"Thank you for your patronage," The lady wearing a maid outfit forced herself to bow down towards Yuuta and Miki. However, once they turned around, she was gritting her teeth in pure anger as her eyes turned bloodshot. "Those aliens. If only they didn't come here." She muttered to herself.
But before she lost herself, another Dreamer came and she had to wear her fake smile once again. However, she wasn't quick enough to do it and the Dreamer who was about to enter the Town Hall saw her twisted expression and he immediately took it the wrong way.
The Dreamer was none other than the famous NBA player who goes by the name of 'Brooks'. He was an MVP two years ago but his popularity recently dwindled due to his 'short-temperedness'. Of course, having a quick fuse was normal when it comes to a few basketball players but Brooks's fuse was incredibly short that he would pick fights with anyone. The most recent case was a week ago when he picked a fight against a coach. The coach did nothing wrong, he just happened to trip while running around the sidelines and Brooks was too quick to call him out and pick a fight with him. His teammates tried to stop him but for some unknown reason, he started swinging his fists, ultimately hitting the coach by the face.
He got a technical foul after that.
And now, it seems like he's about to make another mistake.
"What? You got a bad day? Isn't it an NPC's job to greet a Dreamer properly, huh?" Brooks raised his nose as he looked down on the lady in a maid outfit. "You think you'll escape wearing that unpleasant look on your face? What? Do I have dirt on my face? Do I smell? You should tell me directly instead of showing off your disgust."
Realizing her mistake, the lady in the maid outfit immediately bowed her head. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention and I didn't see you. Please don't misunderstand my expression!"
Brooks snorted as he shoved the lady away. "Is that how you apologize? How half-hearted. You should at least drop on your knees and lick my shoes or something. And then I'll call it even."
The lady in the maid outfit felt her stomach shrivel as she saw how dirty Brooks's shoes were. Apparently, he just came from the swamp after hunting a beast that resided there.
One thing that any regular NPC knew is that the Dreamers are relatively stronger compared to them. That's why the lady in the maid outfit knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this one. Swallowing her pride, she started lowering herself, hoping that a sincere kowtow would suffice.
"I'm really sorry. Please forgive my wrongdoings." She said as she dropped to her knees.
"Why aren't you licking my shoes, huh?"
"Sir, t-that's— " The lady in the maid outfit cut herself short, fully knowing that saying more would just incriminate her even further. She knew that this is unfair but she had no right to complain. She was just a simple door-greeter, after all.
"You won't lick it, huh? How about you remove your maid outfit instead? That's always amu— "
Bam!
Before Brooks could finish his statement, two jabs swiftly landed on his face. Feeling dazed and shaken up, he stood up, trying to figure out who it was. "Who dared hit me?!" He screamed in annoyance.
"Stop bothering the lady. She didn't do anything wrong." A voice from behind him spoke up. Brooks was expecting a voice of a full-grown man but he realized that it was a voice of a teenager he was hearing.
It was Yuuta. He came back after overhearing the garbage that came out of the basketball player's mouth.
"What the—? It's just a kid?" Brook guffawed. "How dare you hit me in the face?" He continued, grabbing Yuuta by his collar.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're causing such a scene in the middle of Revalia City as if you own the place, you piece of trash." Yuuta calmly and confidently spoke. He then leaned to the side so he could get a good view of the lady who was still kneeling on the floor. "Young lady, you shouldn't kneel in front of garbage. Please stand up, I'll take care of this."
Because of Yuuta's sudden appearance, the lady was a bit shocked that someone tried to save her despite her low status in life. Slowly, she stood up, legs shaking and knees buckling. She wasn't sure whether she should believe the young Dreamer or not but hearing the confidence in his voice spurred her to get back on her feet.
"How insolent! You're courting death!" Brooks screamed in a cliche manner as if he was some sort of a typical villain in a wuxia novel.
Right fist raised, he was prepared to throw punches while Yuuta was suspended in mid-air.
Swish!
With graceful movement, Yuuta tightened his core and lifted his legs up, locking Brooks neck against his thighs that are composed solely of hardened muscles. Catching him off guard, Brook impulsively released his grip on Yuuta's collar, freeing him and enabling him to do his next move.
Now that his legs have locked Brooks neck in what seemed like a sleeper hold, Yuuta twisted around as he grabbed Brooks's right arm. The next thing Brooks knew, he was already lying flat on his stomach as his neck was being wrung like a wet towel. Adding to that, his right arm was twisted to an incredible state that he screamed in excruciating pain.
Yuuta grunted as he tightened the leg lock around Brooks's neck. He was sitting on top of him. "I challenge you to a duel. If you don't accept, then I'll wring your neck out until you lose consciousness! You're in the middle of a quest, right? If I force you to log out then you're going to lose all your progress and you have to start again."
"Urghh!" Brooks's expression conveyed that he was nearing his limits but he didn't concede. He still desperately tried to escape Yuuta's leg lock. In response, Yuuta severely twisted Brook's right arm until his joint was dislocated and dislodged from the clavicle.
Brooks' screamed in pain.
[Status: Injured
— Gradually lose a percentage of your hp over time. If not cured, it can ultimately kill you. (The Injured status is somehow like the Poison Status. Both drain the Dreamer of their hp over a certain period of time). The lost hp percentage largely depends on the injury inflicted on the Dreamer. It also takes into account the pain tolerance of the Dreamer. The higher the tolerance, the less hp will be lost over time.
— Injured state will only trigger if a Dreamer with a lower level than the opponent managed to injure the opponent.]
Brooks's eyes widened in surprise as he realized what was going on. At first, he thought that the teenager who attacked him was somehow related to the NPC lady whom he was harassing. But as it turned out, he was attacked by a fellow Dreamer.
"Are you going to accept my challenge or not? If not, then you can just reset your quest progress in peace. In short, it's an RIP for you. Reset in Peace." Yuuta emphasized his last three words.
The reason why Yuuta knew that Brooks was in the middle of the quest was because of his Special Skill: Clairvoyance, which allows him to see 100% of information about a certain person. Even right now, he can see Brooks' hp bar draining away as he inflicted his injury status.
Even the pop-up notifications that Brooks could see were in plain sight in front of Yuuta.
Brooks was already grasping for straws and he knew that he had no other choice but to accept the match. If he did, then he might have a chance of being forgiven. 'That's right, as long as I sincerely asked for forgiveness and vow not to repeat the same mistakes, then I know he will let me leave. He's just a teenager. Surely he'll fall for it.' Brooks said to himself.
"Rgrgrhhh!" Brooks struggled as his airways were blocked, thanks to Yuuta's leg lock. He wanted to scream and retaliate but he couldn't move. As someone in the melee class, he was as helpless as a newborn baby since his movements were restricted.
And in the end, it didn't matter whether he accepted the Duel or not. Either way, he will be forcibly logged out.
'Whatever, I'll just log out right now. I don't care about my quest anymore. I can't be humiliated like this!' Brooks said to himself as he proceeded to log himself out of the Lucid Dream Server.
Crack!
"Reset in peace, Brooks" Yuuta softly said as he tightened his leg lock around Brooks's neck for the last time.
The crowd watched as Brooks was forcibly logged out, bringing him back to square one in his quest. Dreamers and NPC's alike silently admired Yuuta as he got up and stretched his legs. 'This is what I get from challenging the strength of a Level-39 Dreamer. It was like leg-locking a professional sumo wrestler in an official match. Sigh~ I'd hate to do that again.'
"On behalf of that dreamer, I apologize for his lack of courtesy and garbage personality. I hope that would be enough to teach him a lesson." Yuuta then spoke up as he bowed down in front of the lady in a maid outfit. "If he comes back to harass you again, please call me and I'll teach him a lesson myself. Or if anyone sees him harassing another NPC or Dreamer, please contact me. I'll take care of him."
The lady in the maid outfit was taken aback as she waved her hands around, but then she thought twice about Yuuta's offer and decided to not reject him. With a flustered face, she also bowed down in front of Yuuta.
[Title: A Friend of an NPC (Exclusive Title)
Condition:— Befriend at least one NPC in the Lucid Dream Server (Only one Dreamer can get this title)
— You are now approachable to NPC's
— Gain more reputation to get a special reward
"T-thank you." Ruri blurted out in what sounded like a scream and a whisper at the same time before she headed back inside the Town Hall.