Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

Chapter 130

Arena.
The Arena was a PVP-only content added about a year ago.
Anyone, regardless of whether they are Gaian or otherworldly, can enter, and fight without any conditions.

It's almost as if someone added it thinking, "I'll use it later, hehe..." and forgot about it, but it's never been mentioned until now.

Surprisingly, the Arena is still quite popular content.

It's not completely risk-free, but at least you can fight with your life guaranteed.
They say you can change the system inside the Arena by touching it.

It makes a legitimate WWE, not UFC, possible.

Since there's also a spectator system, the Arena is always bustling with people fighting and watching.
They say that the most fun thing to do is watch a fight.

"It's a place where only people who do it lightly go, but..."

Of course, there were many people who didn't even pay attention to the Arena. PVP was easy to get bored of in RPG games. Neither Chaerin nor Im Ha-neul have ever mentioned the arena in front of me.

After all, for people who are busy leveling up, the arena where there is only fighting is a matter of preference.

You don’t lose items if you die there, but… you still can’t log in for 3 days.

Lowering the assimilation rate doesn’t completely eliminate the pain.

“It wouldn’t be bad to try it out. You can gain a lot of combat experience… and it’s also secretly fun.”

However, Shin Han-byeol, who is ranked 1st in Korea, seemed to use the arena often.

She said that she is busy leveling up to maintain her ranking… but the numerous experiences she can gain in the arena offset that.

That’s why she said that if she fights hard in the arena, she can easily defeat stronger monsters, which often helps her level up better.

When I heard that, I suddenly became curious and asked her.

“Come to think of it, what’s your level now?”
“Me? I’m 145… that’s about it.” “Like that?”

When I heard that, my eyes widened for a moment.

Considering that our Sangun hyung was around 175, it was a fairly high level.

Considering that it had only been about 2 years since the otherworlder appeared, the growth rate was really steep.
I wonder if I could aim for S-class soon.
But Hanbyeol seemed lukewarm to my reaction.

“Not that fast. At this point, my level has not increased at all···. It’s hard to find monsters to catch.”

That’s why Hanbyeol said that he visits the arena more often.
It’s good for gaining combat experience, and it’s not bad for broadcasting either.

“Hmm···.”

After listening to her, I quietly nodded.
It was a sudden suggestion, but it sounded appealing in its own way.

Especially the ‘experience’ part she mentioned.

‘Experience… I’m a bit lacking.’

I have a lot of experience fighting monsters, but I don’t have much experience fighting humanoid enemies.
Recently, I’ve met many people and my skills have improved a bit.
However, I still lack experience. Especially when dealing with wizards.

I already know that most of the demons that appear are humanoid, so it wouldn’t be bad to participate.
However, there were still some things that were bothersome.

“But even if I participate, it wouldn’t be fun for either of us because of the difference in skill.”

I say this myself, but my skills are quite outstanding. I wouldn’t mind a one-on-one duel with demons.

But for me to suddenly participate in the arena… It would be boring for both of us, from their perspective and my perspective.

I’m sure I won’t gain any special insight either.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. What fun would it be if I just physically suppressed them? Since you can adjust your abilities to some extent, it’ll be okay.”

But when I listened to her, it seemed like even that wasn’t a big deal.

There was nothing to do anyway.

“Okay.”

So I nodded happily.

*

I went to the arena the next day.

Even the possible method was simple. With Shinhanbyeol’s help, I bought a ticket to the arena at the ‘Otherworld Shop.’

I just had to tear the ticket to be transported to the arena.

Papat-!
My vision flickered along with a strange floating sensation that enveloped my entire body.
When I opened my eyes again, I was inside a huge brick building.
I looked around for a moment and saw a sign that said ‘Waiting Room.’
I couldn’t help but be surprised for a moment.

“No, crazy.”

Even teleporting. Does that make sense?
I thought someone at least as skilled as Sephir could use it.
Seeing me panic, Hanbyeol giggled and said.

“You guys are always surprised when you come here. Well, it’s surprising at first.”

Of course.

How could I not be surprised when the scenery changed completely in a blink of an eye?

I never imagined that I could experience such a supernatural phenomenon so easily.

But I was surprised for a moment, and soon I thought about it carefully and asked her.

“Wait a minute, how do I get home? Do I have to go out and walk?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll go straight home once I get out of the waiting room.”

It had only been a few minutes since I entered, but it was a strange space in many ways.

Hanbyeol smiled at me for a moment, then leaned against a suitable space.
Unlike me who was flustered, she seemed at peace. Well, she said she often comes to the arena, so she should be used to this kind of thing.

I pointed to the ‘Opponent Matching’ sign on the other side of the exit and asked.

“If you go in there, your opponent will come out?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you touch a few settings there, you’ll catch your opponent.”

“What are you going to do?” “I should go to the stands and watch.”

Hanbyeol said that and leisurely walked into the entrance ‘Observation Room’ on the right.

I blankly stared at her and then quietly walked into ‘Opponent Matching’.

The place I entered was extremely dark. I couldn’t see even an inch ahead of me.

But I didn’t really care about that. My mind was already occupied by something else.

[Welcome.]
[Please adjust the settings.]

As soon as I entered the entrance, a system window appeared in front of me.
I wondered if there was an alien nearby, but there wasn’t. The system was right in front of me. It clearly existed even when I turned off ‘Player’s Eye’.

“Wow···.”

I was impressed, but slowly started adjusting the settings.
In the building called ‘Arena’, you can choose a fight by manipulating various settings.

What conditions to set, what type of matchup you want, what kind of opponent you want to have limited, etc.

[Do you have a desired duel type?]
[Individual/Team/Captain/Conquest]

First, decide on the duel type as one-on-one.

[Do you have an opponent you want to be matched with?]
[If you don't have one, you will be randomly assigned.]
[Participation Code:]

[Do you have a desired battle condition?]
[If you don't have one, you will be randomly assigned.]

I just passed on everything else.

I just came here to experience it, and it was too much to set everything up.

The only thing I adjusted was my ability adjustment window.

I adjusted it to about 60%. I think that should be enough for a fierce fight.

[Matching begins.]
[This duel type is bare-handed combat.]

Hwaaah!
After I adjusted it appropriately, my vision began to brighten again.

I came out of the waiting room and finally entered the arena.

I could see the spectator seats surrounding me and the wide stadium.

Maybe because it was a random match, only Hanbyeol and a few other people were sitting in the large stands.

‘···Oh.’

At the same time, I felt a sense of discomfort in my body.
The spear I was holding in one hand disappeared without a trace, and my body strangely became heavy.

Got it!
I raised my fist and stretched it forward for no reason, and it felt like something had slowed down.
It was the lowered physical ability that was being applied.
Watching that, I kept exclaiming in admiration.

“How amazing···.”

It’s been a series of surprises since a while ago.

What on earth is the principle? How does it work?

I have many questions.

When I see this, I even think it’s a real game.

My body changes depending on the system settings. It’s like modifying a code value in a game.

But at the same time, it felt familiar. It’s like feeling an energy I’ve already experienced several times.

‘What is that···.’

I wanted to think about it carefully for a moment, but I didn’t have time.

“Eh, Yor?”

I wasn’t the only one in this arena.

Looking ahead, there was a woman wearing leather armor.

Judging from her bare hands, she must be my opponent. She must be from another world, so she looked at me straight away and pretended to know me.

“What the heck. I came here to loosen up, and you’re here.
Why are you here?”
“I just… I don’t have anything to do these days.”

When I gave a vague answer, she scratched her head as if she was troubled.

“Oh, shit, if I do this… I’m going to go hunting in the field with the kids today, so I can’t die. But how am I supposed to win if you show up? Should I just forfeit…?”

It seemed like she was troubled because I came to the duel arena that she came to have fun.

I was afraid that she would forfeit right away, so I quickly opened my mouth to appease her.

I reduced my physical abilities appropriately in the settings window, and I didn’t intend to log out my opponent since I came here to have fun.

So I said let’s have a sparring match for now.

“Hmm, then that’s fine.”

In the end, she readily accepted. The other person smiled brightly and twirled his arms.

“But if you reduced your physical abilities, you should be a little nervous. Hehe, not to brag, but I’m a high-level adventurer.”

It was a cute provocation that didn’t really contain any hostility. That's why I just laughed it off.

That's how the duel began.

They both raised their guards awkwardly and threw punches at each other.

Pfft-!
The opponent's punches had considerable power. They were fast and fierce. It seemed like the high level wasn't an exaggeration.

"Hmm···."

However, since he didn't learn martial arts separately, his posture itself was quite awkward.

And that goes for me too.

If he had a spear, then maybe, but I've never fought while swinging my fists.

'Why did it come down to bare-handed fighting···.'

In the end, the fight couldn't help but be more like a dogfight.

Rather than being flashy, it was messy and ridiculous. To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing.

There were people in the audience anyway.

However, that messy brawl didn't last long.

"Profit!"

When I thought I couldn't win, the guy suddenly started grabbing my body. When I saw that, I couldn't help but frown for a moment.

'This kid?'

He dared to use grappling techniques in a sacred brawl.

If the opponent has already used grappling techniques, you should respond accordingly.

I recalled the memories of WWE and UFC matches I had seen in the past and started to take over his techniques.

The only good thing was that I had a slight advantage over the opponent in terms of strength.

If both sides use techniques clumsily, the stronger one will eventually have the advantage.

So we started rolling around on the ground for a while.

Our bodies got tangled and mixed together.

"Ugh, ahh!"
"Oh, ahhh... Sorry, I didn't mean to touch that."

As we tried to gain the upper hand, we often ended up touching embarrassing parts.

But there was nothing we could do. That's what grappling is all about...

"Oh really...!"

As we fought, the opponent's face gradually started to turn red, perhaps out of breath.

Fortunately, I was the one who gained the upper hand first.
After a long tangle, I finally got behind my opponent!

I immediately tied his waist with my legs and started to awkwardly apply a back choke to his neck.
Even though I don’t know much about grappling, I know that if you choke him like this, he’ll pass out.

“Ugh!?”

Even though my posture ended up like a back hug, I didn’t care and just put strength into my arms.
I could see my opponent’s expression gradually distorting as if he was in pain.

At that point, I said to my opponent.

“Surrender.”
“Ugh··· Ugh···!”
“Hey, you. You’ll pass out if you do that! So, give up!”
“Haa··· Haa···.”

But my opponent didn’t tap out.

[Do you want to modify the assimilation rate?]
[15%<-----------?----->90%]

Rather, in the middle, he even showed off his strange behavior of turning on the system window and increasing the assimilation rate.
···What on earth is he thinking?

“Kreuruk···.”

In the end, the guy held on foolishly and fainted in a spectacular manner.

Sluruk···.
As she lost consciousness, the guy’s body gradually disappeared.

It seemed that losing consciousness naturally resulted in defeat.

“Haa··· haa···.”

After finishing the battle like that, I took a deep breath and looked around for a moment.
I could see the spectators in the viewing room staring at me with their mouths wide open.

Looking closely, the number of spectators seemed to have increased a bit.

I scratched my head as I watched.

“······.”

I won, but··· I felt a bit embarrassed.