I walked alongside Chae Nayun towards the grand structure in the distance known as the colosseum. The colosseum towered above everything else, so we didn’t need to ask for any directions.

“Hey…” I carefully called out.

I couldn’t help but be bothered by her. She acted strong and nonchalant, but I knew very well how sensitive and emotional she was. She was the prime example of being strong on the outside, but fragile on the inside. What happened just now would probably be enough to make her loathe someone like me.

“What, punk?” Chae Nayun responded.

Thankfully, she sounded like her usual self.

I looked back with a sigh of relief as she busily petted the wolf.

“Anyways, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Just now.”

“… Did you eat something wrong?”

Our conversation was cut short as we arrived in front of the colosseum. This grand structure in the middle of the desert certainly looked like the one in Rome, but it stood even taller with a roof over it.

Kim Suho and the others waited for us near the structure.

“Hey, what took you guys so long?” he asked.

He winked at me, but I had no idea why.

Shin Jonghak rushed to Chae Nayun, who simply shoved him back and went to Yoo Yeonha.

She showed the wolf to Yoo Yeonha and asked, “Hey, what do you think of this?”

“… It’s a wolf.”

“Doesn’t it look like him?” Chae Nayun asked while pointing at me.

Yoo Yeonha looked at me and the wolf before frowning.

“Alright, is everyone here? Follow me,” Seo Youngji clapped and grabbed our attention. Then she added, “We have to register. There are a lot of people, so be careful of pickpockets.”

She was our advisor, but didn’t dissuade us from joining the colosseum. In fact, she encouraged us to participate.

Chae Nayun liked this about her and replied with an affirmative yes before skipping away like a child.

“But hero Seo Youngji… Can we really do this? Do we have a chance?” Yoo Yeonha asked while walking behind Seo Youngji.

She seemed against the whole idea unlike Chae Nayun, who happily skipped in front.

“

Hmm…

I don’t think you don’t stand a chance. Besides, the colosseum has a rookie bonus system. The second place reward, Soul Mana Vermillion, will only be awarded to rookies,” Seo Youngji replied.

“

Hmpf…”

Yoo Yeonha pouted.

Meanwhile, the party reached the registration area and everyone received a registration form except for Seo Youngji.

“You don’t have to write anything else aside from your alias and your type of weapon. You can think of your alias as something like a game ID,” the registrar explained.

I immediately finished my form and handed it to the registrar.

[Alias: X-Man. Weapon: Firearm.]

“The registration fee is one million Korean won per person,” the registrar added after receiving my form.

“Here you go.”

Chae Nayun stepped up and gave six million won to the registrar to cover the unexpected costs.

“I have confirmed your registrations. Please take one card each.”

We received our cards with our respective aliases along with nine thousand points.

“

Huh?

Did you copy me?” Chae Nayun tapped on my shoulder and showed me her card.

Her nickname was

[JaJangMan]

.

“… What the hell is that?” I frowned and questioned her strange naming sense.

However, the registrar interrupted us before Chae Nayun had the chance to retort.

“Alright, I will explain how your card works. You will be fighting in the colosseum and will gain points every time you win. You may use your points to purchase things within the colosseum or convert them for cash once you leave. The participant with the highest points at the end of the month will receive the

[Gautz Gauntlet]

as a reward. Of course, the points and rewards are different. Just because you win the reward does not mean we’ll be taking your points. Do you understand?”

All of us nodded at the registrar’s explanation. Honestly, I had no idea how the specifics worked, but everything here seemed to operate with a well-thought-out system.

“Then, please enter before five in the afternoon tomorrow,” the registrar added.

We turned around after receiving our cards.

Seo Youngji smirked and said, “Amazing, right? Varance is quite well-known and affluent among the neutral cities. You’ll get to see a lot of amazing things here. If New Alliance was a place for you to rest and recover, then this is the place for you to spend your money.”

Chae Nayun went,

Aha,

as if she understood what Seo Youngji meant. Then she asked, “You seem quite knowledgeable about this.”

“Yeah, I’ve participated in the colosseum a few times as a cadet. Forget about that. It’ll start tomorrow, so you should enjoy today,” Seo Youngji smiled and pulled out a credit card in a flashy, yet pointless manner.

The Dahyun corporation gave us this credit card for the trip and not even Chae Nayun knew how much it contained.

***

I looked out my hotel room window. It had a good view of the swimming pool and party hall. The lighting around the hotel grounds brightly shone under the darkening sky. I slightly opened the window as laughter and music flowed into my room.

I wondered if those people were really happy. Did they live without fear of their fellow humans, who suddenly turned into superhumans? I mean, could they simply accept that fact and not be bothered that another person could kill them with the slight wave of a hand?

Knock… Knock…

Someone knocked on the door and interrupted my meaningless train of thought. I didn’t bother opening the door or responding, but the door opened anyway.

Everyone, except for Shin Jonghak and Seo Youngji, came into my room.

“… What do you all want?” I asked.

“Nothing much. It’s our free time and we were bored, so we came to play some cards,” Chae Nayun replied with an awkward smile.

“But where are the other two?”

“They said they’re going out sightseeing.”

“Really?”

Shin Jonghak seemed to be spending quite a lot of time with Seo Youngji these days. Could something be going on between them?

Chae Nayun and Kim Suho sat at the table and shuffled the deck while Yoo Yeonha sat on the sofa and checked something on her smartwatch.

“Why a game of cards all of a sudden?” I asked with some suspicion.

Chae Nayun tilted her head in confusion, “Why? You don’t know how to play? I know you’re good at it.”

“No, that’s not it…”

Did these four innocent kids (Chae Nayun, Yoo Yeonha, Yi Yeonghan, and Kim Suho) know what they were getting into by challenging me?

“None of you… will be able to beat me,” I said in a cocky, yet confident manner.

“

Ha!

Have you ever played?” Yoo Yeonha retorted with a scoff.

The perfect saying to describe her attitude was probably,

‘Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.’

“Yeah, I’ve never lost in my life.”

“Then today is the day you’ll taste your first defeat,” Yoo Yeonha opened the briefcase she brought and took out the chips.

She looked confident as she divided the chips and probably thought all of it would come back to her in the end.

“By the way, these are real chips I bought from a hotel casino. It probably adds up to one hundred million won. I originally wanted to play at a real casino, but I guess we have to make do with this. I’ll divide this into five for each of us. Just consider it a small loan from me,” Yoo Yeonha said with her usual air of haughtiness.

“Oh, this is getting fun! Let’s play!” Chae Nayun exclaimed and further instigated the situation.

I didn’t know if it was because of the wolf pup running around the room, but Chae Nayun seemed excited about everything.

“Alright… don’t regret it if you go broke though. Hold on. One hundred million won is one year of your allowance, right?” I asked.

“What are you talking about… Wait a minute. How do you know how much my allowance is?!” Yoo Yeonha exclaimed in surprise.

“I didn’t?”

“… What the hell?”

Anyways, she really did scrape up her annual allowance and converted it into chips.

I sat at the table intending to suck her dry. It only took slightly over an hour for the game to end.

As expected, every single chip ended up in front of me.

“Wow… What just happened?”

“Does that mean I have to pay twenty million won to Kim Hajin? That’s a bit much… You’re going to cut me some slack, right?”

Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan seemed to be in disbelief over what just happened while Yoo Yeonha was in a daze with her mouth wide open. It looked as if cracks would form all over her and she would crumble if someone poked her.

Chae Nayun threw the cards on the table and grumbled, “

Ah

, fuck… It’s annoying to keep losing. Hey, Kim Hajin. I’m hungry. Let’s go and eat something.”

“… I’ll just cook for you guys. I mean, I just won a hundred million won from all of you. It’s the least I can do.”

Yoo Yeonha flinched in response, but I ignored her and went to cook.

“Wow, really? Are you sure? I don’t mind if you do,” Chae Nayun replied.

My cooking skills already reached the pinnacle thanks to my Dazzling Dexterity. I confidently took out my cooking set from my bag and started cooking.

“

Whoa…

Sniff! sniff!

That smells really good…

Sseup

! Sniff! Sniff!”

Chae Nayun sneaked behind me and rested her chin on my shoulder as she sniffed the aroma.

I looked at her while marinating the meat and asked, “Are you a dog? Why are you sniffing like that? Can you get off me?”

“

Sniff! Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!”

Chae Nayun completely ignored me and continued sniffing like a dog with a huge grin.

Meanwhile, the sound of someone lamenting, “My money… my precious money…” could be heard from one corner of the room.

***

The next day, we left right away in the afternoon. Of course, we headed to the colosseum.

“What’s our goal? It’s the Soul Mana Vermillion. Don’t forget that,” Chae Nayun said.

She gathered us into a huddle and gave a pep talk, but everyone aside from Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan seemed annoyed by her antics.

Yoo Yeonha, the biggest loser from last night who lost a ridiculous three hundred million won, looked like a soulless with big dark circles under her eyes.

“It should be fine if I place first, right?” Shin Jonghak said as he put on airs.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Either I or Kim Suho will place second if you win first anyways,” Chae Nayun replied with a shrug.

“

Hmm…

I guess you’re right,” Shin Jonghak replied with a confident smirk.

Chae Nayun became quite skilled at handling Shin Jonghak.

On the other hand, I felt nervous as opposed to the confident trio of Shin Jonghak, Chae Nayun, and Kim Suho.

They did mention that participants could concede during the match, so I shouldn’t die at least.

“The entrance will soon open! All participants! Please gather around!” one of the staff members shouted by the gates when the clock struck five o’clock.

The people loitering around gathered. Some came to support their friends, some entered in parties just like us, and others covered their faces with hoods, etc.

We also wore the masks we had prepared beforehand and entered the colosseum.

“Hey, looks like we’ll be split up. Good luck everyone! I’ll kill you if you get eliminated!” Chae Nayun shouted.

“Pharmacy Club, fighting!”

“… My precious money.”

Only one corridor appeared at first, but it soon divided into multiple.

I walked for around five minutes before a woman appeared in front of me.

“Hello, I am your manager, Riyu! May you please give me your card?”

“

Ah

, sure.”

I looked at her pink hair in amazement before handing her my card.

She brightly smiled and took it before saying, “It’s nice to meet you. Let’s see… X-Man… your weapon is… a firearm?”

Her bubbly personality and jolly voice suddenly went down a notch. She blinked a few times while staring at my card and her expression turned into an obviously disappointed one.

“Firearm means…”

I showed her my Desert Eagle, “Yes, a gun.”

“Ah…”

Riyu didn’t say anything after that and I leaned against the corridor wall.

She turned away and put a hand on her ear. Then she whispered, “Yes… yes… a gun… I think he’s a mercenary… Yes… as soon as possible…”

It seemed that people looked down on guns even at the colosseum. Well, I didn’t have any qualms with that since I was way below the likes of Shin Jonghak and Kim Suho. I simply smiled at the fiasco.

“Excuse me, X-Man? Please follow me. I’ll quickly process everything,” Riyu said.

She initially addressed me politely, but immediately downgraded me afterwards. I had no problems with that since it was somewhat true. I actually liked it since she seemed willing to fast-track the process and get it over with.

I followed her through the corridor until we arrived at a dome-shaped area.

“Oh, right. I should explain the rules since you’re a rookie,” she said.

“Yes.”

Riyu sighed as if she found it to be cumbersome.

“There are one hundred twenty-seven arenas within the colosseum divided into their respective ranks. Sixty-four of them are the lowest, thirty-two are low, sixteen are low-mid, eight are mid, four are mid-high, two are high, and the last remaining one is the highest. It’s up to the participants to decide which arena they want to fight in, but all rookies are limited to the low-mid arenas at most. Do you understand? Go on in if you do.”

She finished her rude explanation and I stepped into the colosseum.

“What the hell is this?” I grumbled as pitch-black darkness surrounded me.

The lights installed in the ceiling suddenly turned on and illuminated the darkness.

— The brave contender who came here with only a single gun, X-Man!

The voice reminded me of wrestling matches and suddenly blasted across the arena as it introduced me to the crowd. Only then did the darkness disappear.

I looked around and saw around one hundred spectators in the huge arena large enough to seat three thousand people.

No one among the spectators was cheering or hooting. They just scratched their heads and looked at me as if I was a strange creature.

— First match!

Thud!

The caged door on the other side opened and a pair of aggressive eyes brightly shone from the darkness.

“Grrr…!”

A threatening growl could be heard as a two meter tall creature with green skin and a muscular body walked out.

“Oh, it’s an orc,” I muttered as I prepared my Desert Eagle.

I changed my Desert Eagle into a shotgun with the help of aether.

— Will X-Man win against the orc?!

“

Krrwaaagh

!”

the orc let out a deafening cry and rushed at me.

I could only thank the orc for closing the distance between us.

Bang!

I pulled the trigger and my shotgun blew up the orc. A deafening silence filled the arena.

— S-Second match!

The second monster was a draco, a lizard that walked on two legs and possessed tough skin.

It stomped its large feet on the ground to threaten me and seemed to be around rank 9 judging from its size.

However, I simply pulled the trigger again.

Whoosh!

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The monster quickly moved and dodged the bullets, but I already anticipated its next two moves. Two shotgun shells ended up in its abdomen.

The draco died and the crowd remained silent.

“Hey, who the hell is that guy? Why is everything dying from one hit? Is that even a gun?” someone in the crowd asked.

— Third match!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground shook as something big came out from the door. I instinctively recognized the monster from the tremor it caused. It was definitely an ogre.

The crowd finally grew excited after seeing the ogre.

I prepared myself and infused stigma into my bullets.

“Gwaaaah! Rwaaaaah!”

The ogre rushed at me like a maniac as soon as it stepped into the arena.

I infused stigma into my feet and jumped when it swung its club. Then I aimed my shotgun at the monster and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullets infused with the fire attribute exploded when they struck the ogre’s head. This immediately stopped the monster from moving.

“Gwa…! Gwaa… Grrrwwaaaah!”

The ogre trembled in agony, but I didn’t let my guard down. After all, an ogre was still an ogre.

I transformed my shotgun into a machine gun and unleashed a bullet shower from a safe distance. The strengthened bullets had no problem piercing the ogre’s thick hide.

“Grr… Krruoh… Grrrwaaaaah!”

The ogre wildly swung its club in every direction, but it would never be able to hit me because my first attack had already burned its eyes away.

***

My manager guided me to the common lounge after the match ended.

“This is the common lounge, X-Man. There’s a separate rest area for winners, so please feel free to rest before your next match,” Riyu said.

“

Ah

, sure…”

The pink-haired Riyu suddenly addressed me with the utmost respect again.

Anyways, the common lounge had various amenities like couches, computers, and a bar.

I sat on the couch and waited for my teammates. Around ten minutes passed before someone wearing a fox mask came into the common lounge.

“It’s me, codename: JaJangMan.”

“I know even if you don’t tell me.”

“Show me your card.”

I compared my card with Chae Nayun’s. She had three hundred points more than me.

“Okay, I just have to maintain enough to place second until the end of the month, right?”

“Yeah, that’s correct.”

The colosseum only went on for a month and we would probably have to go back in the middle of it for our midterms exam…

The common lounge door opened again and a group of hooded figures came in.

I immediately used Hacking to figure out their identities. The crowd was made up of evil djinns, mercenaries, sophomore Cube cadets, etc.

Fortunately, the person I was wary of didn’t show up.

“Hey…” Chae Nayun called out.

I turned to her.

“So I was saying, we have to use our points sparingly if we want to maintain our rank, right? I was thinking…”

It looked like she had something to say, but kept hesitating and bit her lips. She started mumbling gibberish.

“Ah… Uw… Uh…”

“What are you trying to say? Just hurry up and spit it out.”

“

Ah…

That’s…”

The way she acted frustrated me, but she soon calmed her breathing and composed herself.

“Let’s sleep in the same room to save up,” she said.

She blurted out a barrage of words before I could even respond.

“I gave it some thought and we have to save our points to place second in the rankings and obtain the reward. However, we have to save up quite a bit to do that. I was thinking it would definitely help if we shared instead of wasting points on separate rooms.”