Battle Royale

The Training Center became quiet after the unexpected first match of the first round.

All the newcomer hunters thought the fight would last for a few minutes. But, few seconds?

No one predicted the outcome would be like that.

All the hunters suddenly became busy talking about the fight. Some of them barely caught a glimpse of how the other hunters had lost. Some didn't even know what happened at all from that fight just now.

Despite all the commotion, the Demigod hunters who were overseeing the fight were not surprised or discovered it was an extraordinary thing.

"The winner of this match is Lee Tae-han!"

The Demigod hunter who acted as the referee in the fight concluded the first match.

Lee Tae-han, then leaving the arena. On his way back, he apologized to the referee.

"I'm sorry, I'm going overboard with my own strength."

The referee was confused by the sudden apology. He looked at the wall where the previously defeated hunter had got thrown. He immediately understood the meaning and lowered his sunglasses a little bit, followed by a chuckle.

"Kid, do you think we were startled and amazed by your actions? Hilarious.

"We let you do whatever you want because we can stop it if you decide or force you to kill another hunter in order to win the match. Even now, our healers can heal that hunter back to how it was before with ease from such injury.

"Everything that happens in this place is still under control. Remember! We are the Demigod guild."

The referee spoke with a pressure that was similar to Seol In-ah. Although, it was not that strong. Since the distance was close between him and Lee Tae-han, the effect was still unbearable for a lower-rank hunter.

Collapse-like oppression suddenly crashed into the hearts of Lee Tae-han. His complexion changed, instinctively tense, nerves tighten. And within the body, the cell furnace frantically pumped out energy, like a feral cat facing an enemy and blowing up its hair.

The referee put back his sunglasses and pat Lee Tae-han's left shoulder with his right hand.

"A cocky young bastard with a talent that still has not yet seen the world. Not bad, I like you."

Capable of using to use two types of Magic as an E-rank hunter could be considered a genius. However, in the Demigod guild, those hunters were countless.

For the top Guilds around the world, what mattered was how the hunters could use their Mana efficiently. Especially the mastery of spells, not how many types of Magics they could cast.

What use was the hunter who could cast various kinds of Magics if they couldn't master one of them after being taught and trained in the Guild? The Demigod guild resources would get wasted on losers if they nurture such hunters.

At that moment, the suppression went away like low tide, and the high pressure from the referee, who was also an A-rank hunter, disappeared immediately after being released.

Lee Tae-han left the arena with his head lowered.

No one was aware of Lee Tae-han and the referee's conversation except Ji-woo. Even though he didn't clearly hear what they were talking about it. He only noticed Lee Tae-han was showing off to the referee with how he could use two types of Magic at once to end that fight.

Lee Tae-han used lightning to boost his speed and gave him an early advantage when he initiated. It coupled with the flames covering his hands to increase his attack power and get the maximum damage from the Magic combination.

"This should be a little interesting," Ji-woo spoke with a hint of anticipation while his left hand held his chest. Even though he was interested, he was a little worried about Nullifier. Not careful, then he could become an emotionless machine warrior wreaking havoc.

Moreover, Ji-woo hates the most when his emotions get controlled by the Nullifier.

bzzzzzzzt--

Suddenly, Ji-woo's smartphone vibrated. He looked at the number, not knowing who it was, quickly hung up on the call. He then stared at the smartphone, assuming that he would get called again, but it didn't happen.

Ji-woo put away his smartphone and continued watching the battle.

However, after Lee Tae-han's fight, there were no matches that were interesting and able to make him get excited. On the contrary, it got more and more boring as the thing progressed.

"This test can't last more than two days. We need to prepare a lot for tier-3 and tier-4 Portal Gates that planned for the 50 hunters team project between E-rank to B-rank hunters."

"Yeah. What a waste of time on this. Even though the first one was not bad, that alone is not impressive enough. Are we unlucky because of the new policy? So, only getting a newborn and talentless hunter now? Tch!"

Ji-woo heard the disgruntled comments of the Demigod hunters next to him. He realized that they didn't regard the competition as a serious matter for the Guild. And they have a limited amount of time and may decide to stop it if it lasts longer than two days.

Obviously, Ji-woo couldn't let the latter happen.

From Dong-hyun's previous words, it was sure that the Demigod Guild no longer had low-tier Portal Gates. It might be Ji-woo's only chance to strike gold.

The higher tier of the Portal Gate, the more profit the hunters could get.

Ji-woo reluctantly sighed, "Let's go with that." He thought of several ways and had one solution to end the test quickly.

Soon, the time for Ji-woo's first-round match had come. The hunter who was his opponent was a woman. He smiled and instantly opened his mouth before the referee started the fight.

"Wait. Can I speak first?"

The referee was silent for a while, then nodded, agreeing to Ji-woo's request.

"I don't have time to wipe the floor with every single one of you separately. That just fu***** annoying.

"Why not all of you get down here and finish this with Battle Royale."

Ji-woo's words make the other newcomer hunters shocked.

The referee frowned behind his sunglasses.

The other Demigod Hunters were flabbergasted. Even Dong-hyun won't get spared from that.

Almost all of them thought Ji-woo was crazy.

A freak in casual clothing among the newcomer hunters wearing their gear, he loudly declared a challenge to everyone at once.

That freak head must lose some screws!

"Are you looking down on me?" The woman's expression sank, and a dangerous light shone in her eyes stared at Ji-woo.

"No, no, you're mistaken. I'm not targeting you."

Ji-woo kept his smile, glancing around, before slowly stating.

"I'm saying that all of you here are all weaklings!"

All of the newcomer hunters inside the Training Center were outraged by the words.

Meanwhile, the referee took out his smartphone after considering what Ji-woo said and went to the side a bit far from Ji-woo and the woman. He called the upper echelon of the Demigod guild reporting the situation.

Many hunters voiced their dissatisfaction at Ji-woo's strange and arrogant attitude.

"You are the one who is weak here!!"

"What the fu**?!"

"Pull yourself together!"

"You overestimated yourself, as*****!"

"Did you think I'm scared of you?!!"

"Bas****, know your place!!"

A few of the Demigod hunters want to drag Ji-woo away from the battle arena because of causing the uproar.

Before the Demigod hunters make their move, the referee came in between Ji-woo and the women, raising his hand to stop the Demigod hunter's action.

"How about this. All of you fighting here, and the last ten hunters standing will be the ones who get accepted into the Demigod guild. You will not worry and waste time for the second round, the third round, or many more rounds left after that.

"This whole lower ground will be the spot for the battle. You only get disqualified when you surrender or get knocked out."

The referee finished his word and indicated to other Demigod hunters on the lower ground to move out.

Immediately, all of the Demigod hunters at the lower ground disappeared and reappeared on the upper floor.

The referee's words seemed to stimulate the newcomer hunters. Their faces immediately turned ashen.

Although that way could lessen the time, the Battle Royale would force some hunters to team up with the others to get that limited spot. Hunter that alone or didn't have the numbers to make up a big team would have a disadvantage in the battle.

On the other hand, that also means that the Demigod guild did not care about them. They only want to finish that as soon as possible.

The newcomer hunters couldn't complain their frustration directly at the referee and turned their anger towards Ji-woo. Who was the one that created that complicated situation while uttering some bulls*** words earlier.

The woman in front of Ji-woo clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as well. The Battle Royale should happen after her fight with him. She didn't like to get treated as a weakling.

"If I can't pay back this humiliation and make you kneel before me. I am not Ahn Yu-jin!"

Ji-woo didn't care about the woman in front of him. He was only concerned about his plan to end the useless test.

The battle would save Ji-woo a lot of trouble. Especially his provocation would make the hunters lose their guard and take him lightly. So, Ji-woo could beat them the moment they let their guard down. With that, many Demigod hunters would think he won by luck and would not catch their attention.

Ji-woo was willing to go to the trouble of using that method because it was still too early to show his strength. He didn't want the others to find out his strength before getting more information about the hunters and Portal Gate. 

Otherwise, Ji-woo could easily beat them even if they didn't underestimate him and gang upon him.