Chapter 1: Black Snow in the Sky
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“Pfft…”
A clear line of bl**d splattered onto the snowy arena floor.
Fatty, in disbelief, clutched at his gushing throat, utterly devoid of the strength to even glance back.
“Mmm… mmm…”
As muffled sounds escaped his windpipe, his body gradually lost its strength.
Ultimately, Fatty’s knees buckled, and as he knelt down, his consciousness slipped into the darkness.
From the moment he threw his long sword to his subsequent throat-slitting and collapse, it all took less than five seconds.
The black, graceful figure stood coldly behind Fatty, the Black Wind Sword in hand without a single drop of bl**d upon it.
An eerie silence enveloped the arena.
Not just the players, even the numerous NPC Inner Door Disciples felt a chill in their necks.
They never expected that even after reducing the Cold Moon Witch’s attack power by eighty percent, this Fatty would still be unable to withstand even one move, like some helpless little chick waiting to be butchered.
Indeed, the Cold Moon Witch’s might was terrifying.
They mused that even if they were to face the Cold Moon Witch, they probably wouldn’t easily counter her teleportation attack.
No wonder the Martial Arts Hall had designated her as the final boss for the S-level test.
She truly had that kind of strength.
Moreover, this attack was merely an appetizer; she had plenty of skills yet to showcase.
Perhaps Fatty had successfully enraged the Cold Moon Witch, resulting in his instant demise.
“Wonder if our audience friends remember this scene vividly? When the Upgrade Maniac team encountered a hidden boss, the first person to strike at her had a similarly dismal fate.”
Strong Brother seized the opportunity to chime in, “Now, only one challenger remains on the field. In my eyes, his chances of defeating the Cold Moon Witch are now no more than zero point zero one percent. I’m not exaggerating; I just can’t see how the challenger could possibly counter the final boss’s skills.”
Cold Little Rain chimed in, “Yeah, it seems Master Sister Luo Ying is adamant about not accepting new recruits. Otherwise, what was the point in setting an S-level difficulty? With the Cold Moon Witch’s strength, even players ranked in the top ten in the entire server stand no chance against her, let alone the two contenders who were previously obscure before this test.”
The chatter in the live streaming room was just as lively.
“Ha ha, this is what happens when you provoke the Cold Moon Witch. That Fatty probably had a d*ath wish; he might as well have just thrown himself into the fire.”
“Not gonna lie, facing a boss like the Cold Moon Witch is no joke. Dying like Fatty did might actually be a time-saver.”
“Too bad some folks still think they can resist. Do they really think the Cold Moon Witch is as easy to deal with as the bosses from the first five rounds?”
“Look at that Black Snow!”
“It’s turned pure black; that guy is toast!”
“I really want to see the Cold Moon Witch up close and personal. What’s wrong with dying once? Now, I’m a bit envious of Fatty.”
“Ha ha, you thought too much. That’s just a projection, not a real person.”
“Sneaky! This is a game, and that ‘projection’ is still the same data; it’s just a different label.”
“…”
Lin Nan watched as Fatty struggled before collapsing, but he didn’t move an inch.
Fatty was indeed cannon fodder, but he died with dignity.
At the very least, he had revealed two of the Cold Moon Witch’s skills.
One was the “Black Snow” passive teleportation, 【Teleport to the first enemy that deals damage (or intends to) to you and deal massive damage, with a 20% chance to one-hit k*ll】.
And the other was the active intimidation buff of the Black Wind Sword,【Automatically activates when drawn, delivering a temporary intimidation effect on opponents below level 30, buff cooldown: 1 hour】.
These two skills usually had unexpected effects during combat.
Lin Nan certainly didn’t want to be one-shot by her at a crucial moment, which was precisely why he had let Fatty initiate the attack.
It seemed that even the Cold Moon Witch’s projection had been extraordinarily fortunate.
Fatty was instantly slain with a throat cut—20% chance to be a one-hit k*ll.
Moreover, the moment the Black Wind Sword was unsheathed, Lin Nan distinctly felt his whole body stiffen up; for two seconds, his limbs were utterly unresponsive, as if paralyzed.
But once those two skills that could transform the battle were on cooldown, Lin Nan finally felt a bit of confidence.
d*mn it! Who would’ve thought that exhausting himself honing his secondary character’s skills would end up becoming an obstacle for his main account?
Let’s just hope that this projection was from before she entered the Chaos Forest.
If she had mastered sword intent with her secondary character, he’d be in serious trouble.
As the black snow floated in the air above the arena, it grew heavier, coating the ground like a thick layer of black plush carpeting.
Only Lin Nan knew that just standing on it sent a chilling pain through him.
His exposed limbs were already frozen stiff.
But worse was to come.
As the snowflakes turned pitch black, those descending flakes transformed into incredibly hard darts, circling ominously above him while dropping down like a relentless hailstorm.
What the hell! Only when you’re her enemy do you truly grasp how twisted that skill is.
The snowflakes have turned into freaking hard projectiles! How can they still dance in the wind? Newton’s coffin is about to pop open!
The projection gave him hardly any time for complaints.
Suddenly, a “swish” sounded, and a shockwave rushed in.
The previously randomly falling black snow was swept along by this shockwave, surging towards Lin Nan like crashing waves.
Knowing the power of the black snow, Lin Nan didn’t dare to face it head-on.
Even Gongsun Ding’s Heart Sword could not withstand the impact of the black snow, let alone the ordinary quality long sword in his hand.
The speed of the shockwave was rapid, forcing Lin Nan to roll and crawl, expending all his energy just to avoid most of the flurries.
But still, a few flakes of black snow grazed his leg, leaving behind streaks of bl**d.
And this was just the beginning.
Empowered by the high chill, the black snow kept coming, incessantly and without end.
Meanwhile, the Cold Moon Witch moved gracefully through the black snow, untouched by its effects.
What to do?
At this point, it wasn’t just her strikes that posed a threat, even the falling black snow had taken on a deadly sharp quality.
I mean, who can walk through a snowstorm and dodge every single snowflake?
Absolutely impossible!
Fortunately, the falling speed of the black snow wasn’t fast, so Lin Nan focused on dodging the lethal flakes above his head.
But in less than a minute, he was already bleeding profusely, with hardly any intact skin left.
Whether it was the onlookers in the arena or the viewers in the livestream, everyone was shocked by the power of the black snow.
Earlier videos of the Cold Moon Witch were overlooked because she killed too swiftly, and no one paid attention to the absurd crowd control of this overwhelming black snow.
Now, seeing Lin Nan nearly unable to move under the barrage of black snow, it was clear that he could hardly withstand it without the Cold Moon Witch needing to lift a finger; the endless onslaught of black snow would eventually turn him into minced meat.
Just as Lin Nan struggled to hold on, Fatty, freshly revived at the Sky Sword City spawn point, looked around in confusion.
The bustling streets of Sky Sword City were eerily silent, with only the occasional NPC wandering by. The once-thriving player crowd had vanished as if they had been abducted by aliens.
Could it be… that he had become the chosen one, transported back to before the game officially launched?
Ha! Isn’t that a common trope in novels?
Then he could train ahead of time and grab a ton of scarce resources, dominating the game once real players arrived.
“Ha ha, I’m rich!”
Just as Fatty excitedly shouted this, a head suddenly popped out from a nearby eatery, looking at him with a blank expression.
“Another guy who thinks he’s the main character, huh? Shh! Don’t disturb us while we’re watching the livestream.”
Fatty jumped up, trying to play it cool, “Who said that? Show some respect! You’re running pretty fast!”
He flung aside the curtain of the eatery.
No wonder the street was deserted; the players were holed up in various shops watching the livestream.
The waiter hurriedly served tea and snacks to the players.
As he bustled about, players occasionally cheered or gasped in unison.
The shop buzzed with energy.
Fatty stood at the entrance for quite a while, but not a single person raised an eye to acknowledge him.
Hey, I’m a man who’s cleared five rounds! I even had a close encounter with the Cold Moon Witch!
I’ve got some fame, right?
Is everyone’s eyesight just gone?
Don’t they know I’m a person of status? I don’t have the time to chit-chat with you all!
“Sir, it’s 2 spirit coins for a seat. We only have one left,” the waiter shot him a sidelong glance.
Fatty instinctively reached for his pocket, but suddenly remembered that all his spirit coins were tied up in the bets.
He was broke at that moment.
“Sir, if you don’t have money, please don’t block the door,” the waiter remarked dryly.
“Who do you think you’re talking to? Don’t they train manners in the service industry nowadays?” Fatty retorted, trying to draw attention.
But within the next second, he was unceremoniously tossed out, faintly hearing the uproarious laughter coming from inside.
“Another guy who lost his pants over a bet, I guess.”
“Ha ha, good thing I only bet half. But hey, that’s just the ticket price to see the Cold Moon Witch!”
“That Fatty looks a bit familiar. Haven’t I seen him somewhere? Am I going crazy?”
“Forget about him, look! That guy’s about to be chopped to pieces by the black snow!”
“Ah! How much must that hurt?”
“Yeah, and this darn game doesn’t even have pain reduction mechanics!”
Fatty stood there like a lone bucket on the street, tears brimming in his eyes.
“d*mn it! How dare you ignore me!”
He opened the livestream chat, feverishly spamming the comments as if injected with adrenaline.
“Defeat the Cold Moon Witch! Lin Nan must win!”
“Defeat the Cold Moon Witch! Lin Nan must win!”
I’ve cleared five rounds, I’m miles better than all you trash!
One day, I’m going to crush you all with my status as an Inner Door Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Just you wait and see who dares to show off in front of me!
“Lin Nan, you can do it! Go, my dear brother!”
