Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11. Trap Time Attack
RUMBLE―
The floor of the arena quaked.
From the undulating space, a giant cylinder slowly rose.
Through the translucent surface of the cylinder, the interior appeared to be empty.
But the moment someone stepped inside, it would transform into a space of death.
‘What kind of trap will it be?’
Trap Time Attack.
It was a type of match where one had to quickly break through the traps installed inside the cylinder.
Of course, there was the minor problem that one could die if they failed to pass the traps.
Amidst the gladiators staring tensely at the cylinder, someone shouted.
“Move inside. You blockheads.”
“……”
The owner of the voice was a Lizardman with fiercely opened eyes.
The gladiators, who were about to flare up, noticed the ‘Administrator’ insignia on his shoulder and began to move, grumbling.
Most Administrators treated the slave gladiators coercively.
Watching the scene, Hyunwoo thought of his own Administrator, the Orc.
‘That Orc bastard is certainly unique.’
Hyunwoo nodded and entered the cylinder, mixing in with the other gladiators.
RUMBLE―
Once all the gladiators were inside the cylinder, the entrance sealed shut.
Pitch-black darkness.
The gladiators were huddled together in a narrow, enclosed space.
The cylinder had a dual structure.
The outer cylinder also served as a waiting room for the gladiators, while the real traps were installed in the inner cylinder.
It seemed to be a trick to prevent them from seeing the traps beforehand.
Although many gladiators were gathered in one space, it was quiet.
Everyone seemed to be tense.
Standing in the narrow space, Hyunwoo also let out a breath and eased his tension.
The announcer’s voice could be heard from outside.
[The first participant is Gladiator number 56. His race is Gnoll! Judging by his build, which is larger than a typical Gnoll, he appears to be a half-breed. Now! Let’s begin!]
Along with the announcer’s excited voice, they moved to the inner cylinder in the order their numbers were called.
[Oh, dear. He died at just the second trap. How unfortunate. You there, the one who’s laughing?! It seems you bet on the second trap. Congratulations!]
Through the announcer's voice, which came intermittently, I could gauge the atmosphere outside.
We could also frequently confirm the corpses of the dead gladiators.
Those who had challenged returned as corpses.
A corpse riddled with arrows all over its body. A corpse whose skin had all melted away from poison. A corpse flattened so badly it was hard to recognize its shape, as if crushed by something.
The corpses were all different, depending on the nature of the traps.
“……”
Tension grew even thicker among the gladiators who saw the corpses.
It was the complete opposite of the atmosphere outside, where they were sharing frivolous jokes.
[15 minutes and 42 seconds. What a pathetic record. Is there no gladiator today who can finish within 10 minutes?]
There was also a gladiator who had successfully passed the time attack.
Even the gladiator who returned alive was not in good condition.
The gladiator, who had barely survived, exited to the cheers of the audience with his limbs barely intact.
Passing all the traps was important, but so was time.
The key was to get through the traps quickly.
A reward would be given to the gladiator based on their record.
As the number of gladiators who passed increased one by one, the average time was calculated.
An average of 12 minutes.
‘The fastest one was in the early 11-minute range.’
The announcer's voice continued.
[The gladiator for the next match is participant number 9.]
“……”
Hyunwoo looked down at the number 9 pinned to his chest.
It was his turn.
[My goodness! It’s a ‘human’ again! So many humans in the Bronze matches… I think I’ll have to speak to the higher-ups about the match difficulty!]
Wahahahahahahaha—!
Everyone except Hyunwoo was of one mind and one accord.
Mockery and ridicule that a mere ‘human’ had survived to be active as a Bronze gladiator.
My heart sank coldly at the blatant disregard for me.
‘Laugh all you want.’
Thanks to that, my heart, which had been pounding with rising fear and tension, stabilized.
[All the humans who challenged today have disappeared forlornly, failing to overcome even the first trap. What about this human? Will he follow his kinsmen? Let’s wait and see!]
Even while Hyunwoo was warming up, the announcer's voice continued on.
[Ah, I’m told that for the human gladiator number 9, this is his Bronze debut match! Let’s pray that this debut match won’t be his last.]
The tone was as if he was hoping it would be the last, and Hyunwoo scoffed.
‘Not a chance.’
Hyunwoo slowly took a breath.
“Hmm.”
As I adjusted to the atmosphere, the trembling stopped. I was no longer nervous.
‘I just need to check the structure of the trap rooms.’
I didn’t know what kind of traps would appear, but whatever they were, a solution existed.
The human who created all these traps.
It was me, the very human the Demon World bastards were so busy laughing at.
* * *
The announcer, Morerday, cleared his throat as he watched the human gladiator enter the trap room.
Ah— Ah—
It was the turn of a human gladiator who would obviously die soon.
There would be no scenes worthy of his commentary.
It was practically a rest period, like a welcome rain in a drought during the match.
Morerday used amplification magic again to raise his voice.
[Yes. It seems participant number 9 is all ready!]
The sight of the human participant glaring at the trap room door was laughable.
‘The corpse that’ll be carried out soon is putting on a pathetic act.’
Pfft—
A low sneer escaped without him even realizing it.
That was how ridiculous the futile efforts of the species called ‘human’ were, struggling to survive.
To hide his sneer, Morerday naturally continued speaking.
[Ahem… Now! Let’s begin!]
Pssshh—!
With Morerday’s shout, smoke emerged from the door in front of the human, and it began to swing wide open.
‘Tsk. It’s over.’
Morerday clicked his tongue briefly at the human standing there blankly and foresaw the human’s end.
Usually, gladiators waste time being wary of that unfamiliar smoke.
At that moment, the human suddenly started to sprint.
Morerday belatedly looked at the screen and continued his commentary.
[…Ah! Number 9 starts to move! Will he be able to avoid the traps?]
The trap passage, filled with smoke.
After passing through the long passage, a flower bed on the floor unfolds.
When the colorful flowers emit a strong fragrance, the tensed gladiators stop again.
A kind of trick.
In fact, the first trap had no dangerous elements whatsoever.
But hesitating due to the external environment that stimulated the five senses was the typical reaction of gladiators.
Everything here was just a deception.
And the moment the gladiators, who belatedly relaxed, arrived at the exit located on the other side.
‘When they let their guard down, thinking they’ve passed the trap, poison is released instead of the flower scent.’
A trap that hid a single ‘truth’ amidst various deceptions.
The number of gladiators who survived with enough discernment to distinguish the deceptions was about five out of ten, roughly half.
That was why he was certain of the human’s death.
But his eyes could not help but widen at the sight that followed.
[…Huh?]
He was so flustered that he forgot he was commentating on a match and made a stupid sound.
Then he quickly came to his senses and continued the commentary.
[…Ah! Participant number 9 doesn’t stop! He breaks right through the smoke and the flower bed! It seems he is not afraid of death!!]
The human ran at full speed, as if he couldn't care less about the surrounding environment.
‘What in the world…?’
His commentary was surely audible to the gladiator in the match…
He belatedly mentioned the ‘smoke’ and ‘flower bed’ to slow the human’s pace, but he didn't hesitate in the slightest.
The human, having reached the trap’s exit in a single breath, passed straight through the door.
[Ah….]
Morerday let out a long sigh.
Before passing through the door, the human had taken a deep breath and held it, which made it clear he knew precisely about the ‘poison mist’ that would be released at the end.
From all around, the spectators also let out low gasps.
A reaction mixed with disappointment.
And curiosity.
[The time to break through the first trap is… 10 seconds? A-amazing! This is the fastest record in history….]
Morerday was even more surprised after checking the time.
He continued to commentate haltingly, furrowing his brow.
‘It was as if… he knew about the trap beforehand.’
But that was impossible.
The trap before his eyes had been newly created just yesterday.
There was no way a mere gladiator could have known information that hadn't even been disclosed to the Administrators.
In the end, Morerday shook his head.
[Was it recklessness? Or was it good luck? For now, let’s keep watching.]
He thought it was just a human with good instincts.
For now.
‘The second trap won’t be overcome by luck.’
A vast forest spread out before the human.
Morerday looked at the narrow path in the middle of the forest and regained his composure.
This time, the human’s death was certain for real.
[Now! How will this trap be? Can number 9 pass through? You there, sir. What did you bet on? Death? Surely you don’t look like the kind of gutsy… person who bet on him passing!]
Wahahahahahahaha—!
Satisfying the desires of the audience, who anticipated a brutal death, was also part of his role.
Morerday, who had regained enough composure to crack jokes, looked at the screen and his mouth fell open.
No words came out.
[…….]
The dense trees in the forest obscured the gladiator’s vision.
Between them were hidden arrow traps.
The main point of watching this trap was to see the gladiators get skewered by arrows flying from all directions…
But the human was different.
‘What in the world…’
After hesitating for a moment, the human drank a potion and started sprinting again.
And the sight he showed left everyone watching speechless.
Swoosh—
He lightly parried an arrow that flew from the human’s right.
No, rather than parrying, he deflected it.
The trajectory of the arrow that met the sword changed smoothly and stuck into the ground at his feet.
And then a shower of arrows followed.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless arrows flew in.
There were surely arrows coming from the human's blind spots…
But the human deflected all the arrows smoothly, as if he knew where they would fly from.
Ssk—
A few arrows grazed the human’s body, but such shallow wounds couldn't stop his steps.
The human advanced endlessly.
No, he moved almost at a run.
He broke through the forest where a rain of arrows fell as if it were an open field, at full speed.
The human’s continuous, almost miraculous movements.
Even the watching crowd let out gasps.
At that sound, Morerday snapped back to his senses.
[Number 9 doesn’t stop! For a mere ‘human’, he’s amazing!]
Woo—
‘Hm…?’
Befitting an announcer who had to be sensitive to the atmosphere, he noticed a small boo mixed in with the crowd’s noise.
It meant that instead of an audience wishing for the human’s death, an audience cheering for his struggle had appeared.
…It seemed he could no longer continue a commentary that looked down on the human.
Just then, the human was at the end of the forest path, parrying a simultaneous volley of arrows with a kiai.
[Participant number 9 is truly amazing! And to think, up to this point, it has only been—]
Gulp—
The sound of Morerday swallowing his saliva was broadcast as it was.
He had tried to force himself to praise the human to build up the atmosphere, but there was no need for that.
[…3 minutes and 48 seconds!?]
His record up to this point was already too overwhelming.
[Unbelievable for a human’s feat… no, he is a truly great gladiator!]
Morerday could no longer look down on number 9 as just a ‘human’.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaah—!
Even the veteran announcer Morerday was swept up in the cheers of the excited crowd.
All that remained now was the final trap.
His voice began to tremble with anticipation.
[Could it be… that a new all-time record will be set today?!]
The 10-minute wall.
The thought that the unbreakable record might be broken today began to surface in the minds of everyone watching.