Duel Request
Duel Request
That evening.
"Sirien-ssi. Are you ready?"
I and the Hero Party, having descended to the 12th floor, found a suitable spot to settle down.
I first installed the hideout and shower room at the spot I'd chosen, then asked Sirien if she was ready.
"Yeah! I can fight right now."
Sirien answered with a very excited face.
Since she looked like she wanted to fight immediately, I decided to use the Arena right away.
"Yes. I'll move to the Arena right now."
"Yeah, yeah!"
[You are using the Arena.]
[Please set the Arena usage time.]
[It is 1,000 points per hour.]
'Since there will be a lot of people using the Arena today.'
I set it for 2 hours, a little longer than yesterday.
[Arena usage time has been set to 2 hours.]
[Entering the Arena.]
Phat―
Actually, I wanted to set it for longer, but I had to wash up and sleep too.
So, having entered with a reasonably long time of 2 hours set, I called Sirien in as well.
[The other party has accepted the Arena duel invitation.]
Phat―
'Next is.......'
I went into Gallery Channel 1 and checked the posts that had been uploaded.
Because I had told people who wanted to participate in the Arena to post beforehand.
'There are about 20 people.'
When I invited them all, about 20 people appeared in an instant, just like Sirien.
Perhaps because they had been suddenly moved to the Arena, everyone looked around with surprised expressions.
"Is this the place called the Arena that Hye-gak-daesa-nim mentioned?"
"To be moved to a different space in an instant."
"It wouldn't be a trap of the Old Gods, would it?"
The people chatting like that started looking at me and Sirien one by one.
"That person is......."
"Hmm."
Then, a man presumed to be their representative stepped forward.
He then politely cupped his hands in a salute (po-gwon) toward me and introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you. I am Jin Cheong-un, a first-generation disciple of the Cheongseong Sect."
"Ah. I'm Castaway. This is my companion, Sirien-ssi."
The person who introduced himself as Jin Cheong-un had a tall, refreshingly handsome appearance.
I introduced myself to Jin Cheong-un, who could easily be a celebrity, but he frowned slightly.
"I introduced myself formally, but Castaway-nim only gives your nickname."
Nickname?
"My real name is Kim Min-ho, but... Castaway is more familiar now, so please call me that."
"Then I shall call you Jo So-hyeop."
"Then can I call you Jin So-hyeop?"
Jin Cheong-un looked at me for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes. You may call me that."
Regardless of that answer, I had the feeling that Jin Cheong-un didn't like me.
But since Jin Cheong-un and I had met for the first time today, I just brushed it off as my imagination.
"Castaway. What about that monk?"
Meanwhile, Sirien looked around at the people, searching for Hye-gak-daesa-nim.
Naturally, I had invited Hye-gak-daesa-nim to the Arena too, so if he had accepted, he should be here.
"I did invite him. But he didn't accept......."
Phat―
Before I could finish my sentence, someone appeared again.
Checking, it was Hye-gak-daesa-nim, and he bowed his head as soon as he entered the Arena.
"Amitabha. I was late in responding to the invitation because I was talking with the Alliance Leader for a moment."
Sirien saw Hye-gak-daesa-nim and rushed at him immediately.
"Monk! Let's fight!"
[Channel 2, 'Chief' requests a duel with Channel 1, 'Hye-gak'.]
[The other party declines the duel.]
"Yeo-siju (Laywoman), you are impatient. Let us talk for a moment......."
Hye-gak-daesa-nim stopped talking for a moment and seemed to examine Sirien's face.
Seeing his reaction, I wondered if he had noticed that Sirien had grown in just one day.
"You have grown in just one day. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I cannot believe it."
"Ah. I think it's a characteristic of the Beastkin race. I was surprised when I saw it too."
"Indeed, as you said, Siju, it seems different from humans."
Anyway, I thought Hye-gak-daesa-nim would spar with Sirien, but unexpectedly, he didn't.
"I apologize to the expectant Yeo-siju, but I would like to postpone the sparring for a moment."
"Is it difficult today?"
"It will take one shigyeong (about 30 minutes). I need to explain things to the people who have come here for the first time."
Come to think of it, I had to pay attention to the other people too.
Understanding, I nodded and said to Sirien, who was frowning.
"Sirien-ssi. He says he'll spar after he teaches the newcomers first."
"Newcomers? Can't they just watch my and the monk's duel and learn?"
"Watching and learning is different from being taught directly. Anyway, it seems like it will take about 30 minutes."
"Okay."
Sirien relaxed her stance with a dissatisfied face.
She was unhappy that she couldn't fight right away, but she didn't say anything else, as 30 minutes seemed okay.
'But does it really need 30 minutes?'
It seems like it would be over just by teaching them how to duel.
While I was thinking, someone walked out from among those people.
'Hm?'
Glossy black hair and skin as fair as white jade.
She was a beauty who evoked a mysterious atmosphere, along with a neat and elegant appearance.
'Could it be Cheong Wol-hwa?'
Along with the thought, the woman smiled softly at me and spoke.
"You're Castaway, right?"
"Are you, by any chance, Cheong Wol-hwa?"
"Yes."
It was indeed Cheong Wol-hwa.
I was surprised because she was much more beautiful than I thought, but not enough to be flustered.
"Who is she?"
Just then, Sirien, who was next to me, asked who it was.
"She's someone I got to know while looking around Gallery Channel 1. Thanks to her, I also met Hye-gak-daesa-nim."
"Okay."
Sirien answered briefly and looked at Cheong Wol-hwa again.
Cheong Wol-hwa also saw Sirien, who was stuck right next to me, and asked me.
"Who is the person next to you?"
"She's my companion. As you can see, she's not a human, but a race called Beastkin."
"Are there races other than humans?"
"In Channel 2, where I am, yes."
It seemed there were races other than humans in Channel 2 and Channel 5.
Since it seemed like there were only humans in the other channels, I could understand why Cheong Wol-hwa was surprised now.
"Anyway, I wanted to meet you in person and say thank you."
"I'm receiving help through Hye-gak-daesa-nim too, so it's fine."
I wasn't receiving help directly, but I didn't care.
Because it wasn't bad for me that my companion, Sirien, was getting stronger.
"But you. Your body is a bit strange."
"My body?"
"It seems like you've learned external martial arts, but there are no signs of training."
"Ah. You're right. I ate something like a spirit medicine."
"Spirit medicine? Don't tell me you can even get spirit medicine?"
Cheong Wol-hwa showed quite a bit of interest at the mention of spirit medicine.
"I'm getting them from Channel 7. But I think it might be a little different from the spirit medicine you knew."
"How is it different?"
I thought about it for a moment and decided it would be better to show her, so I took [Urus's Heart] out of my inventory.
According to Yoo Hyun-min from Channel 7, it increases stamina when eaten, so I thought it would be a decent spirit medicine.
"Something like this."
Cheong Wol-hwa examined it carefully as expected when I took out the black stone.
"It's different from the spirit medicine I know."
It had to be different.
"It's something I got from a monster, so it will be different from what you know."
"Monster? Then is this a spirit core (Naedan)?"
Spirit core? Can you call it a spirit core?
"Maybe?"
As I answered, I could see Hye-gak-daesa-nim approaching from one side.
Behind Hye-gak-daesa-nim, people had started 1:1 duels; it seemed he had taught them how to do it.
"You two were already talking."
"Yes. Are you finished with the explanations?"
"I've told them everything I know. The rest is just a matter of adapting."
Hearing Hye-gak-daesa-nim's words, I looked at the people and saw they were sparring lightly.
He must have told them that they would be fine even if they got hurt, but accepting that in reality seemed to be a separate issue.
"Can we fight now?"
Along with that, Sirien looked at Hye-gak-daesa-nim, who had approached, and asked if they could fight.
"Sirien-ssi is asking if you can fight."
"Hmm. Showing it to the others would be a good method. However, I must decline going until the end like yesterday."
"Do you have something else to do?"
"It's because I want to talk with Siju for once."
Hye-gak-daesa-nim replied that it was difficult to keep sparring with Sirien because he wanted to talk with me.
"Sirien-ssi. He says he can't keep dueling like yesterday."
"As long as we can fight, it's fine!"
Sirien shouted only for the fight, as if she decided to think about other things later.
I watched Sirien, whose eyes were slowly starting to roll back, and silently stepped back to make room.
'She'll go back to normal after a good fight.'
[The other party accepts the duel.]
Then, Sirien rushed fiercely toward Hye-gak-daesa-nim like yesterday.
Perhaps because the momentum of wanting to finish off the opponent was conveyed as it was, everyone turned their heads to watch.
Kwakwang!― Kwang!―
Naturally, to me, it only looked like they were swinging fists at each other.
But Cheong Wol-hwa seemed different, as she watched the battle between Sirien and Hye-gak-daesa-nim with an admiring face.
"Perfect Dragon Claw Hand and Transplanting Flowers (Yi-hwa-jeop-mok)."
"......."
What's that?
"Compared to that, that woman fights like a beast. If she fights like that, she can't beat Hye-gak-daesa-nim even with the same skill level."
I didn't know the details, but it sounded like Sirien was far behind in terms of technique.
Kwang!―
In an instant, Hye-gak-daesa-nim gently parried Sirien's arm and then threw a powerful punch.
"Diamond Fist (Geumgang-gwon). And it was a direct hit."
Sirien flew back a few meters due to the impact, but soon caught her balance in the air and landed.
"Keuheueong!"
Then, thinking she couldn't go on like this, she transformed into her White Tiger form.
People were startled when Sirien suddenly turned into a tiger standing on two legs.
"Huh? Castaway. What happened to her?"
"It seems the race called Beastkin can transform into animals like that."
"A person turning into an animal......."
Cheong Wol-hwa was quite surprised, but the battle itself didn't change.
Whether Sirien turned into a White Tiger or not, Hye-gak-daesa-nim just beat her up more diligently.
Kwang!―
Eventually, Sirien, having been hit countless times, fell backward as if half-fainted and couldn't get up.
[The duel ends.]
"I will stop here for today."
Also, with the end of the sparring, Sirien's body returned to normal.
As she regained consciousness, Sirien jumped up from her spot and requested a duel one more time.
"Fight again!"
[The other party declines the duel.]
Hye-gak-daesa-nim approached me while declining Sirien's duel.
Seeing that, Sirien seemed to know it was over, so she pouted her lips and walked over sluggishly.
'Hm?'
And another person approached me, and it was Jin Cheong-un, whom I had introduced a little while ago.
"Jo So-hyeop. If it's okay with you, how about we spar too?"
"Me?"
"Yes. Personally, I'm curious about how people from other worlds fight."
"I don't know how to fight?"
It wasn't that I didn't have the means to fight, but if asked if I knew how to fight, that wasn't it either.
Jin Cheong-un looked surprised in many ways, as if he didn't expect me to answer like this, but he didn't seem to have any intention of backing down.
"Then are you just going to hide behind your companion, Jo So-hyeop?"
"Yes."
When I answered honestly again, Jin Cheong-un seemed satisfied and glanced at Cheong Wol-hwa next to me.
Thanks to that, I could roughly tell what was going on; it seemed he had feelings for Cheong Wol-hwa.
'Well. Cheong Wol-hwa is also incredibly pretty.'
The Golden King of Channel 4 was also incredibly pretty, but if that was a beauty that felt alien, Cheong Wol-hwa's beauty felt harmonious.
Moreover, just looking at her appearance, I felt she was a tiny bit prettier than the Channel 2 group, but that was about it.
'It's not like Cheong Wol-hwa is overwhelmingly pretty.'
It was literally just a tiny bit prettier, so I didn't think much of it.
"As a fellow man, it's a pity. Then I will teach you basic martial arts, Jo So-hyeop."
Anyway, Jin Cheong-un seemed to be trying to show Cheong Wol-hwa what kind of person I was.
"Jin Gong-ja (Young Master Jin). What kind of rudeness is this?"
Cheong Wol-hwa also seemed to notice Jin Cheong-un's intention and answered coldly.
Apart from that, since I had the means to fight, I seriously considered Jin Cheong-un's sparring request.
'Come to think of it, I haven't really used Telekinesis and the 9 Styles of Taehwa properly.'
Also, since this was the Arena, I thought it would be a good opportunity to practice.
I also secretly thought that since Sirien was fine even after getting beaten up so much, wouldn't I be the same?
"Rather than basic martial arts, I think it would be enough if you just teach me how to fight in a duel."
So, I decided to practice the abilities I had against Jin Cheong-un.