Chapter 4: 4

It was a perfect counter-uppercut. But the regrettable point was, due to their huge height difference, the blow couldn’t reach its maximum impact. Yoon-seok had to nearly dislocate his shoulder to reach, so his punch didn’t have that hundred percent explosive power.

However, the result was more than satisfactory. As soon as his fist connected with the monster’s jaw, it knocked the orc flat on the ground.

Flop-!

A single blow was enough to send the monster flying to the other side of the arena. It was knocked out, but it might wake back up anytime soon. That made Yoon-seok nervous.

‘Did I just win? Really? I won?’

It didn’t feel real. People always ignored him and would beat him up whenever the mood struck them, after all. Not including that one fight he’d had with Hyung-woo years ago; this was his first time hitting someone.

“Huh… huh…”

Yoon-seok let out a heavy sigh, affected more by mental burnout than physical exhaustion. The trauma Hyung-woo had left him with was very deep. No matter what injustice he encountered, Yoon-seok just couldn’t get up and fight back. It didn’t matter who was in front of him; that was how Kang Hyung-woo had molded him.

That was why Yoon-seok couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘I-I won….’

He could only vaguely remember the situation he was in. During that moment of crisis, his body had felt different; it had moved like he was an entirely different person. Even now, the excitement he’d felt when his fist collided with the monster’s jaw lingered.

Yoon-seok slowly approached the monster. It was the first time he’d overpowered anyone, but it seemed that the duel wasn’t over.

“Where the hell am I?!”

He looked around: there were no exits visible from the arena. The walls surrounding them were too high, so jumping over was out of the question, and their surface was too smooth to climb. In other words, there was no way to get out of this place. He was trapped in here.

“Could it be… don’t tell me it will only be over if I kill this monster.”

Yoon-seok’s voice echoed in the empty stadium. He had a hunch that someone was watching and listening to him, even if he couldn’t see them. However, no one answered him.

Instead…

“Chiiiwiii… Chiiwiii…”

He could hear the grunts of the weakened monster gasping for air. Yoon-seok couldn’t quell the anxiety rising in him.

‘Should I… kill it?’

He’d never thought that he would entertain such a thought. However, under these circumstances, it was the right kind of attitude. He needed to be relentless. He wasn’t sure if killing could get him out of this place, but he was sure that if he allowed this monster to stand back up, his life would be in danger once more.

‘If we fight again… I can’t guarantee that I will win again.’

It was understandable to hesitate about taking another creature’s life, but this one was a monster. Also, it was a monster that would kill Yoon-seok without hesitation if given a chance. So, Yoon-seok took a deep breath and convinced himself that he had no reason to feel guilty as he climbed over the monster’s body.

Then he stretched his hands out and strangled the orc.

“Ugh, ugh, kegk…”

It didn’t take long. Yoon-seok felt the orc’s pulse weakly through its neck as he pressed his fingers around its throat. He concentrated all the force he could exert into his hands. And finally, a few moments later, the monster’s pulse started growing fainter and fainter until it stopped completely.

Then.

Bang! Ba-bang! Bang!

The blue sky filled with celebratory fireworks. A new message popped up in front of him.

「Victory!」

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Yoon-seok felt his heart boil with anger as he read the message. However, once he saw the messages that followed, he grew still.

「Reward: 1,000 AP.」

「Unique Skill has been activated.」

「Learn a random Skill from your opponent.」

「Acquire Unique Skill.」

With each message, the situation he was in was growing clearer to him.

「You can now access the first floor. You are supposed to wait upstairs.」

「Please prepare for the next duel.」

“It isn’t over yet.”

Yoon-seok’s surroundings changed in a matter of seconds, like a TV switching channels. He found himself in the middle of a simple stone room with a circular platform under the bright sun.

“Perhaps this is the waiting room….”

A resting place for the participants. The throbbing pain in his arm from blocking the monster’s punch was gone. Perhaps, this place was where one came to rest and recover after a fight.

“But this place and the arena have one thing in common; there don’t seem to be any exits.”

The stone room was a little over ten square meters. Curiosity took over, and Yoon-seok started to look around. Aside from a stone statue holding a sword and shield by the front wall, the room was empty. On top of the statue, something looked out of place in the otherwise medieval setting: an electronic timer.

「Next duel in 23:59:08.」

Yoon-seok couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“After all that, I have to fight again in twenty-four hours.”

Now, he was beginning to understand what was happening with him. But if he won the next battle, would he finally be able to return home? Yoon-seok was skeptical about it. Perhaps he was destined to fight in this crazy place for the rest of his life.

‘But… what’s wrong with that?’

Surprisingly, the thought didn’t scare him. Rather, he felt excited about it, though he wasn’t sure why. Did he want to feel it again? The thrill he’d felt when his fist connected to the monster’s jaw?

Yoon-seok shook his head.

‘But what about school? I was about to apply as a returnee. Will I be able to go back before that happens?’

‘Kang Hyung-woo will go crazy if he notices I’m gone….’

All these thoughts were rushing through his head. It was funny that these meaningless things were on his mind even when his life was in danger.

Slap-!

Yoon-seok slapped both his cheeks to wake himself up.

Still, he couldn’t help but think about his father’s business; his absence might cause damage. But he was in a situation where it was unclear whether he would be able to return, alive or not.

‘Get a hold of yourself.’

At this point, they were all useless concerns. The most important thing right now was for him to survive.

「Next duel in 23:58:11.」

An electronic screen, about twenty inches long, appeared on the statue. It had a list of options displayed on it.

[Information], [Equipment], [Technology], [Miscellaneous], [Convenience], [Conversation].

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-Total Reward in possession: 2000 AP.

Yoon-seok felt drawn to the screen. It didn’t give out any sense of danger, so he proceeded to experiment with it. He selected the [Information] tab located at the top of the list. The screen changed as soon as he touched it.

[Challenger Information]

Name: Choi Yoon-seok (First floor)

Record: 1 win, 0 losses, 0 draws

*Capability Rank*

Strength: F-

Agility: F-

Stamina: F-

Endurance: F-

Mana: F-

*Unique Skills*

<Predation> — Acquire an opponent’s ability.

<Enhanced Weapon> — Use magic to enhance a weapon.

*Retaining technology*

—None

*Total Score: 2000 AP*

*Coins owned: 3*

[Back]◀

It was just like those windows that could be found in video games. Yoon-seok shifted his focus to his Unique Skills.

‘Predation? What the hell is that?’

He pressed the (+) sign to get a full explanation about the skill. Then a window filled with details appeared.

Rank F — Randomly acquires one of the skills possessed by the enemy upon winning the duel. Randomly loses one of his skills if defeated.

Though the intuitive explanations were easy to understand, his brain couldn’t immediately process any of them.

‘This isn’t a game….’

After reading through Predation, Yoon-seok went and confirmed his other skill.

Rank F — Increases the rank of the equipped weapon by three levels. As the rank of the weapon increases, the mana consumption increases.

Despite him not knowing how to use the skills, based on his knowledge of video games, one thing was sure. As the level increased, weapons became stronger and sharper.

‘I’m glad that orc was empty-handed.’

If the monster he’d just fought had wielded a weapon, he would have surely lost.

‘All of my abilities are F-rank….’

It appeared that he was at the bottom of the whole system. As he thought about it, Yoon-seok couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He had no teacher to give him any warning or information about the situation he was in.

‘I still have no idea what the total score or the coins are about….’

He decided it was time to check the other tabs.

[Information], [Equipment], [Technology], [Miscellaneous], [Convenience], [Conversation].

-Total AP in possession: 2000.

His eyes went to the [Conversation] tab right at the bottom of the screen.

‘What is this? Will the stone statue talk if I press it?’

Though he’d thought it jokingly, in this strange place, he wouldn’t be surprised if the statue did talk. What was happening to him right now was far from reality. However, how could he not try to work this modern piece of technology? Yoon-seok touched the [Conversation] tab.

[Please choose a nickname.]

Looking at the requirement, Yoon-seok mulled over it for a long while before deciding on a name.

-The Predator.

The name was derived from his skill. Though it was awkward for him to use such a name, he decided to give it a go.

[Entered the chat room (3) on the first floor.]

[Current number of participants 1,982/10,000]

-Namgungjin: Hey. Does anyone know where we are?

-Profit Maker: One coin left. Ask a question.

-Archmage: Actually, I didn’t know how to do magic, so I learned here. Originally I was a sixth-class court mage.

-KS9578: Guys, I’d like to get a new sword. Can you recommend something? I’m a Magic Swordsman class.

-Dark Knight: Keke, keep learning magic so that my chances of winning get higher.

-Cloud: Wow, I almost died this time. Say something, so I’ll know everyone survived!

The chat updated so quickly that it was hard to follow. That was natural, as there were 2,000 people in one chat room. Rather than participating in the conversation, Yoon-seok began scrolling up to read the messages from the top.

‘Is everyone here insane? What are they talking about?’

Yoon-seok frowned as he read through the messages.

‘One of them said he was a court mage….’

There were a lot of people saying strange things.

‘I don’t think it’s real….’

Even after facing a strange monster, it was hard for Yoon-seok to consider that other dimensions existed.

‘Let’s keep reading for now, then. Maybe I can figure out what’s happening.’

Yoon-seok slowly scrolled down, eager to find clues. Soon, he found what he was searching for.

–Speedwagon: This is Speedwagon passing by. Today, we will briefly explain the situation for newcomers. If you are new, filter your messages from the top left corner, so you don’t miss out!

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