Chapter 22: That Person Still Has Use

Chapter 22

This place was the Colosseum Broadcasting Station’s monitor room. The staff were busily moving around, engrossed in their work, while the voice of the TV commentator could be heard from the main monitor.

“Ah, participant number 13 has encountered a Twin-Headed Ogre! Look at his face, it’s turned white as a sheet!”

“It doesn’t look easy for him, having met a Twin-Headed Ogre right at the start…”

Along with the commentator’s pessimistic voice, the image of Kim Jinsung frantically trying to unlock his shackles with a key was being broadcast on TV.

At that moment, a man standing behind the producer with a deep voice gave an order. It was Baek Jun.

“Keep broadcasting participant number 13 until the outcome of the fight is determined.”

“Yes.”

After hearing the producer’s response, Baek Jun continued to focus on the monitor.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground was unfolding rapidly.

“Ah, the Twin-Headed Ogre has jumped into the second-floor study where the participant is!”

“It’s a crisis!”

Crash!

“What!”

With the sound of the study’s wall being smashed, Kim Jinsung screamed.

The giant fist of the Twin-Headed Ogre that had broken through the wall… It was so huge that it completely blocked the view of Kim Jinsung, who was cornered on the opposite side.

‘Damn it, I’ll die if I don’t unlock this fast!’

Kim Jinsung became even more desperate to unlock the shackles, turning the key vigorously.

Just as he had unlocked his wrist and was about to unlock the last shackle on his right ankle, the Ogre swung its fist at Kim Jinsung again.

With a bang, this time the fist went through the opposite wall where Kim Jinsung had been crouching.

But Kim Jinsung was no longer there. He had managed to unlock the shackles at the very last moment and leaped out of the room.

“Phew… You’re dead now.”

Kim Jinsung immediately drew a long sword from his waist. It was one of the weapons he had gathered from the first floor.

Then, the Ogre swung its fist again towards the wall where Kim Jinsung had been.

Crash!

But Kim Jinsung, now free from the shackles, easily dodged the fist.

At the same time, he raised his long sword high for a counterattack.

His skill ‘Awakened Fighter’ was activated.

His unique trait skill ‘Magi’ was activated.

He used his skill ‘One-Hit Kill.’

Utilizing all available abilities, Kim Jinsung swung his long sword with all his might towards the fist.

However, the result was disappointing.

“Uh…?”

Confused by the sight of the Ogre’s fist with only a very thin cut, Kim Jinsung realized that his full-powered strike had hardly damaged it.

Kuwooooaah!

Instead, he had only managed to anger the Ogre more.

Now the Ogre had completely entered through the broken wall, swinging its fists wildly.

As furniture and walls were destroyed around him, Kim Jinsung could only focus on dodging.

‘Is it really not working?’

Kim Jinsung, hoping against hope, used his One-Hit Kill skill again on the Ogre’s thigh.

“Haah!”

The result was the same.

It wasn’t the body part that was the problem; Kim Jinsung’s attacks simply couldn’t penetrate the Twin-Headed Ogre’s skin.

Bang!

“Damn it! I need to run!”

There was no other solution. Kim Jinsung immediately turned and ran.

He dashed towards the opposite side of the Twin-Headed Ogre and broke through a window, leaping out.

He landed on the ground and was about to continue running when something caught his ankle.

“What?”

Looking down, he saw something like tree roots had sprung from the ground and wrapped around his ankle.

And it wasn’t just one. More than eight visible roots were emerging from the ground, wrapping around him.

“What is this now?!”

It was frustrating enough trying to escape, but now he was forced to stop because of this annoying obstacle!

Kim Jinsung was about to cut the roots with his long sword when a memory flashed in his mind.

“Ah, right! For these moving plants, you have to destroy the main body!”

Recalling what he had seen on the Colosseum TV show, he quickly looked around.

Soon, he spotted it.

The vines wrapping around a large, old tree to his right were constantly writhing below.

The color of those vines matched the roots that had entangled his ankle.

“It’s you!”

Kim Jinsung immediately used his One-Hit Kill skill and swung his sword with all his might towards the tree.

With a slicing sound, the old tree slowly toppled backward.

At the same time, the root-like things that had been emerging from the ground near Kim Jinsung’s feet stopped moving.

“Did I kill it?”

As Kim Jinsung was wondering, a notification window popped up in front of him.

You have defeated a monster.

You have gained 5 points of Beast Karma .

You can acquire the monster’s skill ‘Entangle.’

→ Entangle: Numerous vine roots burst from the ground where the opponent is standing, wrapping around their entire body. Consumes 50 mana.

Would you like to delete an existing skill to acquire ‘Entangle’?

“Huh?”

Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened. So, not only could he gain traits by defeating villains, but also from monsters?

That’s when it happened. A familiar roar sounded from right behind him. Instinctively, Kim Jinsung kicked off from his standing position and leaped to the side.

Thud!

The spot where he had been standing was now occupied by the massive fist of the Twin-Headed Ogre, accompanied by a heavy sound as it struck the ground. What would have become of him if he had still been standing there? Kim Jinsung didn’t even want to imagine.

‘This brute..!’

Kim Jinsung turned around to face the Twin-Headed Ogre. Initially, he had thought of running away, but his mind had changed.

‘If I can gain traits by capturing monsters, there’s no need to run away!’

He had become this strong just with the traits of those considered ‘worse than trash’ by Director Baek. How good would the traits be if he captured a monster of C+ grade or higher? Kim Jinsung couldn’t contain his curiosity about the traits.

‘But how do I capture it?’

However, wishes are just wishes, and reality is reality. How could he capture it when his full power could only inflict a light scratch?

Should he attack the testicles? But it seemed like he couldn’t even penetrate the skin there. But if there’s a place weaker than the testicles…

‘Ah! That’s it!’

Kim Jinsung’s gaze shifted to the two heads of the Twin-Headed Ogre, each with a single eye.

Eyes have nothing to do with skin!

‘Alright, then… Yes, let’s do that.’

Having devised a plan, Kim Jinsung immediately ran back towards the house.

Kim Jinsung jumped into the house through the wall broken by the Ogre. Soon after, the Ogre’s massive fist struck the wall again.

‘Now’s my chance!’

With the Ogre’s fist stuck in the wall, leaving it momentarily vulnerable, it was the perfect opportunity for a counterattack.

Kim Jinsung kicked off the ground and leaped high.

Reaching the Twin-Headed Ogre’s left head in an instant, Kim Jinsung used his One-Hit Kill skill and thrust his sword with all his might.

Thud!

Kuwoooah~!

The Twin-Headed Ogre screamed in pain as its eye was pierced.

At the same time, it swung its fist towards Kim Jinsung, who was still in the air.

Naturally, being airborne, Kim Jinsung couldn’t dodge the attack.

But Kim Jinsung had something up his sleeve.

→ Using the skill ‘Entangle.’

The skill ‘Entangle,’ which he had acquired from defeating the vine plant, was activated.

As a result, he had to give up his always useful skill ‘Awakened Fighter.’

However, the effect of changing the skill was excellent.

Kuwock?!

Just as the Ogre was about to swing its fist, its arm got entangled by vines sprouting from the ground, preventing it from attacking.

‘Nice!’

Thanks to that, Kim Jinsung escaped being counterattacked and even gained another opportunity to attack.

“Haap!”

Kim Jinsung once again thrust his sword with all his might towards the remaining eye.

Thud! The remaining eye was pierced as well.

Kuaaaak!!

Completely blinded, the Twin-Headed Ogre started flailing its fists around in pain, tearing the entangling vines to shreds.

However, its attacks lacked accuracy, allowing Kim Jinsung to luckily escape the attack range.

‘Phew, good. Now I just need to hunt slowly.’

Afterward, Kim Jinsung adopted a ‘hit and run’ strategy, attacking the Ogre’s left chest whenever an opening appeared, then retreating.

Unable to inflict a significant wound in one go, he had no choice but to continue scraping the skin, aiming for the heart.

“I originally aimed for the neck, but there’s no guarantee I could cut both, so that’s difficult…”

But time was on Kim Jinsung’s side.

Blinded, the Ogre couldn’t land a single hit on Kim Jinsung from then on. Meanwhile, the persistent attacks by Kim Jinsung gradually deepened the wound on the Ogre’s chest.

‘Just a bit more! A few more attacks and I can completely cut through!’

Kim Jinsung gritted his teeth.

He had long since used up all his mana using One-Hit Kill, but he couldn’t give up now that he had come this far.

The scene of Kim Jinsung’s fierce battle was being broadcast not only on TV but also on internet streaming.

The chat speed was incredibly fast.

– Oh! Just a bit more and he’ll catch it!

– Now there’s a lot of blood coming from the heart area, isn’t there?

– He’s really relentless, relentless ᄃᄃᄃ He’s been attacking the heart area for over 10 minutes

I criticized him for not just running away earlier, I take it back….

Kim Jinsung’s relentless focus on attacking the heart area for 10 minutes while dodging every punch was a tense situation that had viewers fully engaged. After all the effort to inflict such a large wound, wouldn’t it all be for naught if he were to be hit even once by those wildly swinging fists?

“The instant viewership rate has surpassed 15%!”

The evidence that viewers were engrossed was the spike in the instant viewership rate.

By the way, it’s currently 4:30 AM. It’s a time when most ordinary people are asleep.

To surpass a nationwide instant viewership rate of 15% at this time?

This is considered very high even in the history of Colosseum preliminaries.

“Tell them to start explaining the participant’s background now…”

Following Baek Jun’s instruction, the producer relayed the message to the commentators through an earpiece.

The commentators responded immediately.

[At this point, we’re all curious about the participant. Please give us a description.]

[Yes, participant number 13, right? His name is Kim Jinsung. He’s 18 years old this year.]

[Ah~ I thought he looked young, he must have just become an adult.]

By the way, Kim Jinsung’s real age is 17. Raising his age by one year was an unavoidable choice by Baek Jun to allow him to appear on the adult-only program, Colosseum.

Of course, his age on the resident registration was manipulated to match, ensuring no backtalk from the government side.

[He’s a former forced laborer with two counts of murder charges. He also has a history of winning a championship in an illegal mixed martial arts competition.]

[Wait a minute. An illegal mixed martial arts competition? Isn’t that the one that was recently in the news?]

[Yes, that’s the one. The government recently raided it for illegal gambling.]

While listening to the commentary on TV, Baek Jun suddenly turned to his side.

“Seungwook.”

The Colosseum’s vice president, Jang Seungwook, turned to look at him.

Baek Jun asked in a very low voice, audible only to Jang Seungwook.

“Is the Dream Gold matter coming to an end?”

“Yes. The official verdict isn’t out yet, but the government has confirmed the closure of the Fight Club.”

“What about Dream Gold’s headquarters?”

“They’re all caught too, including Yang Joong-geun and other executives, for drug trafficking and forced labor of minors. The clan members have all scattered to avoid getting involved.”

Baek Jun nodded.

When he brought Kim Jinsung over, Dream Gold had raided the Fight Club he had invested in.

Baek Jun was not the type to let such people off easily. The next day, he used all his power and influence to ensure the government launched a major investigation into Dream Gold.

By now, two months later, the Dream Gold Clan, which had been involved in many shady dealings, was completely shattered.

“The executives are facing confirmed prison sentences, right?”

“Yes. Yang Joong-geun could get at least 10 years or more.”

“Exclude Yang Joong-geun.”

At Baek Jun’s command, Jang Seungwook immediately caught on and asked.

“You’re not thinking of using him for our program, are you?”

“Well, someone like Yang Joong-geun could easily be put into the main competition without any issues.”

“That’s true.”

Yang Joong-geun, a hunter of at least B-grade, would be a perfect participant in terms of skill and story.

‘I hope Kim Jinsung safely makes it to the main competition.’

Baek Jun already envisioned the scene of Kim Jinsung and Yang Joong-geun locked in a bloody battle in front of the cameras.