Ranker’s Return

Hyeonu focused on Tang-E, who was eating meat without hesitation.

‘Should I look at the level of the matches first?’

His gaze shifted to the center of the Colosseum, where a fierce battle was taking place. Two giant demonic creatures were fighting each other. It was common for them to wield sharp claws, and they even fought while releasing magic power.

‘They aren’t stronger than Tang-E...’

Tang-E seemed like he would be able to win against the two fighting right now. If it was at such a level, he could certainly fight comfortably.

‘Still, there is no guarantee about the others...’

This was why Hyeonu decided to watch a few more fights. Once he had a grasp on the overall level of the demonic creatures…

It was only then that he would let Tang-E go and fight.

‘It’s over.’

Just then, the current battle of demonic creatures reached the end. One of them struck with the tail, and the other fell on its back. However, this was just a trick. The one on its back went through a sudden change when the opponent attacked. It moved quickly like there was no shock at all and counterattacked.

The host’s words followed: “Black Mane has won! Black Mane cleverly took victory again today! Now that Red Horn has left, Black Mane is the ruler of the Ergal Colosseum.”

Hyeonu found a familiar name in the host’s words—‘Black Mane’. It was a familiar name.

‘It is what I heard at the entrance to the Colosseum.’

Black Mane was so clever that there was a debate over whether he was the best in the Colosseum.

‘He is worse than Tang-E.’

Hyeonu was relieved. It seemed he didn’t need to watch any more fights. This guy was the strongest here. However, the strongest was just a bit better than Tang-E.

‘If Tang-E uses Giant Transformation, it’s a sure-win.’

Hyeonu glanced at the cute Tang-E. If Giant Transformation were used, he could be assured of a one-sided victory.

‘He doesn’t know how strong he has become, but...’

The cute bear that was hungrily eating meat seemed to have no idea of how strong he was now. From the moment he put on Wisdom of the Sky, Tang-E’s strength had risen to a totally different level. Meanwhile, his magic power stat rose by more than 500, and a new stat called wisdom was created for him. In addition, the effect of increasing magic-power-related skills by 100% maximized Tang-E’s magic.

‘I could tell just by looking at the fireball he threw at the lomelon.’

Tang-E’s change was obvious during the battle that had taken place the moment they came to the demon world. One lightly shot magic had caused the lomelon to complain of pain. The magic had pierced through the lomelon’s magic resistance and dealt an effective hit.

Hyeonu moved his hand without worry and injected magic power into the bead that had been placed in the middle of the table. Once infused with magic power, the bead changed color and started to vibrate. Less than a minute later, someone knocked on the door. “Can I come in?”

It was the attendant.

“Come in,” Hyeonu said. The moment Hyeonu gave permission, the attendant carefully opened the door and entered without making a sound.

“Did you call?” The attendant bowed toward Hyeonu.

Hyeonu waved to this attendant. “I want to put this guy in a Colosseum game. When will it happen?”

The attendant heard Hyeonu’s words and glanced at Tang-E, who was still eating meat.

“Are you serious? We cannot provide any compensation for the death of a demonic creature.” The attendant’s tone was very serious and filled with sincerity.

“I know what you are worried about. This guy might look like this, but he is pretty strong. Don’t worry and just hold the game.” Hyeonu understood what the attendant was implying.

Perhaps sometimes there was such a noble as he implied.

‘They use force.’

The virtue of the demon world was power. So, naturally, the demon nobles couldn’t be weak. They were just stupid in other areas. In order words, they could be idiots filled with muscles all the way to the brain. Judging from the actions of the attendant, there would certainly be such nobles.

“If you say so... I will arrange it as soon as possible.” The attendant turned around and tried to leave this place.

It was to carry out Hyeonu’s request, but Hyeonu stopped him. “Ah, in addition... How do I place a bet? I haven’t heard the explanation before.”

The attendant turned to look at Hyeonu.

“To bet, place the gold you want to bet on the magic circle to the left end of the table and inject magic power into the bead. Information about the odds and matches will be displayed by injecting magic power into the magic circle on the top right of the table.” The attendant perfectly explained parts that Hyeonu didn’t even ask for.

Following the description the attendant provided, Hyeonu shifted his gaze toward the red magic circle on the left and the blue magic circle on the right.

‘Red is to place a bet, and blue is the match information. Okay.’

The confirmation was over. Hyeonu waved his hand as a sign for the attendant to leave. The attendant bowed to Hyeonu and exited carefully.

‘I will have to check the match information first.’

It wasn’t information about the match but the opponents in the match. Only the information about the participating demons and demonic creatures was important. Raising a hand to the blue magic circle, Hyeonu injected magic power into it, and the magic circle vibrated with magic power. Then the match information for the Colosseum was displayed in front of Hyeonu.

[Demon VS Demon]

[Lapan VS Kell, Lapan won.

Bourno VS Shellun, Shellun won.

Kanuk VS Savi, Savi won.]

[Demonic creature VS demonic creature]

[Black Mane VS Big Axe, Black Mane won.

Brown Beard VS Triangular Horn, scheduled to fight.

Scar VS Blue Eyebrow, scheduled to fight.]

‘What? There are only two games?’

There were only two games remaining. Out of the six scheduled games, four had already ended. Hyeonu had just seen the first match between the demonic creatures. In any case, the purpose for coming here today was closer to that of sightseeing. It wasn’t about getting information. Although it would be nice to get information about potential quests, it wasn’t a bad thing if he couldn’t get it. After all, when would there be another chance to play with Tang-E like this?

‘I should aim for a big one.’

Hyeonu had to seize the opportunity when it came. It was necessary to use Tang-E to increase the gold he had.

‘Since I took some out from the territory’s warehouse not long ago...’

Hyeonu had around 150,000 gold in hand. As days passed, the amount of gold he collected from Phinis increased, and the amount of gold stored in the territory’s warehouse became huge. So the total sum of the gold he took out was around 150,000.

‘I still have to figure out the opponent.’

There were five potential opponents. Apart from Big Axe who was defeated by Black Mane, the others could all be Tang-E’s opponent.

‘I’ll look at Black Mane first.’

The other four weren’t divided between winners and losers. It would just be a waste of time if the first one he looked at was a loser. Hyeonu pressed on the name Black Mane to confirm the information.

[Black Mane]

[The eternal second of the Ergal Colosseum. He has never won against Red Horn. However, the difference is so small that he can survive.

Species: Maduk.

Rating: Intermediate demonic creature

Record: 18 victories, 3 losses]

‘Maduk? A maduk is a boar.’

So Black Mane was a giant boar. Like the name suggested, it was a 7-meter-tall boar with an impressive black mane.

‘It is an intermediate demonic creature...’

Hyeonu had fought against an intermediate demonic creature before. The fourth monster that appeared in Rondal’s second stage was an intermediate demonic creature.

‘It wasn’t that hard to defeat.’

Tang-E deserved to win. The difference was whether the victory would be overwhelming or dramatic. Hyeonu only checked the information that far. He didn’t get to check any of the other opponents. The reason for that was the words that echoed through the Colosseum.

-The next match is a special match. A nobleman has made his appearance. 

There was a sudden introduction.

‘Why are they starting so suddenly from this?’

The host’s words caused the eyes of all spectators to focus in Hyeonu’s direction.

-The opponent is Brown Beard, who was scheduled to compete in the next match. The match will be played in a moment. Please bet a lot.

After hearing the host’s words, Hyeonu immediately pressed on the information of Brown Beard.

[Brown Beard]

[A rising star of the Ergal Colosseum. The brown beard covering the demonic creature is impressive, and it is a creature that even Viscount Ergal himself is interested in.

Species: Cakuling

Rating: Low-grade demonic creature

Record: 5 victories, 0 losses]

‘There isn’t much info...?’

There was no information available on Brown Beard. It was just a demonic creature with a record of 5-0. There was nothing else known.

“Tang-E, do you best. You can win.” 

This was the only thing Hyeonu could say to Tang-E—that he should do his best.

“I understand, Master dude. Tang-E will win and earn money for food.” Tang-E banged his chest with his oil-covered paws. Seeing that, Hyeonu frowned. He took out a white cloth and some water from his inventory and wiped Tang-E’s paws. 

“Sigh... You could’ve turned into your human form to eat...”

Tang-E lowered his head after being criticized and pouted while saying, “What should I do if I’m hungry? I can’t stand it.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?” The owner of the voice was the attendant who came previously.

“Come in,” Hyeonu said. 

Once Hyeonu gave permission, the attendant quietly opened the door and entered. “As you've heard, we have prepared a match. Now you just need to let the demonic creature play.”

“It is faster than I expected... Well, it doesn’t really matter. Go. Be sure to win.” Hyeonu patted Tang-E’s shoulder a few times and pushed him toward the attendant. Tang-E moved to the attendant silently. 

“I’ll be going now.” The attendant took Tang-E and disappeared. Once the attendant disappeared, Hyeonu took exactly 150,000 gold from his inventory and placed it on the magic circle on the left side of the table. Then he injected magic power into the bead in the middle of the table. The bead shook, and a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[Please choose who you want to bet on.]

[1. Brown Beard

2. Noble’s demonic creature]

‘The noble’s demonic creature is Tang-E.’

“It is unconditionally Tang-E. All-in on number 2.”

[Do you want to bet 150,000 gold on the noble’s demonic creature?]

“Yes.”

The moment Hyeonu’s words finished, the magic circle emitted a red light. The gold was gone when the light disappeared.

[I will tell you the odds.]

[1. Brown Beard - 1.38 times

2. Noble’s demonic creature - 4.72 times]

A wide smile appeared on Hyeonu’s face when he saw it.

***

“His hobby is nasty. He actually wants to put such a guy into the Colosseum. As expected, he is a noble...” The attendant grumbled as he took Tang-E to the Colosseum stage. It didn’t make sense no matter how he thought about it. How strong could this little bear be? His opponent was a demonic creature who was 4 meters in size, and he also used a spear in an amazing manner despite being a demonic creature. There was no way this little guy could deal with him.

“If it is hard, run away. You will get an out-of-bounds card if you fall off the stage. So what if you are scolded a bit by your master? Your life matters,” the demon advised Tang-E in a worried manner until the moment Tang-E went onto the stage.

Tang-E jumped onto the stage with his short legs. Once he was on there, he turned to tell the demon behind him, “Don’t worry, I’m strong. I will win everything.”

Tang-E bumped his paws together and headed to the center of the stage.