The bright moon hung high overhead. Snowflake-like volcanic ash drifted down from above, mixing with the half-melted snow on the ground.
Black Molten City was quiet at night. The Black Ring Fortress stood toward the rear of the city. Originally, there had only been the fortress here, but as more and more people gathered around it, the settlement eventually grew to the size of a city.
Inside a room on the seventh floor of the Black Ring Fortress, flames roared in the fireplace. Su Xiao, who had just finished dinner, sat cross-legged on a bench near the hearth. The bench was covered with the entire pelt of an Extreme North bear, a trophy seized there more than a decade ago during his battle with the Frost Lord.
At this moment, Su Xiao held the personal terminal for 'Deadly Duel' in his hand. He pressed his thumb against the very center of the screen. Like a fingerprint unlock, a honeycomb pattern appeared, followed by a string of text.
'Thanks to the special sponsorship from the Void Banas Dwarves, thanks to the friendly sponsorship from Wind Sea Continent (Transcendence), thanks to...'
'Our company will permanently support the use of the following factions' users...'
Su Xiao scrolled down. Several tiny symbols appeared side by side. First was the imprint of a tree, followed by ф (blood red), (sky blue), and ￡ (gray)...
The marks representing Reincarnation, Apocalypse, Death, Sanctuary, Holy Light, and Watch appeared, but they were merely marks, with no words labeling them.
'Please read the following game regulations...'
After skimming through them, Su Xiao skipped ahead. The statement below—'The final right of interpretation of the above content belongs to our company'—meant these game regulations were destined to be nothing but bullshit.
After refusing to sign the game regulations, Su Xiao successfully