Chapter 66 : Chapter 66
Chapter 66. Invitation
A cool air lingered in the room.
On the desk lay neatly organized, rectangular documents.
In addition, the pens of different sizes lined up in order offered a glimpse into the personality of the room's owner.
The person sitting at the desk was a small boy, unbefitting of such a scene.
Warreureu―
At the boy's fiddling, the desk, which seemed to permit no one's intrusion, was instantly cluttered.
At that sight, the man sitting in front of him frowned.
The boy's identity was Jude Basterion.
The frowning man was the owner of the room, Lionel Bellatus.
Lionel, with a stiff expression, opened his mouth.
“……Stop your games.”
“Why? It’s fun.”
The more Lionel scowled, the more delighted Jude became, and he messed up the desk even further.
It was an act truly befitting the name of a demon, enjoying the suffering of others.
“……”
Lionel frowned and forced himself to look away from the cluttered desk.
If he had his way, he would have kicked Jude out immediately, but a deal still remained between them.
Lionel brought up the subject of the deal.
“As expected, a large number of gladiators died.”
“It’s because the bugs were weak.”
“You are correct, but they are the most expensive bugs in the arena.”
“……”
Kkadeuk―
Jude irritably bit into a piece of candy and took out a new one.
“Bill me as you see fit. I don't care about the dead ones.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The accounting for the dead gladiators was finished.
What remained was the accounting for the gladiators who survived the match.
“Will you have all the gladiators who survived this match participate in the request as well?”
“One.”
“One? Are you saying you will send only one?”
“Yes. The human gladiator. I don't need anyone but him.”
“……”
Until now, Jude had entrusted the request to all the gladiators who had survived the matches.
At his words that this time he wanted only Hyunwoo, Lionel narrowed his brow.
He had noticed the unusual way he looked at Hyunwoo.
However, he soon relaxed his expression and spoke calmly.
“Is that so? Then I will only accept 5 million mana stones for the request fee.”
“…What?”
Jude's hand, which had been licking a candy, paused.
“What did I just hear?”
Jude picked at his ear, as if to confirm what he had heard was true.
No matter how much the request fee included a price for the gladiators' lives in anticipation of their deaths, this was excessive.
A whopping 5 million mana stones.
It was five times the last request fee.
Back then, it was the request fee for all the surviving gladiators.
Now, it was the amount for a single gladiator named Hyunwoo.
It made no sense.
Jude's lips twitched as he let out a hollow laugh.
“Old man.”
As Jude drew up his mana, the air in the room changed in an instant.
“Have I been treating you too comfortably lately?”
“……”
A true tyrant.
Killing intent, materialized by mana, bound Lionel's entire body.
Despite the killing intent being focused on him, Lionel leisurely crossed his legs.
Jude Basterion might seem to have a simple and violent personality, but he was a being who moved according to his own firm standards.
So as long as one did not cross the ‘line’ he had set, there would be no problem.
Lionel, confident that he knew Jude's ‘line’ better than anyone else in the Demon World, held out a document.
“……What is this?”
“Have a look.”
Jude irritably snatched the document Lionel was holding.
The document contained a detailed analysis of how much the gladiator named Hyunwoo had changed before and after the special match.
The reason Jude was paying attention to Hyunwoo was his growth rate.
Lionel had pinpointed that exact part.
“So. What do you want me to do about it?”
“Keep reading.”
“What?”
“There’s more in the back.”
When Jude turned the page, there was a document in a different format from the report.
It was an order containing the promotion of gladiators.
[As of today, the Gold Gladiator Hyunwoo is designated as the ‘Champion’.]
The order, which included detailed records of the related meetings, clearly stated the reasons why Hyunwoo had to become the Champion.
“……”
Soon, only the sound of pages turning and Jude tapping on the desk echoed in the room.
Ttak. Ttak.
Lionel’s trick to extort more mana stones was obvious, but the grounds for it were too clear.
Hyunwoo had achieved Rookie and Super Rookie in the shortest time.
Furthermore, he had broken various records in the arena and, in the end, had even defeated the former champion, ‘Equitar’.
It was only natural that such a Hyunwoo was qualified to rise to the position of ‘Champion’.
It was just that the timing was too clever.
“…You've played an interesting trick, old man?”
“I merely acted according to the rules.”
“Rules. Rules are good. Would it be in accordance with the rules for me to snap a cheeky old man’s neck, or not?”
Lionel merely bowed his head.
Jiiik―
As Jude lightly waved his finger, the document in his hand split in half, creating a ‘line’.
Looking at Lionel’s reflection through it, Jude thought.
‘Did he cross the line?’
Unfortunately, it wasn't to that extent.
Lionel knew his ‘line’ all too well.
“Ha… You’re really getting on my nerves. Still acting like a sly old fox, old man?”
“I have merely requested a fair price.”
“……”
Jude, who had been silent for a moment, ultimately had no choice but to withdraw his energy.
“Fine. Do it.”
“Thank you.”
Having heard the answer, Jude swept his arm across the desk.
Jude watched as the objects on the desk came crashing down to the floor—and got off his chair.
Then he walked straight out of the room.
“……”
Left alone in the room, Lionel watched Jude's retreating back and began to think about the gladiator named Hyunwoo.
Gold gladiators could be produced in abundance with enough time and mana stones.
However, the reason not only he but also Jude was interested in such a trivial slave gladiator was not just because of his potential.
Lionel’s gaze turned to the document Jude had carelessly tossed aside.
It contained the complete record of Hyunwoo’s growth so far.
Looking at it, Lionel could clearly understand why his eyes kept being drawn to the insignificant human named Hyunwoo.
‘A talent for swordsmanship.’
At the heart of it was the talent for swordsmanship that the gladiator named Hyunwoo possessed.
In a period of less than half a year, the number of swordsmanship styles he had showcased was a whopping ‘six’.
Moreover, it was confirmed that all of those swordsmanship styles had reached the ‘Master’s level’.
Putting aside the low level of the swordsmanship styles he had learned, the very fact that he had reached the ‘Master’s level’ was an amazing feat.
‘It is difficult to see the end of even one swordsmanship style even if one trains for a lifetime…’
The talent for swordsmanship that the human named Hyunwoo possessed was at a level whose limits were impossible to fathom.
Jude must have known this fact, which is why he paid the price of 5 million mana stones without much complaint.
Tok tok―
The sound of knocking on the door cut off Lionel's thoughts.
“It is time for the Champion inauguration ceremony.”
“…I understand.”
Normally, he wouldn't have paid this much attention to a Champion, no matter who it was.
But the gladiator named Hyunwoo was an exception.
“Prepare one more seat for dinner. We will have a guest.”
“Yes.”
Lionel, who had slowly risen to his feet, added his words and stepped outside.
***
The day after Hyunwoo's body had recovered.
Even though he was all better, he was just lying blankly in bed.
“……”
⌜Title. Champion of the Bellatus Arena.
Effect: Skill proficiency gain increased by 200% within the Arena.⌟
No matter how many times he rubbed his eyes and looked at the status window, the ‘title’ stating that he had become the Champion did not change.
At this unexpected variable, Hyunwoo was at a loss for words.
He was so shocked that he didn't even notice the effect of the title he had obtained.
‘…Why all of a sudden?’
His plan to use Jude to get out of the arena was thwarted from the very beginning.
The Champion was the face of the arena.
…Can I leave the arena with the status of a Champion?
Hyunwoo narrowed his brow.
‘Of course, someone like Jude might be able to get a Champion out of the arena, but…’
His opponent was Lionel, who was seasoned in such matters.
Even for ‘Jude’, it wouldn't be an easy task to free a Champion.
‘But considering Jude's objective, it would be difficult for him to give up on me after I showed such a performance in the match.’
Jude would use any means necessary to put him on the request to go to ‘that place’.
However, what Hyunwoo wanted was to head to ‘that place’ as a free man, not as a slave.
‘How should I proceed with the negotiations?’
The difficulty of the planned negotiation with Jude had become much higher.
The best-case scenario would be that it was just a system error, but.
“Hyunwoo—!”
Hearing Van’s voice looking for him in a flurry, it seemed that was unlikely to be the case.
Van, who had flung open the door, spoke with a surprised expression.
“You… you this time…”
“Became the Champion?”
“……? I just heard about it too, how on earth do you know?”
“Haa…… It’s a long story.”
Hyunwoo washed his face with his dry hands and got out of bed.
What's done is done.
He had to do what he had to do.
“Let’s go.”
“Go? Where?”
“Didn’t you come because of the Champion inauguration ceremony?”
“Ah…! Right. We have to go to the plaza. How did you know that too……”
Hyunwoo ignored Van, who was tilting his head, and went out into the living room.
In the living room, Lucas, who was drinking tea, was occupying the sofa alone.
“The Orc was running around frivolously. Did something happen?”
“You come out too. All gladiators have to participate in the Champion inauguration ceremony.”
“A Champion all of a sudden. Explain it so I can understand.”
“I became the Champion this time.”
“You? Hmm… You’re quite resourceful.”
“…What do you mean by that.”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Being good at backroom deals is an essential skill for an inferior race.”
“……”
…What?
Until a moment ago, he had been troubled about becoming the Champion, but hearing Lucas talk as if he had won the Champion position through lobbying didn't feel good.
This bastard.
“……Shut up and get up. We have to go to the plaza.”
“Very well.”
Hyunwoo shrugged and left the dormitory with Lucas, who had stood up.
Following them, Van, who had been standing beside them with a dazed expression, also came out.
***
The plaza was a huge open space located in the Gold District.
The plaza was used in the arena in two cases.
One was when the owner of the arena changed.
The other was a case like now, when a new Champion was born.
In the plaza they arrived at, gladiators of all shapes and sizes had gathered.
A number enough to fill the plaza.
‘There are more Gold gladiators than I thought?’
It seemed that the Gold gladiators who were out on requests had returned in large numbers.
In addition to them, gladiators of Bronze and Silver ranks also gathered, making the huge plaza burst at the seams.
When all the gladiators had gathered, the announcer came up on the stage in front.
When Lionel also appeared next to him, the announcer immediately began the proceedings.
“We will now begin the inauguration ceremony for the 43rd Champion of the Bellatus Arena.”
The announcer started with the history of the Bellatus Arena and went on with a long string of flowery words.
As the boring words, like a principal's long speech, continued, Hyunwoo soon closed his ears and got lost in other thoughts.
‘Why did Lionel designate me as the Champion?’
Given his insidious personality, there must be some other ulterior motive.
Would Lionel obediently let him, who had become the Champion, go?
How should he negotiate with Jude, who could solve this situation?
Just as he was weighing the various gains and losses in his head.
“Hyunwoo!”
Van tapped the shoulder of Hyunwoo, who was deep in thought, and woke him up.
“Huh?”
When Hyunwoo raised his head, everyone was watching him.
Van whispered for him to go out onto the stage.
Hyunwoo came to his senses and pushed through the crowd to move forward.
Among the gladiators he saw on his way to the stage, some were familiar faces to Hyunwoo.
Gladiators he had encountered in his past Bronze and Silver days.
When their eyes met with Hyunwoo's, they hastily avoided his gaze and looked down.
‘It feels like just yesterday that those guys were looking down on me for being a human.’
Seeing the guys who had ignored him now afraid to even make eye contact, he could keenly feel how quickly he had become stronger.
‘The world has really changed.’
Hyunwoo, feeling his changed status, went up on the stage and faced Lionel.
Just from his expression, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.
“……”
There were things he wanted to say to Lionel, but there was nothing he could do in this place.
Hyunwoo quietly bowed his head and waited for Lionel’s action.
A moment later, Lionel, without any particular words, handed him a badge symbolizing the Champion and quickly left.
Compared to the announcer who had been babbling in front, this was better.
Surprisingly, the Champion inauguration ceremony ended anticlimactically.
The gladiators quickly left the plaza like an ebbing tide.
Hyunwoo also slowly took a step to return to the dormitory.
Since he had unexpectedly become a Champion, he had to adjust his plans.
Just as Hyunwoo was moving, thinking of a new plan, someone called out to him and stopped him.
“Follow me.”
“……?”
Hyunwoo tilted his head and looked at the guy who seemed to be an arena employee.
“Lord Lionel has invited you to a banquet.”
It seemed that the things that went beyond his expectations were not over yet.
However, Hyunwoo thought to himself that this was an opportunity.
He had been curious about his intentions anyway.