Chapter 6 : Chapter 6
Chapter 06. The Underground Gambling Den
The next day came.
Perhaps because I'd woken up with a clear mind after a good night's sleep, I easily decided on my second swordsmanship, making yesterday's worries feel pointless.
‘I should go with Kilij Basic Swordsmanship.’
The reason I chose Kilij Swordsmanship over Mameluke Swordsmanship was simple.
‘Because my stamina can't support it yet.’
Even if I acquired a purely offensive swordsmanship, I couldn't press the attack without stamina.
Kilij Swordsmanship was a style specialized in defense.
It could be used effectively even while standing still.
Growing quickly was good, but my personal safety was also important.
‘Now, the remaining problem is the degree of synergy with the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries….’
In the first place, the 'Swordsmanship Synthesis' trait was something I had created for testing purposes.
Since I had left things like the synergy between swordsmanships to the AI, even I, the developer, had no way of knowing it beforehand.
‘I guess I have no choice but to check it myself?’
If the synergy between the two swordsmanships turned out to be the worst, it wouldn't be too late to consider another one then.
The remaining question was, how would I learn 'Kilij Swordsmanship'?
Recalling the trait [Master of Copy], Hyunwoo closed his eyes and sank into thought.
‘I can only learn a swordsmanship by seeing it performed in person.’
Trapped in the waiting room, I couldn't learn any new swordsmanship.
Ultimately, that meant I had to wait until the next match....
Waiting until then was too complacent.
‘Because there's no guarantee the opponent will use swordsmanship.’
This was the Demon World Arena.
There were guys who used swordsmanship, but there were also physical fighters and magic users.
Besides, what were the chances that a guy who used swordsmanship would have learned Kilij Swordsmanship?
In other words.
‘I have to make the first move.’
Hyunwoo thought of a way he could learn a swordsmanship right away.
After frowning in thought for a moment, his eyes soon sparkled.
“The gambling den! There was an underground gambling den, right?”
A small gambling den existed in the basement of the Arena. Even though it was called an underground gambling den, there was only one type of gambling.
One-on-one duels between gladiators.
It was a place where people gambled on the outcomes of those duels.
‘There will surely be participants who use swordsmanship in the gambling den.’
For now, it was the place with the best environment for learning a new swordsmanship.
Having made my decision, all that was left was to act.
“Orc!”
Hyunwoo shouted loudly through the gap in the waiting room's iron bars.
After he called for the Orc a few more times, he sauntered into view.
“Why are you calling me so annoyingly?”
The Orc, who approached the iron bars with a deep frown, was still cold.
But I absolutely needed him.
Because a gladiator required an Administrator's escort to go to the underground gambling den.
“…….”
The Orc was looking down at me silently with his arms crossed.
Hyunwoo looked straight back at him and opened his mouth.
“I heard there's a gambling den in the basement here?”
At the words 'gambling den,' the Orc's indifferent face showed a spark of interest.
“You know all sorts of things.”
“I plan to go to the gambling den.”
“Are you planning to participate?”
“I'll watch first.”
“Watching others fight can be helpful.”
The Orc nodded and continued speaking.
“Seeing as you're talking about the gambling den, you must know the rules, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then this'll be easy.”
I knew very well how the gambling den operated.
Because I, Hyunwoo, was the one who made it.
The Orc opened the iron bars of the waiting room.
Clank―
“Follow me. It's been a while since I had some fun.”
After he finished speaking, the Orc turned and strode ahead.
Just a part of his amusement.
It seemed he was curious to see what a human would do in a gambling den.
Hyunwoo followed behind him without paying any mind to the Orc's reaction.
Right now, there was only one thing on his mind.
‘I will survive here, no matter what.’
So, I had to hope I could obtain the swordsmanship I wanted at the gambling den.
* * *
Following the Orc who led the way, I soon arrived at the underground gambling den. The gambling den was so small that it would be packed with just about 100 people.
‘It's hot.’
A blast of heat hit me as soon as I entered. The heat was radiating from the spectators surrounding a large ring placed in the center.
The spectators were mostly Administrators from the Arena.
This place was a private gambling den mainly enjoyed by the Administrators, and of course, it wasn't an officially registered facility of the Arena.
A kind of illegal gambling den.
But it was also a place tacitly permitted by the Arena for the sake of the Administrators.
The participating gladiators joined in the Administrators' amusement because they could obtain a considerable amount of mana stones through victory.
The Administrators who enjoyed gambling and the gladiators who sought to obtain mana stones.
It was a win-win for both sides.
‘Of course, I came not for mana stones, but to obtain a swordsmanship.’
While looking around the underground gambling den, Hyunwoo felt gazes gathering on him.
The owners of the gazes were the gladiators participating in the matches.
The gladiators here were all Bronze gladiators.
‘These guys.’
Hyunwoo was a human, rumored to be weak in the Demon World.
In their eyes, Hyunwoo might have looked like a walking pile of mana stones.
Before they could annoyingly cling to me, I called the Administrator Orc.
“For now, please refuse all matches offered to me.”
“Hmm? Didn't you come to fight?”
“You have to give me some time to adapt.”
“Hmph, understood.”
Obtaining a swordsmanship came first.
Hyunwoo said to the Orc and then turned his gaze to the arena.
“Kill him! Kill him!”
“Don't even think about coming back alive, you moron!”
I could see Administrators screaming their heads off. Just as Hyunwoo's Administrator was an Orc, the Administrators were composed of various races from the Demon World.
They were surrounding the ring where two gladiators were fiercely clashing.
Kuaaaang―!
The gladiators ruthlessly lunged for each other's vital points.
The thrill that came from the intense battle.
The fun that came from the thrill of betting mana stones.
As blood splattered on the ring, the atmosphere grew even more heated.
The Administrators, completely engrossed in the match, screamed like madmen.
“KILL!!!!!!!”
That was also true for Hyunwoo's Administrator, the Orc.
It was as if Hyunwoo was no longer in his sight; he was shouting among the other Administrators.
‘Well, does it matter?’
An Administrator's escort was required to enter the gambling den, but once inside, I was free.
Of course, I had to leave with the Administrator when it was time to go.
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
“Damn it!”
Cheers and curses erupted from the arena where the match had been decided.
It seemed the winner and loser had been determined.
However, they were gladiators who didn't use swords, so the match wasn't of much help to me.
“Now, we will close the betting for the next match!”
With the host's shout, the next matches followed one after another.
Hyunwoo stood silently and watched the matches unfold.
After three or four more duels had passed, the moment he had been waiting for finally arrived.
‘There it is!’
A guy holding a sword appeared on the ring.
The one who entered the dueling ground with a sword at his waist was a Lizardman.
His opponent was.
‘Oh.’
The opponent who came out was also a Lizardman with a sword.
Hyunwoo took in the swordsmanship of the two Lizardmen.
The two Lizardmen were using the same swordsmanship.
⌜Mameluke Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)⌟
The Lizardman's swordsmanship was the Mameluke swordsmanship he had considered as a candidate.
Unlike before, a system voice was added.
[Loading synergy information with mastered swordsmanship.]
⌜Synthesis Synergy: Medium⌟
As I stared at the message, detailed information appeared.
⌜Synthesis Synergy with Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star): Medium⌟
‘Medium? It seems to be the 'Medium' of High-Medium-Low.’
The system kindly informed me in advance of the synergy between a swordsmanship I hadn't learned yet and my mastered one.
The synthesis synergy between Mameluke Swordsmanship and the Northern Mercenary Swordsmanship was Medium .
After thinking for a moment, Hyunwoo decided to hold off on learning the swordsmanship for now.
It was because there was a possibility that a swordsmanship with High synergy existed.
⌜Ricard's Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)⌟
⌜Synthesis Synergy: Low⌟
⌜Pru's Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)⌟
⌜Synthesis Synergy: Low⌟
I watched several matches and checked the swordsmanships the gladiators displayed.
Most of them showed a Low synergy with the Northern Swordsmanship.
At best, a few swordsmanships including Mameluke's showed Medium . There wasn't a single High .
‘Still no Kilij Swordsmanship?’
It's a fairly common swordsmanship, but I hadn't seen a participant who had learned it yet.
‘Surely it's not that there are none, right?’
Just when I was thinking I should just learn Mameluke Swordsmanship.
An imp in the form of a small demon.
Hyunwoo finally discovered the swordsmanship he was looking for from the imp.
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)—A swordsmanship created by the Grand Duke of the Demon World, Kilij. It contains only the basic principles. It is specialized in deflecting and counterattacking.
Proficiency: 90%
Traits: None⌟
He had finally found 'Kilij Swordsmanship,' the style he wanted.
⌜Synthesis Synergy with Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star): High⌟
Luckily, it was the first swordsmanship with a High grade synergy to appear.
‘I chose correctly.’
My prediction was a perfect match.
It seemed my developer's intuition was still sharp, even after falling into the Demon World.
There was no need to look any further.
‘I will acquire it.’
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star) has been acquired.⌟
⌜Name: Kim Hyunwoo
Title: None
Skills: ■Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries (1-Star)―100%(M), ■Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―0%, ⊠
Inherent Traits: Swordsmanship Synthesis, Master of Copy, Swordsmanship Genius⌟
The newly opened slot was filled and turned black. And a third slot, marked with a cross, appeared.
The sealed third slot.
I also checked the opening condition.
⌜Do you want to unlock the third slot? The cost is 10,000 mana stones.⌟
‘10,000 mana stones. That's a ridiculously high number, seriously….’
I had set the unlock conditions to become progressively harder with each new slot out of concern for breaking the game's balance, but seeing it myself now, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
It seemed like it would take quite some time to open the third slot.
Still, I had obtained the 'Kilij Swordsmanship' I wanted.
Hyunwoo moved to the training ground located in a corner of the gambling den, which he had spotted earlier.
The Kilij Swordsmanship was stuck in his head, swirling around.
I needed time to organize the swordsmanship's movements.
In the training ground, other gladiators were warming up for their next matches.
Hyunwoo picked up a practice sword from the training ground and headed to a corner.
He assumed the opening stance of Kilij Swordsmanship and started to picture the swordsmanship's image in his mind.
‘A smooth deflection.’
Kilij Swordsmanship was a style that focused on deflecting the opponent's attacks.
Its nature was different from the Common Swordsmanship of the Northern Mercenaries. It was awkward trying to perform a defensive swordsmanship without an opponent.
Hyunwoo created a virtual enemy in his imagination.
He recalled the Werewolf he had fought for his life recently.
However, since it was his first time doing this kind of training, practicing against an imaginary foe wasn't easy.
Before he knew it, his back was soaked with sweat.
After some time and several attempts, Hyunwoo was able to get the hang of Kilij Swordsmanship.
The imaginary Werewolf fiercely charged at Hyunwoo, and Hyunwoo executed the Kilij Swordsmanship to deflect it to the side.
Just as he was getting a feel for the swordsmanship to some extent.
⌜Kilij Basic Swordsmanship (1-Star)―1%⌟
The proficiency level started to react.
‘It worked.’
Once I succeeded, it wasn't that difficult from then on.
As I swung the wooden sword, neutralizing the imaginary Werewolf's claws one by one, the swordsmanship proficiency rose quickly to 5%.
When he had gotten a decent feel for it, Hyunwoo took a deep breath and left the training ground.
‘Now for a real fight.’
Real combat is much faster for raising proficiency.
And real opponents were all around Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo put down the practice sword and went to find the Orc.
To participate in a match, he needed the Administrator Orc.