I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[083] Goblin Gladiator #2
“Thank you all for your patience! We now have only the final match of today’s tournament remaining!”
After several more matches, the Announcer returned to the stage and shouted, but the crowd’s attention had already shifted elsewhere.
“The Goblin! Where is that Goblin from before!”
“Bring out the Goblin!!”
The Announcer wiped cold sweat from his brow as he answered the barrage of roars.
“Ha ha, it seems the first match left quite an impression on all of you…!”
“The Goblin! When does the Goblin appear again?!”
Eventually, the Announcer threw up his hands in surrender and cried out.
“Very well! I have no choice! Originally, the Bull of Knossos was scheduled for the next match, but as everyone knows, due to this extraordinary upset… the Goblin who defeated him will now compete in the next bout!”
A thunderous roar erupted from the Arena Stands as if the crowd had been waiting for this moment.
“And the second opponent this Goblin will face is none other than… the Steel-Claw Lion! A creature bearing steel claws so sharp that even a light graze can split boulders in two!”
At the Announcer’s cry, the heat in the Arena Stands suddenly turned cold.
“The Steel-Claw Lion? Isn’t that a monster in the level 80s?”
“No matter how impressive that Goblin was, there’s no way it can defeat that…”
But soon they began to grin with cruel smiles and roar with excitement.
After all, watching the Goblin writhe in agony before being torn to shreds would be entertaining.
As the iron cage door opened and the Goblin appeared, cheers erupted from the crowd.
Doran emerged with a crimson cloth draped across his shoulders like a cape, savoring the scorching heat of the Arena with every fiber of his being.
‘There are even more people than before.’
It seemed word had spread, drawing additional spectators.
There had been scattered empty seats before, but now it was difficult to find a vacant spot.
‘This will allow me to activate the [Chaos] skill even more efficiently.’
The moment I smiled with satisfaction, the opposite cage door was thrust open and a massive Lion emerged with a roar.
“The King of Beasts, the Steel-Claw Lion, has arrived!”
“One of the Savanna’s most terrifying predators, bearing long and razor-sharp steel claws! The countless souls torn apart by those claws within his domain cannot be counted!”
“The crowd’s expectations for you are already running exceptionally high!”
“The heat of the Arena grants a bonus to your abilities!”
Standing before the Lion, I felt every hair on my body stand on end.
My legs trembled simply from the sight of it.
The primal terror of the species, etched into the very body of the lowest tier of the monster ecosystem.
My instincts screamed frantically to retreat, to flee, yet I advanced forward with a smile instead.
After all, I had already devised a method to face this creature.
“Look at that crazy bastard!! Kahahaha!! He’s stepping forward without hesitation again!”
“Is it foolish bravado? Or will there truly be another reversal this time…!”
“The crowd is watching your every move! Due to the powerful [Chaos], you can manifest a monster’s unique abilities in duplicate!”
“If you select the talents of lower-tier monsters, you can display even more abilities!”
‘The stone-breaking carapace of the Rock Beetle, and the exoskeleton of the Rapid Crab.’
Crack!
In an instant, grotesque shells sprouted from my back and arms.
A grotesque sight: a bumpy, rock-like carapace and hardened crimson shell enveloping an emaciated green body.
But the red cloth draped like a robe concealed the transformation from the spectators’ eyes.
The moment the Lion lunged forward and swiped his claws, I didn’t stop there—I defended the vital points with the Bull’s horns.
“Ah, it seems the match is already decided! The Goblin, unable to distinguish courage from recklessness, charges forward and… wait, he’s still alive! How is this possible?!”
I was hurled back a good ten meters, carving a long furrow through the sand before staggering to my feet.
My legs trembled, and my entire body throbbed as if my bones were cracking.
But…
‘…I’m alive!’
Which meant I could endure his attacks several more times.
─Grrroooowwwl!! King of beasts! I’ll tear you down and shatter that throne of yours!!
The Goblin’s roar, brimming with ambition!
As he charged forward with a battle cry, gasps erupted from the Arena Stands.
“Is… is that madness?!”
“That Goblin is charging straight at him now?!”
Each time the Lion swiped his claws, I was sent flying and tumbling, yet each time I sprang back up like a roly-poly toy, clinging to him with stubborn persistence.
─Protect the boss!
The Goblin underlings didn’t dare join the fray, instead kicking up sand and hurling broken spears to distract the Lion’s attention.
It wasn’t much help, but it was enough.
─Yo ho… yo ho… we are slaves, criminals, smugglers. Hear us, old and sickly king.
「I chanted the Song of the Undead! Activating the hypnotic magic of the Sleepy Humming Bird!」
「Manifesting the toxic dance of the Green Moss Caterpillar in duplicate!」
「Your abilities are strengthened by the increasingly excited crowd!」
「Physical prowess surges to the extreme, and the toxic dance intensifies!」
‘He has no idea his body is being gnawed away from the extremities by the beast’s venom.’
A creature that once reigned as the apex predator of the Savanna would never have faced an opponent like me.
He has zero resistance to deadly toxins.
I dodged the Lion’s claws by a hair’s breadth, pressing in relentlessly.
Using my small frame and agility stats to evade the claws, and blocking unavoidable attacks with the Bull’s horns and my enhanced body to deflect fatal blows!
At first, the Lion swiped his claws with casual indifference, but as time wore on, he began to sense something amiss.
But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
He stumbled, his leg giving out beneath him, and he crashed to the ground.
“What? Why is that Lion acting like that?”
“Could that Goblin have done something?!”
The Arena Stands began to stir with unease.
The Lion rose unsteadily and roared, but his former dominance was gone—confusion now tinged his voice.
‘The poison is starting to take effect.’
I no longer retreated.
─Grrrrr…!
The Lion threw everything into one final, desperate charge, but I drove beneath his jaw and rammed my head straight into him.
Crash─!!
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a laughable blow. But with my enhanced body and the intoxicating state overlapping, the Lion staggered violently.
‘Now’s my chance…!’
I seized the opening without hesitation, leaping onto the beast’s back.
─Die, you oversized furry bastard!!
Gripping the horn in my hand, I drove it mercilessly into the nape of his neck.
Once! Twice! Three times!
Primitive, brutish attacks devoid of any technique!
Crimson blood fountained upward as the Lion thrashed in agony, his anguished roars echoing through the arena.
─Stubborn beast! But it’s futile!
After driving the horn down repeatedly and joining the Goblins in their relentless assault, the Steel-Claw Lion finally breathed his last upon the sand floor.
As I held his severed head aloft, the Goblins erupted into cheers like fervent zealots.
I proclaimed to them:
─I am the King of the Goblins! From this moment forward, you shall call me Gobgillian!
─Gobgillian! Gobgillian!!
Though the spectators could not comprehend the Goblins’ language, they were swept up by their fervent cries and began chanting along.
“”Gobgillian! Gobgillian!!””
“A Goblin actually defeated the Steel-Claw Lion! This is front-page news!!”
As the excited crowd roared, the dazed Announcer suddenly snapped to attention and hastily concluded in a trembling voice.
“Th-this can’t be…! An, an unprecedented upset has occurred! Today’s Tournament concludes here! Please look forward to tomorrow’s matches!”
* * *
After fighting several more matches over the next two days, I returned to the Iron Cage and reclined leisurely to rest.
Before me, the Goblins sprawled about, celebrating with wine and plump roasted chicken.
─Goblin! Our leader is the greatest! Just days ago we thought we were done for!
─Kyahahaha! Thanks to you, we get to enjoy feasts like this! I’d die happy now!
The betting chips the spectators had thrown after the match—I’d traded them to the Guard watching the Cage through gestures and hand signals.
I hadn’t realized that Ludus Magna’s principle of “anything goes with chips” applied to monsters as well.
─Everyone, quiet.
Sensing a presence, I issued the command, and from above came the Announcer’s indignant voice.
“Damn it…! What’s become of this place because of that one blasted Goblin!”
“Indeed, sir….”
“Did you see him trampling over the fallen gladiator earlier? Because of that creature, countless sponsorships have fallen through! The Noblemen are protesting left and right that this wasn’t the plan!”
“B-but thanks to him, the Arena is experiencing unprecedented prosperity…! I hear black market tickets are trading at ten times their original price….”
“Black market, black market, that cursed black market! No matter how many tickets circulate, none of it reaches our hands!”
The Announcer shouted in fury.
As I listened with grim satisfaction, an intriguing topic suddenly emerged.
“What if this Goblin defeats all the gladiators and wins the tournament… would we have to return the championship ring? The commission would be substantial….”
“We have no choice. If we offend the Noblemen, we might actually lose our heads…! But this time, there’s no way that Goblin will win the next match! Inform the sponsors! That Goblin is already a dead creature!”
I reclined against the Iron Cage with my arm as a pillow, mulling over what I’d just overheard.
‘So they were Noblemen after all.’
Had I auctioned off Belmont’s ring, I could have fetched an even higher price.
But seeing how they were sold cheaply as Arena prizes, I could roughly infer that this person had no financial worries.
‘So then… did they hire the Reincarnator Group to kidnap Belmont and bring him here?’
It seemed unlikely that someone of such high nobility would directly participate in the perilous act of kidnapping one of the Kingdom’s premier mages.
I still didn’t understand why Belmont had been kidnapped in the first place, nor why his collection was being displayed in the Arena for all to witness rather than being disposed of discreetly.
‘For now, I’ll need to investigate further.’
I retired to sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s match.
* * *
The next day, I found myself mounted on a war horse, facing off against gladiators.
What was originally meant to be a three-way battle between the Goblin tribe, the flaming horse beasts, and the gladiators had become unbalanced once I began persuading the horses to my side.
“He’s charging across the arena atop the Flame-Maned War Horse!”
“The [Charisma] skill is now active! The horses are submitting to your overwhelming magnetism!”
─That’s it! Well done! If you don’t want to end up as minced horsemeat, veer right!
─Neeeigh…!
My skin burned from contact with the flaming manes, but it was bearable.
As countless war horses swept across the Battlefield, the gladiators crumbled helplessly before them.
I systematically battered every last gladiator whose formation had shattered, then raised my fist triumphantly into the air.
Banners bearing my face were already fluttering among the roaring Arena Stands, with “Gobgillian!” emblazoned across them at intervals.
Spectators who had won fortunes from gambling threw their betting chips toward me and the Goblins.
‘This kind of attention isn’t so bad.’
But was this all they had prepared?
For something the Announcer had boasted would be the finale, it felt rather underwhelming.
As I sent the horses back to their Cage, the Announcer took the stage.
“Once again, absolutely dominant! I’m beginning to wonder if we’re truly witnessing the birth of a Goblin Champion!”
The Announcer’s expression seemed oddly composed and confident.
“But if things continue this way, it won’t be entertaining, will it? Now, the true spectacle—the pride of our Ludus Magna—begins!”
─I-is that an earthquake, Goblin?!
─T-the ground is shaking!
Accompanied by thunderous applause from the Arena Stands, the entire Arena began to split open.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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