Chapter 87 : Chapter 87

Chapter 87 - Arena

Being able to have everything easily meant that everything was boring.

At least for Helmut, that proposition was close to an absolute truth.

It had been 10 years since he had come under the banner of [Wanderer] and continued to serve as its faithful servant.

Although he hadn't reached the level of the executives, whose identities were all veiled in secrecy, he had still risen through the ranks to be able to hold the position of general manager of a reasonably large facility.

It was a process entangled with numerous secret strifes, betrayals, and schemes, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that he had reached this position purely through his own ability.

And right after that was the beginning of boredom.

Wanderer was in a position no different from an absolute monarch reigning over the underworld.

Just by flying its flag, most riffraff would never even think of approaching, and those with the guts to approach had already been crushed by Wanderer.

So, having risen to this position. There were no challenges for Helmut.

The Wanderer executives positioned above him were all monsters.

They were all strong individuals against whom he, with combat power at least equivalent to a B-class Climber, wouldn't last more than a few seconds if he dared to confront them.

Competition was not even possible in the first place.

Of course, although not an executive, his own position was high enough that most people would grovel at the mere sight of him. No one dared to resist.

He would have preferred it if they charged at him ferociously. He became a villain because he didn't want to live a boring life, but now his life was more steeped in ennui than a middle-aged man going through menopause.

He just sat in the Wanderer-owned arena day after day, watching the fools filled with more vanity than skill die.

There was no stimulation, no pleasure.

Until today.

“...What number is that now?”

Helmut asked, pointing at the man on the screen, and a subordinate nearby opened his mouth, flustered.

“That... is the 12th.”

“...”

Helmut let out a deep sigh without realizing it at the throbbing headache that was creeping in.

Well. He did want fun and stimulation, but he didn't want a troublemaker that would torment him to this extent.

12 consecutive wins.

Simply winning 12 times in a row was not a problem in itself.

The problem was.

That guy had achieved 12 consecutive wins by choosing the ‘Demonic Beast consecutive battle’ combat style, where the prize money doubles with each win.

Starting with F-class Demonic Beasts that even a foolish Climber could handle with ease, then D-class, E-class, and gradually increasing the grade.

And for that to have continued up to 12 times.

That was practically a miracle.

It was to the point where one would believe he was a monster in human form.

“What's the total accumulated prize money so far?”

“...”

At Helmut's words, the subordinate shut his mouth, his face pale.

Seeing his reaction, it was a question that didn't need to be asked.

It was clear that the amount had lightly surpassed what was acceptable to give to a single person.

“What's his name, that guy.”

“It's Kim Gyu-sik.”

“...Is it him?”

Helmut had heard that name before.

A Climber whose recognition had skyrocketed after showing an outstanding performance in the Tower's Second Ordeal not long ago.

He had heard that although he was still far from the brilliant Climbers concentrated in the West, he was receiving considerable attention as a new super rookie from the Asian bloc.

It was surprising that such a person had come to a place like this, but it was even stranger that he was using his real name here.

“It seems... so.”

Entering the black market's arena and revealing his real name?

In that case, it was one of three possibilities.

He was either a fool who had no idea how dangerous it was for his name to be known in the underworld.

Or a crazy person who didn't care one way or another.

Or.

“...”

An expression of confidence that he would be safe no matter what, even after revealing everything.

In other words.

A provocation.

[ Winner! Kim Gyu-sik! ]

And seeing the leisurely smile on the face of the man who had just cut down the Demonic Beast on the stage, it seemed closest to the last case.

The unfortunate thing was that there was no way to punish him for such an arrogant act right now.

Because that man was continuously proving himself with his skill.

Helmut felt his insides twist and turned to his subordinate.

“...Have you taken ‘measures’?”

As is common for those who run shady businesses in places like this, there were various devices to prevent such people from properly taking their prize money.

Demonic Beasts heavily frenzied with illegal drugs. Covert weakening spells to reduce the player's abilities. And so on.

They were all so effective that even a reasonably strong Climber would be eliminated without being able to do anything if hit once.

But this time too, the subordinate just shook his head.

“We already tried when he got his 3rd win... but there was no effect. On the contrary, he started calling out 2 at a time and fighting them, so the prize money is increasing at an even faster rate...”

No.

Was he a madman?

To face two frenzied Demonic Beasts with a weakened body, even an A-class Climber should struggle against a C-class Demonic Beast.

It was by no means normal to slice them up so easily as if he were taking a walk in his backyard.

“...”

The scene where Kim Gyu-sik was moving on to hunt the next Demonic Beast was a case in point.

Three B-class Demonic Beasts, Screamers.

A bear-like appearance. Terrifying strength and sharp claws.

And on top of that.

A little-known characteristic: a Demonic Beast that continuously damages a Climber by screaming a curse in all directions every time it is hit.

Since they had hides harder than steel, they didn't take much damage even when hit.

As a special Demonic Beast that only appeared in a specific region of the Scandinavian Peninsula, let alone its strategy being known, most Climbers wouldn't even know of its existence.

It was a sort of ‘finishing move’ brought in to deal with those who swept through this arena.

They had secretly injected those Demonic Beasts with a drug that greatly increased their defense and magic resistance. They had even embedded a spirit stone that continuously recovered health in an unseen location.

On top of that, a frenzy to greatly amplify the Demonic Beast's attack power. A weakening spell poured onto Kim Gyu-sik.

At this point, it was a level where not just a super rookie, but Helmut himself wouldn't last 10 seconds if he were told to go and fight. It was a level of screaming at him to just die.

“...Am I dreaming right now?”

And yet.

He held his breath.

He waited without attacking even once.

He deflected the frenzied attacks of the Screamers with a single step, a twist of his body, a single parry. With such light movements.

He continued to endure with such miraculous movements that were unbelievable even when seen directly.

When the effect of the drug wore off, when the mana of the spirit stone was depleted, and when the frenzy spell disappeared.

When all the tricks they had arranged were gone.

“Hup.”

A lightly swung attack accurately dug into the Screamer's neck.

Behind the neck. Where the red spot was, the only weak point.

As if he had known from the start information that only a handful of people on Earth would know.

He dealt with them one by one. Calmly.

[ Winner! Kim Gyu-sik! ]

What in the world.

Was that guy?

“...Hey.”

“Yes.”

“What's that guy's grade. He seems like he could easily be an S-class in Asia, why didn't I know about him until now?”

“...Kim Gyu-sik's official Climber rank is F-class.”

“...”

That bastard has some seriously bad taste.

He must feel good walking around with a fake rank like that.

Helmut said in a dejected voice.

“Send him up here. If we leave him be, he's going to clean out all the money in our arena.”

“...We've already reached that point.”

“...”

***

[ !Important Notification! ]

[ ‘Wanderer’ has begun to take an interest in your existence. ]

[ Executive ??? is watching you closely. ]

[ The probability of a random encounter when entering a Wanderer-owned black market has greatly increased. ]

Right.

I grinned at the windows popping up in front of me one after another.

[Wanderer], which had barely been aware of my existence before, was now seriously paying attention to me.

And considering that even after I caused such a ruckus, it was marked as ‘interest’ and not ‘hostility’.

It was obvious who the interested executive was.

“...”

To be honest, the ‘interest’ of ‘that person’ was sometimes so malicious that I sometimes thought it would be better to be treated with hostility.

The one called the craziest person in all of Conqueror.

The reason I had avoided getting involved with Wanderer before was because of that capriciousness.

If by some chance something went wrong and I got hurt, it wouldn't have been strange for me to be instantly killed back then.

‘I've grown a bit more now, though.’

The Cheonryongpo would be completed soon, and my own specs had increased a lot compared to back then. It meant that even if I ran into that psycho, I wouldn't die easily.

On top of that, since the favorability was only at the interest level, it also meant they wouldn't send an assassin saying, ‘How dare you rob our affiliated organization? You're dead!’.

If used well, this relationship could be very useful later on.

Just like Eliya, who was now accepting the shining stone with a dumbfounded expression in front of me.

Despite appearances, this was an item I received instead of the cash that had piled up like crazy from my winning streak in the arena.

“...This? A Spirit Stone...?”

“Yes.”

Mana Stones, which were condensed mana, were traded quite commonly among Climbers, but Spirit Stones, which contained the energy of spirits, were items whose price was whatever you called it.

It was natural considering the weight that ‘spirits’ carried in this world.

Even a Dryad, who boasted a dust-level of insignificance among spirits, was a powerful being that could occupy a floor as a C-class Demonic Beast.

“This kind of thing... you're giving it to me? Why?”

Why else.

I'm paying a high price, so do your job properly.

‘And...’

A Spirit Stone and Eliya.

And if that Mysterious Vessel was what I thought it was.

When I visited next time, she would introduce me to a quite respectable result.

So, for now, I sent the shocked Eliya back inside the building.

Get to work.

[ Kim Gyu-sik ]

<Background>

[ Kim Gyu-sik spent his childhood in the slums. And C¾ð¾î¶õ °ÍÀº ¾ÆÁÖ ±â´ÉÀ» °¡Áø ÇÁ·Î±×·¡¹¾ð¾´ ´

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At least.

The only clue to unraveling this damn twisted part, in my opinion, could only be brought by the shaman.

As I was thinking that and sighing.

A rhythmic melody flowed from my phone.

It was the sound of consecutive incoming messages.

[ Kim Gyu-sik-ssi? It's Ebga. ]

[ If you have time, could you please stop by the workshop? The parts you requested are all complete. ]

Oh.

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