Kui's swordplay was in a league of its own compared to any other style.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After just three exchanges, Axel lost his grip on his sword.
It was impossible for Axel—who had only trained for a week and had just picked up a sword—to go toe-to-toe with the Deputy, who had spent his entire life fighting with a sword in his mouth.
Kui spun mid-air and swung his sword with such force that it looked as if he would cut Axel in two.
"Guh!"
In the end, Axel took the blow with his body.
Kui's sword strike was blocked by Axel's two arms, crossed in an X.
"Huh?"
"Haaah!"
" "Pip! (Ugh!)"
Excel, tears streaming down his face from the pain, launched a body slam.
Caught off guard by the boy's surprise attack, Kwi was hit head-on and stumbled back.
"Pip! Pip-pip-pip! (Huh! You're invincible!)"
Excel flinched at Kwi's gaze.
"Why? Do you think I'm cheating? Are you going to tell those people on me?"
"Beep-beep-beep... beep-beep-beep-beep (No... you'd have to be that good to be a worthy opponent)"
If anything, Kwi moved even more flashily, as if finding it amusing.
"Excel!"
"Don't come here! You'll get hurt!"
"Damn it!"
He wanted to rush over immediately, but Excel was right.
Charging in now would only make him a burden.
The opponent right in front of him wasn't someone he could defeat with a head-on approach.
"Think, think."
No matter how hard he thought, there was no solution.
From the very start, this space itself was the opponent's territory.
Everything was stacked against him.
If there was any silver lining...
"Ugh! Ugh..."
"Beep-beep-beep... Beep! Beep-beep-beep? (You've got some grit... You must've equipped an item that lets you feel pain! Why don't you just take it off?)"
"No... way...! Absolutely... not!"
Of course.
It was only okay because the conversation was out of earshot; not being able to feel the pain itself was an entirely different matter.
If he took off the item to escape the pain, it would be like admitting, in front of those thousands of eyes, that he was an invincible entity.
Disqualification was a given, and if he made a mistake, it could expose him as a newbie player and put him in danger.
"Step back, Excel! I'd rather..."
If simply forfeiting could cause problems, the newbie would rather faint and be disqualified.
But Excel shouted.
"No... I'm fighting! I'm not a pushover!"
"Beep! Beep-beep-beep! (This is fun! Prove it!)"
"I believe in you, Newbie! I'm sure there's a way out of this! I'll buy you some time, so give it a shot!"
Although he was grateful that Excel believed in him so much...
Newbie really had no idea what to do.
In contrast, Kwi's attacks were nothing compared to the Iron Lion's earlier assault.
"Beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep-beep (Come on. Try to hold out. I'm looking forward to seeing how long you last.)"
The silver swords hovering in the air began to move.
Each sword began to demonstrate its own swordplay.
"Ugh! Grr!"
Excel tried his best to unleash the sword techniques he'd somehow managed to learn, but most of the blades simply swept past his tiny body.
Where on earth was there a spot on that little guy to strike?
As a newbie, it was hard to even imagine how much pain he was in.
'Privilege... Privilege... My privilege!'
"Hey! Can't you do anything with your privilege?"
The status window responded to Newbie's desperate shout.
[Would you like to use a Level 10 Permission?]
"Yes! If I'm going to fight Permissions, I obviously have to use Permissions too!"
This was the best option.
He'd never used it before, but it was a situation where he had to try anything.
Just then, a breakthrough appeared.
Ding!
[Your Permissions have scanned the opponent's Permissions]
[An illegal Permissions program user has been detected]
[Do you wish to revoke the opponent's illegal Permissions via your Permissions?]
"Revoke Permissions? So you're taking away that guy's Permissions?"
[As a temporary measure, revoking the opponent's Permissions will ensure safer gameplay...]
"Okay, okay! Hurry up!"
[Proceeding with permission revocation!]
[Permission Revocation: 1% (In Progress)]
Then, out of all the silver swords aimed at everyone, just one turned in the opposite direction.
"Beep? (Huh?)"
Soon, that sword slashed at Kwi, who had let his guard down.
For a moment, Kwi was taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Beep-beep-beep? Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep... (Am I losing my powers? Surely not, just as the Apostle said...)"
With those words, Kwi clenched her jaw as she gripped her sword.
Scratch...
Just as he was about to pierce through Excel in one strike and attack the newbie...
At that moment, the voice that had echoed earlier spoke to Kui.
'....Do it.'
Kui obeyed the command.
Kui focused his attack on Excel until the very end.
Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Clang!
"Kyaaaah!"
"Beep-beep-beep! (Give up!)"
For any other pet, the pain would have been enough to knock them unconscious, if not kill them.
Yet Excel did not back down.
"Is... is he okay?"
"What should we do... that fairy..."
Even the audience murmured, wondering if the match should be stopped.
Yet the announcer and organizers remained unmoved.
With every tear Excel shed, Newbie's percentage filled up.
[Authority Recovery: 7% (In Progress)]
[Authority Recovery: 24% (In Progress)]
[Authority Recovery: 66% (In Progress)]
...
With each rise in the authority percentage, the swords attacked Kui instead of Excel, one by one.
"What's going on? Suddenly the swords..."
"Alright! Urakan! Whatever it is! Now's our chance! Let's go help those newbies!"
As the swords' attacks subsided, Even and Salo began to join the fray. [Authority Reclaimed: 100% (In Progress)][Authority Fully Reclaimed] "Alright! We did it!" With those words, the swords that had been slashing at Excel all turned to attack Kui at once.
Kwi was certainly impressive.
He had managed to break more than half of the swords he'd summoned.
But...
Whoosh! Whoosh!
More stones kept rising up, transforming into swords to replenish the ranks.
The battle for dominance among those swords ultimately ended in victory for the Newbies.
And the loser...
Whoosh!
"Beep! Beep-beep!"
He faced the judgment of those swords.
[Illegal authority user has been neutralized]
[Illegal authority is being revoked in accordance with Seeker World Regulation 14]
[Do you wish to revoke the authority?]
"Is that really necessary?"
[Yes]
"Alright, revoke it."
[Privileges have been revoked]
With those words, the hazy realm vanished as if a veil had been lifted.
The audience could now see a much clearer scene.
A gruesome scene where the entire floor seemed to have been peeled away and shattered.
Salo, Even, and his pets, who had broken countless swords but were now half-collapsed from their injuries.
Above all, they saw the fallen Kwi and, standing proudly beside him, Axel and Newbie.
At that moment, Kwi barely managed to lift his head.
"Pii... Pii- Pibibibibi... (Excellent... This is the reward bestowed by my Master...)"
With those words, Kwi collapsed again and spat out something pure white.
The pure white object flew through the air and immediately settled into Newbie's body.
[Authority has been transferred from the opponent]
[Grade 9 authority has been inherited!]
"What is this...? What on earth did you give me?"
"Beep (Opportunity)"
Leaving those words behind, Kui was recalled and vanished.
Before Newbie could even check the reward, the announcer's trembling voice boomed out.
[T-t-the Agent has been knocked down! Our proud participants have wonnnn!]
At the announcer's declaration, the murmuring crowd erupted into cheers.
Surprisingly, the real problem—if there was one—was what to do about the main event.
Aeven was the first to address the crowd.
"Thank you, everyone! I dedicate this glory to you all! But the ordeal with the Representative exacted a heavy toll! Therefore, Palum and I wish to forfeit due to the scars of that glory!"
Under normal circumstances, the crowd might have shouted, "Refund our tickets!" or "Withdrawing? That's unprofessional!" But given the situation, no one said a word.
Instead, they clapped as if to show their respect for the decision.
Eaven and the wyvern Palum walked out of the arena slowly and solemnly, as if they were retiring.
At that moment, Salo waved his hand as well.
"Hahaha! Audience! Sorry, but since I've already been eliminated in the preliminaries, I'm stepping down too! Hope you enjoy the show!"
Salo shouted to the crowd in his signature friendly yet mischievous tone and walked out of the arena.
Only Excel and Newbie remained there.
Seeing the two of them, the other participants cowered in fear.
'Damn it, are we supposed to fight a guy who just beat the host?'
'Even the former champion and the Four Heavenly Kings are out of the picture?'
One of the participants, who had been nervously glancing around, raised his hand.
"Uh, excuse me! I have to withdraw because something came up!"
He was the first to bail.
The audience hurled trash and jeered, but he paid no heed and walked away.
Fear quickly spread, and the remaining participants began dropping out one by one.
Stunned by the absurd spectacle, the host's jaw dropped, and his mustache quivered as he declared:
[Uh, um... well... hmm! Hmm! Since all the remaining teams have withdrawn! The final winners are the Newbie and Excel teams!]
An unprecedented champion by default.
Faced with this unprecedented scene, the crowd was too busy murmuring among themselves to decide whether to cheer or get angry.
Clap clap clap!
Just then, Even, who had left the arena, clapped from the waiting area.
Salogo followed suit, and the applause spread through the surrounding crowd.
Everyone knew it.
After all, the champions before them had put on a dazzling performance and were more than worthy of the title.
Only then did the entire audience rise to their feet, cheering the new champions' names.
"Newbie!" "Newbie!" "Newbie!"
At that moment, the quick-witted announcer wrapped things up.
[Alright! And the winner of this Colosseum! The owners of the Twin Crowns are none other than—ta-daaa! Excel and Newbieee!]
With the announcer's declaration, the brief but intense Colosseum event came to a close.
*
The underground breeding facility that Newbie had visited once at Wonhyo's suggestion.
There, a group of tamers would bring in new pets and monsters every time.
"New friends."
Clank, clank.
The tamers of Taming City were usually famous for their unique and flashy outfits.
But these tamers were dressed in such drab and gloomy attire that they looked like they belonged at a funeral.
Their appearance was closer to that of grim reapers than tamers.
They were the 120 high-ranking tamers under the Mayor's command.
While ordinary tamers are tasked with loving and training various pets and monsters, these men were entirely different.
Their job was to handle the dirtiest work in the city, and what they were doing right now was their most important task.
They had brought in the new monsters and pets captured by the Kingdom's army yesterday and lined them up.
The creatures were trembling, wearing collars similar to the ones used to bind the necks of inventory slave players back in the days of the carriages.
Among them, a crocodile-like creature, unable to open its mouth due to the collar, lashed out at a trainer with its tail.
Splat! Crackle!
The price of resistance was merciless.
The other trainers lightly struck the crocodile with the sticks attached to their leashes.
"Crook! Croaaaaaak!"
Despite the light blows, the reaction was intense.
Despite receiving only a single blow, the crocodile collapsed and continued to writhe in agony.
Watching the crocodile, the keeper who had been struck by its tail smirked.
"Does it hurt? With the pain intensity set to maximum, even a finger prick would feel like being stabbed with a spear."
With those words, he began to beat the crocodile's entire body with the stick.
"How dare you! You filthy monster!"
The crocodile, pelted with the club, couldn't even manage a groan before finally passing out.
Only then, as if his anger had subsided, did he exhale a sigh and give an order to a man watching the scene.
"Phew! That feels better. What are you doing? Get to work right now."
A man wearing a bowler hat and a mask emerged from the darkness.
The Maestro walked past them, holding a syringe just as he always did.
"!#@!"
The senior keepers hurriedly stepped back to avoid coming into contact with him.
Their expressions revealed a mix of emotions.
Disgust at seeing something filthy and fear at seeing something terrifying
If one were to compare it to the real world, it was akin to the look one might give a patient with a contagious disease or someone exposed to radiation.
He injected the alligator with a syringe filled with a black liquid that looked ominous.
Immediately, bugs swarmed around the alligator's body before quickly subsiding.
The other pets and monsters went wild at the sight, but they fell silent when the handlers raised their clubs again.
"Alright, next!"
Next was the rabbit pet.
"Squeak, squeeeeeek..."
The monster squeaked as if pleading, but.
Thud!
"Squeeeeeek!"
As if this were an act of mercy, the Maestro jabbed the syringe into the creature's back without a moment's hesitation.
"#!@##@!.!#@#!#@#!@...(Don't worry. You'll be at peace in just a moment. After that...)"
Although his language skills had been ruined by prolonged exposure to bugs, the Maestro still told each of them not to give up hope.
Whether it understood those words or not, the rabbit pet fell asleep.
Once the last pet had been injected, the keepers turned their sticks toward the Maestro.
"Alright. Now get back inside that cage. Hurry!"
The Maestro spread his hands as if to show he had no regrets and walked straight back into the darkness.
Leaving behind just a single word of regret.
"!#@##!@#@. #!@#@!#!@#@!#. #!@##@#!.(My bony friend. Someday, I'd like to set out on another adventure. I hope that day comes.)"