Chapter 7: Luck Charm

The halls of the Arena were quiet, despite the ongoing raid. The shift toward energy weapons had changed warfare yet again, allowing battles to attract less attention. This was technology's effect on war; something every intelligent species had gotten used to.

Following the path Min calculated in his brain, the two narrowly avoided many groups of mobilizing guards. The tunnel he had in mind was quite secluded, so all they had to do was be sneaky.

The two slowed at an intersection to check their surroundings. Min peeked around the corner and saw a guard only a few feet away. He quickly pushed Damira toward an open side door and closed it with his feet. 

Though the sudden push did a little damage, she had entered the side room in time. The approaching guard, one of the higher-ranking grunts, stopped in front of Min.

"What are you doing out here? Wait… those are from the exhibit room!"

The guard reached for his audio-only communicator instantly. Min gritted his teeth before he drew his sword and quickly jabbed toward the guard's chest. His sword tore through the guard's uniform, quickly killing him. The uniform was meant to defend against laser blasts more than anything, so the sword was effective.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

You have dealt a fatal blow!

"-120 damage"

You have killed Arena Specialist (Lv. 7) and gained 360 Exp.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

Before Min could feel relief, a voice sounded from the communicator's speaker.

"Who turned their communicator on to the sound of someone dying? All transporting personnel, report your condition."

Min frowned heavily before squatting by the guard and grabbing the communicator. The other people on the communicator reported their call signs and conditions. After 0-8 reported his condition, silence lingered for a few moments. Min knew this was his time.

"0-9 speaking. I am in transit to the stadium front."

Min inhaled tensely while he awaited the response. A short silence remained before a furious voice came from the speaker.

"1-9 has been terminated! I repeat, 1-9 has been terminated! Possible infiltration! All units, watch-"

Min dropped the communicator as his face darkened. What the hell is that call sign format? Now, the Arena command would be suspicious of infiltrators, so they would be reluctant to remain on that communication channel. Since Min did not know how to operate a communicator, he could not try to change to their new channel. In short…

His luck was too poor!

Shaking this disappointment away, Min shot to full height and returned to the room he had thrown Damira in. "Sorry for throwing you so hard. They've caught on to our plan somewhat, so we have to hurry."

Min grabbed Damira's hand before she could reply and ran down the opposite hall. A combat notice related to Damira popped up in the Interface. He was curious to see her condition, so he checked her Character Information 

—-----------------------------------------------------------

Name: Damira Tsuryn

Level: 3

Main Class: N/A

Subclass: Civilian Lv.3 (112/150)

Race: Galaxy Human

Attributes: 2 STR, 3 DEX, 2 END, 7 INT, 1 MYS, 2 CHA, 93 LUK

Health: 18/20 

Stamina: 15/24

Energy: 0 

Energy Rank: 3-4 Ona

Grade: F

Abilities: 

[Cooking Lv. 5]

[Medium-Grade Luck Glow] - Turn tragedy into opportunity.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

'Luck Glow!'

Min almost tripped after reading that last line. Damira had Luck Glow, and Medium-Grade at that.

'I am dragging a Main Character by the wrist! Have I already found my very own Feidin? I hope she won't mind what that entails…"

Min internally nodded at this information. He was glad that he decided to bring her along, but then he began to wonder if his decision was an effect of her luck. Before thinking on it further, he realized that this train of thought would go nowhere good, so he shook it off.

Anyway, given Damira's Luck Glow, they would probably- you know what, nevermind. Min was tired of raising flags. All the unlucky can do is trust in another's luck. 

At least now he could check Damira's stamina to make sure she didn't overexert herself too much. She was now quite a valuable asset, so Min would be willing to sacrifice a lot more to keep her safe. Not that he felt it was possible to leave her behind due to the associated guilt, but that was a different story.

Their path was uninterrupted for about fifty seconds before a group of three guards came into view. Min released his companion and drew his sword without slowing down. Min's blade cut across the closest guard's neck before he could ready his firearm.

As the guard staggered back while holding his neck, Min spun around and grabbed another guard. His overwhelming strength advantage allowed him to use this guard's body to block the final guard's incoming fire. The final guard stopped firing and tried to reposition, but he soon found the second guard's chest in his face. The two guards fell to the floor, and Min stabbed through their necks like a kebab.

Min properly finished off the first guard before he swung his sword to fling some of the blood off. As he sheathed his sword, a system notice indicated that he gained around 900 Exp. While he rummaged through the guard's things, he reviewed his current plan.

'Level 5 guards like these fellas aren't a match for me, but if I fight too many, I'll become exhausted. We're only a few minutes' dash from the supply tunnel, but we also have a time limit. The raid finishing would mess with my plan, but we'll test our luck.'

Min found one of the guard's laser pistols and inspected it. This sort of portable weapon would not hinder their speed much, so it would be good to take. He turned around to call for Damira, but she had conveniently placed herself behind him. He handed her the laser pistol with a smile.

"Wow, you already knew my intention. Could it be that we're twins or maybe soulmates?"

Damira was speechless. She took the pistol and put it in her back pocket while she rubbed her forehead. "Could you try being serious? This is a life-and-death matter."

"I was just trying to lighten the mood…" Min grumbled while picking up another pistol and hooking it onto his belt. He wanted to use this as both a last resort and a distraction. If they ran into a strong enemy, he could make them think this was his trump card.

He could also sell this weapon when he gets out!

…

They were finally only a few seconds from the door. Apart from a few distractions, the journey had been smooth. Min slowed down at the corner and let go of Damira. He peeked around the corner and saw a small group of men by the door. A large man stood out from the rest and seemed to be commanding them. It was Chad!

'They're just standing around the door. Did they anticipate my path and want to ambush me? Even though Chad's a strong fella, I have my own tricks. I'll show them an ambush…'

Min sighed before stepping out from the corner. He drew his sword and activated [Basic Internal Circulation] before rushing the group.

The whole group turned in Min's direction, but he was already close enough to do something. He stabbed a surprised guard's neck before spinning around and cutting another guard. His opening attack was effective, but they had prepared now.

Chad's eyes narrowed as the two remaining guards withdrew behind his back. The guard's levels ranged from 10-13, so they could be considered elite. One of the two remaining guards was the one Min slashed.

"Are you the one who killed Ramsey? You're a Halmet too… the Cockroach may have let us capture him so he could infiltrate us. Ready yourself, boys."

Min picked up the dead guard's body and held it in front of him while his enemies drew their rifles. "If you're talking about the raiding force, I have nothing to do with them. Why would I be trying to escape on my own if I did?"

"We'll see."

Chad's eyes focused as he and his crew drew their laser rifles and began firing at Min. Using the guard's body to soak up damage, he quickly approached the group. From behind the meatshield's cover, Min drew the laser pistol on his side and fired at the group. A few of the shots missed, but most of them landed. 

After many feints, he threw the body toward one of the guards and instantly rushed the injured one. One of the guard's shots landed on Min's borrowed battle suit before his borrowed sword impaled the guard. The battlesuit was a premium product, so it had resistance to many types of attacks. 

Quickly after impaling the guard, Min tore the sword out of the guard's face and spun in one motion, ending up behind him. Right after securing the meatshield, a few laser blasts flew past Min. 

Seeing the new development, Chad groaned as he tossed his large rifle to the floor. He slowly drew the long sword on his hip and pointed it at Min. "Ezhilarasan, you know what to do."

The last guard, Ezhilarasan, steeled his resolve and backed away. He trained his aim on Min but did not fire. Min squinted at Ezhilarasan and saw that he was quite pretty. For some reason, this stood out.

'Huh… well, anyways, it looks like they plan on doing some sort of double-teaming. Don't know where Chad got the confidence to… oh, he's level 20. He's also got 600 hp…'

Min returned his full attention to the battle, having only looked at Chad's stat page for half a second. His own energy was already below 100 and his stamina was only around 75%. If not for his buff, he would be extremely disadvantaged here.

With the time limit in mind, Min dropped the meat shield and launched toward Chad. A few shots flew by Min while the two clashed swords. Keeping Ezhilarasan's existence in mind, Min tried to keep Chad in the way of the guard's shot. This was one of the more logical paths, so it worked to an extent. It was the most obvious, however.

The next minute crawled on. Min got many good hits in, but Chad was tanky. After landing a clean slash against his opponent's decent armor, he hopped a step back, dodging an energy blast. He parried a counter-attack from Chad but was rewarded with an energy blast to the side. Min's armor had helped a lot during this battle, but he had still lost 200 hp. The armor was damaged as well.

While Min felt himself slowing, Chad was still in decent condition, yet his attacks felt impatient. Min saw his energy running low and made a decisive play. Like usual, he rushed toward Chad, but instead of making a proper attack, he knocked Chad's sword out of his hands. While Chad focused on reacting to an impending sword strike, he felt Min's hands on his stomach. Min's hands glowed slightly, and a searing heat came from them.

Chad's clothes were burned through!

When Chad reacted in time and slapped Min away, he had already suffered a third-degree burn. Min rolled on the ground and was stopped by a nearby wall. While Ezhilarasan aimed his rifle at Min, a communicator on the ground suddenly turned on.

"Argh! The bastards are in! F*ck all of you traitors who ran aw-"

The communication was cut short, and everyone paused. Min hopped to his feet and kept the two enemies in his line of sight. Hesitation spread across Chad's face before he spoke.

"Cockroach, let's make a truce. If we keep this up, we'll be captured for sure. If you really have nothing to do with the raiders, you'll accept."

Min debated the merits of this offer in his mind. It only took him a moment to decide his answer. "Fine. But remember that I have a hell of a lot less to lose than you do if we get captured."

Min deactivated [Basic Internal Circulation] and banged on the supply tunnel door. "This was the exit I planned on using. Damira!"

He called out to the corridor that he came from, and Damira nervously walked out. Her steps were unstable and her breath heavy. Despite not fighting, the stress from being unable to affect her fate made her look to be in a similar condition to the real fighters. Min opened the supply tunnel door and pointed at his sword.

"Hey, Chad, can you give me my sword? It'll be a show of trust, yeah?"

Chad picked up Min's sword and handed it to him as he passed through the door. Ezhilarasan followed Chad while looking at Min suspiciously. After everyone had passed through, Min followed, swiftly closing the door behind them with a thud. Following a short, awkward silence, Chad was the first one to speak.

"We should run at the same speed so no one gets out of our sight. Understood?"

Seeing Chad act like the leader, Min rolled his eyes and spoke with a mocking tone. "Whatever you say, boss."

Min sped up into a jog, which Damira mimicked. Ezhilarasan and Chad copied Min, and the four new companions moved through the supply tunnel at a steady pace.