Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha! Novel - Chapter 341
## Chapter 341 – The Sword Waiting to be Drawn (6)
<Aaron’s Parallel Story Episode 12>
***
Kainil, the man known as the strongest gladiator, asked the man for help.
He wanted his support.
“Help?”
The man narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, we’ve come to the conclusion that we need you in our plan. If you help us, we can reduce casualties.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I don’t need to explain the reason, do I?”
“Because I’m strong?”
“Exactly.”
Kainil looked the man directly in the eyes.
“17 bouts, 17 victories. Your bouts are famous for being intense and exciting. Faking a victory is much harder than simply winning. If you’ve never been defeated in those simulated bouts, that speaks volumes.”
“…….”
“Among your opponents were some as strong as me. But even in those bouts, everything was a ‘simulation’. Isn’t that obvious to those who know?”
“Simulation.”
Kainil described the man’s bouts as simulations.
He was right.
The man turned each bout into a fierce battle, regardless of his opponent’s strength.
From the spectator’s perspective, it looked like a life-or-death fight where the man barely managed to win.
But those with a keen eye knew the truth.
It seemed like a minimal difference.
It seemed like victory and defeat were decided by a small margin.
But if you looked closely, the difference was vast.
Even if it seemed like a minimal difference, his opponent could never close that gap.
“You speak easily.”
Kainil sighed and continued.
“You’re playing us all.”
“Wow.”
“It’s not difficult for an adult to play with a five-year-old child. I assert that you are the strongest of all the gladiators here.”
Kainil continued.
“Of course, I also know that it’s not just play.”
“…….”
“The gladiators you’ve simulated bouts with have a high probability of survival. You’ve created interesting bouts. The White Demons favor you for that. That’s why there are fewer gladiators dead after your bouts.”
“So, what?”
“But now, everyone knows. Everyone is watching you. The coliseum security has become more stringent lately. All of that is directed at you.”
Kainil stared intently at the man.
“If things continue like this, no matter how strong you are, you’ll die. It seems you’ve been stripped of your weapon too.”
He was right.
The privilege of carrying weapons, reserved for high-ranking gladiators, was no longer allowed to the man.
He was unarmed.
“The proposal is simple. Join us and let’s get out of here. There are many places where your strength will be valuable.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Give me a reason. I’ll try to convince you.”
Kainil responded without hesitation.
‘Interesting.’
Normally, if an offer is rejected, the other party withdraws in anger.
But trying to convince him, huh?
It was a new approach.
The man, intrigued, spoke.
“You’re annoying.”
“…….”
“You speak well, but in reality, you just want to use me to save yourself. Am I wrong?”
Kainil lowered his head.
“They can’t do it themselves, so they’re seeking help from others. That’s understandable. But what do I gain from this?”
“We use each other to survive. We use you, and you use us.”
“What if I don’t need your help?”
Kainil remained silent.
The man scoffed and continued.
“If I’m as strong as you say, do I really need your help? If I want to, I could get out of here on my own. If I go with you, you’ll just be a hindrance.”
“No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to avoid all the guards and get out on your own.”
“Why do you think that? What if I’ve been hiding more power?”
“…….”
“Isn’t that your intention? While I fight the guards, you secretly escape.”
“I swear it. By my honor…”
“Don’t talk about honor.”
The man’s voice turned cold.
“You and I, both of us are trash that kills our own comrades for the entertainment of the White Demons. Where’s the honor in that?”
“…….”
“If you truly knew honor, you’d be dead already. But you’re not. You’re alive. So, how many have you killed to get where you are?”
Kainil remained silent.
“I don’t blame you. I’ve also sold my comrades to survive. That’s why we bear the title of high-ranking gladiators.”
“…….”
“Talking about honor when we’re this rotten is disgusting.”
The man sneered.
We’re rotten.
Yes, completely rotten.
With no possibility of redemption.
This was also a message to himself.
Although he simulated the bouts, the man killed to survive.
That didn’t change.
“It’s true.”
Kainil spoke with resignation.
“You’re right. You and I, everyone here is rotten. There’s no honor in us, who sell our comrades to survive.”
“…….”
“I’ve stained my hands with blood too. Some of them were close companions I laughed and talked with. But I killed them. I killed them to survive. It was a dirty thing. But I did it, I resigned myself and killed my friends.”
That’s right.
As long as you realize it.
It’s better for trash like us to disappear quickly.
What’s the point of escaping?
The only thing we know how to do is kill.
We would only steal from the weak to grow fat.
We wouldn’t be different from the White Demons.
Then…
“That’s why.”
“…….?”
“I want to know.”
Kainil looked at the man.
His eyes showed no doubt.
Kainil’s eyes shone with determination.
“The only thing we know how to do is kill. We’ve survived by killing our comrades. Our life has been dirty, without honor. That’s why I want to know. I want to know.”
“What?”
“I want to give meaning to our lives. I want to give purpose to this dirty existence. I want to believe that, even though our lives were trash, at least in the end they weren’t. I want to believe that, at least in the end, we didn’t kill to survive, but to save others.”
Bang!
Kainil pulled out a dagger and plunged it into the wooden table.
On the tip of the dagger was a map.
“This is the map of the city.”
Kainil spoke.
“The only way out of the city is the south gate. But it’s guarded by the White Demon forces. Even though the apocalypse is approaching, the demons won’t let people escape.”
“What’s your intention?”
“We want to save them.”
Save?
The people?
The man looked at Kainil, incredulous.
His eyes showed no doubt.
“If we go out and distract them, people will have time to escape. That’s the plan.”
“Go out and distract them, instead of escaping?”
“Exactly.”
Kainil took a deep breath.
“We’ll probably… die there.”
“You’re doing it knowing that?”
“Yes. We’re all prepared. For the first time in our lives, we’ve made an oath. That, at the time of our death, we won’t wield the sword to survive, but to save others.”
“…….”
“I won’t force you to join. Just help us escape. Then, use us to buy time.”
The man laughed scornfully.
Not to survive, but to save?
He didn’t believe in grandiloquent words.
‘Son, be happy there. Trust us.’
Before he was sold into slavery.
‘I’ll help you. Trust me.’
Before he was used.
The words they said to him still lingered deep in his mind.
Even though more than a decade had passed, he couldn’t forget it.
What about the gladiators who were here?
They repeatedly betrayed and allied with each other, fighting like beasts.
They always talked about loyalty and promises while making deals.
“…….I know it’s hard to believe. I wouldn’t believe it either.”
Kainil bowed his head.
“Then you know my answer.”
“Please, think about it one more time. I’ll accept any condition.”
“Any condition, you say?”
The man pulled out the dagger stuck in the table.
The blade spun and approached Kainil’s throat.
“Give me your life.”
“…….!”
“If you die by my hand, I’ll consider it. You said you were prepared to die, right? According to your logic, I’m a more valuable asset than you, right?”
The man pressed the dagger.
The blade cut a layer of skin and began to bleed.
“That is…”
“Not a bad condition, right? You gain my trust with your life. I can’t trust someone who only talks.”
“…….”
“Are you going to make excuses? Say that without you, your comrades can’t be led. That you need to live to lead them. Is that what you’re going to say?”
Kainil closed his eyes.
“If you need my life to trust me, then take it.”
“Wow.”
“If my life serves as proof of trust, then take it. But please, keep your promise.”
“Then, I won’t refuse.”
The man gripped the dagger’s hilt.
The blade penetrated deeper into Kainil’s neck.
A little more, and it would reach the artery, causing a geyser of blood.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
The skin opened, revealing the thin muscles.
Right before the threshold of death.
“…….”
Kainil bit his lips.
“St, stop!”
The man stopped.
At the same time, several gladiators rushed in from outside the door.
In total, there were three.
They knelt before the man.
The man observed the group without emotion.
“If you need lives, take ours.”
“You can kill us all, but please, leave our leader.”
“We beg you.”
They looked at the man with supplication.
“This is strange.”
The man murmured.
“What’s your intention?”
“We have no intention. We just need your strength.”
“Do you need my help so much that you’re willing to do this?”
He had already made his intention of rejection clear.
Even more than necessary.
Under normal circumstances, they would have backed down in anger.
“Don’t you have any shame?”
“It doesn’t matter. Our leader said we needed you. If that’s the case, we can endure this humiliation.”
“If you need lives, take ours.”
The man felt disgusted.
He thought they were being irrational.
They entered openly, saying they could kill them if he wanted, making a spectacle.
“Get up. This is annoying.”
“…….”
“Take your leader and go.”
The gladiators slowly got up.
They lifted the kneeling leader.
A stream of blood ran down Kainil’s neck.
“We won’t leave until you hear our answer…”
“That’s enough noise. If you keep this up, the guards will hear you. Do you know that?”
Kainil remained silent.
He seemed to accept that he couldn’t convince the man, with an expression of frustration evident.
“I’m sorry.”
“…….”
“I didn’t want to ask for your help.”
Kainil bowed his head.
He got up.
“Let’s go.”
“But…”
“We didn’t come to force things.”
At Kainil’s words, the companions got up.
“Excuse our disrespect. Forgive us.”
Kainil bowed his head, speaking briefly.
“If you change your mind, please, contact us. We’ll be waiting.”
Kainil left with his companions.
Silence returned to the room.
The man closed his eyes, thinking.
‘That’s why… you want to know.’
Kainil had said that.
He had lived a dirty life.
Selling his comrades for the entertainment of the White Demons.
That’s why, in the end, he wanted to know honor.
Honor.
The man didn’t know exactly what that word meant.
Even in chivalric literature, honor had different meanings.
But there was a common thread.
It wasn’t about others, but about oneself.
Of course, this was different from killing to survive as a gladiator or bandit.
Those who knew honor were sincere with themselves.
They didn’t feel hatred towards themselves.
Even if they died the next day, they could die without regret.
Therefore, the sword of an honorable person was not a tool of slaughter.
It was a light that reflected their will.
“…….”
The man looked at his hands.
He had killed many of his own comrades to survive.
He didn’t do it for himself.
He did it for the entertainment of the White Demons.
He had used his sword because others had forced him, under the guise of survival.
Could this be called honor?
Even if he died now, what would be left?
Just a life filled with hatred and regret.
He sighed deeply.
Then he spoke.
“Come in.”
The footsteps he had heard outside the door stopped.
Soon, a knock was heard, and the door opened.
“Di, excuse me.”
It wasn’t Kainil.
It was one of his companions.
He looked more like a young man than an adult.
“My name is Bian.”
Bian bowed his head.
“What do you need?”
“Well, if you change your mind, we’re ready to help you anytime…”
“What are you hiding there?”
“Oh, this is an operational plan.”
Cunning?
Bian quickly changed his expression and spread a map out on the table.
It was also a map of the city, with annotations and drawings everywhere.
“Are you willing to help us?”
“I’ll listen first.”
Bian’s face lit up.
“Understood!”