The golden plate clinked against the stone wall, spinning before hitting the ground like one final drop of spilled dignity. Yun stepped back half a step. Just half. Because deep down, he didn't fear me. Not yet.
The silence that followed was so thick it drowned even the screams from the lower arena. My chest rose and fell, filled with a heat that wasn't just anger. It was shame. It was pride. It was everything I had swallowed since I first set foot in this hell.
— I'm forfeiting my plate. — The words came out before I could weigh them. — If you're so superior, then fight me.
Ciny turned to me, eyes wide. She didn't smile. She didn't mock me. Didn't call me an idiot like usual. She just looked at me as if she were seeing something new. Something dangerous.
Yun frowned, then let out a laugh. Loud, full of teeth—but hollow.
— You'll die like a stray dog, then. I accept.
Ciny let out a sigh so loud it nearly scared away the tension.
— John... — she murmured, her hand still on my arm. — If you lose, I'll beat you up worse than he ever could.
I smiled. I couldn't help it. Even in the middle of the storm, she was my lightning bolt of sarcasm.
We headed toward the arena. The sunlight spilled through the high windows like melted gold. I'd never seen the coliseum so full. Gold vs. Diamond? A live suicide. Nothing better to liven up a boring afternoon.
And there he was—the same over-the-top announcer as always.
— HOW'S MY BEAUTIFUUUUUUUL CROWD DOINGGGGGGG?!
They roared like it was the most thrilling thing in their lives.
— ON ONE SIDE, A SWORDSMAN WITH NO MANAAAAAA—JOHHHHHHHHHHHHN!
Amid the crowd's screams, I heard Ciny shouting.
— GET 'IM, SEXY!!!
Only she could snap my nerves like that...
— AND ON THE OTHER SIDE—YUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! A LONG-TIME DIAMOND VETERAN OF THIS ARENAAAAAAAAAA!
Yun took off his cape with ridiculous flair. His sword gleamed with mana—blue, electric, hungry. I, on the other hand, simply drew my katana. Its blade had seen more flesh than polish, but it still sang when it cut the air.
— Last words, golden boy? — Yun mocked, rolling his shoulder like he was warming up for a stroll.
— Yeah. — I took a deep breath. — I'm gonna carve that smile off your face with my blade.
He grinned even wider. Perfect.
— LET THE MATCH BEGINNNNNNNNNNNNN!
His first strike was brutal. A diagonal slash filled with enough mana to split a wall. I rolled on the ground like a wet cat, feeling the energy spark far too close to my face. The spectators whistled. But I was used to it. From the start, my life here had been like this—dodge or die.
— You have no mana... — he said between laughs. — You're just a shadow pretending to be a warrior!
I didn't reply. I lunged forward, pouring my full weight into a low strike. He blocked it easily—but I expected that. I used the rebound to spin midair and kicked his chin. He staggered half a step. Just half. But it was enough to make me smile.
That's when it started. A strange rhythm. He was fast like a storm. I was patient like time. Every blow of his was thunder. Every dodge of mine, the silence that followed.
Until I finally landed a hit.
My katana grazed his arm. Shallow, but real. The crowd held their breath. Yun froze. He looked at the blood trickling down as if it were a lie.
— You... bastard...
He screamed. A burst of mana surged from his body. The ground cracked beneath him. A blue aura, like a furious lightning storm, roared from him like a wild beast. If he had underestimated me before, now he truly wanted me dead.
But in that moment, everything became clear.
It wasn't about strength.
It was about not giving up on yourself.
Ciny knew that. She always had. That's why she stayed.
When the fight ended, I was still standing. Yun, on the ground. The floor around us, cracked and covered in dust.
My arms were shaking. My knees wanted to collapse. But my eyes searched for just one face.
And there she was. Ciny. Looking at me with a smile—not the kind you give to a winner, but the kind you give to someone you always believed would win.
— So... — she said, walking toward me slowly, the light behind her turning her wild hair gold — still think you're not in my league?
I didn't answer. I was too busy trying not to fall flat on my face.
But before I collapsed, I felt her arms catching me.
— Do you realize what you just did? — she whispered in my ear, almost laughing.
— I knocked a diamond to the ground...
— Not just that. — She looked me in the eyes, hers shining. — You just ranked up to diamond, John.
— What...?
She pointed to the ground, where my golden plate still lay.
— Leave that junk. Let's go get a new one.
That night, after I got my shiny new diamond plate—before the staff even finished moving our stuff—I still had to eat that same old bland, pasty, rusty-tasting food.
But she gave me her entire gray pudding without saying a word.
And that, in this place, was basically a love confession.