Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
Chapter 61. The Arena Gate Has Opened
After Van announced the 'Special Match,' the entire Arena buzzed with talk about the upcoming event.
Rumors of a record-breaking reward and unprecedented benefits for the winner.
On top of that, there were whispers of a speech by the Arena's master, Lionel, who was rarely seen.
Various rumors of unknown authenticity snowballed as they passed from mouth to mouth among the gossips.
The 'Special Match,' which was only fueled by various rumors.
Before long, time had passed, and the day of the special match finally dawned.
Only a few hours remained until the start of the match.
All the preparations were complete.
It was time to show the results of their preparations and accomplishments.
Not only Hyunwoo and Lucas, but also Van and Pierre had all gathered in Hyunwoo's dormitory since early in the morning.
"Lord Hyunwoooooo! You must return safely...!"
Pierre, making a fuss as usual.
And,
"......"
Van, who was silent but clearly worried.
Comparing this to their first meeting, a laugh escaped him.
The black market merchant who tried to deceive him and the cold-blooded administrator were no longer there.
'A lot of time has passed.'
From his surroundings to Hyunwoo himself.
The time he had spent in the Demon World so far was enough for everything around him to change.
Hyunwoo, who had been briefly reminiscing about the past while looking at the two, shifted his gaze to Lucas.
Slurp—
Lucas was drinking tea as usual in the morning.
At that sight, Hyunwoo chuckled and approached him.
"Did you sleep well before the match?"
"Well enough."
"Equipment? You packed everything, right?"
"Of course. You're asking all sorts of things."
"I know, right. I should have just let you participate empty-handed. Right?"
"......"
Lucas discreetly avoided Hyunwoo's gaze and calmly closed his mouth.
His skill at evading topics that were disadvantageous to him was truly a work of art.
He had already handed over the attribute resistance equipment to Lucas.
Lucas was wearing several pieces of equipment on his body.
All that was left were the various consumables.
Hyunwoo had two subspace pockets.
One he had purchased from Lotus.
And another he had borrowed from Pierre.
Hyunwoo held out one of the subspace pockets to Lucas.
"Here. A subspace pocket with consumables. Take this too."
"Are you giving it to me?"
"Giving it to you? Do you know how much that costs? I'm just lending it to you."
A look of regret flashed across Lucas's face.
Considering how expensive the items he had bought for him so far were, he was quite shameless.
"No, that subspace pocket is...!"
"Be quiet. Can't you see we're in the middle of an important conversation?"
"......"
Hyunwoo was just as shameless.
Hyunwoo ignored Pierre's resentful expression and looked at Lucas.
"Is there anything left to give?"
"The most important thing is left."
"Ah, is it that?"
Lucas also seemed to know what Hyunwoo was talking about.
Hyunwoo handed Lucas several small, ball-like objects that could be held in one hand.
They were mana bombs.
An item like a grenade that you hold in your hand, infuse with mana, and throw.
"Use one every time I signal you. Got it?"
"Understood."
Lucas nodded and put the mana bombs into the subspace pocket.
When it came to handling mana, Lucas the mage was better than Hyunwoo.
With the 'mana bombs' as the final item, all preparations for the match were complete.
'I gained a lot during the preparation process too.'
He had grown closer to Lucas through their cooperative training.
At least when they entered combat, they had become close enough to trust and rely on each other.
Hyunwoo thought of this 'Special Match.'
It would have definitely been difficult if he were alone.
But with Lucas, he was confident that he could achieve a safer and better result.
As the match time approached, Van urged him on.
"It's time to move."
Hyunwoo looked at Lucas.
"Where's your administrator?"
"I told them I'd go on my own."
"No wonder you've been here all this time."
Hyunwoo nodded and followed Van.
* * *
The gate of the Arena opened.
Kugugung—
The familiar red sky of the Demon World faintly illuminated the inside of the Arena.
Through the open gate, the cheers of the spectators poured in.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!
The ground shook with the massive roar.
Before, his stomach would have churned with nervousness.
But the Hyunwoo of today was not a fledgling who trembled with nervousness.
He just took a deep breath and stepped into the Arena.
Hoo-eup—
With the sticky air of the Demon World filling his lungs, the cheers of the audience became white noise.
He no longer felt the roars that had been deafening his eardrums.
With a single breath, Hyunwoo had simply completed his preparations for battle.
Tak— Tak—
The lights illuminating the inside of the Arena began to turn on one by one.
The artificial bright light pushed away the natural light, and the entire vast Arena came into view.
Deureureuk—
Just then, a shadow fell over the center of the Arena with a noise.
Hyunwoo looked up at the object floating in the sky.
It was a giant hourglass.
White sand grains flowed down its elegant, curved body.
Other than that, it was an ordinary Arena with nothing special.
But Hyunwoo did not let his concentration waver.
'A picture of hell is about to unfold.'
As Hyunwoo was thinking about the format of the special match, a figure appeared on top of the hourglass.
[You have waited a long time! First, I would like to express my gratitude to all the distinguished guests who are watching.]
The person who appeared with a polite greeting was the announcer in charge of broadcasting the match.
He spouted all sorts of flowery language, captivating the atmosphere of the entire Arena.
It was a masterful performance.
[—And so, we have invited the one who has created such a delightful spectacle! We will now have a spe.cial! speech from the head of the great Bellatus family, Lord Lionel Bellatus!]
The lights in the audience seats went out, and a single spotlight shone on one place.
A man was visible, sunk deep into his seat.
A man with an impressive air of languor peeking from his half-closed eyes.
Hyunwoo could recognize the identity of the man he was seeing for the first time at a glance.
'Lionel Bellatus.'
The master of the Bellatus Arena.
Lionel Bellatus had revealed himself.
Lionel, who had slowly risen from his seat, opened his mouth.
[It is I.]
A truly arrogant single phrase that even omitted any explanation about himself.
At his low, gloomy voice, the gazes of the entire audience were focused.
No.
Among them, there were also those who bowed their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Lionel was that kind of being.
A being whose horns sprouting from his head proved his identity.
'A Demon with three horns.'
No further explanation was necessary.
In the Demon World, those who couldn't recognize the strong would all be dead by now.
Everyone was focused on Lionel's mouth.
However, Hyunwoo was not looking at Lionel, but at his side.
Next to him sat a small boy.
'Jude Basterion.'
He could see Jude munching on a lollipop.
Hyunwoo knew very well that he had four horns hidden on his forehead.
And that he was the one who had organized this special match.
'I have to make an impression on him through this match.'
Depending on the outcome of this match, the difficulty of negotiating with Jude when they met later would change.
So, for now, the match was the most important thing.
Hyunwoo took his eyes off Jude and began to listen to Lionel's speech.
[—And so, there will be a special reward for this match. It is an important match, so everyone do your best.]
All the rumors circulating were true.
No, it could be said to be even more.
Lionel promised unprecedented treatment and a huge reward to the winner of the match.
After Lionel finished his speech and sat down, the announcer appeared again.
[Yes! Thank you for your wonderful words, Lord Lionel Bellatus! Now, I will explain this match. This match is— 'Extreme Environment Survival'!]
'Extreme Environment Survival.'
That was the name of the announced special match.
The announcer's explanation of the match's content followed.
Literally, a survival match where they would kill each other in an extreme environment.
And an explanation that every time the sand ran out in the hourglass, it would change to a new environment.
It matched the content of the match he had recalled.
A question arose on the faces of the gladiators listening to the announcer's explanation.
They were wondering what on earth an extreme environment was.
Without giving the gladiators a chance to resolve their questions, the announcer's voice continued.
[Then, the match will begin the moment the sand runs out for the first time!]
As soon as the announcer finished speaking, a sense of tension filled the air among the gladiators.
Their gazes all turned to the hourglass above their heads.
Chwareureureu—
As if using amplification magic, the sound of the sand falling began to echo throughout the Arena.
Thanks to that, the dynamic movement of the flowing sand grains felt even more vivid.
Both sight and hearing were stimulated, heightening the tension of the entire Arena.
Gulp—
The throats of the nervous gladiators bobbed.
And finally.
The moment the last remaining grain of sand fell to the bottom.
Tuk—
The hourglass spun and flipped upside down.
When the sand began to fall again from the rotated hourglass, a change occurred around them.
"Huh?"
In the center of the Arena, where the hourglass's shadow was cast.
From that ground, flames shot up to the sky like sharp fangs.
Hwareureureuk—!!
The flames that scattered in the air rode down the Arena walls and covered the audience seats.
"W-What!?"
The entire Arena was dyed a deep red.
A world redder than the red sky.
The gladiators were momentarily flustered by the sight.
Hwareureureureureuk—!!!
A huge demon of fire greedily devoured the entire Arena.
The moment everyone in the Arena was engulfed in flames, screams erupted from all sides.
Kkeuaak—!
Kkeuaaaaaaaak—!
There was nowhere to run, no way to block it.
A scene of pandemonium unfolded in an instant.
No gladiator had lost their life yet, but that was rather unfortunate.
The excruciating pain of the fire demon gnawed away not only at their bodies but also at their minds.
A moment later, the flames subsided.
The gladiators, burnt black by the fire, gasped for breath, exhausted.
Looking around, he could see gladiators who had been burned to death without being able to react at all.
Curses erupted from the gladiators all over the Arena.
shit—!
What the hell is this...!
Just then, the announcer's nonchalant voice was heard softly, unfitting for the situation.
[Ah. I forgot to mention something. Extreme environments like the 'sea of fire' just now will continue to occur at regular intervals.]
Ppudeudeuk—
The sound of gladiators grinding their teeth could be heard from all over.
There was no way they could fight other gladiators in this environment.
On the other hand.
Hyunwoo wore a relatively calm expression.
⌜Hoshea's Five-Colored Shield⌟
The flames that touched his body flowed down in vain.
Even the pain of the faintly remaining embers only provided a warm sensation.
⌜Pain Tolerance⌟
Hyunwoo looked around with a much more comfortable expression than the other gladiators.
'Where's Lucas?'
Lucas, who was a little distance away from Hyunwoo, also seemed to be fine without a single speck of soot.
He met his eyes and nodded.
The announcer's voice continued.
[And... as the number of standing gladiators decreases, the sand will fall faster. If you deal with the other gladiators quickly... you might see some hope?]
The sand falling faster meant that the environment would change to the next one faster.
For the gladiators, whose pain of their bodies burning in the flames was still vivid, there was no time to worry about what the next environment would be.
All they could think of was finding a way to get rid of this pain.
Their anger was converted into killing intent towards the surrounding gladiators.
Their gazes intertwined.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!"
With the shout of a gladiator who seemed to be on the verge of breaking, the 'survival' in its true sense began.
'Let's go.'
Hyunwoo also gave Lucas a look and rushed at the nearest gladiator.