Colossus Hunter – Chapter 88

Ch 88: Arena of Competition（2）

『You have captured one ‘Runaway Goblin’.』

『If you capture 4 more, you can get an admission ticket.』

For me, it wasn’t a very difficult task.

However, not everyone could be at my level. Goblins possessed strength comparable to that of a decent Awakened One, and while they were only running away now, it was said that after 12 hours, the ‘tagger’ would change.

‘It seems that this “Arena of Contention” is a competition between goblins and humans.’

It seemed that I needed to examine the surroundings more to draw a conclusion.

I turned my head and looked around, then chose the highest-looking mountain peak and slowly began to move my feet.

◈◈◈ * *

The tagger has the authority to kill the runners.

However, if a runner kills the tagger and breaks the rules, they are sent to the ‘Prison of Punishment’.

Those were the two most important things.

In other words, it’s okay for the runners to do anything ‘as long as they don’t kill’. In fact, there could be cases where goblins would conversely subdue humans and confine or knock them out until the role of the tagger changed after 12 hours.

‘It’s simple, but absolutely not simple.’

Syria thought deeply about this place and trial.

First of all, the goblins competing were very different from ordinary goblins.

They were smart, stronger, and seemed to know more about the ‘rules’ than the people who had just entered.

It had only been about 3 hours since crossing the sinkhole. Although over three hundred goblins had been killed, many people had also been kidnapped or fallen into traps.

‘Perhaps there might be a separate trial applied to the goblins as well.’

It was said that if you killed 5 goblins, you would get an ‘admission ticket,’ but perhaps that was something that applied to goblins as well, not just humans.

First of all, the name.

‘Why are they called Runaway Goblins?’

They must have been named Runaway Goblins because they had run away from somewhere.

I don’t know if there’s a place to confine goblins that easily exceed ten thousand, but they must have raised and confined these goblins, and then finally released them here.

Is this the work of the entity that imposed this trial?

Or is there something we don’t know yet?

“Expand the search range. Except for the 1st squad main force, the squad leaders and members of the 2nd squad and below should report at 1km intervals and disperse.”

Guild Master Kim Min-shik, who was at the forefront, spoke slowly.

The 1st squad main force had a capacity of 500 people, and from the 2nd squad onwards, each squad had 100 members. Since 3,000 people had entered, there were exactly 26 squads in this place.

Syria was the leader of the 3rd squad.

Originally, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to be the vice-leader of the 1st squad main force, but she had expressed her desire to be the leader of another squad of her own volition.

Syria was burning with a sense of rivalry against the Guild Master.

‘The defeat at Nachalsan Mountain… I won’t forget it.’

What she wanted was to gain enough power to illuminate the path she would take. If she received support from Kim Min-shik, she could grow quickly, but she had no intention of becoming a hothouse flower.

Rather, surpassing him could be one way to prove herself. So, she had displayed a sense of rivalry, but had been defeated once.

She had climbed a staircase a little more than twice her limit, but her bones were broken, so it was impossible to go any further. The moment she entered the 33rd floor, it was determined that her recovery skills were unusable, so she had no choice but to give up.

But she had gained something.

‘A shield with rune letters.’

A small shield attached to her left wrist.

This shield, with rune letters and a jewel embedded in it, blocked skills below level 5 and had the function of absorbing a small amount of mana.

Still, it was true that it was a little inferior to the ‘Paladin’s Mantle’ that Kim Min-shik possessed. That’s why she was frustrated.

‘I’ll win this time.’

She would use her 100 squad members to obtain an admission ticket faster than anyone else.

And it was just a simple feeling, but she had a feeling that this competition wouldn’t end there.

The movements of the Runaway Goblins were unusual. Furthermore, she couldn’t predict what would happen when the tagger changed.

‘Maybe… that person is also in here.’

While leading her squad members and exploring the surroundings, a strange sense of anticipation appeared on Syria’s face. Oh Han-sung. It didn’t seem likely that he wouldn’t participate in this trial.

Perhaps he might even be able to crush the arrogance of the Apocalypse Guild with a higher score than anyone else.

Just the thought that they might be in the same space made her a little happy.

If they were to meet by chance, that too would be fate.

12 hours had passed.

As the sun slowly set and the world was dyed in twilight, a ‘change’ came.

『12 hours have passed.』

『The maximum number of survivors （100,000） has been reached.』

『The full-scale competition begins.』

『The ratio of survivors to Runaway Goblins is 1:3.5.』

『The tagger changes.』

『Only the tagger has the authority to kill the runners.』

『If you break the rules, you will be transferred to the ‘Prison of Punishment’.』

『The current tagger is a ‘Runaway Goblin’.』

The maximum number that could enter the ‘Arena of Contention’ was 100,000.

That meant that the number had been filled, but the number of Runaway Goblins was close to 350,000.

And of course, the people who had just crossed the sinkhole and were taking on the role of tagger for the first time couldn’t show a proper tagger’s appearance.

Those who had barely caught 5 Runaway Goblins were enveloped in white light and disappeared. It was only assumed that they had moved on to the ‘next stage’.

Then, when evening came and complete darkness fell.

Krrreung.

Krrreurrurur.

‘They’ began to move.

The Runaway Goblins, who had only been running away, began to bare their teeth, drool, and attack people in reverse.

“Kkyaaaak!”

“S, save me!!”

The attacks of the Runaway Goblins were fast and accurate.

They knew how to group up, and they also knew how to use the terrain.

Runners cannot kill the tagger.

However, people cornered at the edge of a cliff had no choice but to draw their swords, and the moment they killed a goblin, their whole body disintegrated and they disappeared on the spot.

They had been moved to the ‘Prison of Punishment’.

“W, what are we supposed to do!”

“It’s better to kill than to die!”

People who judged that it was better to go to prison than to die took out their weapons one by one.

The number of humans was rapidly decreasing.

Also, the goblins were ‘evolving’ as they drove people into a corner and hunted them.

Surprisingly, a horn sprouted on the forehead of a goblin that had killed five humans. Two horns if it killed ten, and three if it killed fifteen.

It wasn’t just horns that were growing, but changes in their bodies were also occurring.

The more they killed, the stronger and more agile they became.

A scene of pandemonium.

Humans who couldn’t group up were no match for the goblins who were mad with slaughter. And so, when another 12 hours had passed.

『12 hours have passed.』

『2,321 people have been sent to the ‘Prison of Punishment’.』

『1,009 people have obtained an ‘admission ticket’ and have been moved to the ‘Waiting Room’.』

『There are 87,341 survivors remaining.』

『The ratio of survivors to Runaway Goblins is 1:3.927.』

『The tagger changes.』

『Only the tagger has the authority to kill the runners.』

『If you break the rules, you will be transferred to the ‘Prison of Punishment’.』

『The current tagger is ‘Human’.』

About thirteen thousand people had evaporated in just one day.

Ten thousand had died, two thousand had been sent to the Prison of Punishment, and only a thousand had been able to move on to the next arena of contention.

The ratio that had been 1:3.5 had changed to 1:3.927. At the same time, everyone could realize the next day that this ‘competition’ was not ordinary.

When the full-scale competition began and a total of 24 hours had passed, another phrase appeared, as if to say that what had happened so far was just a taste.

『The tag game will proceed for 240 hours.』

『24 hours have currently passed, and depending on the results when the competition ends, the ‘Prison Master ━ Helasia’ will appear as an enemy or ally in the next competition.』

『’Helasia’ is a witch who controls the minds of those imprisoned in the Prison of Punishment. If she turns into an enemy, the humans imprisoned in the Prison of Punishment will all experience a pain more terrible than death and lose their ego, and if she turns into an ally, they will get one more chance.』

『The outcome of the next competition itself may change depending on whether Helasia is an enemy or an ally.』

Whether those imprisoned in the Prison of Punishment live or die depends on the results of this competition.

Also, it meant that simply obtaining an ‘admission ticket’ was not everything.

Being moved to the ‘Waiting Room’ meant that the next competition would only begin after this competition ended.

So, naturally, they had to think about the next competition as well. Perhaps the fact that ‘Helasia’ would become an ally or an enemy depending on the results was based on the ratio of humans to goblins.

However, a single person could only capture five runners.

Conversely, if you killed a Runaway Goblin while not being the tagger, you would be immediately forcibly moved to the ‘Prison of Punishment’.

The more people who were moved to the ‘Prison of Punishment,’ the more disadvantageous the competition itself became.

And the strong could only barely match that ratio by hunting the strong goblins.

A level of difficulty that would barely be possible even if everyone joined forces.

It was truly a moment when the word ‘extreme’ came to everyone’s minds.

◈◈◈ * *

The Apocalypse Guild moved first.

That was because they were the group with the strongest power here.

During the 12 hours when the goblins refrained from attacking, they seemed to be planning to gather as many people as possible to ‘resist’. Anyway, as long as they didn’t kill, they wouldn’t be moved to the Prison of Punishment, so they seemed to think they could come up with their own countermeasures.

The goblins were only grouped in tens to hundreds, and they judged that if tens of thousands of people gathered at once, they wouldn’t be able to approach easily.

Well, it wasn’t a bad judgment.

However, on the contrary, grouping up like that could act as a bad move.

‘The goblins are also grouping up.’

Moreover, they had more solidarity than humans.

No matter how much the Apocalypse Guild forced people to gather, they were all people who had gathered for different reasons and benefits.

Their countries, races, cultures, everything was different.

The danger could actually increase more than when only the Apocalypse Guild was present. A force that couldn’t unite was easily torn apart like paper.

I calmly thought about what I ‘had to do’.

Anyway, it wasn’t like I had a different trial than them. If I killed 5 goblins, I too would be moved to the waiting room for the next competition.

‘I can catch 4 more from now on.’

I had caught the first one as a test, and now there were only 4 left.

However, again, it meant that ‘as long as I didn’t kill’ it was okay.

Fortunately, I had one suitable Authority.

‘Dominator.’

Dominator’s Authority!

Conversely, I would dominate them.

What kind of ‘judgment’ would be made if a goblin killed a goblin?

The facts stated were that the judgment criteria were ‘when the tagger catches a runner, or when a runner catches a tagger.’ But there were no regulations stating that a tagger could not catch a tagger, or a runner could not catch a runner.

Of course, like how the owner is recognized as having caught the prey even if they hunt using spirits or tamed beasts, there was a possibility that the same would be true for the goblins I dominated.

However, if you think about it the other way around, I was dominating the goblins themselves, not spirits or beasts. It was clearly a different point, and above all, unlike other powers, the ‘Dominator’s’ Authority did not require any contracts or rituals.

It was just a power that made them follow me.

And so, as a result of the experiment, I was able to draw the conclusion that it was ‘possible’.

‘I’ll create a scene of pandemonium.’

Smiling like a mischievous child, I quickly began to dominate the surrounding goblins. If my thoughts were correct, I would be able to obtain something greater depending on how I controlled these goblins.

（88/251）