Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After leaving Mapleblossom Grove behind, the trees gradually gave way to ash-gray stone. Before they knew it, they were already walking among piles of rocks. Massive boulders, four or five meters tall, were scattered everywhere, each with a unique shape, like a natural wonder sculpted by the world itself.

“Wow…” DumbCitrus clasped her small hands over her rosy lips. “This is the first time I’ve seen rocks this big.”

Chances were, sights like this could only be found in Dreamscape.

“Stop gawking. We’ve got work to do.”
“Oh—right, right!”

They continued onward. Jagged clusters of rocks were strewn all around. Suddenly, a pile of dark brown stones let out a strange sound.

The rocks began to tremble violently, sending dust flying in every direction. Then, just like a mech going through a transformation, the stones interlocked on their own, forming a humanoid shape!

Zane shared the monster’s stats to the party chat.

“A Level 22 Epic monster…” DumbCitrus’ face turned pale. “I-I’m done gathering herbs! I’m heading back!”

Zane didn’t say a word. He simply directed Starry forward into a charge, while Starmew leapt from her shoulder to sprint alongside her.

“Ah! That girl’s rushing in!”

The Rock Golem didn’t hesitate when it spotted a human, its right fist slammed down in a thunderous punch!

Its intention had been too obvious. With a quick stop-step, Starry easily dodged the blow. Starmew sprang onto a nearby boulder, claws poised toward the Quartz Golem.

Starmew was only Level 10, and the level gap was just too big, its attack barely scratched the surface! In fact, its claws were nearly broken from the impact!

**Clang!**

Starry’s Autumn Moon Sword slashed upward along the golem’s arm, carving out a deep gash.

She wasn’t finished yet, Starry followed up with Icy Moon Slash!

A layer of frost clung to the surface of the Quartz Golem, but almost instantly receded like a tide. Was it because of Status Resistance?

That last strike had also triggered the Lightfooted effect from his Veilweave Gloves, boosting Starry’s movement speed bonus to 64%.

With that, plus her natural Dexterity scaling, she slipped nimbly past another sweeping blow from the golem’s arm. Circling behind it, Starry delivered a diagonal slash.

The Rock Golem was furious. How could this human be as slippery as an eel?!

It suddenly leapt into the air, its body weighing over a thousand pounds, and came crashing down toward the ground with unstoppable force.

Zane and DumbCitrus were standing at a fair distance, so there was no need to worry about them. But Starry had virtually no options when it came to AoE attacks like this.

What now? Jump, of course!

Instinctively, Starry dipped into a smooth crouch, arms bent, and leapt into the air!

**“BOOM!!!**

That quake probably hit harder than an explosion spell.

Starmew clung tightly to the monster’s head, only then did it avoid getting thrown off.

Meanwhile, Starry managed to leap nearly two meters straight into the air! By the time she landed, the tremor had already passed and was no longer a threat.

The Quartz Golem seemed completely dazed by the sudden leap, little stars were spinning in its vision. Starry seized the opportunity to finish it off. It didn’t even have time to launch a Boulder Toss before collapsing.

‘It only dropped one chunk of quartz and three gold coins… That’s it? So stingy…’

“Hey! Are you alright?” Zane turned to look at DumbCitrus, who had turned completely stiff, ‘When did she turn into a golem too?’

…

Just as Zane was about to explain…

**Clap clap clap—clap clap clap!**

‘Who’s clapping?’

Suddenly, a figure leapt down from atop a massive boulder.

Zane squinted and focused. It was a man, his face marked by an unmistakable arrogance. His ID, MrFixIt, hovered above him.

That name was bold… and oddly familiar. ‘Wait… of course! He’s the fourth-ranked swordsman on the leaderboard! And he’s already hit Level 20?! Damn… we only took a short break to level our secondary professions, and they caught up this fast?!’

He let out a loud laugh, eyes blazing with fighting spirit. “Stardust, Emberveil, I’ve been wanting to meet you two for a while now. Just didn’t expect we’d cross paths here.”

“What do you want?” Zane narrowed his eyes. This guy clearly wasn’t here for a chat.

“What do I want? A challenge, of course! And maybe knock your levels down by one while I’m at it. This eternal fourth place is driving me nuts,” he said smugly.

DumbCitrus remained frozen, still stuck in a state of shock.

“Why should we accept your challenge?” Zane asked, frowning.

“You don’t have to. But I’ll just follow you around. Who knows…I might strike at any moment,” he said with a crooked grin.

“You’re not afraid we’ll kill you right now?”

“I’d love nothing more!” MrFixIt drew a brilliant blue sword. From its elegant design and silver-white glow, it was at least an Epic-grade weapon!

Zane stayed silent, not saying a word.

Meanwhile, in the living room— “Shiu ! Who’s this ‘MrFixIt’ guy?”

“Huh? What?”

“That guy who’s ranked fourth on the leaderboard!”

“Oh, that one. He’s a notorious battle maniac. Lives for dueling top players. I heard he fought Windblossom three times in Glazed Lycoris Radiata, and even managed to narrowly win one match,” Shiu explained. “Wait…you didn’t run into him, did you?”

“Yeah.”
“Didn’t you switch to a secondary profession? How’d you run into him?”
“Long story…”
“Did you transform yet?”
“I’m still debating whether to do it.”
“What about Starry? Isn’t she with you?”
“She is…” But right now, it was just a rookie playing in her place.
“Ask Starry if she’s confident. If she is, let her solo him. If not, you’ll have no choice but to transform,” Shiu said seriously.
“…”

‘Should I just take him out directly…? I really have no idea what kind of level these so-called top players have reached.’

The last encounter with FaintTrace had already left him deeply shaken. If that guy hadn’t underestimated Zane, taking him down wouldn’t have been nearly so easy.

“What’s wrong, lagging out?” MrFixIt asked impatiently.
“Of course not,” Zane replied flatly. “Let her fight you.”

Starry stepped forward.

“Oh? The girl first? Fine. I’ll deal with you right after.”

This guy… Zane clenched his fists.

Starry gave a firm nod.

In the blink of an eye, both of their figures vanished.

“Eh? Where’d they go?” DumbCitrus asked, bewildered.

“…”

This was Zane’s first time using this feature as well. In a Death Match, both players would be transported into a system-generated map instance, a circular arena with a 50-yard radius. The terrain mirrored the location where the duel had been initiated.

This area was littered with rocks everywhere. That meant the fight would likely have many unpredictable variables.

As Starry surveyed the surroundings, a one-meter-high countdown timer materialized at the center.

All skills and potion cooldowns had been reset. Starmew stood proudly on Starry’s shoulder, fully restored and ready to fight.

MrFixIt charged forward immediately, his footsteps heavy and forceful. When he was about 20 yards away, his body suddenly blurred, vanishing into a streak of afterimages as he shot forward at high speed.

That was… Charge!