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墨書 Inktalez
I spent several days living in the small cabin, where food and drink were plentiful. The others spent their days gambling, and during this time, I learned the rules of the Gladiatorial Arena: battles occurred every other day.
Unlike the cage fights I had previously participated in, where no one was informed beforehand, here, there was a notification system. If those in charge wanted a fighter to win, that fighter would receive plenty of food to replenish their strength before the battle, and no one was allowed to steal it. Conversely, if they wanted a fighter to lose, that fighter would go without food for an entire day and could not take from others; they had to endure hunger. However, if such a fighter managed to win the next day, it would be their opponent who faced death while they continued to live.
In the recent two battles, I had not been called to fight. I spent my time training in my cabin, thinking of fierce moves. Compared to them, I was still too weak; every person here could kill a black bear with their bare hands effortlessly, unlike me who struggled.
Many of these fighters had not progressed from being lower-tier competitors like I had; some arrived here already at a high level and lived in this place. Each person had their own reasons for being here, but no one spoke of them. Everyone's desire was simply to save enough money to escape! To mix with the Drug Lord!
I also learned about the price of life here: a staggering twenty thousand dollars! Defeating a black bear was considered a low-level fight with only a hundred-dollar reward. Winning against a Level Character yielded just two thousand dollars at most. Perhaps the Drug Lord tacitly approved of this life-for-money system as a way to test people's abilities; those who could save up twenty thousand dollars were certainly extraordinary.
As for me, I had nothing—not even the capital to gamble with them. I could only continue training my body while waiting for an opportunity, though I had no idea what chance could save me now. But I would not give up hope!
It wasn't until a week after my fight with the black bear that I participated in my second battle. This time, my opponent was from my district—a Level Character. It was clear that those above wanted me to win because the day before the duel, I received ample food to boost my strength while my opponent received nothing and went hungry.
I had learned many rules here; although killing was not permitted, fighting and brawling were allowed, including robbery. However, any disputes could only be settled one-on-one without outside interference. If someone got injured during a fight, those in charge would not grant any rest; when it was time for you to fight again, you had to do so regardless of injuries. Everyone here was at least at a level of competence; even if you won, injuries were inevitable unless someone was confident enough to harm others without getting hurt themselves.
I understood what those in charge meant by these rules—they did not want everyone here to die from infighting because then who would fight the beasts? They aimed to identify talent among us for other purposes; hence the rule allowing someone to buy their life for twenty thousand USD—only those capable of accumulating such wealth were truly exceptional.
Of course, for someone like me who struggled even against a black bear, many felt confident they could injure me without suffering themselves; that’s why some dared to rob me.
But I understood. There was no room for pity here; we were all beasts—either you die or I do.
During these days of living here, aside from the initial person who informed me about this place—a Huaxia person—almost everyone bullied me. I never spoke up because I knew we would eventually meet in the Gladiatorial Arena. That would be my moment of revenge!
The Elite Fighter Madman! Level Veteran! Man Bull! Today’s showdown! The ticket sales for Man Bull are quite high today, but does anyone remember the last time when the Madman bit down on that black bear? Who will win today—the Madman or Man Bull? Let reality speak!
The familiar yet annoying voice of the host echoed again as the large gate opened before me. Someone behind me whispered,
“If you lose, you die.”
I nodded. This person made it clear that if I lost—even if I didn’t die in the Gladiatorial Arena—I would be killed afterward because yesterday I received food while Man Bull did not. Losing meant death as punishment for me.
Without further words, I stepped into the Gladiatorial Arena.
This was my second time entering this arena; this time my opponent was human.
Huaxia Monkey! Don’t think you can win against me!
The Man Bull across from me gritted his teeth and cursed at me. Most people here spoke Huaxia language but not all were Huaxia people; this Man Bull seemed like he was from Mian Dian Ren—they always treated me like this.
I smiled.
With a smirk on my lips, no one could stop my steps toward survival!
No one!
Two loud shouts!
Man Bull charged at me!
I charged at Man Bull!
Having eaten well, my physical condition was naturally better than that of Man Bull, who hadn’t eaten for a day. However, Man Bull's fighting skills were indeed superior to mine.
I no longer hoped for this match to end like I did when I fought the Black Bear. Instead, I engaged in a fierce struggle with Man Bull. His stamina was not as good as mine, so I decided to outlast him. After about half an hour, I could see his energy plummeting. I had taken quite a beating and had narrowly escaped death at his hands several times.
Fortunately, I managed to dodge every blow, and now he was beginning to tire! This match was going to be under my control!
I grappled with Man Bull!
I was testing out the brutal moves I had thought of over the past few days! Yet, I held back at every turn. Man Bull was already exhausted; I could easily kill him and end this match, but I didn’t want to!
I wanted to train!
Man Bull's fighting techniques were impressive! I needed to learn from him! This was a great opportunity.
Come on! What the hell are you doing? Dancing?
An hour later, I was still locked in combat with Man Bull. He was nearing exhaustion. Although I was dead tired, my stamina still surpassed his! However, I couldn't continue much longer; the spectators around us were starting to voice their discontent, complaining that our fight was dragging on too long.
Though I hated being controlled by others, the current situation left me no choice but to comply. If I didn’t end this soon, they would start shooting to force us into action. What if that affected my current advantage?
Goodbye, Man Bull.
A smile crept onto my lips!
This was one of the few sentences I'd spoken in the past few days. After saying it, I charged at the nearly exhausted Man Bull!
With the advantage of stamina!
I easily snapped Man Bull's neck!
Crack!
My heart also cracked a little. I wasn’t sure if I had ever killed anyone before; the feeling of taking a life wasn’t pleasant for me. But that sensation quickly faded away under the weight of harsh reality.
If I didn’t kill him,
he would have no hesitation in killing me!
There was no room for mercy here! We were both beasts!
From this battle, I earned a thousand bucks. I didn’t know what a thousand bucks meant to my former self, but here and now, twenty thousand bucks could buy my freedom from this place.
And I also got plenty of food.
Hey, loser! You owe me money; you won today’s match, right? Hand over your cash.
As soon as I arrived at that prison-like cage, someone ordered me around. I looked up at him; he was Hai Feng. He shot me a glare. Here, you couldn’t rob money from the dead; as soon as Man Bull died, his safe had been taken away.
I gave it to him!
I didn’t resist; I had just come out of a battle and was still too weak. A thousand dollars couldn’t buy my life. I would wait. In this place, without strength, one should not act impulsively. I had come to understand the rules here clearly. All I needed was a little time to recuperate and improve, and then everyone who had bullied me would pay the price!
The fight with the Man Bull had taught me a lot. While they were out gambling, I lay in my room reflecting on that battle. This was one advantage of being broke; without money, they wouldn’t come to bother me, allowing me to quietly think about the flaws in my techniques and reactions against the Man Bull. I constantly imagined the best countermeasures and responses.
In truth, my physical abilities were no worse than anyone else’s. Most of them had old injuries. The reason I was weaker than them was that I lacked their combat experience and didn’t react as quickly in fights, which made my movements noticeably slower and less fierce.
As long as I could solve this problem, I shouldn’t be any worse than any of them. And when my strength surpassed theirs, that would be my time to shine!
Days passed in this place where communication was minimal. Those who weren’t fighting spent their days gambling, and there were occasional fights, but nothing serious; no one wanted to get injured and end up dead in the Gladiatorial Arena.
I kept thinking about those techniques, replaying fight after fight in my mind, closing my eyes and pretending I was in combat.
Until I was notified once again that it was time for me to enter the arena.
I was still chosen as the favored fighter! After all, it takes time—sometimes even a season—to build someone up.
This time, my opponent was none other than the person who had robbed me of five hundred dollars the first time!
He had no food and was curled up in his room, shivering.
Here, everyone spent a day in their rooms before entering the arena; no one wasn’t afraid. After all, I had successfully defeated a seasoned fighter. My opponent hadn’t eaten for a day.
Hey.
I stood at his door and called out to him. He looked up at me with a glimmer of recognition.
"What do you want, Yellow-Skinned Monkey? I will kill you!" he spat.
I smiled and nodded before stepping into his room and pulling a bag of food from my pocket to give to him.
You see, here, not being given food means you simply don’t eat. Before arranging for someone to enter the arena, the guards would clean out their rooms to prevent them from secretly hiding food.
“Eat up; you’ll need your strength to kill me,” I said with a smile that wasn’t really friendly at all before turning and walking out despite his astonished expression.
What I did was dangerous; it could empower my opponent. But this world is cruel; fighting weaker opponents won’t lead to much improvement. Engaging in life-and-death struggles would yield far greater gains. At this moment, if one doesn’t progress quickly, lacking strength will lead to death sooner or later. If one wants to advance rapidly, experiencing life-and-death battles is the best choice.
Sometimes being a little cruel to oneself has its benefits.
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