Chapter 228

“Thank you.”
Ming Hu thanked the man for his answer and turned his attention back to the stairs.
‘An underground arena…’
I was curious to check it out, to see how the atmosphere was different and how it operated, as the man said.
“I wonder if there are elixirs…
The biggest reason, of course, was the elixir.
Jumbled
Ming Hu immediately approached the stairs, which were guarded by burly men.
Sigh
The men guarding the stairs scanned Ming Hu’s appearance as he approached.
“Admission is 50 gold.”
The man standing to the right of the two men opened his mouth and said.
[Torren’s record crystal ball: 57%]
“…?
As soon as the man finished speaking, the record crystal ball rose by five percent. Ming Hu looked at the man with a puzzled expression.
‘You can’t be serious. That horse has 5%?
It seemed to be so. Ming Hu opened his mouth to double-check and said
“How much?”
“50 gold.”
The man replied to Myung-hoo’s question.
“It’s a one-time thing.
This time, however, the percentage didn’t go up, and Ming Hu looked disappointed, opened his inventory, took out 50 gold, and handed it to the man.
“Have a great time.”
After handing Ming Hu 50 gold, the man checked the gold, smiled, and stepped aside. Ming Hu resumed his walk and began to descend the stairs to the underground arena.
κ³΅μ… Kung… Ouch…
As Ming Hu descends into the underground arena, he can’t help but wonder at the sounds he hears.
“Can’t you hear the cheers?
From the sounds he could hear, it was clear that someone was fighting, but he couldn’t hear what he should have heard.
‘It’s so… It’s so quiet.’
All I could hear was the sound of metal on metal and screams.
“You said the vibe was different.
Thinking that the lack of cheering was due to the different atmosphere, Ming Hu soon reached the end of the stairs.
“…Huh.
Arriving at the underground arena, Ming Hu was surprised. The underground arena was nowhere near the size of the buildings above it. Ming Hu first looked at the small building directly in front of him and thought to himself.
‘That’s… Is that a betting place?
Three NPCs were waiting in a building with an open front. Above them were several boards with the words win, lose, and draw written on them, with percentages underneath. It was clear that they were placing bets. Of course, I wasn’t surprised to find a betting place.
‘Don’t bet on it…’
Ming Hu looked at the ring on the left side of the building.
“Kahhhhh!”
-Crunch!
‘An ogre and a human…’
But that wasn’t the only ring in the underground arena, as there were several other rings in the arena, and there were also battles going on in the rings. There was a ring where humans were fighting humans, a ring where humans were fighting trolls, and a ring where two orcs and a goblin were fighting.
“Nobles? Rich NPCs?
Around the ring were several people sitting on couches watching the fight, and while it was hard to tell in the dark, their revealing attire and flashing jewelry suggested they were nobles or wealthy NPCs.
That was the moment.
[Torren’s Record Crystal: 60%]
[Achieving 100% will reward you with Count Altoran’s Record Crystal].
[Count Altoran’s Record Crystal : 1%]
[Achieving 100% will earn you Count Frank’s Record Crystal].
[Count Frank’s record crystal ball: 1%]
[Achieving 100% will reward you with Baron Devek’s Record Crystal].
[Baron Devek’s Record Crystal : 1%]
Out of the blue, a message appeared.
“…what?
After reading the message, Ming Hu couldn’t help but panic.
‘Torrent authors, of course. The rest…’
It was an illegal dumping ground for Viscount Toren. Suddenly, I didn’t understand why I was getting a message about another family’s history crystal.
‘No way… Is it here?’
Apparently, there were people from Count Altoran, Count Frank, and Baron Debeck here.
‘Well. It doesn’t matter.’
Of course, it didn’t matter whether it was there or not. What mattered to Ming Hu was that the historical crystal ball message appeared.
“Will it go up at this rate…?
The only thing you need to complete the quest is the Record Crystal. If he could get all of them here, he wouldn’t have to travel around the estate to collect evidence. Ming Hu paused for a moment, waiting for the message to appear.
[Torren’s Record Crystal: 60%]
[Count Altoran’s Record Crystal : 2%]
[Count Frank’s Record Crystal: 2%]
[Baron Devek’s Record Crystal: 2%]
Soon, the message I was waiting for appeared.
“Hmm.
Ming Hu smiled when he saw the message. If he did well, he might be able to complete the quest here. After reading the message, Ming Hu walked toward the building and approached the leftmost of the three waiting NPCs. As Ming Hu approached, the NPC opened his mouth and spoke.
“Will you bet or dare?”
Ming Hu couldn’t help but flinch slightly at the NPC’s words.
“Are they even accepting challenges here?
Compared to the first floor, where challenges are impromptu, the underground arena seemed to be quite organized.
“I’d like to know about the challenge.”
“Wait.”
At Ming Hu’s words, the NPC leaned under the desk and began rummaging through something, soon pulling out a book and placing it on the desk.
“Here it is.”
At the NPC’s words, Ming Hu looked at the book and then back at the NPC.
“Is that what it says here?”
“Yes, it lists the types and rewards and rules.”
Ming Hu listened to the NPC, nodded, and opened the book.
1.Surviving the battle with the ogre.
Restriction: Grade B
Challenge Cost: 5 Gold
Reward: 100 gold and 10 Ogre Tendons.
Rules: 1. Challenge succeeds if the time is over 10 minutes.
2. the challenge succeeds when you kill the ogre.
“Rating?
As Ming Hu flipped through the book, he shook his head at the restrictions on the types of challenges, then looked at the NPC and said, “I’m sorry.
“What’s your rating?”
“You can think of them as ranks in our arena. We have F, E, D, C, B, A, S, and SS, and it’s a system to prevent people from dying in the arena because they’re not up to par and they’re blinded by the rewards.”
“If I don’t make the grade, I can’t try?”
“Yes.”
The NPC nodded in agreement with Ming Hu’s words.
“I was wondering if you could tell me my rating.”
“First time?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a proof plaque?”
“Proof plaque?”
“Wait.”
The NPC smiled at Ming Hu’s words and leaned down under the desk again to begin rummaging through something, soon pulling out a square object about ten centimeters across and fifteen centimeters long and placing it on the desk before continuing, “I’m not sure what it is.
“This is a Grade F Proof Plaque. The price is 50 gold.”
“…I have to buy it.
The proof plaque wasn’t free. Ming Hu opened his inventory and pulled out 50 gold. But he didn’t hand it over to the NPC right away. There was something else he needed to check before he could buy the plaque.
“Hold on a second.”
Ming Hu placed the gold on the desk, then grabbed the book again and began flipping through the pages to see what rewards he could earn if he succeeded.
‘Elixir… Elixir…’
17. kill the troll.
Restriction: Grade B
Challenge Cost: 20 Gold
Reward: 150 Gold and 30 Elixirs of Strength.
Rules: 1. Challenge fails if over 20 minutes.
2. no drug use. Failure to challenge when using.
“There is!
Checking his rewards, Ming Hu soon found a challenge that rewarded him with an Elixir of Strength and smiled. Ming Hu looked up and spoke to the NPC.
“How do I increase my rating?”
But there was no point in purchasing a Proof Plaque if you couldn’t raise your rank quickly enough. The NPC spoke up, as if he knew what Ming Hu was thinking.
“Moving up the ranks is simple, all you have to do is complete the challenges that match your rank and you’ll instantly move up the ranks.”
“I see.”
At the NPC’s words, Ming Hu smiled and handed over the gold on his desk. The NPC checks the gold, picks up the certificate on his desk, and holds it out to Ming Hu, who quickly takes it.
[You have earned the Arena Proof Plaque [F]].
A message popped up telling me that I had earned a proof plaque, but that wasn’t the end of the message.
[Torren’s History Crystal: 100%]
[100%].
[You have earned the Viscount Toren’s Record Crystal].
[Quest ‘First Internal Crackdown’, Viscount Toren’s condition has been fulfilled].
“…huh?
Suddenly, Viscount Torren’s record crystal was at 100%. Ming Hu looked away from the message and looked at the proof plaque.
“Is it because of the proof loss?
Apparently, it was the proof loss that made it 100%.
“…Well, whatever.
He had gotten what he was going to get anyway, just a little earlier, and he wasn’t about to leave just because Viscount Toren’s conditions had been fulfilled, and he wasn’t about to leave because the other noble families’ recorded crystal ball percentages were still rising.
“Let’s go up the ranks and get the elixir first.
Ming Hu turned his attention back to the book and started looking for a grade F challenge.