Azure sky mirrored in the sea. The deep blue surface lay frozen under ice.

Two figures stood facing each other between sea and sky.

Waves rippled around them, surging in the cold wind.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

The silver-armored youth gripped a broken iron sword, panting heavily.

Before him floated a girl in a black-and-red Gothic Lolita dress. She had an elegant face and petite frame.

Sexy yet feral, she radiated danger like a thorned rose.

The youth’s body trembled, but he didn’t flinch. He wiped dried blood from his lips, forcing calm.

His chest plate was shattered. Blood seeped through the cracks—enough to kill an ordinary man many times over. Yet he still stood.

Staring straight at the unbeatable foe.

"Won’t you surrender? Futile resistance will only make your death worse."

The Gothic Lolita girl hovered mid-air. She raised her hand.

Towering waves erupted, encircling the icy arena. They trapped the pair like a colosseum.

"Face reality. No miracles exist here. No manga-style skills lock your HP to cheat fate. You’re just a weak newbie—a rookie, a fragile weakling."

She leveled her palm, snapping her fingers casually.

The sound wasn’t loud, yet it cut through silence. Time froze for an instant.

A deafening roar jolted the youth awake.

The surrounding waves shattered. A force that could crush skyscrapers vanished with her snap.

Icy seawater rained down like a storm, drenching him. The cold wind drained his exhausted strength.

—I want to run. To escape.

Under her terrifying pressure, his leg stepped back half a pace.

But will overcame fear. He steadied himself after just half a step.

"I won’t run. Even knowing I’ll die, I’ll fight."

He bit his lip until it bled, roaring to steel himself.

"Master, take this! This move costs my remaining life. I avenge the newbies who died midway—and those castrated in fear!"

Vivid blood erupted around him, thick and pungent.

His face twisted under the sudden surge of power.

Gale-force winds swept the sea. The sky plunged into endless darkness. Lightning tore through the void, crashing onto waves, splashing droplets everywhere.

His power kept growing. The girl watched indifferently.

She neither attacked nor defended. Just observed calmly.

The solid ice cracked beneath him. Chaotic currents whipped up monstrous waves.

"Ultimate move: Newbie God-Slayer Slash—"

The youth moved.

One step crossed a hundred meters. He gripped the broken sword, channeling all his strength.

Life. Will. Burning soul.

All poured into this strike.

"Life or death—I’ll raise my hand to the sky despite my weakness. This is a newbie’s dignity!"

A crimson sword beam cleaved the air. The atmosphere shattered under its pressure.

The deep sea split into a tunnel.

"Meaningless dignity. True power is far beyond your imagination."

*Clang—*

Her two fingers caught the world-shattering strike.

*Boom—* The shockwave lifted the ocean, exposing the seabed.

Yet the girl remained unharmed.

She calmly watched the youth, withdrew her hand, and raised it toward the dark sky.

"I too was once a newbie. Everyone starts there. Absolute strength demands 200% effort. But you—"

The broken sword turned to ash. The youth plummeted into the deep sea. Her words faded unheard.

He only knew he’d lost. Utterly.

He’d gambled everything. Only to fail so miserably.