Chapter 52 :

Episode 12 : The Competition (4)

[Stage #9 : Competition.]

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Stage Information: This is a competition where one can be chosen as a King Candidate for this ‘Kingless’ Kingdom through competing. 

Stage Task: Defeat your opponents

Time Limit: 72 hours

Reward: ???

Failure: Death.

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‘So it begins..’ I thought to myself, checking the Stage's description before observing my surroundings.

To my left, I have Alaine seated beside me while to my right was HwanGi.

Fortunately, it seemed Raiden, Mirai and Behemoth were here with me. It was to be expected since this was an event for every player to participate.

After confirming everyone was here, I shifted my gaze at the angels in the middle.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We will begin by informing you more about this Stage." Sapphire announced, bowing toward my direction.

"Huh..?" I mumbled.

A moment later, four hologram screens showed up as big as a whale, showcasing the ‘Helpers’ so that everyone could clearly watch and hear them.

Sapphire then pointed her index finger at where we were but if you looked closely, it was pointed at me instead. "First of all, the people who are sitting in those top tier seats, won't be participating in this stage." 

‘I'm relieved that Ruby's skill is still in effect, because who knows when these players might cause an uproar in this battle stadium.’ I exhaled a sigh of relief, resting my chin on my fist. 

"JoonChul-ssi.. what does that ‘Helpers’ mean?" HwanGi asked me while staring at me intensely.

I answered back, purposely avoiding his question. "Pay attention to their speeches first then ask me later." 

Afterwards, HwanGi nodded as he turned to look at the ‘Helpers’ with his full concentration.

"Secondly, you'll be picked one by one to have a duel in this arena." Sapphire flew toward the large arena underneath her.

"Also you'll get a notification when it is your turn to fight." Ruby explained but still whimpering from Sapphire's scolding.

Sapphire landed onto the ground of the arena, causing an icy gust of air to spread to every seat which turned the entire stadium into a freezer. 

A breeze of cold air reached me, rustling my hair in the process, however it didn't cause me to shiver from its coldness.

On the other hand, HwanGi and Alaine appeared to be trembling from the low temperature, although HwanGi tried to hide it, I could clearly see it.

I whistled, signaling Behemoth to get here. When he arrived by jumping onto my head, I grabbed him before laying him down on HwanGi's lap.

Behemoth understood what I was trying to do and peacefully had a catnap on HwanGi's lap. 

HwanGi was a bit surprised by what I was doing, so I told him. "Behemoth can warm you up." 

I immediately took off my trench coat to wrap it around Alaine before saying. "This will keep you warm."

"What about yo-" Alaine with flushed cheeks was trying to ask but was cut off by Sapphire's explanation.

"Once you enter the arena, you'll have to battle against your opponents. If you remain standing, you'll be the winner."

"However, being a winner will put you in a disadvantage because you won't get to leave the arena until you're defeated." 

"You might be wondering that you might die in this arena. But do not worry, because once you are defeated, you'll be replenished back to the moment you entered the arena."

Ruby descended down to Sapphire's side, exclaiming as loud as a thunder. "So fight to your heart's content!" 

Sapphire cleared her throat, mentioning something important. "To be chosen as a King Candidate, it depends on how many you defeat your opponents."

"And one more thing, if one of you tries to cheat your way through this, you'll be gravely punished for your bad deed."

"Yeah! For example, one might attempt to ask their friends to withdraw so that they can be a King Candidate by default." Ruby spoke with her voice being as frightening as possible so that it could scare the players, even her expression was fearsome for a human to look at. 

‘Cute..’ I thought as I was disappointed by such an adorable face trying to act scary in front of me.

Ruby clapped her hands, chuckling so much after getting over her sulky mood. "No more questions? Then great! Haha! I'll be releasing my skill, so if someone try to create a commotion, then that person should be prepare for punishment worse than death."

Subsequently, Ruby spun in a circle while her wings wrapped around herself, as a result she absorbed the flame that travelled out of the player's mouths to allow them to speak freely again. 

It was fortunate that everyone kept their mouths shut despite being released from Ruby's skill.

Though, there were some who were brave enough to whisper instead of talking in full volume.

That included HwanGi who was now trying to ask me the question before. "Why can't we participate in this Stage, JoonChul-ssi?"

Alaine explained to HwanGi instead of me. "Didn't I tell you that when we were walking? That JoonChul stopped the Mist which was trying to devour you."

"I thought you were lying." HwanGi said straightforwardly.

"Am I really that untrustworthy!?" Alaine sighed, shaking her head after hearing HwanGi's response. "Anyways, after stopping the Mist, those three ‘Helpers’ came and JoonChul asked for a reward."

"And this is what he wanted as his reward?" 

‘Seriously.. Could they not talk about me when I'm right next to them?’ I mused, crossing my arms from this annoyance.

"Well, I didn't hear about what the reward was but I bet this is it. Right, JoonChul?" After Alaine guessed that, she stared at me for answers. 

I responded as quickly as possible. "Yep, you guess it." 

"But why?" HwanGi became more nosy and asked me.

"You'll know when you see it." 

Alaine pouted, noticing that I was evading questions. "Why won't you tell us?" 

At that moment, I viewed the hologram screen so that I could avoid having eye contact with Alaine. "If you ask me again, I'll take back my coat and let you freeze to death." 

"Alright, fine! I'll stop asking about why you wanted that reward." 

Out of a sudden, an ear-piercing sound was made in the middle where the arena was.

"Oh! Looks like they started!" Alaine spoke excitingly while watching the battle between the players.

"I hope you all don't waste your coins betting." I advised HwanGi and Alaine in which they looked to be puzzled as to why I said that.

Until a panel suddenly appeared in front of them, revealing a betting game for those who will win between the two players.

"How did you know?!" Alaine asked while being confused by me.

‘I really wish someone could just stop asking me questions like that.’ I pondered after having Alaine's question getting on my nerves.

I rubbed my temple before staring at my trench coat which was on Alaine's shoulder. "Was that a question I heard?"

Alaine caught what my stare meant and quickly waved her hands in front of me. "Eek! N-no, you heard wrong! Please don't take your coat away! It's so cold..!" 

"Pfft." Somehow I kinda enjoyed teasing her a little. 

"Let's just watch the fight. Every battle has their unique ways of tactic. So you might learn new things when you observe closely." I suggested to HwanGi and Alaine, laying my cheek on my fist.

HwanGi understood what I meant and instantly focused on watching the match. "I see.." 

Without further delay, I bet 500 coins on the scythe wielder. It might seem too much for my first bet, but I had a feeling that person will win this match.

The two players in the middle fought with their chosen weapons, colliding their blades together to create sparks upon impact. 

One of them who wielded a scythe, dodged the attack from the heavy sword wielder.

Despite her attack being evaded, the heavy sword wielder remained calm and struck another attack with her heavy sword thrusting at the scythe wielder's direction.

This time, the scythe wielder used her scythe to slash the heavy sword away, forcing it to go to the other direction. 

After that, both of them exchanged blows to each other while also blocking and dodging their opponent's attacks. 

On the contrary, it looked as though the heavy sword wielder was having a difficult time fighting the scythe wielder.

Desperate to win this match, she activated her skill to deal the final blow to her opponent.

The heavy sword wielder with her heavy sword being engulfed with blue magical energy, she kicked her opponent, causing her opponent to lose her balance.

Not a second to waste, the heavy sword wielder took this chance to stab her sword into the scythe wielder's stomach.

The heavy sword wielder thought she won but...

A portal generated at the right timing, compelled the heavy sword to get stuck inside the portal. 

After the scythe wielder completely blocked the so-called final blow, she decapitated her opponent's arms with only brute force. 

With the heavy sword wielder unable to attack, the ‘Helpers’ quickly teleported her to her seat before she could shriek in pain.

Out of the blue, Mirai and Raiden stood up from their seats after witnessing the portal. 

Both of them gasped, telling me with their voices being bewildered. "That's the player who used ‘Wither’ on me/Rai!" 

I was baffled to hear this, although my expression didn't express that. "Are you certain that's the one?"

Mirai nodded, directing her finger at the scythe wielder who was wearing a black cloak with her face being totally covered by a black and white mask.

‘Who might this person be?’ I focused my eyes on the scythe wielder before activating my hidden skill on her to find out more about her.