Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

The fluorescent ice staff that always adorned his back was now gone. Instead, a magic book strapped to his waist radiated an uncanny presence... Even stranger, the deer felt a deep, deep affinity for the book...

"That book is..."

Xiaolu grasped the familiar feeling floating in his heart and suddenly remembered something Yu Man had introduced to him before.

She tried to ask—

"Soul weapon?"

"...How did you know? You triggered the quest too?" Yu Man was a little puzzled. Xiaolu didn't get many specialization points in the last dungeon. According to his own calculations, it should be just barely enough to trigger the quest...

But the deer said this: "I feel the same way about that book...as I do about you."

"...So sentimental? A little girl?"

"Well—aren't you, too?"

Also.

The deer quickly understood something: "So... the intense cold, the strong appetite, the strong sense of unity... and... the feeling of loss that the entire island of Shimlabakken felt before—was it all because of you making a soul weapon?"

"Feeling again?"

"Hmm...it feels very similar."

"This little girl is really amazing," Yu Man nodded. But it wasn't surprising. Xiaolu's soul was indeed deeply rooted in this world, so it wasn't surprising that she had these extra perceptions. In a sense, this was Xiaolu's talent.

Yu Man gently grasped the book and stirred a tiny bit of the power contained within it——

Build yourself an ice ladder.

Just to climb—to the fawn.

When she walks up one step, the stairs that have lost their meaning will melt away.

When all the stairs disappeared, Yu Man had already reached the rooftop and stood beside her, overlooking the young thieves and the still excited members.

"Eel, the special skill you mentioned before... is it from the soul weapon?"

From beginning to end, the deer stared at the intriguing magic book. It possessed a presence unlike anything he had ever seen before. Even the Fiery Sword he had seen on the island, which required the combined efforts of everyone to tame, lacked this profound, vast, and boundless feeling.

That book was like a void in the soul and mind that would devour all attention and reduce it to nothing.

But——this is the extension of Yu Man’s soul.

"What kind of skills?!"

"I don't know, I haven't tested it yet - mainly because there's no place to try it." Yu Man said sincerely.

In her opinion, "saving time" is a skill whose meaning is unpredictable and she has no way of figuring it out.

Even in the first week when players were digging like crazy, Yu Man had never encountered similar skills.

The meaning of this skill cannot be determined from the name or the non-existent text.

So, finding an occasion to test it became a serious topic.

The area around the main city may not be suitable, as it may attract the wrath of the distant ice dragon.

"The main thing is that in a novice city like Shimlabakken, there are no powerful beings left for me to test my skills...except for the World Tree itself, but that is too powerful and huge."

Yu Man talked about his thoughts.

"It would be best to find a sixth or seventh level dungeon. I should be able to handle it easily now... The opponent's strength is also suitable, allowing me to fully test my skills... but..."

No.

In her last gambling, she lost all her family fortune and now she doesn't even have half a copy of the ticket.

If you want to get a ticket to a high-level dungeon, you either have to rely on a slim chance of winning, but the money you have is extremely limited.

The price of a Tier 3 dungeon ticket, the most advanced player progression, was very high at the trading house, and the quantity was very limited. Besides her, there were only a few who could clear a Tier 3 dungeon, let alone produce Tier 4 or 5 tickets.

Therefore, Yu Man fell into a bottleneck.

"...Then...isn't this a dead end?"

"Not really. I bought a third-level ticket and hoped to open a treasure chest and get a fourth-level ticket, and then continue to fight..."

"Oh—upgrade your ticket! Unlimited refills."

"Yes, yes, yes." Yu Man was reluctant to do it because it was too lengthy, although it was the only way.

but--

She had always overlooked one thing.

In Shimla Bakken, there is actually still an opponent of just the right strength.

He was a swordsman whose fame had spread among players and was known throughout the world.

Her two-handed sword cut through icebergs, and she once almost single-handedly wiped out a team of skilled fighters in an illegal area.

She possesses excellent equipment and skills that are beyond the reach and imagination of most players.

He even possessed a brand new sixth-order two-handed sword, and was the first among all the people in the world to obtain it.

She is strong.

She knew this - so she pointed her thumb at her face with 10% confidence and 90% expectation.

"How about...try it on me?"

"...What do you mean by trying it on you?"

"Just... use me to test your new skills."

Oh—I see. Yu Man patted his head and instinctively wanted to shake his head… but the more he thought about it, the more appropriate it seemed.

Xiaolu is very strong, and her skills and weapons are very restrained, and her equipment and specialization are almost the same. The key is that she actually has a lot of combat experience...

But Xiaolu actually had a selfish motive: "When I played in the arena before... everyone was too weak. Now, I'm inflated!" She puffed up her face and filled her cheeks with the air from her deep breath, as if to illustrate her words.

But she exhaled the air.

His face returned to normal, a smile forming. "I also want to measure how far the distance is between me and the strongest player. How much more distance is needed to stop being a drag... So... do you want to fight?"

"This……"

"I will be facing an ice mage with unknown skills, far superior to me in all aspects, and you know everything about me."

Ok.

Being stared at like this, being held by such a sword and words, Yu Man let go of all his relaxation.

She closed her eyes—

Open again.

The gentle gaze vanished, replaced by a deep look that seemed to have calculated everything.

Yu Man was simply observing his enemy, imagining the battle scene, the collision between each skill and operation... and the outcome.

There was no more talk between the two, they just took out their weapons in tacit understanding.

The players downstairs were all exclaiming in delight at the cuteness of a young thief pelican stretching itself.

A fierce fighting spirit surged from the deer, threatening to melt the falling snow. Yu Man, on the other hand, remained calm. To her, this was just a grain of soft, sticky rice accidentally dropped on the table, a battle she had long been accustomed to.

In other words, it was a battle that had to be won.

Then... whatever means must be used.

Yu Man's eyes changed again, becoming sinister and full of scheming: "Little sister, let me make it clear first, if I stop moving during the fight, it means I'm offline."

“…Meah?”

Xiaolu's fighting spirit dissipated, and she didn't quite understand what Yu Man was saying.

after all--

"Will I be disconnected too?" They live together and use the same internet connection.

But Yu Man said this: "But in reality, I pretended to be offline, took off my device and used Triple Crown to bite your helpless body. Maybe you can give full play to your abilities in the game, but in reality... it's already covered with shameful cat hair... and cat saliva..."

"…Wait, is this a psychological attack?"

"I'm afraid the Triple Crown has collected a lot of cockroach corpses and wants to give them to you..."

"Fuck, is the eel going to play dirty?"

Yu Man succeeded. These trivial words were actually a means of distraction.

Implant an unnecessary thought in the opponent in advance - for example, the possibility that he might suddenly stop moving? This makes the opponent pay attention to network issues and think more about reality.

When people's thoughts get closer to reality, they will be further away from the old world.

Therefore, it will become weaker - this is what Yu Man wants.

If he was going to fight, he had to win. He had to win. He had always been a very high-end figure in Xiaolu's eyes. If he was killed in a flash by a single ultimate move, what would that mean? He would lose face, and even his home and food.

This kind of thing should never happen.

Therefore, she would use any means necessary.

She used her second move—

"Don't worry, little deer. I'm an upright man. We can duel on the sea, on ice and snow, but I won't use these home-field advantages."

“…You specifically said it out loud, so it seems like it will be useful, right?!”

"Will I?"

Before the deer could react, Yu Man had already taken the lead.

There was really no way to fight in the guild's territory. Besides the damage it would cause to the NPCs and buildings, it wouldn't be good to attract too much attention. Furthermore, Yu Man really needed to take advantage of her home field advantage. Amidst the frost... and even the wrath of the ice dragon, she would be much stronger.

The little deer followed with a wronged look on his face.

But Yu Man didn't stop talking: "By the way, Xiaolu, you can't use supplies during a duel, you know."

“…Oh, this one makes a lot of sense.”

She didn't take it seriously, but just came to a deep enough place to come face to face with Yu Man.

She tried hard to gather the fighting spirit and concentrate.

Yu Man took the opportunity to send a "duel" invitation - the fresh interface once again interrupted Xiaolu's thoughts.

When Xiaolu finally clicked "Accept" and the system countdown started for ten seconds, both sides began to prepare for battle.

Xiaolu tried to banish all distracting thoughts, whether it was the cuteness of the Triple Crown or the disgusting cockroaches, she tried to remove everything from her mind. Also, we can't use supplies...right? Then why is Yu Man holding the potion in his hand?

"It's okay before the duel." Seeing Xiaolu's confusion, Yu Man explained.

"Damn, you stinky seafood."

094 Win or Lose

What Yu Man drank was the highest grade magic potion currently available.

Before it enters the stomach and acts on the body—

Yu Man pre-read the skills.

At this time, the countdown for the duel reached three seconds.

"Local...snowfall." The power accumulated in advance takes shape in the wandering thoughts.

Then she opened the magic book.

two--

Magic began to overturn reality, forming a huge dark cloud, hanging in the sky above the sea as if revealing the scenery at the end of the world.

Yu Man offered up his magic power and used the powerful soul weapon in his hand.

Every detail it records has now become a waterfall of ice and snow that is about to descend and pour down here.

one--

Yu Man's lost magic power began to be replenished by the effective magic potion.