Chapter 105

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 105: Underground Arena (2)

Kwon Hanul quietly watched the member of the Sanchez family being carried away on a stretcher.

The man was foaming at the mouth, a deep dent where his solar plexus had been crushed.

“…What the hell is that guy?”

The Sanchez family is a criminal syndicate deeply connected with Pandemonium.

Normally, it should’ve been impossible for them to even set foot in Mystery City.

Yet somehow, not only had they entered, but they had also taken part in a match at the central underground arena.

A bad feeling crept up Hanul’s spine.

He had to inform Kwon Myung-woo as soon as possible.

The problem was—the match wasn’t over yet. So for now, he had no choice but to put it off.

“Still… I got a lot out of it.”

To fully draw out the power of his bloodline, he needed to increase his Synchronization Rate.

Typically, as the host grew stronger, so did the rate.

However, there were exceptional situations where the synchronization would skyrocket under specific conditions unique to each bloodline.

For instance:

Black Dragon Bloodline grew when fighting formidable enemies.

Vassal Bloodline thrived when subjugating others.

And Superhuman Bloodline… it seemed to spike most when experiencing insubordination.

Just now, when he got hit by the Sanchez family member, the Superhuman Blood boiled over, and his Synchronization Rate had shot up to 30% in an instant.

Thanks to its growth, both his Strength and Agility had reached S-rank, and a new Authority had awakened.

For Hanul, it was an enormous gain.

“I’ve finally earned the qualifications to enter the Sky Arena.”

To be eligible for the Sky Arena, you need at least three S-rank attributes.

With the Golden Apple, his Vitality had already reached S-rank. And now, thanks to the Superhuman Bloodline, his Strength and Agility had caught up.

With that, the entrance conditions were met.

He rolled his shoulders lightly.

Strength, Agility, and Vitality—the foundation stats that dictate physical performance.

No wonder his body felt vastly different from before.

“Not bad.”

Hanul smiled, pleased. He couldn’t wait to test out these new stats.

No need to rush. His next opponent would be stepping into the arena soon enough.

And so, he waited.

Thirty minutes passed.

Then, someone finally emerged from the opposite entrance.

The moment he saw the new participant, Hanul couldn’t help but frown.

“…A woman?”

* * *

At that exact moment…

“…Huh?”

Kwon Myung-woo rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. The scene before him hadn’t changed.

“Was that kid always that strong?”

“Being of true blood, he was certainly physically gifted for his stats, but…” Joo Hayun trailed off. She was just as taken aback.

Sending an opponent flying all the way to the ceiling? Seriously?

After a moment of thought, Hayun offered a hypothesis.

“Maybe the opponent was weaker than he looked?”

“He looked plenty tough to me,” Myung-woo replied, stroking his chin. “…Could he really have been that weak?”

It seemed like the most plausible explanation.

“Yeah… must’ve been a glass cannon after all.”

Myung-woo nodded in agreement.

“But that means the kid won’t be able to properly practice.”

Just then, the second contestant stepped into the arena.

“Oho… bold one, aren’t they.”

To enter the ring after watching someone get launched like that? They had to be extremely confident in their skills.

But as soon as Myung-woo saw the contestant, his expression turned serious.

“…Who the hell brought that monster in?”

* * *

Meanwhile…

Maria Sanchez couldn’t shut her gaping mouth.

Marcos Sanchez had lost.

If he’d lost after a hard-fought battle, she wouldn’t be this shocked.

But it was a single blow.

Just one punch—and it was over.

A member of the Sanchez family, said to be the strongest in raw physical power, had been taken out like that.

“…Miss Maria, care to explain what I just saw?”

Mark Goldpixie had sidled up next to her. His tone was sharp.

“If I’m not mistaken, the bloodline you brought… lost, didn’t he?”

Their deal hinged on winning the Underground Arena and getting Mark Goldpixie’s name enshrined in the Hall of Honor.

But things had gone off the rails from step one. A very unpleasant situation.

“I warned you in advance, didn’t I? Not to underestimate this place.”

“I didn’t. Marcos is the third strongest of all the members I brought with me.”

“Then what the hell did I just witness?”

Displeasure crept into Mark’s voice.

Maria swallowed dryly. Her pride told her to snap back and ask if he doubted her judgment.

But the fault lay squarely with her this time. She had no ground to stand on.

“Calm down. You can still send in more fighters, can’t you?”

There was no cap on how many contestants a sponsor could field in the Underground Arena.

If they wanted, they could send one—or ten.

This was possible because the arena didn’t use a tournament format. It was based on win streaks.

You needed ten straight wins to be crowned champion. So it didn’t matter how many people you sent in.

“This makes me look like a damn fool.”

“I’ll take responsibility for this. Will that satisfy you?”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that?”

“Before that—please grant me one request. I want to know who that guy is. Who’s backing him.”

To crush a bearer of Pure Superhuman Bloodline in a single blow—there couldn’t be many who were that powerful.

And this event involved a Founder’s Relic. Caution was paramount.

“I can’t do that.”

Mark shook his head.

“In Mystery City, customer management falls under the Livercross family. And they never disclose client information. That’s the cornerstone of how this city operates.”

Mystery City was built for indulgence.

Wealthy and powerful figures flocked here to fulfill their darkest desires.

And desire, by nature, is something shameful.

The Livercross family understood that. Which is why they never revealed client information under any circumstance.

“…I see. Then I guess I’ve got no choice.”

Suddenly, Maria stood up. She took off her coat and put on a mask.

Mark’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You’re not seriously thinking of entering yourself…?”

“Marcos was the third strongest among those I brought. If he lost, it makes sense for me to go next.”

“But if you enter and your identity is exposed, it’s all over!”

There are countless criminals in the world.

But few were as infamous as Maria Sanchez.

Just hearing her name would make any government official flinch.

“Don’t worry,” Maria replied calmly. “If I couldn’t even pull off a disguise, I wouldn’t be much of a criminal, now would I?”

* * *

Kwon Hanul studied the woman who had stepped into the ring.

Petite and fragile-looking. She didn’t belong in a brutal place like this.

But his instincts screamed: Don’t take your eyes off her. Not even for a second.

“…Ahh.”

The woman let out a sigh. Her mask hid her expression.

“This is all your fault, you know. How are you going to fix this mess?”

Hanul furrowed his brows. What was she even talking about?

“Have we met before? You look familiar.”

“You’re wearing a mask. How could I possibly tell?”

“Oh, you can tell. Build, mana signature… People have more than one identifying trait.”

She scanned Hanul from head to toe.

“You do seem familiar. But I can’t quite place it. My memory’s usually better than this…”

She shook her head.

“Anyway, let me apologize in advance. I’m sorry.”

“…For what?”

“If it weren’t for all this nonsense, I wouldn’t be here, and you’d have won by now.”

“You talk like you’ve already won.”

Hanul’s words made her chuckle softly.

“If you knew who I was, you’d drop to your knees right now.”

Hanul’s eye twitched.

He could tell she was strong. Maybe even stronger than him—he couldn’t be sure.

But this level of disregard was starting to get on his nerves.

“Oh my, did I strike a nerve?”

She immediately noticed his shift in mood.

“Understandable. But once you learn who I am, your perspective will change.”

She raised her tiny fists in front of her.

Hanul assumed his stance, ready to counter at any moment.

They glared at each other in tense silence. The atmosphere in the underground arena turned oppressive. Even the audience fell silent.

“…Ah, right.”

She broke the silence.

“I should avenge that guy.”

Suddenly, she stepped forward.

Her footsteps were light, almost like she was out for a stroll—leaving tons of openings.

Hanul narrowed his eyes and locked onto her movements.

Seeing this, the woman laughed.

“What’s with that face? It’s not like I’m gonna—”

At that instant, Hanul stomped forward. His torso twisted sharply, arm swinging wide.

His full strength and weight concentrated into one punch—slamming into her masked face.

A thunderous sound followed.

“…Wow.”

But she was fine. She hadn’t even flinched.

“You really don’t hold back on women, huh?”

And then, she moved.

Stepping forward, she channeled all that force into an upward punch—

Right into Hanul’s gut.

The entire arena trembled.

Crunch.

A sickening crack of muscle and bone echoed.

Maria Sanchez stared at Hanul in disbelief.

She had aimed to send him flying to the ceiling.

But his feet were still firmly planted on the ground.

And more than that—

Her punch, meant to pierce through his abdomen, had been blocked by his forearm.

She couldn’t use her full strength without revealing her identity.

But she hadn’t gone easy either.

It had been fast and strong enough that he shouldn’t have been able to block it.

“…I almost broke my arm,” Hanul gritted out through clenched teeth.

“…How did you block that?”

So many implications packed into that question.

Hanul answered bluntly, “Well.”

The truth was simple. His body was reinforced by the Diamond Aura and the Tyrant’s Nature.

And one more thing—

Foundational Form of Black Dragon Ascension Technique

Guardian Style: Iron Block

It was thanks to using Guardian Style.

Hanul pushed Maria back and stepped away.

Rubbing his forearm, he muttered, “So you’re Maria Sanchez.”

Her expression froze.

“…How do you know that?”

“You have Superhuman Bloodline, and there’s no other woman with your skillset.”

Hanul had never met Maria before.

But after a mission protecting the Takamine family in Japan, he’d heard about her from Joo Hayun.

Iron Maiden– Maria Sanchez.

A genius who became a Pandemonium lawmaker at the youngest age in history.

Even among the Sanchez family, few could compare to her.

“So the first guy was Sanchez too… and now you, Maria Sanchez.”

Hanul rubbed his forearm again.

“What exactly are you people planning?”

At that moment, Maria’s aura changed.

“I was going to let you live… but now I’ll have to kill you right here.”

Her killing intent flared.

The sheer pressure made it feel like his entire body was being crushed.

Even though she looked delicate, it felt like standing in front of a giant.

“…This is seriously bad.”

Her presence was on a whole other level compared to someone like Jose del Pablo.

Sweat trickled down his brow.

Just then—

[True Superhuman Bloodline detects the presence of Pure Superhuman Bloodline.]

[It is outraged by the disrespectful behavior of a lesser bloodline!]

A system message flashed before his eyes.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]