Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The Four Emperors, a group of players that became quite famous in the second server.
They never tried to take advantage of other players.
They never interfered with the general trend of things.
They only made their presence known on rare occasions, but always left a striking impression on those present. A group of elite players surrounding a princess, and the four warriors that served as their core members gained them the moniker of Four Emperors.
One of them…the leader of them all, who brandished two blades, was Swordmaster Rage.

“…Simply put, their very existence is a violation of our rules.”
“They’re violating rules? Just by existing?”
“Yes. If I had to come up with an analogy, it’s like putting in a fully decked out special ops unit into a survival game, with the only limitation being that they have to use toy guns.”

So as much as it pained him, Sora had to heavily limit how much they could interact with the game…and he explained that, while watching Suzaku desperately trying to put some distance between them, while Rage easily caught up to him.
That did not mean Suzaku was weak by any means.
He was the second player in Destiny Unchain Online to evolve his species, making him one of the top players of the first server.
And yet he was like just a helpless child against Rage. Even Crim felt like she had no chance of winning…or rather, she knew first hand she could not win.
That also made Sora’s point clearer. Rage had the skill to completely upturn the state of things in Destiny Unchain Online.

“In all seriousness and without exaggerating, all of them…with the exception of Kikyo, are the core members of a group fighting real monsters to protect the world.”
“Huhh…”

It was a bit difficult to understand what protecting the world could mean.
Crim knew her father was not the kind of person to make up things like that, but it was still difficult to really understand what he meant. All she could do was let out a vague response.

“Wait, and what about that Master Rage?”
“You’ve noticed? That was an AI based on all the combat data recorded from him, Hasekura Reiji.”

Saying that, Sora interrupted the fight, letting Suzaku respawn and catch his breath for a moment, while going to talk to Rage on the side of the arena.

“By the way, Rage, did you get stronger again?”
“Hahah… Well, since I had to go with Sol, Seiten, and the others to continue our cleansing work around the Forbidden Realm all year round, I had to get stronger whether I wanted to or not.”
“That sounds rough…thank you for keeping the world safe.”

Their conversation still felt like some foreign language to Crim, and while they spoke…Suzaku got up and shouted “One more time!”

***

…Suzaku’s losses kept piling up, reaching ten defeats, and the eleventh match started.

“If I do this..?!”

No longer caring for appearances, Suzaku appeared in full silver armor, unleashing countless sword thrusts at Rage.
His movements were far more sharp and precise than at the start, but what stood out the most was his improved decision making.
At first glance they looked like a random series of attacks, but in reality each of them was aimed in a way to lead the opponent to a certain position, so that attack…High Velocity Piercing, rained down on Rage before he could adjust his stance.
…But in reality, he was just feigning to be in a bad position, *luring Suzaku to attack.*
Rage’s hands moved so fast they became a blur, swiftly parrying each of the trusts with pinhole precision, and the sound of metal clashing with metal could be heard throughout the colosseum.

“…What? There’s no way!”

Suzaku stared in disbelief, having just witnessed one of the most complex weapon arts be blocked by purely manual movements, and before he could recover from the shock, Rage’s left sword sliced through his side.

“Ghah… Dammit, I’m not losing this timeee!!”

Suzaku barely had time to activate Dragonblood Hero Siegfried (approximation), as the cut on his side finally made the rest of his health drop. That would have normally ended the fight right away, but he remained with 1 HP, but…

“I see, so this is the undying vigor I kept hearing about. But you’re still wide open!”

Normally the activation time of that Skill was nearly instantaneous, not something anyone would consider an opening, but Rage’s twin blades glimmered four times.
The cuts went through both his shoulders and both his thighs, letting Suzaku’s limbless torso fall to the ground. His Skill would regenerate them soon enough, but until then, he could not move anymore, and Rage used that time to jump back and create space between them.

“Urghh… You damn old man, how many times are you trying to kill me at once..!”
“Oh, sorry…I mean, it’s not that I enjoy doing it, but it’s also just muscle memory at this point.”

Rage scratched his head while laughing awkwardly, and Suzaku glared at him, getting his teeth.
It was a heavily one sided fight, but Suzaku had not given up at all.
If anything, he looked like a growing predator, ready to take and learn anything he could from fighting such an overwhelming enemy, and when Crim saw that…she thought it looked really fun.
She continued watching as the effect of Dragonblood Hero ran out, and Suzaku was cut down again, adding to his losing streak.

“So, what will it be? Do you want to try again?”
“…Yes please, sir!”
“Good, I’ll keep going for as long as you want.”

At some point Suzaku had started addressing Rage with a lot more respect, quickly standing up with his Demonic Sword ready right after respawning.
Rage nodded with approval, also getting ready to fight again.

*I’ve still got more to give.*

Suzaku was still full of determination. Even if he could not win, he wanted to get a hit in. After all…he had noticed that during their fight so far, Rage had not used a single Skill yet.

And watching Suzaku’s struggle, Crim could feel herself becoming unable to hold back.

*I want to fight him too.*

If she got to fight Rage, she would likely end up in a similar state as Suzaku.
But she also knew that this opponent, who stood there like an insurmountable obstacle, was someone who had gone through the same hardships a long time in the past.

*I want to defeat him too.*

Because of that, and the fact that she would be fighting the true Master, not just some AI, she knew there was more to learn… All of those thoughts circled in her mind as she firmly clasped the audience rails, and the heat rising from deep within her finally drove her to raise her voice.

“Umm, dad, mom, can I fight him next?”

Afterword:
What a bunch of combat freaks