"Nobody wants to fight?" Lin looked around at everyone and asked.
Some shook their heads, while others quietly whispered:
"This Neo. He's terrifying!"
"That's an understatement. Is he a smurf or something? Why are his skills at the level of the Third League?"
"No. Some tried to report him, but it turned out his account is completely clean! It's not connected to any other accounts, and it's a totally fresh profile, which confirms it's his first time in Arsenal!"
"What? How is that possible? It's his first time playing Arsenal? But with his skills, he must have heard of this game long ago and never once joined?"
"That seemed strange to me too, but that's what tech support said. It's really his first time in Arsenal, and you can even tell by his behavior that he's new here."
"Who is this Neo in real life? Is he Awakened?"
"Most likely. But even so, it's pretty surprising that he's never once entered Arsenal."
"Whatever the case, this guy is a monster! He kills opponents in just a few swings, and his movements are flawless! He definitely trained swordsmanship in real life!"
"Absolutely. I also use a katana and tried copying his moves, but when I did, they looked so clumsy..."
"Of course it won't work if you just copy. You've got to repeat each swing thousands of times to truly feel the sword — at least, that's what they said in some anime..."
"You're right! I'm going to start doing that now!"
"Guys... Neo is walking toward us with his sword..."
Everyone quickly turned their heads and sure enough, saw Lin walking toward them with his katana!
"If no one wants to fight, then I'll fight everyone!" Lin suddenly accelerated and charged into the crowd of confused players!
Whoosh!
He performed a horizontal slash and cut someone's head off!
Chzzzz!
Someone tried to defend against Lin's attacks, but didn't last even three hits before dying!
Boom!
A tall, large guy with a hammer struck Lin on the head, but saw him suddenly vanish from that spot!
"What?" Before he could even react, his head shattered into dozens of tiny pieces and fell to the ground!
A large number of people watched this scene in horror!
This guy Neo is an absolute maniac!
...
After some time, a small mountain of body parts had formed in the center of the arena. At the top of this pile of corpses stood a black figure with a purple katana in his right hand, looking up at the sky, breathing heavily, and grinning viciously.
Lin raised his katana and made the first swing:
Whoosh!
He raised it again and made a second swing:
Whoosh!
He raised and swung a third time:
Whoosh!
He stood atop the corpse mountain like a dragon, generating tiny currents of wind — so small they were invisible. Yet each swing felt to Lin like a mountain: — it was heavy, it was undefined, but it had a fulcrum he longed to reach.
He continued swinging his katana in sequence, each swing heavier than the last, exhausting himself greatly. But he persisted, because to achieve revenge — he had to grow, and self-improvement was his main goal in this game!
"Sixty-one..." Lin completed the sixty-first swing and finally lost all strength. He slowly lowered the sword and lay down on the pile of corpses, looking at the blue sky.
"T-that was really hard... But I did it... Sixty swings, that's ten more than last time. Good, that's a decent result..." He slowly closed his eyes and suddenly heard messages from the game system:
[Due to Neo pushing himself too hard during training, we must disconnect him from the server for your own well-being.]
[Rest well and return to continue your training!]
"Phew," Lin exhaled deeply and slowly exited the gaming capsule.
He looked around and realized that Nal and Zon had also logged out, as their capsules were open and empty.
"Looks like they finished their match faster than I did..."
Not paying much attention to it, Lin left the room, still feeling a bit tired. He looked toward the living room and immediately saw two people arguing at the table while eating pizza.
"If it weren't for that damn map, I definitely would've beaten you!" Nal pointed at Zon and shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. First it's the map, then it's bad internet, then it's that you forgot to turn off the iron... Nal, seriously?" Zon rolled his eyes and kept eating pizza.
"Y-you! You just got lucky! Next time, I'll pick a weapon so good even you'll kneel before me and beg for mercy!" Nal laughed darkly and noticed Lin.
"Oh! Boss Lin, you're finally out." Nal greeted Lin and smiled at him.
Lin smiled slightly and approached the table. He looked at Zon and smirked:
"Congrats on the win."
"Thanks, Boss Lin!" Zon smiled and looked at Nal. "See? Even Boss Lin confirms my victory over you."
Nal had nothing to say. He just snorted and quietly continued eating his pizza.
Lin chuckled slightly at the atmosphere. He took a slice of pizza from the table and began eating it.
"Boss Lin, you spent quite a while in Arsenal. What were you doing there? And what do you think of the game?" Nal asked after finishing a flavorful bite of pizza.
"Ah, Arsenal is an unusual experience. The most unusual thing, I think, is the full immersion. You know you're in a game, but it feels like real life."
"Exactly. When I first entered Arsenal, I was really surprised too." Zon added.
"That's not the most important part. The main thing is that I've more or less learned to wield a katana, and I want to test that in the real world." Lin smiled and walked over to three long boxes.
He opened all three and saw three remarkable katanas — or rather, two katanas and one ōdachi. Lin first pulled out the red 1.5-meter-long ōdachi and touched it everywhere he could, making a quick assessment:
"This ōdachi is pretty heavy... And because of its length, it'll be hard to wield, especially since I still don't even feel regular katanas well. With this one... I'll definitely suffer." Lin swung the ōdachi a few times, and as expected, unable to control it, he dropped it to the floor with a loud noise:
Chakh!
"Definitely not for me." Lin shifted his attention to the other two weapons and picked up the medium-sized one.
"130 centimeters long... Feels better than the ōdachi, but the blade..."
The blade of the "katana" he held was much wider than a normal katana's. It looked more like a massive rending blade meant to cleave through enemies along with their hope of survival...
Still, Lin tried to swing it — but of course, it didn't work, and he dropped the sword.
"Still not it," Lin turned to the last katana that remained.
It was about 110–120 centimeters long with a beautiful violet style.
"Am I imagining it, or does this look a lot like the katana I had in Arsenal?" Somewhat surprised, Lin took the katana in his right hand and swung it.
Whoosh!
"Well, boss? How's that katana?" Nal asked right away.
Lin slowly sheathed the katana and smiled.
"It's perfect."