Chương 5: Wasted on You

"Y-you crazy son of a b*tch!"

Gedrick, who had been lunging forward with a growl, flinched and stopped short. The guard was approaching them with a grimace.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Th-this son of a b*tch attacked me!" Gedrick said.

"He grabbed my shoulder first," Yuto quickly said.

"It hurt badly, as if he were trying to crush my bones. That's why I attacked him."

"Wh-what? I never did that!" Gedrick protested, but the guard had seen him grab Yuto's shoulder too. The guard glared at Yuto briefly.

"If you want to fight, wait until the match. It's forbidden to lay hands on each other in the lobby," he said.

The guard did not try to find fault with them any further since Gedrick had started it. The matches would start soon, and he could not use violence on the fighters.

"You f*cking asshole!"

Gedrick said after the guard moved away. He glared at Yuto, picking up the tooth that had fallen out.

"I don't even have that many teeth left...!"

"You take good care of that tooth now," Yuto whispered, looking Gedrick in the eye.

"You won't have the time to pick up your teeth later."

He was saying that he would punch out all the remaining teeth. Gedrick's face twisted into a scowl. He gripped his tooth tightly, shook all over, and licked the blood that trickled from his damaged lips.

"You bastard. I'm going to kill you today," Gedrick spat, and spun away. Yuto chuckled as he watched Gedrick walk off.

Today would be Yuto's debut at the Colosseum. Based on the warning that fighters were meant to be more careful during a newcomer's first match, Gedrick had probably intended to fight only moderately. But that wasn't what Yuto wanted.

The logical conclusion was that it was impossible to escape the Colosseum. He could try to bribe a guard, but right now he was just a slave and a fighter, and there was nothing he could offer a guard that might tempt them. They would never betray Eville.

And she's so distrustful that the guards she keeps close are slaves with chokers around their necks. She probably has something in place that will help her control them as well. If he were to get out of here under these conditions, he would need the help of somebody from outside. The nobles sitting over there in the VIP seats with Eville were the targets. He had to attract their attention. And in order to do so, he would have to leave a strong impression starting from the first match.

And it took two to make a good fight. If Gedrick did not take the fight seriously, it would be impossible to get what Yuto was after.

They would not come forward to buy him right away, but if he managed to make himself memorable, perhaps there would be immediate changes, starting with the food that he would be served today.

Maybe they'll even give me a weapon.

It felt awkward not to have a weapon in his hand when he was fighting. He couldn't remember his past no matter how he tried. But something told him that the past him had definitely fought with a weapon in hand.

A sword... probably?

He flexed his empty hand. That's what it probably was.

That wasn't everything there was to it. In every one of his fights... something, or someone, had been with him. The moment his thoughts went there, his head started to hurt again. Yuto bit back a moan and gritted his teeth.

"Hey, hey! New boy! Are you nuts?!"

Garon limped over to Yuto. He lowered his voice to a whisper and glanced at Gedrick.

"You don't know who that bastard is, do you? Of course you don't. He's the one who did this to my leg," he said.

"Oh?" Yuto asked.

The headache settled. Yuto slowed his breathing and fell into an empty chair.

"Sit down. It makes me feel bad to see you dragging your leg around like that," Yuto said.

"You son of a b*tch. I don't need your pity. Worry about yourself!"

Garon said, shuddering and sitting down beside Yuto.

"Gedrick will go up to the middle league soon. He has one of the highest win rates in the lower league right now." Fear of Gedrick was in Garon's voice. Last match, Gedrick had maimed him. Yuto listened to this and watched Gedrick. He was sitting at a slight distance from Yuto, and there was a great deal more hate in his eyes as he glared at Yuto.

"Is that why you spoke to me like that? Because you'll never have to see him again once he goes up to that league?" Yuto asked.

"Wh-what do you think I am? A coward? I pitied you, that's all. Just wanted to tell you something. Unless you want to end up like me after your first match, surrender almost as soon as you face him. You'll get a lot of hate for it, but it's better than ending up disabled for life."

"Is that allowed?" Yuto asked.

"No... Not usually. But this is the first match, so they might go easy on you," Garon muttered, not sounding too sure.

"But you do have to pretend to fight a little bit. If they mark you as a coward from the first game, life will get a lot more difficult for you. You might even be forced to face the crazy fox," Lugil said, walking over.

"Crazy fox? Who's that?" Yuto asked.

"An Evomon that appeared for the first time in the previous match.. I don't know where they found it, but you can't even talk to that thing," Lugil said with a shudder.

"It's an unthinking animal and extremely violent. It tore its Evomon opponent apart in that match and turned it back into an Evostone." Unlike other races, Evomon did not die permanently. When they were fatally wounded, they turned into tiny stones called "Evostones."

"The guests loved it, of course. It was a spectacle. But from the master's perspective, games like that mean losing a valuable fighter. She'll make use of the creature for a bit, then probably send it out to a death match. Unless you want to become food for the fox, at least pretend to put up a decent fight," Lugil said.

"Pretend? Do you think Gedrick would let him? He'll slice off the new boy's legs as soon as the fight begins," Garon spat with a knitted brow. Yuto nodded, listening to them both.

Unless he proved his worth as a fighter from the very first match, he would eventually be forced to fight an Evomon to the death. In the Colosseum, popularity was what mattered. The guests would love it if some coward who could not even fight properly was dragged out to be slaughtered by an Evomon. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

I suppose I could request a fight like that later on.

Winning something like that would definitely impress the nobles. As he was thinking this, the door to the lobby that opened onto the Colosseum opened up.

"Gedrick, Yuto. You are up first," the guard said. The list had not specified the order of the matches. It was probably intentional to make the fighters nervous. But Yuto stood up without so much as batting an eye.

Gedrick, on the other hand, gave a twisted grin. The guard whispered to Gedrick.

"Tone it down. Don't kill him."

"I won't kill him," Gedrick said, then stared at the guard.

"Are you going to use it?" the guard asked.

"Yes."

"As I said, keep it moderate," the guard said with a shrug, then glanced at another guard.

The other guard noticed this and opened a locker to one side of the lobby. A few weapons were inside. He reached for a sword and handed it to Gedrick.

"Heh," Gedrick said, grinning more broadly. That talk about cutting off legs had not been without cause. Apparently, he got a sword when he fought.

"A sponsor gave him that sword," the guard said, turning to Yuto with no sympathy in his eyes.

"You may receive one eventually as well, depending on how well you fight, so do your best."

"Yes," Yuto said. The guard's brow twitched. It was the boy's first battle, and he was facing an opponent with a real sword, but the boy did not seem to feel any fear.

How is that possible?

Even fighters who had been vetted minimally in the prison were bound to freeze up from terror at their first match. The guard had never noticed anybody to whom this did not happen; these so-called "fighters" were teenagers, after all. That was why Yuto seemed all the more bizarre. His face wasn't frozen because of fear. His eyes were calm, and there was a spring in his step as he walked out into the arena. This little boy really wasn't scared.

"You're regretting talking to me like that earlier, aren't you?"

Gedrick whispered at the door.

"It's not too late to fall on your knees and beg. If you do, I'll let you get off with a few fingers instead of cutting off your legs."

"Maybe it's that extra tooth I knocked out, but your pronunciation is very difficult to make out. I didn't catch a single word of that," Yuto replied.

Gedrick ground his teeth. He wished he could swing his sword right now and cut off this impudent boy's legs, but he couldn't do that yet. The match hadn't begun.

A man wearing fancy clothes stood on a stage next to the audience seats. He opened his arms wide and spoke in a ringing voice.

"Thank you for visiting our Colosseum today, as usual!"

There was no judge presiding over these battles. They ended only when one of the combatants surrendered or lost consciousness. The man was just the master of ceremonies. He didn't look around at the entire audience, but only bowed toward the VIP seats, where Eville and the nobles were sitting.

The rest of the audience applauded. The nobles just waved their hands arrogantly or drank from their cups with bored looks on their faces.

"Now then, I shall introduce to you the first match of the day. The first combatant is Yuto, who will be taking part for the very first time!" Yuto walked out when his name was called. The audience clapped without much enthusiasm. Debut fights were not fun to watch because newcomers were usually too scared to put on a proper show. The audience didn't expect much.

"And facing him is one of the strongest fighters in the lower league, with no less than eight wins and two losses under his belt. The cruel butcher who refuses to let his opponents walk away without serious injury. I announce to you, Gedrick!"

Gedrick stamped his feet and walked inside. The audience cheered quite loudly this time. Gedrick put his arms in the air in response.

"He brought a sword. I thought the other boy was having his first fight today. Why use a weapon?"

"I guess he just wants to use it. It's going to make it more interesting, at least. I pity the boy, though."

The guests were beginning to grow slightly interested as they looked down at the arena. The nobles stirred from their boredom as well and watched the two boys.

They moved to the center of the Colosseum and stood facing each other.

"Now that the fighters are here, we don't need to wait any longer. Let's begin!"

the master of ceremonies shouted.

Gedrick raced forward instantly.

"Die, bastard!"

Gedrick closed the distance in the blink of an eye, his sword dropping in an arc from above. Even the first blow was full of hostile intent. He was completely consumed by rage over his broken tooth.

Yuto looked at the sword, which was an actual sword with a sharp edge. Gedrick's posture was horrible, but given the raw strength behind the attack, it would be very easy for a boy like Yuto to really lose an arm or a leg.

Yuto felt completely at peace as the thought crossed his mind. None of what he was seeing, including the metal that was falling toward his head and the hate behind the attack, disrupted his peace of mind.

I...

Once again, this confirmed something for him.

I know these things very well.

Yuto was calm right now because he felt no fear.

There was no reason for him to be scared. Frankly speaking, it was Gedrick's toothless face that alarmed him more than the sword that was hurtling toward him. It might have looked threatening at a glance, because if he let the blade fall on him, it would cut through his flesh and bone and leave him bleeding. That is, if Gedrick could hit him. There would be no problem if Yuto could avoid the attack, and frankly, there was no chance Gedrick would land this hit. To Yuto, the sword seemed to move in slow motion.

Yuto had predicted what path the sword would follow from the way Gedrick's shoulders moved before the sword ever did. Gedrick's weight had shifted forward, and his body was leaning in a way that made him unstable. It was an attack made without considering what would follow afterward. Not that Gedrick had any reason to do so under typical circumstances, because Yuto had no weapons or armor and was presumably an easy target.

Even if Yuto did manage to avoid it, Gedrick would assume that it would be a narrow shave and Yuto would be disoriented afterward, while Gedrick would still have his weapon. There would be other attempts to cut the boy down. Gedrick's formula for victory was very simple in this battle because it was perfectly fine that way.

Gedrick did not know Yuto.

And neither do I.

Not even Yuto knew who he himself was, but one thing was for certain: he knew these things very well.

Not only that, he was extremely good at it. He didn't have to think about why that was or how it was possible. Though he did not know what techniques his body was familiar with, he let his instincts take control.

His body already knew what to do.

He leaned to the left in a subtle movement. His feet remained planted on the ground. He was certain of the path Gedrick's sword would take. He knew that this was all he needed to avoid the attack.

But it wasn't easy to do, even if a person had the knowledge, since the slightest mistake in timing could result in a fatal wound. Even the tiniest bit of fear could induce accidents. Yuto did not make any mistakes, and the sword whizzed by without touching a hair on his head. Gedrick's sword cut nothing but air, and the result was that he lost his balance.

Huh?

Gedrick's wide swings would not have been a problem if Yuto had moved as powerfully, but Yuto had chosen minimal movement instead. Gedrick pulled up his sword rapidly, quickly trying to support himself with his front leg.

At that very moment, Yuto leaned forward, the center of gravity of his body naturally shifting even before Gedrick could change the direction of his sword and perform another attack. Yuto's hand was already in action.

The wrist of the sword arm cracked. So much strength was focused only on lifting the sword back up, and a simple intervention was enough to twist the wrist. This was followed by severe pain. Before Gedrick could even moan, Yuto's hand moved again.

The attack on the wrist had loosened the fingers. Yuto shoved his fingers under them and flipped Gedrick's index finger, breaking it.

"Eugh...!" Despite his impressive record of eight wins and two losses and his reputation as some kind of butcher, those victories had come against boys at a similar skill level. He wasn't trained to improvise in battle or endure pain.

Gedrick dropped his sword, unable to hold on to it any longer, and Yuto took it from him smoothly, as if it had always been in his hand.

The sword felt like a part of Yuto's body.

"You," Yuto said quietly, guiding the blade.

"The sword is wasted on you."

Gedrick's right shoulder was cut open, and blood spilled out.