The burly, middle-aged man in Taekwondo attire assumed a fighting stance and grinned widely at Illumi.
"Sorry, kiddo," he sneered. "Uncle will end this in an instant. You won't even have a..."
Boom!
Before he finished, Illumi suddenly appeared in front of him, his fist slamming into the man's abdomen and leaving a deep, fist-shaped indentation.
The Taekwondo practitioner's mouth gaped open and his eyes rolled back. Illumi withdrew his arm and stepped to the left.
"Ugh..."
The man staggered forward a step before collapsing unconscious.
"Impressive! That kid..."
"He one-shot a Taekwondo black belt with a single punch!"
The audience erupted into a frenzy. The referee stared intently at Illumi, tapped his terminal a few times, printed a slip of paper, and handed it to him.
"Contestant No. 1068, you may proceed directly to the 50th floor for your next match."
Illumi calmly took the contestant ticket from the referee and was about to step off the arena.
Bang!
A figure flew out of the arena beside him, landing flat on his back, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.
Judging by how his neck was arched backward, he had likely been struck with an uppercut to the jaw.
"Victory declared!" the referee announced immediately, seeing the contestant had been knocked out.
"Oh?"
Illumi glanced to the side. His opponent was a blond youth with a small ponytail at the back of his head, about his age or slightly older.
Given his ability to defeat opponents in a single strike, he was clearly a prodigy.
"What are you staring at?!"
Sensing Illumi's gaze, the youth suddenly turned and shouted at him. With his sharp teeth and explosive temper, he looked every bit the delinquent.
"Quite the temper," Illumi remarked, turning away but glancing back with a slight smirk.
He then stepped off the arena.
"Damn you, you little brat! Stop right there!"
The blond delinquent's ears twitched, clearly having heard Illumi's words. He rushed to the edge of the arena, shouting at Illumi, who had already left the ring.
"If you've got the guts, come up here and fight me one-on-one!"
"Coward! Useless trash! Bed-wetting brat..."
Below the arena, Illumi picked up his gray backpack and glanced at the blond-haired youth still shouting childish insults. He then headed toward the first-floor exit.
'I didn't expect to run into a "familiar face" on my first outing.'
From his appearance, personality, and innate talent, Illumi immediately guessed the youth's identity. In the original story, this was Kansai, one of the Hunter Zodiacs, representing the Tiger.
Illumi arrived at the elevator reserved for contestants on the first floor. An Elevator Lady in Heaven's Arena uniform stood outside the elevator, her expression slightly surprised as she saw him approach.
"Good day, sir. Are you a contestant?" she asked politely, bowing slightly.
"This is my proof," Illumi replied, handing her the ticket the referee had given him for the 50th floor without further explanation.
"The 50th floor... Mr. Illumi, you truly can't judge a book by its cover."
"Please enter."
The Elevator Lady, still visibly surprised, turned and pressed the elevator button. As the doors opened, she held them open for Illumi.
Illumi stepped into the elevator with a neutral expression, followed by the Elevator Lady, who pressed the button for the 50th floor.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!!!"
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a small figure darted toward them from the distance, shouting repeatedly for the elevator to stop.
The Elevator Lady quickly pressed the button to reopen the elevator doors. Kansai darted inside and thrust his contestant ticket at her.
"50th floor!"
She glanced at the ticket, then at Kansai, and finally at Illumi standing in the corner of the elevator.
'How strange. Two kids under ten suddenly heading to the...'
50th floor.
Noticing the Elevator Lady's odd expression, Kansai followed her gaze to the corner of the elevator. His face instantly darkened.
"You! You little brat!"
Kansai angrily rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to beat Illumi to a pulp.
"Mr. Kansai, private brawls between contestants are strictly prohibited," the Elevator Lady warned. "Violators will be disqualified and banned from competing at Heaven's Arena for three years."
Seeing Kansai's aggression, she quickly intervened, offering a suggestion.
"If contestants have grievances, I recommend settling them in the arena."
Illumi stood with his eyes lowered, maintaining an aloof, indifferent demeanor.
The Elevator Lady's words stopped Kansai in his tracks. He glared at Illumi's dismissive expression, grinding his teeth.
"Just you wait," Kansai snarled, shaking his fist menacingly. "I'll smash that smug face of yours in the arena!"
"With such a short fuse, you shouldn't be out here. You'll get yourself killed from anger," Illumi retorted expressionlessly, instantly infuriating Kansai to the point of rage.
The Elevator Lady, caught between the two, awkwardly tried to ease the tension by explaining the rules of Heaven's Arena.
"In Heaven's Arena, the levels are divided into tiers of ten floors each, up to the 200th floor."
"This means that fighters above the 50th floor can advance to the 60th floor with just one
"Yes, on the first floor you receive enough money for a can of juice whether you win or lose," the receptionist explained with a smile. "But you won't get anything if you lose on the higher floors."
"However, if you win on the 50th floor, you'll receive 50,000 Jenny!"
"On the 100th floor, depending on the number of spectators and viewership ratings, you could earn around 1 million Jenny!"
"And if you reach beyond the 150th floor, the prize money jumps to a staggering 10 million Jenny or more!"
As Illumi listened to the receptionist's explanation, a flicker of anticipation stirred within him.
"10 million Jenny!!!"
An excited shout erupted from beside him.
Illumi glanced over to see Kansai, who had rushed out of the elevator ahead of him, his eyes gleaming and saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Forgetting his earlier threats to Illumi, Kansai immediately thrust his ticket into the registration window.
"Hurry, register me! I'm going to claim that 10 million Jenny!"
Illumi walked over to a nearby vending machine, inserted 152 Jenny, bought a can of juice, and left, drinking as he walked.
Following the corridor's signs, he arrived at the door of the Competitor's Lounge.
Gripping the handle, he pushed the door open with a click.
The lounge was equipped with various training and fitness equipment, allowing competitors to warm up during breaks.
Hearing the door open, the numerous competitors resting inside turned to look.
Illumi remained composed, closed the door behind him, and sat down on one of the long benches along the wall.
'All just extras.'
His eyes scanned the room.
Not a single one of these people could put up a fight.
"Player Illumi, number 1068, and Player Kansai, number 1138, please proceed to Arena A on the 56th floor."
After a long wait, Illumi's name was finally announced over the 50th-floor intercom. His opponent turned out to be the hot-tempered delinquent.
Illumi rose from the lounge, took the elevator to the 56th floor, and walked toward Arena A.
Even before reaching the arena, he could already hear the crowd's fervent cheers and shouts.