Chapter 25 Win-Win
“Is he dead?”
Smelling the acrid gray smoke wafting from the explosives covering the arena, Ragna Hambledon bit her lips nervously.
She was a war merchant. Even though she handled life-threatening supplies, she still had a long way to go. She still remembered suffering that terrible death in her first match because she couldn’t properly defend herself. But she made it to the fourth floor alive.
It was all thanks to the Unique Skills she had started with.
Merchant of Death
Rank E – Reduce material costs by 50%.
Rank F – Able to move during the countdown.
Ragna’s winning formula was always the same: throwing items such as grenades from the [Miscellaneous Goods] shop before the duel could even begin. Her opponents tended to end up as little more than lumps of flesh without being able to respond.
The rank of challengers rose as the floor increased with the combined score, but this method continued to work as the level of the grenades purchased by Ragna also went up. But still, she felt nervous. What if she met an enemy who couldn’t be killed with a grenade? She had a plan B if that happened, but it was best to never use it.
“…”
Ssaaaaaaaaaa-
A gust of wind blew away the dirt and smoke. At the same time, color returned to Ragna’s pale face.
Head, arms, legs, whatever. A jumbled mess of fallen limbs. It was a bloody festival that would normally make one want to vomit just by looking at it, but things were different when your life was on the line.
Hence, Ragna clenched her fist. He wouldn’t be able to survive in this state.
‘But why hasn’t the “win” stuff come up…?’
Ragna, sure of her victory, looked confused.
She was a merchant with the habit of checking everything without taking anything for granted. If he were a challenger who allocated most of his abilities to physical strength, he wouldn’t die easily. Yet soon, he would run out of breath, and her victory would be announced.
Despite that assumption, Ragna still kept a close and wary eye on her opponent so she could pick up any signs of resistance quickly.
“That monster!”
The scattered arms and legs started healing and slowly wormed their way toward the torso. She was only surprised for a moment.
Then, she threw another grenade.
* * *
Boom! B-oom! Boom!
During the series of explosions that ensued, Yoon-seok was so lost that he didn’t know what was happening. Had he been this badly hurt before?
He couldn’t see ahead. Well, his face currently lacked eyes, so that was normal. He could only feel the pain from the burns on his arms and legs. Only then did he realized his condition.
His whole body was in pieces. There was no other explanation. Fortunately, the core served as the key component to use b Blood Pact} was fine. If it weren’t for the D rank armor he looted from Lee Chang-hoon, the core would’ve been broken, and he killed as soon as the first explosion rang out.
‘I need to recover quickly.’
Yoon-seok focused intently on recovering. First, he focused on restoring his ruined legs and arms. Yet, explosions continued to ring out as if his behavior wouldn’t be tolerated.
‘Damn it!’
Yoon-seok also changed his method. It was too much to recover his arms and legs right now. However, if his lower abdomen that carried the core was somehow protected, he still stood a chance. Yoon-seok gave up everything and curled up further into a ball.
Boom! Boom! Bangggg!
His muscles were torn and bones exposed. At the same time, smoke bloomed and covered the wounds. The explosions only lasted for a few seconds, but it required him a great deal of perseverance and patience.
“Why are you still not dead?!”
The smoke disappeared, and after checking on Yoon-seok, Ragna was shocked.
He was already little more than a lump of meat on the floor, with injuries that would have killed any normal person a hundred times over.
Still, one thing didn’t make sense. With an explosion this big, it should’ve been enough to tear his body apart up to the point of being unrecognizable. Yet even at this moment, his skin was repairing itself.
“Immortal…? It doesn’t make any sense…!”
Yoon-seok didn’t hear her because his ruptured eardrums hadn’t recovered. If he’d heard it, he would have asked only one thing.
Does it make sense to even move during the countdown?
Watching Yoon-seok recovering slowly, Ragna was growing ever more frantic and troubled.
‘What should I do…?’
She had only one C-rank grenade left. But what if it didn’t kill him?
Then it was game over. No matter how many coins were left, the chances of Ragna surviving the next match were close to zero. Amidst her train of thoughts, Yoon-seok succeeded in attaching his legs back on.
“…”
While she drowned in self-despair, his arms were attached, and slowly all the remaining injuries healed. Seeing how normal he looked without even a stain of blood to mark her assault, Ragna surrendered.
‘The compatibility is bad. I can’t win either way.’
The only comfort was that she’d be able to use her last grenade in the next match.
‘Am I going to die now…?
It reminded her of the death in her first match.
Pain, pain, pain. That was the first time she realized that a person could feel such great pain.
Looking at Yoon-seok approaching warily with a sword, Ragna shivered.
“Please kill me. Make it quick…”
Ragna closed her eyes to show that she wasn’t resisting much. Pitch black darkness greeted her as his footsteps echoed louder and louder, only to stop suddenly in front of her. Soon a sword would come and slit her throat.
Ragna shut her eyes even tighter.
But then.
‘Huh…?’
She felt a hand going through her robe.
A dangerous place where no man had ever been allowed. As if to explore here and there, the hand strolled inside. Ragna opened her eyes in surprise. However, Yoon-seok’s hands had already left her robe.
“Is this the only one left?”
When Yoon-seok asked the question with the grenade in his hand, Ragna nodded in a daze.
“It’s a risky way to fight.”
Ragna shuddered. Come to think of it, she’d heard about a female challenger who had experienced the same thing in the chat room. Some people take advantage of the fact that the duel doesn’t end if no one dies and has the loser fulfill their needs.
“Please, can’t you just kill me? Now…?”
Ragna pleaded, but the reply was a firm rejection.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible.”
Her face darkened. Although the tone was polite, it didn’t change the meaning of the words.
“Then go to sleep for a little.”
Go to sleep? What was he going to do in the meantime?
Ragna stepped back in fear. However, he took a step forward.
‘Like this…like this…?’
Not the sword blade, but a blow from the flat side of the sword. Ragna seemed to be able to picture her future.
Puck!
Until the moment she lost consciousness, her body was shaking with shame.
* * *
“…?”
Yoon-seok tilted his head when he laid Ragna down carefully. The way she shivered…
‘Is she cold?’
It looked like she was cold, but that shouldn’t be possible since the sun was so bright. Yoon-seok smiled and turned to the grenade in his hand.
‘So there are people who fight like this.’
There were a lot of extraordinary things about the combat supplies. There were scrolls with magic spells, poisons, and even potions that looked like they came straight out of a video game. Yoon-seok didn’t think about buying them, though. Since they were one-time products, the longer they were used, the more AP was lost in the long run.
But it was certainly powerful for now, at least.
‘I would have died if it weren’t for {Blood Pact}…’
Surprisingly, he felt the words left to him by that master.
‘So are you saying that technique is merely the basics?’
It was as she said. No matter how well he mastered and trained swordsmanship, it was the system called Unique Skills that eventually led Yoon-seok to win this match.
It made Yoon-seok feel dejected. On the one hand, he had a thought. Although he was in the same position, what do warriors feel having to spend their entire lives completing martial arts?
‘Would there be any other way if it were him…?’
There was no way to know. However, Yoon-seok gathered his thoughts. This time, compatibility was bad, but the basics were important. Plus, wasn’t it a plus anyway? He didn’t plan to neglect his skills and stats.
Therefore, there was no reason to neglect sword training.
‘Let’s do some training.’
Yoon-seok began to swing his sword in the air. At first glance, the way his feet move in a flash looked like he was fighting someone he couldn’t see. Soon a curve formed around his lips.
He was worried for nothing.
“…”
It doesn’t matter if the skills and stats were important because he was having so much fun. There was no reason not to do it.
* * *
Hu-ung! Hu-ung!
The familiar sound that she’d always hear at dawn…
With a strange sense of nostalgia, Ragna opened her eyes with a small expectation that it might’ve all been a dream…
The part where she would look out the window to see knights training couldn’t happen, however.
“…”
Ragna checked her state, trying not to move too much. First, she was still fully dressed.
‘This time too…’
The truth is, this wasn’t the first time Ragna had regained consciousness. It was the fourth time. Whenever she woke up or showed signs of movement, he’d notice immediately and knock her out without saying anything. It didn’t seem he touched her while she was unconscious, just knocked her out.
‘While I wondered what the hell he was up to…’
He was training. He knocked his duel opponent out and began to train alone. Ragna couldn’t figure out what was happening.
‘Is he crazy…?’
Then it might be a good thing. At least she wouldn’t be defiled before she died.
‘How long is he going to do that…? Wait, how long has it been…?’
The sky was still bright, but it was foolish to guess the time. There might not be nighttime here. As Ragna finished all her previous battles before the countdown even started, she didn’t even know if the sun crossed the sky over time.
However, she felt a great sense of hunger. It was the first physiological sensation she’d had since she entered here.
Growl-!
Ragna was startled by the sound from her stomach and looked at Yoon-seok. He suddenly stopped moving and glanced at her.
“…”
Yoon-seok began to approach. Now that she was awake, he tried to knock her out according to their usual song and dance.
Ragna cried out urgently as her face went pale.
“Hang on! Let’s talk!”
“…”
“I’m sure it’ll help you!”
“…?”
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