Book: 2: 188

Book 2: Chapter 188

“Huu.”

Nekdu put down her hammer as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

After finally finishing her work for the day, she looked around for a while. There were no signs of activity in the smithy.

This was natural since everyone had already gone home.

“Mmm.”

With a loud yawn, she got up from her seat. She grabbed her coat in preparation to head home before something in the corner caught her eye.

“...”

It was a cane.

No, did he call it a staff?

It had been four days since she completed it, but the person who had requested its production hadn’t shown his face. She didn’t mind that though. In fact, she actually hoped that he wouldn’t turn up.

That way, she could take the skull of the Ancient Dragon for herself.

That thought caused a laugh to burst from her mouth.

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her.

“...what the hell?”

Nekdu turned around.

There, a man whose entire body was covered by a black robe stood. His body was so covered that she couldn’t see anything but his eyes.

She was shocked for a while but it didn’t take her very long to recognise the voice and scratch her head.

“Look who it is. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about you. Worst Fighter in Lirua’s arena, coward, fraud, embarrassment... What was the other one?”

“Runaway.”

“Right, that.”

Nekdu snapped her fingers with a nod.

Contrary to her exaggerated actions, her voice remained indifferent.

“I don’t care about my public reputation. I’m just dressed like this because this isn’t the time for me to make an appearance.”

“Really?”

Even though she asked this, Nekdu’s voice remained flat as if she wasn’t the least bit interested. Then, as if she had just remembered something, she asked.

“But what are you thankful for?”

The staff Nekdu had made was already in his hands.

Was it for making that?

It couldn’t be. She hadn’t done him a favor.

He paid, and Nekdu had done the required job. There was nothing for him to be thankful for.

“You told me that you knew refiners capable of dealing with an Ancient Dragon’s heart.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Nekdu nodded carelessly for a while before suddenly narrowing her eyes as she thought of something.

“You don’t mean...”

“Yes. I listened to your words and decided to search for them. And not so long ago...”

Nekdu realised that the eyes beneath the hood of the robe were shining.

“I found them. The refiner.”

* * *

Paak!

Bargan’s club hit the back of Himba’s head.

“...”

Himba’s eyes instantly rolled back into his head. He staggered a few times like a drunk man before finally collapsing to the ground.

He had a hard skull so he probably wouldn’t die, but he would probably be confined to a bed for a few months.

“Ba-, Bargan wins!”

The referee who was overseeing the match declared the outcome.

At the same time, cheers erupted from the stands.

“Woooaaahh!”

“Bargan! Bargan! Bargan!”

Compared to the lukewarm reaction when he defeated Kingtan, the crowd was so hot that it didn’t seem like he was a returning warrior.

“I love you! Wanderer-!!”

“Ohhh! I trusted you. Sh*t!”

The audience members who bet on Bargan were particularly pleased. So in the stands, some were dancing while others were in tears.

“...”

This was all familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Bargan stood quietly in the middle of the arena for a while.

—The moment when they won and received the crowd’s cheers of enthusiasm.

Pleasure that was more addictive than any drug rolled down his spine.

Unable to suppress it anymore, Bargan began to tremble.

Most Fighters could never forget this scene and feeling, so they continued to run to the arena until they died.

‘...I thought that I would never feel this again.’

30 years after leaving Lirua.

Bargan, who thought he would reach the end of his life as a wanderer, was once again receiving the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd in his hometown arena.

In all honesty, he hadn’t expected the crowd to show such a reaction.

This was because Bargan thought he wouldn’t receive any recognition in this city.

But that wasn’t the case.

At least on this island, there was nothing that couldn’t be solved by fighting. As long as one was capable enough, they could even erase their past mistakes.

‘I might be able to make a change.’

His heart raced.

This feeling was different from the excitement of fighting.

A faint glimmer of hope began to rise in his heart.

On Combat Island, honor was the factor that had the most influence. For example, though it might be limited to Combat Island, former Grand Champions had greater influence than even Major City Lords. And naturally, the ripple effect that could come from a single statement of a Grand Champion was beyond imagination.

As a wandering Fighter, no one would care about what Bargan said even if he talked about the match-fixing till he vomited blood.

But what if Bargan became the Champion of Lirua?

Were ‘Champion Bargan’ and ‘Wanderer Bargan’ the same?

‘No.’

Not in the slightest.

It had taken him this long to realise something so simple. On Combat Island, one could achieve anything they wanted simply through fighting.

It was at that moment that Bargan came to a decision.

To climb up from the bottom and deal with the darkness in Lirua with his own hands. for new novels