Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Platinum-rank Debut Match (1)

Translation: godtl

A gloomy, ashen-gray sky.

[The Platinum-rank Debut Match will now begin.]

[This Debut Match's event is Survival, with a total of 516 participants.]

[The location is the 'Fall of Gluttony' within the Dimensional Chaos Realm.]

[The Dimensional Chaos Realm is the sole borderland between the Celestial and Demon Realms, a place teeming with danger. Eliminate all other players.]

As the messages scrolled upward one after another—

A desolate, monochrome wasteland stretched out beneath the colorless sky, dotted sparsely like scattered fragments.

Si-yeon's gaze swept across the barren landscape, her expression far from pleased.

It was as if someone had gathered islands of various sizes...

Then drained away all the seawater, leaving only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the land behind.

It felt like being abandoned on floating planetary debris adrift in space.

And in reality, that was exactly the case.

'The Chaos Realm, huh? Why is it that every arena I get thrown into has to be like this?'

Though the previous Dimensional Insectia had been notoriously harsh as well—

The Dimensional Chaos Realm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was in a league of its own, incomparable to Insectia.

Si-yeon's eyes turned toward the sky, reminiscent of outer space, and the vast, empty horizon.

Ooooooh...

Though the distance was impossible to gauge—

A faint echo of dimensional turbulence rolled in like gentle waves.

Given that the same faint sounds rose from below as well—

It was almost certain that the lower regions were just as riddled with countless dimensional anomalies.

Before she knew it, viewers who had tuned into the broadcast were chiming in one after another.

One.

'Honestly, those things aren't even a threat unless you get too close.'

Si-yeon tilted her head back to observe the overcast sky.

Though it was mostly ashen-gray—

Like sunlight piercing through storm clouds, radiant beams seeped out from one side.

And at the symmetrical point below, inky darkness oozed and crept along the ground.

Light and darkness.

These two forces met at some undefined point, casting the entire Chaos Realm in its signature ashen hue.

And fittingly, there was a danger unique to this realm.

'The real threats are the Celestials and the Demons.'

Much like blizzards in snowy maps or storms and tidal waves in oceanic ones—

The Celestials and Demons that sporadically appeared here were akin to natural disasters.

Celestials and Demons were powerful races that typically appeared starting from Diamond-rank.

Meaning, even one-on-one, they were already a massive headache.

And when they showed up in numbers and clashed?

The entire area would be reduced to rubble in no time.

The result was this very place—

The Chaos Realm, with its sparsely scattered landmasses.

'Even if you avoid getting caught in their battles, the aftermath alone can shatter the ground.'

And unless you had some means of flight—

Players would plummet straight down.

Naturally, they'd fall right into the dimensional anomalies below and die on the spot.

And it wouldn't even be a clean death.

Si-yeon gave a small nod as she skimmed the chat.

'Because right before you die, you're trapped in those dimensional anomalies, getting your mind utterly wrecked.'

Whether it was motion sickness in 3D—

Or something vaguely similar—

Dimensional anomalies delivered a horrifying experience capable of shattering a person's psyche.

Dying as quickly as possible was, in many ways, the better outcome.

Naturally, Tanks—who generally had higher stamina—would suffer even greater agony.

And given that her own stats hovered between high Platinum and Diamond—

She'd have a pretty rough time herself.

Si-yeon let out an unconscious sigh of relief.

'Whew... Thank goodness I didn't bring Si-yeon along.'

Right before entering the Platinum Debut Match—

The image of the child who had tearfully begged to follow her "dad" flashed through her mind.

The image of Si-hyeok, Yu-jeong, and the little one sniffling in Mal-suk's arms was unbearably cute.

Even though she wasn't his biological child, she felt like a real daughter to him.

'Maybe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's why. It really would've been awkward to bring her along.'

No matter how much of a "freebie" the Arena was, battles and bloodshed were inevitable.

There was no way he could bring a five- or six-year-old child into such a place.

Si-mun let out an involuntary chuckle.

'Well, fundamentally, she is a crafted golem, so safety wouldn't have been an issue, but still...'

Mithril, orichalcum, adamantium, dragonium, the Wellspring of Mimir, and even the unintended Queen's Egg—just the materials alone were worth an astronomical sum.

And Si-yeon was forged from all of them.

Her basic physical stats alone might easily surpass his own.

As that thought crossed his mind—

'Should I have just brought her after all?'

Si-mun scratched his cheek absently.

The moment he named Si-yeon, an unexpected Imprint and Bond had formed between them.

Moreover, the system had clearly stated that it would share his Status Window with her.

Status Window sharing was a function typically reserved only for the highest-tier summons.

And most summons who shared their master's Status Window also shared experience points.

So—

'I need to figure out if she shares my experience points or has some other growth condition...'

Normally, crafted golems had their own Status Windows, visible only to their creators.

But perhaps because of the unexpected Queen's Egg?

Si-yeon was a special case—her Status Window didn't appear at all.

So whether she shared experience points,

or grew stronger through part upgrades like other crafted golems,

he had no choice but to figure out her growth mechanics himself.

Lost in thought, Si-mun clicked his tongue in regret.

"Tsk. I should've just brought Si-yeon with me."

But could she even participate in the Arena?

Had the system or her Status Window ever explicitly called her a summon?

She didn't even have an independent subspace like other crafted golems.

As he muttered to himself—

"Mmm! I came wif' See-yahni!"

A voice that absolutely should not have reached his ears did.

Thud.

Si-mun froze instantly.

With a stiff creak, he turned toward the source of the cheerful voice.

"Hehe! Daddy, peekaboo?"

A tiny girl with her small hands pressed to her cheeks beamed at him, her smile unbearably adorable.

"......"

He could only gape in stunned silence.

Thud.

A heavy impact reverberated through the air.

"Ghk!"

The man in plate mail gritted his teeth as he took the direct hit, glaring at the pair before him.

"You cowardly bastards! Ganging up on me?!"

"Pfft—HAHAHA!"

The man wielding the massive shamshir burst into booming laughter.

"Hey, Euro-trash. You do know this is a Platinum-rank Debut Match, right?"

"I know damn well it's a Survival match! You damn Middle Eastern scum!"

The plate-mail-clad man spat the words like venom.

"Yeah, yeah, sure you do."

The shamshir-wielder shrugged lazily before jerking his chin toward the woman beside him.

"Suad, why don't you educate our salty rookie here?"

"Yes, Zayed."

The woman called Suad nodded curtly.

"Teaming in a Platinum Debut Match is practically legal. There's nothing cowardly about it."

"What kind of bullshit is that?!"

"Hey, Euro-trash. Quit playing dumb."

The man named Zayed rested his shamshir on his shoulder with a clank.

"If you're here, you already know the deal. This isn't some Gold Debut Match—national contribution points are on the line here."

"Exactly,"Suad added."Your own European faction is probably teaming up somewhere too. Or are they not?"

"Th-that's—!"

The plate-mail-clad man clamped his mouth shut.

Because it was true.

From Platinum-rank onward, matchmaking expanded beyond domestic borders.

And since it was a rank where players were divided into upper-tier brackets,

event-based Arenas like Debut Matches and National Tournaments were tied to national contribution points.

These points led to various privileges granted by the Galaxy Arena to the respective nations—

the most notable being globally recognized Arena broadcasting rights,

like those of TWC.

"You look French to me. Am I wrong?"

"Ah, right!"

"Then you really shouldn't have any complaints, should you?"

"Exactly. They call it a union, but in reality, Europe's contribution points are monopolized by just three countries—Germany, Britain, and France—aren't they?"

"Hey, Suad, Britain dropped out quite a while ago. It's Italy now."

"Ah, that's right. Hehe, isn't it funny? They acted all united, then just up and left like that."

"From the start, those money-obsessed Jesus freaks never had any real solidarity to begin with."

The two—a man and a woman—ridiculed with blatant scorn.

At that, the man clad in plate armor gritted his teeth and shouted.

"And don't you people fight among yourselves over your precious Allah too!"

But his words didn't get to finish.

"First missiles, and now Awakened terrorism—who's doing all that now?! Even that infamous Villain, the Bomb Demon, is one of your—"

Swish.

A blond head went flying through the air.

Zayed's shamshir had already cleaved through the plate-armored man's neck.

"Tch. How dare those money-obsessed Jesus freaks bring up Allah."

"Exactly. Whether then or now, those people don't have even a speck of true faith in them."

The two coldly watched the plate-clad corpse collapse lifelessly.

Then—

KWA-BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted not far away, prompting Suad to turn.

"Let's move, Zayed. We need to find our affiliated Players quickly."

"Right. Unless we want to end up like that infidel, we'd better regroup with the others."

Just as Zayed nodded and prepared to kick off the ground—

"Ghk!"

His eyes widened, and instead of leaping forward, he twisted midair to change direction.

A brilliant decision.

CRACK-KRASH!

With a thunderous noise, the ground where he'd stood was torn apart.

Something had slammed into it, instantly kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

"Zayed, are you alright?"

Suad, who had already closed the distance to Zayed, raised her circular weapon defensively.

"Yeah. Almost went straight to hell, though."

As the dust settled,

Zayed shook his head in disbelief at the deep crater—no, the gaping chasm—left in the ground.

Then—

Shhhhk.

"They're coming."

Drawing his shamshir, he fixed a sharp gaze forward.

Tap.

A light footstep echoed against the ashen earth.

'Incredibly light. An Assassin Class? No, an Assassin's hidden weapons couldn't create a crater like this. Then... Magic Class?'

Zayed's mind raced.

Beside him, Suad, sensing the presence too, crouched lower and tightened her grip on her circular blade.

Then—

Tap.

When something finally revealed itself, both Zayed and Suad's lips parted slightly.

And for good reason.

"Hehe! Found you~!"

A child's innocent laughter rang out.

Before even registering the child's delicate, adorable appearance—

The fact that this kid, who barely reached their waists, had no place in this Arena at all was what struck them first.

"A... a child?"

"Why is there a kid here...?"

Zayed and Suad were instantly thrown into confusion.

Since when did children appear in the Galaxy Arena?

And in this desolate Chaos Realm, of all places?

But before they could gather their thoughts—

Tap.

A clear, cheerful sound echoed from nearby.

Instinctively, Zayed and Suad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kicked off the ground.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

As if lying in wait, the earth erupted beneath them.

Sharp spikes shot up, chasing their retreating forms.

Then—

Tap.

Another sound.

CRACK-CRACK!

"Damn it!"

The stone spikes instantly morphed into the shape of a massive hand, seizing their legs.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Annihilation Cannon: Wave.

A black beam lanced through the air—piercing straight through Zayed's skull.

"Z-Zayed!"

Suad tried to catch his collapsing body but immediately retracted her hand.

Her sharp senses screamed a warning.

The ambusher was closing in.

"You—!"

Gritting her teeth, she hurled her circular blade at the attacker.

But—

Thud.

It was effortlessly blocked.

Considering her Aura was wrapped around the blade—

'He caught my weapon bare-handed?!'

Catching her blade bare-handed defied all logic.

But she had no time to dwell on it.

No—she couldn't dwell on it.

Piiing!

Another black beam shot forth.

Fired from the hand not holding her blade, it pierced straight through Suad's chest in an instant.

As if a perfect circle had been carved out.

With a gaping hole in her chest, Suad collapsed.

The last thing she heard was—

"Si-yeon! Daddy told you not to run off on your own!"

It was a man's voice, scolding as if reprimanding his own child.