NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 130
The Arena.
So, the Arena is basically a PVP-only content added about a year ago.
Anyone can join, regardless of whether they’re a Gaia or Otherworlder, and it’s a place where you can fight to your heart’s content under various conditions.
It’s kind of like when someone adds a feature just to say ‘I’ll use this later, hehehe…’ and then forgets about it, yet there’s been absolutely no mention of it until now.
Surprisingly, though, the Arena is still quite a popular content.
It’s not without risks, but at least your life is guaranteed while fighting.
Plus, you can mess around with the system and add various twists to your fight.
It’s like legal WWE, not UFC.
There’s also a spectator system, so the Arena is always lively with fighters and viewers.
As they say, watching fights has been the most entertaining thing since ancient times.
“It’s mostly a place for casuals, though…”
Of course, many people just ignore the Arena. PVP in RPGs often tends to be a bit neglected.
Chae-rin and Im Haneul have never mentioned the Arena in front of me either.
For all those busy leveling up, a simple fighting arena can be a mixed bag of opinions.
If you die there, you don’t lose your items, but you can’t log in for three days, which is still a bummer.
Just because it reduces the penalty doesn’t mean the pain disappears completely.
“Trying it once wouldn’t be too bad. You can gain plenty of combat experience… and honestly, it’s surprisingly fun.”
However, the actual number-one ranked player, Shin Hanbyeol, apparently uses the Arena often.
She’s busy leveling up to maintain her top rank, but she says the massive experience gained there makes up for it.
So, after some fights in the Arena, it becomes easier to take down stronger monsters, which often leads to better leveling up.
Curiously, I decided to ask her.
“By the way, what level are you at now?”
“Me? I think I’m around 145 or so…”
“That much?”
I widened my eyes for a moment. Considering our Mountain Lord Tiger brother is around level 175, that’s pretty impressive.
Considering Otherworlders have only appeared for about two years, that’s a seriously steep growth rate.
Before long, she might even aim for S-rank.
But Shin Hanbyeol seemed a bit lukewarm about my reaction.
“It’s not that fast. At this point, levels hardly go up anymore… it’s tough to find monsters worth hunting.”
This is why she started going to the Arena more often; it’s great for filling in combat experience, and it’s not bad for streams either.
“Hmm…”
After hearing her out, I quietly nodded.
It was a sudden suggestion, but it sounded enticing in its own way.
Especially that part she mentioned about ‘experience’.
‘Experience… I’m a bit lacking there too.’
I might have more than enough fighting experience against monsters, but not so much against humanoid enemies.
Admittedly, I’ve improved a bit after meeting various people recently.
Still, I’m pretty lacking when it comes to experience—especially against mages.
Since most demons that show up seem to be humanoid, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.
But there’s still something nagging at me.
“But I feel like it wouldn’t be fun for us to participate together due to the skill gap.”
It’s a bit awkward to say, but I’m pretty skilled. I could easily take down a demon one-on-one.
But me suddenly joining the Arena… well, it’s clear it wouldn’t be entertaining for either side.
And I wouldn’t gain any significant insights either.
“Ah, don’t worry about that. If you crush them with your physical strength, what’s fun about it? You can adjust your stats a bit over there, so it should be fine.”
Hearing her words, I realized that wouldn’t be a big deal at all.
Since I had nothing better to do anyway.
“Alright.”
Thus, I nodded eagerly.
*
So, the next day, I was off to the Arena.
The method was straightforward. With Shin Hanbyeol’s help, I bought an Arena ticket from the ‘Otherworld Merchant’.
All it took was tearing the ticket, and I’d be whisked away to the Arena.
Zap-!
As a weird feeling of weightlessness enveloped me, my vision flickered.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself inside some huge brick building.
A quick glance around revealed a sign saying “Waiting Room.”
Shock was the only response I could muster.
“No way, this is insane.”
Now it’s resorted to teleporting, huh? I thought only high-tier mages like Sephir could use this kind of magic.
Seeing my confusion, Hanbyeol chuckled and said, “You guys always get surprised when you come here. I mean, it is surprising the first time.”
Of course it is.
One moment I blink, and bam! The scenery changes completely. How could I not be surprised?
I never imagined I’d experience such supernatural phenomena so easily.
After a brief moment of awe, I pondered for a bit and then asked her, “Wait, how do I get home from here? You’re not saying I have to walk, right?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just step out of the waiting room, and you’ll be sent straight home.”
Although I hadn’t been here long, it was a strange place in many aspects.
Hanbyeol smiled at me for a moment before leaning comfortably against a nearby spot.
Unlike my bewilderment, she appeared to be at ease. Well, she did say she frequents the Arena, so it makes sense.
Pointing towards the opposite exit marked ‘Opponent Matching,’ I asked, “So if I go in there, I’ll get matched with an opponent?”
“Yep! Just tweak a few settings in there, and they’ll find you a match.”
With that, Hanbyeol gracefully walked into the entrance labeled ‘Spectator Room’ on the right.
As I blankly stared at her retreating figure, I quietly walked into the ‘Opponent Matching’ area.
It was pitch dark in there, I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
But I wasn’t particularly bothered by that, since my mind was occupied with something else.
[Welcome.]
[Please adjust your settings.]
As soon as I stepped inside, a system window popped up before me.
Could there be Otherworlders nearby? Nope, the system was clearly right in front of my face, even with my Player’s Eye turned off.
I marveled as I slowly began adjusting the settings.
In the building called the ‘Arena’, you can manipulate various settings to select how to fight.
You can set the conditions, choose the type of duel, and even restrict who you fight against, etc.
[Would you like to specify a type of duel?]
[One-on-One / Team Battle / Boss Battle / Capture the Flag]
For now, I’ll set it to a one-on-one duel.
[Do you have a desired opponent?]
[If not, you will be matched randomly.]
[Participation code: ]
[Do you have any specific conditions for the battle?]
[If not, you will be matched randomly.]
Aside from that, I skipped everything else.
Right now, I just came for the experience, not to nitpick settings.
The only thing I adjusted was the stat adjustment window.
About 60%, I’d say. That should be enough for a decent battle, I think.
[Matching is starting.]
[The type of duel for this match is unarmed combat.]
Woosh!
After wrapping up my adjustments, my vision began to brighten again as I exited the waiting room, finally stepping into the Arena.
I could see the surrounding spectator area and the vast arena floor.
Maybe it was the random matching, but the wide audience section only had Hanbyeol and a few others sitting around.
‘…Oh.’
Simultaneously, I felt a weird sense of discomfort throughout my body.
The spear I was holding had vanished, and my body felt strangely heavy.
Got it!
When I threw a punch forward, everything felt slowed down.
It was clear my physical abilities had been diminished.
I couldn’t help but keep marveling at this.
“This is amazing…”
I was constantly surprised since a while back.
What kind of principle is at work here? How does it function?
All these questions popped up in my mind.
This truly feels like a game.
Based on system settings, changes happened to my body, just like modifying code values in a game.
But at the same time, it felt oddly familiar—like I’d experienced this sensation multiple times before.
‘What could that be…’
I would’ve liked to ponder more on that, but there was no time.
“Eh, Yor?”
I wasn’t the only one in this arena.
Looking ahead, I saw a woman in leather armor standing there.
Since she was also unarmed, she must be my opponent. Probably an Otherworlder, she quickly recognized me and casually asked.
“What the heck? I came here to loosen up, and you’re here?”
“Just… I’ve been a bit bored lately.”
When I answered vaguely, she scratched her head as if troubled.
“Aah, this really throws a wrench in my plans… We were supposed to go field hunting today, so I can’t lose. But with you here, how am I supposed to win? Should I just forfeit…?”
Seems like my presence in the Arena had put her in a tough spot.
I worried she might just forfeit, so I quickly spoke up.
Having adjusted my physical stats down a bit, I had no intention of sidelining her after she came here to have fun.
So I suggested we at least give it a shot.
“Hmm, well then, I’m okay with that.”
In the end, she agreed with a smile. The opponent happily swung her arms around and said,
“But hey, if you’ve reduced your physical stats, you should be a little cautious, right? Hehe, not to brag, but I’m a pretty high-level adventurer.”
It was an endearing little jab with no real malice behind it.
So I just chuckled back.
And that’s how the duel started.
We both half-heartedly raised our guards and threw punches at each other.
Pow!
Her punches packed quite a punch. They were fast and powerful; so being high-level wasn’t just hot air.
“Hmm…”
However, it seemed like she hadn’t trained in martial arts, as her stance was pretty awkward.
It was the same for me.
Had I been wielding a spear, it could have been different, but I rarely fought with just my fists.
‘Of all times to land in a bare-knuckle brawl…’
So the fight inevitably turned into a chaotic mess.
It wasn’t flashy at all; it was all over the place and honestly a bit embarrassing.
Especially with the audience watching.
But this chaotic brawl didn’t last long.
“Yikes!”
As neither of us seemed to be making progress, she suddenly grabbed onto me.
I had no choice but to frown at that.
‘This cheeky…’
How dare she use grappling techniques in the holy brawl?
Once the grappling was initiated, it was only proper to respond in kind.
I remembered the matches I’d seen in WWE and UFC, adapting her moves as we started rolling around on the ground.
Fortunately, I had a bit of an edge in strength over her.
If both are fumbling around, the stronger one has the upper hand.
For a good while, we began rolling around on the floor, our bodies tangled up together.
“Eek! Ah!”
“Oops, I didn’t mean to touch there.”
As we fought hard for dominance, we occasionally brushed against some awkward areas.
But that’s just the nature of grappling…
“Oh come on…”
Grappling while short on breath, her face started flushing red.
Fortunately, I was the one who managed to take control first.
After a long struggle, I finally got behind her!
I quickly wrapped my legs around her waist and awkwardly locked a back choke.
Even if I’m not great at grappling, I know a choke out leads to passing out.
“Ugh!?”
While I’d accidentally ended up in a bear hug position, I didn’t hold back on tightening my arms.
Seeing her face contort in pain was quite evident.
At that point, I told her,
“Surrender.”
“Gah… ugh…”
“Dude, you’re gonna pass out! Just give up!”
“Huff… huff…”
But she didn’t seem to tap out at all.
[Would you like to adjust your assimilation rate?]
[15%<-----------◆------>90%]
Rather absurdly, she opened a system window mid-fight to raise her assimilation rate.
…What is she thinking?
“Grr…”
In the end, she stubbornly held out and dramatically lost consciousness.
Slowly, her body began to fade away.
Seems like once you lose consciousness, you naturally receive a defeat judgment.
“Huff… huff…”
After wrapping up the fight, I took a moment to catch my breath and glance around.
It looked like the spectators in the viewing area were watching with their mouths agape.
Not to mention, the audience seemed to have grown a bit.
That realization made me scratch my head.
“……”
I won, but honestly felt a bit embarrassed.