She Hadn't Planned to Bring Out the Big Guns

By the time half the day had passed, the streets were already packed with players coming and going.

Shops lined the streets one after another. The crisp clang of metal being struck rang out from blacksmith shops from time to time, long lines formed outside large stores, and vendors displayed all sorts of materials, equipment, and strange props along the roadside, shouting to attract customers.

Some rode towering magical beasts through the middle of the street, drawing bursts of exclamations. Some hugged newly purchased equipment and excitedly discussed its attributes with their companions. Others squatted beside the fountain livestreaming, with passersby constantly walking behind them. Whenever someone happened to get caught on camera, they immediately flashed a gesture at the lens.

The afternoon was the peak time for players to explore this other world.

Some were busy grinding monsters.

Some were busy shopping.

Some were busy filming videos.

Others had even begun researching how to open restaurants in this other world.

The entire main city was like a massive marketplace that never stopped, its noise nearly filling every street.

Naturally, Silver Wolf had no intention of squeezing through crowds with the players, so she had activated stealth long ago.

She was currently walking leisurely into the wind atop the roof of a house, her hands tucked into her pockets.

Forum pages continuously refreshed in front of her goggles.

"'Mysterious NPC spotted inside the Platinum Guild'..."

Silver Wolf gave it a glance.

"'Platinum Guild responds: confirmed to be a player'..."

She scrolled again.

"'Discussion on the true identity of that suspected NPC'..."

"You people really have too much free time."

Silver Wolf muttered as her finger kept scrolling downward.

The next second.

A title abruptly entered her view.

"Offering a Huge Reward for a Guide to Raising Her Affection"

Silver Wolf's finger stopped. "Why are you still here?"

Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow slightly and clicked into it out of curiosity. A candidly taken photo soon popped up on the right side of the post.

The comments below were even more unhinged:

"Does no one else think her outfit is seriously hot?"

"The person above needs to be electrocuted."

"Too old."

"Too small."

"Too big."

"Everyone except the second floor, crank it up."

"Where are the feet?"

"No, but who exactly is she? Doesn't anyone care?"

"If you care about that, why are you in this thread?"

"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier?!"

Silver Wolf stared at the screen for several seconds before silently taking a breath.

"999." She raised a hand and rubbed her brow. "You all are so damn good, you've turned 6 upside down."

What exactly were these players focused on?

She suspected she had underestimated the vitality of the internet.

Just then—

An angry roar suddenly came from below. "I told you, this is a rare material that only came out yesterday!"

"You bought it up, and now you're fucking raising the price!"

"I'm the only one selling it. Buy it or leave it."

"You fucking reseller!"

One player pointed at the stall owner and cursed furiously, immediately drawing a crowd of onlookers.

Silver Wolf kept her hands in her pockets. She had little interest in this sort of thing.

She leisurely leaped from one rooftop to the next until she reached the roof of a tavern, where the noise below suddenly quieted considerably.

Silver Wolf stopped, lowered herself slightly, and looked down through the eaves.

The players inside the tavern were clearly gathered around two people, whose argument happened to carry clearly to her ears.

"I'm telling you, first place on the dueling arena rankings is definitely going to be [Blade of Judgment] this time!" One of them slapped the table. "He's already at 675 points!"

"675?" The other immediately refuted him. "His win streak has already been broken. I think [Daylight Night] is better! He's on a twenty-three-win streak now. One more win and he'll be first!"

"Damn, can that shameless sustain build from Daylight Night beat Condemnation's explosive damage?"

"How is that impossible?" The man was clearly unconvinced and stood up directly. "Do you think that damage can actually one-shot people? Condemnation's cooldowns are ridiculously long. Sure, he can take someone out with one burst if they're a little weaker, but whenever he runs into a shield, doesn't the fight drag on forever?"

"You..."

The two looked ready to start arguing again.

But the surrounding players had already burst into laughter. Some even held wine cups while placing bets nearby.

Silver Wolf rarely paused in her tracks, and she began checking the dueling arena rankings as well.

Oh? The dueling arena?

First: [Blade of Judgment] 675

Second: [Daylight Night] 648

Third: [Astral Spirit] 612

Silver Wolf was immediately interested. "One versus one?"

As the saying went, if neither you nor I stirred things up, how would the little fish ever grow?

Silver Wolf smiled and tapped Start Matchmaking, the bubble gum in her mouth puffing up lightly.

"Let's play a round."

[Matchmaking started]

[Match found]

[A worthy opponent has been found for you]

[Berry Soda Level 67]

[Ranking: 13]

----

[A worthy opponent has been found for you]

[Silver Wolf Level 65]

[Ranking: Unranked]

Berry Soda was standing beside a field covered in medicinal herbs. She had been chewing on a grass stem, but when she saw the successful match, her movements visibly paused.

[Which player will Soda Bro toy with today?]

[Wait, why is the opponent named Silver Wolf?]

[Which Silver Wolf?]

[The one from the forums recently!]

[The star of "Mysterious NPC spotted inside the Platinum Guild"?]

[Isn't she an NPC?]

[Platinum Guild already said she's a player. Are you people still calling her an NPC? What are you on, 2G internet?]

[It's fine even if she loses. Berry Sis was supposed to lose points today anyway.]

[Why is the chat already predicting her defeat?]

Berry Soda spat the grass stem aside and casually brushed the dirt off herself. "A bunch of trash mobs think I can't do it, huh?"

She raised her short staff, her smile gradually turning serious. "I'm going to become number one!"

[Still talking about number one!]

[I'm seated!]

[Can't do anything with you. Fine, I'm seated! That was a duel destined to go down in history. Berry Soda, suppressed by the level gap, defeated the reigning champion Blade of Judgment through transformations within the crater...]

After Berry Soda pressed Confirm,

the surrounding herb fields, soil, and wooden houses all vanished, replaced by an enormous circular dueling arena.

Towering stone walls enclosed the area. There was no sky above, only a simulated azure light screen.

[Dueling arena loaded]

[Level difference between both sides: 5]

[Duel countdown]

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

The instant the countdown ended.

Both of them moved at the same time.

Silver Wolf pushed off the ground and charged straight ahead.

The weapon in her hand had already transformed into a hand cannon.

An instant opening move!

Boom!

A compressed energy shell blasted directly toward Berry Soda.

Berry Soda's lips curled up. "So fast!"

She did not take it head-on, instead swaying backward.

A figure identical to her suddenly rushed out from the side.

Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow slightly but did not pursue.

The hand cannon turned.

Bang!

The energy shell grazed the figure's shoulder and flew past.

The next second.

The phantom exploded outright.

"A fake?" Silver Wolf did not stop moving.

Amid the smoke from the explosion, a fiery-red magic circle suddenly appeared.

Boom—!

A pillar of fire shot into the sky.

Silver Wolf abruptly rolled sideways, the flames grazing the hem of her clothes as they surged upward.

She rolled halfway across the ground, braced herself with one hand, then swiftly rose to her feet. "Too slow!"

In the distance, Berry Soda had already begun her second round of casting, her short staff tracing an arc through the air.

Three figures appeared simultaneously, swiftly spreading out and keeping their distance.

They stood to Silver Wolf's left, right, and directly in front of her.

All three Berry Sodas raised their short staffs.

[Illusion: Triple Image]

The next second.

Three spells blasted out at once.

Boom!

The entire dueling arena was instantly engulfed by explosions.

The players in the spectator stands immediately perked up.

[Holy shit, Berry Sis is serious from the start?]

[Where's Silver Wolf?]

[Don't tell me she got instantly killed?]

Before the smoke had even dispersed, a black shadow suddenly charged out from within.

"That's it?"

Berry Soda reacted swiftly, immediately raising her short staff to cast magic. Scattered fireballs and beams of light formed one after another, closing in on Silver Wolf from every direction.

Silver Wolf kept low, data constantly flashing across her goggles as she skimmed past one magical attack after another, her body nearly brushing them.

A fireball grazed past her ear, while an ice spike flew past her shoulder.

She did not even look back. Her hand cannon simply kept firing.

Bang!

Every shot forced Berry Soda to chant again.

"Hm?" Berry Soda clicked her tongue lightly. "Is this girl really human...?"

She slammed her short staff downward.

Boom!

The ground instantly split apart.

A mass of vines burst from underground, lashing toward Silver Wolf.

Silver Wolf halted, leaning backward as a vine swept past the tip of her nose.

She flipped with the motion, stepped on another vine for leverage, and leaped into the air.

In midair.

The hand cannon spun.

Bang!

An energy bolt shot straight at Berry Soda.

Berry Soda twisted aside, and the energy bolt slammed into the stone wall behind her.

Boom!

Rubble flew everywhere.

Taking advantage of the flying debris, Berry Soda used a skill, turning her original three copies into twelve.

The entire duel arena was filled with Berry Sodas.

[Illusion: Myriad Manifestations]

The skill struck from every direction at once.

Silver Wolf stood still. Her goggles glowed faintly as data continuously flashed past her eyes.

[Target count: 1]

Silver Wolf could not suppress the curl of her lips.

Bang!

The hand cannon suddenly swung around.

An energy bolt fired directly at the ground by her feet.

Boom!

The instant the shockwave erupted,

Silver Wolf used the recoil to launch herself backward.

At the same time,

a figure flashed through the spot where she had just stood.

It was Berry Soda's true body, which had been lurking nearby. "?"

Berry Soda flicked her short staff, and a bolt of purple lightning crashed down.

Silver Wolf turned in midair, her hand cannon transforming into a light blade.

Sizzle—

The light blade slashed diagonally.

The lightning was split apart in one stroke.

Silver Wolf landed, but before she could steady herself, several magical attacks came flying at her again.

Boom!

Silver Wolf could only keep retreating, dodging the attacks step by step.

[HP: 100%]

The audience erupted completely.

[???]

[Silver Wolf didn't turn hacks on, did she?!]

[Not one of those shots hit?]

[She can't hit her even with that kind of density?]

[Silver Wolf still hasn't used a skill!]

[I'm already sweating for Soda Bro.]

[Just now it was Sister Berry, and now it's Comedy Soda Bro.]

All twelve Berry Sodas raised their short staffs together, and a massive magic circle appeared beneath their feet.

Silver Wolf stopped and watched the ever-expanding magic circle. "Oh? Charging up a big move?"

The Berry Sodas did not answer. Berry Soda gripped her short staff with both hands.

Enormous magic power began gathering throughout the duel arena.

Even the light screen in the sky began to dim.

The audience fell silent for a moment.

Then an even louder roar broke out.

[It's coming!]

[Sister Berry's finishing move!]

[There's no time at this distance!]

But Silver Wolf did not run. She stood where she was, slowly lowering her hand cannon.

She lowered her head and looked at her hand cannon.

Then she looked at Berry Soda, who was chanting in the distance. "Let me show you the beauty of stats."

She put away her hand cannon, and the light blade reappeared in her palm.

Then—

Silver Wolf charged out.

Berry Soda's true body was visibly stunned as she watched Silver Wolf rush toward her, the distance rapidly shrinking.

How is that possible?! Why did she know!?

A burst of air exploded beneath Silver Wolf's feet, accelerating her once more.

Suddenly, an ice wall rose from the ground.

Silver Wolf casually threw a punch at it.

Bang!

Ice shards filled the air as she burst straight through the shattered ice.

Berry Soda's magic circle looked nearly complete, but it still needed one final step. Yet...

"Too late!"

Silver Wolf had already reached Berry Soda. They were so close that she could practically see Berry Soda's expression.

"Your skill takes longer to charge than you have to live."

The light blade swept across.

Smack!

The short staff was knocked flying.

Chanting—interrupted.

The magic circle flickered violently, then vanished with a boom.

Silver Wolf followed up with a kick to her abdomen.

Bang!

Berry Soda was sent flying backward.

She rolled across the ground several times.

Silver Wolf flicked the light blade in her hand, her eyes curving slightly beneath her goggles.

Berry Soda pushed herself to her feet and wiped at the corner of her mouth.

"I surrender, I surrender, I surrender!"

[Player surrender detected]

[Silver Wolf wins]

Silver Wolf slowly walked over to Berry Soda and asked a question. "Why does the chat call you Sister Berry one moment and Soda Bro the next?"

"Uh..." Berry Soda had never expected Silver Wolf to ask that. "Wait, you were watching my stream?"

"Yeah..."

"Uh... anyway, it's a whole thing, hahaha."

Silver Wolf looked at Berry Soda, who clearly did not want to answer, and could only say, "All right."

Then Silver Wolf left the duel arena, leaving Berry Soda standing there alone.

Soon after, Silver Wolf's figure turned into a streak of white light and exited the duel arena.

The vast circular arena returned to silence, leaving only Berry Soda standing in place.

Berry Soda fell silent for a few seconds, then lowered her head to look at her status.

Then she looked toward where Silver Wolf had disappeared.

Her expression gradually became complicated. "Hiss..." She sucked in a breath.

She hadn't used a single skill the entire time, and... she'd taken no damage?

From the beginning to the end, Berry Soda had used nearly every method at her disposal.

Decoys, illusions, long-range magical suppression—she had even deliberately widened the distance at the end, preparing to chant a high-burst skill.

Yet Silver Wolf had not only gone through the whole match unscathed, but had also defeated her in less than twelve seconds.

"Guys, your streamer just got stomped by a pro."