Escape: The First (1)
I woke up feeling lighter than expected, especially my lower body. Shin Yu-hee was still asleep beside me.
"Hm...?"
"Sleep well?"
Shemiri waved from beyond the door. The savory aroma of baking bread wafted into the room from behind her—she must have been cooking.
"How long did I sleep?"
"Almost six hours?"
"Too much."
"Six hours is too much?"
"Yeah, for a hero it is."
I laid Shin Yu-hee down on the bed and got up, heading straight outside.
"Anyone else...?"
"Nope. No one's coming here anyway."
"I figured a few might show up for food."
"Those guys are all busy securing their own wins."
Shemiri mimed slitting her throat and folded a finger.
"Some even beg to be killed."
"What?"
"Among the ones who became whores, some have suffered so much they just want to die."
"......So the ones who've given up on life choose to get murdered in the arena instead of suicide."
"If they're gonna die anyway, they figure they can give someone else an extra win and maybe help them survive. Not much, but your acquaintances—the girls caught in Madam Helma's brothel—seem to be steadily racking up wins that way."
Probably Choi Yu-jin and the other hero candidates. It might not count as a real victory over an enemy in the arena, but taking a life for a win was still their skill and choice.
"What, does it bug you that they got wins without fighting?"
"Nah, nothing to say about it. Wouldn't put 'em in my party, though."
In general, building basic combat strength to protect yourself was ideal, but there were survivors who made it by talking their way out too.
"People who dodge fights and pick other paths are still my customers. If they get hired as mercenaries later, they just pay more—that's all."
Combat could be outsourced, like hiring proxies. Talking skills wouldn't do much in the worlds we'd face, but there had been a silver-tongued hero who'd turned the tide of a battlefield.
"Hmmm...."
"What?"
"You said 'money' just now? You're fully an outsider now, huh?"
Money. Exchange vouchers were the currency here, so people in the arena always specified "exchange vouchers" on purpose. Say "money," and folks pictured outside coins—gold, silver, copper. Nothing drove home that your currency, your world, had changed like that.
"Planning to become a noble after you get out?"
"Of course. Got any countries to recommend?"
"To me, human nations are all the same... but one of the big three, probably."
Shemiri handed me a cup of warm tea—herbal, somehow sourced in a place like this. Dark elf or not, with elf roots, she sipped her own while spreading her fingers.
"Top pick's the Empire, obviously. Strongest military against the Demon King's forces."
"The Empire, huh...."
I knew it all already, but playing dumb as a first-time (+1) tutorial survivor, I listened quietly.
"Even I, from the East, know about the Empire. They pull in anyone with power to fight the Demon King, right?"
"Strictly speaking, it's a bit different... but not wrong. This arena's run by Chekhov, but it's on one of the Empire's islands."
I drew out common knowledge to fish for info from Shemiri. Now if someone asked how I knew about the Empire, I had a solid source: "Heard it from dark elf Shemiri in Chekhov's Arena."
Time to watch what I say.
The angel up there in the sky, silently observing.
"Makes sense. So Chekhov's from the Empire?"
"Even the Empire, desperate to beat the Demon King, wouldn't claim a vampire as one of their own. More like... allies. Ish."
"Like a third faction. Won't join the Demon King, can't join the Empire."
"They cooperate with the Empire because they hate the Demon King. Most demons here are like that... they don't hate humans, or want to kill 'em all or enslave 'em."
Lots to say, but I held back. The contradictions were all "adult circumstances." The arena was "past that no longer exists" from their view—no need for ideological debates with ghosts and memories. It didn't affect the present.
"What about the others?"
"Got a religion?"
"No particular one, but in the survival logs, lots followed the Goddess."
"Right. Goddess Church is big. Second pick: Holy Kingdom, where their influence is strongest. Almost as strong as the Empire, but..."
"But?"
"Borders the Demon King. Basically the front lines."
Front lines meant relying on the Goddess Church's holy power. Or maybe their strength drew the Demon King's eyes. Both.
"The rest? Fine anywhere. Demon King raids happen everywhere, places are all rundown for living. But you've got skills, so you'll manage both."
"Got it. Third?"
"Your homeland?"
Shemiri waved it off.
"Recommend stealing a ship and sailing back. Demon King's power might reach the far East someday, but safe till then, right?"
"Sadly, can't go back."
"Can't? Why? Actual criminal from home?"
"Guilty of a horrific crime."
I was a special case, but everyone summoned here had committed the Confucian sin of dying before their parents.
"Only way to erase it? Topple the Demon King."
Return to Earth alive, back to family. What came after solo survival? Worry later. First: get back to Earth.
"Like arena prisoners escaping to find home, we have a home too. Ours just means killing the Demon King."
"...What? You guys are actually Eastern heroes dispatched here?"
"Not wrong. Things went sideways, landed us here."
"Hahaha. Guess no choice then."
Shemiri set down her cup and approached the steaming pot.
"Gotta stuff the future Demon King slayers full and send 'em off."
After the lavish spread Shemiri prepared.
"Shemiri, will we meet again?"
"Nah. Don't sweat it."
Back in our room with Shin Yu-hee, time for our private talk.
"Can't avenge ourselves on the goblins who killed hero candidates in the tutorial. Same here—good connections vanish with the stage."
"......Won't carry over, huh?"
"Even if it did, we won't be here. Angels won't need to run this place anymore."
A virtual reality server crafted by angels.
"New candidates come? It'll reset to our summon moment."
"Madam Helma revives?"
"Yep. Shemiri never slept with me, never taught you anything."
"......."
"If you wanna cherish her, remember what she taught. Dark elf combat style or whatever—as long as it helps you survive, keep it in mind."
"Shemiri lives in our memories, like that?"
"Pretty much."
All we take is memories. Plus mana for me. She'd mentioned incubi during sex because I'd caught on to "sex builds mana," but I played dumb. Still tutorial—plenty left before it ends.
"All that's left: clean up this arena and leave. Rack up wins and go."
"Now? Everyone's busy naming opponents."
"They'll clear out if we ask. Especially me."
No matter how naming frenzy gripped the arena, basics didn't change.
"Who'd block the guy who killed Helma and his party from using it? Unless they wanna be last-named and die."
The law of the jungle. Like Helma as brothel queen, here strength was law.
"On that note... Shin Yu-hee, got a favor to ask."
"Sure, what? Promoting you to my seniors and classmates?"
"...Promote?"
"Yeah. How good you are in bed. They probably suspect anyway—you parading me around."
"......."
Tempting, but not what I wanted from her.
"You pass first. I'll lag a bit."
"Huh?"
"After five wins and out? Dunno what happens. Angels' secret."
I knew. That's why the request.
"Won't take days. Two at most."
"......Why not together? Those two days—"
"Need to cement it for Choi Yu-jin, the other girls. This is your mission too."
Favor and mission.
"Not just 'Shin Yu-hee's Yoo Si-woo's girl'—prove you're a powerhouse they revere like me. Lead 'em as new boss, or carry in some crisis."
"......Five wins in front of everyone not enough?"
"Probably not. Leftovers aren't Helma or her crew."
Her wins would look like cheap numbers to them. Not earned effort—bragging via me, the bus driver.
"Don't worry, no other reason. Just... waiting for our names to clear, then five wins and out."
"Ah. Got it?"
"Yeah."
Almost time.
"Once Park Chang-su's name frees up, I'll name and kill him before leaving."
Risk elimination window.
"And it'd suck. I set this board—can't have someone else snatch first escape."
"First escape...?"
"Who knows? Goddess might reward the first out with perks or cheats."
Escape: The First. If I can't snag it, Shin Yu-hee can.