Upon opening my eyes again, I saw a slanted wooden ceiling before me. I sat up in bed and took a look at my surroundings.
A low window, a bed, and a storage box were all that made up the room.
I hadn't logged into the game for several years, but this small attic at the top of the apartment was still the result of my hard work grinding monsters back then.
I got up from the bed wearing a plain black utility suit, and checked its attributes:
"Black Utility Suit: Provides you with a bit of warmth"
That was the entire description. It wasn't even as good as the anti-ghost windbreaker given to new players, at least that had some defensive capabilities.
However, the black utility suit was quite comfortable to wear, and I cared more about that than my combat power.
Opening the storage box, I found a single iron sword and a gold coin - even worse off than the most novice of players.
I stuffed the gold coin into my pocket and strapped the iron sword to my back.
This was enough for me.
After preparing my equipment (though there wasn't much to prepare), I left the apartment.
Passing through the bustling crowd, I casually patted an older man on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, which way to the arena?"
"Over there, you see, that round building is it."
He finished speaking and gave a glance at the equipment I was wearing.
"Bro, are you here to watch the deathmatch between Bone Girl and that man, too?"
The older man was quite friendly.
"I guess so, are there a lot of people going to watch?"
"Of course! Most people on this road are going. Bone Girl is very famous, many people who don't even play the game are her fans. That man is so hateful, how dare he blaspheme our goddess!"
In the end, the older man was gnashing his teeth, seemingly harboring deep hatred towards "that man", wishing he could skin him alive.
"Maybe that man is innocent…"
I didn't sound very confident.
"How could that be possible?! He's just a beast, see for yourself! If Bone Girl doesn't take him down today, we will!"
The older man walked away indignantly after speaking.
Was Bone Girl's popularity really that high?
That could be troublesome…
Following the older man's directions, I arrived at the round arena.
The arena had become quite luxurious after not playing the game for several years. Back in the day, it was just a small broken square…
Sighing, I squeezed through the crowd and struggled to reach the coin-operated entrance, inserting my only gold coin.
The gate lifted and I quickly crawled inside.
…
The deathmatch was about to begin, and I hid in a corner of the audience seats to observe secretly.
There were indeed a lot of people watching. This arena, even larger than the world's largest sports fields in real life, was almost full to the brim.
Some people chose to sit in the aisles or even climb to the roof of the arena, sitting on the edge to watch the battle.
I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. These people weren't afraid of falling to their deaths - Mystery Realm was a very realistic game, and without flying tools, ordinary players would basically be done for if they fell from this height.
Soon, the initiator of the deathmatch, the girl with the ID Bone Girl, appeared in the arena. Her silver hair flew freely, her smile enchanting.
As soon as she appeared, there were thunderous cheers from the audience, even more impressive than the real-life concert stars.
I watched her waving frequently towards the audience, and sneered.
Isn't this just a game? Look at this arrogant attitude, acting like it's the real thing.
And these idiots in the audience seats - although the appearance of the characters in the game is related to the appearance of the players, it's only related. There's still the possibility that the algorithm could convert an ugly girl into a beautiful one.
Predictably, Bone Girl is probably just a nerdy girl in real life!
My real sister is like that.
Bone structure? Non-existent!
While I was secretly sighing at being the only sober one amid the drunken crowd, Bone Girl picked up the microphone and her sweet voice resounded above the arena.
"Hey you, where are you? You promised to have a deathmatch with me, are you going to back out now?"
A popular idol is indeed a popular idol, even when seeking revenge, she was able to use a tone of helplessness and inevitability.Such a great actor.
That's right, I, Night Source Ming, am the one who became the thorn in the eyes of the numerous Bone Girl male fans.
Upon hearing the girl's words, the audience seats boiled with excitement.
"Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Did you guys arrange this beforehand? Even the slogans are shouted so neatly?!
Unlike other games, there are no IDs above the players' heads in Mystery Realm. Not to mention ID, there's not even a health bar. So if I don't go down, no one can recognize me.
But I have to go down because yesterday, that Bone Girl threatened me like this:
"If you don't agree to the deathmatch, I'll mobilize all my fans to expose your real identity, and then you'll be dead for sure!"
I didn't expect Bone Girl to have such a vicious heart behind her glamorous appearance.
At that time, I didn't believe it since even she herself hadn't been found out, which showed that the game's privacy protection was in place.
But when I looked up Bone Girl's discussion forum online and saw the small characters "Followers: 3,421,807 people,"
I backed down.
I can't mess with you, okay!
Fanatics might protect Bone Girl because they genuinely like her, but they don't know what kind of outrageous things they could do to me, their enemy.
With a sigh, I came to the railing, turned over and jumped down.
Because I was careless, I fell face-first.
This game is so realistic...
Seeing me slowly walk to the arena center, opposite Bone Girl, the audience seats boiled once again.
Different from the previous cheers, this time all that rang out were angry curses.
I even felt like I heard the voice of the guy who showed me the way earlier:
"So it's you, kid! If I had known, I would have chopped you up then!"
Perhaps noticing my shabby equipment, the audience began to jeer at my black casual uniform after cursing me enough.
"Look at his equipment, so lame!"
"I could probably beat him in seconds with that kind of gear?!"
"How on earth did such a weakling get close to Bone Girl?!"
The black casual uniform is very comfortable to wear, you idiots!
Ignoring my bleeding heart, they began to throw things at me.
All kinds of objects were hurled down and, although intercepted by the system mid-air, I still felt tremendous pressure.
These people are really going too far! Isn't anyone going to take care of this cyberbullying?!
Is it really that serious just to take a look at her body?!
And as I approached, Bone Girl raised the strange weapon in her hand, a mixture of a knife and a gun.
"Let's have a deathmatch, Night Source Ming! Pay for your sins with your death!"
I can still resurrect after dying, what are you trying to fuss about?!
