Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey

"Argh! Are you even human?!"

Another player fell to the sand, blood flowing from his mouth.

Lucas took a step forward and slashed down with the Sin Of Sword, easily cutting through the opponent's light armor and splitting his body in half. The great sword he wielded... was truly devastating.

As the corpse disappeared, he cleaned the curved blade of the odachi with a swift flourish and answered with a dejected lie:

"Human? I am not, and have never been, a human."

By that time, a small crowd of players had gathered around to spectate the fights and wait for their turn to challenge him. Hearing his words, one of them laughed:

"If you are not human, then what are you?"

Sunny glanced at him, then shrugged.

"A Darkheart."

Internally, though, he was thinking:

'...What the heck?!'

In the past several hours, he had fought twenty-seven people. And out of them, twenty-five — twenty-five! — had been using the same battle style.

Lucas had thought that that it was time for leave the [Battelground] VR game but just as he was about log out, Next player comes and challenge him.

And after that next, Next, and next playe come and continue to challenge him.

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By this time, Lucas even forgot that he has to log out since classes are about to start in few hours.

Anyway, Lucas thought about the the challengers sword style that have fought him in [Battelground]>

It was a practical, but rather simplistic art that relied on straightforward, efficient movements and attacks that were optimal in terms of lethality and energy expenditure, but for the same reason very predictable.

Several of the skills and abilities the challengers possessed had thrown him for a loop, but in the end, he had defeated them all one after another, gaining a solid grasp of the essence of their style by the twentieth practitioner he fought.

These people were not exactly untalented, but Lucas felt the difference between them and himself sharply.

Most of these young men and women had probably only experienced a handful of real battles in their entire lives.

'Disappointing…'

Lucas couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment as he reflected on the battles he had fought in the Battleground VR arena. While the challengers he faced were skilled in their own right, their lack of experience and predictable fighting styles left much to be desired.

As he faced yet another opponent, Lucas couldn't help but feel a pang of frustration. He had come to the arena seeking a challenge, a chance to test his skills against worthy adversaries. But instead, he found himself facing opponent after opponent who posed little threat to him.

With each battle, Lucas's confidence grew, his movements becoming more fluid and precise as he effortlessly dispatched his challengers. But despite his victories, he couldn't shake off the feeling of emptiness that gnawed at him.

He longed for a true challenge, an opponent who could push him to his limits and force him to unleash his full potential. But as the battles wore on, it seemed that such opponents were few and far between.

With a sigh, Lucas continued to face off against his challengers, his mind filled with thoughts of the battles that lay ahead. He knew that he would continue to seek out worthy opponents, pushing himself to become the best warrior he could be.

But for now, he would have to make do with the challengers before him, honing his skills and waiting for the day when he would finally find the challenge he had been searching for.

...As he was thinking that today was a complete bust, a sudden wave of whispers ran both through the crowd of the Rank fighters and the human spectators observing them from the stands.

A dozen or so meters behind Lucas, a tall figure suddenly appeared out of thin air.

When people saw the new arrival, their eyes widened.

Lucas turned around, his curiosity piqued by the sudden commotion. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of the tall figure standing few metres before him.

"Hey… isn't that Nero Shen?!"

"No way… wait! It's him! I can recognize him armor with my eyes closed!"

"Nero! Love you, man! Keeping it real like always!"

"! I've been watching your broadcasts for two years, Nero!"

A friendly smile appeared on his face. Waving at several fans, he approached the crowd of challengers and glanced at the lone figure standing in the empty space in the middle.

He was approaching Lucas who was stood in middle of empty space.

From Nero perspective, Lucas, looked like more demon then human.

Lucas wore a black armor that radiated a sense of solemn, dark menace. His face was hidden behind a fearsome black mask,that looks like demon and there was two horns around at the edge of the mask, the only way to identify him as human was his beautiful forest green eyes that could be seen from behind the mask.

His weapon of choice was a long, sword forged of lusterless black steel with blood red lines around the edgs of the blade. It rested on his shoulder, seemingly devouring the bright light of the illusory sun.

Nero can tell from one glance that individual before him was strong

But how strong?

'Lets find out.'

He checked the stats of the demonic warrior.

"Darkheart"

"Victories: 31."

"Defeats: 0."

'A newbie… but a talented one! A perfect KDA, what a rarity!'

In any case, that guy was incredibly photogenic. A duel with him was not going to be interesting due to the gap in their skill, but it would definitely look stunning.

Who knows, they might meet again in the professional arena one day…

Looking at the invisible camera, Nero raised an eyebrow and asked:

"What do you say, Guys? Should we challenge that dark and handsome guy other there?"

As the viewers expressed their approval, he approached Darkheart and gave him a friendly smile.

"Hey there, friend. That's a big sword you got there. Do you even know how to use it?"

Teasing the opponent was another sacred tradition of the [Battelground], and Nero was more than happy to play along. He could tell from the way Lucas held himself that he was no ordinary opponent, and he relished the opportunity to test his skills against someone of such obvious talent.

Lucas glanced at Nero, his eyes narrowing behind the dark mask that concealed his identity. He could sense the playful challenge in Nero's words, and he couldn't help but feel a flicker of amusement at the other man's boldness.

With a smirk, Lucas shifted his grip on his sword, the Sin Of Sword gleaming ominously in the illusory sunlight.

"I may not be looked like human, but I know how to handle myself in a fight," he replied, his voice low and confident. "And as for my sword... let's just say it's seen its fair share of action."

As the crowd of spectators murmured in anticipation, Lucas and Nero faced off, their eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. Despite the playful banter, both men knew that this duel would be anything but ordinary.

...

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