Chapter 176
The Arena (2)
I had witnessed and experienced plenty of things in the Forest of Four Seasons that defied common sense.
The seasons changed every week, gorillas could talk, whales flew through the sky, and so on.
Having seen those things with my own eyes, I could no longer dismiss them as mere fantasy.
That was why I had resolved to simply accept whatever happened from now on.
What the hell are these bastards?
Yet the scene before me was bizarre enough to make that resolution meaningless.
I couldn’t tell whether I was living in the wilderness or in a civilization disguised as the wilderness.
They fought to determine a winner and a loser, after which the winner took the female he wanted.
What kind of civilizing process had these kangaroos undergone to adopt such a custom?
Forget the kangaroos. Why are those animals here?
The presence of animals other than kangaroos made the situation even more baffling.
What did they want badly enough to sit there and watch?
Under normal circumstances, they should have been trying to devour one another. Instead, they were quietly watching the fights.
The situation strayed so far from common sense that I found it difficult to accept.
"Pho-ooooh!"
Just then, a kangaroo entered the center and pointed to either side.
Two kangaroos emerged from the audience. It seemed they were the next competitors(?).
One was a stereotypical thug of a kangaroo, its body covered in scars and bulging muscles.
The other had an overall sleek and agile build, reminiscent of a drawn sword.
Why do these kangaroos have such distinctive personalities?
I crossed my arms and watched for a moment before immediately accessing the Gallery.
Something this precious was too good to enjoy alone. It would be more entertaining if others watched with me.
At that moment, the two kangaroos began fighting, displaying a variety of spectacular techniques.
It wasn’t quite as impressive as the kangaroo that had executed a WWE-style powerbomb earlier, but it was still exciting.
Title: Guys, have you ever seen a kangaroo arena?
Wild Grylls
(Photo of the kangaroos in the audience)
(Photo of the cheering kangaroos)
(Photo of the female kangaroos huddled together)
(Photo of the other animals watching from a distance)
(Photo of two kangaroos fighting in the center)
(Video of the kangaroos displaying spectacular techniques)
I’m watching one right now.
I knew kangaroos had moved into the old owlbear cave, but I had no idea what they were doing here.
Turns out they’ve set up a fighting arena, lol.
From what I’ve seen, the prize is one of those females. I saw the winner take one away.
I don’t know much about kangaroos, so do they normally fight to win females?
└ Heavenly Demon: They resemble humans wearing the skins of great pouch-rats. What a splendid martial contest.
└ SwordMaster: Aren’t those actually people? That looks like something ancient gladiators would have done;;
└ Never thought I’d live to see kangaroos fighting in an arena, lol.
└ Where the hell does Grylls live? Is he living on some alien planet?
└ Wild Grylls: I used to live on an alien planet before coming here. Yeah.
└ All-Father: Kangaroos... Kangaroos... What the fuck is this? They shouldn’t have habits like that.
└ Wild Grylls: It isn’t related to courting females?
└ All-Father: Honestly, I can’t say it’s completely unrelated. Kangaroo courtship is complicated and rather ritualistic. I suppose you could call that a ritual.
└ Wild Grylls: A ritual where they beat each other bloody like that?
└ All-Father: I don’t know either, so just watch.
└ Wild Grylls: Okay.
└ PassingDwarf: Hey, you should build them a proper arena later. What if the spectators get hurt? Lol.
└ Wild Grylls: Will they at least give me food if I build one for them? Lol.
└ PassingDwarf: They might. But how did you even get in there? Did you bribe them or something?
└ Wild Grylls: Yeah. There were guards at the entrance, so I gave them fasting pills and got through. Kkobong stepped forward and negotiated for me.
└ PassingDwarf: Why is that actually what happened? Are you sure those things aren’t people?;;
└ After seeing Kkobong and the other gorillas, well...
└ I keep telling you, that place is insane.
└ Let’s just laugh, lol.
The thread erupted into chaos. Still, these people had gradually adapted to the Forest of Four Seasons and merely laughed about it.
After witnessing so many incidents that defied common sense, they had learned to simply laugh them off.
Thud!
I had been watching for some time when the agile kangaroo’s toe kick struck the muscular kangaroo in the abdomen.
No matter what kind of animal it was, the power of a kick could never be underestimated.
Naturally, the muscular kangaroo doubled over from the blow.
Grab!
The agile kangaroo did not let the opportunity pass.
It abruptly turned around and grabbed the thug kangaroo by the neck.
BAM!
Maintaining its grip, it forcefully dropped backward onto the ground. The move looked devastating.
It must have hurt the kangaroo performing the move, but the thug kangaroo undoubtedly suffered far more.
It was a technique that inflicted damage on the jaw, neck, and face all at once.
...Isn’t that another wrestling move?
I couldn’t remember its name, but I had seen it before.
At this rate, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they started using chokeslams.
"Kek! Kekek!"
"..."
One actually did.
Having recovered its senses, the thug kangaroo seized the agile kangaroo by the throat.
The size difference made the sight incredibly intimidating. Sunglasses would have suited the thug kangaroo perfectly.
As I entertained that pointless thought, the thug kangaroo hoisted the agile kangaroo into the air.
The cheering instantly intensified. That alone would have been impressive enough, but—
Swoosh.
The thug kangaroo went one step further and slowly swept its free hand across the entire audience—even toward me.
It was a performance positively overflowing with swagger.
Where did a kangaroo learn how to put on a performance like that?
BOOOOM!
While I stood there too dumbfounded to speak, the thug kangaroo executed its chokeslam.
It was every bit as powerful as the earlier powerbomb, if not more so.
"Pho-ooooooooong!"
After flawlessly executing the move, the thug kangaroo roared.
The other kangaroos responded with passionate cheers. Anyone watching might have thought they were the ones who had won the fight.
However, although the kangaroo sprawled on the floor was unsteady, it had not lost consciousness.
The agile kangaroo finally gathered its wits and rose to its feet just as the thug kangaroo turned around.
"Phooh?!"
"Pho-ooooh!"
THUUUD!!
The attack happened in an instant.
Taking advantage of the thug kangaroo’s carelessness, the agile kangaroo charged forward and struck it with a dropkick.
A kangaroo’s hind legs were already exceptionally powerful, and this one had used them to deliver a dropkick. The resulting force was terrifying.
If I had taken that blow directly, my bones would have shattered.
"Ghuuuh..."
The thug kangaroo couldn’t withstand it and promptly lost consciousness.
It had paid a miserable price for its carelessness, arrogance, and recklessness.
Conversely, the agile kangaroo had taught us the value of perseverance, patience, and tenacity.
"Kooooooooh!"
With a triumphant roar, the agile kangaroo took one of the females away.
The fight had been even more entertaining because it felt like an appropriate combination of WWE and UFC.
Moreover, the cave’s solid floor made all the wrestling techniques exceptionally destructive.
Title: The match is over.
Wild Grylls
(Video of a kangaroo performing a stunner)
(Video of a kangaroo performing a chokeslam)
(Video of a kangaroo performing a dropkick)
The agile kangaroo won.
The thug kangaroo landed its special move but let its guard down, so the agile one finished it off.
This match taught me never to become arrogant.
└ Heavenly Demon: Every one of those techniques is spectacular to behold. Where did they learn them?
└ SwordMaster: Rather than learning them, don’t you think they invented the techniques themselves? Those moves aren’t even proper grappling techniques.
└ Wow, lol. This is insanely entertaining to watch.
└ This is way more entertaining than ordinary combat, lol.
└ Now I understand why people used to watch gladiators fight, lol.
└ Wild Grylls: Come to think of it, don’t you have any combat sports here?
└ Princess Cheonggu: We have competitions, but they never developed into sports. People fight perfectly well without them.
└ If people can just stop and watch whenever a fight breaks out, why would we need to turn it into a sport? Lol.
└ There are tournaments held occasionally, but calling them sports would be a bit of a stretch.
└ Yeah. Most participants enter them to show off their strength.
└ Ash won several of them in the past and earned the title of Swordmaster.
└ Broadcasting rights in the Forest of Four Seasons? Lol.
└ Can we open a betting pool for this?
└ I think the head manager would have to approve it.
While we discussed combat sports, the users began clamoring for me to broadcast the kangaroo fights.
Setting aside how difficult that would be, I couldn’t understand why they were making such a request.
Was it something like the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Tournament?
Technically, such competitions were sports. However, people here didn’t really think of them that way.
Then again, this was a world where military might translated directly into authority.
Unlike on Earth, the value of personal strength had not diminished with the passage of time. Perhaps this development was only natural.
└ Hey, Grylls. Can you broadcast the next kangaroo match?
└ Me too. Honestly, I’m really curious.
└ Grylls, surrender the broadcasting rights at once.
└ Wild Grylls: Do you really need to watch kangaroos fight? You can watch people fight instead.
└ Princess Cheonggu: Honestly, this is more entertaining. The kangaroos fight like humans.
└ KingLeor: Absolutely. We can’t miss something this entertaining.
└ Now I understand why dogfighting, cockfighting, and bullfighting exist.
└ Grylls, don’t you find it entertaining?
└ No, seriously. Kangaroos are fighting while using humanlike techniques. And the techniques somehow look both inefficient and effective at the same time.
Hearing that, I thought I understood how they felt.
An arena in which animals fought had a fairly ancient tradition.
I had experienced a similar feeling while guarding an ammunition depot during my military service.
Guard duty at the ammunition depot had been filled with boredom and absolutely nothing to do.
But what if two water deer suddenly started fighting?
Whether seniors, juniors, or soldiers of the same rank, none of us could resist gathering to watch.
Sometimes a wild boar would charge into one of the water deer. That was even more entertaining.
I need to see how long this continues anyway.
I decided to broadcast the matches.
However, I was curious about the betting pool that had been mentioned.
If it could only be opened with the head manager’s approval, did that mean betting was currently forbidden?
└ Plenty of people lose everything betting on horse races, so what does it matter whether it’s a sport? Lol.
└ The more serious problem is that there was once a match-fixing scandal in a real sports league. That was the biggest reason.
└ Ah, I remember that. Which league was it? The Mephisto Satan League?
└ Yeah. It wasn’t merely a matter of bribing referees. Trust in the matches themselves completely collapsed, lol.
└ That scandal got the championship team relegated to the third division. They’ve returned since then, though.
└ It’s still infamous as the rigged league.
└ That was more of a problem with gambling itself than with the Gallery.
└ In the past, every sport had its own betting pool. But people actually went bankrupt because of them, so the head manager shut them down.
└ Wild Grylls: Wait. Gallery money can only be used on the Gallery. How did anyone go bankrupt?
└ You have no idea how terrifying gambling can be.
It was one of humanity’s traditional forms of entertainment.
Wherever there were winners and losers, gambling inevitably followed.
It doesn’t matter to me.
The kangaroos, not me, were the ones competing.
I had no opportunity to interfere, and no one could rig the outcome.
What could possibly be fairer than that?
So I posted a comment telling them to do whatever they wanted.
...
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: I’m curious too! I’ll allow it just this once! However, you’ll have to use Ladder Points instead of Gallery Points! Otherwise, you’ll be banned!
└ Wild Grylls: Ladder Points? What are those?
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: Gallery Points are obtained by adding real money, while Ladder Points are like scores that can only be earned through activity on the Gallery! In the past, you could earn them by posting comments, giving upvotes, or receiving upvotes!
└ They removed that system because people started manipulating upvote counts.
└ People fought over it all the time, lol. There were plenty of point-beggars too.
└ Wow. How long ago was that? What a nostalgic memory.
└ I remember watching people go back and forth between striking it rich and becoming penniless on every sports board, lol.
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: I’ve been planning to bring them back! I’m too busy to do it properly right now, though!
└ Wild Grylls: Understood. How do I open a betting pool?
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: An additional category should be unlocked when you create a post! Just select it!
└ Wild Grylls: Do I receive some of the points too?
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: You should receive a percentage! You can set it however you like!
└ Wild Grylls: Then I’ll set the commission low. I’m not doing this for the points anyway.
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: So this is purely for entertainment! I like it even more!
└ Chant his name! Grylls!
└ No commission! Grylls, you bastard, you really know how to have fun!
└ Let’s gooooo! Lol.
Gallery Points could be purchased with real money or used to buy and sell items in the auction house. Ladder Points, on the other hand, were simply points in the purest sense.
What could they be used for?
Nothing. They were purely decorative.
You could bet them on sports matches, but only for fun.
Apparently, users had once been awarded noble titles according to the number of points they possessed, but that tradition had disappeared.
└ Wild Grylls: You aren’t bringing them back because of me, are you?
└ Don’tAbandonTheHero: No! I was already planning to revive Ladder Points while adding various minigames!
I didn’t really know how to have fun. I simply wasn’t thinking very hard about it.
Anyway, when I tried to write a new post, I found that an additional option had appeared, just as the head manager had said.
It resembled a poll, but it only had two empty fields.
Apparently, I was supposed to assign one kangaroo to each field.
Since this is only a trial run...
I simply entered "Kangaroo No. 1" and "Kangaroo No. 2."
The system would calculate the odds automatically. I had also set my commission to zero.
Once everything was ready, people flooded into Grylls’s post.
Thud! Smack!
"Oh! That’s it! Nice one!"
If the previous match had been WWE, this one was UFC.
Instead of flashy wrestling moves, they exchanged simple but vicious punches.
Since they were kangaroos, boxing actually suited them best.
BAM!
"Pho-ek!"
The match ended when one kangaroo’s jaw was violently twisted aside by a clean punch.
The match had lasted approximately ten minutes. I recorded all ten minutes on video.
The result was already obvious, but the footage would serve as evidence.
Since Kangaroo No. 2 won...
I edited the post to announce Kangaroo No. 2’s victory.
Perhaps because it was the first match, the odds for both sides had been roughly equal.
However, the amount wagered had far exceeded my expectations.
...Is everyone on the Gallery rich?
The total amount was equivalent to hundreds of millions of won.
Or perhaps the Gallery was simply filled with dopamine addicts.
I couldn’t tell.
In any case, I followed the instructions and announced Kangaroo No. 2’s victory.
└ Princess Cheonggu: Fuuuuuuuck!!! My points!!!
└ Mom... Where did my points go...? Where are they...?
└ It’s cold... Please give me back my points...
└ I’ll never gamble again... Please, give them back...
└ Wild Grylls: What the hell is this?
Bankrupt gamblers appeared one after another.