The Only Chance

Just as all teams entered their rooms, Lero Ro's voice could be heard coming from a golden lighthouse at the top of the arena.

[Now, the game will be starting in...]

As Areum was walking towards the buzzer, Kaizen raised his right hand and said, "Wait, it is better for us not to enter right now, don't you want to win?"

[5…4…]

As she heard Kaizen's voice, she stared at him for a second before continuing to approach the buzzer while replying, "It doesn't matter when we enter, I will still be able to win against the others here."

[3….2….]

Anxious that his only chance of winning this game would be gone if they went in the first round, Kaizen took one second to think before rapidly replying, "I know how strong, beautiful, and intelligent you are. So, I know you have already thought about it, but if we were to wait till the later on and win against the others without having to rely on your strength, wouldn't the others be awed at your intelligence and strength and beauty instead of just your strength and beauty?"

[1… ]

[Now start!] Said Lero Ro as a buzzing noise was heard just then.

Blushing a bit due to the compliments, Areum chose not to press the buzzer this round so that she could hear Kaizen's plan before choosing whether to just go out and fight or not.

Meanwhile, Kyong a bit angry at being ignored started to stare at Kaizen, but she still chose to stay quiet for the moment.

Feeling relieved that his compliments were enough to stop Areum momentarily, Kaizen swiped down the sweat on his forehead with his arms before seeing that only two groups have entered the arena.

The first one was Anaak's group which had her, Hatsu and Shibisu in it. While, the second group was led by the short kid which had a fight against the one handed man with red hair. His group contained him, the priest like man that was trying to pacify them before, and another short man with brown hair which had short staffs on him attached to his clothes by some ropes.

Knowing that Anaak's group was going to decimate the other group, Kaizen turned back to face both girls as he started to say, "I have a plan so that we can win without needed much effort."

Looking to make sure both girls were focused on his speech, Kaizen took a breath before saying, "In this game, starting from the third round, those already on the crown would have an advantage over those attacking for the first five minutes since the other teams will be defending the person with the crown since they would not want for any other team to steal It before then."

Hearing this, both girls nodded, before Kyong looked at him and said, "Wasn't that obvious? Don't you have anything else to say or are you actually useless?"

Nodding his head, Kaizen smiled a bit before saying, "Of course, that alone is not enough, but here is where it is useful for my plans. If we want to win with the least amount of time and effort needed, our best bet will be to steal the crown in the fifth round before the five minutes are up."

"Aren't you just saying something obvious?" Asked Areum sarcastically before continuing to say, "Wouldn't all the teams be trying to stop us if we did that, which part of this sound as intelligent as you said it would be?"

"Well, that alone also isn't enough. The reason why I said the first part comes in play here, if we want to successfully use this method, we have to be able to approach the throne without all others paying attention to it." Said Kaizen.

He then took a breath and then continued to speak after raising his index finger, "So, for this plan to be successful, we will have to both be able to reach the throne at an opportune time, and to actually take the crown form its wearer. For the first part, as long as we focus on moving nearer to the throne than fighting the others, we should be able to conserve ourselves so that we can stay nearby it."

Then, he stopped again for a second to see that both didn't seem to show much rejection towards the plan till now. Then, he raised a second finger before he saying, "Now, for the second part, then it quite easy, we just will have to make it so at least one of us can actually make it to the person wearing the crown without much intervention."

Taking a second to think, Areum said, "Although we could do that, can you really be sure than an opportunity will really come? If not, wouldn't it just be easier to enter in the earlier rounds and just defend the throne."

"I also agree that just defending the throne seems a bit easier." Said Kyong.

"No, even if we are able to take the crown early on, it will still be hard to defend the throne after the first five minutes are up." Said Kaizen before he took a moment to think on how to better convince them.

While they were talking, Anaak And Hatsu had finished wiping out the other team, and Anaak followed by wearing the crown and sitting on the throne. This made Shibisu act out a bit till Hatsu managed to pacify him.

At the moment she sat on it, a buzzing sound came to notify the regulars that the round has ended.

[Shall we now start the second round? Since there was a winning team, only four teams can join this time.]

[The countdown will begin now]

[5…]

"Didn't you both say that you are stronger than the other regulars? If so, wouldn't waiting till the fifth round be better since whether you are defending or attacking, you will win anyways. Then, wouldn't it be easier to us to try my plan? Or are you afraid of not being able to win in case my plan fails?" Said Kaizen with a smirk.

[4….3....2….]

"What? Of course, I am the strongest regular here! There is no way I would be afraid of that. Ok, I am fine with us trying your plan." Said Areum while puffing up her chest as she got annoyed at Kaizen's words.

[1…]

Meanwhile, Kyong after hearing what Areum said, stared at her as she said, "No, I am the strongest regular here! Let's go with that plan of yours. Even if it fails, I should be able to easily take the crown by force."

[Now, the second round will start!]

Finally, having convinced both girls of trying his plan, Kaizen turned to watch the team which were going out to face Anaak.

The first team was composed of a very tall burly man with four eyes and a dark skin, another tall man which had red skin and on e red eye, and a short young man with two axes on his hand.

Meanwhile, the second team contained Laure who was still sleeping, a bland woman with short black hair and a knife, and a effeminate man with orange skin, yellow eyes and hair and one red horn coming from the right side of his head.

Although, the first team seemed to have interesting techniques with the taller man being able to use shinsu to cover his fists in fire, Hatsu was still able to quickly defeat them while Shibisu stalled the orange skinned man and the bland woman.

Then, seeing that Laure was still sleeping at this moment, Hatsu annoyed at his attitude attempted to attack him with one of his floating swords. But,just as it was about to hit him, Laure suddenly moved up dodging the attack while launching a shinsu attack against Anaak who was seating on the throne.

Seeing the incoming shinsu attack, Anaak still managed to dodge it by jumping onto the top part of the throne while staring at Laure.

Seeing that his surprise attack didn't connect, Laure continued with a string of attacks from far away.

Getting annoyed at dodging all the attacks, Anaak ignited her weapon, the Green April. After doing so, it grew to cover the whole arena with its various branches.

Swinging it at Laure, he could barely dodge Anaak's attacks, while occasionally attempting to attack her.

But, while doing so, Anaak suddenly stopped moving for a moment, then she turned towards Baam's room as she stared at it intensely.

Taking this as an opportunity, the woman grabbed Laure by the back of his shirt before running back to her room with Hoh following right behind her.

But, just as the round was about to end, Anaak jumped out of the throne straight into Baam's room swinging the Green April to break its parts as she landed just at the border of the room.

Then, with a ferocious look on her face, she said, "Give me that weapon."

Refusing to give Anaak the Black March that Yuri lended to him, Baam ended up getting in a conflict against Anaak.

Yet, just as she was about to attempt to take it by force, Lero Ro suddenly appeared next to them. So, with no other option for now, Anaak chose to make a bet with Baam regarding the ownership of both her and Baam's weapons or she would kill him and take it afterwards.

Even while being threatened being Anaak, Baam still hesitated to accept the bet. That is, until Khun and Rak encouraged him to accept it.

And so, having resolved the conflict for now, Lero Ro added a new rule to the game saying that as long as Baam's team wins the game as defenders, he would be given ownership of the Green April. But, on the other hand if he fails, he will have to give the Black March to Anaak.

Then, having lost due to moving out of the throne, Anaak returned with her teammates to their room.

[The third round of the crown game will begin shortly!]

[The teams that want to join, press the buzzer before the count is over.]

[5…...4...3...2…...1….]

[The third round starts now!]

After he had finished reading all the rules on the wall, Kaizen turned to look at the teams that went out. This time, four teams had come out, Baam's team and three others.

Still, before the others could react Khun had already run to the throne and claimed the crown. Then, in an attempt to allow Baam to wear it, Khun used his bag that had the abilities to copy other items to make a new crown and then, he threw it at other three teams while ordering them to fight.

This led to most of them joining together for a brief while to beat Khun, but, this allowed for Baam to sneak in and climb the throne. And, directly after that, Khun brought out the real crown from his bag and gave it to him allowing Baam to wear it and end the round.

With another buzz sounding out just as Baam wore the crown, the third round ended.

[The last round is almost here, so, for all of those who want to participate in the fourth one, press th buzzer before the end of the countdown]

[5…...4…...3…...2…...1….]

[The fourth round begins now!]

After seeing Baam's team win the third round, Kaizen started to give more details to the two girls regarding the execution of his plan before he sat in a meditative position and attempted to manipulate the shinsu so that he could form a baang to reinforce his body just before the last round begins.

This time, only three teams came out each made from different types of races and persons.

Then, just as they entered the arena, they decided to first cooperate to defeat Khun's team before fighting for the crown. But this easily turned out to be a mistake since one of the teams were actually done a deal with him before. This made it so that they had to help him.

So, just as the other two teams turned their backs to them, they got backstabbed. This made is so that Khun's team was able to win without having to move a finger as right after the third team attacked and defeated the other two, they returned to their room thus making this round the fastest round after the first one.

Just as the last team retuned to its room, another buzz sounded out signifying the end of the fourth round.

Perhaps being luckier this time, Kaizen managed to make a baang in just about three minutes. Thus allowing him to barely be able to enhance his body before the start of the fifth round.

[Since all the teams are unable to fight anymore, the winner of the fourth round is the team of Bam, Khun and Rak]

[The crown game is becoming more and more exciting!]

[And now we only have the final round left!]

[The count will start now, so any joining teams, please press the buzzer!]

[5….]

As the countdown started, Kaizen with his body reinforced turned to his right as he saw Areum pressing the buzzer next to her. Then, he got up from the ground and dusted off his pants as he waited for the countdown to end.

[4…3….2….1….]

[The last round will start right now!]

With the bars of their room opening, Kaizen and the girls started to walk towards the arena as they saw the other three teams which also had entered.

The first one was composed of a woman wearing a black bodysuit that covered her whole body along with a green and blue patterned mask. The second one was a man with dark skin and short brown hair. He was wearing a white shirt and seemed to have no weapons with him. And the third one was a black long-haired man wearing a black shirt and carrying two long red swords.

Meanwhile, the second team consisted of a burly man with dark skin and red eyes and hair. The second member being a young man with dark blue hair and wearing a blue vest while carrying a black needle. Meanwhile, the last one was a member of the Da-an tribe who had multiple eyes and a huge white body.

Lastly, the third team was composed of a woman with pale skin, brown hair, and yellow eyes. She was wearing a coat that covered most of her body with the exception of her head. The second member was a woman with pale skin and light yellow hair and eyes who was also wearing a coat. And, the third member was a demon like huge man who had red skin and was wearing a black cloak which covered all of his body except his mouth and nose.

Just as all teams had barely moved into the arena, the woman in the blackbody, a person Kaizen recognized as Hwa-Ryun, one of the main characters of the story, rapidly swung her metallic pole at the man with red hair's face knocking him out in one hit. Then she quickly moved to the man with blue hair hitting him at his waist before knocking out the last member of their team which was a member of the Da-an tribe. Thus, in less than fifteen seconds, and one of the teams was already out of the game.

After this, she followed by just running towards Rak who waved his spear towards her. But, quickly dodging it, she was able to jump on it and used it to jump above Rak to reach the throne.

Meanwhile, one of her teammates, the one with the red swords charged in and got into a fight with Khun while the other one went to fight Rak.

Seeing how the situation was developing, Kaizen finally gave the girls the sign for them to run towards the throne.

Hwa-Ryun having approached Baam attempted to hit him with her pole. But, a black yellow spherical shield like object suddenly appeared to block it as the pale woman with brown hair, known to Kaizen to be Endorsi, one of the princesses of Jahad, jumped in front of Baam to confront Hwa-Ryun.

By opening her hands, the shield like object's size was compresses till it could fit her hands as Endorsi took her item back before pulling out a red needle.

Following this, another cloaked figure appeared to front of Baam, another one of the main characters which was named Rachel.

Looking at her from the back, Baam reached out to her as he said, "R-Rachel…"

While Rachel ignored Baam, Endorsi continued to fight against Hwa-Ryun, using her shield against her attacks while using her needle to force her back.

At that moment, the demon-like man suddenly appeared next to Rachel. Seeing this, Kaizen who thought he would attack them since they were already near the throne felt an ominous feeling.

"Go for the big red guy there next to the throne while I take the crown. But be careful about him." Said Kaizen to his teammates.

Feeling a bit annoyed at being order, both girls still went to fight against the cloaked man. After all, both liked to fight, and seeing the cloaked man who made them afraid due to their instincts only aroused their fighting spirit even more.

"Good defense! But this is as close as you get! It was a big mistake to aim for my face! Now, it is time to be punished!" Said Endorsi as she charged into Hwa-Ryun who somehow managed to dodge her attacks at the last moment.

Then, as if fate was laughing at her, her hills broke while she was attacking which made her lose her equilibrium for a moment. Due to this, Hwa-Ryun managed vault over her body as she quickly reached the throne.

There, she swinged her pole at Rachel's head causing blood to flow out as the cape hiding her face was pushed back. Then, as Rachel was falling and Hwa-Ryun was about to attack her, Baam jumped in front of her taking the hit instead as the crown flew out of his head.

Seeing the girls barely being able to keep up with the man in the robe, Kaizen quickly grabbed the crown as he tried to jump into the throne.

Yet, just as he was about to land, the man in the robe suddenly disappeared just to reappear right in front of him. Then, moving faster than Kaizen, he punched his guts.

Seeing the man right in front of him at the last moment when he was about to win, Kaizen got a bit surprised. Yet, it was when the punch came that things went totally out if his expectations.

Even with the shinsu enhancing his body, Kaizen almost felt like he would fall unconsciously. The only thing keeping him up being knocked out due to the pain he felt being his previous experience in the first floor.

Due to this, Kaizen barely managed to shout, "Grab" as he threw the crown in his hands to Areum who being surprised at the man's teleportation barely managed to catch the crown and wear it while sitting on the throne as fast as she could.

At the same moment when the man disappeared, Hwa-Ryun attacked the injured Baam again. Yet, at this moment, an instinct to protect his loved one surged from him, and just at the same moment as Areum managed to sit down, a light suddenly shone at the same moment that her pole hit his head.

This caused Baam to fall unconscious as Hwa-Ryun's mask was cut in two along with one of her eyes. Thus, allowing for her red hair to flow out as she fell to the ground screaming.

Then, as all of this happened, a buzz sounded again signifying the end of this round.

[The fifth round has ended!]

[The team made from Areum, Kyong and Kaizen have won the game, and thus, they have been given the right to advance to the next floor when they wish to do so.]

[All of the injured who can still move should go to the infirmary, while those who cannot move will be carried by the staff.]

Alternative titles: Pain All Around – Your Relationship Has Leveled Up – Plot Divergence.