“We… we won!”
With Makura Heita’s shout that was so surprised it was almost undignified, like a gorilla discovering a banana for the first time, the surrounding scenery began to change.
The yellow sand and mud that had filled the vision, along with the circular “ancient Roman coliseum,” gradually eroded by a layer of unnatural orderliness.
The image seemed to crack with countless fine and neat gaps.
That was probably visual errors from the data cubes dispersing before the system could fully correct them.
The neatly arranged data cubes gradually became transparent.
Then they completely dissipated.
It was as if that cruel battle field had never existed from the beginning.
Immediately afterward, my vision was forcibly switched back to reality.
The scene that should have been seen in the academy hallway once again occupied the entire world.
That “Delinquent” stood extremely close to me.
I could even clearly see the anger and unwillingness on his face that he had not yet had time to conceal.
This was also a natural result.
Being defeated by an opponent with a huge strength gap, even one that could be called “laughably weak.”
No matter which BHAO player it happened to, it was an unbearable humiliation.
“You brat, just you wait.”
He gritted his teeth, his voice low and gloomy.
“Next time… it won’t be this lucky!”
…Is he still not planning to let me go?
I subconsciously shrank my neck and revealed a self-mocking bitter smile.
Of course I understood how “despicable” this victory looked in others’ eyes.
But even if all ten thousand points from this duel were stuffed into my hands, it held no real meaning for me.
“Are you still planning to do something even worse?”
A voice came from behind the Delinquent.
His tall body blocked the view, but it could not block that clear and relaxing tone.
If I had to describe it, it was a voice between neutral and gentle.
It landed exactly on the frequency where I most easily lowered my guard.
“The student council will not tolerate you.”
“Hmph.”
The Delinquent coldly snorted, and in the end still turned and left with those few upperclassmen.
As their backs disappeared, my vision seemed to have a ray of light shine into the gloom and finally became completely bright.
The first thing that rushed into view was that head of silver long hair.
It seemed to be Mayne’s personal habit.
She had deliberately braided two strands of silver hair into thin braids hanging behind her head.
Her fair face and deep purple eyes complemented each other.
In my subjective impression, it was a beauty carrying a cold intent, yet not lacking elegance.
Oh no… our eyes met.
In that instant, I clearly felt her expression shift from an ice world to spring.
The change was not exaggerated, but it was enough for me to immediately realize.
She had noticed me.
I almost reflexively raised my right hand, trying to cover my face and lower my presence.
But immediately afterward, the voice transmitted through my eardrums proved that this behavior was futile.
“Xiao Ye~! Xiao Ye~! Are you okay?”
Through the gap between my index and middle fingers, I peeked at the figure walking toward me and subconsciously wanted to move my body to escape.
However, when my body tried to follow the rhythm of my mind, it was already too late.
“Xiao Ye, did that guy hurt you…”
Mayne narrowed her eyes, and the distance between her exquisite face and mine kept closing.
Her breath brushed against my face, mixed with the fresh scent of fruit-flavored lip balm.
That scent carried a kind of irresistible magic.
I was so startled that I kept retreating, only for my right foot to accidentally trip over my left.
I lost balance and fell straight to the ground.
A few suppressed snickers immediately sounded around us.
…This is such a familiar way of embarrassing myself.
I once again criticized my own cowardice in my heart.
“Yoruichi?”
“I, I’m fine, Mayne!”
I hurriedly spoke, my voice unconsciously speeding up.
“Thank you for saving me just now!”
“You… you should be very busy, right?”
“After all, you’re the student council president, so I won’t bother you!”
I squeezed out a slightly stiff smile, used my right hand to push off the ground and stand up, then almost reflexively pulled Heita, who was still “completely clueless about the situation,” and quickly walked toward the classroom.
…I feel like I’ve reached the pinnacle of misery.
The reason was actually very simple.
From Mayne’s eyes, I saw pity.
And above the pity, an even more uncomfortable emotion — a faint, almost imperceptible pleasure.
Of course, I did not possess any special ability.
It was just that Mayne had once used almost the exact same method to deceive and then humiliate me.
I was not stupid enough to fall into the same trap a second time.
In the eyes of these high-level players, I was nothing more than a toy to pass the time.
And the KING OF RIDER who managed the entire academy area.
Was far more terrifying than a “Delinquent” who could only throw punches.
So, I completely ignored whatever Mayne was still saying behind me.
No matter how sweet the trap, it was still a trap.
I would not send myself into the tiger’s mouth just because of the “favor” of ten thousand points.
“Hey, why was the student council president’s kill of Rampage Hound counted as your duel victory?”
When I talked with Makura Heita again, it was already after school.
“Yoruichi, you didn’t use some system loophole, did you?”
We walked side by side on the street bathed in sunset.
The warm light gave the illusion from skin to bones of being wrapped in a cotton quilt.
But I knew very well that this was only superficial ease.
The real way to feel safe was to turn off the Wi-Fi on your phone.
Casually connecting to public areas and getting dragged into inexplicable battles was not a risk low-tier players like us were willing to bear.
“Heita, you don’t even know about this?”
My mood was still bad, but being with this guy always let me find a bit of lightness.
His handsome face and his intelligence were completely out of proportion.
However.
Perhaps only someone this simple, almost dull, would be willing to be my best friend.
“I really haven’t encountered this situation before, Yoruichi.”
Yeah. Normal people’s battles are indeed not this complicated.
If I had not frequently dealt with all kinds of extreme situations in my other account, perhaps I would not know these things either.
“It’s using a blind spot in BHAO’s system judgment.”
“A blind spot in system judgment? And you still say you didn’t cheat?”
“Idiot! A blind spot and a bug are two different things!”
I mercilessly shot him a look of disdain.
Heita seemed to realize his common-sense error and his shoulders trembled slightly.
“Let me explain BHAO’s judgment mechanics to you.”
I extended my right index finger and put on a rather knowledgeable pose.
Although it was only during these explanation moments that I could appear a little reliable.
“BHAO is different from ordinary games. Because the core gameplay is duels, the victory judgment is not ‘our side kills’ but ‘the opponent dies.’”
“Yoruichi, can you make it simpler?”
Heita’s eyes were still full of confusion.
“…Fine.”
I had wanted to mock him a few more times, but looking at his overly honest face, I really had no mood.
“Simply put, the system only cares about who is still alive in the end, not who made the move.”
Heita was silent for a while, as if digesting my words.
Then he cautiously asked:
“So, the two sides of this duel were you and that upperclassman, the student council president who inserted midway doesn’t count… and the one still alive in the end is you, so it judged you as the winner?”
“Correct.”
I nodded.
“In some special scenes, we can use this judgment blind spot to defeat enemies through the environment. This method is called ‘scene kill.’”
We passed by a broken street lamp.
The sky had gradually darkened from the sunset’s orange-red.
The crimson sky always disappeared quickly, just like those brief yet glaring moments.
And my solo-rented apartment was not far away anymore.
I stopped, turned to look at this best friend, and asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
“By the way, Heita. You clearly have no interest in powerful characters like Mayne. As the Rider Lord, she should be even stronger than the witch, right?”
“No.”
Heita’s answer was exceptionally firm.
“To me, the only strongest in BHAO is the witch!”
That unshakable tone left me momentarily unable to find words to refute.
“…You damn lolicon.”
I slightly furrowed my brows, then quickly relaxed them and laughed with a not-too-harsh tone.
Of course, he was still the same as always, not really hurt at all.