The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 103



Only Krnovel

Episode 103 Judgment of Atala (6)

The regular season matches are largely divided into preliminary, main, and final rounds.

All participants go through the ‘preliminary’, those who pass the preliminaries face each other in the ‘finals’ to determine the winner, and then the winner of the finals plays the ‘finals’ against the champion, the winner of the previous competition.

To pass the preliminary round, you had to win two matches.

The first game was ‘Fight’. It was a game where everyone was an enemy of everyone else, with no allies, and they had to fight each other until only a certain number of people remained.

There were 19 gladiators in the group that Khadim participated in. The number of people allowed to pass was 8. A total of 11 people had to be killed or subdued for the match to end.

Ugh – Ugh!

“Ugh, uh-uh-uh-uh… … .”

“… … .”

Kadim killed all 11 people by himself.

Corpses were strewn at his feet, dry blood was running down his sword body, and blood crusts were clinging to his black hair. It looks like a demon covered in fresh blood.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh… … .”

“Uh, uh uh uh uh… … .”

The surviving gladiators felt terrible fear, as if their stomach juices were rising. Forgetting that he had won by being within the designated number of players, he fell asleep and retreated to the corner of the stadium.

On the other hand, the audience responded enthusiastically.

“Waaa …

“Demon Slayer!! Demon Slayer!! Demon Slayer!!”

‘Sword Fight’ is a very static event, despite its ominous name. The more people you kill, the more you become a public enemy and are subject to concentrated attacks, so most gladiators only subdue one or two people close by and hide.

However, the demon slayer overturned such common sense and ran wild around the arena, slicing down most of the gladiators. It was a natural reaction for the spectators to go wild as an unprecedentedly hot and brutal ‘fight’ unfolded.

Actually, Kadim didn’t feel much emotion.

“… … .”

The reason he killed 11 people alone was simply to end this as quickly as possible. So he didn’t look at the audience and cheer, nor did he sigh bitterly at the corpses. Just like last time, he just opened the iron bars and left.

Gigigigigigig… … .

That appearance rather drew out more passionate support.

““Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!””

Overwhelming strength breeds intense admiration. People were once again amazed by the great strength of the gladiator who opened the iron bars on his own. Some could not control their boiling emotions, some were immersed in the afterglow of awe, and some shouted endlessly with admiration, wanting to see more.

“Demon slayer! Demon slayer! Demon slayer!”

“Demon Slayer!! Demon Slayer!!”

Whee – ik! Whee – ik! Whee – ik!

But not everyone who watched the game was thrilled.

Several mercenary leaders were sitting in the VIP section.

They looked through the iron bars with cold eyes, whispered a few secret words among themselves, and left at once.

*

Since it was a closed secret space, there was no need to worry about someone eavesdropping. One mercenary leader boldly expressed his opinion.

“The owner of Uvik is playing a prank… … “I think I hit you a little hard.”

Other owners who were hesitant eventually agreed with that opinion.

“I think so too. I felt bad when they made me fight 24 people, but after watching the match today, I think this is… … .”

“It doesn’t seem like he was such a slob to begin with, but it still doesn’t make sense. If this continues, we might end up seeing demon slayers fight 1v100… … .”

The king of the arena is the actual owner of the arena. He doesn’t really care if there is some degree of corruption as long as the arena is popular.

But these were not the ones.

Mercenary lords can only make a lot of money if their gladiators win and gain popularity. Naturally, we had to be very sensitive to the emergence of strong competitors and fraudulent activities.

But then, a gladiator appeared right before their eyes, slicing down dozens of men in a single blow.

At first, I suspected that it was a rigged match. All 24 gladiators who had participated in the previous match were gladiators under the command of the Great General Yubik. That suspicion turned out to be a misunderstanding. Of the gladiators who died in today’s match, 8 were gladiators under their command.

However, it is completely incomprehensible based on common sense that one person could demonstrate that much force with his bare body.

Eventually, the mercenary group leaders began to suspect foul play.

“Didn’t they use some invisible artifact? When equipped, it gives superhuman strength… … .”

“He may have received a special potion from the Magic Tower. If he is a great man, it wouldn’t be surprising if he joined hands with the Magic Tower.”

“Or, like the barbarian warriors of the ‘Indomitable Army’, aren’t they praying to their gods to gain strange powers?”

“No, but they never use that power in the arena matches… … .”

There were various speculations, but there was no good way to deal with it. If the opponent was a gladiator from a small mercenary group without any support, then it would be understandable, but the demon slayer was carrying the king of the arena on his back.

In other words, it is no different from being condoned to commit any kind of misconduct to one’s heart’s content.

If things continue like this, the entire arena will turn into mud due to one loach muddying the water.

“How about we have all the gladiators who participated in protest abstain? Then even the Grand Master will not be able to ignore us.”

“Are you crazy? If you can’t make a single penny from this regular season, how are you going to make it to the next competition…?”

“Rather, it could be a grand scheme. Taking advantage of the gap in our ability to pay the fee, we could steal the gladiators under our wing… … .”

Among the confused mercenary leaders, someone came up with a plausible proposal.

“How about having ‘Spear of the North’ compete against Demon Slayer in the second match of the preliminaries?”

““… … !””

The mercenary leaders all flinched and trembled.

‘Window of the North’, Rumak.

One day, the northerner suddenly appeared with only a spear, and with his magical spear skills, he quickly rose to the ranks of the strongest in the arena. People said he was one of the top five gladiators, and his followers confidently boasted that he was the undisputed second in line to Agon’s Raging Horn.

In the last regular season, he was injured and unfortunately could not challenge for the finals. It has been almost a year since he has been struggling to challenge for the championship title again. Originally, this regular season was supposed to be a competition between the challenger, ‘Spear of the North’ and the champion, ‘Agon’s Angry Horn’.

But the picture was ruined by the appearance of the ‘Demon Slayer’.

People’s attention was focused solely on the challenger who single-handedly defeated 24 men.

Although it was a blow to the individual ‘Spear of the North’, the mercenary band that supported him suffered a much more direct blow. Because the audience was only focused on the Demon Slayer match, the revenue from the preliminaries was cut in half.

However, if ‘Spear of the North’ defeats him in the preliminaries, he will be able to turn his attention back to this and collect profits like a mountain in the finals.

The owners all looked at the sponsor of the ‘Window of the North’. With the hope that you can somehow solve this problem. However, the enemy seemed to be cheating, and if they lost, they would lose their best gladiator, so they could not force him to participate.

After a heavy silence flowed where not even a breath could be heard.

Soon, the leader of the mercenary group supporting the ‘Northern Spear’ opened his mouth.

“There is no way that a spear forged in the bitter cold of the North could be broken by anything like the sandstorm of the wilderness.”

The pupils in the shadows sparkled.

“I will send Rumak to battle against the Demon Slayer.”

*

Before the game started, Kadim was sitting in the waiting area.

I could feel popularity approaching. It was a very strange thing. After killing dozens of people in a series of games, no gladiator came close to Khadim.

Bam!

The person who approached even went so far as to plunge a spear into his feet without fear.

“Does it feel good to hear cheers like that, Demon Slayer?”

I could see flushed skin, blue irises, and gray hair tied up in a ponytail. And a sharply forged long spear. It seemed like he was probably a northerner who would be facing one-on-one today.

The man’s eyes burned like cold flames. His cynical lips twisted into a sly smile.

“The harsh cold in the North is nothing compared to the winter here. If I opened my mouth, my tongue would freeze, and if I put my hand out of the blanket while I was sleeping, my fingers would turn black and die. Even in such a place, I practiced my spear skills to death without letting go of the cold handle of my spear all year round. Why? “I hoped that one day I would reach this place where many of the continent’s strongest people gather, and I could rightfully prove my strength and become the champion!”

“… … .”

“I’m not the only one who has worked so hard. I guarantee you that none of the gladiators you’ve killed have worked less hard than you. And yet you shamelessly committed fraud and achieved an unfair victory, insulting this sanctuary of struggle and the blood, sweat, and tears of those who fought! And you’re the Atalain who supposedly serve the god of struggle!”

“… … .”

“Do you have any excuses, demon slayer? “If you can, try it as much as you can!”

Kadim furrowed his brows. It was nonsense from the first time we met. I guess I’ll have to meet a crazy person.

He’s going to die as soon as the game starts anyway. One way was to ignore whether they were talking nonsense or not. But the absurdity was so great that I couldn’t help but ask.

“What wrong have I done?”

“Don’t be so stubborn! I saw the previous matches with my own two eyes! That was definitely not a power that could be exerted by the human body alone!”

“So you think that if you see someone stronger than you, they have committed injustice?”

“What nonsense are you talking about! What I’m saying is that you showed a force that goes beyond common sense… … .”

“Then why don’t you go and confront Agon’s angry horn? “Does this guy have a force that is beyond common sense?”

“… … .”

The man’s mouth was blocked.

Unlike before, when he talked as if his tongue was greased, he muttered incoherently.

“He is a great champion who will leave his name in history… … . Let me compare you to the guy who just entered the arena after living as a mere mercenary. … .”

“Are you thinking about the kind of life I’ve led and judging it as you please? Do northerners even have the insight to see all things at first glance?”

“… … .”

Unspoken and unspoken. The man chewed his swollen lips. Kadim added in a tone mixed with subtle lament.

“… … And this is not a sanctuary of struggle. It’s just a hall of corruption where clowns sell their fight and spectators get cheap pleasure. If you truly want to prove your power, leave this place immediately and go to the place where the devils and monsters are. “That would be a much more meaningful battlefield.”

To the man, it was like insulting his entire life. He glared at him and glared at him venomously.

“Shut up, demon slayer! “You came here because you were greedy for money and fame, so why are you talking such nonsense!”

“… … .”

“I, Lumak, the ‘Spear of the North’, will make you pay for your insults to this arena and its gladiators! Come into the arena now, demon slayer! On behalf of all gladiators, I will crush your foul injustice in a fair and just manner!”

The northerner said so and pulled out his spear and left for the waiting area on the other side. Kadim frowned. Thinking about it, he realized that he had really said something pointless. Yes, it would be a waste of time to talk to a deaf person who only hears what he wants to hear.

Big – ah!

The gong sounded, signaling the start of the game. Kadim climbed over the iron bars and stepped onto the dirt floor. Cheers poured out like a waterfall from the audience.

“Waaa …

“Demon Slayer! Demon Slayer! Demon Slayer!!”

“Waaaaaagh, Spear of the North! Spear of the North!”

“The spear of the north! The spear of the north! The spear of the north!!”

In the deafening roar, two names were tensely mixed together.

Although the Demon Slayer has been monopolizing the attention of late, the Spear of the North is also a gladiator with a formidable reputation. Thousands of followers are cheering fervently on the Northerner within the walls.

“Show that arrogant barbarian a lesson, Spear of the North!!!”

“Let’s pierce the demon slayer’s head and make it for dinner tonight!!”

“I bet all my money on you!!! “We must win!!!”

Rumak waved to his followers and shouted triumphantly.

“Don’t worry, everyone! Everyone who came to cheer me on, everyone who bet on me, everyone will remember today as the best day of their lives!”

““Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!””

On the other hand, Kadim held his weapon without even glancing sideways. He didn’t budge no matter how much the audience begged him to look at him. The Northerners and Atalains, who showed quite contrasting reactions, stood facing each other on the left and right sides of the stadium.

Still, the audience was excited without exception. This was a big match even before the main event. And they were looking forward to it. How much of a bloody showdown would unfold between the two powerhouses?

But their expectations were not met.

The event for this match was ‘General’. It was a one-on-one match where you had to choose one of the given basic weapons, whether it was a sword, spear, axe, or mace. Lumak naturally chose the long spear, which he was best at.

And Kadim chose the ‘throwing axe’, which had the same weight as the salmon.

Rumak also saw Kadim holding a throwing axe. However, throwing an ax from a distance of nearly 200 meters is beyond common sense. Of course, I knew how to close the distance and throw, so I let my guard down.

But as if mocking that expectation, a whirlwind of destruction immediately swept through Kadim’s hands… …

Wedge! Parareraeraeraeraera –

… … It crossed the wide stadium and was struck exactly in the center of Rumak’s face.

Tsk-tsk!

“100 million.”

A northern spear that staggers, loses its balance, falls, and lands face down on the dirt floor.

“……uh?”

“hmm?”

“what… … ? What just happened… … .”

The audience couldn’t even see what was happening. The commotion spread like ripples on the surface of the water. The audience tilted their heads, let out gasps of doubt, and finally screamed with their bodies shaking.

“What, what are you doing! Get up, Spear of the North!”

“The game has begun! “The demon slayer is aiming for your head!!”

“Damn it, the jokes only end there!! “I bet all my money on you!!”

But soon I saw blood flowing down Rumak’s face, forming a red puddle.

Everyone froze with their mouths wide open.

““… … .””

A solemn silence. A chill creeping up my face. As if we had been dropped in the middle of the harsh North, the air was frozen by a cold wave of shock and fear.

Gigigigigigig… … .

In a stadium where noise had been eliminated, only the faint sound of Kadim opening the iron bars and exiting the stadium was heard.