Clearing the Arena (1)
After letting Choi Yu-jin and Kim Chae-rin rest in my room, I headed straight to the arena.
"Winner: Proxy knight Yoo Si-woo of gladiator Choi Yu-jin!"
"Winner: Proxy knight Yoo Si-woo of gladiator Kim Chae-rin!"
"...Winner: Proxy knight Yoo Si-woo of gladiator Kim Chae-rin!"
"......Again?"
And just like that, I quickly picked opponents and racked up wins for the two of them. Four victories each. Before long, they were just one win away from getting out.
Of course, word spread like wildfire. To the arena residents, it was about the opponents I was picking. To the aspiring heroes, it was about the ones I was proxy-fighting for.
"They say gladiator Yoo Si-woo is going around killing off the Noble Alliance's mongrels?"
"Holy shit. He's really gonna tear this arena apart."
"It's about time for a purge anyway. How long are we supposed to keep groveling under those whores and self-proclaimed noble scum?!"
The arena residents cheered wildly. The brothel scum had always been a cancer in the arena, and plenty of people had suffered at their hands.
But why were they so thrilled about the Noble Alliance crumbling too? Simple reason.
"Guillotine! Chop 'em like an axe on the block!"
"That bastard's been pissing me off ever since he started talking like some viscount with that fake-ass speech."
"Kill him, Yoo Si-woo! That guy's a loan shark who lends exchange vouchers at insane rates and gouges everyone!!"
The Noble Alliance was a bit evil, sure, but they operated in the realm of 'capitalists.' Voucher fat cats. Every time I randomly picked one from the alliance and killed them, it turned into a blood-soaked festival.
"Waaaaaaah!!"
"The viscount's dead!"
"Raid the viscount's private room! His safe's gotta be stuffed with thousands of exchange vouchers!"
All to claim the dead rich guy's inheritance. No such thing as formal inheritance here—once a fat cat croaked, first come, first served on the leftovers.
"Hey, gladiator Yoo Si-woo! If I find the viscount's vouchers, I'll split half with you!"
"By the time you find 'em, I'll probably be long gone."
"What? Hahaha, what a guy!"
"I'm not interested, so in exchange—"
"I've already told my buddies about that Park Chang-su prick! No one's dumb enough to piss you off by messing with him!"
Viscounts, marquises—whatever. I had zero interest in the inheritances of the ones I killed. A real noble might be worth digging into for future intel, but these self-styled ones were just small-time rich assholes from outside.
Bathed in the arena residents' cheers like that, I ended up drawing attention from another group too.
"Um... big bro? Can I ask you something?"
"......"
"I-I brought exchange vouchers! Might not mean much, but..."
"Bored anyway. Shoot. What?"
The aspiring heroes' interest.
"The thing with Yu-jin unnie and Chae-rin... getting them to four wins... is there some other reason?"
"Made a contract. Curious about the details? Ask them yourself."
"C-can I make a contract too? I earned 30 vouchers!"
"Doesn't mean much at this point... but fair trade's gotta keep going. Fine, you're in."
I didn't know what others thought about Choi Yu-jin and Kim Chae-rin.
"How about it, Si-woo sunbae? Proxy-fighting for us?"
"Thirty vouchers, huh..."
"Ah, fuck, I'm short a few... Any way to make it up?"
"How the hell should I know? Don't even know where Choi Yu-jin and Kim Chae-rin are."
"...What if he fucked 'em once and that's why he's helping?"
"No way. Then Kim Chae-rin would've been fucked twice?"
They probably figured they'd somehow scraped up vouchers to hire me as proxy, or some thought the girls traded their bodies for it. Only the parties involved—and me—knew the truth.
Some were piling up wins thanks to my proxy power.
"Winner: Gladiator Lee Ho-jin!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
Others were earning them on their own strength. Their opponents were worlds apart from the ones I'd fought—weak gear, looked like everyday miners...
"You cowardly fuck. This guy's just some day-laborer scraping by mining ore!"
"So what! I need to survive! Whatever it takes!"
Goblin-like, or maybe worse than goblins—these were prime prey for aspiring heroes.
"Aren't you ashamed, you so-called old comrade of Yoo Si-woo's?!"
"Not ashamed! If I sit still, every asshole gunning for me will pick me—gotta hit five wins and bail ASAP!"
Some were stacking wins without reaching out to me. Average victories were climbing bit by bit overall, but one person wasn't gaining any.
"Grimwald. Got some info I need."
"On Park Chang-su? Right here."
"How'd you know."
"Who else would you be interested in right now?"
Park Chang-su.
"Where's that bastard now?"
"Holed up in the prison you first came from. The one your allies aren't even checking anymore."
The guy who'd strutted like a king there was now locked alone in a bare cell with no blanket, while everyone else enjoyed cushy rooms with beds thanks to me.
"The ones you helped—those who got their first win because of you—they're taking shifts guarding the entrance. They watch where he goes, what he eats, how he tries to scrape vouchers. You're covered."
That prison cell had truly become Park Chang-su's cage. About a day left now. One more day, and I could kill him.
Exploiting a system loophole might draw complaints later, but I'd deal with that when it came.
"Good. Grimwald. If any more nominations come in—"
"Shemiri's looking for you. Wanna head over now?"
A little later, after asking Grimwald a few favors regarding Park Chang-su, I went to find Shemiri.
"What're you doing with clothes on?"
"Feels weird?"
Shemiri was wearing a black suit. Similar to what Grimwald or the referees wore—a uniform for arena management.
...Neat enough, but it sure didn't fit a kitchen.
"So why'd you call me? One last messy fuck before I go?"
"That sounds good too, but I made a replacement for you, so now I can let you leave."
"Replacement?"
"Ta-da."
Shemiri pointed to an object on her seat.
"The great Chekhov-sama made it. Whaddya think?"
"...The hell is that."
There sat my dick. A strap-on dildo with balls, almost identical to mine, standing rigidly toward the ceiling like a beast.
"A blood magic fake dick. Sadly, we haven't confirmed if it matches yours exactly yet."
If dicks had portrait rights, would this count as infringement?
"You must've tested it some."
"Touched it by hand, ran a few tests. Chekhov-sama gave it as a reward for taking good care of you. You planning to smash my new hubby?"
"Oh yeah? Already 'new hubby'?"
"Yup. Name's Yoo Si-woo."
"...Do whatever the fuck."
Magic dildo or not, I had nothing to say to a woman naming it after me to cope with breakup. Even outside the tutorial.
"That why you called me? To show it off?"
"Nah. The one who made it wants to see you, so I'm escorting."
"...Chekhov?"
"Yeah! Super curious about you."
"...Can't blame her. Guy who wrecked the arena's power structure and bails—gotta be interesting. Kinda weird calling me now when I'm almost out, but... just what I wanted."
Finally, time to meet Chekhov.
"Got anything to say to Chekhov-sama?"
"Well—"
"Tell me instead."
"......Huh?"
"What?"
"Exactly what I said."
Shemiri grinned. Her canines had grown sharp at some point—hadn't been like that before.
"I'm Chekhov."
"......"
"What? Don't believe me?"
"If you're pranking, cut it out."
Shemiri as Chekhov? Would be convenient for me if true, but that was straight-up bullshit. No foreshadowing at all.
"Aww, no fun."
"Vampire and dark elf are pretty different, huh."
"Worth a shot. Fine, no more jokes. Listen seriously now."
Shemiri straightened up, her face hardening as she stared at me.
"If you're thinking of fucking Chekhov-sama or something, drop it."
"...Why? Isn't she a woman?"
"She is. But..."
"But?"
"You'll see when you meet her. She's... kinda beyond something."
Beyond something. Maybe Chekhov was swordmaster or archmage level.
"Tear this scroll. It'll summon you right to her."
"Back soon."
But that guess was way off. The moment I tore the scroll Shemiri handed me, I arrived somewhere completely beyond my expectations.
"Aspiring hero Yoo Si-woo."
The white-haired, red-eyed vampire, Chekhov.
"Even in the tutorial, you've made quite the spectacle."
"...What?"
She wore a gothic dress and gestured to a seat in front of her, where sat a drink all too familiar to modern folks.
"You an angel?"
"Not an angel—just a soul contracted to one. Until the Goddess falls to the Demon King's army and vanishes, I manage this eternally looping tutorial world, raising heroes."
Sipping iced Americano from a mug.
"Manager of Tutorial A-rank difficulty stage: Chekhov."