After work, Xi Mu couldn't wait to lie down in the life support pod, ready to break the speedrun record for the Mysterious Gate.
The next day.
Headlines news.
News spread across the internet that due to inadequate safety measures of game pods produced by Creation Company, a player had suddenly suffered brain death.
In response, Creation Company urgently recalled all game pods of the same model and made proactive compensations.
Meanwhile.
In another world.
"Although I heard they were going to optimize it, this optimization seems way too good." Xi Mu reopened his eyes, taking in the familiar environment.
The environment this time gave him the illusion that he wasn't playing a game, but was actually in another world—it was just too realistic.
He was now sitting on an old wooden chair, in front of him a decayed wooden table upon which lay a rusty longsword, and, a stamped contract.
Name: Ahtal.
Race: Human.
Level: "Useless person."
ID: "4527."
This was his identity setting within Mysterious Gate, starting off as a useless person who had nothing, located in a fighting arena where constant battling was required.
It's not a difficulty that non-veteran players would challenge.
Of course, choosing the useless person start wasn't without its benefits. In this fighting arena, as long as one had solid skills, the levels could be leveled up quickly.
And just then.
"4527, it's your turn to duel!"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a soldier clad in plate armor entered the dim room, his hand slightly raised. He opened his mouth to say some routine rhetoric but saw a man in shorts brushing past him excitedly, saying over his shoulder.
"Skip." With those words, the man with the rusty longsword had already run far away, sprinting towards the direction of the fighting arena.
The atmosphere turned subtly awkward.
"..." The soldier turned silently, watching the man in large shorts dash excitedly into the fighting arena—a place where life and death were at stake.
A normal person participating for the first time would feel nervous and apprehensive, but the other party seemed like he couldn't wait, not caring about life or death at all, filled with eagerness.
Shortly after.
"..." Xi Mu ran out of the entrance to the arena, and as light flooded his vision, he felt like he was entering a miniaturized Roman Colosseum. Around him sat a great number of spectators—humans, dwarfs, elves, orcs, and other species.
Not far from him, a wolf-headed orc wielding a broken cleaver slowly approached, its green eyes revealing wariness and wildness.
Their gazes met.
"Start chopping!" Xi Mu kicked off the soft sand with his feet, charging toward the wolf with no hint of fear, the rusty longsword swinging down.
With the clang of the sword against the cleaver, sparks flew, and the audience's excitement soared. This fight had some fire—it didn't have any tentative probing but was straight into combat.
However, the excitement quickly died down.
The orc didn't even last a round before it was pierced through the throat by the rusty longsword and then kicked away forcefully.
"Wolfs, truly a newbie's friend," Xi Mu remarked as he watched the wolf struggle in pain on the ground, shaking the blood off his longsword.
"Hurry up, arrange the next one!" He turned to shout, holding up the rusty longsword, laughing maniacally at the fight organizer not far away, like a demon.
The problem with this game is that it doesn't allow for skipping transitional scenes, under the pretense of realism, necessitating wasteful waiting.
Obviously, for him, a speedrunner, it was a waste of time.
"... Huh?" The host was momentarily stunned, but then quickly recovered, promptly raising his hand and announcing to everyone.
"The victor, Ahtal!" he declared, and with a buoyant tone, he clenched his fist, "Ahtal is allowed consecutive duels!"
Amidst the frenzied cheers of the audience, another orc entered the duel arena, igniting another round of slaughter.
Ten battles, ten victories.
Xi Mu dispatched every opponent that appeared with the utmost speed, not even allowing time to remove the bodies before the next duel commenced.
Securing ten consecutive victories would grant a hidden achievement.
And, as expected.
[System Host E%#$%], a somewhat jumbled noise, suddenly pierced his ears, though it wasn't clear.
However, it was probably the notification sound for the successful acquisition of the hidden achievement.
"Is it a lack of optimization? Why does it feel like there's static?" Xi Mu, having rummaged in his ear, didn't pay too much attention to the noise, turning his gaze to the duel arena's host, "After obtaining ten victories, I can earn the right to learn magic, right?"
"That's correct," the host nodded, observing the blood-drenched man before him grin.
"Then take me to learn; I need to hurriedly grind for levels."
The Host: "…"
Why did he find the man's strange words a bit incomprehensible? Nevertheless, it was true that duelists who could achieve ten victories were entitled to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that ordinary people could never dream of—to learn how to acquire Magic Power.
Of course, whether or not they had the Talent for Magic Power was another matter.
However, rules are rules. He beckoned a dark-skinned woman over to guide Xi Mu on his quest to learn how to harness Magic Power.
...
...
Within the dim passageway.
"Lord Ahtal, why do you keep plugging your ears?" the scantily-clad dark-skinned woman asked, puzzledly eyeing the man beside her who kept touching his ear.
Xi Mu dismissed her with a wave of his hand, offering no explanation. He felt a barrage of noise at his ear, but as an experienced player, he suspected it was the settlement of a novice task.
He had heard it many times before.
[Host, can you hear?]
[I am the Witch Conquest System that can help you conquer various types of Witches, providing you with the perfect romantic experience. Are you excited?]
[Hey... Host... Can you hear me? I am System 1314, at your service.]
[Hmm... Was there an installation error?] The system's voice suddenly turned to panic, quickly initiating self-diagnostics.
Without its guidance, the host—who had just traveled to this world—was in grave danger and needed rapid repairs.
Not long after.
"Wow~ the system interface finally showed up." Xi Mu noticed an attribute panel suddenly appearing in his vision, but the text was a jumbled mess, completely illegible.
He casually clicked to close it.
Learning Magic Power was now the priority. The current events wouldn't hinder his speedrun through the Mysterious Gate.
"Hey... Are you in good shape?" Xi Mu suddenly asked the dark-skinned woman beside him, sizing her up.
Unexpectedly exotic, quite enticing.
"I'm fine, but I'm not easy," the dark-skinned woman responded, lightly gathering her hair from her ear as she cast a glance at the man before her.
"It will cost extra."
"That's fine by me," Xi Mu agreed readily. Upon seeing the woman nod, he grabbed her wrist, and amidst her coquettish expression, began to hasten their pace.
Since the dark-skinned woman had good stamina, they would quicken their steps.
Speedrun.