Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“Hmph, who in all of Wynwater City didn’t know you two are together? The two of you have occupied the top two spots on the level rankings for ages. Since that’s the case, beating you is basically the same thing.” The mage spoke as though it were the most natural conclusion in the world.

What kind of divine logic was that supposed to be? Zane was left speechless. Still, he could more or less guess what the guy was thinking.

If he challenged Starry instead, he’d probably get defeated within ten seconds. As for Zane himself, although he possessed two hidden classes, the leaderboard still displayed him as “Beginner.” Despite his high level, he looked more like a leecher being carried up the rankings.

So he’d been mistaken for an easy target?

“Why should I fight you?” Zane asked in confusion.
“What? Don’t tell me you’re scared now?” The mage deliberately raised his voice.

That immediately drew the attention of nearby players who previously couldn’t care less about the noisy little group. Nobody doubted Stardust’s strength. Her awareness, equipment, and skills were all unquestionably top-tier. But as for Emberveil, nobody knew what he was actually capable of.

“Zane, what’s going on?” Shiu finally noticed the situation after spending the last while inspecting equipment.

“Nothing much. Just a mosquito buzzing around.”

“What did you say!?” The mage called Bouncy exploded in rage. “A useless leech living off a woman’s EXP actually dares mock me?”

How did this guy even find the courage to say that in front of Starry? Wasn’t he afraid of getting one-shot on the spot? Still, now that things had escalated this far, Zane couldn’t exactly pretend he hadn’t heard it. He was a manly man, after all. Probably.

“Fine then. Since you’re in such a hurry to donate your equipment, I don’t mind playing with you for a bit.” Zane straightened his back and looked directly at him.

The mage froze for a moment under that steady, forceful gaze.

“But we’re adding stakes.” Zane added.

…

The moment the death match request was accepted, all the surrounding players instantly vanished. The two opposing players had already been transferred into a parallel combat space.

Aside from the two of them, a crowd of spectators had also appeared outside the battle zone, watching the show unfold. Shiu and the others stood off in one corner as well.

The death match had been set to public viewing mode. As long as someone wanted to enter, anyone could spectate freely.

Not only that, two equipment icons appeared floating high in the air. One was Zane’s Ring of Mana, while the other was the mage’s pair of Epic boots. Once the battle ended, the defeated player’s wagered equipment would automatically transfer into the winner’s inventory.

Equipment drop rates weren’t particularly high to begin with, let alone targeted equipment drops. Because of that, death matches included a betting system where players could stake gear directly, making the battle even more thrilling.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be throwing my life away this confidently,” the opposing mage said with a frown.

Zane couldn’t help laughing. “That’s exactly what I was about to say.”

“Even if this wasn’t originally my intention… trash like you doesn’t deserve to stay on the leaderboard. That’s an insult to every player who actually worked hard to level up.”

“Oh? We’ll find out who the real deadweight is soon enough.” After saying that, Zane fell silent.

A minute later, the spectator slots had more or less filled up. The audience excitedly discussed both sides as they waited. Stardust was already a well-known figure throughout Wynwater City, so naturally everyone was curious whether Emberveil possessed equally impressive skill.

The mage was Level 27. Judging from the glow coming off his equipment, he probably had two or three Epic pieces equipped, while nearly every other slot was Rare.

Zane, however, was a completely different story. His entire set of equipment looked dull and lifeless. The pale Decayed Bone Armor hanging on his body made people wonder whether it could even withstand a direct magical bombardment from a mage.

Of course, that was because he had disabled all the visual glow effects on his high-grade equipment. If he strutted around everywhere wearing Unique gear in plain sight, wouldn’t that just be asking to get killed?

A short while later, a massive countdown appeared overhead.

“Zanny, go get him!” YoyoPink shouted with her face flushed red.
“Zane, beat the hell outta him!”
“Dummy, don’t you dare lose!” Even Stupid Orange joined in yelling.

Dukeette, however, didn’t participate in the cheerleading. Instead, she lowered her head, deep in thought. ‘Something felt… off somehow.’

“Wait a second, Zanny can’t use his transformation class here, right? There are way too many people watching!” Dukeette suddenly cried out anxiously.

“…” Shiu’s mouth fell open as he finally realized the issue too.

“Don’t worry.” At that moment, the usually silent Starry suddenly spoke. “He won’t lose.”

…

The instant the countdown ended, the mage named Bouncy calmly began walking forward without the slightest hurry. As far as he was concerned, the game would be over the moment the opponent entered within 40 yards.

Seriously, being “Beginner” wasn’t just about lacking class skills. It also meant the player didn’t receive any growth bonuses from class star ratings. With such a massive difference in attributes, one Flameburst alone might be enough to instantly kill the opponent.

On the other side, Zane also walked directly toward the mage. With outsiders watching, there was absolutely no way he could use the necklace’s Shapeshift skill. If ordinary players saw something like that, who knew what kind of uproar it would cause. So this battle could only be fought in his Beginner state.

Part of the reason he accepted the challenge was to prove his strength to everyone. Otherwise, situations like this would only keep happening in the future. The other reason was simpler. He wanted to see just how large the gap still was between himself and ordinary players after stripping away the advantages of his hidden classes.

The distance between the two steadily closed, shrinking to 40 yards in the blink of an eye. He was already within attack range!

Naturally, the mage wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip away. With a slight flick of his staff, Mana Surge instantly formed and shot toward Zane! The spell traveled extremely fast, but 40 yards was also the maximum range of the skill. As long as one remained highly focused and moved the instant the magic activated, it could be dodged perfectly.

Mana Surge flew wide! And in the instant of the mage’s shock, Zane burst forward in a sprint. The enemy quickly recovered.

Dodging a small skill alone wasn’t that impressive. Any player with decent fundamentals could manage it from that distance. Besides, without any movement skills, actually charging straight at a ranged class like this was practically suicide. No matter what, this attack couldn’t possibly miss.

“Flameburst!”

Scorching energy exploded out from the staff. Unlike Mana Surge, this time the mage had predicted Zane’s next movement path. As long as he continued advancing, he would be hit by devastating single-target damage.

Not only that, but to prevent any strange evasive maneuvers, Bouncy also swept his staff across the ground, scattering blazing flames over the battlefield. Pyrestorm spread across the area in an instant, covering a huge section of terrain ahead. Combined with Flameburst, it would definitely catch the enemy off guard!

Yet in the blink of an eye, the figure before him vanished in a flash of brilliant light. Both Flameburst and Pyrestorm hit nothing but empty air.

‘Nani?’

“Ugh—!”

A sharp pain suddenly pierced his chest. Looking down, he saw a blue sword protruding cleanly through his body.

‘When did he get there!?’

‘Crap! I need to widen the distance.’ The mage staggered forward a step while hurriedly chugging a High-Grade HP Potion. This guy was way too freakish. There was no way he could hold back on using potions now!

**Slash!**

Another sword strike viciously carved across the mage’s back.

“F̲u̲c̲k̲…” Bouncy gritted his teeth and activated Blink.

In the next instant, he appeared 40 yards away on the other side of the battlefield.

‘Just stall for cooldowns first…’

**Whoosh!**

The sword whistled through the air as yet another slash hacked into his back.

The mage was mentally collapsing at this point and couldn’t stop himself from roaring, “Are you f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g cheating!?”

“Hehe.” Zane only smiled without confirming or denying anything before casually following up with another slash, reducing Bouncy to critical health.

Inside the Elemental Horn, he permanently kept one Tempest Field and two Blink charges stored away for emergencies. If he truly wanted to, he could’ve instantly killed this guy with Tempest Field at any moment.