Chapter 120: 119

"I think I've caught a bit of a lead."

Looking down at the spot where Bernato had vanished into a cloud of red smoke, I mulled over the situation.

We had launched a combined assault with silver weapons and magic.

After revealing the Soul Core, Damien took the shot.

The basic tactics for dealing with vampires were slowly taking shape. I nodded in satisfaction.

Good. We just have to progress one step at a time like this.

Just then,

"Excellent, challengers! You have proven yourselves worthy!"

From the stage, Jackal's voice resonated loudly.

"Yes, worthy of facing me, Jackal the Gladiator King, directly!"

Ding!

[Flaming Colosseum - Wave 7]

- Defeat the enemy!

- Lv.75 Gladiator King: 1 Unit

- Victory Payout Ratio: None

As the system window updated.

Thud-!

The final wave, and the last boss of this colosseum dungeon.

The Gladiator King, Jackal, himself descended into the arena.

I was wondering why there was no victory payout ratio, and then I noticed all the goblins in the stands were dead.

Apparently, Jackal had killed them all with his own hands. Damn it!

"It's been so long since I've stood in the colosseum myself!"

Jackal, who was spinning his short swords flamboyantly in his hands, muttered with a smug look.

"This battle should be all mine. That's why I cleared out the useless spectators."

Thump. Thump.

Watching the NPC boss, who was gradually closing the distance, I swallowed nervously.

Gladiator King Jackal.

In the game, he had a special ability to dodge the first attack every turn.

Whether it was his special ability or the colosseum's betting odds, either way, his specs were way out of our league. Level 75.

We'd lose if we fought him.

We'd definitely die.

"Jackal."

And yet, the reason I came here was because I had a way to incapacitate this boss.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke emphatically.

"Everblack hasn't forgotten you."

"...Excuse me?"

Jackal's threatening approach came to an abrupt halt.

"What did you say...?"

"I said Everblack hasn't forgotten you."

In the game, why did speedrunners rush to the colosseum from the very beginning?

Even if you could clear the previous waves using gimmicks, how would you deal with this formidable boss?

The answer was simple.

You don't fight.

You use an event to skip it.

'Jackal's identity is an agent dispatched from the Everblack Empire decades ago.'

Decades ago, when the empire's intelligence agency (today's Aegis Special Forces) received rumors about the dungeon under the lake, they sent special agents into the dungeon.

Unfortunately, these agents were kidnapped and brought to the colosseum during their dungeon investigation, where they were treated like slaves and forced to fight as gladiators.

After a long time, all the agents died, but Jackal, who was of a long-lived race, survived.

In the process, he killed the previous Gladiator King and became the new one.

But by then, decades had already passed.

Realizing that returning to the empire now would be meaningless, Jackal decided to spend the rest of his life as the Gladiator King, guarding the colosseum.

'So, how do you skip the battle?'

It was simple in the game. You just had to throw him an item called 'Prince Ash's Relic'.

Prince Ash is supposed to die in the tutorial.

However, the relic remained in Lucas's inventory afterward.

Players often complained about this seemingly useless item taking up an inventory slot until its purpose was revealed.

'Receiving the royal relic, Jackal mistakes Lucas for royalty and lets the party go unharmed. That was the trick.'

Now, that was in the game.

What about me?

'Just name drop.'

A boss who can be persuaded with a relic should be even easier to convince when I, the prince himself, prove my identity. Game over, right?

"Everblack... hasn't forgotten me?"

Jackal, who had been murmuring in a trembling voice, quickly knelt in front of me.

"What is your noble name, sir?"

"Ash. Ash 'Born Hater' Everblack."

I took out the black jade badge from my pocket and showed it to him.

"I'm the third prince of the royal family."

"My goodness, is this possible...?"

Jackal, who had been overjoyed to receive the badge, bowed to me.

"I thought I had been forgotten... I thought the Empire had forgotten me, and I tried to forget the Empire."

"Jackal, even if you were to forget the name Everblack, the Empire has never forgotten you."

"Ah..."

"Even if the Empire were to forget you, I promise you."

I placed my hand on my chest.

"I, Ash, will remember you."

Tears streamed down from behind Jackal's mask, pouring down his chin.

"Thank you. Thank you. My time spent here... was not in vain."

Seeing Jackal this sad and happy made me feel a bit guilty, but, well, what does it matter. I really am going to remember him now.

***

The information I explained to Jackal was as follows:

I am a prince who has received the Emperor's secret orders to personally investigate the dungeon.

In the process, I identified the list of soldiers and agents from the Empire who had previously gone missing in the dungeon.

The dungeon boss Jackal and the missing agent with the codename Jackal overlapped, so I came here to figure it out.

Upon reflection, it was a full of holes explanation, but Jackal did not doubt it for a second.

"Just by not forgetting my name. I am saved by that alone."

After the boss mode ended and Jackal became a normal NPC, he spoke in a calm voice.

I wonder if this guy is the same person as the Gladiator Jackal who was spouting nonsense just a little while ago.

"Jackal, could you help with the dungeon exploration in the future?"

I asked with a glimmer of hope.

Jackal is a whopping level 75 character.

If it's possible to recruit him, or even just call him for support, it would make things much easier moving forward.

But Jackal slowly shook his head.

"Once you become the Gladiator King, your body is bound to this Colosseum."

"I see..."

"I can provide all the help I can within this area, but I cannot use any power outside of this Zone. I'm sorry..."

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Jackal sincerely bowed his head in apology.

No, no, it's me who tried to take too much advantage. I'm sorry.

"Anyway, Jackal."

I decided to bring up the main point.

"I need an item called Dark Crystal... Do you happen to have any?"

"Of course, of course! How many do you need? Just tell me!"

In the game, if you skip the boss fight with Jackal using this trick, you can trade items with him afterwards as a merchant NPC. One of the items was the Dark Crystal.

But this time, I got it for free. I decided to take only three for now. I don't need any more at the moment.

[Dark Crystal]

- Category: Material

- A crystal formed from the darkness of hell. If you listen closely, it seems like you can hear whispers. It is rarely found in dungeons from the 5th area and beyond.

This was my first encounter with the Dark Crystal, a material item that would repetitively go into the manufacture of top-tier items in the later stages.

I quickly put it in my inventory. With this, I've gathered all the materials needed for crafting the weapon for the fortress.

"Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?"

Jackal seemed eager to do anything for me. He was fidgeting in front of me.

"It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but in this area, I am the most powerful being! Just give me an order!"

"Well, then..."

After a moment of hesitation, I asked sheepishly.

"Do you have a place where we could get some sleep? My party members are all exhausted and they need to rest."

***

"I heard it was a two-day trip, and we brought all the camping gear. Naturally, I thought we'd be camping."

Inside the Colosseum. Gladiator's quarters.

Our party entered this place with surprisingly clean beds lined up. As Evangeline dropped her bag on the floor, she began to speak.

"I was surprised that we could get such a decent place to stay. I didn't expect that."

"Indeed. And we're in the middle of a dungeon, too."

Junior chimed in.

"We were prepared to sleep on a hard floor, but a bed! We're truly lucky!"

"Hurrah!"

Evangeline and Junior leapt onto the bed in unison.

I chuckled and put down my bag next to the bed.

"It's disconcerting, honestly. They're being too accommodating."

"You turned a formidable enemy into an ally in an instant with just a few words."

Junior chuckled, a gleam in her eyes.

"Your Highness is truly remarkable."

"Um... well..."

Rather than me being remarkable, it was more about using the strategies I already knew. But they say information is the most powerful weapon. I guess I should be grateful for remembering all the strategies.

"But, are we sharing this room?"

Evangeline, who was rolling around on the blanket like a pill bug, frowned and asked me. Huh?

"Of course, we'll share. Did you think we would use separate rooms?"

"But there are two ladies here... We can't ignore gender differences..."

"My goodness. Talking about ladies. Where are the ladies in this room?"

All I see is a little pill bug and a blood machine.

"What are you saying?! I'm a lady!"

"What will you do if I don't believe you."

"This is what I'll do-!"

Evangeline grabbed a pillow and gave me a light thump on my back. You!

"You cheeky little bug-!"

I'll put a stop to her antics this time! I grabbed a pillow and gave a hard whack to Evangeline's head.

"Kyaa!"

With a dignified scream, Evangeline glared at me. I glared back. What's the big deal!

A moment later.

"We finished taking... showers..."

Lucas and Damien, who went to take a shower first, returned to find Evangeline and I earnestly engaging in a pillow fight. Thump, thump, thump.

"Lucas!"

With feathers from the burst pillow stuck all over my head, I tossed a pillow to Lucas.

"Join the fight!"

"Yes, my lord."

Without a moment's hesitation, Lucas grabbed the pillow with both hands and charged in.

"Wow! It's not fair to fight two against one!"

As it turned into a 2 vs. 1, Evangeline screamed and called out to Junior.

"Help me, Juju! You're on my side, right?!"

"No... I don't want to take sides..."

"If you don't help now, I'll stick to you and bother you when we sleep!"

"Hmm..."

Junior, who had been hesitant, snapped her fingers.

With that, a wind magic spell was activated, and blankets flew up to hit Lucas and me. I screamed in surprise.

"It's low, so unfair! Recruiting a magician!"

"You started the 2 vs. 1, senior!"

"In that case, fine! I'll call in my best cheat character too! Damien!"

I called to my sniper who hadn't joined the pillow fight yet and turned my head.

"Quick, help us! You're on the emperor's side, right?!"

"..."

But Damien, lying on the bed in the corner, seemed to be ignoring my words. Damien?

"...Zzz..."

"He's already asleep!"

In the end, Lucas and I were wrapped up in blankets and laid side by side on the bed next to Damien's. Damn, I can't move...

"I apologize, my lord. My incompetence is to blame..."

"It's not your fault, Lucas... It's because of the evil alliance of these 'ladies'..."

That's when it happened. Junior, watching our misery, covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Pfft..."

"..."

Unlike the smiles Junior had shown before, there was no pretense in her laughter.

It felt like she had opened up to us, if only a little.

So, I felt a bit relieved.

"Let's get some sleep, everyone. We must all be tired."

"Indeed, my lord... Somehow... I feel very sleepy..."

"Haha. It feels so sweet to sleep after winning. Good night!"

"Everyone, good night."

"...Zzz..."

Each leaving a short greeting, my party members fell asleep one by one.

They must have been tired; they were all out like lights.

Listening to the quiet breaths of the sleeping children... my eyes began to close as well.

I fell asleep quite comfortably.