The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices - Chapter 126: Monster Arena (3)

The Dungeon Monsters Keep Offering Sacrifices – 126

EP.126 Monster Arena (3)

The much-anticipated Monster Arena finally revealed its true form. It was a circular arena reminiscent of the ancient Roman Colosseum. Though smaller in scale due to its underground location, the spectators’ eyes were filled with excitement. Some were even shouting and stomping their feet, unable to contain their enthusiasm.

However, in stark contrast to the heated atmosphere of the spectator stands, the waiting room was as cold as ice. The participants, who were about to compete, all wore grim expressions. The twenty participants, with their heads hung low, resembled prisoners in a jail. Fear was etched deeply into their faces, and their eyes were filled with suspicion and wariness as they glanced at each other.

At that moment, a small door opened with a metallic clang. Armed guards entered.

“Choose your weapons!”

The guards barked orders and threw weapons onto the floor. The weapons were of poor quality: bent swords, rusty spears, and cracked bows.

“Choose your weapons wisely. Of course, if you wish to die, not choosing one is also an option.”

The guard’s sneer cut through the air. Despite the command to choose weapons, no one moved easily. Cale was no exception. He had joined the arena to have his debt forgiven, but he had no knowledge of which weapon to choose. He had only done odd jobs to earn money for his sister’s treatment and was far removed from this kind of situation.

“…….”

Everyone was hesitant, watching each other. Silence stretched on. The longer it lasted, the more palpable the fear became. Cale felt it too.

‘What if I die here?’

If he died, who would take care of his sick sister? Negative thoughts crept in. But Cale shook his head resolutely.

‘No, I can’t think like that. I must survive no matter what!’

As Cale steeled his resolve, a man finally stepped forward and chose a weapon. He picked up a sword and spoke.

“Why do you all look like you’re about to die? We’re here to survive and start anew!”

His words broke the tension, and the other participants began to move hesitantly towards the weapons.

The man raised his sword and introduced himself.

“My name is Bayden. I was once a silver-ranked adventurer. As you can see, I’m here because I couldn’t pay off my debts.”

People lifted their heads at Bayden’s introduction. The word “adventurer” sparked a glimmer of hope. Cale, too, felt a small surge of optimism. Perhaps there was a chance for survival.

Bayden looked around and continued.

“If you all follow my lead, I’ll make sure we all get out of here alive.”

A silver rank wasn’t particularly high, but it wasn’t low either. However, most of the participants here had never even held a sword, so they looked up to Bayden.

“Everyone, gather around. We need to come up with a strategy to survive.”

Bayden naturally became the leader of the group. People started to gather around him, clutching each other’s shoulders as if to ward off their fear. Cale also moved closer.

“Listen up, everyone. Our first priority is to survive the monsters. It’s just 15 minutes. To do that, we need to stick together. Got it?”

Bayden’s confident voice began to instill trust in the participants. After all, their opponents were not other humans but monsters.

“Has anyone here ever handled a bow or a sword properly?”

Silence followed Bayden’s question. Naturally, no one raised their hand.

“In that case, we’ll go with spears and shields. The person in front blocks with the shield, and the person behind stabs with the spear. We just need to hold out for 15 minutes. Simple, right?”

Everyone nodded. They had an absolute belief that as a former adventurer, Bayden knew better than they did. Following his instructions, they each picked up a weapon. As Cale reached for a shield, Bayden called out to him.

“Hey, you there, kid.”

Cale flinched and looked up at Bayden.

“You’re out. You don’t look like you’d be of much use,” Bayden said, causing Cale’s heart to sink.

“I-I’ll do my best! Please, give me a chance!”

“No. If you get taken out, it could put all of us at risk.”

Bayden’s refusal was firm. Cale was still a boy, not yet an adult. His slight frame caught Bayden’s eye. A boy like him holding a shield? He’d be overrun in an instant. Bayden calculated that it was better to exclude him from the start rather than risk a breach in their defense.

Cale, however, was desperate.

“Then let me at least hold a spear! Please, I beg you!”

Cale knew well that being excluded from Bayden’s group meant certain death. He had to cling to them no matter what. But Bayden’s gaze remained cold.

“Even if you hold a spear, it’s the same. Don’t bother us and get lost.”

Bayden had made up his mind. The other participants also sided with him, eager to gain his favor.

“Yeah, Bayden’s right! I don’t want to die because of you!”

“Get lost, you damn brat!”

Curses rained down on Cale. He gritted his teeth and lowered his head. How could they treat him like this, as fellow humans? A chilling sense of betrayal enveloped him. But he had no choice.

“…….”

Cale retreated to a corner, clutching a single shield. He gripped it tightly, trying to hide his trembling hands. This flimsy piece of metal was his only hope.

“Please, let a miracle happen….”

A desperate prayer slipped from his lips. All Cale could do was pray to the heavens.

As Cale prayed, the arena’s atmosphere grew tense.

“Everyone, get ready! It’s time to enter!”

The guards barged into the waiting room once more, this time heading towards the large iron door opposite them. They began to open the heavy door. As it creaked open, a thunderous roar shook the waiting room.

“Kill them! Kill them all!”

“Bayden! I’ve bet everything on you today! If you die first, we’re all dead! Show them the power of an adventurer!”

The participants were greeted by deafening cheers and shouts from above.

– Gulp. –

With trembling legs, the participants walked towards the arena. Before them lay the stage of death. Cale, too, slowly passed through the iron door at the back. Despite his fear, he had no choice. For his sick sister, he had to survive those 15 minutes no matter what.

“I will survive!”

He gripped his shield tighter.

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***

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– Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting! The match you’ve all been waiting for is about to begin! –

The crowd went wild at the announcer’s words. They shouted the names of the participants they had bet on.

– The rules are simple. Survive for 15 minutes and predict the last participant standing! Simple, right? –

The announcer reiterated the rules before the match officially began. The spectators had already placed their bets on the participants. The arena had distributed booklets containing the participants’ profiles, which the spectators used to place their bets. They watched the arena intently, hoping the participant they bet on would survive to the end, ensuring their payout.

In this match, most of the money was on Bayden, the former adventurer. Conversely, only one person had bet on the young boy, Cale. That person was Necros.

“Hehehe, the show is finally starting!”

Malcolm laughed from a vantage point overlooking the arena. It was a spot better than both the general and VIP seats, where he and Necros sat together. They, too, had already placed their bets.

Malcolm had bet on Bayden, the former adventurer, while Necros had placed his money on the boy named Cale. Moments later, the announcer’s shout marked the beginning of the first match.

The first match was a battle between the twenty participants and a group of goblins. As soon as the participants entered the arena, they began to cluster together. Naturally, they formed around Bayden, the adventurer, each armed with shields and spears. Except for Cale, who stood alone, clutching his shield in a separate area.

Malcolm smirked at the sight of the trembling Cale.

“Looks like you’re about to lose all your money. Too bad! Hahaha!”

It was obvious to anyone that Cale would be the first to die. Malcolm was utterly confident.

“You think that kid will survive? Hahaha, you’re hopeless outside of business!”

In truth, Necros’s business acumen was impressive. He had sourced the monsters for the arena and devised most of its rules, earning Malcolm’s admiration. But now, it seemed Necros had no talent for this kind of betting. Betting on the boy who seemed most likely to die first, just because the odds were high?

‘Foolish idiot, hahaha.’

Even the other participants saw Cale as dead weight and had left him behind. Malcolm sneered internally as he focused on the match.

The participants moved skillfully. Following Bayden’s instructions, those with shields formed the front line, while those with spears stood right behind them. Seeing this, Malcolm was confident that Bayden, his bet, would survive till the end.

But then.

“Huh?”

Something was off.

“Why aren’t those goblins attacking him? He’s all alone!”

The goblins remained in place, not charging at the participants. They didn’t even show any interest in Cale, who stood alone. They merely hovered around, seemingly aimless.

Five minutes passed meaninglessly. Now, only ten minutes remained.

Then, as if on cue, the goblins finally began to move. Their target was Bayden’s group.

The goblins’ strange behavior surprised even the announcer.

– What is this? It seems that clustering together has triggered the goblins’ attack instincts! –

Unfortunately, the participants wielding shields and spears were handling weapons for the first time today. Thus, they were caught off guard by the goblins’ unusual actions, leading to mistakes. One participant dropped his shield, and this single error caused the entire formation to collapse.

Bayden tried to quickly regain control, but the goblins were unnaturally strong. They were on a different level compared to the goblins he had faced as an adventurer. Some goblins even fired arrows from the rear.

Meanwhile, not a single goblin approached Cale, who stood trembling with his shield. They didn’t even shoot arrows at him. It was as if the goblins acted like he didn’t exist.

“…….”

Malcolm’s lips began to tremble as the match took a bizarre turn. If this continued, Cale would likely be the last one standing. Could such a thing be possible?

‘No, it can’t be.’

Malcolm wasn’t a fool. Who had brought the monsters for the arena? It was Necros, standing right in front of him.

‘Could that guy really control the monsters?’

Malcolm’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Necros. He wondered what expression was hidden behind that white mask.

‘If that’s the case, it makes sense why he bet on Cale!’

Malcolm’s expression turned serious. The outcome of the match was now obvious.

Indeed, as the 15-minute mark approached, the goblins killed all the participants except for Cale. This included Bayden, who had received the most bets.

– Ah-! The behavior of monsters is truly unpredictable! Isn’t that what makes this so exciting? –

The announcer’s voice was elated as the first match concluded. Armed guards began to herd the goblins to one side. Since the 15 minutes had passed, Cale was declared the winner of this match.

The spectators cheered at the unexpected outcome. They were thrilled by the realization that the winner could change at any moment due to the monsters’ unpredictable actions.

Cale returned to the waiting room, basking in the cheers of the crowd.

“Ugh, let’s get the next match started already!”

Malcolm grumbled, his face twisted in frustration.

The waiting room wasn’t the only one. The circular arena had numerous iron doors, each connected to different waiting rooms where participants were preparing for their matches.

“You’ve picked the participant with the highest odds again, haven’t you?”

Malcolm’s tone grew serious.

For the second match, Necros had once again chosen the participant with the highest odds. High odds meant that the participant had the lowest chance of survival.

‘If Necros’s pick wins again, there’s definitely something going on. There has to be!’

Malcolm’s suspicion grew stronger. If Necros’s chosen participant won again, Malcolm planned to confront him, or even show him his wrath right then and there.

But.

“Huh…?”

As if fate were playing a trick, Necros’s choice failed spectacularly. The participant Necros had bet on was devoured by a horde of zombies right from the start, meeting a gruesome end.

‘What? Was it just a coincidence?’

Malcolm’s chosen participant also perished. The winner of the second match was the participant with the second-highest odds.

Necros tilted his head in confusion at the outcome, while Malcolm watched him closely.

‘So, the first match was just a fluke.’

With Necros’s bet failing, Malcolm’s suspicion began to wane. How could anyone control the monsters, after all? He dismissed the incident as mere coincidence.

But this was Malcolm’s misjudgment.

====

***

====

In the VIP section, Celia nodded approvingly.

“This is the will of the Great One.”

Celia had bet on the winner of the second match and won a substantial amount of money. If Necros was the guardian of the first floor, Celia was the overall manager of the dungeon. Her rank was higher, and she was closer to the Great One than Necros.

Naturally, the monsters paid more heed to Celia than to Necros.

“Who should I bet on next?”

Celia hummed as she selected the next match’s participant. She didn’t need to ponder over her choice. Celia’s pick would determine the outcome of the match.

That day, Necros refrained from betting on the remaining matches, merely observing. Meanwhile, Malcolm could only howl in frustration as spectators consistently won high-odds bets.

====

***

====

Sernu, an executive of the Demon Merchant Association, embodied darkness itself. His black suit, neatly groomed black hair, black glasses, and black shoes all contributed to his cold image. However, Sernu, who always seemed ruthless, had been troubled lately.

The cause of his distress was the auction incident at the last social gathering. They had inadvertently provoked an unknown entity, resulting in all the auction items being stolen. This failure had severely damaged Sernu’s reputation.

“Damn it. Have we still not uncovered anything about that individual?”

Sernu’s voice, filled with rage, struck his subordinate, who could only offer a disappointing response.

“I’m sorry, Sir Sernu. We’ve been searching continuously but haven’t found any significant traces.”

Despite the time given, they had found nothing. Sernu, who had expected a quick resolution, felt increasingly frustrated. The entity that had stolen all the auction items remained a mystery. It was as if the entity had never existed.

But this was a natural outcome. The truth was, that entity was currently on Earth, not on the El Dorad Continent. Unaware of this fact, Sernu could only feel stifled. He hoped that the Arch Lich, who had been with the entity, might know something.

Just as Sernu was about to approach the Arch Lich, another crisis emerged, the appearance of a calamity. A star had fallen in the human kingdom, not the Demon World. It was an unprecedented event.

As a result, the Demon Merchant Association was thrown into chaos. A 7-star calamity had been born, and the Association knew nothing about it. They mobilized all their connections and resources, even reaching out to humans to gather every piece of information they could find.

From the gathered information, it was said that the Queen of the Sael Kingdom had eradicated the 7-star calamity. However, Sernu knew this was absurd.

“Hah… Calamities aren’t such simple beings.”

The calamities Sernu knew weren’t easily vanquished. The idea that a mere human could eliminate a calamity was laughable. This left two possibilities, either it wasn’t truly a 7-star calamity, or it had hidden itself for some reason. But Sernu couldn’t be certain of either. He was too busy managing the fallout.

“Find the calamity immediately! We must be the first to secure it. If we fail this time, we’re all finished!”

At Sernu’s command, his demon subordinates rushed out. After issuing his orders, Sernu sighed and sat down.

“It feels like someone is controlling the flow of information.”

It was a disgrace to his demonic pride. Had the Demon Merchant Association ever been this powerless? No. The Association had always been the strongest entity. Yet, recent events felt beyond their control.

“It all started with the Succubus Dungeon.”

Sernu began to review the situation from the beginning. The first incident was at the Succubus Dungeon, a newly established dungeon. Despite being new, it had a lot of money, which had piqued his interest.

“But it turned out the dungeon’s master was an Arch Lich.”

It made sense that a succubus wouldn’t be the dungeon’s master. Sernu’s reasoning was sound. Among succubi, none ranked higher than the Queen of Succubi. Therefore, it was more logical to think that a 5-star Arch Lich was the true master of that dungeon.

“And the entity that was with the Arch Lich has gone missing…”

What on earth was going on? Sernu’s head throbbed with the complexity of it all.

“And now a 7-star calamity has emerged.”

Could all of this be mere coincidence? Sernu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“The end times, truly,” Sernu muttered.

He even entertained the absurd thought that the entity who stole all the auction items might be connected to the 7-star calamity. Shaking his head, he dismissed the notion. If that were true, the world had indeed gone mad. But Sernu wasn’t one to sit idly by. He was an executive of the Demon Merchant Association, after all. Aiming for a higher position, he needed to produce results. Mistakes were no longer an option.

“At least I can be satisfied with taking over the vampire’s dungeon this time.”

The 5-star vampire, Baalzerith, had lost her power rapidly due to the relentless attacks of the White Order. She had borrowed a significant amount of money from the Association to fend off the Order, but with her diminished power, she couldn’t repay the debt. The Association, being ruthless, demanded repayment regardless of the monster’s rank.

Sernu had coerced Baalzerith into transferring the dungeon’s management rights to him. However, the debt was so substantial that merely taking over the dungeon’s management didn’t cover it. In other words, Baalzerith and her dungeon were now bound to the Demon Merchant Association.

Sernu planned to leverage Baalzerith for additional ventures. As a 5-star entity, she had many uses.

“Maybe I should turn humans into vampires?”

He considered using Baalzerith to attack humans. Alternatively, since Baalzerith had royal vampire blood, he could use her to bring all vampires under the Association’s control.

‘So many options.’

A high rank meant numerous possibilities. This was why Sernu was so interested in the 7-star calamity. For now, though, he intended to focus on Baalzerith.

“If this goes well, I can make up for my past mistakes.”

Success would allow him to aim higher once more. As he indulged in these hopeful thoughts, a subordinate demon rushed towards him urgently.

“Sir Sernu!”

“What is it?”

Surely, nothing else had gone wrong? He hoped not, but the words from his subordinate’s mouth were shocking.

“It’s terrible! Baalzerith has… escaped!”

“Shit.”

Nothing was going right.