Only My Skill Tooltip Is Strange

32 – 2nd Floor, Griffin Hunt.

I read the clauses regarding the Colosseum’s gladiators.

There was a word in the middle that bothered me, so I couldn’t readily accept it.

As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, a free democratic country, it was hard to accept.

‘A slave?’

Even though I had somewhat adapted to the Tower of Struggle, where human lives were treated like flies, at the moment, being a slave felt more unfamiliar than death.

“What are you doing up there!”

“Move out of the way quickly?!”

While I was hesitating for a moment.

People waiting behind me shouted.

I glanced back and saw a vicious-looking orc.

He was glaring at me.

“If you’re not going to register, get lost.”

“……”

I stepped out of the line.

The orc took a step forward and accepted the Colosseum’s gladiator proposal.

‘Is anything changing?’

I watched the orc closely.

‘Nothing seems to be changing.’

Looking at the clauses, being a gladiator seemed like a fool’s errand.

I knew it was necessary to go upstairs, but I wondered if it was something that needed to be done urgently.

‘There are people who look like Earthlings too…’

They were no different from going to their deaths.

It’s hard to guarantee victory no matter who you meet in the arena.

But why would anyone want to become a gladiator willingly?

Was it because the desire to climb suddenly surged?

It was a question.

Grrrr-.

A loud noise came from my stomach.

I couldn’t eat properly during the 3-on-3 team battle on the first floor.

Because of Blinky’s mini-game, there was no time to eat.

‘Busy earning gold, when do I have time to eat? Just skip it.’

At the moment of betting, I was no different from a gambling addict in a casino.

The aftermath was only now catching up.

I looked for something to eat.

There were restaurants everywhere.

I just had to choose a menu.

“Ah.”

I rummaged through my pockets.

All I had left were a few gold coins from random box shopping.

Blinky had called these coins Blinky Gold.

‘Can I use this?’

It didn’t seem like there was a world where Blinky Gold was a usable currency.

Worry came first.

“Kerrk. Can I pay with this?”

I entered a nearby restaurant and showed the Blinky Gold.

The goblin restaurant owner frowned.

“Can you use this?”

“…Isn’t it gold? It was made by a dragon, so it shouldn’t be fake.”

“That’s true. But you can’t use it here. Kerrk. On the second floor, the currency you can use is fixed.”

The goblin showed me a coin.

It had a human face engraved on it.

“If you want to eat, bring this. Then I’ll give you a meal. Kerrk.”

“…Where can I get it?”

“What? You don’t know anything? Kehrek. Are you a newbie?”

When I nodded, the goblin clicked his tongue and said.

“Have you registered as a gladiator? Kehrek.”

“No.”

“You have to register as a gladiator. Players must win matches to earn Nero Gold.”

The goblin’s tone was strange.

It was as if it was obvious that one had to register as a gladiator, so it felt like something was off.

I thought it was unavoidable for climbing, but other than that, there seemed to be no merit.

I felt uneasy because I had come to the gladiator registration office with questions.

‘It feels like other options are excluded…’

The goblin cleared up my doubts.

“Players can’t use Nero Gold unless they are gladiators.”

“What?”

“If you just came up, you might not know. Nero Gold can only be used by ‘gladiators’ and ‘the emperor’s slaves’.”

The goblin showed me the brand on his forearm.

It was a brand with a pattern I had never seen before, seemingly a symbol of slavery.

“Other people can’t use Nero Gold. Buying clothes, eating food, everything is not allowed.”

“……”

I roughly understood why I felt frustrated by the goblin’s tone.

‘But how do they control it?’

The goblin and I made eye contact.

“Judging by your expression. Kehrek. You don’t seem to understand? Earthlings usually react that way.”

The goblin laughed kehl-kehl.

“If you’re really curious, you can try it out.”

He snapped his fingers and tossed me a Nero Gold coin.

I caught the coin.

Then a message appeared.

[You are not an authorized user.]

Sparks flew.

Crackle-!

【120】

Just by receiving the coin, 20% of my life force was drained.

“How is it? It’s real, right?”

The goblin took back the Nero gold.

I let out a hollow laugh as I stared at the tips of my fingers, steam rising from them.

It was absurd.

‘Players are inevitably forced to become gladiators.’

I finally understood why there was a long line formed in front of the registration office.

“By the way, it’s not just Nero gold. Kerek.”

“…Does that mean other methods are impossible too?”

“It’s obvious what’s in a human’s mind. You’re all scheming to fill your bellies with tricks. None of that works, so wake up from your dream.”

It seemed there were quite a few humans who had thoughts similar to mine.

“Curious?”

“…….”

“Here.”

The goblin handed over a green onion it was holding.

I activated Iron Armor and received the green onion.

[You are an unauthorized user.]

Crackle-!

【90】

I couldn’t hide my shock at the reduced life force.

‘Ignoring durability?’

It seemed that no race could be free from the laws of the second floor.

“Hurry and give it back. If you keep holding it, you’ll die. Kerek.”

“…….”

The goblin gestured.

I quickly gave up the green onion and returned it.

My head started to throb.

‘Starve to death or get stabbed to death.’

The player had to choose one of the two.

“Still, there’s no need to be too scared. Kehrek. Just because you become a gladiator doesn’t mean you’ll die for sure. There’s no law that says you must die.”

“……”

The goblin thought I was an ordinary Earthling.

So it gave me some advice, though it wasn’t really advice.

“The prize money varies depending on the match conditions. You just need to participate in matches with lower rewards.”

“But isn’t the option of dying the same?”

“You have to look at the conditions carefully. For example, conditions like ‘Avoid Elimination’.”

“What?”

Are there such conditions in gladiator matches?

“If you don’t register as a gladiator, you won’t even look at the match conditions properly. It’s possible not to know. Kehrek.”

“…Are you saying you don’t die even if you lose the match?”

“Yeah. So there are many players who barely hang on. The whole process from applying for the match isn’t easy, though.”

“……”

“Don’t be too scared. First, register as a gladiator. If you don’t want to voluntarily become the emperor’s slave, the player can’t avoid it anyway. There’s no benefit in delaying it. Kehrek.”

Ding-.

“Welcome. Kehrek!”

Customers came in.

The goblin kicked me out to prepare their meals.

I started from the goblin’s restaurant and wandered around the city to confirm the truth.

‘Even sleeping won’t be easy.’

You have to pay to use the lodging.

But players who aren’t gladiators can’t use Nero Gold.

A dead end.

The owner of the second floor, called the ‘Emperor’, had set a dead end for the players.

Growl-.

I wandered around for hours.

My empty stomach growled loudly.

With a sigh, I returned to the gladiator registration office.

The line was still long.

It meant that there were that many players in this vast city.

The message popped up again.

It was the same as the first time.

In addition to that.

[Would you like to register as a gladiator?]

[Y/N]

I think I received a similar question when I entered the Tower of Struggle.

Back then, I pressed it by accident, but this time I responded on my own.

[You have been registered as a gladiator.]

[You have gained access to the match application board.]

The match application boards were lined up next to the registration office.

Numerous players were staring at the boards, trying to find a decent match.

I also blended into the crowd and looked at the boards.

I just wanted to see what it felt like.

[Bestiarii]

[Gladiator]

There are two types of matches.

Bestiarii, where you compete against beasts, and Gladiator, where you compete against people.

Within those, the conditions varied and the prize money differed.

As expected, the match with the least prize money was the one with the ‘Survival’ condition.

Just by adding the condition of not dying, the reward money was reduced to one-hundredth.

It was such a small amount that I wondered if it was enough to buy a meal.

‘…No one wants to die.’

Matches with the Survival option were popular.

“Wait a moment.”

An employee posted several papers on the board.

It was a recruitment notice for matches where you wouldn’t die.

As soon as it was confirmed, even the players crouching in the corner rushed over.

They desperately tried to secure those matches.

“Ahh! Ah! Stop! Don’t push!”

Some people were being trampled by the crowd.

“Please don’t push!”

An employee tried to calm the players.

“This game has a lot of participants!”

The employee’s voice was strong.

Should I call it a deterrent?

The players stopped in their tracks.

Only then did a semblance of peace return.

I pushed through the crowd to check the details.

[Griffin Hunt]

[Game Time: Tomorrow at 1 PM]

[Required Participants: 10]

[Reward per Person: 20 Nero Cooper]

[Conditions]

Avoid elimination, self-armed.

Excludes forest races (Elves, Spirits, Fairies, Druids, etc.).

Considering that a meal at a goblin’s restaurant costs 5 Nero Cooper…

For a game with an elimination prevention option, it doesn’t seem too bad…

At that moment.

“Hey.”

“……”

“You’ve had a worried look on your face for a while. Want to talk for a bit?”

A pretty Asian woman smiled brightly and spoke to me.

‘…An Earthling.’

It wasn’t the outfit that gave it away.

The woman was wearing martial arts attire, so it wasn’t easy to conclude she was an Earthling.

But there was a strange sense of incongruity in the atmosphere she exuded.

She didn’t seem like a martial artist.

I could tell at a glance that she was an Earthling pretending to be a martial artist.

“…Yes. Well.”

Just a story.

As much as you want.