"Ladies and gentlemen, humans and mutants, welcome to the peak of all horrors!" The Coliseum host's voice boomed, bouncing off the thirty-meter-high concrete walls. "Today, we are not just watching a match. We are watching an execution! On one side, the lord of armor, the living legend of the Immortals Guild... TITAAAAN!" A roar of cheers exploded like a bomb in the spectator stands. Thousands of people stood up, chanting Titan's name until the air felt like it was vibrating. "And on the other side... a fighter who somehow is still breathing to this day. The jinx barista... THE COFFEE GUYYYY!" Unlike Titan, the reception for Raka was merely a rain of mockery, boos, and blunt objects thrown toward the arena. Raka stood in the middle of a vast stretch of sand, his barista apron fluttering in the strong wind that carried the smell of gunpowder. Suddenly, a giant

Above him, the giant shadow of Titan covered the spotlight, as if death were spreading its black wings. Titan grabbed Raka's hair with one hand. A cynical smile was carved on his lips."Why are you still trying to breathe, Barista?" Titan asked.He lowered the hand that had been grabbing Raka's hair, letting the young man fall back to the sand in a face-down position."Do you see the screen in the sky? No one is betting on your life. You are just statistical trash." Titan sneered at Raka.Raka clutched the sand. He remembered his father's voice on the radio the other day. Do not go East... Raka, Father is sorry..."I... cannot die yet..." Raka whispered hoarsely. "I have not... met my family."Titan burst into laughter hearing Raka's words which he found absurd. That sound of laughter triggered cheers of mockery from the stands."Family?" he sneered. "In this world, family is a burden that will only make you slow. Look at me! I threw away my humanity for this power!"Titan raised his

When the steel hammer head almost touched the tip of his shoe, Raka dropped his body backward. He slid on the sand that was slippery due to blood and dust, right between the giant's legs which were spread wide open due to his attacking stance. The world instantly turned into a very clear slow motion for Raka. He saw Titan's inner thigh. He saw the wide-open armor gap to exhaust the hot steam of the A.E.G.I.S engine. He could even see the black kevlar fibers wrapping the giant's sensitive skin. Raka's left hand moved. Not the movement of a gallant warrior, but the movement of a professional pickpocket who had been trained by the bitter necessity of survival. His fingers darted into the side pocket of Titan's thigh unprotected by steel, snatching one defective pineapple grenade he had stored earlier. With one jerk of his thumb accelerated by the machine in his

Raka straightened his back. Even though his body was full of wounds and blood, he walked slowly approaching Titan. Mocking laughter was heard from the audience. Replacing the previous cheers. Raka stopped right in front of Titan who was still kneeling and whimpering. He lowered his body, staring straight into Titan's eyes which were now filled with shame, pain, and hatred. With a very calm movement, Raka drew 'The Builder's Wrath' cement trowel from his belt. He pressed the tip of the indestructible rusted iron blade right under Titan's chin, forcing the giant to look up at him. "D-Damn... you..." Titan hissed. Raka stared at Titan sharply. "Earlier you said I was an NPC, right?" Raka's voice sounded cold, in tune with the mechanical sound in his chest. "Just now, that was a message from construction workers and baristas all over the world. Never underestimate people who are used

"LUNA! DON'T SLOW DOWN! JUST RAM THAT BARRICADE!"Raka shouted until his voice was almost drowned out by the roar of the truck's diesel engine that was forced to work beyond its limits.The Toxic Goose truck dashed out of the Coliseum parking lot and smashed the wooden barricade gate and barbed wire set up by the guards.Raka stood in the half-open rear truck bed with his left hand tightly gripping the support pillar. Meanwhile, his right arm hugged the transparent cylindrical tube as if the object were a newborn baby.Raka began to wince when he felt his right arm suddenly turn hot. He glanced briefly at Vanya, then at the cylindrical tube in his embrace."Vanya! This thing is getting hotter! Are you sure it's safe to hug?!" he complained.His face started to turn red due to the temperature radiating from the tube."Just endure it, Raka! That is a sign that the regenerative nanobots inside are reacting with the frequency of the reactor on your chest!" Vanya shouted from in front of h