Millions of color pixels filled Lyouell’s sight. He put up a sour grin as he returned to his little fake world.

Moments later, he was in a room filled with flamboyant colors and brilliantly realistic animations. He hastily selected his choice of game by touching one of the fighting animations. A window labeled “loading” briefly flashed in his view. The logo of the game, the Duelist appeared.

It was the most popular player-vs-player game at the time. The rule of the game was simple; you select your avatar, armor, and your weapon of choice, and engage against the opponent player. There were several duel types and rules, but of course the most popular one was the “knight duel”, where players are set to fight like real knights. Since the armor and weapon were highly customizable, it was very uncommon to meet an opponent with similar costume.

Of course, the most popular attire was the official knight uniform. However since it was only given to the most talented and dedicated players in the universe, it was nearly impossible to obtain. Lyouell chuckled as he pulled out his knight uniform out of his virtual closet. He walked into the game lobby, where players wait for their opponents, carefully selected by the computer. Already, some of the players noticed his famous gaming ID, Mr Insecticide.

Lyouell’s avatar looked much like himself, only without any mechanic implants. It was definitely not a trendy customization; most players liked the cool bio-implants and flashy neon tattoos. His avatar had on sunglasses as a minimal identity protection. His instructor would been horrified if he found out Lyouell was playing as a character pretty much identical to his real self.

After letting out a prideful smile as other players noticed his knight outfit, the boy touched the entry hologram with his right hand. The glossy black oriental writing was still there. Lyouell blinked his eyes in confusion. Did the EVW scan his hand? Or did the computer somehow pick up his curiosity on the writing? The boy shook off his uneasiness as a window appeared in his sight, informing him of his opponent and the selected terrain for the game. Lyouell quickly rolled his blue eyes.

[Map: Metropolis]

[Your ID: Mr. Insecticide]

[Opponent ID: Xotic]

[Touch the Engage button when you are ready]

His opponent looked like a speed-type close combat fighter. He had white hair with a custom-made military uniform. The glittering jade dagger he was holding indicated that he was a named player. The golden medal pinned to his jacket revealed his identity even more.

Lyouell widened his eyes in excitement. Ooh, he must be one of the grandmasters! The boy quickly selected a duel-blade as his weapon of choice and punched the [Engage] button with all his might. The countdown started, and his avatar was transferred into a city-like terrain. Lyouell smiled as his opponent appeared in sight. This is going to be good…

★★★

The fight ended in Lyouell’s complete victory. The grand master was miserably outmatched. Lyouell smiled as he received a great sum of game money by winning against a named player.

Well, to be honest, it was not fair. The boy was a knight-to-be, after all. Lyouell walked into the in-game bar, and ordered clementine juice, as usual. He took a sip as he shot a gaze on the electric display. A few familiar players were fighting each other in the virtual arena. The enthusiastic shouts of loud commenters and the cries of both delighted and horrified gamblers could be heard throughout the match.

Lyouell was frowning as he took another sip of his juice. It was remarkable to think that so many were spending ridiculous amount of energy on this fake world. Fighting in the virtual arena had nothing to do with muscle mass or physical training. It was fake. The fighting is fake, the gambling is fake, the bar is fake, and even this juice is…

Clank!

The sound of the glass hitting the floor and shattering rung through the bar. The broken fragments quickly vanished into blue, red and green lights. Lyouell prepared for his next matchup. Perhaps the heat of the fight would ease off the boy’s depression. He hit the [Entry] hologram once again. A window appeared immediately, as if the computer picked up the boy’s desperate urge to fight someone.

[Map: Oriental Garden]

[Your ID: Mr. Insecticide]

[Opponent ID: Meari]

[Touch the engage button when you are ready]

Lyouell blinked his eyes in disbelief when he gazed on his opponent’s avatar.

She’s a girl! A fairly pretty one too. She was a skinny girl with long, jet black hair and captivating dark back eyes. Oriental, exotic clothing covered with unrecognizable patterns veiled the mysterious warrior girl. The texture of the clothing was light and silk-like. A small section of the garment was floating in the air by an unknown force. Is that even possible?

The girl held her hands together and bowed down. Oh, foreign customs again? Lyouell mimicked her gestures, rather clumsily. The girl opened her tiny mouth. Her voice was quiet, but held dignity.

“May the war-god smile upon you this day.”

Lyouell was unsure if the girl was role-playing or not. He scratched his head before taking out his weapon. Very few female players make it to the upper league. Losing a crusing defeat would heavily penalize one's chance to stay in the league; weeks and months of work can disappear in an instant. Lyouell knew that most of them get very distressed after losing. Some of them even cried.

That shouldn’t happen. Oh well, I guess I am playing kinda easy this match. Lyouell chuckled when his opponent took out her weapon. It was a spear. The design was very unusual; the blade part of the spear resembled an oriental dragon opening its mouth. The other end of the spear had something shaped like a turtle on it. Was it a decoration? Lyouell was not sure. What he did know, that spear users in this game get a ridiculous speed penalty.

Lyouell whirled his sword twice. No way am I losing to a girl lancer. He had the most confident look as the countdown started. The girl put up a faint smile. She grasped her spear vertically from the ground, and held her right leg apart from the ground. She gracefully spread her other hand horizontally, creating a Mudra with her hand by touching two of her fingers while extending her third, fourth and fifth fingers. Her stance resembled a white crane opening her wings. It created a remarkable harmony with the cherry blossoms flying through the air.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Engage!]

The boy and the girl kicked the ground simultaneously, and their weapons clashed with each other. Lyouell was slightly faster than her, but the girl’s weapon had more reach. Lyouell gave a slight twist in his arm. Upon landing on the ground, the girl dodged Lyouell’s sword and launched a forceful counter attack.

Lyouell was barely able to block. The dragon head narrowly missed Lyouell’s head and cut through the boy’s lips. He was pushed back and lost some hit points. He touched his lips. It was a rather deep cut. Blood dripped on his hands.

“Quite the tomboy, aren’t you?”

The girl responded with a playful chuckle. Lyouell jumped in, and the pair exchanged fierce blows. The metallic crack of the colliding blades echoed throughout the oriental garden. Since both players were able to effectively cancel out each other’s attack, the match seemed to be even.

Lyouell raised his eyebrows. Huh, not an ordinary girl gamer, eh? I am rather impressed. Lyouell prepared for impact as the girl whirled her weapon. She was on the offence this time. Clang. The metallic sound of blades clashing rung in the boy’s head. Now, it was surely his turn… or was it? The girl still had her mesmerizing smile on her face…

BAM-

Another blow smashed through, and Lyouell’s avatar flew through the air. He crashed into the ground, shooting dust into the air. Confused, the boy glared at his opponent. The girl straightened her clothes. She was holding her spear in reverse. Suddenly Lyouell understood what happened; the girl had hit the boy with the other end of her spear. She flung her spear so precisely that she could conduct the spear like two separate swords – canceling out the speed penalty. The girl glared at him. Her eyes glittered at the moonlight shining upon her. She waited for the boy, as if following some kind of a knightly code.

“Rise.”

Lyouell eventually got up. He had lost a large portion of his health by getting hit. He would lose the match if he was hit again. Lyouell clicked his tongue. Ok, Ok. No more Mr. Nice Guy. His blade made an intimating whistle as he wielded it. The girl replied by spinning around her dragon-spear. The massive reach and the threatening whirling sound of her spear discouraged the boy to take the offensive.

Crack!

But he took the shot as soon as the dragon head disappeared from his sight. A vicious blow struck his sword. He raised his left arm to block the upcoming counter attack. A terrible blow. His left radius was sure to be broken. But he bought just enough time to deliver a piercing attack with his sword. Lyouell chuckled. I’ve won.

But what is this? The girl let go of her weapon, and hit his blade with her bare hands. Blood oozed in her palm, but she was able to deflect the sword away from her vital organs. A following elegant kick knocked Lyouell’s weapon away from his grip. Suddenly, the duel turned into a fist fight.

“Hiyaaaaa!”

The girl let out a resounding cry. The next moment she was gone from the ground. Lyouell barely caught up in her kicks and punches.

The boy was sure that he was losing the fight; not only was his left hand completely out of use, but also the girl’s fighting style was completely unknown to him. Lyouell had a great interest in martial arts, but ancient fighting techniques were definitely not his expertise.

The girl flipped and jumped in the air, seemingly hitting the boy in all directions. Her attacks were persistently aimed at his face. Just before she landed a powerful punch in his face, the boy shot his right elbow upward, connecting with her fist. Blood splattered in the air. The girl jumped back, frowning. Her hands were bleeding out from her previous wounds. She let out a muttering sound. “…Ahyya.”

They glared at each other. Lyouell quickly checked his life bar. Only a tiny speck of health remained. The next attack would judge the winner. He glimpsed at his weapon. It was only about twenty steps away from him, but the girl’s spear was more close to her position. If he jumped to his weapon, the girl probably would have enough time to make an attack first. The boy stared at her deep black eyes.

He carefully calculated his next move. After drawing some possible angles of incoming attacks, he dashed to his weapon. Almost instantaneously, the girl made her move. She was far faster than Lyouell’s prediction. She was already pursuing the boy with the spear in her hand. Lyouell bit his lips. He quickly flipped his body in a cartwheel, locking his eyes on the girl’s weapon. The spear made a wide stretch backwards. An image of the dragon head ripping through his side flashed on Lyouell’s mind.

Lyouell grabbed his blade amidst his cartwheel, while his foot was still in the air. The spear was now charging forward. Now it’s a matter of speed. Lyouell closed his eyes. It was glowing bright blue when he opened it again. The frame rate of his eyesight seemed to drop. The world was now moving very slowly. Lyouell’s left hand touched the ground. He bit his mouth as his broken bones crackled. He did not have enough momentum to swing his sword high. The hiss of the flying spear was near. He could see the confident smile on the girl’s face. She gripped her spear, like a lioness clutching on to her prey. Lyouell flung his blade sideways. His eyes were fixed on the dragon head. His sword barely touched the spear. The dragon was about to take its bite on the boy’s side. Just a little more. The boy stretched his fingers.

Clank!

The sound of steel sinking through wood made the boy smile. Got you. The beheaded dragon flew in the air. The boy finished his cartwheel. The girl was very close to him. The girl jumped up. Fool! You have trapped yourself.

Lyouell’s next swing would surely make a mark on her abdomen. The boy’s blade sliced through the air particles. Just before it hit flesh, a window appeared on Lyouell’s sight. It did not announce victory. It read [DEAD].

Blood splattered on his view. His blade slipped out of his hand. His avatar sank to the ground, on his knees. Lyouell dropped his jaw in astonishment. The dragon head was deeply imbedded on his chest. To his amazement, the girl had caught the dragon-blade in the air with her small fingers, fumbled it around in position, and unleashed the spearhead on the boy – before touching the ground.

Impossible. The victor landed on the ground with a soft muffle. She straightened her clothes again before letting out a deep sigh. She put away her broken weapon, and drew a cross with her fingers. No, it was not a cross… some kind of oriental character. The black ink written on her hand caught Lyouell’s eye. It looked familiar. It shouldn’t be. He did not know anything of oriental writing. Or did he? The girl bowed her head, in the most polite way.

“Respect. You have fought like a true warrior.”

Lyouell blinked his eyes. He was unsure how to respond to her.

He typed in, [Uh, thank you. Sorry about your spear.]

The girl grinned. Lyouell blinked his eyes again. Wow, she really doesn’t care.

[You are really good at this game.]

“You are also a worthy opponent. The glory is yours.”

The boy blinked his eyes. The girl’s odd gaming ID caught his eye. Meari?

[Hey, by the way, what does Meari mean?]

The boy caught a glimpse of her bittersweet smile, just before his avatar was transferred back into the game lobby.

“Echo in the mountains.”

Lyouell played several games after fighting Meari, but not against noteworthy opponents. He stopped by the in-game bar again, and re-ordered his previous purchase. After another glass of clementine, the boy rested his cheeks in his hand. The dazzling oriental warrior seemed to be flickering in his brain.

He tried to distract himself by fixing his eyes on the electric display. But he could not focus on ongoing fights. The elegant pose of Meari flashed again on his head. Lyouell finally gave up resisting and let his mind sink into its own thoughts. The girl in his mind seemed to be smiling. The boy carefully recalled her moves and attack positions. She was truly brilliant. Angles of attack, accuracy, agility… everything was superb, especially her reactions. The boy frowned as he dug deep into his memory. The final blow from Meari was simply unbelievable. It was definitely not a calculated strike, since Lyouell chopped the spearhead off. However, she carried out the attack in the most professional way.

Lyouell blinked his eyes again. Who is she? Not a lot of players took victory against the knight-to-be boy. But this player was clearly the strongest opponent Lyouell ever fought against. Could she be a real knight? An applause from the electric display disturbed the boy’s thinking. The next moment, the world shook a little bit. Two windows popped up in the boy’s retina display. It was a message from the spaceship captain.

[Alert – We are experiencing turbulence.]

[All virtual world users must disconnect for safety measures]

Lyouell let out a discontent mutter. He quickly logged off from his favorite game. Thousands of color pixels surrounded his sight. It was not long before the boy’s mind left the digital world.