Chapter 15. The Wolf Does the Work, and the Money…
[108]
Chris had established himself securely in the illegal Esper arena.
Having emerged as a notable rookie, he faced considerable opposition. However, Yuri personally arranged Chris’s match schedule.
In some matches, he won by narrow margins, and in others, he lost by the slightest difference.
Before even a month passed, Chris was able to advance to Gold rank.
After that, “Wolf” began to gain a reputation for being quite experienced despite being a newcomer. Some overeager individuals even proclaimed that Wolf had championship potential.
Needless to say, Chris wasn’t concerned with such evaluations.
What was interesting was that once Colosseum fighters reached Gold rank, they signed an additional contract with the arena.
The contract stipulated that if they won, they would receive a certain percentage of the money bet on them.
‘Once you get a taste of the money, it does become hard to give up competing.’
Meredith, who had come for the payout contract, explained that there were several fighters who deliberately remained at certain ranks.
People who preferred current stability over growth in skill or greater earnings.
Chris let her words go in one ear and out the other.
Yuri’s plan was to advance to Platinum, the rank after Gold, in the shortest time possible. Higher ranks provided access to more facilities and secrets.
The problem was that the higher one climbed, the more points were needed for promotion.
If he won too often, other fighters would avoid competing with him. But if he lost too frequently, he would have to make up for the lost points.
So currently, Chris was performing a delicate balancing act between the two.
The issue was that this extended the duration of their infiltration mission.
‘Though we did anticipate a long-term operation from the beginning.’
While staying in the Spring Continent, Chris was experiencing homesickness for the first time in his life.
The longer he stayed away from Baekyah, the more he realized how fond he had grown of the place.
It might be a land where snow fell year-round, but wasn’t it where he had built a “home” with Yuri?
Putting aside these thoughts, Chris continued walking down the corridor.
Below the ground floor of this Colosseum was an underground level.
And the “central level,” where most fighters gathered, was situated there.
Spectators were not allowed to enter this area.
The central level was accessible from Silver rank and above.
It was also where fighters gauged each other’s abilities and socialized.
There was a bar serving simple drinks, a restaurant, and even a small shop selling necessities.
‘Another wasted day.’
Chris clicked his tongue.
Already, there was a fighter discreetly leaving upon seeing him.
‘Why?’
He couldn’t understand it at all.
Even though they fought risking their lives, not everyone was on bad terms.
There were plenty of cases where people maintained friendly relationships within appropriate boundaries.
There were limits to surviving alone.
‘With a good alliance, you can even participate in team matches.’
He’d heard that team matches were less frequent than regular ones, and there were dedicated fans who waited specifically for them.
Behind Chris’s acquisition of such knowledge, despite his usual obliviousness to his surroundings, was Yuri.
Yuri occasionally left Chris behind and went out alone to gather intel on the arena.
From what he’d heard, there was a separate floor for betting in the underground section accessible to spectators.
Due to a past incident, Colosseum participants were forbidden from entering the underground sections where audiences gathered.
As a result, whenever Yuri was away, Chris could do nothing but worry anxiously.
And today, for the first time, he had come down here alone, contemplating how he might be of help.
‘Even though my promotion speed was fast, it’s strange that no one approaches me at all.’
Chris frowned.
If they were instinctively detecting his danger and keeping their distance, there wasn’t much he could do about it.
The fighters in the arena had good instincts, having survived life-or-death battles.
Approaching the bar, Chris ordered a drink and leaned against the wall.
With an indifferent expression, he meticulously observed each fighter moving around the central level.
‘That person seems left-handed but acts right-handed.’
‘An Esper who controls elements.’
‘Carrying a hammer as big as his head and trying to look threatening—he’s either full of bluster or too scared. His walking seems unstable; considering that, he might be trying to hide an injury.’
‘Quite skilled.’
He intended to create profiles based on his observations and hand them over to Yuri.
Even if he himself wouldn’t have much use for them, they could be valuable in Yuri’s hands.
Upon careful observation, Colosseum participants, whether Esper or non-Esper, shared commonalities.
Perhaps due to living in an environment where they risked their lives, many were addicted to alcohol, drugs, or sought human companionship.
‘That person seems like a fake Guide.’
Chris thought, looking at a woman next to a fighter holding a bottle.
She probably played a role similar to January’s.
Using fake guiding to either calm or excite a fighter’s nerves before a match.
“What are you doing alone?”
An Esper approached Chris with a smirk and abruptly spoke to him.
There was a body odor emanating from the person who had come closer.
‘What is this smell?’
It seemed like a mix of various foul odors, making it difficult to identify the cause.
Chris, with his sensitive nose, wanted to leave, but he endured for now.
“Do you have business with me?”
Wasn’t this the first person to approach him?
“Oh, hold on. Aren’t you impatient.”
The grumbling individual took out something rolled like a cigarette and lit one end.
Smoke that gave a sensation similar to the smell coming from that woman rose up.
Chris frowned with indescribable displeasure.
‘An addict, I see.’
He couldn’t understand why someone would light up right in front of their conversation partner.
Noticing Chris’s expression, the Esper grinned.
It was a face satisfied with eliciting some kind of reaction from the other person.
“Are you interested in making some pocket money?”
“Pocket money?”
Chris asked back, incredulous.
The Esper rolled murky eyes and slightly lowered her voice.
“I heard you have circumstances.”
“That’s none of your business.”
When he responded with a suitably rigid attitude, the woman raised both arms.
“You should set aside some under-the-table money even if you break away from your master… You need to support your Guide and take care of yourself, right?”
“…Everyone’s so loose-lipped.”
“Well, new gossip is enjoyable for anyone.”
“…Haa.”
As he let out a deep sigh, the woman removed the cigarette from her mouth, waved it, and asked:
“So, what do you think? Are you interested?”
“Let me hear what you have to say.”
Chris pretended to be slightly swayed.
“When you reach Gold rank, you know that winning and losing directly relates to your livelihood, right?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“And if you fall back to Silver, there’s no way to rise again?”
Chris slightly furrowed his brow.
“I haven’t heard that before.”
It was information he could reference when planning with Yuri.
“Haha. Of course they wouldn’t openly talk about how useless fighters get disposed of.”
The woman cackled with laughter. The teeth revealed between her parted lips were stained yellow and black.
Chris looked at her with narrowed eyes.
Then why was this Esper in front of him openly talking about such facts?
“What if we could help these desperate friends?”
The enticing tone of the offer indicated that the woman wasn’t new to this kind of thing.
“Help? How?”
Even though he half suspected, Chris feigned ignorance and asked.
“To help those who are just barely hanging on find a good foothold to climb back up… Let’s say, a foothold with ample points, whose match results fluctuate depending on condition—that kind of foothold.”
The woman’s greedy gaze swept over Chris’s face.
Chris finally understood her purpose.
‘Match-fixing, is it.’
He thought that all sorts of things really did happen in this illegal arena.
“And we share the winner’s payout?”
Chris asked sarcastically.
“Share!?”
The Esper jumped.
“We take it all, of course.”
“Not interested.”
Chris cut her off flatly. Yuri was already taking care of his match schedule.
Even if that weren’t the case, agreeing to such deals and falling out of favor with the Colosseum would be problematic.
He needed to uncover the secrets of this arena.
“How stupid.”
She rolled her eyes upward.
“Do you think you’ll gain freedom once you fight until your body breaks and pay off all your debts?”
Confusion, madness, jealousy, and anger seeped from her wild gaze.
“No. You’ll just make money for your master and leave with a broken body, only to come crawling back on all fours, begging to be taken back.”
It was more like a curse.
“But with a body that’s outlived its usefulness, you can only earn scraps.”
“…Scraps, huh.”
“And with that money, you can’t do anything. No one pays well for cheap goods.”
The knuckles of her fingers gripping the cigarette turned white.
“You can’t buy drugs… and you can’t even get the warmth of someone to comfort you temporarily.”
Chris didn’t know this person’s name, personality, or background.
However, that last statement sounded particularly desolate.
“…So, what do you think?”
Seeming to realize she had revealed too much, the woman hurriedly composed her expression and asked.
Her relaxed eyes now looked perfectly normal, as if they had never been distorted.
“I’m not interested, so you should ask someone else.”
Chris answered firmly.
That was that, and this was this.
The woman spat on the floor.
“Coward.”
The Esper turned away sharply and moved away from Chris.
With breathable air finally returning, Chris took a small deep breath. Dealing with people was difficult.
‘…Doesn’t seem like I gained much. Should I head back?’
Just then, one person’s voice stopped Chris in his tracks.
“I didn’t know our rookie would be such a handsome man.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
