The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 106

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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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#Episode 106
“This match will be decided by whoever secures four of the seven flags first! That’s how the Forest of Conquest works!”
The Colosseum-style Gate hosted a variety of combat tournaments.
From the most straightforward one-on-one duels to team battles with multiple fighters on each side, and even matches that imposed specific conditions beyond mere combat to determine victory.
The formats were endlessly diverse.
The Jamsil Colosseum was no exception.
Aurelius, the proprietor of the Arena, wielded magical power to freely transform both the environment and the rules, delighting the spectators.
This [Forest of Conquest] was likewise an impromptu decision born from that same philosophy.
And the crowd roared with approval.
“Exactly!”
“This is why I can’t stay away from the Arena!”
“Hah! Today’s going to be a real spectacle!”
True to his nature as the Arena’s master, Aurelius understood the appeal of a thrilling match better than anyone.
Eun-sung, standing on the precipice of achieving the Royal Road for the first time in history.
And Kim Chang-won, the thirtieth participant who now blocked his path forward.
Their clash could not be allowed to end in mediocrity.
At the very least, a dull match had to be avoided.
From that perspective, altering the battlefield and victory conditions was quite a fitting decision for the Arena’s proprietor.
However, Kim Chang-won, the thirtieth participant, saw it differently.
“That’s hardly fair!”
Kim Chang-won shouted at Aurelius.
“Why must I fight under different conditions? This is unjust!”
His protest sounded reasonable enough on the surface.
After all, Eun-sung was utterly exhausted.
Without needing to engage directly, he could simply evade and rain arrows from a distance to secure victory without much difficulty.
But that was merely Kim Chang-won’s assumption.
“My, it seems you didn’t read the stone tablet carefully.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m afraid the lord of this Arena possesses the authority to alter the battlefield and victory conditions once per match.”
“That’s nothing but arbitrary—”
“Bring the tablet!”
Carlson rushed forward and hurled the stone tablet inscribed with the regulations directly at Kim Chang-won.
“It’s written right there. The lord has the authority to change the match format. You signed your agreement to it as well, didn’t you?”
“…”
Kim Chang-won fell silent, unable to utter a single word.
He’d thought his protest was justified, born from genuine grievance, but it turned out otherwise…
‘Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue in sympathy.
Always sign with care.
To avoid such misfortunes, one should scrutinize terms of service and contracts with meticulous attention.
At the very least, he needed to understand what he was agreeing to.
“Boooooo―!”
Jeers erupted once more from the spectator stands.
“You want to do that against someone you’ve fought 28 times!”
“And you call yourself a man!”
The crowd hurled garbage and curses at Kim Chang-won.
“Ugh!”
Forced to dodge the incoming debris, Kim Chang-won scrambled frantically across the arena floor.
“Did you say Kim Chang-won?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Though the victory conditions have become more complex, the fact remains that you still hold the advantage.”
“But….”
“If you’re truly dissatisfied, leave this arena at once. I won’t stop you.”
A cold smile played at the corners of Aurelius’s mouth.
“Of course, from that moment on, you’ll never set foot in our arena again.”
“….”
Kim Chang-won’s body trembled.
“Choose. Will you continue the match, or will you forfeit here and vanish from this arena forever?”
“I will… proceed.”
In the end, Kim Chang-won had no choice but to accept the altered battlefield and new victory conditions.
Though it might feel unreasonable from his perspective, Aurelius’s decision was justified.
After all, such were the regulations of the Jamsil Colosseum, and Kim Chang-won had already agreed to them.
Had he foreseen this outcome, he should have lodged his protest from the start. Instead, he’d endured every insult the crowd could muster and earned Aurelius’s disdain—a complete loss.
“Then, let the match begin!”
Doooooong―!
The bell tolled across the arena.
The final match of the qualifying tournament.
The curtain rose on the ultimate confrontation.
* * *
Moments after the match began.
Whoosh!
“…!”
I threw myself urgently out of harm’s way.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Three arrows flew at me in rapid succession.
“Ugh.”
I barely managed to slip behind a boulder.
Ping!
An arrow struck the rock and ricocheted away with a sharp metallic sound.
“…So he’s no amateur, then.”
Eun-sung instinctively sensed that Kim Chang-won was a far more seasoned hunter than he had anticipated.
He could tell just from the speed at which the arrows were flying toward him.
The three arrows that had come before maintained nearly identical time intervals between them.
Reload.
In other words, the speed at which Kim Chang-won nocked an arrow after firing was consistent.
Considering that the bow was quite a difficult weapon to master, it was clear that Kim Chang-won possessed skill well above a certain threshold.
Moreover, he was clever.
Twang!
Thunk!
“Ugh.”
Eun-sung had barely poked his head out from behind the boulder before an incoming arrow forced him to duck back into cover in alarm.
During that time, Kim Chang-won was slowly advancing toward the nearest flag.
By suppressing Eun-sung from a distance so he couldn’t dare emerge from behind the boulder, Kim Chang-won could secure the flag for himself.
And Kim Chang-won’s tactic proved successful.
“Kim Chang-won has acquired the first flag!”
“Boooo―!”
“Cowardly bastard!”
“That’s right, you scoundrel!”
“All he does is run away!”
Kim Chang-won paid no mind to the cascade of jeers and sprinted toward the next flag.
But Eun-sung had no intention of letting that happen.
Twang!
Crack!
“Gack!”
Kim Chang-won suddenly clutched his head and stumbled backward.
“Ugh. What… what is this?”
Kim Chang-won instinctively touched the back of his head, and when he saw his hand stained crimson, he flinched in shock.
Blood.
Blood was streaming down from the back of his head.
“What is thi—”
Twang!
A pebble.
A small stone was hurtling toward him like a bullet.
“You… you insane bastard!”
Kim Chang-won had never seen a hunter throw stones in all his years.
He couldn’t fathom how someone calling themselves a hunter would resort to something as crude as stone-throwing.
“Ooh!”
“Look at that tenacity!”
“Yeah! That’s it! That’s the spirit! If you’ve got no teeth, you fight with your gums!”
The crowd didn’t jeer at Eun-sung’s display as lacking style or finesse.
Instead, I was exhilarated.
“Waaaaaaaa―!”
The roar shook the forest.
Stone-throwing.
A primitive attack method that some might ridicule.
But not at this moment.
Who would mock a beast covered in blood, hurling stones while snapping its jaws at its opponent?
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
The crowd’s fervor grew increasingly intense.
Meanwhile, Kim Chang-won’s face twisted crimson with rage.
“Damn it…!”
Whoosh!
Another stone flew through the air, striking his shoulder hard.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
The impact was far more powerful than he’d anticipated.
It made sense.
Modern people rarely grasped the true destructive power of stone-throwing.
They didn’t know.
That during the Seokjeon—a traditional Korean folk battle involving stone-throwing—people died with alarming regularity.
Stone-throwing was, after all, one of humanity’s most ancient and enduring weapons.
In the Bible itself, wasn’t it with a stone that David felled Goliath?
And Eun-sung possessed exceptional strength.
The stones he hurled with full force carried destructive power rivaling that of a siege engine.
“This madman…!”
Kim Chang-won hastily drew his bowstring to return fire, while hurling himself toward whatever cover he could find.
If even Goliath fell to stone-throwing, there was no way Kim Chang-won could endure it.
* * *
Eun-sung exchanged long-range attacks with Kim Chang-won, doing everything in my power to prevent him from claiming the flag.
Yet even throwing stones was becoming difficult.
“Ugh!”
Eun-sung grimaced, clutching my left shoulder.
‘I’m bleeding too much.’
Until now I’d managed somehow, but the more I moved, the worse the hemorrhaging would become.
It was inevitable—as my heart rate climbed, blood loss increased proportionally.
And blood was now flowing more heavily from my other wounds as well.
‘I can’t stop it anyway.’
Continuing this exchange of long-range attacks with Kim Chang-won would only result in my defeat.
Stones versus arrows?
In terms of speed and range, throwing stones put me at a catastrophic disadvantage.
Eun-sung knew full well that Kim Chang-won had only taken that hit because he hadn’t anticipated a ranged attack at first.
‘I need to think strategically.’
My gaze swept across the battlefield—the Forest of Conquest.
Dense vegetation covered the terrain, with hills and massive boulders scattered throughout.
The complex topography made it difficult to grasp the entire situation at a glance.
But the flags were different.
Flutter!
Six flags—excluding the one my opponent had already claimed—fluttered high in the sky.
Thanks to the towering flagpoles, easily twenty meters tall, their positions were visible from anywhere.
‘Two in the forest. Two in the open ground. Two in areas with heavy cover.’
My mind began to work rapidly.
Analyzing the current situation and devising appropriate tactics was a hunter’s fundamental skill.
Plan B was standard.
If necessary, I had to prepare Plans C, D, and E as well.
Wasn’t that the very point I’d emphasized when training the novices facing Broadcast Spirits?
‘I’ll concede the flags in the open ground.’
I was prepared to give up what needed to be given up and secure what mattered.
‘While my opponent collects three flags, I’ll secure the two in areas with heavy cover. That leaves two flags remaining in the forest….’
The core of the strategy was singular.
The remaining two flags absolutely had to be the ones in the forest.
If I could create such a situation, victory was within reach.
The forest offered abundant cover and restricted visibility.
An environment where ranged weapons like bows lost much of their advantage.
It was the perfect place to force a ranged dealer into close combat.
‘It’s worth attempting.’
I moved.
Not a reckless charge.
Every step followed a meticulously calculated trajectory.

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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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