Fedomiaâs dwarf, Little Giant, and Taklanâs Space Engineer with a third eye on his forehead. The duel between the two challengers was like watching a sci-fi movie.
Whirrrrrrrrrr. Click. Clackkkkkkk.
At the start of the duel, missiles and flames fired from both sidesâ armor.
Whoosh-! Swooooosh! Boooom!
While Space Engineer shot missiles or rays from his gun barrel, Little Giant produced a black flame from his heart. Instead of other long-range options, he brandished an enormous ray ax.
âDo all dwarves use axes like that?â
Yoon-seok smiled as he watched the rotating ray ax. Come to think of it, Dracar also used one similar.
âAnyway, itâs fun to watch those two face off.â
Instead of blood and flesh, it was a duel of sparks and steel. It was absolutely exciting for Yoon-seok, who liked sci-fi movies. Well, although Lynnâs nuclear rays could take them out in a few shots⌠battleships and robots were different in the first place.
âTheyâre pretty good at fightingâŚâ
Watching the two armored warriors crush and destroy each otherâs suits suddenly made him think she had 80% odds against them? Was Lee Su-yeon that good?
âAgain, Iâve never seen her fight properlyâŚâ
The Tower gave Lee Su-yeon an SS rating. Plus, she ranked up recently.
âThe rating for last place was S+âŚâ
Small fries died whenever a duel was held and leveling up occurred. Therefore, it was highly likely that the ratings of the two space people battling now wouldnât be much different from Lee Su-yeon. Nevertheless, she confidently predicted an 80% winning rate against them. Either Lee Su-yeon was much more skilled at fighting or had high compatibility against space people.
âI think itâll be the latter.â
Then, what would Lee Su-yeon do now she lost the enemies she had good compatibility with? Yoon-seok suddenly paused. It was because he felt someone else looking at Lee Su-yeon.
ââŚ?â
Yoon-seok instinctively turned his head to the left. When he confirmed, it came from 5 oâclock. An Orc over there was looking at Lee Soo-yeon with a strange gaze. But did he feel it as soon as Yoon-seok looked at him? The Orcâs eyes shifted from Lee Su-yeon.
With teeth flashing and drool pooling, the corners of his mouth rose faintly into a smirk.
âIsnât she cute?â
He realized the Orc was talking to him. However, he couldnât understand what the Orc was saying.
âDonât touch her because sheâs mine. Human.â
Only at first.
The Orcâs nickname was King of Turquoise. He sent a message to Lee Su-yeon and confirmed that his rating was SS+, one level higher than Lee Su-yeon⌠and one level lower than Yoon-seok.
âExcept for you or King of Steel, heâs the highest-ranked guy here. I donât have any information about him other than his rank.
âYeah?
âBut why do you ask?
âJust curious.
Instead of telling her that she was being targeted, Yoon-seok chose to brush it off. Why did he aim for the only female ranker, and why did he look at her like that? Yoon-seok wasnât that slow to notice.
âAnyway, youâre saying that heâs the strongest, right? Can I pick someone next?
âYes. Iâll be relieved if you do.
Yoon-seok quietly waited for the duel to end. As soon as the selection time arrived, he would point out the Orc guy who had made a sly provocation. Of course, he was a little anxious that the King Of Steelâs opponent hadnât been decided yetâŚ
âAccording to his personality, he wonât choose Su-yeon.â
Seven players remained even after Yoon-seok dueled with the Orc. And Yoon-seok, who had fought with the King of Steel before, was convinced. King of Steel would never choose the fragile (?) Lee Su-yeon while leaving the muscular men alone.
ăThe second duel has ended.ă
ăFrom now on, you can ask each other for a duel.ă
The battle between the two space people ended when Little Giant split the opponentâs mech in half with his ray ax. At the same time, the matching time came back. Yoon-seok and the Orc spoke simultaneously. HoweverâŚ
âI, King of Turquoise, chooseâŚâ
âRequest King of Turquoise for a duel.â
Yoon-seok, who excluded everything unneeded, was one step faster.
ăChallenger Predator has selected challenger King of Turquoise as a duel opponent.ă
ăThe selected opponent cannot reject the invitation.ă
ăA five-minute grace period will be given before the duel begins.ă
No one stepped up during the grace period.
âSSS- and SS+⌠weâll appreciate it if you leave yourselves out of this.â
The waiting challengers watched silently. No, there was one who wasnât. The King of Steel.
âIs it the fight of the Predator? Itâll be worth seeing thisâŚâ
Blue Meadow, who was spectating after finishing the duel early, muttered something.
Booooooom!
âArgh!â
The King of Steel rushed like a beast and slammed into his bars.
âW-whatâs wrongâŚ?â
âI have something to ask you. Are they the strongest ones here?â
âO-other than you, thatâs probably the case.â
Was he overwhelmed by his spirit? Even though he was in a safe cage, Blue Meadow answered the question as if possessed. Somehow, Yoon-seok felt he could see Cheon-maâs shadow. No way, were the social skills she taught him something like a passive skill that every person had in common?
He didnât know, but King of Steel seemed upset.
âThe ones who will be fun to fight are competing against each other? Then who am I supposed to fight?â
âW-why are you arguing with meâŚ! Hic, no! I didnât say anything.â
âSo, whoâs stronger between the two?â
âPredator will most likely win.â
âSo that cowardly mask guy is much strongerâŚ.â
King Of Steel, who instantly tamed this utter stranger to serving as his loyal advisor, rubbed his chin. Then he shouted.
âI, King of Steel Kerixis Jagun Alzbehiyan Bernille, will fight the challenger Predator!â
It was enough to say that his loud voice was overwhelming, but⌠that was that. Nothing else happened. When the King of Steel tilted his head, Blue Meadow explained.
ââŚDuring the grace period, only the selected party can be selected again.â
âSay it so I can understand.â
âHow can I make it easier to underâŚâ
Boooooom-!
âIn short, it means that you can only apply for a duel with that Orc, not Predator.â
âI see.â
The King Of Steel nodded. However, it didnât seem like he did so because he understood the rules of the selected match. However, there was no problem.
âThen what should I do to fight this Predator guy?â
If he asked so kindly, everyone would answer.
ââŚThere are two cases. The first is if someone else snatches that Orc away. Then itâs easy. Itâs over if you choose Predator, whoâll be a no-mark chance.â
âNo mark chanceâŚ?â
ââŚThereâs a saying like that in Moorim. Iâm not good at explaining, so please bear with me.â
ââŚâ
âAnyway, all in all, letâs say the duel between the two has been established. In that case, the probability of meeting Predator is 1/6.â
â1/6?â
ââŚIn other words, it means you have to be very lucky.â
Blue Meadow looked more exhausted than when he had just won the duel.
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âThen thereâs no problem. Iâm lucky.â
The King of Steel, finally hearing everything he needed to, stopped paying attention to the man. He sat down by the bars. It seemed like he had decided to leave it up to luck.
ââŚDamn it, I made a mistake.â
Blue Meadow belatedly realized his mistake. Should he say he fell into his trap? If King of Steel withheld his choice until the end, he also had a 1/6 chance to stand in the arena with him. In other words, it meant a 1/6 chance he would die.
âHey, I think challenger King of Turquoise isnât far behind Predator. Why donât you choose to have a duel with him?â
âI thought you said the masked guy is 100% going to win?â
âCome to think of it, I miscalculated.â
If he chose the second strongest Orc, the probability was only half. Even if he couldnât fight the strongest guy, wasnât it much better than a 1/6 chance? Subsequently, Blue Meadow eagerly worked to persuade the King of Steel.
Nothing worked.
âAs I said earlier, Iâm lucky. Iâve been on the battlefield thousands of times, and a blind arrow has never hit me.â
ââŚIâm sure all the arrowheads bounced off.â
âWhat did you just say?â
ââŚI didnât say anything.â
The man sighed and gave up trying to persuade the King of Steel. Yoon-seok, who was watching, clicked his tongue.
âIs he that eager to fight meâŚ?â
It wasnât the situation he expected, and it wasnât looking good. Of course, Yoon-seok wasnât scared to face him⌠but if the King of Steel was randomly matched, didnât it mean Lee Su-yeonâs life would eventually be on the gambling table?
ââŚIf it werenât for him, I could have just watched it until the end.â
Yoon-seok shifted his gaze to the Orc. If this guy werenât after Lee Su-yeon, he wouldâve watched the situation a little more. But, no one came forward before the grace period ended, and the option disappeared.
Yoon-seok erased all those worries from his head.
ăGet ready. The duel will begin soon.ă
Putting aside his worries about Lee Su-yeon, it was time to pay attention to this upcoming duel.
A vast arena and a stiff body that wouldnât move. Plus, this rugged Orc is in front of him. Yoon-seok recalled the first duel he experienced when dragged to the Tower.
âAt that time, I thought I should fight first without knowing anything.â
He thought it was a dream, but it wasnât. His body moved on its own to survive, and thatâs when Yoon-seok first experienced victory. He realized his talent and gained confidence. And as he continued to run forward, he came all the way here.
ăSTART!ă
When the countdown ended, the Orc glared at him.
âHuman, I told you not to get in the wayâŚâ
It was incomparable from the Orc heâd met in the first duel, and every piece of equipment he wore was unusual. In addition, unusual magic exuded from his body. But unlike then, Yoon-seok wasnât afraid.
âSays who?â
He was now a monster himself.
Whoooooosh-!
Yoon-seokâs well-hidden magic with the Extreme Demon attribute began to burst out from him.
ââŚIs that what a top ranker is like?â
âCalling him a monster is an understatement.â
While the challengers watching exclaimed, the Orc facing him head-on did nothing. He just stared vigilantly at Yoon-seok with his body tense. Although he was one level lower, the Orc was also an upper-rank SS+ challenger, which was the same as Yoon-seok not too long ago.
âShould I think of him like the angel I fought with before?â
Yoon-seok roughly predicted his enemyâs combat power. However, he didnât leave out the possibility he might be more than that. He had defeated enemies with higher ratings than him. Ratings werenât everything, but compatibility, reflex, psychological warfare, and a little luck. The moment when it all came together determined the winner and the loser.
âTitanâs Soul.â
The Orc recited a command. At that moment, magic surged through the ax he held and grew it in size.
ââŚâ
About 15m long. The ax used by the Orc was much larger than the ray ax used by the space dwarf. It was the size of a house, and with it, the Orcâs own body had grown four times in size. But⌠even considering that it looked like an ax sack was hanging off him rather than him holding an ax.
âCan he swing that properly?â
Yoon-seok couldnât imagine it, so he watched quietly. But did he misunderstand? The Orc wore a fishy smile.
âLooks like youâre regretting it now.â
He must have heard that he was one rank lower, so how could he have such confidence? Had this Orc fought and won against those with higher ratings than him before?
âDonât think about dying beautifully, Human.â
An ordinary person hit by that ax would become little more than a bloodstain.
Yoon-seok didnât respond to the Orcâs threat.
âThen should I try it?â
Instead, Yoon-seok quietly raised his sword high. At the same time, a huge shadow covered the arena. Since he didnât know the opponentâs combat force, he would start lightlyâŚ
âItâs the great explosion that weâve been waiting forâŚ!