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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…”
“…”
Arthur and Noah silently stood and watched the arena being automatically cleaned, without saying a word.
But perhaps because standing outside for 5 minutes was boring,
Noah, without turning his head, opened his mouth and spoke.
“What do you think of the previous match?”
At that question, Arthur also answered while looking at the arena, only opening his mouth.
“It was impressive.”
A concise answer.
But there was nothing more appropriate than such an answer, so Arthur didn’t bother adding anything else.
As if agreeing with Arthur’s words, Noah nodded his head.
“You’re right. It was impressive.”
And the conversation ended abruptly.
Since both of them weren’t very talkative, the conversation didn’t continue for long, and silence fell again.
Like that, 1 minute before the match started,
Noah broke the silence again and spoke to Arthur.
“Arthur. Do you know about the 9th Extermination Unit?”
“…I know what unit it is, but I don’t know the details.”
The ‘Round Table’, a large guild in England and a national defense group.
As the next successor of the ‘Round Table’, Arthur had the authority to access various confidential information.
Therefore, Arthur knew that the ‘9th Extermination Unit’ was created by the Korean Superhuman Association and was being operated unofficially as a Fallen extermination unit.
However, he only knew such information and had no idea who the members of that unit were.
At Arthur’s answer, Noah, who had been looking at the arena, turned his head towards Arthur and continued,
“Then you probably don’t know this. That Lee Yu-jin’s fighting style is the same as the 9th Extermination Unit’s.”
At those words, Arthur also turned his head and faced Noah.
“…The top student, Lee Yu-jin’s fighting style is the same as the 9th Extermination Unit’s?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen the 9th Extermination Unit’s combat directly.”
“…”
Arthur didn’t ask how.
Noah.
The son of the 1st generation transcendent and Great Saintess Gloria.
A person with devout faith and filled with sacred power befitting the son of the Great Saintess.
But that was just common information widely known to the public.
His true identity written in the confidential information was an ‘Inquisitor’.
Under the pretext of pilgrimage, he had been traveling around the world since he was young, executing heretics, that is, Fallen.
Now that he was in the academy, he no longer went on pilgrimages, but his direct unit, the ‘Inquisition’, traveled around the world in his stead, executing evil.
And he was called a ‘Saint’ in the Great Temple and was nominated to be the next person to lead the Great Temple after the Great Saintess.
Would such a person have only watched?
No, there was no way the Inquisitor, who grinded his teeth at evil, would just spectate.
‘He must have fought together.’
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to immediately recognize that the fighting style of the unofficial unit known only to those who knew and Lee Yu-jin’s fighting style are the same.
While Arthur was thinking that, Noah turned his head towards the arena where they would soon have a duel and continued,
“And do you know this too? That the people in the 9th Extermination Unit all have the same thing in common?”
“…I don’t know. But according to the information, they are obsessed with exterminating Fallen, so I guess it would be related to Fallen.”
“That’s right. They are all related to Fallen.”
As Noah nodded his head and said that,
“Arthur, Noah. Enter to the arena.”
Kang Cheol-su called their names and instructed them to come up to the arena, as the arena had been cleaned and the promised 5 minutes had passed.
At this, Arthur and Noah moved their feet side by side towards the stairs of the arena.
And before going up the stairs, Noah glanced back and said,
“The 9th Extermination Unit, the thing they have in common. It’s that they lost the person most precious to them to the Fallen.”
Hearing those words, Arthur followed Noah’s gaze.
And what he saw there was Lee Yu-jin looking at Lee Seo-yeon as if he was in a difficult situation.
“…Hmm.”
Arthur now understood why Noah mentioned Lee Yu-jin and the 9th Extermination Unit.
“The grief and sense of loss from losing the person you care about most in the world… It’s absolutely immeasurable.”
Noah’s voice, speaking calmly while his gaze was fixed on Lee Yu-jin, was filled with sympathy.
Then, turning his head back to the arena, he went up the stairs.
And as he continued, But this time, in his voice,
“Therefore, all evil must be eliminated.”
There was only anger.
Seeing Noah’s dual aspects alternating between a ‘Saint’ and an ‘Inquisitor’, Arthur reached a conclusion about what Noah had said that he had heard and understood so far.
Top student Lee Yu-jin was pitiful and unfortunate.
And Fallen must all be killed.
It was a truly simple and clear conclusion.
Thinking that, Arthur made a resolution.
To avoid talking one-on-one with Noah as much as possible.
Noah, he was an excellent person.
But at the same time, he was a tiring person.
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The duel between Arthur and Noah was the embodiment of brilliance.
Flames of sacred power were burning on Noah’s fists, Holy Fire.
Golden mana flowed from Arthur’s sword.
Whenever their fists and sword clashed, a roar like an exploding bomb resounded.
And at the same time, fragments of golden sacred power and mana burst out brilliantly.
The brutal sight of them targeting each other’s vital points with extremely refined techniques amidst that brilliance silenced everyone.
As the duel continued for about 3 minutes,
The tide gradually began to turn in Arthur’s favor.
Arthur’s cheating talent, ‘Fairy Eye’, had grasped his opponents’ attack patterns.
And with the difference in their abilities, once the tide turned, it would be difficult to reverse it.
About 2 more minutes passed like that, and 5 minutes elapsed.
In the end,
– Semifinals –
[B]
[02][Arthur Pendragon][Win]
[05][Noah][Loss]
The match ended with Arthur’s ‘win’.
‘As expected of the protagonist of ‘Arena Academy’, Arthur…’
I always thought whenever I played the game ‘Arena Academy’, Although I, the player, drove the story, the real protagonist chosen by the world was Arthur Pendragon.
That was because players start with randomly set stats, skills, and talents, everything.
But Arthur started with everything as if he was blessed by the world.
Bloodline, family, ability, wealth, etc., he lacked nothing.
In contrast, I had nothing right now, just like in the game.
Of course, Arthur must have also gone through tough times, training himself with arduous training.
Still, to me, Arthur’s existence was unfairness itself.
But now that the game has become reality, Arthur’s unfairness has changed from a bad meaning to a good meaning for me.
‘Ah, he’s really reliable.’
In the game, Arthur was someone I didn’t even want to face.
But in reality, Arthur was a very reliable friend, like a hearty soup.
‘Keep growing and thriving as the protagonist like this.’
To kill Fallen and beings from other worlds in my stead.
But I have to win this match a bit.
So first, what I need to do now is…
“Instructor, may I replace some consumables?”
It was the replacement of consumables.
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Fortunately, I was allowed to replace consumables.
And additionally, Kang Cheol-su even allowed the replacement of weapons.
So I replaced the flashbangs and some weapons that wouldn’t work on Arthur.
“Since this match is between the top student and second place, I will explain new rules.”
Standing between me and Arthur, who were facing each other in the arena, Kang Cheol-su began to explain the new rules.
“First, the duration of the duel is reduced from a maximum of 30 minutes to 10 minutes.”
…The maximum duration of a duel was 30 minutes?
Since all the matches ended within 10 minutes, I didn’t even know the maximum time was 30 minutes.
“Second, the use of talents and skills you possess is limited to two each.”
‘Oh, sweet.’
It was a very good restriction.
Because I only had one talent and one skill anyway.
‘Ah, should I consider my cheat as a talent?’
After pondering for a while, I thought I should treat the cheat as a talent too.
That was because it showed abnormal phenomena such as bullets making sharp curves or exceeding the average speed.
And I think the skill derived from the talent should also be considered a skill.
Even if I said that the skill ‘Instant of a Moment’ was a skill derived from a talent, they probably wouldn’t believe it.
But there was no problem.
The number of talents and skills Kang Cheol-su restricted was two each.
The talents I currently had, including the cheat, were ‘Discerning Eye of the Decrepit Gunman’ and ‘Super Accuracy’.
The skills were ‘Transfer’ and ‘Instant of a Moment’ derived from Discerning Eye of the Decrepit Gunman, two each.
On the other hand, for Arthur, who has many talents and skills, it would be a disadvantageous restriction.
‘Still, his main body itself is cheating, so it doesn’t really matter.’
The difference in abilities between me and Arthur was literally the difference between heaven and the ends of the earth.
Even without using talents and skills, Arthur could overwhelm me with pure force alone.
Of course, that was when I didn’t have the cheat and I wasn’t a veteran.
But if I don’t have the cheat, it’s absolutely impossible to overwhelmingly defeat Arthur, and the time it takes to win will not only far exceed the 10 minutes Kang Cheol-su set as the limit but also take about 30 more minutes.
But now I have the cheat.
And Arthur can use mana, but he can’t use Excalibur and sword energy.
So, I can win.
To the extent that the quest will be satisfied.
“Third, the restriction of reloading once per firearm imposed on top student Lee Yu-jin is lifted.”
“Oh.”
Really?
“And second place Arthur Pendragon is allowed to use sword energy for only 1 minute.”
“…Oh.”
…Really?
‘He’s allowing Arthur to use sword energy?’
Kang Cheol-su, you! Are you trying to kill me?
I looked at Kang Cheol-su, feeling like screaming.
Then Kang Cheol-su pointed to the bench outside the arena as if telling me not to worry.
Looking there, the healer who should have been in the infirmary was sitting on the bench, watching us.
“I called the nurse instructor who was in the infirmary, so don’t worry even if your arms or legs get cut off.”
Why are you already talking as if my arms or legs will be cut off?
I had no choice but to nod, indicating that I understood.
But he’ll understand my sullen expression, right?
“…That’s all for the new rules. Then, each of you, take ten steps back.”
At those words, Arthur and I turned around and took ten steps forward.
And when we turned back, Kang Cheol-su, who had somehow distanced himself, alternately looked at me and Arthur and continued,
“Now, I will start the match, so get ready.”
As soon as Kang Cheol-su said that, Arthur and I took our stances.
Shink.
Arthur drew his sword and raised it above his head.
I took out the shotgun from my back.
Ah, this chilling and heavy feeling.
It was like I could hear someone’s voice like an auditory hallucination.
‘Go big and bold.’
Yeah.
That’s good.
Let’s win big and bold.
“Match.”
Click.
“Start.”
Bang!
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Big and Bold is good
“Go big or go home” would have also worked
Yeah let’s win this with a bang!
“Big and Bold” John Wick would be so proud
Its so funny because its like the fight ended in 1 shot