(Kaiser's POV)
"..."
My mouth hung slightly open as I watched Jin cut off his opponent's head.
I was speechless.
Then, in the next moment—
"THERE HE IS—THE BUTCHER!!! JIN WON IN A BLINK OF AN EYE, KILLING HIS OPPONENT—HANS!!!"
The announcer's voice boomed across the arena.
"The butcher...?"
I mumbled, surprised at Jin's nickname.
Then, following that—
"WHOOOOOOAAAAHHH!!!"
"JIIIIIIIIIN—!!"
The crowd erupted in cheers once more.
"Ugh..."
They were so loud my ears started ringing.
I saw Jin casually walking back toward the waiting room, silent and looking as bored as ever.
And before I even realized it...
Tap—
"Yo, kid."
Jin was already back in the waiting room.
"..."
I looked up and stared at him from where I sat on the bench.
"You're hella strong."
I muttered without thinking.
And with a smug smile on his face—
"Heh, I know."
Jin responded with a shrug.
"..."
The way he acted made me furrow my brows slightly. But I just shook my head and let it go.
And instead, I opened my mouth again—
"Anyway... Why was your opponent from the silver rank?"
Then I asked that.
That question had been bugging me since the moment Hans was introduced.
"Oh, right... We didn't tell you."
Jin muttered, his eyes widening a bit.
"...?"
I tilted my head, wondering what he means by that.
And while scratching the back of his head awkwardly...
"Brock, Khan, and I—we're actually silver-rank gladiators."
Jin declared that casually, like it was no big deal!
"What?!"
My voice rose in shock.
"Then why are you guys in the bronze-rank cell?"
I asked, genuinely confused.
And simply—
"Well... The three of us got punished for fighting and killing new silver ranks outside of official matches. The boss was seriously pissed—said he didn't earn any money from the fight, and he lost five fighters."
He explained without a hint of remorse.
"..."
I was silent after hearing that.
"But we'll be back in the silver-rank cell in a month, so that's that."
Jin added with a shrug, as if that kind of thing happened all the time.
"Wha..."
I opened my mouth. I still have a lot of questions.
But in the end...
"Ugh, whatever."
I just decided to shut up and let it go.
...
...
****
Now that both our fights were done—and I didn't feel like passing out...
"Let's stay and watch the other matches. You can learn some things just by watching them."
Jin suggested that casually.
"Sure, that sounds good."
I agreed. It's not like I had anything better to do anyway.
So with that...
The two of us stayed in the waiting room, watching every fight play out through the metal gate.
Jin would occasionally comment on what was happening, pointing out techniques and giving little explanations. It was super helpful—because unlike my fights... these ones were fast. Fast-paced and brutal.
The fighters in the later matches were insane.
They moved with speed and precision that was hard to follow, and their strength was on a whole different level. Dodges so subtle they were hard to notice, footwork so smooth it looked effortless, and strikes that shattered weapons or sent people flying.
I couldn't understand everything they were doing. Not yet, at least.
But Jin? He saw it all.
"Did you catch that?"
He asked at one point.
"He used his momentum to pivot off the swing and set up a counter."
I blinked.
"Huh... I just saw him spin."
I muttered.
"Exactly."
Then Jin just shrugged annoyingly.
Anyway... Just as he said—
I was learning a lot.
Just by watching them, I could tell there was more to this than just swinging hard or being faster. There was timing, rhythm, precision—real technique.
And even though I didn't have it all figured out yet...
This was worth staying for.
'Hmm, I feel relentless.'
I thought to myself.
I feel like training with my javelin, short sword, and buckler.
I don't know why... But my heart was beating fast as I was watching the matches.
"Huh...?"
Then I realized Jin was staring at me curiously, silent.
So looking at him—
"What?"
I asked.
"Nothing."
Jin flatly responded, shaking his head.
But with a slight smile on his face...
"Looks like your battle sense is being awakened, kid."
He followed with that in a whisper.
"...?"
I raised a brow after hearing that.
Though...
'Meh, whatever.'
I decided to just ignore his words and continue watching the matches.
It's not like I'll fully understand Jin.
So for now...
'I'll just remember what he said.'
...
...
...
After a few more hours of brutal fights and wild cheerings...
The event finally came to an end.
"And with that—TODAY'S EVENT IS OVER!!!"
The announcer's voice echoed one last time across the coliseum.
"THANK YOU FOR WATCHING—SEE YOU ALL NEXT WEEK!!!"
He exclaimed.
"I'll watch next week again watch next week again!!!"
"I'll gamble back my mansion next time, just watch!!!"
"HAHAHAHA—fucking idiot, just stop!!!"
Then cheers from the crowd followed, though noticeably softer than before—most of the them had screamed themselves hoarse after all.
And just as Jin and I were about to stand up from the bench—
BAM! BAM! BAM!
A loud banging from the wooden door behind us was heard.
Then...
TAP—
"..."
A guard entered the room.
Tap- tap- tap—
He walked straight toward the spot where we are sitting and watching.
"..."
"..."
Jin and I both glanced at him.
"..."
The guard didn't say a word when he reached us.
But he didn't need to.
"Guess that's our cue... Hup...!"
Jin stood up with a small stretch.
"Yeah."
I muttered, standing up as well.
And without another word...
Tap- tap- tap—
The three of us left the waiting room.
We followed the guard down the familiar hallway, we're going back to our cell.
Oh, the guard took our weapons and equipment before moving, by the way.
Then, as we walked...
"That match before the last one? That guy with the axe? He's a beast."
Jin spoke up again, starting a conversation.
"You mean the one who broke the guy's shield with one swing?"
"Yep. Didn't even use any skill or technique. Just raw power."
"...Crazy."
Jin chuckled seeing my reaction.
"Crazy strong. That's silver rank for you."
He smugly said, Jin was indicating that he's in that rank.
"I see..."
I nodded slowly, ignoring his boasting.
I recalled the fighters' movements in my head. I still couldn't quite grasp how they did some of the things I saw—but I tried to remember them anyway.
Then...
"That spear-user earlier—"
I mumbled, glancing at Jin.
"He was fast."
I said.
"Yeah, his name's Agawin. Dangerous type. He's fought in gold-ranked exhibition matches before, y'know."
"...Seriously?"
"Yup. They pulled him back down to silver after he injured a sponsor's champion. Politics."
Jin shrugged.
"..."
I didn't reply, but I stored that name in my mind.
And just like that...
While talking about the fighters we'd seen—
T A P—
We arrived back at the bronze rank place.
Creeaak—
The iron-barred gate was pulled open by the guard with us.
Tap—
Jin walked in first.
And inside—
"Welcome back, you two."
Khan waved as he approach us.
"Took your sweet time, huh."
Brock said, arms crossed and smirking.
"..."
I stared at both of them for a moment.
Then, without saying anything...
Tap-
I followed behind Jin.
I was back to the cage.
Back to waiting.
But something felt different...
I was weirdly excited for the time that I would go out of this place to fight again.