A five-story high building towered over the surrounding structures. Built with huge rectangular bricks, the building’s overall circular shape presented an additional square acting as an entrance. Numerous iron bars stood at the entry gate, as if they were warning enemies not to enter.

At that moment, two siblings walked in front of the entrance.

“Beware ok? I will watch you!” The little girl smiled toward her brother.

“Sure, just watch how I will beat everyone!” The brother laughed and walked up to the counter.

The two were Shu Himo and Aria. Their parents were once again stalking the two, hidden behind one of the many tall stone pillars on the side.

Shu Himo’s wounds were already healed, so he didn’t attract any attention from the few passersby in the area.

“Hello! I’d like to get a ticket to watch the arena.”

“Sure, it’s two silvers each.” The receptionist girl replied promptly. Her long blonde hair swayed as she extended her hand to take the silver coins.

Shu Himo couldn’t help but blink at the sight. She almost seemed a replica of the typical receptionist girl in games. “Here.” Handing two silver coins, Shu Himo bought a ticket and gave it to Aria. “Remember to watch how your brother will get a big win streak!”

Aria nodded with a smile and made her way to the stands.

The receptionist looked puzzled at the two.

Shu Himo then walked back to the counter. There was a hidden fire in his eyes as his tail waved around. He stared at a display in front of him and knew that it was not a matter of just gold anymore—it was a matter of BS points!

[Quest: Show your strength with a win streak in the arena!]

[Everyone in this kingdom considers you weak and lazy, isn’t that embarrassing? Solve the problem by overwhelming the real weaklings! If you lose once you will fail this quest.]

[Quest Difficulty: D- ~ A]

[Quest Reward: 2 BS points for every 5 win streak.]

[Quest Failure Penitence: Any “earning” becomes a loss.]

“Hi again.” His tail kept waving. “I want to register to fight in the arena.”

“Sure, I wil— wait, aren’t you just a child? This isn’t a place to play, in here you could die!” The receptionist girl was shocked. She swore to herself not to allow such a small kid to throw his life away.

Shu Himo’s tail froze. But he didn’t give up. “Yes, I’m ten years old, but so what? Is age a limitation? Is age a requisite? No! I will not get blinded by the burdens of age and will always fight forward!”

Even in front of Shu Himo’s nonsense, she didn’t budge. “Absolutely not! I will not allow you to kill yourself!”

Shu Himo felt unlucky to find such a kind receptionist.

Couldn’t he get a heartless one that gave less problems instead? Why was she this worried for him? Was it because of the karma from surviving the system? Or… was it the system who put her here?

Ah! System, did you put this receptionist here to hinder me from fight and get BS points?! I knew you were stingy, but I never thought it would be this much!

[Did the User’s head get hit while fighting against the previous group?]

No, it didn't. Anyway, no matter if it's you who caused this problem, I still have to resolve it...

He felt cornered to the wall. The light of hope seemed to dim even more each second passed, but he still had an ace up his sleeves. An unbeatable ace that could win the fight by itself.

Customer complaints.

“Can you call the manager please?”

Its effect was devastating. Powerless against such offensive, the receptionist girl could do nothing but storm away with an anxious expression.

Hidden behind the pillar, Shu Himo’s parents tried to hold back their laughter and didn’t do anything to help their son.

Soon, the receptionist girl came back with a middle-aged man following behind her. She looked once again at Shu Himo. “Little child, hear me; killing in the arena is allowed, as is using any type of weapon—and while they will generally be stopped if the audience is displeased, even torture tools can be used. If you enter there you will have no security at all and may even die. Are you still sure about it?”

While her worry made Shu Himo feel warm, he felt it was starting to get annoying. Wasn’t this a cultivation world? In every novel he had read, every person would somehow become enemies with the main character. But what was this? Why were they so friendly?

“It’s just a kid that doesn’t know how the world works… Hey, kid, hear me right now. If you want to go and fight, feel free, but I will have you know that we will not take any responsibility for your death.” The manager cut in the conversation. His voice sounded calculative and cold, contrary to the receptionist’s.

Shu Himo’s eyes lit up. Finally someone who couldn't care less if I die! Here I come, Arena arc!

His tail resumed waving once again as he signed all the documents required to participate. He then walked down the path to the waiting room.

-----

A few seconds later, when the manager was reading the documents Shu Himo had signed...

“WHAT?!” He screamed at the sight of a few words.

“What happened?” The receptionist asked.

“That kid… That kid… actually wrote that he would accept any challenge under Dantian Core Formation realm! Is he rushing to die?!”

The receptionist girl, hearing those words, got worried and prayed for the child’s safety.

The manager let out a heavy sigh and his gaze fell once again on the documents. His eyes stared at a single word: Shu.

A frown grew on his face.

If it were most of the other nobles he may not care about it, but he knew that there were families even he could not mess with. And yet, he had already accepted him to fight…

Was there some sort of ploy hidden beneath the surface?

-----

The audience on the stands surrounding the round arena stared stupefied at a white-haired child who walked toward the stage.

"A child? What is a child doing here? Will he fight?" The onlookers were confused. It was the first time they had ever seen a child in the arena.

Answering their wonders, a voice resounded through the place. “At the right we have Shu Himo, a 10 years old wolf-man at the Blood Strengthening phase! While at the left we have a middle-aged wolf-man at the Meridians Strengthening phase who prefers remaining anonymous! Please give your welcome to our challengers!”

The audience would normally be filling the arena with both applauses and excited screams, but this time, its reaction was different.

“Shu Himo? Isn’t that the noble kid who got kidnapped and just got saved by his family?”

“That lazy child that wanted live under his father’s shell? Why is that brat here?”

“He just got saved and he is already throwing his life away, hilarious!”

On the stands, a young girl merely eight years old stared at the mocking crowd surrounding her as a slight hint of killing intent arose from her. Anyone near her felt a shiver slide down their back and shut up instantly.

Shu Himo, on the other hand, didn’t care at all about it. Instead, he even felt excited about receiving such a chance to respect the fifth rule of the MC Way. Always faceslap who thinks to be better!

He looked towards the stands to see where Aria was, but he got disappointed as the high density of the crowd prevented him from finding her.

The anonymous man stared at Shu Himo, displeased to see that the child wasn’t even worrying to look at his opponent. But as the match didn’t start yet, he had to wait before he could satisfy his anger.

"Now I hope that both contenders are ready, because the match will start!" The announcer was also startled by having a child fighting, but he nonetheless gave the start signal.

“Kid.” The anonymous man stared at Shu Himo as his lips grew into a mocking smile. “I don’t know if you came here to prove something, but since you dared to show disrespect toward me don’t expect to get out of here alive, even if you are from a noble family!” He was about to dash forward, but he noticed that his opponent had vanished from his sight. “Wh—”

Splack.

That was his last word. He could do nothing but watch as a short blade flashed to his neck.

Silence fell on the stands as his head rolled on the floor. His beheaded body stood still as if it had never been cut, but it soon collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The audience stared in horror at the boy as he shrugged with a light chuckle. “That's what happens to those who can’t hold their tongue.”