Chapter 9: Duel of the Unseen

“What… What’s wrong?”

The employee’s face turned bright red, and she stumbled over her words.

For a moment, I tilted my head without realizing it.

Is it because of me?

Usually, I’d brush it off, but her reaction was unusually intense this time.

Most people just glance at you and move on, but this was different.

Anyway, I didn’t want to dwell on such things,

so I quickly ignored it and said what I had originally planned.

I looked at the menu and ordered a dish that caught my eye.

“I’ll have the pork bulgogi rice bowl.”

“Of…”

The employee let out a subtle sigh and scratched her head.

“You can order that at the table…”

“Huh? There’s a bell?”

“No, it’s just that there’s an order function on the corner of the screen.”

“……”

A brief moment of awkward silence followed.

I smiled as naturally as I could and responded,

“Okay, thank you.”

I quickly walked away from the counter, scolding myself internally.

“Stupid girl.”

How could I, as a gamer, miss something so obvious?

But there was nothing I could do.

I’d never even imagined such a thing, so of course, I wouldn’t notice it.

Just a pathetic excuse.

She probably thinks I’m a clueless, outdated fool.

But what can I do?

How was I supposed to know that PC rooms had changed so much in five years?

When I used to go, the standard was to buy a cup of instant noodles and get your own hot water to cook it.

A constant clash between self-loathing and self-rationalization.

In the end, it’s all just a battle full of wounds where everyone is a loser.

When I returned to my seat and carefully looked at the screen,

I found the order button in the corner, just as the employee said.

“How am I supposed to see this if it’s so small…”

I grumbled, then clicked the button, and a window popped up,

just like a restaurant kiosk, allowing me to choose from the menu.

If they were going to do this, why even bother putting the physical menu on the table?

They could have just shown it on the screen to begin with.

The feeling of five years later was still so unfamiliar to me.

Am I really just that old-fashioned?

Anyway, I successfully placed my order.

Pork bulgogi rice bowl, cola, and a hotdog.

I chose the prepaid option, where the cost is deducted from the time I have left.

This system is definitely convenient.

“Hmm.”

After placing the order, I started to wonder if I had ordered too simply.

Maybe it wouldn’t be much because I was in a PC room.

Well, if I’m still hungry after eating, I can just order more later.

During the wait, I couldn’t just sit still.

Naturally, I planned to enjoy some gaming time.

But I wanted to focus entirely and play at my best. Especially when ranking.

If I ate while playing, there’s no way I’d perform at my best.

But I didn’t feel like playing anything else either…

After thinking for a moment, I made a decision.

Maybe I’ll try the duel arena?

Staring intently at the screen, I finally received my order.

“Oh.”

The pork bulgogi rice bowl with a hotdog?

That’s quite a lot of food for one person.

Especially the hotdog.

It wasn’t the typical corn dog, but a meal substitute with sausage, vegetables, and cheese in between the bread.

There was a picture on the menu, so I hadn’t ordered the wrong thing.

But looking at her figure, I couldn’t help but wonder if she could even finish all of that.

Thinking about her body made me naturally recall her face.

The brief conversation we’d just had too.

“…Heh.”

I couldn’t help but laugh like a pervert.

She was so cute earlier.

Just before she opened her mouth, she had this cold and aloof image,

but seeing her blush with a bit of airheadedness was a fresh shock.

I’m not joking, if she had a fan club right now, I’d definitely join as the first member.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’d confess or try to get closer.

More accurately, I just don’t have the courage to do so.

All I could do now was make sure the food she ordered was prepared as well as possible.

Although, it was just instant food being cooked, but let’s overlook that.

After about 10 minutes,

The employee, with a trembling heart, headed to the table where she was sitting, having prepared everything.

“Your order is ready.”

Good. This time I didn’t stutter and said it properly.

Feeling proud, I couldn’t help but sneak glances at her side profile.

Wow. How is it that even her side profile is so pretty?

She really looked like someone from a completely different world.

I didn’t know people could have such a high nose.

While she was engrossed in her game, she glanced at the food and nonchalantly said,

“Please leave it there.”

“Sure. Enjoy your meal.”

I didn’t really have anything else to say, but I lingered intentionally, wanting to stay close.

Then, after a moment, I reluctantly shifted my focus to the game, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

The battle on the screen—what should I call it?

It wasn’t so much a fight, but closer to a dance.

It was like watching a piece of art that made me gasp in admiration.

It was completely different from any battles I had ever seen.

I even wondered if I was watching a YouTube stream or something.

It seemed too good to be real for her to be playing herself.

But she was definitely focused on the game, using the keyboard and mouse with dedication.

What rank could she possibly be at?

I’d noticed a while ago that she was impressive, but watching the battle unfold,

it was clear that she was no lower than a master tier.

Maybe even higher.

Grand Master, the so-called heaven tier.

Beyond that, top-ranked players.

At that level, she wouldn’t just be a streamer she’d be getting offers to go pro.

There was no way such a pretty girl with that level of skill wouldn’t be well-known.

In fact, there were so few female users, and even without her looks, she would stand out.

My admiration and awe quickly turned into curiosity.

After all, even if the sound only comes when two hands meet,

The fact that such a high-level battle wasn’t finishing quickly,

and was stretching on meant that the opponent’s skill was just as remarkable.

Once I thought that, a feeling of helplessness crept over me.

What kind of place is heaven tier, anyway, that so many monsters like her are there?

Reflecting on my own rank, gold, I shrank in embarrassment.

Gold was top 30%, after all…

Whatever. I should just go back and do the dishes.

The employee slumped his shoulders and walked back to the counter.

Duel Arena.

It was the third mode added to the game, and probably the least popular, a niche mode.

As the name suggests, it focused purely on combat, removing most other elements.

Unlike battle royales, the battlefield was incredibly small.

There was only one opponent.

So, just me and my opponent, fighting until one emerged victorious.

It was essentially like a fighting game.

Although, there were enough differences that it wasn’t quite the same as a typical fighting game.

The Duel Arena was a modification of the base system of the game,

so it was more like a unique mode to the game itself.

Surprisingly, matchmaking took a long time.

The one-on-one mode was so difficult that it felt like gathering 66 people was almost the same.

But it couldn’t be helped.

The Duel Arena had been around for so long that it had become a league of its own.

If you’ve played even one match, you’ll understand why right away.

Once the match started, the two characters appeared on the screen.

And all the main weapons in the game appeared in the selection window at the bottom of the screen.

This is the biggest feature of the Duel Arena.

Before the match starts, you can choose which main weapon to use.

Depending on the map, weapon performance can vary,

but the most important thing when choosing a weapon is what your opponent’s weapon is.

If you manage to counter their weapon, you could almost say the match is won before it even begins.

“What should I pick?”

After a moment of hesitation, I selected dual daggers.

The range is short, but the weapon skill is a dash, which gives it a great mobility advantage.

Once I confirmed my weapon choice, the opponent immediately selected theirs.

Their weapon was a crossbow. As expected, they went for a counter weapon.

Though it has a relatively short range for a ranged weapon,

its ability to stop close-range attacks is incredibly strong, making it infamous as the “nightmare of melee.”

But it didn’t matter to me.

Though I hadn’t tried Duel Arena before, my combat experience was still there.

I had faced this kind of scenario countless times in 100 battles.

Once both players select their weapons, the characters immediately equip the full set of gear for that weapon.

This means you start the match with the benefits of the weapon’s set effect.

The map… was a derelict shipwreck.

It was a reworked version of the Battle Royale map, Bewildering Sea, turned into a Duel Arena-exclusive map.

This was also my first time seeing this map since today was only my second time playing in the Duel Arena.

As the loading finished, the screen changed to a shipwreck floating on an endless ocean.

I played with my daggers while surveying my opponent’s appearance.

Their username was <Eaten Noir>.

I had no idea what it meant. It didn’t really matter anyway, usernames don’t always have to have meaning.

The countdown began.

I dashed forward immediately.

The key to defeating a ranged opponent in close combat is getting close.

Of course, my opponent wouldn’t allow that willingly. They tried to retreat.

Without hesitation, I used my skill to blink forward.

The response was predictable.

Of course, they countered with a skill.

A kick.

If it hit, I’d definitely be knocked back.

The problem was that the kick was a guaranteed skill.

So as long as I was within its range, I was bound to be knocked back.

That’s fine.

Using skills at the same time, I’d gain the advantage.

Their cooldown was longer.

If they had pulled off that kick so easily, they shouldn’t have been in the heaven tier.

Once I understood that, I knew the victory was mine.

The match ended without any reversal, with my victory secured.

It was decided within the first 5 seconds, so it wasn’t very fun.

“I’m hungry.”

I wondered if the food was ready yet.

I decided to play one more match.

This time, the match was found even faster.

I looked at the opponent’s username.

<Yukino>