'Ah, fuck. What is it this time?'
I couldn't see my sister anymore. The view around me was similar—empty cars, shops without any people, roadside tree my sister had been at.
'If the field's the same but there's no people, it can only be…'
I knew what this field was.
'A PVP zone.'
PVP meant 'Player vs. Player'. And a PVP zone referred to a space where duels between Players took place.
'The one who created this… is the Sword Empress' Streamer.'
The Guardians watching over the Sword Empress probably put the Streamer up to it. And I knew who the Sword Empress' Guardian was.
'The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain.'
He was the true master, the true owner, of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. He was one of the few Guardians who revealed their identity of their own accord.
The Sword Empress' Guardian. Heavenly Demon. He, who revealed himself as the 'Lord of the Heavenly Demonic Cult, was famous as a Guardian with an extremely belligerent disposition.
'A courage-lover who likes flattery.' However, he wasn't as reckless as the Lion King. 'One who enjoys personally meddling in the System.'
Of course, that also meant he had the strength to do so.
'A Guardian that doesn't skimp on sponsorships to both Players and Streamers.' There was no doubt that he was the one who interfered. 'I think he issued a quest to Yeonseo to have a go at me.'
I finished evaluating the situation.
'Even in the worst case scenario, I won't die.'
I had already escaped death in the Tutorial Field, the Cataclysm of Jongno. Compared to there, a PVP zone was basically heaven. It would still hurt if you were hit and you'd still bleed if you were pierced, but even in the worst situation, you wouldn't die. This place was a completely different dimension.
'A special field where you revive, even if you die.'
'Roa', Yeonseo's Streamer, who would make it big as a Streamer in the future, appeared before us.
"At the request of the Guardians, specifically the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, a PVP zone has been opened."
At a glance, her image was similar to Shin Yeonseo. She was just 150 centimetres. She was extremely short, but her race called her a 'giant', or something like that. Roa was from the pixie race, and there were four pairs of transparent wings on her back. Whenever her wings fluttered, sparkly powder fell to the ground.
Roa was very different from Senia. She knew how to make use of the situation. She energetically streamed the field to the Guardians.
"A genius who has caught the eye of the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, versus a Player of unknown identity who has a strangely outstanding amount of knowledge and intuition. How will a battle between them go?"
I chuckled. On the contrary, Senia, the Streamer who had made an exclusive contract with me, was absolutely silent, even though such stoicism would make her really unpopular. But actually, I preferred this kind of Streamer, one who lacked both talent and skill.
'Because she has no choice but to need me.'
Yeonseo looked at me. "Sorry. I got a quest, so. But I'm told you won't die, even if you get stabbed. Don't worry!"
"I know. This is a PVP zone, after all."
"You know this, too? This is my first time seeing it."
"I just didn't think a PVP zone would be opened when the Guardian selections haven't even happened."
"Guardian selections? What's that?"
"There's something like that."
Guardians, you heard that, right? I know about the Guardian selections, guys.
[The 'Lady of the Scales' expresses her surprise.]
[The 'Whispering Devil' is unable to repress his astonishment.]
[The 'Courageous Lion King' snorts.]
[The 'Nameless Observer' is silent.]
Yeonseo pulled out the sword I conceded to her earlier and raised it.
"But Hyukjin. You let me have this sword earlier, right?"
"I did."
"You gave it to me, saying you thought I was better at the sword than you."
I did, and those words weren't wrong. The moment I finished figuring out the situation, I had been thinking nonstop about how I should face the Sword Empress.
Yeonseo was good at the sword, even now, when she was just a 'beginner'. At the very least, if you just looked at our 'techniques for handling the sword', Yeonseo was several steps ahead of me. That was my honest judgment.
"But personally, I think you're no slouch yourself."
"…"
How could that be the case? To begin with, the Tutorial Field was the first place where I ever picked up a sword.
"How to say it…? You don't feel like someone who's learned the sword."
"…"
"This is just my feeling, but it was kind of like seeing a genius. You're swinging by instinct without having formally learnt, but you're pretty much a technique genius."
"That so?"
I was realizing that myself, but hearing it from the Sword Empress' lips gave me a weird feeling. I also took out my 'Iron Sword'. Then, I opened my Status Window. Ever since level 18, I had been steadily piling up my stat points.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)
Level: 24
Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player]
Innate Ability: [Eye of Perception] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
Strength: 17
Intelligence: 17
Agility: 23
Perception: 17
Constitution: 17
Willpower: 17(+30)
Bonus stats: 18
Random stats: 13
Undistributed stats: 31
I was level 24. A relevant fact I should mention was that I had 3 unused random stats when I was level 18. From level 18 to 24, over the course of 6 level ups, I got a whopping 10 random stats. From my knowledge, that was an absolutely unprecedented random stat acquisition rate.
'Even if I'm an early blooming genius… In any case, I'm a genius.'
That was an undeniable fact. Numbers didn't lie. Shin Yeonseo's level was also a number. Just looking at the numbers, the level difference between us was 5. And earlier, I had seen her Playing firsthand.
'If I want to draw out a perfect picture… it'd be best to invest generously.'
[Strength +5]
[Intelligence +5]
[Agility +5]
[Perception +5]
[Constitution +5]
I boldly invested 25 stats in one go. My performance would be very different from before.
Strength: 22
Intelligence: 22
Agility: 28
Perception: 22
Constitution: 22
Willpower: 17(+30)
Bonus stats: 0
Random stats: 6
Undistributed stats: 6
'Yeonseo is fast.'
It might be that I had to raise my Agility more in order to beat Yeonseo. For now, I left 6 stats undistributed.
'Her fundamental techniques and skills are better.'
And my physical stats were better.
'Guess this is a fight between a woman with good techniques and a man with good physical parameters.'
The fun thing was that I wasn't that scared of PVPing with Yeonseo. There was definitely the chance I could lose, but on the flip side, I also felt like I could win. While this PVP process was underway, it would be best if I took every action available to me.
"True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain. It appears the noble Guardian is one who encourages betrayal, without any sort of justification, seeing as you have issued a quest to have an ally betray the person they had fought with, the person they had entrusted their back to."
Before the battle started, Roa approached me. She had picked up the smell of content.
"Did you just mention the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain by name? How did you know?"
"You said it, didn't you? That it was the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain."
"Aha."
This pixie, who was considered a huge giant for their race, Roa, looked like her eyes were positively sparkling. The reason why she was dragging out the beginning of the battle was probably to see how the 'True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain' would react.
'If it's the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain I know…'
This Guardian had freely asserted his identity as the Lord of the Million Heavenly Demonic Cult. He was a demon among demons who dominated the heavens with overwhelming strength as his foundation, a hero who pursued simple strength while disdaining injustice and cowardliness.
'A disposition that disdains betraying someone's trust.'
Still, he was on the rather simple side when it came to his fundamental disposition.
'So I'm sure he just got ahead of himself because of the fun in front of his nose.'
In any case, to them, our Playing was merely an 'amusement', a 'game'. It was difficult to really argue about faith or trust with them. However, the situation would change if you called out a being in the middle of this amusement by name.
'Even if it's only out of pride, they can't defy their own standards and rules.'
So, what will you do, oh True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain?
'To make this duel fair and even, he'll either strengthen me or weaken Yeonseo.'
However—
'Weakening Yeonseo doesn't suit the True Master's disposition, so he'll strengthen me.'
I fit all the puzzle pieces together.
'As far as they know, Yeonseo and I are the same level.'
If our levels were the same, in order to have a fair and even duel, he would have to give me some sort of buff on the techniques side of things.
[The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain wishes to bestow on you a temporary skill.]
[You have been given the temporary skill 'Single Hit Finisher'.]
[The temporary skill can only be used within the PVP zone.]
I almost laughed in spite of myself.
'He really did it.'
I simply made a deduction based on the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain's disposition, but that deduction hit the bullseye. It was essentially like I had a strategy guide in my hand.
'Her Single Hit Finisher and my Single Hit Finisher, they're the same.'
I wasn't very scared of the battle with the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo, the woman who was called the Ruler of the Sword. It was a PVP zone where no one would die, anyway.
"Well, then, shall we have some fun?"
"I won't hold back."
Yeonseo leveled her sword at Hyukjin. The moment she had her sword in her grip, the look in her eyes changed.
The difference when she was holding her sword and when she wasn't was obvious. That was the trait that defined the Sword Empress, the martial spirit acknowledged by the Heavenly Demon who was the true master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain.
A genius of PVP with a natural-born talent for the sword—that was Hyukjin's evaluation of Shin Yeonseo.
'My whole body is tingling.'
He could feel it through Eye of Perception. Yeonseo's aura was fierce. She was facing him with the intent to kill him. In other words, this feeling was bloodthirst, an intense energy seldom felt from a low-level Player not even at level 20.
However, Hyukjin was not cowed by Yeonseo's aura. His 'Eye of Perception' was an innate ability with a base function of 'Calm Observer's Eye', a catalyst that could maintain a cool head in any situation and allow him to take a step back to look at the situation objectively. 'Eye of Perception' was very helpful in allowing Hyukjin to maintain his composure.
'She's coming.'
Shin Yeonseo slightly lowered her body. Every movement of her body, her aura, her flow, he saw all of it.
'Here. To the left.'
Hyukjin took one step back and swung his Iron Sword, defending to the left. At this moment, he didn't see anything else. Here, there were only Yeonseo and him, him and Yeonseo. Only the two of them existed.
Clang!
Sword clashed on sword.
'With a little less strength.'
There was no need to expose all his cards. In terms of physical stats, Hyukjin was head and shoulders ahead. However, he didn't show that. To Yeonseo, the two of them were equally matched in strength.
Her attack flowed organically, almost like a living snake.
'The trajectory is going for my side.'
But he had already seen through her with Eye of Perception.
'But her real target is my throat.'
That blade seemingly coming for his side would instantly switch its trajectory and aim for his throat. He read that naturally, with ease. This was, by all accounts, the influence of combat sense. It was a sense for instinctively reading the opponent's movements.
Even so, there was no gap in Shin Yeonseo's attacks.
'I can't see a way to counterattack.'
In that brief moment, Hyukjin jumped backwards, almost like he was pulled by a magnet. It was a fluid, natural movement that widened the distance to a point where sword and sword could no longer touch.
Yeonseo asked, "You haven't learned swordsmanship, have you?"
To Yeonseo, it felt like their physical abilities were equally matched. However, her sword technique was far superior. If so, she should be overwhelming him. That was how it should be, but she hadn't been able to land a single real blow.
'To make such a result, it must be…'
It could only be explained by one thing.
'The difference in sense.'
Or the difference in their talent. Yeonseo judged that this result could only be categorized as those two things.
"I'll be getting serious now, too."
"You weren't serious before?"
"To be honest, I was feeling a bit apologetic. It might be a PVP zone, but it still hurts and is scary to get stabbed."
Such an expression probably didn't suit the situation, but Yeonseo smiled brightly. Her eyes narrowed. At least right now, Yeonseo saw Kim Hyukjin as her rival. At least in this moment, he was an opponent she wanted to overcome without fail. She recognized that.
Hyukjin adjusted his sword position.
'How in the world can a fierceness like that come from an appearance like that?'
He still had a hard time believing that such an aura could come from such a cute and adorable appearance. Hyukjin found himself relaxing a little more.
'Now, I've got the advantage.'
It seemed she had judged that their physical abilities were similar, and she would come in with an attack befitting that evaluation. Hyukjin's prediction was right on the mark.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their swords clashed.
The distance between their swords widened and decreased as they fought a battle that could hardly be called a battle between regular people. Although there were no flashy skills, martial arts, or foot techniques, it was, without a doubt, a battle of a level that was a rare sight in the 'beginner' stage.
Both Hyukjin and Yeonseo panted raggedly. Neither of them had been able to land a lethal hit. Hyukjin had been slashed twice in the sides, Yeonseo twice in her left arm. Neither of them had injuries that would impede fighting.
As the battle continued, Yeonseo had a feeling.
'It's my victory.'
At this very moment, her desire to win was set ablaze. She did not want to lose. She wanted to win. The driving force that had resulted in her growth into the Sword Empress, her desire to win, was endlessly spurring her on.
Her eyes fixed themselves on Hyukjin's throat.
'Now!'
She grasped a chance that wouldn't come again—an opening.
[Using the Innate Ability 'Single Hit Finisher'.]
She had moved nonstop and had struck with her sword all this time for this one opening. For this moment, she had saved Single Hit Finisher. She could see an opening, and she aimed precisely for it. Her experience so far told her. This fight was her win.
'Huh…?'
But just then, a situation so very different from Yeonseo's expectations occurred. A situation so very different from her expectations, but was exactly in line with the picture Hyukjin had drawn.
____