The Unemployed Game Master

It seems that self-confidence leads to brutality

My body began to move towards the undead, the current opponent being a zombie knight.

"Slow movements like that won't be effective against my attacks."

Seeing my arrival, the undead raised its sword and started swinging its attack. I easily dodged, and in the next motion, I delivered a slashing attack with my hand.

Crash...

Without blood, the undead's skin tore apart, and its head separated from the body. It fell and rolled in front of my feet. Without tolerance, I quickly stabbed its head.

"Just low-class monsters and the items they drop won't be too useful! From now on, it might be better for me to find stronger creatures!"

As I suspected earlier, my body quickly adapted to the attack mechanisms provided by the game system. It's not surprising that players who did Live at that time could perform complex movements, undoubtedly based on adequate equipment.

"For now, I have to reach level 50 and prepare for the upcoming competition event!"

I continued to explore the forest area, and the undead I faced earlier began to appear. Their numbers were quite high and annoying, but fortunately, they were still low-class monsters, so it wasn't a problem.

"Aren't there any stronger opponents? I'm getting bored with this!"

"No..."

That strange voice startled me. Spontaneously, I turned my face, wondering what kind of voice it was.

"Was that a player?" I asked, unable to look away.

Wild theories emerged in my mind. If what I heard was a player's voice, something bad must have happened there.

My heart advised against going to that location. A dangerous event seemed to have occurred.

"Hmm..."

However, one thing I often did in the game was not to miss important things, especially those related to unique situations like this.

"This is a game world. What kind of creature could make people scream like that?"

I mean, this game world was designed to be enjoyed and considered a fantasy far from the real world. What bad things should I be afraid of? I thought that way, but when I arrived at the location, everything fell into the terrifying category.

Many players have fallen; in the real world, they would be considered corpses. In this game, they could respawn at their last save point, but defeated bodies would remain for 3 minutes, just like what happened to other monsters or creatures.

"If these bodies are here, it means I can take the equipment they carry!"

With this crazy idea, I checked the body of a male player character lying face down. As expected, there were several items I could directly pick up.

"Hehehe... with this, I can collect money. Great! I won't waste these bodies..."

Swush...

Kaboom...

I forgot something; these people must have died for a reason, and it likely resulted from powerful monsters.

From the darkness of the night, I sensed someone's presence. Footsteps grew louder, approaching with a red-eyed aura.

"What kind of creature could make them like this?"

I was surprised. Previously, when I encountered a praying mantis, it gave a danger warning, but this time, there was no warning. I still couldn't be calm; that meant something unprecedented might happen.

As the moonlight touched the person's body, my eyes widened. What I saw wasn't a typical in-game monster but a player with a name above his head.

"Exos? Is he a player in this game, not an NPC or monster?"

The silence made my instincts urge me to run as soon as possible. The glare in his eyes carried a horror impression difficult to describe.

"Is this your doing?" I asked, with a stern tone.

"Impressive! Even though you're still low level, you managed to avoid my previous attack! You're definitely not an amateur like these guys!" He replied enthusiastically, surprising me.

"What's wrong with this guy? Wait, if you do this, then you're a Player Killer!"

"Yes, that's correct! Slaughtering everyone in this game is enjoyable. I want to be the strongest player, unbeatable by anyone..."

This crazy obsession was evident in his glaring eyes, the joy I also wanted to feel all this time.

But this guy's path was different from mine. I did want to be a strong player, but not by causing instant death to other players.

"What's the benefit of doing something like this? Couldn't you hunt monsters scattered throughout the area? Why do you want to do something like this?"

"Heh... you don't understand. You're just like those who always see this game world as a playground. But I'll tell you, there are difficulties in the game world too, like as killing other players!"

"Wow... this guy is definitely a psychopath!"

It felt tiresome to deal with someone like him, but I wasn't someone who would retreat when challenged.

The system screen suddenly showed the words Duel Start...

"Eh... don't tell me this game allows players to fight each other..."

"That's right. Here, every player is allowed to fight each other and prove their skills against other players..."

The scope was limited; I couldn't escape from this. A barrier would stop my steps.

Whether I liked it or not, I had to face this guy.

I immediately took a defensive position, not completely sure if the person in front of me was just a crazy player who liked killing other players.

Whoosh...

The attack began. Exos disappeared from where he stood, then reappeared at three o'clock at a height of 6 meters.

He launched a chain at high speed toward me; standing still would definitely result in damage.

Swiftly, I jumped backward, thinking about the best plan to attack him.

Through Quick Timing, I accelerated my body's speed to be in front of his face.

"With this, I can at least injure him and make him realize the fight doesn't need to happen!"

My sword darted to injure his eyes, but at that moment, he dared to smile.

"What does he find amusing? Did I make a mistake?"

I struggled hard to analyze what actually happened. At this moment, he had already prepared another weapon from behind his intentionally concealed robe to injure me.

"Darn, so he deliberately did this to make it seem like it would succeed?"

Swungs...

It wasn't that easy for him to hurt my body. With reflexes assisted by counters, I managed to pull my head back.

"Hooh..."

Quickly, I canceled his attack, jumping away was the wisest thing to do.

Just a few moments of such a clash already made my breath feel tight. The insect species I used wasn't affected by lung conditions, but my soul, which inhabited this body, experienced some pressure.

"Turns out, even with a disgusting insect form like that, you can still avoid my attack! You are worthy to be defeated. I can't wait to separate your horned head..."

He threatened by licking the dagger in his hand, displaying a horrifying impression.

"Eh... does licking like that make you look great? You just look like a crazy person..."

"Shut up... I'll kill you..."

__To Be Continued__