Chapter 285
I couldn't help but joke in my heart, wanting praise for not crying out in surprise.
Just like Judeus I had seen moments ago, I found myself covering my mouth with one hand, eyes wide open at the scene before me.
It was fine for Jakaran to swagger up into the ring. This underground arena was the perfect place for him to vent his frustrations, so his presence was expected.
But the problem was his opponent.
He was as tall as the hulking Jakaran, but slender, with long, pale blue hair tied back into a single bunch.
His clothing was a simple slave's tunic. Despite the shabby attire, he stood with an imposing air, as if completely unconcerned by his garb. At a glance, his appearance didn't seem male.
He had features lovely enough to be mistaken for a beautiful woman for an instant. However, despite this feminine appearance, I knew he was male.
Unlike his usual game-era self, who should always be smiling, he now assessed Jakaran with a calm, analytical gaze, searching for an opening.
Sharia.
I had heard from Hyurida that he was missing, but I never imagined he'd be captured in a place like this. Perhaps he was caught when he came to the southern continent during his travels as an adventurer, or somewhere else.
Recruiting him required several steps, but we were meeting now, completely bypassing all of them.
"So, pretty boy. Time to pay for the crime of trying to steal my woman."
And from that one line from Jakaran, I could guess why he'd been captured.
"It seems the 'Hero of the North' approves of assaulting women like an Orc. I suppose that's why that woman came to me for help."
The fault was 100% Jakaran's. So, Sharia had helped a woman out of goodwill, and in retaliation, was brought here.
He mocked and provoked Sharia, but once the attendant removed his handcuffs and Sharia confirmed his mobility, he scoffed and provoked Jakaran right back.
His adventurer rank should be A; this response was backed by confidence born of corresponding strength. To an onlooker, it looked like a lovely girl provoking a muscular gorilla.
"Hah?""Oh, did I hit a nerve by stating the truth? My apologies. Did it offend you?"
Unlike in the original story, he used the masculine first-person pronoun 'ore' to emphasize his masculinity as much as possible, but looking at his appearance, I'd mistake him for a woman too if I didn't know better.
With Jakaran's brain, he could only manage simple mockery, but Sharia was different. His actions were like those of a mischievous, devilish girl. His teasing, delivered with a precise understanding of human emotions to maintain an air of cuteness.
The foundation for this was his Provocation skill, born from past deeds. His expression, tone, and observational skills allowed him to discern how to get under his opponent's skin.
"I'll kill you!""Give it your best shot, you ugly Orc-head."
But Sharia didn't know.Jakaran's unique skill, 'Berserk God', was anything but ordinary.
It wasn't that its effects increased the angrier he became, but Sharia's tactic of making him see red to rob him of冷静的判断 and then exploit the opening wouldn't work.Once Jakaran's blood was up, he was unstoppable.
"GRAAAAAAAH!!"
It was good he'd restrained from provoking until the handcuffs were off, but as Sharia tried to grab the large arm Jakaran swung at him and throw him, his eyes widened in shock.
"!?"
Like a beast's instinct, just before being thrown, Jakaran's feet planted firmly, his core strength like roots sunk into the earth, preventing the throw.
The throwing posture itself became an opening. Jakaran grabbed Sharia's collar with the hand opposite the captured arm and hurled him away as if tearing him off.
"Gh!"
Slammed into the iron bars, the thick bars bent from the impact, pain twisting Sharia's face.
"RAAAAAH!!!"
With a bestial roar, Jakaran charged. Sharia barely managed to leap aside, enduring the pain, but the bar where he dodged was shattered by Jakaran's bare-handed punch.
"Tch!"
All of Jakaran's attacks were wide swings – essentially, all heavy attacks. These large motions were fast and powerful. But the initial movements were big, making it clear what was coming.
So, dodging and then targeting the opening wasn't particularly difficult.
"...Is he made of iron?"
In a game, he'd probably be cursing more cutely, but even after landing a powerful kick to the flank from behind, it was Sharia's body that hurt.
'Berserk God' made attacks flashy, drawing attention. But its essence was an overall stat boost, so his defense was also drastically increased. Furthermore, his stamina had become practically bottomless.
Nothing was going according to plan.
I let out a deep sigh and changed plans. Originally, the flow was for Judeus to use the decoy doll to reduce damage, get beaten to a pulp, become covered in blood (from the blood pack), fake his death with the fake-death pill held in his mouth, be discarded, and then I'd retrieve him and wait for resuscitation.
To maintain that flow, I'd have to abandon Sharia, fighting Jakaran running wild in the small ring.
I asked myself if that was okay, and the answer came in barely a second.
So, I started backtracking through the ventilation shaft.
I had no intention of going easy on those involved in this tasteless facility, but factoring in the lack of time, my body moved faster than I imagined.
Thanks to the Jakaran vs. Sharia match, the venue was lively, and attention was focused there.The guards outside the door seemed to have a mindset of leaving external security to the outside guards.
If I exited the venue via the ventilation shaft, the two guards at the entrance kept glancing inside, distracted by the cheers that erupted each time.
Full of openings.
I wasn't skilled enough to do something fancy like just knocking them out. I'd been taught a technique by the old man before to cut off consciousness by constricting the carotid artery, but I'd never used it in real combat, and even if it made them lose consciousness, I didn't know how long it would last.
The memory of killing the Jester of Mad Revelry flashed briefly in my mind, but there was no time to hesitate.
The ventilation grate here could be removed, but it would make a considerable noise.
If that happened, they'd definitely notice, but for times like this, there was a skill-based trick. A trick, or perhaps it should be called a minor technique.
I crouched over the ventilation grate, stood on it, activated Silent Walk again just in case, then lightly jumped on the grate, timing it to push up against the ceiling with all my strength.
Silent Walk is a skill that eliminates footfalls.
Analysis suggests it might deploy a sound-dampening field originating from the soles of the feet.
Based on this conjecture, a hypothesis was formed, leading to the development of this minor technique called Silent Entry.
Normally, kicking open a door creates an impact sound, and if the kicked door hits a wall, it makes another noise.
But, the foot kicking the grate is granted the silencing effect of Silent Walk, so no impact sound resonates. Then, by timing the landing to stomp down with the same momentum, the sound of the kicked-out grate hitting the ground is also erased.
With no tremendous sound from behind, I quickly approached the distracted lookout, grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and struck him in the stomach.
"Gah!?"
The sound of him being hit was drowned out by the cheers, inaudible to his partner next to him who was focused inside. I then struck the other man in the stomach, making him double over in agony.
While they were writhing, I grabbed both their necks, using my grip strength to precisely press their carotid arteries, stopping the blood flow.
The stomach pain, combined with the stopped blood flow from the neck, caused the guards to lose consciousness in about five seconds.
After that, I dragged them away to hide them in a blind spot so they wouldn't be seen collapsed, tore their jackets to make simple ropes, and quickly bound their arms and legs.
Once hidden, I ran towards the prison cells I'd found earlier, simply repeating the process. I could sense their positions with Presence Detection, so I'd ambush, punch to stun, then choke them out.
I knocked out every guard within detectable range, then opened the cell door.
"Greetings, captured folks. I'm a Ninja."
I made my entrance, dragging the knocked-out guards inside with both hands. My sudden appearance caused a stir, but when they noticed the people I was dragging were the facility's guards, the murmurs turned into hopeful voices, wondering if rescue had come.
I hadn't explicitly said I was here to rescue them, but I did plan to do something similar.
First, I took out the key ring I'd borrowed from the guard stationed before this cell and headed to Judeus's cell.
"H-hey, this is different from the plan, is this okay?""It seems things are no longer okay, doesn't it? Change of plans. If we can avoid getting hurt, that's better, right?""I don't like pain, but if I end up in worse trouble because of this, my family...""Don't worry, I've thought about that part too. It'll be trouble if these guys wake up, so for now, we'll put them in a cell.""Understood, I'll help."
I left the people in the other cells for the moment, quickly tossing the guards into the cell Judeus had been in.
"So, what now?"
Judeus, asking about the next steps, questioned me while mindful of the others casting pleading glances my way.
Having come this far, just abandoning them would leave a bad taste, and if I only saved Judeus, that would just endanger his family.
"We'll create a diversion. First, Judeus.""W-what?"
In that case, it was necessary to create such massive chaos that they wouldn't have the attention to spare for these people here.
"Can you read a map?"
First things first, our options were limited from here. I pointed to the ceiling, indicating they should enter the ventilation shaft, and handed the map and key ring to a grimacing Judeus.
"I think I can manage.""Good. Then I'll explain."
I then took out paper and black charcoal for writing and started drawing the map.I had considered several escape routes. This was a simple map just showing the path through the ventilation shafts.
"Follow this route, and you'll reach the underground waterway. Don't fall into the waterway, it'll be a disaster. After exiting the ventilation shaft, take the right path along the wall, and you can get outside, but wait for nightfall just before exiting. I'll meet you there."
First, I'd have them escape.
"Understood. But what about you?""Not to worry. This one is not so weak as to need concern."
It would be impossible to protect them and handle what's next. I smiled with my eyes, had Judeus unlock the cell doors, and ignoring the others looking at the entrance, I leaped up, grabbed the edge of the ventilation shaft, and pulled it out with all my strength.
My leaping power and strength made everyone's faces twitch.
"W-we've all gotten out, but how do we get up to such a high place?""Like this."
They looked at each other, wondering how to reach the high ventilation shaft.Among them, I grabbed Judeus, who should lead the way, by the waist.
"Huh?"
Holding a person, I leaped, grabbed the edge of the ventilation shaft, and shoved him inside.
"Right then, the schedule is tight, so let's move swiftly."
And so, I proceeded to shove the grimacing faces, one after another, into the ventilation shaft.