The next two weeks flew by as I split my time between studying for school exams and farming levels for my upcoming duel. They passed quickly—too quickly.
I only reached level five.
"Shit, just level five!? Okay, this game is hard, but I didn't expect it to be this hard," I thought.
My two friends and I logged into the game; Zack and I had agreed to meet in a remote area of the tutorial zone.
When we got there, what I saw was insane—that asshole had invited a crowd. There had to be over two hundred people.
Marie: "Good luck, Nero. You'll need it."
Kaiser: "Kick his ass!"
I couldn't tell if they were being serious. Did they really think I had any chance against him? It didn't matter—back then, I didn't know it would be the last time I spoke to them for years.
I entered the arena, a ruined city square normally full of monsters. It was empty now, thanks to the spectators who had used a ton of monster lures in other areas to keep them away.
Zack approached me.
Zack: "Hey, idiot. I see you managed to level up a bit. Out of pity, I refrained from leveling up myself."
"As if that matters. You're still twenty levels ahead of me. Your cowardice is embarrassing. Why don't you fight someone your own level, huh? Oh right—you suck."
Zack stiffened with rage.
Zack: "Enough talking," he said, walking to one end of the arena and motioning for me to do the same.
I did.
He summoned his sword and rushed at me without even using a formula—he was mocking me, chasing me like I was his favorite prey.
Because of the [???] skill that stole all my stat points, dodging his attacks was exhausting. But somehow, I managed.
I summoned my sword and yelled, "Ethereal Blade!" I aimed for his sword, but he parried and I fell to the ground.
And in that moment, as my ass hit the arena floor, I realized something: my weird unnamed skill didn't activate when I used a formula—only when others did. So in those few seconds, I came up with a plan: make Zack use as many high-level formulas as possible to boost the [???] skill to the max—and then find a way to activate it. I didn't know what the skill did; it was a gamble. My win depended on it.
As soon as I hit the ground, Zack was ready.
Zack: "Flaming Slash!" he shouted, raising his sword.
{Passive Skill [???]: Your understanding of the formula [Flaming Slash] has increased}
The attack grazed me, but it still dealt massive damage. The ground next to me caught fire.
[HP: 320/480]
I charged again—stupid move. Zack was done playing. He dashed at me with inhuman speed, pressed his blade against my chest, and cast a formula I didn't recognize.
Zack: "Herculean Boulder!"
{Passive Skill [???]: Your understanding of the formula [Herculean Boulder] has increased}
A giant rock shot out of his sword with crazy force, sending me flying several meters.
[HP: 1/480]
Shit. I was about to lose.
Suddenly, something lit up. Multiple system windows popped up in front of me.
{All requirements for activating the skill [???] have been met. Does the [Player] wish to activate it? [Yes] [No]}
"Yes," I whispered with the last of my strength.
A brilliant light burst from my sword, followed by another window.
[The echoes of a past life have come to your aid]
"What the hell does that mean? No—no, I promised myself that part of my life was over," I thought. But it was too late. The skill had already activated.
The light grew stronger. My mouth moved on its own. I shouted:
"N*ger!"
{Skill [???] has evolved into skill [VerbTank]}
"WHAT THE FUCK?! NO, NOT AGAIN—I SWORE I'D NEVER HEAR THAT WORD AGAIN IN MY LIFE!" I thought.
The light intensified even more and engulfed Zack, dropping his HP to zero.
Zack's avatar teleported out of the arena.
Everyone was in shock. Some were accusing me of being a racist, others of being a cheater. My head was spinning—I couldn't make sense of anything. If it had been possible in the game, I would have fainted for sure.
For one reason or another, everyone was reporting me to the Game Master. Even my friends—I saw them submit reports too. I never thought they'd turn on me so quickly.
Overwhelmed by the mass of reports, the Game Master appeared.
Game Master: "My god, what's going on here? Everybody calm down."