Chapter 53 – Karma (2)

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“Sigh…”

In the end, I couldn’t sleep that night.

I forced myself to sleep to check the forum, but it only made me more anxious, so I gave up on browsing.

After all, since I’d already made my declaration, nothing had changed from my original plan.

Even Serpina, who could now speak to me without restrictions, remained quiet, so it seemed there was nothing particularly unusual to worry about.

“Are you really that upset? About owing Jung Chan-soo a debt.”

Kim Ji-eun, who had come to sleep beside me for the first time in a while, looked at me with concern, but I couldn’t explain the details to her.

After all, it was strange for someone like me, who had been peeking at the original protagonist and following behind, to now dare to harbor thoughts of surpassing him.

‘I guess I’ve grown a bit.’

Moreover, quite some time had passed since I started living as a warrior.

The intense life I’d lived in the tower was enough to turn a mere college student into a warrior daring to aim for the top in just eight years.

Should I be satisfied with just climbing the tower? After realizing the existence of the fan gallery, I had come to know the identity and existence of a wider world beyond the tower.

A place where even Jung Chan-soo was mocked as just another challenger.

“I don’t know. Let’s think about that later.”

In the end, I shook my head roughly to shake off the distracting thoughts.

And so, I greeted the morning in a somewhat dissatisfied state, with only a few hours left until the duel that would begin in the evening.

“Are you really planning to destroy everything?”

The only people who could tell that my mood was extremely low were my close aides, including the guild members.

They flinched and started tiptoeing around as soon as they saw my face.

“Edmond, how did you find out about this place and come here?”

“Why are you acting like this? Like the assassination attempt last time, everyone who needs to know already knows. You’ve been attracting a lot of attention lately.”

On the other hand, there were those who walked a fine line, either ignoring or pretending not to know.

Edmond, a journalist from the tower, was one of them.

“It’s not a bad thing, is it? You stepped forward to save a pitiful junior challenger, so if this good deed spreads widely, wouldn’t it help you?”

“Your self-preservation skills are still impressive.”

True to his nature of always leaving an escape route, he tried to persuade me that his coverage would be beneficial.

I didn’t deny his words.

If anything, it would be better to widely publicize how I would destroy this coliseum today as a warning to others.

“The time has finally come.”

And so, in the blink of an eye, several hours passed, and it was time to enter the arena.

As everyone said, it was an unprecedented level of attention.

Perhaps because I had personally come down, at this moment, the coliseum couldn’t be called a shadowy place.

The many spectators sitting in the stands and looking down at the arena were mostly core figures of the tower.

“The rules are simple. Garvat, who has long dominated the coliseum, will now step forward as a challenger and fight with all his might.”

Kalson, who had apparently used a potion to fully heal his injuries from yesterday, began the proceedings in a suit.

Where he pointed, Garvat stood, heavily armed with various equipment and items, holding his large greatsword.

‘Is he enjoying this?’

Unlike usual, with many higher-ranked rankers present to watch, Garvat confidently raised his hand to elicit cheers.

Thinking about it, this moment could be a huge opportunity for Garvat.

If he could showcase his strength against me and put up a good fight, factions might try to recruit him with better treatment.

With just fame alone, the benefits he could gain were not small, and for someone as attention-seeking as him, that might be enough.

“Meanwhile, Reina will show the dignity of a ranker.”

Kalson packaged my handicap of wearing no equipment and being in casual attire as the dignity of a ranker.

It was better than outright saying I was going easy on them.

“However, even without equipment, the power of a top-ranked ranker is like a pillar supporting this tower… So, we have one more proposal to make.”

And at that moment, the trick that was supposed to be a surprise announcement to fluster me began as a coordinated act.

Masked employees brought out chains.

I had to act surprised upon seeing them. It was supposed to be my first time seeing them.

This was one of the conditions I had demanded of them.

Receiving the proposal on the spot and overcoming it would earn me a much better evaluation than knowing in advance and dealing with it.

“You’re doing something interesting.”

After hearing the explanation, I smirked and looked down at the chains.

Through this planned show, the ones benefiting were no longer them, but me.

Of course, I’m not sure if my terrible acting conveyed that properly.

“For the 14th ranked ranker and a key figure in clearing the 150th floor, it should be possible, right?”

At Kalson’s words, I could feel the spectators stirring.

However, most of that stir was excitement and anticipation.

After all, many of those watching were just there for an entertaining spectacle.

From their perspective, they would obviously prefer a match with some variables rather than a one-sided victory. A ranker vs. a challenger was never just a topic for the constellations’ galleries.

“It’s funny that you think this will be enough. I don’t care. Go ahead.”

Of course, I accepted their proposal as agreed.

‘They really don’t know that Kalson was caught last night.’

One by one, equipment was attached to my neck, wrists, and ankles.

Seeing Garvat grinning during the process, I clicked my tongue.

He probably thought I was clueless. He genuinely believed he could win against me in a state of sensory confusion.

“Then… we’ll begin.”

When all the preparations were complete.

With the signal flare announcing the start, my body, which had been standing still, staggered.

‘Is this sensory confusion?’

The activated chains began emitting mana, twisting my senses.

My balance was thrown off as if I were drunk, my vision spun, and a buzzing noise replaced all sounds.

“-!!”

In the focus that kept slipping in and out of my control, I saw Garvat charging at me, swinging his sword in one swift motion.

In this state of twisted senses, it was indeed difficult to block even Garvat’s attacks, who was much weaker than me.

My body and mind were out of sync, and in an instant, his weapon grazed me, pushing me to the corner of the arena.

“-?!”

Overpowering with sheer force is the easiest.

Remembering the solution I’d glimpsed in the gallery, I exploded my mana at that moment.

My body, momentarily accelerated, moved behind Garvat, and his sword slashed through empty air in panic.

“Doable, huh?”

With a smirk, my body moved at explosive speed.

The mana consumption was high, but the penalties imposed on me were also nullified.

As the fan gallery users said, sometimes just overpowering with brute force is the easiest and fastest solution.

“T-This is impossible!”

“Know your place, brat. A guy who merely bullied others on the 40th floor, how dare you climb up here and challenge those who truly honed their skills for the tower!”

Garvat, terrified, barely managed to block my sword.

The confident fighter enjoying the battle was nowhere to be seen; all that remained was the typical image of a weakling desperately trying to block my attacks.

“Guh?!”

“Did you think only you enjoy fighting? I like it too.”

I lightly knocked his sword aside and kicked his knee, forcing him to kneel.

For a moment, our eye levels reversed. His eyes, looking up at me, were shaking with fear.

“If you can’t dodge, you’ll die.”

With a grin, I raised the sword in both hands above my head.

A swirling mass of light enveloped the sword, burning so brightly it reached the ceiling, and I swung it down with all my might.

“The Radiance’s Carnage… this crazy woman!”

“Everyone, get out! The arena is collapsing!”

Actually, this wasn’t aimed at Garvat.

The goal was to destroy the blessings placed on the coliseum.

While the tower’s system had built this underground facility, it was the tower’s residents like me who had remodeled and decorated it into a coliseum.

If they made it, then I could destroy it.

“Oops, I missed because I was too dizzy. By the way, you won’t be able to operate here for a while, right~?”

Garvat desperately threw down his weapon and shouted for surrender, leaping away to avoid the attack. No one in the spectator seats, filled with many rankers capable of withstanding my power, was hurt, but the blessings that had protected the arena were shattered by my attack.

Seeing Kalson’s despondent face, I sneered.

“…I had no idea you knew how to nullify the sensory deprivation chains. So you accepted them knowing full well. Has your anger subsided now?”

“Speak plainly. Even if my anger has subsided a bit due to the ‘accidental’ destruction of the coliseum, you still owe me compensation. If you had crossed the line just a bit more, I would have killed you on the spot… but it seems your life isn’t worth that much.”

I stepped out of the ruined coliseum. Though it was a mess, cleaning up wasn’t my responsibility but the coliseum and Lexion’s.

With so many people gathered, it was likely a case of different dreams under the same roof, but this duel ultimately served to imprint on people just how far a ranker-level figure could go when determined.

The defeated Garvat and coliseum manager Kalson knelt before me like lambs led to slaughter, awaiting their fate.

“Reina…!”

Above all, this duel itself was ultimately arranged to repay Shadis’s debt.

Shadis, finally freed from the underground prison, stood awkwardly in front of me, unsure of what to do.

It seemed like she wanted to jump in, but she was too cautious to do so.

“I think I’ll leave this to you.”

Suddenly feeling exhausted, I turned to Kim Ji-eun with a slumped voice. As always, the cleanup fell to her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll chew them to the bone… I mean, handle it properly.”

Seeing Kim Ji-eun grinding her teeth while holding a staff taller than herself sent shivers down my spine.

I was certain that both Garvat and Kalson would rather face me than her.

“You should go rest now. I’ll take care of Shadis, so get some proper rest.”

What on earth is she doing? As soon as the thick door closed, Garvat’s pitiful screams began to faintly echo.

Mark, blocking the door, held Shadis’s shoulder and suggested I return to the hotel first.

“Right. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Shadis had no choice but to comply, unable to say a word.

With a bitter smile, I left the building and returned to the hotel.

I planned to get a proper night’s sleep for the first time in two days and check the forum.

‘I think I handled it pretty well. Isn’t this a satisfying ending?’

With the thought that even those begging for me to wear a bikini armor would be satisfied with today’s performance.

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[Reina Virginity Controversy Heats Up]

• Main Administrator

-“You guys who flooded in, play here now. That’s enough!”

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“…What?”

But the gallery I returned to with high expectations was completely devastated, burning beyond recognition.

And over a topic I couldn’t even have imagined.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
If you are popular enough, even your excretion would be regarded as a national treasure.