Chapter 146

CHAPTER 41: THE COLISEUM TERRITORY WAR

The sun had just risen, bathing the city in golden light. Through Roze, I’d pieced together a lot, and the funniest bit was that Ryan Lionheart’s name was plastered across the rankings of the 5-star Holy Knights. “You’re eating, I see,” Ryan said, naturally dropping into the seat right in front of me. There were plenty of empty tables. Why pick the one right here? I couldn’t help but think.

The blond guy eating in front of me was Titania’s favorite meal. A 5-star Holy Knight, and the waitress’s reaction from yesterday suddenly made perfect sense. ‘He must’ve been squirming, dying to get a taste.’

I dipped my bread into the thick stew and kept eating, eyes locked on him the whole time.

“Haha, is there something on my face?” “No, not at all.” “Just don’t stare. Even if I’m used to it, it’s a little embarrassing.”

Ryan flashed a friendly smile. Damn, he was good-looking. And the body under those clothes—sculpted from daily training—looked like it was made to drive women crazy. ‘Tsk tsk, that little thing of his probably looks tiny.’

“What’s your name?” “Kim Jinwu, ma’am.” “Oh, Mr. Jinwu. That’s a rather unique name.”

He ate with lazy elegance, then turned to me. “I’m Ryan. Ryan Lionheart. Since I got summoned to the Tower, my family ties are severed, so just call me Ryan.”

Polite. Proper. A man who knew the rules. Only the fact that those manners were aimed at me was the real irony. I figured he was just that way toward everyone.

Holy Knights got the VIP treatment, after all. Their reputation had stacked up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠layer by layer until the whole group looked saintly.

“When did you arrive on the third floor?” “Yesterday.” “Ah, I see.”

Ryan’s smile was too smooth to be comfortable. “That’s why I couldn’t find you. The reason I suddenly felt your presence yesterday…”

He was saying things I didn’t understand. Find what? Me? That presence bullshit? The guy couldn’t even sense an empty room, let alone me.

‘Familiar situation again. Same as yesterday.’

The way Titania had acted toward me was almost identical. She’d sensed me and come looking. There had to be something behind it.

My hostility toward Ryan flared up.

At that moment he smiled faintly, the kind that said “don’t worry.”

“You’re quite something.”

“Hm?” “Your name sounds Dongdaeryuk, but the clothes don’t match. You’re not from there. So you must be from another dimension.”

Ryan’s eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sparkled. “A player from another dimension with such thick black magic…”

“What are you talking about…”

A cold, prickling sensation crawled up my spine.

He’d called me a 5-star Holy Knight. Then suddenly realized I was a sorcerer?

‘Unbelievable.’

There were Saints, Priestesses, Popes, endless clergy across every dimension and time period. They swung holy power based on faith alone. They had zero way of spotting a sorcerer or witch. Even in the original world it was possible; the Tower’s System made that distinction impossible. If it worked here too, I would’ve been in trouble back when Elena and the others were hunting us.

Black magic was just one flavor among many.

‘If it was another sorcerer, maybe…’

Countless dimensions, endless races rising and falling. In a Tower where nobody knew anyone else, camouflage was practically expected.

I couldn’t rule out a fake saint using black magic.

‘This guy…’

Ryan grinned. “Such dense black magic isn’t something a rookie player can have.”

The look in his eyes wasn’t the one you gave someone you planned to kill.

“And the scent… it’s not the cheap stuff. You’re not some low-tier sorcerer, Jinwu. The power coming off you is almost identical to the one His Holiness showed us.”

“His Holiness?” He stared at me like I was the greatest Lich in history. “Are you a disciple of the great Lich, Pluto?”

Disciples of Pluto were all sorcerers by nature. That was why I hadn’t recognized the name at first. Ryan Lionheart wasn’t his real name.

‘Same face as the Mask Man.’

Now it made sense. Once I saw it, it was obvious. The black magic stains on his face.

“…Pluto’s disciple.”

“Disciple? The Bible doesn’t mention it. I don’t remember reading anything like that.” “You came to the Tower and received the power. Of course it wouldn’t be in the Book.”

I let the words slip and immediately reshaped our relationship. “I can’t believe it, but I have no choice. The power coming from you is exactly like Pluto’s—same as the Archbishop showed us.”

“Anyway…” I didn’t want to drag this out. Pluto worship was boring. “Are you a sorcerer?” “Yes. I ran from the upper floors. The Saint knew me and climbed up. I was going to be hunted, so I couldn’t hang on any longer.”

“A Saint?” Only one name popped into my head. ‘The woman who cracked every head in the sorcerer hunt. What was her name again?’

I remembered her and Elena had been thick as thieves. “Yes, her name’s Christina. When I was deep in black magic, she became a Saint through pure faith.”

Christina. Christina Luminous. The Saint I knew.

“So what was your relationship?” “We were childhood sweethearts. We were supposed to get married as kids. After I became a sorcerer, it turned sour.”

Of course it did. “Haha, Christina said she’d take the punishment the gods were going to give me. She was going to kill me. Lucky for me I got summoned to the Tower and survived. If not, we’d be facing each other right now.”

As usual, Yoo Dahui—our reader—had zero interest in the heroines’ stories. Even though I was the reader, I knew nothing about this background.

Ryan chuckled. The sorcerer revelation had turned his cool image into something sleazy. “Since you just came down a floor, you probably won’t be caught until I tell my comrades. They’re probably praying for me while they torture my friends.”

“Sorcerers pray?” “Yeah, they can. To me, Pluto is like a god. As a result, I’m both a sorcerer and have holy power. Thanks to that, my disguise works perfectly. I live thinking Pluto’s gift is the best thing ever.”

He showed off the radiant holy light. Because it was real holy power, I kept my mouth shut.

‘This guy’s been playing holy knight too, huh? Just like I played Mask Man.’

“Anyway, if you’re really Pluto’s disciple, Jinwu, it was a good decision to come down here. Meeting you… I don’t have a single regret even if I die.”

His expression was pure saintly. ‘Fake bastards…’

Pluto wasn’t a god; he was a Lich. An emaciated skeleton who just wandered the 0th floor doing nothing but time.

“Fine. I have one favor.”

“What is it?”

I wanted to cut the long explanation short and ask the succubus to drain my essence for me.

“What?”

“Just approach me in a dream and let me suck some essence, okay?”

“Oh, you mean the succubus from yesterday?”

“Yesterday?”

Was he talking about Roze? Ryan looked at me with even more reverence.

“As expected, a disciple of Pluto can even send a succubus away like that. I respect you as a sorcerer, and I respect you as a man.”

“No, not her. A silver-haired succubus. Just drain some essence, okay?”

“Hmm, not as hard as I thought. So what’s the reward?”

“What do you want? Do you have something in mind?”

Ryan’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.

“Show me Pluto’s black magic.”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was an easy reward. “Sure, I’ll show you sometime.” “Thank you. I’ll do anything you ask…!”

I stood up after he gave me his word. I’d barely finished eating. I left the inn and headed straight for the Colosseum.

On the way I thought things over. ‘Why does Titania want Ryan’s essence so badly?’

That was the biggest question. A 5-star player shouldn’t need anything else. The ★ difference was just whether you could hunt boss monsters or not.

‘Hmm…’ Mixed holy power and black magic did sound delicious. I’d absorbed holy power and spirit energy the second I learned black magic. How did Ryan manage to hold both?

‘I don’t know…’

There had to be a reason.

The closer we got to the Colosseum, the more people there were. The larger the duel scale, the bigger the gambling scene. People naturally gathered. It was only natural.

I pushed through the crowd and stepped inside. Since I wasn’t a spectator, I had to find the participants’ waiting area. I wandered around like an idiot at first.

“Hey!”

Someone called my name from behind. Red-haired Nymph—Fren.

“Yo!”

I walked over to Fren and Ally. Their outfits screamed serious business.

“Tsk tsk, a thief, huh? What are you going to do with that pathetic equipment…”

“You’re worse than a human, asshole. Shut your mouth.”

Fren was still glaring at me. He liked his twin sister Ally, so that reaction was expected.

“Ally’s chest is huge today too. You wanna suck on them?”

“Don’t talk to Ally, you horny dog.”

“Not mine, why are you babbling? Want to die?”

After climbing three floors, I realized my level was higher than I thought. At least I didn’t look like I’d lose to Fren.

Ally squeezed between us. “We don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“This guy is—” “Fren, shut up. You’re welcome for joining the roster, but if you don’t want to get your ass beat by Blackskull, take this seriously.”

Ally laughed at me. “From the moment we team up, Blackskull’s going to chase you every single day.”

She sounded like she’d just gotten revenge. Fren did the same—his head was full of something, and the anger melted into mockery.

‘What the hell?’

Of course revenge was coming. Isolating someone and letting them die slowly was a retarded move. But I was a regressor. ‘I can smash them as much as I want and then regress, right?’

The Nymphs turned and headed toward the waiting room. I followed behind the twins, laughing at the Nymphs who were laughing at me.

Because they knew the way, the Nymphs walked straight into the “Red-Haired Mercenary Guild” waiting room.

“Hey, you pathetic mercenary friends.”

In front of the room, a bunch of Blackskull guild members stood blocking the door like they owned the place.

“Hmph, we heard you couldn’t catch a player. Looks like it’s true.”

“Humph! The only one you brought is a human? Against us? Are you underestimating us?”

The rare Orc Shaman, Dark Elf Knight, and Lion Beastmen stared down at us, ready to bully.

They looked intimidating against the Nymphs. But Ally didn’t flinch. She straightened her shoulders and spoke boldly. “You’re not worth ignoring. You’re ambushers who don’t have the guts to fight fair.”

“Hah, ambush? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The Dark Elf laughed mockingly. Fren’s fists clenched so hard they trembled. He looked pitiful.

The bell rang. The fight began.

I watched the fight from the side, thinking. ‘Titania really wants this guy’s essence?’

No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠5-star player needed anything else. The star difference was just boss hunting. But mixed holy power and black magic sounded interesting.

I absorbed holy power and spirit energy the moment I learned black magic. How did Ryan do it?

I didn’t know. There had to be a reason.

The crowd roared. I smiled coldly. This was going to be fun.