The red-haired girl stood silently on the arena stage, a grimoire clutched in her hands, as a unique blue light, characteristic of teleportation, flickered before her.
Upon seeing this azure glow, she shook her head, forcing herself to focus, and shifted her attention from the sky’s enormous screen to the vast, empty grounds before her.
Qing Bai unfolded Bick’s Grimoire (TL Note: Bick’s gender is unknown), her slightly weary gaze falling upon Xiao’s figure, which was gradually materializing from the blue light.
“You are…”
Noticing Xiao’s delicate features, Qing Bai’s eyes widened ever so slightly.
“The one who fought Yan earlier…”
“Hm? Are you Yan’s friend?”
Xiao furrowed her brows faintly, looking at Qing Bai with a hint of surprise as she posed the question.
She had only coincidentally encountered Yan while he was leveling alone, and knew absolutely nothing about Qing Bai or Tian Jiu.
Consequently, when it came to selecting an arena, she hadn’t hesitated for a moment, opting for the mid-range stage that best suited her fighting style.
Unwilling to be ‘hammered’ by Yan again, she found herself standing here, now Qing Bai’s opponent.
“Hmph.”
Qing Bai, with a touch of tsundere pride, turned her face away.
“As for that fellow, this young lady merely happens to know him.”
“Oh? Then why were you still paying attention to my duel with Yan? You were on stage even earlier than he was…”
Xiao was somewhat surprised; she had assumed Qing Bai and Yan were very close friends, which would explain why Qing Bai had been following Yan’s matches so closely.
Otherwise, how could she have recognized Xiao as Yan’s opponent the moment she saw her?
“It was just a coincidence, alright!”
A faint blush spread across Qing Bai’s face as she stamped her foot, uttering the words.
“Oh~ Is that so~”
Xiao watched Qing Bai’s proudly averted profile with a playful glint in her eyes, as if she had suddenly understood something.
Yet, in a flash, she realized her predicament, a wry smile replacing her amusement.
“Ah… this is bad. I didn’t expect to have chosen the arena of Yan’s friend, did I?”
“If I win this, I won’t be able to face Yan…”
“What is your relationship with Yan?”
Qing Bai tilted her head, asking with a touch of bewilderment.
“I suppose we’re friends… no, perhaps more like rivals, or arch-nemeses?”
Xiao pondered for a moment, chin in hand, before seemingly settling on the answer she sought.
“Oh, I see.”
Qing Bai’s reaction was rather subdued.
With only about twenty minutes remaining until 10:00, if Qing Bai were to lose to Xiao here, it would mean she would no longer have any chance to ascend the stage and contend for a top ten ranking.
Conversely, if Xiao were to forfeit the match herself, deliberately losing to Qing Bai, she would face the same outcome.
That simply wouldn’t do; Xiao had entered this event with the express goal of reaching the top five.
Xiao glanced at Qing Bai, who stood not far away, and pressed a hand to her forehead, a troubled expression on her face.
She hadn’t managed to defeat Yan in his arena, and now she had accidentally chosen the arena of Yan’s friend. If she won… wouldn’t it seem like she was targeting him?
‘Ah… now I’m truly caught between a rock and a hard place…’
“There’s no need to fret.”
Words that took Xiao by surprise issued from Qing Bai’s lips.
“Engage in a serious PK with this young lady. Regardless of whether I win or lose, I won’t go running to Yan to complain.”
She held the open grimoire, her expression one of utmost seriousness.
“This young lady is not such a sore loser.”
“Eh?”
Xiao stared blankly at Qing Bai.
“Besides, it’s just a game, isn’t it?”
The haughty and somewhat overbearing young lady’s face now bore a serene smile, one that seemed uncharacteristic of her, and her clear eyes sparkled with light.
“Isn’t the whole point to have fun?”
That was indeed true.
Xiao nodded. She could articulate thousands of reasons why she loved ‘Companion God’s Realm,’ but when consolidated, they all boiled down to a single statement.
The adventures within ‘Companion God’s Realm’ brought her immense joy.
Here, she assumed a completely different persona from her real-world self, engaging in activities within this carefree and delightful second world that would be utterly impossible in reality.
She had met friends from all corners of the world; though they had no connection in reality, they forged genuine friendships through their virtual avatars. It was as if an indescribable emotion in their hearts had transcended space, binding them tightly together in this captivating world.
Perhaps, this was the true charm of the game?
Qing Bai’s incredibly charming and serene smile vanished in an instant. She raised her left hand, extending a slender index finger to point at Xiao.
“If you’re unwilling to unleash your true strength to determine a victor with this young lady, then how can this young lady possibly have any fun?”
“I see…”
Xiao chuckled, a hint of gratitude flickering in her eyes.
“I understand.”
Her expression abruptly turned serious. Gazing directly into Qing Bai’s eyes, she slowly drew the two pristine white swords from her back.
“Then, I’m coming!”
With that declaration, Xiao immediately activated a skill.
“Backstep!”
“Hey, hey, who says ‘I’m coming!’ and then leaps backward?”
Qing Bai pouted helplessly, the open grimoire in her hands glowing with a yellowish-green radiance.
“Wood Spirit’s Embrace!”
Xiao, mid-Backstep, was interrupted by a suddenly rising movement-restricting field, causing her to land on the ground. The distance between them now stood at forty yards.
“Why did you interrupt me?”
Xiao, whose movement had been halted, wasn’t annoyed; instead, she tilted her head with interest, asking Qing Bai with a touch of curiosity.
“For a mage player, if their opponent is a dual-wielder like me, they’d usually try to widen the distance. Yet here you are, interrupting my Backstep.”
“You’re not just any dual-wielder, are you?”
“Oh?”
Xiao smiled, tilting her head, neither confirming nor denying.
“It was the same in your match with Yan; you immediately created distance and unleashed ranged attacks with what looked like a flash…”
Qing Bai recalled the details of that match, remembering that during Yan’s duel with Xiao, her own arena had been quiet for a minute or two, allowing her to watch Yan’s fight. Xiao’s unique attack style had left a profound impression, which was why Qing Bai had recognized her instantly.
“No… let this young lady guess. That sword light wasn’t the dual-wielder’s ‘Flash’ skill, was it?”
“Otherwise, with your fighting style, if it truly were ‘Flash,’ you’d deplete your mana after just two or three skills, wouldn’t you?”
From her perspective of Yan’s duel, this was the furthest she could deduce, though Qing Bai couldn’t yet be certain if her conjecture was correct.
Xiao shrugged helplessly, then nodded lightly, confirming Qing Bai’s guess.
“That’s right, it wasn’t ‘Flash,’ but my Companion-tier skill, ‘Light-Shadow Enchantment’: all my attacks release sword light waves, transforming into ranged attacks that deal magical damage.”
“What an impressive Companion skill,”
Qing Bai couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“No wonder you employ such a long-range fighting style. Even at the extreme eighty-yard limit of this arena, you’re probably still within range, aren’t you?”
“Precisely, eighty yards is the maximum range I can target for my attacks.”
Xiao offered a slight smile, a touch of pride evident for her Companion skill.
“In other words, this young lady and you have the same attack range. If that’s the case, then there’s no need to create distance, is there?”
As Qing Bai spoke, she slowly raised the grimoire in her hands.
Just as she had stated, the maximum range for most mage skills in ‘Companion God’s Realm’ was typically around eighty yards, and Qing Bai was, of course, no exception.
“Haha, you’re right about that.”
Xiao raised her left hand, which held a sword, and with a slender pinky, brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen across her ear, saying with a smile.
“Then why did you still open with ‘Backstep’?”
Qing Bai asked, a hint of confusion in her tone.
“Well, most of my friends are close-combat players, so I’ve gotten used to PK-ing that way.”
Xiao’s face flushed slightly as she spoke, a touch of embarrassment in her voice.
‘Huh? Just because of that?’
“I see…”
Qing Bai was speechless, only managing a helpless chuckle.
“So you just wasted a movement skill that could dodge attacks right at the start?”
“Ah, that’s not a problem, actually.”
Xiao lifted her head with a lighthearted air.
However, upon hearing this, Qing Bai’s brows furrowed slightly.
“Because, I don’t need to dodge.”
A faint smile graced Xiao’s delicate face.
‘Is this arrogance…?’
Qing Bai felt as though she had been underestimated. Her slender brows knitted together, and she looked at Xiao with a hint of irritation.
“No, this is confidence.”
Xiao tilted her head, her smile unwavering.
“Fine then! This young lady is eager to see where you get such confidence!”
Qing Bai stared fixedly at Xiao, raising the grimoire high in her hands.
“Multi-Thunderstorm!”
Purple light pulsed from the grimoire in Qing Bai’s hands.
Immediately, vast thunderclouds coalesced above Xiao’s head. The next instant, three massive bolts of lightning, born from the dense clouds, split the air and crashed down toward her!
“Ha.”
Xiao let out a soft chuckle, her gaze fixed on the rapidly descending lightning. Not a trace of panic marred her face; instead, her excitement seemed to intensify.
Indeed, it seemed she was a player whose passion for PK was no less than Qing Bai’s.
Facing the thick, incoming bolts of lightning, she suddenly swung the longsword in her right hand.
“Thoughtless Strike!”
‘Thoughtless Strike’ – as its name suggests – is a sword technique executed purely by bodily instinct, devoid of any conscious thought. Despite its profound name, it is merely a third-tier sword skill, possessing no special effects.
However, the skill’s advantage lay in its rapid casting speed and high accuracy, allowing it to be activated during any action.
Most other close-combat skills, including those of blade and spear types, required a specific preparatory motion as a signal for activation, but ‘Thoughtless Strike’ had no such requirement.
Thus, top-tier sword players often chose this move to nullify an opponent’s attacks.
And at this moment, Xiao did precisely that.
A streak of sword light shot forth from her swinging blade, surging toward the descending lightning and colliding with Qing Bai’s ‘Multi-Thunderstorm’!
The two skills, equal in destructive power, canceled each other out.
“Quite the rapid reaction speed you have. This young lady can now somewhat understand where your confidence stems from.”
Qing Bai watched the scene unfolding before her, giving a slight nod of her proud head.
Only she knew that her ‘Multi-Thunderstorm,’ guided by her specialized, extremely high casting speed, had virtually no wind-up, and the skill itself was incredibly swift. Yet, the rapidly descending lightning had been effortlessly nullified by Xiao.
She clearly understood the implications of this…
How could she not realize then that the Xiao before her possessed absolutely superb technique and a profound understanding of the game? Her mastery of the counter-mechanism was nothing short of perfection, and based on this alone, Xiao could be considered an exceptionally powerful pro-player.
‘She’s going to be difficult to deal with…’
Qing Bai felt the pressure mount, and she gently bit her lower lip.
“But it’s not just that, you know~”
Xiao looked at Qing Bai, a soft smile on her face, and raised the pristine white longsword in her left hand, its sharp blade pointing directly toward the sky.
“Multi-Thunderstorm!”
!
Qing Bai’s head snapped up, her gaze fixed on the purple thunderclouds coalescing in the sky.
‘This is bad!’