I read the provisions regarding gladiators in the Colosseum.
There was a word that bothered me in the middle, making it difficult to accept wholeheartedly.

As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, a free democratic nation, it was hard to accept easily.

“Slavery?”

Even though I had roughly adapted to the Tower of Struggle, which treats human life like that of a fly, the idea of being a slave felt even more unfamiliar than death at that moment.

“What are you doing up front?”
“Are you not moving aside?!”

In the brief moment of contemplation, the people waiting behind me yelled.

I glanced back and saw a fearsome-looking orc glaring at me.

“If you’re not going to register, get lost.”
“…….”

I stepped out of line and made way.
The orc took a step forward and accepted the gladiator proposal from the Colosseum.

‘Is something going to change?’

I watched the orc closely.

‘Nothing seems to change, though.’

Looking at the provisions, it seemed foolish to become a gladiator.

I knew it was essential to climb to the upper floors, but I wondered if there was any rush.

‘There are even people who look like Earthlings….’

For them, it was almost like going to their deaths.
It was hard to guarantee a victory no matter whom they met in the arena.

So why did they want to become gladiators themselves?
Did the desire to ascend suddenly boil over?
It was a mystery.

Grrr—

A loud sound came from my stomach.
I hadn’t been able to eat properly while the 3v3 team battle was going on on the first floor.
Due to Blinky’s mini-games, I hadn’t had the time to eat.

‘With all the gold I’m busy earning, when would I have time to eat? I might as well skip it.’

At that moment of betting, I felt like a casino gambling addict.
The aftershock was finally hitting me.

I sought something to eat.
There were restaurants everywhere.
I just had to decide on a menu.

“Ah.”

I rummaged through my pockets.
All I had left were a few gold coins from shopping for random boxes.

Blinky referred to these gold coins as Blinky Gold.

‘Can I use this?’

It seemed unlikely that there would be a world where Blinky Gold could be used.
Concern took the forefront.

“Kerekk. Are you asking if you can pay with that?”

I entered a nearby restaurant and showed the Blinky Gold.
The goblin restaurant owner frowned.

“Do you think that’ll work? With this?”
“…It’s still gold, isn’t it? It’s made by a dragon, so it shouldn’t be fake.”
“Maybe so. But you can’t use it here. Kerekk. There’s a set currency for the second floor.”

The goblin showed me a coin.
It had a human face engraved on it.

“If you want to eat, bring this. Then I’ll serve you a meal. Kerekk.”
“…Where can I get it?”
“What? You don’t know anything? Kerekk. Are you a newbie?”

Nodding my head, the goblin clicked his tongue.

“Have you registered as a gladiator? Kerekk.”
“No.”
“You have to register as a gladiator. Players need to win matches to earn Nero Gold.”

The goblin’s tone was strange.
It was as if it was a given that I should register as a gladiator, which felt off.

I thought it was unavoidable for climbing,
but aside from that, didn’t it lack merit?
I had come with doubts from the registration office, which left me feeling uneasy.

‘It feels like other options are excluded….’

The goblin cleared my doubts.

“Players can’t use Nero Gold unless they are gladiators.”
“Yes?”
“If you just came up, you might not know. Nero Gold can only be used by ‘gladiators’ and ‘the Emperor’s slaves.’”

The goblin showed me the brand on his arm.
It was the first time I had seen such a pattern—a symbol of slavery.

“Other people cannot use Nero Gold. Buying clothes or food is all forbidden.”
“…….”

I began to grasp the frustration I felt from the goblin’s tone.

‘But how do they enforce that?’

Our eyes met.

“From your expression, Kerekk. I can tell you don’t understand. It’s usually Earthlings who react like that.”

The goblin chuckled.

“If you’re really curious, you can try it out.”

He snapped his fingers and threw a Nero Gold coin at me.
I caught the coin.

Then a message appeared.

[You are an unauthorized user.]

Spark!

Pzzzzt—!
【120】

I had only received the coin, but 20% of my life force was drained.

“How’s that? It’s real, right?”

The goblin took back the Nero Gold.

Looking at the tips of his fingers emitting steam, I let out a hollow laugh.
It was absurd.

‘Players have no choice but to become gladiators.’

I finally understood why a long line formed in front of the registration office.

“By the way, it’s not just Nero Gold. Kerekk.”
“…Does that mean other methods are also impossible?”
“Earthling minds are predictable. You’re trying to think of some trick to fill your stomach, right? Forget about it, it’s all not allowed.”

It seemed there were quite a few Earthlings thinking like me.

“Curious?”
“…….”
“Here.”

The goblin handed me a large green onion.
I activated Cheolpo Samgong and received the green onion.

[You are an unauthorized user.]

Pzzzzt—!
【90】

I was stunned at how my life force diminished.

‘Does it ignore durability?’

It seemed that no matter what race you were, you weren’t free from the laws of the second floor.

“Hurry and give it back. If you keep holding it, you’ll die. Kerekk.”
“…….”

The goblin gestured.
I quickly relinquished the green onion and returned it.

A throbbing headache started.

‘Either starve to death or get stabbed to death.’

Players had to choose between the two.

“Still, you don’t need to be too scared. Kerekk. Just because you become a gladiator doesn’t mean you’ll definitely die. There’s no law saying that you must die.”
“…….”

The goblin seemed to think of me as an ordinary Earthling.
So he gave me advice that wasn’t really advice.

“The prize money varies depending on the match conditions. Just participate in matches with lower rewards.”
“But the possibility of dying remains the same, doesn’t it?”
“You have to look at the conditions closely. For example, ‘Elimination Prevention’ conditions.”
“Yes?”

Are there such conditions for gladiator matches?

“If you don’t register as a gladiator, you won’t be able to check the match conditions properly. You might not know. Kerekk.”
“…Are you saying that if you lose the match, you won’t die?”
“Yep. So there are many players barely hanging on. The entire process, from applying for matches to everything else, won’t be easy, though.”
“…….”
“Don’t be too scared. Just register as a gladiator first. If you’re not volunteering to become the Emperor’s slave, then players can’t avoid it anyway. Delaying it won’t do you any good. Kerekk.”

Ding-ding—.

“Welcome! Kerekk!”

Customers came in.
The goblin kicked me out to prepare their meals.

I started wandering around the city from the goblin’s restaurant to verify the truth.

‘It won’t be easy to get some sleep either.’

You have to pay to use lodgings.
But players who aren’t gladiators can’t use Nero Gold.

It’s a scam.
The owner of the second floor, known as the ‘Emperor,’ had laid a scam on the players.

Grrr—

After wandering for several hours, my empty stomach rumbled loudly.

Sighing, I returned to the gladiator registration office.
The line was still long.

This wide city must have that many players.

The message appeared again.
It was the same as I had seen at the beginning.

Along with that, an additional one.

[Do you wish to register as a gladiator?]
[Y/N]

I felt like I had received a similar question when entering the Tower of Struggle.

At that time, I accidentally pressed it, but this time I responded on my own.

[You have been registered as a gladiator.]
[You have gained access to the match application bulletin board.]

The match application bulletin board was set up in a row next to the registration office.
Numerous players were scanning the bulletin board, looking for decent matches.

I blended into the crowd and looked at the bulletin board.
I just wanted to see what it felt like.

[Bestiary]
[Gladiator]

There are two types of matches.
Bestiary, where you fight beasts, and Gladiator, where you fight humans.

Within those, the conditions vary, and the prize money differs.
After scanning through, the match with the lowest prize money was, as expected, the one with the ‘Elimination Prevention’ condition.

They had only added the condition of not dying, but the prize money had reduced to one-hundredth.
The amount was so low that I wondered if I could buy a meal with it.

‘…I doubt anyone wants to die.’

Matches with the Elimination Prevention option were quite popular.

“Wait a moment.”

An employee attached several sheets of paper to the bulletin board.
It was a recruitment announcement for a match that wouldn’t result in death.

As soon as it was posted, players who had been crouching in the corners rushed over.
They fought desperately to secure that match.

“Ah! No! Stop pushing!”

Some were trampled in the crowd.

“Don’t push!”

The employee calmed the players down.

“There are a lot of participants for this match!”

There was strength in the employee’s voice.
Perhaps it was a form of restraint.

The players stopped in their tracks.
Only then did a peace of sorts return.

I squeezed through the crowd to check the details.

[Griffin Hunt]
[Match Time: Tomorrow at 1 PM]
[Required Number of Participants: 10]
[Reward per Person: 20 Nero Cooper]
[Conditions]
Elimination Prevention, Self-Armament.
Excluding forest races (Elves, Spirits, Fairies, Druids, etc.).

Considering that a meal at the goblin’s restaurant cost 5 Nero Cooper…
It didn’t seem too bad for a match with the Elimination Prevention option.

At that moment.

“Hey.”
“…….”
“You’ve had a worried look on your face for a while. Want to talk for a bit?”

A pretty East Asian woman smiled and spoke to me.

‘…An Earthling.’

I didn’t distinguish her by her clothing.
The woman was wearing martial attire, so it was hard to conclude she was an Earthling.

But there was a strangely different atmosphere about her.
It didn’t feel like she belonged among the Murim people.

I could tell at a glance that the Earthling was pretending to be a Murim person.

“…Yes. What is it?”

Just talking is fine.