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＜ 15. Come on, you fresh youngster (5) ＞
Decimus looked around nervously. Because they didn’t even compete properly, let alone create something to watch with fierce battles, it seemed like a riot would break out at any moment in the audience .
‘ Damn it, even if I fight after something like that happens, my prestige won’t stand …’
The way Decimus raises his honor as the ‘king of the arena’ is to defeat a strong challenger. However, it was obvious that if he fought against a challenger who could not prove his strength and only surrendered, only suspicion would remain .
‘ Are you saying that he was the king of the arena while only defeating the minnows…? Damn it, I can’t ask cowards who dropped their tails to fight again… It’s been a while since I’ve been a challenger, so I can’t believe things are like this …’
While Decimus was trembling without being able to do this or that, Andrea picked up the gauntlet that had fallen on the floor, put it back on, and walked slowly toward Decimus .
“ The king of the arena! I have something to tell you !”
In the eyes of the crowd, Andrea appeared cowardly to beg for his life. Naturally, all sorts of swear words poured in from all sides. a context in which the rough-and-tumble and the coward quickly fall into the lion’s den .
But even if he didn’t bother, Andrea was going to do it anyway .
“ The king of the arena, I am not trying to live a miserable life. Of course, I plan to fall into the lion’s den under the arena, as promised in advance. But do you know why I didn’t fight ?”
“… Quiet !!”
When Andrea’s voice was hard to hear, Decimus shouted again in a loud voice. The murmur did not stop, but for now a silence came .
Decimus slowly looked down at Andrea .
“ Okay, so why didn’t you fight? Even if you don’t want to be the ‘King of the Arena’, since you guys are challengers, you should have won anyway ?”
“ That’s why you don’t fight challengers right away! I want to fight an opponent who is equal to me! Not those weaklings who would stretch out with a single punch !”
The sound of snoring and booing that erupts. On the other side, he could feel Verdin’s burning eyes. As soon as the spectators showed signs of getting noisy again, Decimus hurriedly raised his hand to stop it .
“ So what, you want to fight me right away? Hey, everything has an order. Even if you’re that strong, I can’t give you preferential treatment .”
“ No, you are not the one I want to fight. Although you are the master of this arena, aren’t you invincible, always victorious? Apparently, there is a ‘truly invincible champion’ that no one has overcome in this arena .”
A remark that lashes out at one’s self-esteem. Decimus’ brow narrowed .
“… Who are you talking about ?”
“ They are the lions in the lion pen !”
Unexpected reactions. The booing and ridicule from the crowd intensified. But Andrea didn’t care and turned to the crowd .
“ Think about it! It’s not like they bind their limbs or stun them and throw them into the lion cage, so I wonder if there’s a challenger who has come back alive from the lion cage .”
“…”
“ Even if only the losers who lost the fight were put in, there must have been strong ones who could easily beat the lions. Isn’t it strange that no one came back ?”
The booing subsides, and there is silence for a while. After that, a buzzing sound spread like a wave throughout the arena .
“ Come to think of it, how could not even one person escape …”
“ There were also guys who were very strong, but because their opponents were bad, they lost by a narrow margin …”
“… What is it, isn’t it a lion inside ?”
Decimus let out a drool .
‘ He’s the first guy I’ve ever seen, but how does he know so much about the arena ?’
I don’t know how I knew that fact, but this kind of flow was not good. What that word means is …
‘ You boast that you are the king of the arena, but in fact, don’t you have the strength of the lion in the lion den ?’
Decimus’s hardened face. If that challenger had said that and encouraged him to fight the lions, it would have been difficult to avoid the offer without leaving a question unanswered. That was the worst development that Decimus wanted to avoid the most .
‘… Even if you can’t kill them, you can subdue them in order. But it’s impossible for me to deal with all the lions in the lion den .’
As Andrea guessed, the lions in the basement of the arena were not ordinary lions. However, it was a fact that Decimus, who wanted to reign as the strongest in the arena, wanted to hide .
While being silent without being able to do this or that, Andrea took a step forward toward Decimus .
“ Therefore, I propose! Surrendering before fighting was all planned by me, so I alone will take responsibility and enter the lion’s den! And I will overcome the lions and make sure to come back !”
“… What if I can’t come back ?”
“ At that time, according to the rules of the arena, you can put all of my party in the lion den !”
Decimus scanned the stands. In the eyes of the spectators who had lost interest and resentment at the steaming battle, there was a spark of curiosity in their eyes. Because these unexpected developments are what they like most .
The corners of Decimus’ mouth soared in a crooked curve. For him, it was a suggestion many times more welcome than going into the lion den and confronting him. It’s because you can preserve your honor, protect the arena’s discipline, and calm the crowd’s anger .
‘ Besides, there’s no way that guy will come back from the lion’s den anyway. How do you kill those lions …’
“ Good! I, the arena king, Decimus accept your offer! The enemies you have to face are not the challengers on the other side from now on, but the lions of the lion cage. Victory or death !”
With the willingly given permission, a cheer like foam rose from the audience .
“ Wow !!”
“ Victory or death !”
“ Victory or death !”
They were terribly simple people. Those who would even sell their souls for a fun spectacle. While Andrea was sighing heavily, Trisha approached with a worried expression on her face .
“ Andrea, are you okay? Really… I can deal with it alone .”
Andrea waved her hand and nodded, as if telling her not to worry .
“ Don’t worry. Rather, can you call Priest Emilia for a second ?”
Andrea whispered to Emilia for a while before leaving. A request to reiterate what was said before the fight. Emilia immediately nodded as if she understood .
Afterwards, gladiators wearing helmets came out and guided Andrea to a corner of the arena. When the large cover was removed, there was a single, wide-open hole without a ladder. The words of a loser who only devours and never returns .
Andrea looked through the hole. The sound of something howling was coming up the walls. It was somehow not an unfamiliar sound .
‘ As expected… Was it controlling those guys with this? ‘
Andrea confirmed that there was a lot of something stuck to the wall of the hole. Now the tension has subsided, and slowly, aloof confidence has risen .
Everyone in the arena watched with excitement, their hands sweating. Without even predicting what would happen in the future .
After that, Andrea threw herself into the hole without hesitation .
*
‘ Kreurrr ….’
Eyes twinkled in the dark. Eyes that embroider the air with a blue afterimage. Hungry gazes that seemed to attack the prey at any moment. If it was an ordinary person who fell here, he would have been terrified, not knowing what the owners of those eyes buried in the darkness were .
But Andrea could see. Thanks to the shadow god’s grace that makes it possible to see through the darkness .
Its purple mane and skin of a lighter color, the upper body of a lion, but the lower body was floating in the air in the form of a hazy smoke. It was a strange appearance that seemed to mix a lion and a ghost .
‘ As expected, my prediction was correct .’
Andrea finally found out why the challengers who fell into the lion’s den always met death. If those lions were the enemy, of course it had to be .
Void Lion .
Those guys aren’t monsters that usually appear. A monster that appears only when something that shouldn’t have happened, such as exceeding the time limit in a timed quest or accidentally killing an escort target in an escort mission .
It was not a battle to fight back, but they were created only for the purpose of punishing the player .
The void messengers did not have overwhelming power. If you have completed your deck and are on the 70th floor, you will be able to fight evenly against a single void lion. However, there is a reason why the void messenger appears when punishing a player nonetheless .
‘ As time goes by, the group grows, and no matter what I do, I can never kill them .’
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Not like that under any additional conditions, literally complete invincibility. No matter how competent a challenger is, he cannot defeat an immortal foe. It was only natural that no challenger had ever escaped the lion’s cage .
“ Krurrr ..”
The void messengers approach Andrea one step at a time. But Andrea wasn’t scared at all. He knew the void messengers’ loopholes. Andrea’s hand toward the deck pulled out a card without delay .
Thanks to the card collection being drawn, I used it right away, and 4 cards were drawn in a row. All the cards Andrea wanted were picked up from the first turn .
First, shadow hiding. After using the card, Andrea’s figure disappeared. The void messengers were confused when their prey suddenly disappeared .
“ Cheer up !”
“ Keuuhhh !”
‘ Those guys don’t recognize a person in hiding. Of course, shadow hiding has a time limit, so it’s bound to be released …’
It was enough to take the time. Andrea spurred the floor and used a leap. Then, holding on to the wall, I climbed up again through the hole I fell into .
‘ The reason why the void messengers have no choice but to be quietly imprisoned here. It must be because of the amulets that are stuck on this wall .’
The void messengers will desperately get in the way, so even riding up here and checking out these amulets is impossible for the average challenger. Thanks to Shadow Stealth, Andrea was not disturbed in any way, but .
Andrea used Shadow Imprint. The iron plate attached to the wrist of the gauntlet opened, and black flames soared. It was enough firepower to burn up a pile of scraps of paper all over the wall .
‘ Amulet of Anti-Magic. Almost the only way to suppress the Void Messenger… I don’t know if Decimus did it, or if it was the person who created the arena in the first place. Heaps of these would have to be glued together to keep them caged with void messengers. Well, anyway …’
As Andrea swept the wall with her gauntlet, black flames soared and consumed all the amulets .
‘ Though it’s all useless now .’
“ Cheer up !”
“ Kurrr !!”
The void messengers noticed the anomaly. Those guys must have been anxious to get out now that the barricade was gone .
Andrea was determined to get out before the void messengers stormed out. After climbing up the wall and reaching the cover in an instant, I punched out with my fist and came out .
Kwa-ang !
Blinded by the new sunlight, Andrea slightly frowned. The eyes around me staring at me in bewilderment. They couldn’t see Andrea, so it just seemed that the cover over the hole had suddenly been shattered .
Decimus, who had come down from the platform before he knew it, approached the cover .
‘··· What is it? What happened ?’
An ominous intuition rushing in like a wave. Decimus peered through the hole through the shattered cover. And he realized that his intuition was not wrong .
All the talismans that restrain the void messengers are gone .
It didn’t take long to see the results. A roar that gets closer and closer. Void messengers climbing up the hole and coming out .
‘ Kuuu !’
‘ Kurrr !’
My body trembled. Indeed, for the first time in a while, the king of the arena felt fear .
“ Damn it! You crazy bastard, what have you done! my window! Give me my spear !”
Decimus, who uses a rattlesnake with a terribly distorted face. The uneasiness slowly spread through the crowd, reaching its climax when the Void Messenger finally emerged from the hole. One, two, the void messengers floating in the air and pushed endlessly .
From now on, hoping that the king of the arena will take care of himself and block it well, Andrea slowly walked towards the party .
＜ 15. Come on, you fresh fledgling (5) ＞ End