Volume 2, Chapter 30 – Duel Invitation

“Come down!”

Just as the Vice Leader thought that under his attack, even if the little girl dodged in time, she would still show a flustered expression from his sudden strike.

However…

To his surprise, the little girl standing right in front of him didn’t show a trace of panic on her face.

“What the…”

The Vice Leader’s heart skipped a beat.

Though he found it strange that the girl wasn’t afraid or flustered, his fist was already in motion. Even if he realized something was wrong, there was no way to pull back now.

And just as his fist was about to strike the little girl…

Her figure vanished before his eyes.

“What—”

He was shocked. But in midair, other than being carried forward by his own inertia, he had no way to dodge anymore.

The Vice Leader knew that at this point, he was nothing more than a living target, completely open for attack.

“…Too late.”

At that critical moment, the Vice Leader could only activate the defensive skill he had just learned after changing classes to Paladin.

“Holy Armor!”

In an instant, golden light enveloped his whole body. And in the very next second, the little girl’s figure reappeared before him.

A sharp metallic sound rang out.

In the Vice Leader’s sight, the knight’s sword in her hand flashed with a faint crimson light.

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Then, an unbearable pain surged from where her blade had struck, spreading through his entire body.

“Ah—!”

An unimaginable pain like a bolt of electricity flooded his mind. The Holy Armor that had just covered him, glowing gold, shattered into fragments under the girl’s sword, leaving nothing behind.

And in the corner of his vision, half of his HP bar emptied in an instant.

It hurts!

It hurts…!

It hurts…!

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…!

The moment the little girl’s strike landed, an unprecedented sensation overwhelmed him. Ever since he had started playing this Virtual Game, the Vice Leader had never truly experienced what pain felt like.

After all, to prevent players from fearing in-game death, this Virtual Game limited pain intensity. The maximum setting allowed players to feel only 10% of real pain, while the minimum setting completely disabled pain.

And the Vice Leader had set his to the lowest, no pain at all.

But by all logic, with his settings, he shouldn’t have been able to feel pain in the first place.

Yet right now…

The excruciating pain spreading from the point of impact made his consciousness blur. All he could do was scream, oblivious to the world around him.

It felt as though every bone in his body had been crushed by the little girl’s immense strength.

If he hadn’t activated Holy Armor in time, his arm might have been completely severed.

But… he forgot that this was supposed to be a game world.

And yet… if this was a game world, why could he feel pain?

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The Vice Leader couldn’t think straight. As he fell from the sky, crashing to the ground, he didn’t try to get up or defend against her next attack. Instead, his first instinct was to find the System’s pain adjustment setting.

It hurts…!

It hurts so damn much…!

It felt as though every bone in his body had been shattered, and countless ants were gnawing away at his flesh.

Even moving a finger was unbearable.

At this point, all his thoughts of pride and reputation vanished.

The only thing that mattered now was stopping the pain.

“Ah… ah…”

Lying on the ground, the Vice Leader groaned weakly. The agony that reached his very bones made even opening his eyes feel like torture.

Not far from his writhing body, the silver-haired little girl remained silent.

『Samael… What’s going on here? Isn’t he an outsider? Why does he look like he’s in so much pain?』

The girl muttered to herself, her gaze fixed on the Vice Leader lying nearby, groaning in agony.

「Oh my, this is the first time I’ve seen such a scene too, Xiaoyin. I don’t know either~」

A pleasant female voice echoed in the girl’s mind.

『Wuu, you don’t know either, Samael?』

「Well, then Xiaoyin, are you going to kill this outsider or not?」

『Wuu…』

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At Samael’s question, the girl fell silent.

After thinking for a moment, she looked at the Vice Leader, still screaming in pain, and finally turned away.

『Forget it. Killing him like this and letting him respawn would be too merciful. Besides, this form’s time is almost up. Let’s head back.』

As her voice faded, in just a single breath, the little girl’s figure disappeared from the spot.

…

Left behind was the Vice Leader, lying on the ground with his eyes closed, desperately trying to find the System’s pain adjustment setting.

But…

It hurt too much.

Far, far too much.

Even though she had only struck him once, the pain searing through his body clung to him like a nightmare.

“…Hurts… hurts…”

The only words he could utter were those.

Just moving slightly made it feel as though all his bones were being crushed again, so he didn’t dare move at all.

In the end, unable to find the pain adjustment setting, the Vice Leader simply lay there motionless.

Time passed, he didn’t know how long.

Perhaps only a few minutes later, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.

“Oh? Isn’t this the Vice Leader? Why are you lying here like a dead dog?”

“Yunchou… Yunchou, is that you?”

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It was as if he had found a lifeline. The Vice Leader forced his eyes open, his voice weak but full of desperate excitement.

“It’s me, Vice Leader. What’s wrong? Why are you on the ground?”

“I… I…”

The Vice Leader didn’t know how to answer that question directly.

“Never mind that, help me first. My pain system seems to have malfunctioned. Help me adjust it.”

“Hm? Adjust your pain settings? Even if I wanted to, how could I? The virtual System menu is only visible to you.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll grant you permission.”

In the game, granting permission to access one’s System menu was simple, it only required a mental command.

But for other operations like trading, logging out, or changing settings, manual input was still necessary.

“Alright, Yunchou, I’ve given you permission. Hurry and check what’s wrong with my System.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

Yunchou’s voice sounded casual, almost indifferent.

Then, the next moment, a cold mechanical System notification echoed in the Vice Leader’s ears.

════════♡════════ You have issued a Life-and-Death Duel request to Player Yunchou. ════════♡════════

════════♡════════ Player Yunchou has accepted your duel invitation. ════════♡════════

════════♡════════ Duel begins! ════════♡════════