Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Spendthrift Necromancer (65)

Trial Grounds (2)[You have entered ‘Offensia Arena’.]

A massive colosseum.

Countless races filled the spectator stands. In the center of the arena, a Lizardman and a Gnoll were locked in a vicious battle.―Yeah! Gomongo! Stab him right there!―Kill that stinking Gnoll bastard!―Kalex! Don't lose! I bet today's wages on you!

The Gnoll called Kalex was pushing the Lizardman back.

Minwoo himself was locked inside a small cage on the arena floor.

Then.

An old Gnome approached the cage.

Standing before the iron bars, the Gnome bared his yellow teeth in a grin.

“Looking that clueless, you must be a complete rookie. First time doing something like this?”

“Who are you?”

“Me? Your overseer. No idea why a weak human like you ended up here…… Were you sold?”

“Something like that, I guess.”

“Tsk. Humans. Anyway, your match is next. If you don't want to die, struggle as hard as you can. Not that I know if it'll help…….”

The Gnome clicked his tongue sympathetically while looking at him.

“Who's my opponent?”

“Caligo.”

“What's that?”

“Hah, you don't know ‘Butcher’ Caligo? You're seriously hopeless. He's a Troll who crushes the heads of rookie gladiators like you.”

A Troll.

Average Level 200 to 250.

Roughly an upper-mid C-rank monster.‘If I kill him, do I pass the Trial?’This is Diamond?……

Too easy.

He tilted his head.

Apparently interpreting that some other way, the Gnome looked at him with pity.

“Hey, you don't even know what a Troll is? Have you been living under a rock in some mountain valley?”

“I know.”

Soon.

Ah! Contestant Kalex! He crushes Gomongo's skull in one blow with his mace! What a magnificent knockout victory!

The Gnoll raised one hand while standing over the Lizardman's exploded head.

The crowd went absolutely wild in response.

“Looks like killing is allowed?”

“You think an illegal arena like this gives a damn about that? Choose wisely. If you surrender too quickly…… they'll throw you to the dogs.”

“Fine.”

The Gnome opened the cell door.

“Go. Try to survive while you're at it.”

The Gnome handed him a sword.‘Come to think of it…….’I don't have my sword?

Not just his sword. All his equipment had been removed.[The ‘Beginner

- Diamond’ difficulty Trial begins!][Stage 1: Defeat ‘Butcher’ Caligo.][‘Diamond’ difficulty.][Difficulty adjustments begin!][Stage 1][1. Caligo's Stamina increases by 300%.][2. Existing equipment cannot be used.][3. Consumables cannot be used.][4. Skills cannot be used.]

“So that's how it works?”

Kim Minwoo nodded as though it were nothing.

As expected.

He'd figured there would be restrictions.

And there really were.

No consumables like potions, no equipment, and no skills.

On top of that, the enemy's Stamina was increased.

Still, it didn't matter.

Equipment?

This one sword was more than enough. Increasing a Troll's Stamina didn't mean a blade suddenly couldn't cut it.

A normal Necromancer would've wept blood at being unable to use skills, but Kim Minwoo was different.

He was an irregular who could cut enemies apart with a sword even without skills.―Our next contestant is a rookie making his arena debut! A human named ‘Kim Minwoo’! And his opponent is……!

The iron bars on the opposite side rattled open.

Thoom.

Thoom.

A gigantic Troll nearly 5M tall walked out.

Holding a vicious iron mace in one hand.―The man who has crushed countless rookies beneath his blows, ‘Butcher’ Caligo!―Waaaaah!―Hahaha, isn't the result obvious already?―I bet the human lasts less than one minute!―Then I'll take one minute thirty!

The crowd roared enthusiastically. Most of them were saying the same thing. They were betting on how many minutes it would take Caligo to smash Minwoo apart.

Gamblers down to the marrow.―Really? Then I'll bet against the crowd! One ruble on the human winning!―A whole ruble? Are you completely insane?

The crowd buzzed.

Only Kim Minwoo smirked.‘Guy just won the lottery.’No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't imagine it.

Him losing.

There wasn't even any need to summon Skeletons.

Not yet.―Then! Let the match begin!

Doom!

A drumbeat thundered.

The Troll charged forward.

Whoosh!

The mace swung with tremendous force.

“Hop.”

Minwoo lightly jumped onto the mace.

Then ran along the handle, climbed onto the Troll's shoulder, and plunged the sword into its neck.

The blade slid smoothly through flesh, shattered bone, and pierced straight through the entire neck.―Grrk!

The Troll tried to smack its own neck as though swatting a mosquito.

Minwoo swung at the incoming palm. Two fingers flew off and blood sprayed everywhere. The remaining fingers slapped the neck, but Kim Minwoo was already gone.

He had already leaped above its head.

And driven the sword straight into its crown.

Lots of Stamina?

Didn't matter if your brain got destroyed. The staggering Troll collapsed with a thud.

Barely ten seconds had passed since the battle began.

That was all it took for the Troll to die.―……

Huh?

The announcer blinked in confusion.―……

K-Kim Minwoo wins! H-He defeats Caligo with the speed of a lightning strike! Are we witnessing the birth of a new super rookie?!―My money!―You crazy human bastard!―You fuckers fixed the match to steal our bets, didn't you?!

The gamblers who had gone broke in an instant went berserk.

Caligo, the rookie killer.

Practically every new gladiator who faced Caligo got their skull crushed.

Of course they'd bet on him.

And yet the opposite happened?

Let them rage.

Kim Minwoo stared at the announcer.―It would be terribly boring to end here! Caligo was nothing more than the gatekeeper! Let us bring out the second contestant immediately![Stage 2: Defeat ‘Steel Ogre’ Turk.][‘Diamond’ difficulty.][Difficulty adjustments begin!][Stage 2][1. Turk's Stamina increases by 300%.][2. Existing equipment cannot be used.][3. Consumables cannot be used.][4. Skills cannot be used.][5. A random curse activates.]

Then.[Curse of Endurance is applied!]

Starting from his fingers, spreading up his arms and across his whole body. Suddenly, every inch of him began itching. It felt as though insects were crawling over his skin.

The itching was so intense he wanted to roll around on the floor immediately.

Kim Minwoo bit his lip.‘Damn it.’He'd never encountered a bizarre curse like this before. He scratched his arm once, but the itch didn't ease in the slightest.

It only grew worse.

Sweating coldly, he looked ahead. The gate had already opened and an enormous Ogre was walking out.

Ogres were one tier above Trolls. This one was also heavily armored with steel plating covering its body.―Uwooooh!

The Ogre roared savagely while holding an iron club. This time, the betting odds were 7:3.

Plenty of gamblers still wanted to bet on the Ogre.

With cheers roaring behind him, Turk glared at Minwoo.―Human! Kill! Tear apart!―Can our rookie defeat even the infamous Ogre Turk?! Let the match begin!

Thoom. Thoom.

The Ogre charged violently.[‘Law of Victory’ activates!][All stats increase by 10%!][All damage increases by 10%!]

The creature swung its iron club with all its might. A blow far faster and stronger than the Troll's.

That didn't change the result. Minwoo evaded the wildly swinging club and approached its leg.

Steel covered much of its body, but not every inch.

He drove his sword into the exposed Achilles tendon like splitting firewood.

Thunk!

The blade buried itself so deeply that bone was half exposed. The Ogre staggered and slammed its club down.

Booom!

Another miss.‘Destroy the legs first.’Triple Stamina.

And steel covered places like its head and heart.

Breaking through would take time.

Stopping its movement came first.

He struck the same spot again.[Consecutive attack!][Damage increases by an additional 11%!][‘One Who Keeps Digging at the Same Spot’ effect activates!][Additional damage inflicted!][Consecutive attack!][Damage increases by an additional 22%!][‘One Who Keeps…….] ..

Thanks to his title, every consecutive strike dealt additional damage.

After about three hits, one of the Ogre's feet was completely severed.―Uwooooh!

The Ogre collapsed with a miserable howl. Minwoo finished it off easily.

It took exactly two minutes for the sword to bury itself in the creature's skull.‘I'm sweating.’Not because he was tired.

Because he was itchy.

The damned curse finally disappeared.

He looked at the announcer.―Turk…… has fallen! We may be witnessing the birth of a colossal new star today! Mr. Kim Minwoo, would you like to continue to the next match?

Nod.

That was when it happened.[You have earned a perfect score through Stage 2!][‘Diamond’ difficulty is insufficient to measure your limits!][A hidden difficulty has been unlocked!][A special route for the ‘Trial’ has been unlocked!][You may ‘designate’ your next opponent from this list.][1. ‘Black Knight’ Idrick][A masked knight known as the strongest contestant in Offensia Arena. Ordinarily, he would never appear, but perhaps someone like you can call him out. However, selecting him will increase the difficulty.][2. ‘Cerberus’ Sastera][A member of the Cerberus race and one of the active fighters in Offensia Arena.][3. ‘Chain Scythe’ Jemerson][A fighter exceptionally skilled with a chain scythe.] ..

All sorts of names appeared.

The one that stood out most was Idrick.

A contestant who normally wouldn't appear.‘Difficulty will probably be high.’Which meant the reward would be correspondingly large.

A hidden route, in other words.‘Then I have to do it.’Hidden routes existed to be cleared.

Kim Minwoo wasn't the type to avoid them.

He looked at the announcer and spoke.

“Black Knight Idrick. Someone around that level might actually be worth fighting.”―…….

The announcer fell silent.

If some nobody had said that without showing anything, he'd have been cursed out immediately.

But this was different.

Caligo, the rookie crusher.

Then Ogre Turk, who could wreck veteran fighters, had been defeated effortlessly.

If they sent out another ordinary contestant, the result was obvious.―Call Idrick?―Now this is getting interesting!―Hey, announcer! If you refuse this, you have absolutely no sense!

The announcer watched the crowd go wild and nodded.―……

Very well! We shall bring out the contestant! The greatest fighter in our Offensia Arena!

After a short wait, the announcer returned with someone beside him.―Allow me to introduce him! Surely all of you remember this fighter's title?―Black Knight! It's the Black Knight!―Finally, a match worth watching!

The crowd roared.

The announcer grinned and nodded.―Black Knight Idrick! He has personally agreed to step forward and face our rookie! Give him a thunderous round of applause!

Amid deafening cheers, the Black Knight walked forward.‘He looks unusual.’He had the classic look of a knight, but wore an iron mask over his face.[You have unlocked a special route!][* Warning! Difficulty changes from ‘Diamond’ to ‘Murderous’!][* ‘Murderous’ difficulty.][Stage 3: Survive against ‘Black Knight’ Idrick for 3 minutes.][Difficulty adjustments begin!][‘Murderous’][1. Existing equipment cannot be used.][2. Consumables cannot be used.][3. Skills cannot be used.][4. Two random curses activate.][5. All of ‘Idrick's’ stats increase by 100%.][6. All of ‘Kim Minwoo's’ stats are fixed at 100.]He'd wondered what was so murderous about merely surviving for three minutes.

His own stats were fixed at 100, while the other side's were doubled.

Idrick was higher-level than the Ogre, so he had to be somewhere in the mid-300s to 400s at minimum.

In other words.

His Strength and Agility would probably exceed 800.‘And they're adding two curses on top of that?’Wow.

Yeah.

That really was murderous.

Which only made Minwoo like it more.

Honestly, everything up until now had been a little boring.

Now it finally looked like things might get interesting.