Warrior’s Honor—100 Fame for 1,500 points each.
Twenty of them drained his hard-earned points.
[Arena points held: 276]
[Current Fame: 2,096]
But Fame broke 2,000.
If not for the title One-Hit Man eating Fame, he’d have saved points, but this sufficed.
Goal achieved: Fame and Merit Points collected.
“First in season one, no problem.”
Like Proof Tower, arena ranked monthly by score. Even leaving now, first place was locked.
New users wouldn’t match rank, or if they did, matching would delay point farming.
Generous to first registrants, but Condol hadn’t foreseen this gap.
Light-hearted, Rokan left for Taimura’s heart.
“Pretty big for a first city.”
Taimura, hub for all Central Continent arrivals, was massive.
Third largest in Golden Lion faction cities.
Packed with quests for users, but a trap.
To make users see it as a ‘must-stay’ spot.
The Lord had many such nasty traps.
Seemed standard RPG, but to lead, you did otherwise.
‘Or is this normal?’
Maybe Rokan was odd. He still had quests here.
Without foresight, he’d grind dozens, paving for followers.
But Rokan wouldn’t help others.
“Here it is. I remember.”
Rokan reached the inner keep at Taimura’s center.
Unlike the shop-packed commercial district, this war district held racial reps and state offices.
He entered the ‘Hall of Knights.’
“I want to promote to Knight rank.”
Straight to the desk.
In third cities, you used dispute offices; here, barracks or Hall of Knights.
Soldier to Knight needed 2,000 Merit Points and 2,000 Fame.
[Checking Knight promotion requirements.]
[Requirements met.]
“You’ve got what it takes for Knight. Good, swear here.”
Signing the paper from the desk knight promoted him easily.
[Became a Free Knight.]
[Knights serve a liege. Find one to pledge your sword to.]
“Yeah. Got a liege in mind? As the first visitor Knight, I can introduce a fine one if not.”
But rank alone made a half-Knight. True status needed a liege and oath.
Probably why no ‘First Knight’ title yet.
“No. I have someone in mind.”
The desk knight offered, but Rokan politely declined.
First visitor Knight could land Baron or even Duke service, but he passed.
“Understood. Good luck then.”
Regret in his eyes, but pushing a committed Knight disrespected him and his liege.
‘Mid-tier nobles help but hobble you.’
Especially Viscounts/Barons—restrictive.
Unlike static NPCs, users rose fast.
‘Human nobles are greedy too.’
Climbing, you might outrank your liege, clashing traits.
They might block your nobility despite quals.
Persuasion for independence could fail—stuck as Knight or attacked post-independence.
Rokan never planned entanglement.
Grabbing useless Knight gear, he left the Hall with a sly grin.