episode_0007

Thud.

With a splitting sound, the goddess Adikia swept her contractor, Malcolm, aside.

Thud.

It was the same sound, but the location was slightly different.

The sight of Malcolm’s side crumpling as the goddess’s foot made contact.

“What, did I… do wrong…?”

“Am I supposed to just stand by and watch such a spectacle in front of that trash?”

It was ironic to see a man of 190cm being humiliated by a woman who might barely reach 160cm, but considering Adikia’s divine power binding Malcolm entirely, it wasn’t so difficult.

The concentrated divine power on his instep shattered parts of Malcolm’s body with each strike.

Ribs broke, organs ruptured, lungs collapsed, and in agony, Malcolm collapsed and tried to escape into death, but this arena was designed to prevent anyone from dying.

There was no escape.

Instead, reviving became a path leading straight to hell, and in terror, Malcolm flattened himself on the ground.

“I’ve done wrong. My Lady Adikia, I’ve done wrong. My Lady Adikia, I’ve done wrong. My Lady Adikia, I’ve done wrong….”

“You damn fraud, brought in as an SR grade and can’t endure even a second? Did you fake your grade?”

Adikia expressed annoyance, stating that once this arena ended, she would reevaluate this trash’s grade, and if there was any falsehood, she would turn him into fertilizer, but Malcolm could do nothing.

Adikia’s divine power had completely dominated him from head to toe.

Her power was a tempting offer to enhance his abilities, betraying his original deity, Dike, but this was not an opportunity.

It was a cliff edge.

Guhhh.

As Malcolm, with his neck twisted to the limit, revived, Adikia kicked him away.

“Get lost to wherever you can’t be seen!”

Seeing him hastily grab his gear and flee only fueled her irritation.

“Dike… Dike… Dike… Dike…!”

He was certain everything was falling into place.

Barely balancing on the edge of 130 points, snatching a contractor from Dike while playing on the line, and coaxing a colleague into selling a trash reincarnation truck with grandiose words. A 250 million ether worth Isekai reincarnation truck? It was not even worth 25 million, let alone 250 million; it was junk, barely viable for a contract in the first place. Yet, Eyrul tried to swallow as much profit as possible, attempting to bury any possibility of revival, but somehow ended up bringing a real monster. At the time, it was dismissed, but looking back, it was undoubtedly an SSR grade.

From physical movements to mindset, it was fundamentally different from an ordinary human being or even a goddess. Adikia gazed at her reflection on the mirror wall. By human standards, or rather, by goddess standards, it was a remarkably beautiful face. Her body… compared to Dike, it might have been a bit small… Nonetheless, when she manifested and walked the streets, it was a sight that no one could look away from, yet Yudahee, the contractor, remained unfazed. Instead, what came back was Parashu’s ax hacking away at her body.

Initially, it seemed like the strength of Parashu handed over by the dwarf, but that couldn’t be the case. It was undoubtedly Yudahee’s own power. Why would such a contractor stick to trash like Dike? All this happened in just a few days since she handed over the trash truck. If only a few more days had passed, she could have stripped Dike of his qualification and completely removed him from sight.

It was an opportunity to shed the hypocrisy of always pretending to be just, merciful, considerate, but the plan had already gone down the drain. At this rate, there was a very high chance that Dike’s contractor, Yudahee, would land in the top ranks or higher. The only fortunate thing was that due to the penalty, she could only use her main weapon once… But Adikia wasn’t entirely convinced by that alone.

Originally, the goal was to prevent participation altogether, but that didn’t mean nothing had been prepared. A hologram appeared before Adikia, along with a list of gatherings of divine beings, some of which had slightly sinister intentions.

In the arena, sniping someone was entirely possible. Typically, the contracted fighters were nothing more than corpses without their pride, and it was unimaginable for them to form an alliance with others or target specific individuals. But in exchange for corresponding points, even these unscrupulous fighters filled the arena without hesitation.

-ADK: Placing a snipe request for this round. Conditions are elimination before 50th place and a final blow limited to one person, worth 20 points in the arena.

ㄴOh, 20 points is seriously strong, isn’t it? It’s like winning 20 matches for free!

ㄴWho on earth is trying to snipe that our goddess got so angry… Oops…! My bad, my bad~

ㄴI’ll pass. I’m skipping this round due to personal reasons.

ㄴMe me me me me! Tell me what to do!

A tempting 20-point lure thrown to the fiends obsessed with the arena’s points.

ㄴSo who is it? If they’re within the top 10 in the arena, the contracted party will be seriously ticked off.

ㄴSeriously, last time I mistakenly took a request, my contractor became instant fried chicken in just one second, haha. I regretted it and added more divine power to resurrect them, but the opponent didn’t leave; they just stood there watching. Seriously creepy. I couldn’t even break even.

-ADK: Contractee of Dike Astraea, Yoo Da-hee.

ㄴWhat the? Searched and found no name for this goddess… Oh, damn, what’s with the naked axe man? [Photo] Tube link: https://~

ㄴWow, he’s getting screwed over big time. Not even an SR grade response, just getting sliced up as is.

ㄴWhile tearing apart the goddess, constantly scanning the surroundings for potential interference, the movement of his eyes is so fierce, really fierce;; Madara?

ㄴI’m currently a martial god, just by looking at simple techniques, it’s already not SR level. It’s probably SSR early to mid-tier, depending on the goddess’s ability. But the axe work is seriously practical, right? It’s not a predetermined format, it branches out depending on the situation.

ㄴDefinitely not an ordinary human… seems like a returnee. Were there still such individuals left? With that kind of sensitivity, it would be difficult for even typical assassination-contracted individuals to approach.

ㄴBut the real battle is not ordinary at all, it feels like experiencing life and death dozens or hundreds of times. This is the combat sense unique to the average death-returnee.

ㄴNevertheless, if you’re a skilled player, this time might be worth it? This round’s arena theme is U.R.F~ If you secure a good spot and manage to grab some decent items, you can unleash Meteor within the first 10 minutes, easy peasy.

ㄴIn U.R.F mode, AD champions are absolute monsters; they can even manipulate space to block your approach and violate your soul for real, lol.

ㄴWhere on earth did you hear that from?

ㄴI heard there’s an angel in management – almost said that, hehe…

And shortly after, the broadcast alert for the arena sounded.

[We now begin the 221st Earth Cup Arena Tournament!]

[This round’s arena theme: Ultra Rapid Fire]

Having advance knowledge of the arena’s theme, which is usually kept under wraps, made it clear that this was no ordinary gathering.

ADK: Only 2 minutes until it starts. Are you ready?

ㄴYeah yeah yeah! I’m ready! Haha!

ㄴDon’t trust this guy. He’ll probably just offer himself up, boosting the opponent’s experience points and getting royally screwed over, lol.

ㄴI think we should poke everyone who seems interested, right? After sharing in other rooms, there are a ton of people showing interest. They used to only go for 2 or 3-pointers, but now that a 20-pointer has popped up, suddenly everyone’s interested.

ADK: How many?

ㄴAt least 20? There’s an unusually high number of snipers in this match. And when I checked the penalties the opponents received, even those who used to detest sniping are looking rather intrigued.

ㄴAh, you jerks, don’t steal my kills, pleaseee order for me!

ㄴA 20-pointer! I’ll take that and enjoy it~

At least 20 out of 100 participants are running for snipes.

Although the immediate bleeding was significant, he thought that if he could drop D.K., it would be a profitable deal.

Adikia smirked as he pledged his points.

*****

U.R.F

Unlimited mana, drastically reduced spell cooldowns, a 200% increase in physical capabilities, and over a 500% boost in item drops on the field – truly a cheat mode.

Do you pick it early on?

Even in the briefest moments, scenes played out where someone who had been fleeing with a pistol suddenly came charging back with a tank.

Such situations were happening across the entire field… as stated in the guidebook.

At first, I tried to aim for a goal of just getting within the top 50 by somehow reducing the number when others hadn’t grown yet, but if I do that, Yudahee’s plan won’t even have a foundation.

The Dragon Slave Podji flowing on the walls of the arena could fly up in an instant while momentarily dazed.

“Heehee!”

Even as they were making plans, Deke’s face turned pale as he stared at the strange hologram.

“I’ll eat the points in advance and go, hehe~”

“You’re mine, you’re mine, you’re mine, you’re mine.”

“This place is a hotspot for 20 points, right?”

“Sambobim~ Looking at the points possessed by this goddess, this is almost the last chance, lol.”

The alarm window that shot up seemed ominous.

“Bounty…! A bounty has been placed on us…!”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“In the arena… it doesn’t matter… forming a team is definitely a strategy…”

“Is targeting someone to kill also considered a strategy?”

What the hell kind of situation is this?

If it were Earth, such behavior would have been wiped out with a ban wave long ago. Why do the gods seem even more petty? The one who placed the bounty was obvious. Only one person would act with such malice toward us.

“Whether it’s Adidas or Akidia, this damn bastard.”

It was clear that he had been within sight, but now not even a hair was visible. Yudahee vowed to give him a beating next time, not just a piece but a thorough thrashing.

“…But why is that goddess so intent on tormenting you like that?”

Akidia’s actions were filled with so much malice that it was strange. It seemed unusual to try to subjugate an opponent as if meeting an enemy on a narrow bridge…

Deke scratched his cheek in response to that question.

“Hehe… well, the thing is… I stole Akidia’s share of the golden apple…”

“Golden apple?”

I wondered what that was all about…

“For a god, it’s an item that determines the growth of their divine body, like their height or their physical form… It’s a valuable item that can only be eaten once!”

Upon hearing this, Yudahee’s gaze scanned Deke from head to toe.

Out came where it should, and in went where it should. A sprawling, Westernized physique, standing at a considerable height of 175… quite tall for a woman.

On the other hand, the image of Adikia that came to mind was—

“Ah.”

Her face was rather tolerable, but her body… well, compared to Deke, it was quite lacking.

160cm…

It’s like a battle between an adult and a child, where one can’t see their own feet when they look down, while the other can see down to their ankles.

It seemed like she was trying to puff herself up, but… well…

A battle between curvy and flat.

“She’s worth the bounty.”

Yudahee nodded in agreement.

Stealing growth plates, even if you get shot in the head, there’s no room for complaint.

In reality, the culprit of all the problems was that woman.

“Should I go now and redo what I couldn’t finish earlier by bashing my head in?”

She thought about it, but it was too late.

The deed was done, whether good or bad, and Yudahee had bet on Deke.

What’s more, there was barely 10 seconds left.

“I, I believe in our contractor! Fi, Fighting!”

Clutching her fist tightly, Deke tried to cheer on Yudahee, but… with those anxious eyes and expression, it didn’t feel like cheering at all.

Yudahee sighed and looked at the light enveloping her body, closing and opening her eyes slightly.

In an instant, the scenery before her transformed into a dense forest.

In the middle of a sunny clearing in the forest.

[00:00]

[The match will begin now]

“Haah…”

Yudahee let out a sigh.

Honestly, this damn match just got even more damn awful.

…..

[00:01]

And just as 1 second passed, a dagger swooped toward Yudahee’s neck terrifyingly.

The opponent, blending into the forest, was a man covered in green, brown, black, and khaki spots, reminiscent of a camouflage frog suit.

Even though his figure wasn’t visible, it was still something.

“Sneaking up from behind in the sunlight, what a complete idiot, isn’t he?”

The shadow looming over was clearly visible.

Faster than the flying blades, the assassin’s axe blade plunged into the back of the assailant’s head.

“First one down.”

Thud.

The axe blade was stained with blood.