How many people must be killed to increase a stat by 1?
A total of 100 people.

No matter how much I’ve adapted to the Tower of Struggle, this is too much.
The exchange rate is too cruel.

Humans die like flies, but that doesn't mean their lives are actually as worthless as flies, right?

But then, this ratio changed.
Now, 33 kills will increase a stat by 1.

If that doesn't sound tempting, then you're lying.

‘Just when they decided to mess with me.’

Rationalization.
My brain reinterprets the situation, thinking, "Maybe it's okay to kill them, just this once."

‘Just once.’

Just pour me some soup.
I thought to myself, but the Lunacolis clan made the first move.

“You really want to die, don’t you?”

Even though one of them had already died, they didn’t flinch at all.
In fact, they rushed at me, trying to kill me.

“Not so fast.”
At that moment, Administrator Daimus appeared, standing between us.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Administrator.”
One of the Lunacolis snarled at Daimus, glaring at him.

“Our clan member is dead. Killed by that human. And you’re just going to stand there and let it happen?”

Daimus sneered as though he found it amusing.

“Can’t you see the opponent standing right in front of you? Why are you barking at me without even looking at them?”

An intangible energy radiated from Daimus toward the Lunacolis.
The Lunacolis hit by the energy began to tremble in fear, as if they were struck by terror.

If you looked at it superficially, Daimus’s size was at least three times larger.
It would be like comparing a grown male high school student to a kindergartner.

Yet the Lunacolis were terrified.
If you only judged by appearance, Daimus should have been the one running away.

The Lunacolis shouted.

“Then what about the life of Kar Fer? How do you plan on paying for his death?”
“Why do you think someone has to pay for it? It’s only natural for the weak to be eliminated in the Tower of Struggle.”
“…So you’re the one stopping me from killing these vermin, aren’t you, Administrator?”

Daimus burst into laughter.
He laughed so hard that it felt like he was mocking them.

Perhaps the Lunacolis felt the same way because they ground their teeth in frustration.
But they couldn’t charge forward.

“Well then, how about this?”

Daimus continued.

“How about we have your Lunacolis team face off against this error... the Scarlet team. In the Colosseum.”
“What... what did you say?!”

Scarlet reacted as though she had a seizure.
By her expression, it seemed like she wasn’t keen on fighting in the Colosseum.

It was instinctual.
She felt that they couldn’t win against the Lunacolis.

Daimus glanced at her with a dismissive look and ignored her words.

“Well, since this is happening, how about we make it for points as well?”
“No. No, absolutely not.”

They’re putting the points on the line.
That meant no safety net. If they lost, they would die.

The Scarlet team, being the relative underdogs, wouldn’t want such a rule.

‘...This is being said to me, huh.’

For some reason, I understood what Daimus was implying.

‘Go up with the points.’

Why did he push me away like this?
Is it that much of a nuisance for the Administrator to have people constantly killing each other?

Before I could even think more about this, the conversation continued.

The Lunacolis barked that they were always welcome, and the Scarlet team tried to somehow smooth things over.

“What do you think?”
Daimus asked, looking at me.
For him, the opinions of others didn’t really matter.

“…Not bad.”
Since the Administrator was offering a special opportunity, there was no reason to refuse.

Daimus had been paying attention to the error beings ever since they made an impression in the entertainment world.
Every time they acted recklessly, it was Daimus who had to clean up after them.

‘If you're going to hide your identity, then hide it. If you're going to reveal it, then just do it.’

Damn dragons.
I knew they treated the short-lived species as their slaves, but I didn't expect it to go this far.

‘Their tastes really suck.’

Shapeshifting into a weak species, stirring up trouble everywhere.
There's no worse trash than this.

As I climbed the Tower of Struggle, growing stronger and reaching the position of an ascendant, I couldn’t help but feel pathetic.
Even the damn dragons couldn't handle their own affairs, and here I am, stuck in a helpless situation.

‘...It's only been two days.’

The longer I stay on the second floor, the more difficult it will be for Daimus to manage alone.

‘Not everyone is on the dragons' side.’

I need to be careful not to catch the Emperor's eye by causing a scene.
Maybe it's better to send me up while they’re still not paying attention.

Daimus saw the friction between the hybrids and the beastmen as a great opportunity.
He wasn’t going to let it slip by.

The dragon might have some awareness, as it understood Daimus’s suggestion perfectly and accepted it.
Daimus let out a sigh of relief internally.

“Aren’t you out of your mind?!”

Once Daimus and the Lunacolis left, Scarlet let out a scream that wasn’t quite a scream.
From the Scarlet team’s perspective, it must have felt like a thunderbolt out of the blue, so her reaction was understandable.

“Calm down.”
Kim Min-seong stepped in to mediate the situation.
Without needing to explain further, his expression was calm as if he had already understood everything.

“I think Ryu-in-hyung has a real chance. That’s why he accepted the Administrator’s offer. This is an opportunity—an opportunity to earn points.”
“Do you even know how strong the Lunacolis clan is? People like us can’t do anything. What do you, someone who just ascended yesterday, know...?”

Kim Min-seong lowered his gaze.
Scarlet, who had been shouting loudly, followed Kim Min-seong's gaze and looked down.

“You’re misunderstanding one thing.”
There, the body of Lunacolis Kar Fer was lying on the ground.

“Ryu-in-hyung didn’t want anything from you. All you need to do is fill in the numbers.”
“……”
“What did you do to kill this Lunacolis? Nothing. It was Ryu-in-hyung who killed him. He made it look easy.”

The point-based duel would be the same.
Scarlet team had zero chance of helping.

‘As expected, typical Earthling.’

Maybe it’s because the Earthlings are useless in any situation?
But their understanding of their role is impressive.

“This... this is just a coincidence.”

Even though they saw the bizarre actions with their own eyes, they still couldn’t believe it.

“How could an Earthling kill the Lunacolis? That’s impossible.”
“Ryu-in-hyung can. Why?”

They were probably going to start talking nonsense about being a returnee or whatever.
I was about to shut Kim Min-seong’s mouth, but—

“…Ryu-in-hyung has a special skill.”
“A special skill?”

The Scarlet team expressed their doubts.

“There’s no way something like that exists. You’re underestimating me, a goblin?”
“Earthlings are weak. The managers of floor 0 and the players of floor 1 all said the same. Suddenly, an Earthling having a special skill…”

Kim Min-seong clicked his tongue.

“Do you know every skill in the Tower of Struggle?”
“……”
“There are so few skills we know among all the registered ones. It’s not strange that there are skills we don’t know about.”

This statement rejects the existing idea that Earthlings are useless.

“Scarlet, I think you already know Ryu-in-hyung is an Earthling.”

I’m a fallen monk from the Shaolin temple.
Did she really know?

With that meaning, I stared at Scarlet, and she blushed, avoiding my gaze.

“…Luna has a good nose. So she knew. That’s how we figured out that the error being is an Earthling.”
“But he's not weak like an Earthling, is he? Ryu-in-hyung was different from other Earthlings. Why?”

Kim Min-seong, as if to show even a goblin could understand, looked down at Golrak.

“Is it because of the special skill? Kekrek?”
“Correct. The special skill only Earthlings have. That’s what made Ryu-in-hyung strong.”

Segei chimed in.

“Then it makes sense. The force Ryu-in showed... That power that can’t be associated with an Earthling. It’s easy to explain if we consider that special skill only Earthlings possess.”
“…That doesn’t make sense. If there is such a special skill, why do the administrators treat Earthlings like that?”

Scarlet’s question.
Kim Min-seong answers.

“You all went up from floor 1, right? Who did you meet there?”
“……”

They all looked around.
It seemed like they came up from floor 1 as a team.

Kim Min-seong shook his head.

“On floor 1, there’s a crazy administrator. You all know about her.”
“…The one who always says ‘Yongyong’...”
“Yes. Since she’s a dragon, she probably thinks it’s cute when she says ‘Yongyong.’ That’s probably why she says it. But she’s not in her right mind. What did you think when you saw her?”
“……”
“You thought, ‘What a crazy person.’”

That was Kim Min-seong’s opinion.
It wasn’t the Scarlet team’s view.

“Even so, no one is foolish enough to underestimate a dragon. It’s the same on Earth.”
“……”
“Just because there are special Earthlings like Ryu-in-hyung, that doesn’t mean Earthlings are strong. The same goes for the Earth’s evaluation of them.”

An analogy that even a foolish goblin could understand.

The Scarlet team’s expressions changed slightly.
There was a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

“…So, do you think we can win?”

Scarlet looked at me, asking.
At that question, I felt confused.

“I’m not some kind of superhuman. If I thought I’d lose, I wouldn’t have accepted Daimus’s offer.”

I accepted the offer because I was sure I’d win.

The expressions of the Scarlet team lightened a little.
I could feel them relaxing.

“…I think it’s fine.”

Luna spoke up.

“I’m sorry that everyone else has to risk their lives because of my hometown’s issue…”
“Luna, don’t worry about it. We’re a team.”

Scarlet and Luna embraced each other.
The rest of the team gathered around them.

Kim Min-seong came up to me and whispered.

“Hyung, things are going according to plan, right?”
“……”

I nodded.

Two days later, we headed toward the arena.