***
THUD, THUD!
What woke Min-jun that day was the sound of iron bars being struck roughly.
“Wake up.”
A harsh voice. The unoiled iron bars opened with a screech.
Min-jun realized the time had come. He let out a deep breath and slowly crawled out of the prison.
“I believe there was one more. Where did she go? There was a woman.”
“All I know is that she died during the night and was dragged away. Don’t ask me.”
“What? You didn’t beat her to death, did you?”
The words, ‘What do these bastards take me for?’ rose all the way to his chin.
“I don’t even have the stamina for that. Don’t suspect me for no reason.”
At Min-jun’s half-hearted excuse, they whispered to one another for a moment.
“Follow us.”
Then they began walking ahead.
Unlike the guards who were former Hero Candidates and occasionally came to give him drinking water, they were nothing but cold.
“I don’t even know what I’ll be fighting from now on. My stomach feels so empty.”
Min-jun followed behind them and deliberately muttered in a low voice to get on their nerves.
“Why don’t they feed people here, anyway?”
“Are you not from the Training Center?”
He had expected them to get angry, but their answer was unexpected.
“Training Center?”
What did that mean? Did gladiators have a training center?
“What kind of background would someone like me have? Forget it.”
Min-jun tried to blur the words and move the subject along.
“It was made based on the prison where His Majesty was once confined as a prisoner. He endured a month on the water that occasionally formed on the ceiling and the moss.”
“Ah.”
Good grief.
So there was such a tragic story behind it.
After hearing that tear-jerking tale, Min-jun felt an even greater fire rise inside him.
‘He should’ve just suffered that alone.’
Thinking about it, this festival was also said to be a reenactment of the emperor’s ten trials, so who knew how much of it was actually true.
But he understood very well that this was a festival the emperor had made largely to show himself off.
“Move quickly.”
Listening to the voices urging him on from both front and back, Min-jun climbed a spiral staircase for a long time.
After they circled the endless corridor again and again, a dark space was revealed.
“What are you doing, not hurrying!”
A sharp voice burst out.
It belonged to someone wearing especially antique-looking armor.
“My apologies, General Doturan.”
“You foolish, sluggish maggots! It has already been quite some time since His Majesty entered, and yet you bastards walk here? How leisurely of you! Not knowing whom you dare keep waiting!”
The face of the middle-aged man called General Doturan trembled red and blue.
“Must I, because of worthless street trash like you, be cursed at by that girlish eunuch! Don’t stand around blankly. Come here at once!”
“Y-Yes, General! Run quickly!”
The moment the guards, whose faces had turned blue, arrived in front of him, two crisp slaps rang out.
The two guards who had been struck across the face toppled and rolled away, then quickly stood again and regained their posture.
Only after that process was repeated twice did Doturan huff and suppress his anger.
“Pathetic fools!”
He looked as if he might raise his hand at Min-jun too, but soon exhaled, “Hoo!” and suppressed his anger.
“His Majesty is watching you with interest, so I will especially endure it. Go in.”
General Doturan shoved Min-jun’s back with a thud.
‘This is…….’
A familiar object appeared before him.
A cubical cage. Inside, a blunt-looking sword and shield lay there pitifully.
The moment Min-jun picked up the fallen weapons, a hollow laugh escaped him.
‘They’re telling me to fight with a sword like this?’
For an instant, Min-jun felt dumbfounded. The blade was chipped, and the edge was damaged all over.
It was at a level where it could not possibly be used for cutting something.
“Don’t you have a better weapon than this?”
“What did you say?”
Since his life had already gone as far as it could go, Min-jun spoke whatever came to mind.
“You insolent bastard.”
Doturan’s expression twisted.
“Do you not know that His Imperial Majesty cut down demonic beasts and executed monsters with a sword shabbier than that?”
That emperor talk again.
It never ended.
“You should be grateful that we are not sending you out barehanded, yet you complain. What pathetic hole did you crawl out of…… Do you have no reverence for His Majesty?”
So that was how he wanted to play it.
Min-jun let out a sigh.
“Haa. How could I possibly be the same as the great emperor? I’m saying that because I don’t even reach the tips of his toes, I need a better weapon than this. Good grief.”
“The lowly bastard has quite a mouth.”
Doturan chuckled.
“I have seen countless bastards like you over the past ten years. The sort who swagger before the fight, then crawl around pissing and shitting themselves only when they are about to die.”
At that moment, Min-jun looked into General Doturan’s eyes and realized it.
“I truly hope you become like that as well.”
Eyes filled with mockery.
“Hehehe. A worthless gladiator wretch bawling shamefully inside an arena with nowhere to run—that is the sight every citizen wants to see, and the wish of His Majesty.”
“……Thank you for the blessing.”
“Do not mention it. Krhehehe.”
General Doturan’s face grinned nastily.
It was an expression that had already concluded Min-jun would die in this fight.
“Close the cage!”
The guards rushed in and began locking the cage in several places.
One of them came close to Min-jun.
“Do your best.”
He said that, lightly patted his back, and withdrew.
Once everyone disappeared far away, only Min-jun remained in the darkness.
‘I have to win.’
So much strength entered the hand gripping the sword that the blood drained from it.
Tension began filling his chest.
‘I’ll survive, earn a mountain of points and money, and return home with my body intact. No matter what.’
He repeated deep breaths several times and calmed his trembling body.
“Raise it!”
“He says to raise it!”
Rattle-rattle—!
The chains turned, and the floor of the cage began rising upward.
Thunderous cheers. Once again, Min-jun was thrown into the circular arena with nowhere to escape.
***
-Orc Warrior vs Liz, Montmorency, Lapis.
-Wow, I seriously got chills.
-Why is this so realistic? I was seriously scared.
-I think the genre changed.
-Last time was pretty brutal too, though.
-It’s different this time.
-The title is different, so the genre should be different too.
-It’s really a movie…….
The reactions continued without end.
Assistant Manager Kim Jun-hyeon had watched this so many times overnight that he could not even remember the count.
He watched and watched again, and whenever he came to his senses, he found himself playing it on repeat.
‘This is truly unbelievable quality. Mise-en-scène, editing, sound. Everything is top-tier…….’
At some point, he repeated the video as if mesmerized.
It was a scene where blood splattered and bones broke, but before the overwhelming visual beauty, he felt catharsis.
‘This is the result of squeezing video filming to the very last limit of artistry.’
At first, he had simply been monitoring a competitor in preparation for the new streaming platform his company was preparing.
Of course, those competitors were supposed to be major sites, but recently, what had caught his eye was none other than this place.
‘Spirit Channel…… What the hell are you?’
He rubbed his tired eyes and pressed the play button once more.
From the scene where the three gladiators appeared above the Colosseum, the screen was already a masterpiece.
He did not get sick of it no matter how many times he watched.
-Spirit Channel announces.
‘What is it?’
Assistant Manager Kim Jun-hyeon’s half-closed eyes snapped open. An alarm had appeared on the screen.
-Spirit Channel 1st Recruitment Notice
‘A job posting?’
It was a notice he had truly never expected.
Even though he already had a job, he clicked the link as if possessed.
***
A blue tongue flickered out of its mouth.
Hissssss…….
It sounded like something that would come from the mouth of a viper savoring its venom before prey.
Looking at his second opponent, Min-jun felt that this made no sense.
‘A Lizardman?’
It did not end at just being a Lizardman.
‘What is that armor?’
Its entire body was layered in something like iron armor.
Even the tail slithering left and right was covered in plate.
Hissssss…….
The only things exposed were its two vertically slit eyes, its maw, and its sharp claws.
‘Its skin already looks tough by itself…… and armor too? Does that make any sense?’
Min-jun had to make a choice.
It was not that there was no way to kill it, but it was a gamble.
If he made one mistake, he would die.
“Hurry up and fight!”
“What are you doing? Are you scared?”
“Fight, you idiots!”
“Anyone, fight first!”
The cheers mixed with insults pushed Min-jun’s resolve. Staying like this would only put him at a disadvantage.
‘I can’t just keep running forever.’
Thud!
He kicked off the ground.
With his body covered by the shield, he quickly closed the distance toward the thing.
A full sprint with his body lowered. The figure visible beyond the shield suddenly drew close.
Kiaaaak!
He saw it swing its claws with a vicious cry.
It intended to slam them down from far above his head.
“Hup!”
He swung his shield with all his strength.
Thwack!
The thing’s claws dug deep into the oak shield. Sawdust fell and struck his face.
“Urgh!”
Min-jun did not slow his charging momentum. If he lost momentum here, he would lose his chance to attack.
He kicked out with all his strength and drove his foot into the thing’s upper body.
Thud!
A dull impact spread through his entire leg. The moment the thing retreated, he intended to stab one of its eyes with his sword.
Kiiiiik!
The Lizardman staggered backward.
‘Now!’
He raised the sword sharply.
Wiiiiing—
‘Huh!’
At that moment, his senses warned him of danger.
BANG—!
A sound like a drum bursting covered his face.
Beyond the shield he had raised by reflex, a tremendous shock smashed into his upper body.
If he had allowed the blow to land without sensing the danger, his face would have been ripped away.
“This……!”
When he raised his dazed eyes, he saw the thing’s tail flickering close by.
‘That thing just hit me with its tail?’
It was hard to believe that this much strength came from a mere tail.
‘What kind of power is this……!’
His legs nearly gave out.
He barely straightened his buckling knees and held on.
“Urgh!”
Min-jun did not stop his charge.
THUD! THUD!
He stomped the ground and rushed in.
‘I’m not stopping until I kill that bastard!’
The thing did not just sit there and take it either. Claws flying in like lightning began tearing through his shield again and again.
Kiaaaak!
The tail flew in once more.
“Damn it!”
The impact that struck his shield again shook his body hard.
Stagger.
His balance wavered as if he would fall sideways.
Aiming for that opening, the thing’s claws flew in.
Riiiip!
His armor tore apart. His skin burned as if scorched by fire.
“Urrrrgh!”
He could not just let himself be hit.
Min-jun twisted his waist with all his strength and stabbed the sword tip toward the thing’s abdomen.
CLANG—!
But the sword only met armor and scattered sparks.
‘That damned armor!’
He could not retreat like this.
Min-jun put his weight into it and slammed into the thing with all his strength.
Kiiik!
As the thing tried to retreat, he swung his sword at its head, toward its open maw.
Slash!
He felt the sensation of cutting something. But it was not deep.
‘It’s coming!’
His senses shouted.
Min-jun threw his body backward with all his strength.
He saw the sand floor scarred long in the shape of claws.
Kieeeeeek!
Blue blood dripped from the mouth of the thing, now bristling with venom.
Perhaps because the blade was not sharpened, it had not cut deeply enough, and it had only managed to enrage it.
‘If only there were even one more person who knew how to fight……!’
It was definitely not an easy opponent alone.
If he had a reliable comrade, he could have lured it and aimed for its back. That was regrettable.
Kiiiiii…….
Watching the thing’s cunning movements, he even thought the Orc Warrior had been easier to understand because it had at least been straightforward.
Kiaaaak!
The Lizardman lowered its waist and charged in. It came right up to his nose.
‘Urgh!’
He swung his sword and shield at the incoming claws while stepping back.
Its strength was tremendous. Just blocking made his grip turn red.
‘Get away!’
When he swung the shield sideways and struck the thing’s maw, it opened its mouth and bit the shield whole.
Min-jun’s body tilted, and the tail flew toward his chest.
‘Ah!’
He could not dodge this.
THWACK!
“Kugh……!”
Min-jun’s body, having taken the attack head-on, rotated 360 degrees. By the time he came to his senses, he was already collapsed on the ground.
He could feel the thing’s shadow approaching.
‘No!’
Its razor-sharp claws stabbed through his shoulder and pulled back out. He did not even have time to resist.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Violent pain.
Min-jun’s eyes turned bloodshot.
‘Damn it!’
This was dangerous.
He was practically being toyed with by the thing’s meticulous movements.
At this rate, he did not feel like he could win at all.
‘Damn it. At this rate, I’ll get killed before I even see Stage 3.’
The cheers were hot.
Everyone wished for Min-jun’s death with one heart and one mind.
If only because of their blazing support, Min-jun did not want to die pointlessly here.
‘I have to do something.’
Cold sweat soaked his entire face.
Hot blood poured from his shoulder and waist.
Sssssssss…….
The Lizardman lowered its waist and planned its next attack.
Whatever it was, he had no confidence that he could block it.
Min-jun’s sharp sixth sense sent him a warning: there was no way to win this fight.
It was a signal telling him to turn around and run immediately.
‘Damn it.’
But there was nowhere to run.
Nothing except fighting and winning.
‘I have to do something……!’
Min-jun clenched his teeth so hard they made a cracking sound as if about to break.
Swaaash—!
The very moment the Lizardman’s body flowed nimbly over the sand.
-You have an unchecked reward.
-Please open the reward.
Something like an auditory hallucination rang inside his head.