Chapter 5: Just as I thought, huh?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: Just as I thought, huh?
As the Bald Giant and I drew our swords and pointed them at each other, the stage was officially set.
“A Life-and-Death Duel!”
“Clear the space, quick!”
“Wait! Don’t fight yet, hold on!”
Most of the Hidden Tower's patrons were low-ranking members of the Unorthodox Faction or Freelance Vagrants. They were lunatics who went wild for a fight, bet their lives on gambling duels, and got off on the sight of blood.
‘That’s just how the Underworld types are, I guess.’
The patrons, not content with merely instigating the fight, actively setting the stage, quickly cleared the tables and made space in the center for us to fight.
Normally, the owner would step in to stop things before they escalated, but here, the owner was the biggest problem.
“A Life-and-Death Duel, only seen here at the Hidden Tower! Wouldn’t it be a shame to miss out on predicting the winner? Especially when it’s a chance to test the discerning eyes of us heroes!”
As a Middle-Aged Man with a booming voice shouted, looking around like a seasoned barker, cheers erupted from the crowd. It was Hwang Suk-su, the Owner of this very Hidden Tower.
He was a scumbag addicted to Betting Duels, the kind of man who would often gather Vagrants deep in debt, offer prize money, and host Life-and-Death Duels.
“Everyone, place your bets on the winner! Left for the Bald Giant to win! Right for the masked guy to win! Guess correctly and get double your money, minus commission! Guess the exact number of exchanges until victory, and it’s five times!”
His skill at exciting the crowd showed just how many times he'd done this. Soon, piles of money accumulated to Hwang Suk-su's left and right.
“This is bullshit…”
It’s always awkward for the actual participants when someone’s egging on the fight right next to them.
The Bald Giant cursed unhappily at becoming a betting spectacle, but there was no backing out of the fight now. The moment he put his sword away in front of all these people, he'd be branded a coward and a laughingstock, and that was a matter tied to his organization's prestige.
‘Too late for regrets now. The moment he drew his sword in a fit of rage, this was the predetermined outcome.’
The moment that bald man loses to me, his organization won't dare to make another recruitment offer to Bok-ja. It's only natural to want to join a stronger organization in the Underworld. In other words, simply by demonstrating my skill here, I could ward off countless future nuisances.
“This way is definitely simpler, which I like.”
“What are you talking about? You’re about to die here if you’re not careful.”
Bok-ja bit her fingernail, looking at me anxiously. Saying 'don't worry' wouldn't really comfort her, so instead, I pulled out my wallet from my pocket.
“Go bet my money too.”
“...You said you didn’t have any money? Was that a lie?”
“I don’t have enough for the procedure, but I have some pocket money.”
“What kind of….”
I said, just loud enough for Bok-ja to hear, and pulled out all the cash from my wallet. Bok-ja saw the meager amount, and clicked her tongue softly, as if pitying me.
“You really are still a school kid, huh. Getting pocket money from your mom and dad…”
“Shut up and go place the bet.”
“Hey. I’m betting on you too, you know?”
Knowing that her gruff words were her own way of cheering me on, I grinned and nodded.
“If you want to make a killing, you’d better go to the bank quickly.”
“You crazy bastard. Just you dare lose.”
Bok-ja chuckled, then went to Hwang Suk-su and placed my money and her own. I glanced over and saw it was a considerable sum.
‘The odds of winning and losing are roughly fifty-fifty... No, I'm slightly behind.’
To Hwang Suk-su's left, meaning on the Bald Giant's victory, a bit more money had piled up. It seemed they judged my earlier twisting of the Bald Giant's arm as a surprise move. With no information about me, it was a natural outcome.
Those who bet on my victory were either aiming for an upset, or had sharp eyes, one of the two. Among them, Hwang Suk-su, who seemed to be the latter, looked at me with a strange gaze and spoke.
“The fighters should warm up for a bit. Wouldn't it be a shame if stiff bodies prevented you from showing your true skill?”
“Five exchanges.”
“Huh?”
“You said five times if you guess correctly. I’m betting I’ll win in five exchanges, so make sure to record that.”
“Heh heh. A bold one, aren’t you? I like it!”
Hwang Suk-su grinned and nodded. Though he was a scumbag who treated human lives like flies', there was no harm in building a connection with him in the Underworld.
“That motherfucker…. Hey! I’ll bet all my money too! On me beating that bastard to death within five exchanges!”
When the Bald Giant heard my words, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he bet his entire fortune, making the gambling den's fervor rise even higher.
A moment later, once the betting duel was mostly settled, Hwang Suk-su approached us, who were still awkwardly facing each other in the center.
“Let me tell you in advance, if there’s any property damage, the loser will pay for it. If you die, I’ll harvest your organs from your corpse, and if you’re lucky enough to survive, I’ll make you wash dishes until you pay it off. You both agree to this, right?”
He said these chilling words with a casual smile, and since neither of us intended to lose, we both vaguely nodded.
“And even though it’s a life-and-death match, if one side surrenders, show mercy and let them live. Too many corpses tend to give the establishment a bad reputation, you see.”
It was a meaningless thing to say. He didn't seem to mean it himself, judging by his indifferent expression.
The Bald Giant twitched his eyebrow and said, “There won’t be a chance for that, will there? I’ll kill that bastard before the word ‘surrender’ can even leave his mouth.”
He slammed his large sword onto the floor with a thud as he spoke. His eyes alone looked like they could tear a tiger apart.
“Heh heh. I envy the vigor of youth. Then, I wish you both good fortune in martial arts.”
Hwang Suk-su retreated to where the spectators surrounded us, and the highly excited crowd roared for the fight to begin.
The Bald Giant, who had pulled his sword from where it was stuck in the floor, licked his lips with his tongue and slowly approached me.
“Five exchanges, you said? Cutting off one limb at a time, then finally his neck, would fit perfectly.”
“Don’t you have a more creative method? I’ve been thinking about it since earlier, because I need to make a strong impression for my debut.”
“...You bastard!”
Without warning, he swung his sword, aiming for my neck.
‘Dirty bastard. Breaking his promise right from the start.’
It was my first real fight since returning to the past, but I felt no tension. Even without using Internal Energy, Underworld thugs like him were no match for me. Even with my mouth and nose covered by a mask, and my vision restricted by goggles, it wasn't even a handicap.
Whoosh!
I dodged the sword aimed at my neck with a slight tilt of my head, and scanned my surroundings out of the corner of my eye.
‘The real players are over there.’
Those who weren't caught up in the gambling frenzy, but sat quietly in the corner, observing the situation. They were members of fairly large organizations. I remembered a few of them, and some unpleasant past encounters came to mind.
‘Should I just give them a taste today?’
Having decided how to 'cook' my opponent, I brushed past the Bald Giant.
“One.”
And like peeling an apple, I sliced off one of his ears.
“Gah!”
Blood streamed from his ear. When the Bald Giant turned to look at me, his eyes were already bloodshot, capillaries burst.
“I’ll kill you—!”
He swung his sword wildly, charging like a wild boar. The power behind his sword seemed capable of shattering stone, but it was useless if it didn't connect.
“Two.”
Again, I dodged his attack with a brush, and this time, I slashed his flank.
“Haaah!”
Perhaps feeling the pain from his newly opened flank belatedly, the bald man stumbled back, clutching his wound. But realizing the wound was shallower than he expected, he shouted triumphantly.
“Do you think a weak little slash like that could cut me, a master of external martial arts?!”
Contrary to his confident words, the man, sensing danger, quickly pulled a syringe from his pocket and plunged it into his forearm.
‘Drugs.’
Using drugs is common in the Underworld's Unorthodox Martial World. They usually numb pain and make one forget fear. Expensive ones could temporarily boost physical abilities or make qi circulate faster. Of course, the side effects were considerable, but who wouldn't use them when they could aim for a sudden reversal in a desperate moment? Of course, against an overwhelming opponent, even that was useless.
“Three.”
Splurt!
I severed the arm holding the sword, right at the wrist. Dull-sensed due to the drugs, the man didn't even realize his arm was cut off, wildly swinging it and spraying blood into the air.
“I’m not really a fan of ketchup.”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
Realizing belatedly that his arm had been severed, the man stumbled backward. Even with the drugs in his system, I could see confusion and fear slowly creeping into his eyes.
By now, he must have started to grasp reality.
That no matter what he did, he couldn't defeat the opponent before him.
I let my sword hang for a moment and scratched my cheek.
“What’s it gonna be? Should we stop here?”
“Su-surrender…”
I turned my head to look around, and boos erupted from the spectators.
Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!
Kill him! Kill him!
And while I was momentarily distracted by my surroundings, the bald man, pulling out a hidden blade from who-knows-where, charged at me.
“...Like hell I would—!”
Just as I thought, huh?
‘Not a single thing deviates from my predictions.’
Without even looking, I dodged him, then tripped him. And into the fallen man's thigh, I plunged my sword deep.
“Four.”
Thwack—
“Aaaargh!!”
With the sword driven all the way into the floor, he was pinned like an insect on a thumbtack. Bleeding profusely from his ear, flank, hand, and thigh—his entire body—he looked quite different from his triumphant demeanor at the start.
“P-please, save me…”
I approached the man, who was writhing with only the instinct to live remaining, and covered his mouth with my palm.
“You know something?”
He choked and tried to twist his body, but his mangled body couldn't shake off my hand.
“I’ve already spared your life four times.”
I whispered softly into the ear of the man, who was trembling in terror. In a deep, clear voice that everyone in the Hidden Tower could hear.
“When I first cut off your ear, I could have cut your throat. When I slashed your flank, I could have spilled your guts. When I severed your arm, I considered stabbing your heart. But I spared you, didn’t I? I clearly gave you chances, didn’t I?”
I twisted the sword embedded in his thigh slightly. His mouth was covered, so he couldn't even scream, only writhe in agony.
“Mph, mmph…!”
“For the fourth, I could have plunged the sword between your legs instead of your thigh, but I let you off again. Because I don’t like killing people.”
I meant it.
In my twenty years as a Vagrant, living by the sword, I had experienced all sorts of things. I killed those who deserved to die, and spared those who deserved to live. Though I couldn't live like a hero of the Orthodox Faction, I could proudly say I lived without harming the innocent. By my standards, which were formed this way, this man deserved to die.
Gulp...
Somewhere, I heard the sound of someone swallowing dry.
I looked around and realized that no one was speaking anymore.
Ignoring them, I calmly asked the man, who was looking up at me, slowly dying.
“Want to try one more time? Curious what the fifth will be?”
He shook his head desperately, tears streaming down his face.
I slowly removed my hand from his mouth.
“Su-surren—”
Before the word could be completed, I pierced a hole in his neck.
“Too late.”
As I pulled out the blade, blood spurted up, splattering my goggles like paint.
Leaving the corpse that slumped to the side, I stood up and turned to face the spectators.
“Did everyone enjoy the gambling? Let me say this again. Rerae is now part of our organization. Don’t touch her. This is your only warning.”
Among the silent spectators, Hwang Suk-su suddenly began to clap.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
His eyes were gleaming as if he had discovered a treasure. If I hadn't been wearing goggles, my contemptuous gaze would have been exposed.
“What are you all doing? You should be applauding and cheering for the winner of the Life-and-Death Duel—!”
Belatedly, applause and cheers followed. Some even whistled and sprayed alcohol.
‘Seriously, this place is full of nothing but lunatics.’
I shrugged once, then approached Bok-ja, whose expression was completely frozen.