Chapter 182 (2/2)

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Su-hyeun arrived at the trial and opened his eyes. He was in a bright room. The room was decorated with quite luxurious furniture, including a nice bed. The light glowed softly. It was a strange place for Su-hyeun, who had been in far rougher places for most of his trials.

<<Am I alone?>>

Su-hyeun, who was sitting on the sofa next to the bed, got up from his seat. And, at that moment…

[The trial on the 42nd floor begins.]

[In the first-dimensional world, a contest to choose the best hero was held. You have been selected as the hero to represent your world.]

[A place where many heroes compete. You must enter the quarterfinals. Please show your skills to the fullest.]

“…?”

It was a very kind explanation and quite simple. He didn’t need any more hints. He just had to participate in the tournament and get to the quarterfinals. Su-hyeun turned his head. On one side of the room, there was a full-length mirror. In the mirror, he could see an unfamiliar face.

A man with a good-looking face with pretty blond hair as if dyed stared back from the mirror. Su-hyeun touched his face. A big scar ran from one eye to the cheek. It looked like it was made by the claw of a monster, not from a sword. Fortunately, only his body had changed. His sword and equipment were still there.

<<This man is a hero?>> Su-hyeun thought.

Su-hyeun had no idea which world this hero came from, but he was sure that this body was a handsome one. Su-hyeun took off his outer armor and lifted his clothes. Inside of the inner armor, there were tons of scars on the white skin. One scar on the face was nothing. His front and back were covered in scars.

Knock, knock—

A knocking sound came from outside while he was looking in the mirror.

“The competition will start in 10 minutes. Please be ready.”

It was a hard, machine-like voice. Su-hyeun assumed it must be a host of the game.

“Hmm…”

Su-hyeun sat back down on the couch again and scratched his head, thinking things over.

“Hey, Miru,” Su-hyeun called.

Rip—!

Miru, who was hidden away because of his big size, came out.

Purr—!

Miru stuck his head to Su-hyeun.

Su-hyeun stroked Miru’s head and said, “I have to make it to the quarterfinals.”

Purr—?

Miru tilted his head as if he was asking what quarterfinals mean. Su-hyeun smiled lightly at his reaction. And soon, the host came back again.

“Times up.”

Su-hyeun got up. He had no idea whose body this originally was, but he had to participate anyway.

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He was lead to a big Colosseum without a crowd. The stadium was as big as the one for the Ranking Wars, but there was not a single spectator in the rows of seats. The only people there was the one host and two players. Su-hyeun was one of the players.

“What is this poncy looking man? Is he a hero from some world? He’s so low.”

His opponent was a rough giant-like man about two meters tall. The man had dark red skin and looked different from a normal person. The third eye in his forehead certainly showed that he wasn’t a normal human.

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> Su-hyeun grinned at the thought.

“Are you laughing now?”

The giant player had a hot temper. He shook his fist at Su-hyeun.

“Calm down. The game starts at my signal,” the host said.

At the host’s admonishment, the giant player put down his fist. But he still frowned and stared at Su-hyeun. It seemed like he was trying to break Su-hyeun’s spirits before the match. On the other hand, Su-hyeun was calm, no matter what his opponent did. Miru was sitting far away, watching Su-hyeun and the giant with bright eyes. They stared at each other for a few minutes before…

“Three, two, one. Start!”

The host gave a signal as if he didn’t want to drag it out any more.

Whoosh—

At that moment, the giant player rushed right at Suhyun. The magic of his fist turned into a giant tiger. The tiger charged forward and opened its mouth wide as if it would swallow Su-hyeun in one gulp. Su-hyeun didn’t try to avoid that fist, just wielded his own fist, instead.

Crack—

“Aaargh!”

When the two fists hit each other, they produced a bone-breaking crack. The giant player held his fist and stepped back.

“Sigh. I thought you would be a good one,” Su-hyeun said.

Su-hyeun stretched out his arm and snatched at the neck of his opponent. The muscle-bound body lifted up. Su-hyeun slammed the giant man to the floor.

Boom—!

“Argh…”

“Is he a hero? He’s so low.” Su-hyeun clicked his tongue and looked at the host.

The host walked up to Su-hyeun with the same expressionless face. He held Su-hyeun’s hand and raised his arm.

“Hero Siegfried wins!”