Just as the Error Player could roughly discern an opponent's dimension from their appearance,
other players also distinguished their origins in similar ways.

Though the Error Player was activating Cheolpo Samgong while pretending to be a disobedient monk,
the team leader, a female mercenary named Scarlet, showed no interest in him.

“Kerekk! So solid! Are you really a disobedient monk? Kerekk!”
“Enduring my punch means you're no ordinary fellow.”
“Slurp. Can I taste it?”

While the goblin, orc, and lizardman were captivated by the Error Player's not-so-martial prowess and expressing their admiration,

Scarlet asked Luna, the black tiger beastfolk who approached her.

“Luna, what’s the scent like?”

I fervently hoped that my intuition was wrong.
That he was a disobedient monk with an eccentric personality.

Luna answered in a whisper.

“He’s an Earthling.”
“…….”

A question followed her statement.

How could an Earthling withstand a blow from the orc Grash and remain unharmed?

‘…Does he have a good skill?’

If he possessed a skill that boosts durability, then briefly holding out would be possible.
That’s a believable story.

But there was a catch.
The fact that he was an Earthling was the problem.

‘Am I really accepting a lying Earthling?’

It was awkward to casually add him to the team.
Who knows when he might stab me in the back?

Rumors about Earthlings are always filthy.

‘Then can I bring another player…?’

As I gazed blankly at the two chuckling greenskins and the lizardman, Scarlet assessed the state of her team objectively.

She shook her head.
A player who had any understanding of how the second floor operated wouldn’t join this team.

‘In the end, I have to hook a helpful one among the lacking guys…’

That Earthling might not be a bad option.

Scarlet scanned the Error Player from top to bottom.
Their eyes met.

“……”

Scarlet unconsciously turned her head away.
She averted her gaze.

Was it because she hadn’t seen someone looking at them without disdain in a long time?
It felt like her heart sank a little.

“Scarlet? What’s wrong?”

Luna tilted her head as she looked at Scarlet.
Scarlet hurriedly ignored Luna’s gaze and said.

“Ahem. He has a good skill, so he should be helpful in this Griffin Hunt match.”

I didn’t provoke them thoughtlessly.
I had a plan.

‘There doesn’t seem to be anyone who looks particularly strong.’

A week spent on the first floor of the Tower of Struggle.
I studied which races were particularly strong and had basic knowledge of it.

Goblins, orcs, lizardmen, beastfolk…
They were just slightly better than Earthlings; they weren’t races that belong to the strong category.

I calculated that I could endure even if they all ganged up on me while activating Cheolpo Samgong.

Pow-!
【149】

An orc's strike.

I lost 1 life force.
That too, recovered after three seconds.

“This is the martial art of Shaolin. Iron Block.”
“Oh!”

The orc was impressed.
Given his confidence in his attack power, it was only natural to be surprised.

“Kerekk! A disobedient monk! A monk from Shaolin!”

The goblin gave a thumbs up.
The orc extended his hand to me, seeking a handshake.

“I’m Grash.”
“Error Player.”

The goblin interjected.

“Kerekk. Me too. My name is Gorak.”
“…Is every goblin named Gorak? What Gorak are you?”
“Kerekk?”

I hadn’t expected that.
We had a moment to introduce ourselves in turn.

“I’m Litol.”

The dwarf Litol.

I had thought he was a beastfolk, but he turned out to be the black tiger beastfolk Luna.
The lizardman was named Jade.

And there were two Midgardians.

“…I’m Scarlet.”
“Sergei.”

The team consisted of seven members.
Including me, there were eight.

To participate in the Griffin Hunt match, we needed ten members.
We had to find two more.

“I can bring them back quickly. You don’t need to worry too much.”

Litol confidently stepped forward.
In reality, it would be easy to bring them back.

“What is this?”

However, the reaction of those who followed Litol was strange.
They were smirking while glancing at the team members.

It was a familiar gaze that made me uncomfortable.
My brows furrowed.

“Tsk. Are you looking to die together?”
“How ridiculous. Get lost.”

They spat a few words and turned away.
It seemed there were more players than expected who disregarded the offer to join the team.

“……”

Despite being ignored, the team members said nothing.
They awkwardly stood in a corner and waited.

‘What’s going on?’

The atmosphere was peculiar.
It felt like they had resigned themselves, or perhaps given up on everything.

‘Why is Litol the only one taking action to find a team member? Couldn’t they find someone quicker by looking individually?’

My doubts were quickly resolved.
Thanks to a group striding toward us, I could discern the situation.

“Heh heh. Isn’t that Scarlet?”
“…….”

A middle-aged man with a bushy beard approached.
Behind him were more than a dozen players following.

“You’re still alive, huh? I thought it was about time you’d be eliminated.”
“…Bolt…!”

Scarlet glared at the middle-aged man, Bolt.
The exchange of glances was anything but normal.

“If you don’t earn any points this time, it’s about time you get eliminated.”
“…If I die, I die. I have no intention of asking you for help. So shut up.”

Scarlet’s animosity was more intense than I imagined.

Was it only Scarlet feeling that way?
The other team members ground their teeth similarly.

It seemed like they had some history with Bolt.

“Really?”

Bolt scanned the team members with a dismissive look.
It was the gaze of one looking down on subordinates.

Then he turned to me.

“This guy is someone I’ve never seen before?”
Bolt stepped up to me.
Our eye levels were roughly aligned.

The corners of his mouth curled up in a crude sneer.
An obvious mockery.

“Are you saying you joined this team?”
“Why? Is there a reason I shouldn’t join?”

I responded in kind to his informal speech.

“……”

Bolt’s brow furrowed.

“You young brat has no manners.”
“Isn’t it better than being rude upon our first meeting?”

I had already scanned them all.
The level of Bolt and his team members.

‘It’s pathetic enough that I want to die.’

Earthlings are idiots.
But that doesn’t mean I should assume Earthlings will lose for sure.

There are Murim people with dantians, Midgardians with mana roads and circles, and other diverse races...
They all have their tiers.

Just as there are differences in athleticism and intelligence among Earthlings, there exist both geniuses and dullards.

‘The Midgardian I saw during the team formation on the first floor was a Dragon Slayer, a superhuman known as a Sword Master, and rare even in his world.’

The Bolt standing before me was just a human, classified as a Midgardian.
In terms of skill, he was no different from the Earthlings.

If I focus on the humans, I didn’t have to feel intimidated at all.

‘A human who might become a Sword Master or a Grand Magus someday. That’s what a Midgardian is.’

A Midgardian without talent is no different from an Earthling.
They were just summoned after living in a somewhat more barbaric world.

“What? Manners? You bastard.”

Bolt’s shoulders heaved.
Having exchanged barely a few words, he was ready to throw the first punch.

‘Slow.’

I could see his movements clearly.
It was a painfully obvious and straightforward punch.

Even without my agility stat, I would have been able to dodge it easily.
The kick of a high school sports team’s incompetent senior was much faster than this.

Whoosh-!
“…Oh? Are you dodging?”

I tilted my head and let his jab slip by.
Did he think I would catch it easily?
Bolt, seething with rage, threw his left fist afterward.

Whoosh-!
“…….”

The first punch might have been a fluke.
But from the second one onward, it was no longer coincidence.

As I continued to evade his punches, Bolt’s expression grew increasingly rigid.

“…Could you be a top-tier martial artist?”

A top-tier martial artist would have stats around 30.
With my agility at 30, I could claim to be one purely based on speed.

So, I didn’t deny it.

Bolt, having prematurely classified me as a top-tier martial artist, looked at me with disbelief.

“Why would a top-tier martial artist join a team of trash like this?”
“Trash?”

To me, there was hardly any difference in strength between him and Scarlet.

Bolt cast a sidelong glance at me.
Then, as if realizing something, he continued speaking.

“Could it be that you just came up this time?”
“Well…”
“…If you didn’t know anything, it would make sense to join that team.”

Bolt withdrew his fist.
He spoke naturally as he caught his breath, as if nothing had happened.

“Your team is left with only one life. There’s no opportunity.”
“…Life?”

As I expressed my confusion, Bolt continued.

“The gladiators in the Colosseum must pay taxes. Once a month. If you can’t pay, you become a slave.”
“That wasn’t written in the notice.”
“The first item is a higher law.”

A structure that pushes players with taxes.
The matches with the Elimination Prevention option become even more precious.

Had I inadvertently guessed what he was thinking?
Bolt continued.

“Just because there’s an Elimination Prevention option doesn’t mean you can use it indefinitely. There’s a limit. We call that life.”
“…….”
“If you sacrifice points, you can reset the number, but those who can earn points wouldn’t bother messing with matches that come with Elimination Prevention options.”
“…There’s a limit?”
“Right.”

My head was spinning.

‘…Am I being taken advantage of?’

Should I think of this as having been taken advantage of?
From the player's perspective, it was a structure where they had to become gladiators anyway, right?

It feels inappropriate to think of it as being taken advantage of.

‘Even that goblin forgot that he was a slave of the Emperor.’

He hadn’t said anything that needed to be said.
He only spoke the truth.

I scratched my head.

“It’s a loss to be in that team. They’re trash who can’t even keep the Elimination Prevention option. But we are different. At least we won’t lose the option.”

Bolt subtly suggested.

“Join our team.”
“…….”

As I looked at the hand he extended, a question arose in my mind.
Is this guy perhaps suffering from dementia?

“You bastard. You throw the first punch and then try to brush it off like nothing happened.”

I wrapped a heavy hit around my right hand and slapped him across the face.

Smack-!

Bolt’s neck snapped to the side.
He couldn’t endure the damage from the heavy hit.
He collapsed helplessly.

[Absorbing the soul of Bolt (Midgardian).]
[Strength increases by 0.01.]

Thud-.
“B-Boss!”
“You crazy bastard!”
Swish-!

The opponent drew their sword.
Scarlet and the other team members also drew their weapons.

It was a tense moment, ready for an all-out brawl at any second.

“Everyone, calm down.”

Sergei stepped forward to quell the fight.

“If we fight, it won’t end well for any of us. The ascenders are watching.”
“That bastard killed our boss. And what? You want us to stop?”
“Then do you plan on fighting?”
“…….”

Sergei continued speaking.

“You know what happens when you’re sanctioned by ascenders, right? Let’s leave it at this.”
“…….”
“If you can’t control your anger, how about sorting it out in the Colosseum match? What do you say?”