Chapter 5: My Kidney Hurts!

Min was launched a few meters away from the hit, spinning in the air from the force. The blow blasted through Min's armor and cut two inches into his side. However, due to the axe's angle, the cut wasn't as bad as it could have been.

The right side of his body throbbed with pain!

'F*ck, F*ck, F*ck, this hurts! God damn! I think he nicked an organ or two!'

After barely landing, Min cursed under his breath as he held his side. That blow did 150 damage all by itself! He was lucky his attribute-enhancing skill increased END, otherwise, he would be below 50 HP right now. 

Even with the increase, Min was only hovering above 100 HP. How terrifying! 

Timurid's body heaved while he glared at Min. The Beastman gritted his teeth and charged toward Min with his axe raised. Min struggled to his feet and dropped his sword, focusing entirely on dodging this next attack.

But Timurid never made it. 

As he sprinted toward Min with killing intent spewing forth, his eyes lost their light and his body rag-dolled. His hulking mass crashed against the floor and slid toward Min.

Min quickly hopped out of the body's path as it slowed to a stop. Is he dead? Min would only be sure if he received the mission completion notice. After a tense few seconds, he heard the notification noise.

—-----------------------------------------------------------

"-3 (from Severe Bleed)"

You have killed Timurid, gaining 940 Exp! 

You have completed the Grade-F mission [Arena Deathmatch], receiving a reward of 2,000 Exp!

—-----------------------------------------------------------

Min sighed with relief. Now holding his side to slow the rate of blood loss, he frantically picked up his sword and hurriedly limped toward the southern gate. Blood poured out of his wound, hindering his mobility.

He needed to get to the healing shower to hopefully stabilize this terrible wound. As Min hurriedly left, the announcer's voice boomed from the speakers.

"The brutish "Fur Lord" Timurid falls to the "Cockroach" Meng Min, but not without a cost for the Cockroach! What an exhilarating match between these experienced fighters! Will we see the Cockroach in future deathmatches? Vote on the site to guess! Remember to purchase some food on your way out and do make sure to…"

The announcer gave a lengthy closing speech advertising the Arena and its amenities while Min ran into the southern gate. He pushed past the Arming room and went directly to the shower room, rapidly undressing and turning the water on.

A stinging pain assaulted Min's senses upon turning the water on. He clenched his teeth and hissed. For such a deep wound like this, he would have to rely on his natural healing to do the bulk of the work. The healing shower only stopped the bleeding and closed his wounds. 

While his pain tolerance had increased since he transmigrated, this was one of the worst wounds he had received. Though the healing water was great for cleaning and closing his wounds, it increased the pain in the moment.

Min leaned his forehead against the shower wall and pounded against the wall with his left hand to distract from the pain. He cursed under his breath with each hit, mixing in some random words as well. When the torment finally subsided, he sighed and relaxed, letting the shower finish its job.

Min ran his hand across his scar-covered body, feeling the slight roughness the scars brought to it. While he had gotten a lot more jacked during this time, it came at a price. This new wound would only add to that price.

'Sigh… Oh well. It doesn't actually hamper much. In fact, the scars might even accentuate my looks! Perhaps a rich beauty will come and save me from this shitty situation…'

Min snorted at his internal monologue. No one was coming to save him! Why would they? Even if he was probably the citizen of a Star-Cluster civilization, they did jack for him! He was kidnapped on the capital world and was not found for more than half a year! 

'Whatever. I've complained about this to my imaginary mental audience so much that even they must be tired of it.'

Min sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the water falling upon his body.

After ten minutes of soaking, all of the wounds gained from the previous battle closed. He returned to the male locker room and redressed at a casual pace. Since his next fight was tomorrow, and it was only evening, he could take his time.

While moving to leave, he passed by a mirror. His movement caught his attention, so he stopped and stepped toward the mirror. He raised his hand and laid his fingers on his lower eyelid, pulling it slightly. This eye seemed to be more strained than normal; in fact, his whole face did.

"Thinking back… did I always look this tired?"

He stared at his reflection silently. A negative emotion suddenly welled up inside his heart, and he immediately took his hand off his eyelid before he turned to pick up his stuff. The typical end-of-day routine became his focus while he walked to the Arming room. 

In an after-combat report, he described the damages to his armor and sword. This was a simple system designed to ensure all fighters were at their peak fighting ability. And if a fighter lied on the report? The outcome was obvious.

Min then left the Arming room to get some dinner. With quite literally nothing else to do, he checked the forum while walking. The idea of contemplating leek farming tactics came into his head, but he quickly shook it off. To become the Great Farmer Min he was destined to be, he would have to first escape this place. 

While casually reading the forum, he quickly stepped up to the counter and got in line, ignoring the few others in the cafeteria. The cafeteria robot looked quite barebones and was programmed to only hand out meals. He was a crappy robot that someone had found in a junkyard, and even though Gin retrofitted him, he had a few glitches.

The robot's full code name was "CB-17855897699", and given that it was very long, everyone just shortened it to "CB-1785". The only other person in the queue was a rather large and burly man. He was Chad, a fighter turned senior guard who had his own little team of guards. Noticing the person behind him, Chad turned and saw Min.

"Oh, Cockroach! That was a nasty battle, huh? Heal up well for tomorrow's fights!"

Chad smacked Min's back, irritating Min's wound.

"Eugh… yeah, sure."

Min grimaced at the slap. Chad was an annoying guy with a domineering attitude, so Min never liked him. Min appreciated people who left him alone, but at the same time, he didn't know those people because they left him alone. 

Chad harassed Min some more before he got his food and left. Min stepped up and requested two plates, but CB-1785 rejected the request with a robotic voice.

"One person may have one meal. Do not request more than one plate."

Min rolled his eyes. Even in the galactic age, technology was still so troublesome.

"Actually, I am getting my roommate's plate as well. I'm in room A-14." 

CB-1785's eyes dimmed.

"Hum… The database shows no- The database has been updated. Dispensing two plates."

CB-1785 made a low humming noise and retrieved two plates of rice and beans. He pushed them under the transparent plastic wall and looked back at Min. The wall had been installed to discourage people- employees and slaves alike- from stealing meals or hitting the robot when it didn't work.

"Thanks, CB."

Min took the plates, one in each hand, and walked away. CB-1785 watched Min leave with a low hum, his eyes returning to their original brightness.

While Min walked through the halls to reach his room, he saw a few of the Arena's employees. Most of them ignored him and were on their shift, so the trip back to his room was rather uneventful.

As Min approached his curtain door, he could hear the annoying announcer's voice from his room.

'Looks like she found the remote…'

Min pushed through the curtain door and found Damira watching TV. It only had one channel, which, of course, was the Arena. The Arena channel was more like a dark web live stream than an official channel on cable TV. Cable TV had long been eradicated. 

While Min was fighting, the site pushed the deathmatch stream since it gained more traffic than the other fights. Now, a few other fights were being streamed. The Arena was a 24 hour operation, so content was constantly being pushed out.

Min glanced at the screen, seeing that the arena looked as if his previous battle never happened. Damira noticed the intrusion and flinched before realizing it was him.

"You're back…"

Damira glanced at his side, seeing the cut on his side and blood staining his shirt.

"That hit was bad. How did you survive it?"

Damira went to stand up, but Min pushed her head down by one of the plates in his hands.

"Don't stand up in this cramped room."

Min sat by her and passed a plate to her. It had the same contents as usual- rice and beans. After eating the same thing for more than half a year, Min found that the food lost its taste. It sometimes tasted good after a long fight, like now, but that was an outlier. 

"We have showers which can heal wounds, but they're restricted to the fighters. Looks like you found the remote. You can't entertain yourself, huh? What a tablet child…"

Min shook his head with fake disappointment. He only hoped she didn't look down there for too long as the stuff he put down there was annoying to explain. Though confused by his 'tablet child' comment, she replied genuinely.

"Yes, I found it under the bed. There was an old dagger further back- what is that for?"

Damira tilted her head with curiosity while settling the plate on her lap. Min's eyelashes fluttered slightly as he looked down at his plate.

"Ah, that's for keeping one of the planks in. It's really inefficient, but they wouldn't fix it for me."

Min shrugged before digging into the food. Damira looked back at her food with a light "Hm". She ate a spoonful of rice and frowned slightly.

"Ugh… this is cooked so poorly. I think nutrition foods would actually be better."

Min opened his mouth with a mocking expression.

"How elitist of you. Don't you know there are starving kids in the, uh, Shattered Star Ring? Be grateful for what you have!"

"Are… you serious? The Shattered Star Ring is not a place with many starving children. Just because it is a relatively new addition to the known universe does not mean-"

"It was a joke! A prank! I'm sorry!"

Min covered his face and began to 'sob'. While inwardly lamenting the seriousness of this woman, she was speechless. She hesitated before patting Min's shoulder slowly while wearing a weird expression.

"It's okay… I'm sorry."

Min instantly put his hands down and looked at her.

"Since we will probably be together for a while, I will give you a disclaimer: please don't take what I say or do seriously if it is silly. I am a silly person."

Min patted his chest proudly while he spoke. Damira stared at him with hesitation before she sighed and turned back to the TV.

"That disclaimer was too long. You could have just said that you're a weird guy."

"How offensive…"

The two held a casual conversation while eating and watching TV. A warm feeling rose in Min's heart, reminding him of something.

'Maybe having friends isn't so bad. I should try talking to the other fighters, maybe.'

He contemplated this possibility while finishing his food. Arena fights did not interest him much since he experienced them daily. Though there was value in researching other's battle techniques and the like, at the end of the day, Min just wanted to unwind. 

After he finished his plate, he noticed that Damira was not even half done with hers. He continued the conversation until she finished the plate and immediately extended his hand.

"Gimme your plate."

Min held out his hand while getting his own plate. Damira passed him the plate without looking away from the TV. This woman was truly a tablet child…

Min stood up and left the room. He returned to the cafeteria to put the dishes away. He glanced at the training room sign but quickly eliminated that thought. Not only was he injured, but he had just eaten.

It would be best to turn in early for the night. So Min returned to his room and got under the covers, laying on his left side. Damira looked over her shoulder toward him with slight amusement.

"Already tucking in for bed? I'll get under whenever I'm ready."

Damira turned back to the TV before Min could respond. He sourly snorted before laying his head on the pillow. He closed his eyes and isolated his senses from the outside world. This was his thinking time, so he had best use it well.

'I am near the peak of my power here. With the advancement mission being nigh impossible, I have to find an opportunity to escape. Gah, I hate this feeling of inactivity!' 

Min held his head with an inner groan. As a man who adored certainty, he had been unable to take the risk that an escape plan would require. Thus, with little intel, he was stuck. 

"Blah! Blah! Blah! Enough complaining… I will sleep for now. I need to get this (Injured) status effect to go away. Thinking can be done another night."

He exhaled slowly, feeling his consciousness drift away.