Cube designed the duel arena as a miniature version of the Roman Colosseum. The central stage was slightly bigger than a soccer field with about 5000 seats circling around. Ten minutes before the start, guests filled in all the seats.

“How did you get such nice seats?”

The high rank hero, Oh Junhyuk, asked in surprise as he handed Seo Youngji a hotdog. She had grabbed front-row seats with the best view.

“You tell me to focus, but you come here first thing in the morning to grab the best seats…”

“Shut up and sit down.”

Oh Junhyuk snickered and sat next to her. “Wow, it sure brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

“You must mean bad memories. I remember you got beaten up so bad you couldn’t even watch mixed martial arts anymore.”

“… I’ve gotten better because it’s always on TV. My son loves it too.”

Mixed martial arts was one of the most popular sports, especially among kids. It featured one-on-one and team battles between superhumans. Naturally, the fights looked flashy with magic power explosions and strikes cutting things in half. The mighty display motivated children to pursue strength.

“Really? That’s nice to hear.”

“Nice to hear? Please, the world must be coming to an end. Djinns are more active than ever, but a sports star is ranked third in career choices. They’d rather go into sports than join a guild.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

“You don’t see what’s wrong? Because of people like you, the association is pitiful.”

Suddenly, Oh Junhyuk felt an extremely battle-thirsty gaze.

“… Who’s that guy?”

He stared at the seat on the opposite side of the arena. A menacing man smiled with his teeth out at Oh Junhyuk and Seo Youngji.

“He’s been doing that for a while. Must be a fan.”

“A fan? He can see through our disguise?” Oh Juhyuk was surprised.

“I guess so. Ah, it’s starting.”

The host announced the start of the duels, and Seo Youngji took out her laptop.

“Typical associate executive… Alright, who should I be looking out for?”

“Kim Suho and Chae Nayun. They’re at the top of their class. And I guess Yi Yeonghan and Kim Horak too.”

“Oh! Two of the top 6 are here? Who are they fighting?”

Kim Suho and Chae Nayun were well-known in the association. Even Oh Junhyuk, who didn’t care about duels, showed interest.

“Kim Suho is fighting Yi Yeonghan. Chae Nayun is fighting Joseph. And Kim Horak is fighting Kim Hajin.”

“Other than Kim Horak, most of them chose appropriate opponents. So, who’s Kim Hajin?”

“Kim Hajin, rank 934”

“… Rank 934? Isn’t that too low? Is there anything special about him?”

Seo Youngji pushed up her glasses.

“I heard some bad rumors. My cousin in Cube told me he’s quite distasteful.”

“Ah, so Kim Horak’s punishing a delinquent. I see. Who would have thought Kim Horak had a sense of justice? He’s sacrificing his grade too…”

Tak. Seo Youngji closed her laptop.

“It’s starting.”

“… Tsk.”

Oh Junhyuk crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat.

— The first duel is between rank 18, Kim Horak, and rank 934, Kim Hajin! How will Kim Hajin overcome the difference in their rank? Why did Kim Horak nominate such a low ranked cadet?

The host tried his best to hype up the match, which had an obvious winner. A mana barrier rose around the arena to prevent attacks from leaking out.

“That must be him.”

“Yep.”

Oh Junhyuk looked at the cadet walking out from the right passageway. He looked… average. So average that Oh Junhyuk wouldn’t remember his face the next day.

***

Cadets couldn’t use their personal weapons, so scouts could accurately assess their abilities. I couldn’t use the Desert Eagle, and I wanted to hide aether if possible.

I only had the training handgun and protective armor provided by Cube. My chances of beating Kim Horak were slim to none, but that didn’t mean I planned on losing one-sidedly, especially against that bastard.

“Let’s go.”

“… Yes.”

I followed the staff up the stage. First, I took a good look around the arena. A translucent mana barrier surrounded it, with thousands of spectators looking down. I felt indescribable pressure and excitement. As I shook from this strange sensation, Kim Horak walked up from the other side.

“Oh, Kim Horak.”

I smiled and waved my hand.

“How did you do on your written exams?”

I provoked him, but Kim Horak silently equipped his gauntlets. I held up my handgun. Our physical stats differed by at least 4 points, which was the difference between an ordinary human and an adult elephant. He would snap my body in half the moment he closed in.

“Let’s take it easy, alright?”

— Counting down! Three!

The host must have thought we were ready as he counted down.

Crack— Crack— I could hear Kim Horak cracking his knuckles.

— Two!

His magic power ignited and covered the surface of his body. The layer of magic power around him was a technique called qi reinforcement. Kim Horak was still inexperienced, but my bullets wouldn’t be able to penetrate his incomplete qi reinforcement.

— One!

He leaned forward, and he dug his feet into the ground. Currently, we were 150 meters apart. Kim Horak could easily close that distance in just three seconds, but I didn’t come unprepared.

— Start!

Immediately, he charged forward like a beast. My sense of time slowed as I activated Bullet Time.

I released stigma’s magic power, which flowed into my handgun and adhered to a bullet. With stigma’s magic power, the bullet carried the special property of anti-magic I set beforehand. When it clashed with reinforced magic power, it would shatter it instantly.

“Sigh.”

I used half of stigma’s magic power, but it was worth it. I pulled the trigger at the wild boar who didn’t even bother to dodge. In his mind, my shots couldn’t hurt him.

Clang—

When my bullet clashed with his qi reinforcement, a strange explosion occurred. The blast shattered his qi reinforcement like a glass window. Now he was nothing but a target as I freely pulled the trigger.

Kim Horak jumped to the side to circle around, but I followed his movement and shot accordingly. He helplessly backed off at the barrage of gunshots. I continuously pulled the trigger after him. He held on, jumping, rolling to the side, and lifting the arena’s tile as a shield.

“… Hmm.”

I paused and rubbed my chin as I stared at him. A blue aura rose from his body once again. His qi reinforcement had regenerated, but qi reinforcement wasn’t a technique that could be used repeatedly. It was thinner than the first and was probably his final one.

“Huuu.”

He licked his dried lips and charged at me once again. This time, his movements became quite complex. Like a crab, he zigzagged while steadily moving forward without a set pattern. I could no longer shoot because he moved faster than my bullets.

However, I had prepared for this. I took a dagger from my belt and tethered the blade to stigma’s magic power. Then, I lightly threw it as Master Sharpshooter also applied to throwing. The dagger flew forward like a boomerang, but it had no special power and wouldn’t even scratch his qi reinforcement.

“Fuck!”

Kim Horak didn’t know that. He would think the dagger was special like my first bullet and couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Kim Horak hopped to the side to dodge the dagger. I pulled on the string of magic power connected to the dagger and changed its trajectory. The dagger turned at a ninety-degree angle and chased after him. Judging by his surprise, he must’ve thought, This dagger is definitely special.

However, Kim Horak didn’t dodge the dagger because it wasn’t as fast as a bullet. He attempted to grab it and succeeded with incredible hand-eye coordination. But as he caught it, he stopped moving. I fired a bullet that penetrated his qi reinforcement.

“Uk!”

The bullet shattered his magic power as he staggered, and I retrieved the dagger. Now, Kim Horak was completely open. What would he do next?

“… Damn it!”

As expected, he recklessly rushed in. He didn’t back off or move to the side. He simply charged forward while taking all my bullets. Right arm, left arm, right thigh, left calf… He held on even after I shot him in multiple places.

“Huaaaap—!”

After finally closing in, he swung his fist. I tumbled back to dodge, and Kim Horak chased after me. Eventually, I arrived at a dead end with the wall behind me, but I quickly climbed up the wall with parkour before Kim Horak could celebrate. My hands and feet adhered to it like magnets, and I continued to fire from a distance that Kim Horak could never reach.

“Hey! You fuck, this is cheating!”

Exactly as I had planned, I shot his legs. Kim Horak wouldn’t have enough strength to jump this high.

Now, I one-sidedly attacked him. Kim Horak constantly moved, hoping to dodge, but even a single hit caused him pain. Thigh, shoulder, foot… His injuries piled up, and Kim Horak gradually slowed to a halt.

I aimed at his stomach for the final attack. Every cadet had a device around their stomach that would end the duel if a critical injury hit.

Click—

“…?”

No bullet came out. I rummaged through my pockets, but I had no ammunition left.

“Ah.”

I brought 240 bullets, but I used them all. I jumped down with no other options. I also exhausted stigma’s magic power and only had my dagger left. All I needed to do was stab Kim Horak’s stomach, but it didn’t seem like he would surrender.

“Huu… Huu…”

He glared at me with ferocious killing intent. He would undoubtedly rip me to shreds if I got close. One of his arms was still uninjured. I looked around, but the excited crowd had grown eerily quiet as though I was in a library.

“Mmm…”

This was good enough payback. Kim Horak couldn’t hit me once as I continuously pummeled him. Not to mention, my score would go up even if I lost. I sneered at him and raised my hand. Then I spoke.

“I surrender.”

Hweee—

The referee blew his whistle as the mana barrier around the arena disappeared. I walked away while leisurely whistling.