Digiverse

DV Chapter 9

Winfrey’s Tyrant, The First Battle


A distance away from the Winfrey Village, Nero was walking within the track of grass and dirt, the fresh air blowing across his face, rustling his hair and his new black karate uniform as he moved ahead with a pair of simple sandals. 

Looking at him, he’d seem akin to a fighter from a Chinese martial arts film. His appearance was even better than before, but Nero’s face was sullen as he grumbled, “Such a mean old hag. I thought she’d give me armor or something, but what is this crap I’m wearing? Does she think I’m in wuxia or something?”

Following his words, Nero gritted his teeth and inwardly commanded his status screen to appear, causing the items he received to pop up in front of his face.

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Simple Novice Club: Combat Power +4

Simple Novice Martial Uniform: +4 Body Tenacity

Simple Wooden Sandals: +4 km/h

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Nero glanced at the long wooden stick in one of his hands and sighed. He shook his head in a depressed mood, but as he looked around, noticing a few straggling individuals that looked even worse than him, he didn’t press the matter.

Nero soon grew suspicious; the village chief said the ‘tyrant’ had defeated many beginners. The way she spoke implied that few would be able to beat it. But as he recalled the difficulty level being ‘basic,’ he felt such a test would not be too difficult.

What’s the use of worrying now? I’ll see it when I see it, Nero said as if to press down his slightly uneasy mood.

The more he walked towards the east, the more he saw wounded beginners like him, ranging from young human girls and boys of a similar age.

Looking at them closely, he noticed that the Tyrant had beaten some harshly with swollen faces and dirty, blood-stained robes. The only thing that looked promising about them was their eyes shining with spirit as if they had achieved a hard-fought victory.

Nero shook his head and continued forward; he noticed that, for some reason, there weren’t any random encounters with mobs on the path he walked, as if it was akin to a type of safe zone. Still, he didn’t overthink it, as he still didn’t know much of this world.

Eventually, Nero arrived at a region where the trees looked irregular, forming an arc-like shape at the end of the path, like a gateway. On the other side, a clear river flowed with large stones and pebbles scattered within it, resting at the edge of a lush field.

Nero looked at the tree formation with one of his brows raised, but right then, the space between the tree rippled like a water surface as a few more beginners appeared. They each wore a defeated expression and didn’t even bother to look at Nero as they walked past him.

One Digitizer who stood with his back on a nearby tree jeered as if he loved seeing others in misfortune.

“Hahaha, the weak have no right to roam these lands. Pack up your things and go home!”

The other beginners gritted their teeth and didn’t dare to complain as they knew his words were true. On the other hand, Nero showed a pondering look before his eyes turned firm. He boldly stepped between the tree passage while thinking.

Hmph! I refuse to believe I’ll end up like them.

Nero soon vanished from this location through ripples, appearing within a shut-off point as if he went to a different world. Upon regaining his vision, he saw that he was in a wide field of green grasses and flowers as the river flowed before him. Rabbits were prowling about eating wild fruits with other adorable and harmless critters.

Nero knitted his brows, as no matter where he looked, he didn’t see his target, the so-called Tyrant.

Hey, where is the Tyrant? I don’t see anything dangerous, Nero inwardly asked his older self.

Adult Nero remained silent, refusing to say anything. If one could see his current expression, one would realize that his coldness thawed a bit as his eyes had a layer of excitement. While Nero was complaining about Adult Nero’s lack of conformity, a being soon caught his attention.

A creature that rested on an immense boulder jumped onto the fields. Its body made a loud and adorable bouncy noise that startled every other harmless critter, causing them to scurry away in bundles.

When Nero saw the creature, he chuckled and stooped down as he spoke, “Hey, little guy, are you the tyrant?”

Looking at the creature before him, it’s no wonder he felt at ease. It was merely a tiny blue slime—one with a dull expression and a stupid smile.

Nero found it cute, but he soon looked at it deeply before he spoke softly, “Show status.”

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Tyrant Slime Level 1

Health: 100/100

Combat Force: None

Special Skill: ???

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Nero felt slightly puzzled by the question signs of its special skill, but before he could even think, an announcement popped up before his eyes.

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Ding!

You have discovered the Tyrant of Winfrey Village!

As this is a Beginner Quest, no penalty shall be given upon defeat.

User can re-challenge the Tyrant after every battle, but if you choose to cancel the quest, your prestige will sharply decrease.

Commencing battle in 3… 2… 1…

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The instant the announcement sounded; the cute Tyrant Slime soon made a roar. Instantly, its body glowed in dazzling blue lights, which caused it to polymorph, transforming into a clone of Nero. It wore the same clothing and held a stick in its arm.

One would think it to be a similar transformation, but if one paid closer attention to it, one would notice some differences. Unlike Nero, its arms were a bit more muscular, and even its manner was bolder as if it was mocking Nero based on its sneering look. It even patted the wooden club in its palm as if it told him what would come in a short while.

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Tyrant Slime Level 1

Grade: Inferior (Special)

Health: 200/200

Combat Force: 40

Special Skill: Mimic+

Description: A special grade of inferior slimes with the power to imitate anything it sees, adding to their abilities by a small fraction. Be careful, for though it seems cute and innocent, it is a clever creature that looks down on weaker beings.

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Nero was alarmed, but he didn’t dare to treat his foe lightly, quickly adopting an awkward and inexperienced combat posture. He stared at the Tyrant Slime.

“No matter how great you are, I’ve been through more than enough hell since childhood; a mere imitation of myself won’t beat me!”

He shouted as he made a wild charge akin to a car moving at an average 50 km/h toward the Tyrant Slime. He raised his wooden stick above his head as his eyes showed a fierce light.

“Hahaha…” Adult Nero chuckled as he watched this scene from the depths of his younger self’s mind. He couldn’t help but think of the old days as he murmured, “Things weren’t so easy back then… you’ll learn it the hard way.”

The Tyrant Slime stared at his opponent, who didn’t seem to know a thing about fighting in disdain. He calmly waited for Nero to arrive, watching as he swung the stick toward his head in a half-hazard way. It easily avoided it with a simple twist of its shoulders, causing Nero to lose his balance as he almost toppled over from his frontal charge.

“Shit!” Nero cursed. He tried to recover his posture, but his torso, which fell forward, halted as he used all his core strength to keep his center of balance.

It was a good reaction, but as if mocking him, the Tyrant Slime merely took a step forward and kicked him on his but, forcing his face to smash into the dirt.

Nero now seemed no different from a beggar tossed in dirt, his face pressed against the soil as his butt stood high.

The Tyrant Slime had never seen a human so weak; it had been expecting a slight skirmish, but due to this change, it had momentarily forgotten to attack as it laughed by grabbing its belly.

“Kikikikiki!”

With the resonant laughter sounding across the area, Nero felt embarrassed. He pushed himself off the ground showing his dirty face with bits of blood.

It had been a long time since he was humiliated as such. Even when beaten by bullies or thugs, he kept his dignity. Nero, who felt a rage like no other, finally forwent his state of reason and roared, “Baaaastaaaard!”

With his cry, he was determined to unleash his full wrath. He jumped from the ground and ran towards the laughing Tyrant Slime while he cursed, “If I don’t beat you today, then my name is not NERO!”

His body moved swiftly, darting towards the Tyrant Slime like a gust of wind. Yet, even so, his steps were clumsy, his posture was poor, and he still held the stick like a child holding a club.

The Tyrant Slime wiped the corner of its eyes as it rose to its feet and lowered its head toward Nero’s direction with a smug look. It even went as far as to point its finger towards its chin while touching it repeatedly as if inviting him to hit it.

Though Nero was mature for his age, he was still a young teenager. His eyes turned bloodshot in his explosive charge as he swung the stick while shouting, “Eaaaat thiiiiiis!”

The stick moved through the air like an arrow shot from a longbow; it screeched through the wind with force like no other as Nero used his entire body force. Even he was thrown along with his mighty swing aimed at the Tyrant Slime’s head.

The Tyrant Slime merely smirked as, with a popping sound, it reformed into a regular slime again, causing Nero’s attack to miss.

Nero’s face sunk as his body twirled in the air due to the previous all-or-nothing swing. He had no way to get back his balance.

With another popping sound, the Tyrant Slime formed into Nero and looked at him with his arm raised and eyes shining as it winked at him and swung the stick toward his head.

Nero was furious, but he knew he couldn’t do anything. He opened his mouth and cursed, “Son of a—”

He wanted to say something, but soon, a loud smack resounded, and Nero’s field of vision turned dark. It was a pitiful battle as the events here became destined to remain an eternal memory.

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