I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

33 – Have You Arrived to Settle Scores?

The man with light brown skin and slightly disheveled blonde hair stood crookedly, exuding a street-smart atmosphere.

“Hello?”

“Can’t even say hello properly?”

As he spoke, I observed the others in the room who slyly emerged, bursting into laughter by the man’s side.

“Hey, what if he gets scared and refuses to go into the ring? What will you do then?”

“If he’s like that, he deserves to die here.”

I scrutinized the chattering group.

“They’re all so young.”

Despite being as tall as bean sprouts, with faces that seemed gaunt, they gave off a youthful vibe.

“Are they middle schoolers?”

They seemed a bit small for high school. Amidst my peculiar thoughts, the man approached me and smirked.

“Hey, if you hand her over, I’ll let it slide.”

The bastard pointed at Iris and uttered nonsense. If he had insulted me, I could have let it pass with a smile, but insulting Iris was intolerable.

“No.”

It was natural that my words weren’t polite. When I firmly said I didn’t want to, his face twisted in displeasure.

“This guy was going to let it slide without reporting if I handed her over, but he’s making a fuss?”

“Do you want to protect your so-called family just because of appearances?”

Various insulting words reached my ears, but I didn’t care. The guy approached me, cracking his knuckles.

“We need to give this guy some proper education since it’s come to this.”

It seemed like there was a need for a crash course in the world of comedy for this jerk. I opened my eyes as if to say I wouldn’t yield, and the atmosphere became even colder.

Just as it seemed like they were about to start exchanging punches, the tension escalated.

“Prepare the Phoenix Juice.”

“Ah…”

The man who was flexing his fists in front of me, Phoenix, was called down by a rat-like figure. The rat instructed him to come downstairs since Phoenix’s gladiatorial match was about to begin. The guy exposed his excitement, looking at me.

“Good. Hey, don’t mess with him and let him go. Can you still look at me like that even after seeing me fight?”

At Phoenix’s words, eight slaves burst into laughter, shouting something about how Phoenix was an extremely capable gladiator with formidable skills, soon to climb to the upper floors.

“Watch closely.”

In response to his growling warning, I nodded silently. Did I agree because I was a fool?

No. I agreed to mess with that jerk. I silently chuckled like the protagonist of a villainous novel.

After he left, the slaves led Iris and me to a resting area overlooking the arena. As we sat on a long sofa, the slaves chuckled and took the empty seats.

Each floor’s height seemed to increase, allowing the entire arena to be visible at a glance. In the arena, they were clearing away the corpses torn apart by monsters.

The slave seated next to me lightly tapped my shoulder and scoffed, saying I would end up in that state too. With someone attempting to touch Iris sneakily, I had no choice but to place Iris under the sofa in front of my legs.

Bastards.

“Then, the next match!?!? The rookie gladiator creating a myth of invincibility! Pheeeeeemaaaaxxxxxxxxxx!”

“Woooooo!”

“Waaaaaahhh!”

A tremendous roar erupted. Pheemax seemed to be a formidable gladiator, as the cheers suggested.

Pheemax wielded a sword and shield that sparkled unlike the weapons prepared in the corridor or the one Iris had. Wearing a leather chestplate, he seemed to forego other armor.

“The opponent is ~ !! Lecra, who grew by devouring hundreds of humans!”

Clang, shrrrrrk.

With the sound of bars rising, a crimson bull-like monster emerged, snorting. Unlike regular bulls, its horns were truly massive, extending even on its jaw.

The monster’s size was immense, at least equivalent to a one-story building. Despite the daunting creature in front of him, Pheemax walked confidently.

“Kwoooooo!”

The monster howled loudly, extending its horns forward and charging at Pheemax.

Krrrrrrrunch!

A thunderous collision echoed, and Pheemax skillfully dodged the bull, slashing its hind legs.

“Kwooooo!”

The thick and bulging muscles prevented a clean cut, but Pheemax managed to inflict deep wounds. The monster approached more cautiously, but couldn’t become Pheemax’s equal.

Playing with the monster, Pheemax turned its vulnerable belly and brought it down.

Kuuuuuuung!

The monster fell, spewing blood as its tongue lolled out. Pheemax emerged victorious.

“Woooooaaahhhh!”

“Hehehe!”

From Noble mtl dot com

Thunderous cheers erupted. Pheemax casually shook his hands, displaying the ease of a victor. As I stared at Pheemax in silence, the slaves, thinking I was frightened, laughed and lightly tapped my head.

I gazed at the monster, now sprawled with blood pouring from its belly and mouth, and asked, “Is it defeated?”

Simultaneously with the casting of a magical spell,

Thud, kuwoong.

As if by a miracle, the monster rose to its feet. The torn belly had miraculously healed, and its eyes regained their focus.

“Huh?”

“Wh-what is that?!”

The mocking faces turned to horror as they gazed at the monster. Growling, it charged straight at Phimax. Of course, the boss regenerating with ‘Have I been vanquished?’ was always meant to come back stronger.

“What is this?!”

Phimax, taken aback, desperately raised the shield to fend off the creature. Shaken by the massive attack, their body trembled. The creature, after barely missing its strike, shook its head, preparing for the next attack while being regarded with a horrified gaze.

“Thought the defeated Lekra had risen again! Will Phimax be able to triumph?”

“Whoa?!”

“Wow!!”

In the arena overseen by the martial arts master Ziso, the sudden emergence of a revived monster wasn’t considered peculiar. It was just an unexpected event, further fueling the excitement.

Phimax swung the sword with a grimace.

No matter how much stronger it had become, it wasn’t enough to defeat Phimax.

“Ph! I! Max!!! Once again, Lekra has been brought down!!!”

A thunderous roar erupted, and the creature, with its throat almost slit, flipped its eyes as if truly dead.

Cautiously guarding against its potential revival, Phimax relaxed only upon seeing the cleanup team rushing to collect the monster’s body.

With a smirk, Phimax leisurely started to exit.

Arms crossed, I chuckled, saying, “Did you pull it off?”

My magical line shot out.

Thud! Boom!

The now stronger monster blinked its eyes and rose from the ground. Its slit throat had somehow mended, and its horns had grown a bit more.

“W-what’s happening?!”

Phimax’s voice faintly echoed amid the commotion. Those who had rushed to collect the monster’s body now fled the arena in shock.

“Damn it!”

Phimax, with a face contorted in determination, resumed the fight with the monster. Despite Phimax being as strong as claimed, it wasn’t enough to surpass this comedic filter.

Phimax terrifyingly brought down the monster.

“Is it over?”

The seemingly deceased monster revived once more.

“I did it! Finally brought it down!”

The creature’s teeth sharpened like a shark’s, and its size increased. Phimax grew increasingly weary.

As Phimax’s injuries escalated, the slaves around discreetly distanced themselves from me.

Every time I uttered a word, it seemed the monster rose. It was as if it thought I was keeping it alive.

“We did it! We’re free!”

I laughed wickedly again, uttering the sorcerer’s incantation once more. I made no effort to conceal my laughter any longer.

Dare to eye Iris? Roll until you’re dead.

Pimex’s face contorted, losing one arm and a leg. The multitude who bet on him spat curses.

“You thought you could touch my sister and get away with it?”

As I muttered in triumph, the slaves who had been eyeing me in disbelief fled in terror. With a sigh of relief, I looked at Iris, her face resting on my knee, eyes closed.

“…We should pretend to be siblings for now, in case it gets out that we’re not. It might keep us safe.”

Surely, a kind soul like Iris would understand my reasoning. Nodding to myself, I took Iris back to the room.

The next morning.

A problem arose when Pimex, once seemingly invincible, became useless. His upcoming match was suddenly up in the air.

“You and you, along with you, will compete in the match instead of Pimex.”

The rat-like fingers pointed at me. He glanced briefly at Iris, adding, “Oh, and you can’t go with that woman.”

Pimex was utterly useless until the end.