EP.12 The Water Knows the Answer – 1 

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EP.12 The Water Knows the Answer – 1 

Moonlight fills the room. 

The annex is quiet since there are no servants around. 

Creak- 

The sound of the door opening breaks the silence. 

White hair and deeply wrinkled skin. 

A butler with the perfect dignity of his station. 

He was the butler of this mansion. 

"Sir Knight, a letter has arrived from the arena manager." 

So the schedule is finally set. 

It's been a week since I agreed to act as bait for the missing arena fighters case. 

I almost forgot, having spent my days and nights enjoying myself with Selena. 

"Thank you." 

"Then, I'll be going." 

He hands me the letter and leaves the room with a dignified gesture. 

"Let's check it out." 

I open the luxurious-looking letter. 

The contents are simple. 

Some trivial greetings and the match schedule. 

It says I'll be fighting a man named Jaron, the arena's number one, in two days. 

Arena's number one. 

That's basically the title of the city's strongest. 

Still, I'm not worried. 

Thanks to a week of intense time with Selena, I've grown even stronger. 

The problem is the culprits behind the disappearances. 

A mysterious group with unknown members and motives. 

I have no clues or information about them. 

"Well, I'll just deal with them when I meet them." 

"Waaaa!!" 

"Kill him!" 

"Crush that rookie!" 

Ear-splitting cheers. 

The arena is always noisy, no matter when you come. 

Even here in the waiting room, you can tell how the matches are going. 

I look around. 

Rough-looking arena fighters. 

Everyone's checking their gear before their match. 

Maybe one of them is the culprit. 

After a while, an arena staff member comes to get me. 

"Contestant Yujin, your match is soon. Please wait by the entrance." 

"Yes." 

Step-step- 

Guided by the staff, I arrive at the entrance to the arena. 

It's blocked by iron bars for now, but they open when the match starts. 

The entrance on the far side is also blocked by iron bars. 

And there stands a burly man glaring at me. 

Is that the arena champion? 

He's massive, with muscles packed tight. 

He holds a giant axe. 

The scars all over his body show his experience. 

"Sigh… Looks like this won't be easy." 

Even at a glance, he looks stronger than anyone I've faced so far. 

He's held the top spot for a long time, so his skill is guaranteed. 

"Thank you for waiting!!!" 

The announcer's voice booms through the arena. 

"Now, the match about to begin features our hero! The king of the arena! Jaron!" 

The iron bars on the opposite side open, and he walks into the arena. 

"Waaaa!" 

"Jaron! Crush that rookie!" 

"Jaron! Jaron!" 

They're really hyping up the arena ace. 

The crowd's cheers are overwhelming. 

Most of them probably bet their money on Jaron. 

"And his opponent! The mysterious newcomer, Contestant Yujin!" 

Clank- 

The iron bars open and I walk into the arena. 

Unlike Jaron, the crowd's reaction to me is cold. 

Unless someone's just here for the odds, nobody's cheering for me. 

Jaron glares at me fiercely. 

"Forfeit." 

He must be very confident in his skills. 

He's full of arrogance. 

"Is this a request for match-fixing? That's against arena rules, you know." 

At my mocking words, Jaron's face twists into a scowl. 

"It's common for confidence to disappear once you step into the arena. Don't worry, everyone's like that." 

"You won't get another turn." 

Jaron growls like a beast. 

But if I were scared by this, I wouldn't have entered in the first place. 

"No need to worry. My mouth has always been open, and it'll stay that way." 

He looks like he's about to charge at me. 

No one's ever talked to the arena king like this before. 

"I'll have you begging for your life soon." 

"That's scary." 

I can see his grip tighten on the axe. 

Let's shatter this musclehead's pride. 

"We now begin the match between Jaron and Yujin!!" 

With the announcer's declaration, thunderous cheers erupt. 

"Kill him!!" 

"Send that rookie to the afterlife!" 

"Tear him to pieces!" 

The air shakes from the incredible shouts. 

Watching in person is nothing like hearing about it. 

"I'll let you have the first move. Special privilege." 

"You won't get a turn." 

Swish- 

Jaron's axe slices through the air. 

A massive weapon, intimidating in its force. 

Every other opponent must have been busy dodging or blocking this attack. 

But my choice is different. 

Head-on. 

I strengthen my body with mana and clash my sword with his swinging axe. 

Clang-! 

The result of our clash: I win. 

With a loud crash, his axe is knocked away. 

I hear murmurs from the stands. 

"W-what?!" 

"How is that possible?!" 

"Jaron lost in strength?" 

"This has never happened before!" 

Jaron's face flushes red. 

This must be a huge blow to his pride. 

The murmurs from the crowd only make it worse. 

"You bastard!!!" 

Jaron starts swinging his axe like a mad bull. 

He's even stronger with rage, but I'm still a bit ahead. 

It's a contest of pure strength, no technique. 

My body is tired, but Jaron is steadily falling apart. 

"Fighting another contestant would have been harder." 

His pride, inflated by years of being worshipped, can't handle being overpowered. 

Losing in strength and being taunted has clouded his judgment. 

"Grrrr!!!" 

Jaron, at the peak of his rage, finally makes a big mistake. 

Too wide a swing. 

He probably meant to bring it down on me with all his might, but his anger made him careless. 

"An enraged opponent is easy." 

As he lifts his axe high, I quickly swing my sword. 

It cuts deep into the arm he raised. 

"Gah!" 

Jaron bleeds and drops his axe to the ground. 

He might survive, but he'll never wield that axe again. 

The arena, noisy just moments ago, falls silent. 

The champion's defeat. 

It must be a huge shock for everyone here. 

Even the announcer is speechless, unable to declare the winner. 

After a moment, the announcer finally comes to his senses. 

"A-amazing! The winner is the rookie, Contestant Yujin! A new hero is born!" 

Jaron is carried off on a stretcher. 

The crowd stares at him in disbelief. 

There's no cheer for the new champion… 

I get it. 

Losing money hurts, so nobody's happy. 

But I made a nice profit. 

"Now, for the next match…" 

The announcer quickly moves on to the next match to calm the situation. 

Whether the crowd is shocked or sad doesn't matter to me. 

I return to the waiting room, happy at the thought of my fattened wallet. 

"Excuse me." 

Just as I'm happily heading back to the mansion, a kindly looking man approaches me. 

"What is it?" 

"I saw your fight. It was impressive." 

A pleasant smile. 

On the surface, he looks like a saint. 

But knowing about the disappearances, I can't take that smile at face value. 

If anything, he seems suspicious. 

"If he hadn't lost his composure, I would have lost. I was lucky." 

"No. Even at his best, he would have lost." 

"So, why did you call me?" 

"Are you interested in a better way to make money than the arena?" 

This isn't just suspicious-it's almost certainly the culprit. 

I could just grab him and interrogate him right now and not feel guilty. 

But since this group erases all traces, it's better to infiltrate quietly. 

"The more money, the better, isn't it?" 

"Oh! You really are something special!" 

The man praises me in admiration. 

But for me, it just makes him seem more suspicious. 

Maybe this is how they lured the missing fighters into their trap. 

"Then come with me. The person I serve loves talented people like you." 

"Gladly. If someone recognizes my skills, that's all I need." 

"You're quick to understand! I like that!" 

That goes for me, too. 

He must think I'm a clueless rookie, but he's the one walking into a trap. 

"I knew I was right about you. Come on, let's go!" 

Soon, he'll realize just how wrong he was. 

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