Editor: Anuvrat
Yoon Seok’s fist struck the monster’s jaw.
It was a perfect counter uppercut.
But the regrettable point was, the height difference was too big, the uppercut didn’t give the desired outcome. Yoon Seok had to stretch his arm a lot higher than average, so his punch didn’t have that 100% explosive power.
However, the result was different.
As soon as his fist connected to the monster’s jaw, the impact made him flat on the floor.
Flop!
A single blow was enough to throw the monster on the other side of the room.
He was knocked out, but it seems he might be back up anytime soon.
All this time, Yoon Seok was very nervous.
‘Did I just win? Really? I won?’
It didn’t feel real.
He couldn’t believe it.
Others always gave him the cold shoulders and would beat him up whenever they had mood swings.
Not including that one fight he had with Hyung woo which was years ago, it was his first time hitting someone.
“Huh…Huh…”
Yoon Seok, at last, let out a heavy breath.
It was mostly because of mental burnout rather than physical exhaustion.
The trauma left by Hyung-woo was very deep.
No matter what injustice he encountered, Yoon Seok just couldn’t get up and fight.
It didn’t matter who was in front of him, that’s how Kang Hyung-woo molded him.
That one careless punch; ruined his life.
Yoon Seok made fists, he didn’t dare believe this unbelievable situation.
‘I-I won…’
He could vaguely remember the situation he was in. At the moment of crisis, his body felt different, his body moved as if he was an entirely different person.
He must have been dreaming, but…
Even now, he could feel the excitement, the moment when his fist collided with the monster’s jaw. And that was the proof, it is not a dream.
Yoon Seok slowly approached the monster once he snapped out of the daze.
Though this may be the first time he overpowered anyone, let alone a monster. But the situation wasn’t the solution.
“Where the hell am I?!”
He looked around.
His eyes weren’t able to find an exit from the colosseum’s inside.
It seemed that even the outer walls were connected to the spectators’ seats. Both being connected meant the walls were high enough, so jumping out wasn’t an option. The wall’s surface was smooth therefore climbing it wasn’t an option either.
In other words, there was no way to get out of this place. He was trapped in here.
“Don’t tell me it will only be over if I kill this monster.”
Yoon Seok’s voice echoed while looking at the empty colosseum.
Yoon Seok had a hunch, even if the place was empty someone was listening to him.
However, no one answered his doubt.
Chiiiwiii…Chiiwiii…
He could hear the defeated monster who was gasping for air, now was getting stable.
Yoon Seok couldn’t help but feel anxious.
‘Just to be sure, should I kill him….?’
He never thought such an idea would enter his brain.
But Yoon Seok was determined to be relentless.
Under these circumstances, it was the right kind of behaviour.
He wasn’t sure if killing could get him out of this place. But one thing he knew was that if this monster wakes up, he wouldn’t be able to guarantee his own life.
‘There is no guarantee if we fight again who would win the fight.’
The act of taking one’s life; everyone is reluctant.
But he is just a monster.
And he tried to hurt Yoon Seok first.
So, He had no reason to feel guilty.
Yoon Seok climbed up the monster’s body.
Then proceeded to stretch hands out and strangle him.
“Ugh, ugh, kegk…”
It didn’t take much time.
As he grabbed its neck, he felt pulse coursing through the monster’s neck through his fingertips but still, Yoon Seok concentrated all the force he could exert from his hands.
And finally, a few moments later the monster’s pulse started getting faint till it completely stopped.
Bang! Ba-bang! Bang!
The blue sky was suddenly filled up with all the firecrackers going out.
And finally, a new message popped up in front of him.
“Victory!”
But looking at the message, Yoon Seok felt his heart boil with anger. However, once he saw more pop up messages, he became still.
「Reward will be paid in 1,000 APs.」
「Unique Skill <Predation> has been activated.」
「Learn a random Skill from your opponent.」
「Acquire Unique Skill <Weapon Enhancement>.」
He was still clueless about the current situation.
However, it was all clear when he saw the last two pop-ups.
「You can now access the first floor. You are supposed to wait upstairs.」
「Please prepare for the next duel.」
“It isn’t over yet.”
Editor: Anuvrat
Just like when a TV channel changes, Yoon Seok’s surroundings change in a matter of seconds.
The sun was shining brightly, in the middle of a simple stone room was a circular platform.
“Perhaps this is the waiting room?”
“Maybe it is.”
A resting place for the participants.
The pain he had in his arm, because of the monster’s punch was gone. It might be a feature of this place. A place where after a fight, one comes to rest and recover.
“But this place and the arena had one thing in common, no exit can be seen.”
The stone room was a little over 10 square meters.
Curiosity took over, and Yoon Seok started to look around.
There was a stone statue holding a sword and shield on the front wall, and nothing else was present.
The only thing that was out of place in the medieval look room was the electronic timer placed on the top of the statue.
「Next duel in 23:59:08.」
Yoon Seok couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
If a person insists that he didn’t know what it means, clearly something was wrong with his brain.
“In the end, I have to fight again in 24 hours.”
Now, he was realizing what was happening with him.
His next duel will begin after 24 hours.
But if he wins the next battle, will he be able to return home?
Yoon Seok was sceptical.
Maybe he was destined to constantly fight for his life in this crazy place.
‘So… what’s wrong with it?’
Surprisingly, the idea wasn’t scary.
Or, should he say he was excited.
He wasn’t sure.
What is this feeling?
Did he want to feel it again? The feeling he had when his fist connected to the monster’s jaw; knocking him down.
As if trying to deny, Yoon Seok shook his head.
But, what about school? I was about to apply as a returnee. But can I go back before that happens?’
Humans are really funny.
Looking at what he was thinking even when his own life was in danger.
“Kang Hyung-woo will go crazy if he notices I’m gone…’
All these thoughts were rushing into his head.
Slap!
Yoon Seok slapped his both cheeks to wake himself up.
But he couldn’t help but think about his father’s business, his absence may cause damage. All these thoughts were making him nervous.
But he was in a situation where it was unclear whether he would go back alive or not.
‘Get a hold of yourself.’
Whether it’s his school or Kang Hyung-woo.
At this point, they are all useless concerns.
As long as he can survive, he might get out of this chain.
Yeah, the most important thing right now for him was to survive.
Yoon Seok decided to make survival his first priority.
「Next duel in 23:58:11.」
A screen popped up right in front of his eyes while he was watching the clock with every second passing by.
The statue had a screen attached to it as it looked about 20″ diagonally, looked like a medieval art mixed with technology in perfect harmony.
[Information], [Equipment], [Technology], [Miscellaneous], [Convenience], [Conversation]
-Total Reward in possession 2000 AP.
Yoon Seok felt the screen to be strangely familiar and gave out no sense of danger. So, he touched the [Information] located at the top of the list.
The screen changed as soon as he touched the tab.
[Challenger Information]
Name: Choi Yoon Seok (1st floor)
Record: 1 win, 0 losses, 0 draws
*Capability Rank*
Strength: F-
Agility: F-
Stamina: F-
Endurance: F-
Mana: F-
*Unique Skills*
<Predation>— — Skill can be acquired from the opponent.
<Weapon Enhancement> — Enhance them with mana into a magical weapon.
*Retaining technology*
—None
* Total Score: 2000 AP*
*Coins owned: 3*
[Back]◀
It was just like those windows that could be seen in games.
There was nothing more to look at, the content was all about him.
Yoon Seok shifted his focus on the Unique Skill’s item.
‘Predation?’
‘Skill obtained from the opponent, what the hell is this?’
He pressed the (+) sign, to get a full explanation about the skill.
Then a window appeared with its details.
<Predation>
Rank F — Randomly acquires one of the skills possessed by the enemy upon winning the duel, and randomly loses one of the skills if defeated.
Though the intuitive explanations were easy to understand, he couldn’t accept it.
‘This isn’t a game.….’
After the <Predation> Yoon Seok went and confirmed his other skill described in the information<Weapon Enhancement>.
<Weapon Enhancement>
Rank F — Increases the rank of the equipped weapon by 3 levels. However, the higher the rank of the weapon, the more mana consumption increases.
Neither he knew its specific effects nor did he know how to use it.
However, one thing was for sure, weapons become stronger and sharper as the levels increase.
‘I’m glad he was barehanded.’
If a weapon was held at the hands of the monster he had just fought, he was sure it would have the defeated one.
‘All of my abilities are in ‘F-‘ rank…’
It appears to be that he was at the bottom of the whole system, thinking that Yoon Seok couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He was fortunate that no teacher was there to give him any warning.
‘I still have no idea what the total score or the coin is about…’
Since the contents of the information window were so simple and there was no change to make or look at, he decided it was time to check the other tabs.
[Information], [Equipment], [Technology], [Miscellaneous], [Convenience], [Conversation]
-Total AP in possession 2000.
Yoon Seok returned to the main screen and saw an unusual tab. [Conversation] tab right at the bottom of the screen.
‘What is this? Will the stone statue talk if I press it?’
Though he thought of it as a joke, he wouldn’t be surprised if it really did talk.
What was happening with Yoon Seok right now was far from reality. However, how could he not try this modern piece of technology?
In the hopes to get some clue about the current situation, Yoon Seok touched the [Conversation] tab.
[Please choose a nickname.]
Looking at the requirement, Yoon Seok, who was troubled for a while, entered a name.
-The predator.
The name was derived from his skill <Predation>.
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? My pores are all gone, how is it possible? Is it really magic?
-Profit Maker: 1 coin left. Ask a question.
-Archmage: Actually, I didn’t know how to do magic, so I learned magic here, would it be better if I change now? Originally I was a 6th class court mage.
-KS9578: Guys, I’d like to get a new sword. Can you recommend something? This seems to be an Equestrian Class.
-Dark Knight: Keke, keep learning magic so that my chances of winning gets higher.
-Cloud: Wow, I almost died this time. If everyone has survived, let’s report it.
.
.
.
The chats were getting updated so quickly that it was hard to follow. It was natural as there were 2,000 people in one chat room.
Rather than participating in the conversation, Yoon Seok scrolled up and started reading one by one from the top.
‘Are you all mentally ill? Or it’s just for the concept?
Yoon Seok could help but raise his eyebrows while frowning.
One of them said he was a court mage…
There were a lot of people who said strange things.
‘I don’t think it’s real.…?’
Considering the strange monster he just fought, the existence of another dimension was just something he couldn’t consume.
It shouldn’t be easy for them, either.
‘Let’s keep reading for now then maybe I can figure out what’s happening.’
Yoon Seok slowly scrolled down.
Even if it was a mess, who knows what clues he might find.
And Yoon Seok was right on the mark.
– Speedwagon: This is Speedwagon passing by. Today we will briefly explain the situation for newcomers. If you are new, don’t miss out and filter from the top left.
The description was displayed in the chat room.