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He had outsmarted the Butterfly Sword Gang and had come out on top.

For a moment, the spectators were left wondering if anyone could stand up to him.

As if the thought was contagious, someone within the space aired his opinion. "I think Sword God could take him on." Like a spark of flame, a huge argument began in the space.

Luckily for Rhaegar, he had come over with a hood on as a safety measure since many were already tagging him against this new player.

Ignoring their useless argument, Rhaegar pulled out his game menu, sending a message to someone.

His eyes still glued to the proud-looking young man standing still like he is in a trance.

Arthur, having won the battle by a hair's breadth, took his time to recount the battle, learning and improving his errors.

He didn't intend to continue fighting at the moment. This last battle had drained him much.

Emptying his energy points to zero, not to mention his energy points regenerate at a very alarming speed.

This only goes to show how close he was to failing. It was also the reason he didn't take out the elf girl like the two others.

Just then, he received a system notification, informing him of an incoming request from a player with the name Sword God.

The request was just a simple one, asking him to permit them to have a chat.

Seeing it wasn't a request for battle, he decided to accept it, only for another request to pop up, asking for the same thing.

Arthur wondered why two people he didn't know were both asking to have a chat with him.

He wondered if it had something to do with the battle he had just won. Curious, he accepted both requests.

Two figures slowly materialized in front of him.

The first was a man with a good body build, blonde hair, and a domineering air oozing from him. The second was a woman with long, white hair.

They both looked serious, and Arthur wondered what they wanted to talk about.

"You fought well, Razler. Or should I call you by your alias now, Death God?" said the man, who was none other than Rhaegar, looking Arthur in the eye. "But I wonder if you could have won without the element of surprise."

The woman beside him nodded in agreement. "You took advantage of their arrogance. But that won't happen again, as such miracles are a one-off thing."

Arthur was taken aback by their bluntness. He had expected them to try and butter him up, not to criticize him so directly.

But he also knew that they were right. If he was going to win again, he would need to improve his skills.

Rhaegar stared at Arthur, waiting for his response, but got nothing but a shrugged shoulder and expression.

"I'm guessing you didn't come over here just to point out facts about the battle with me," Arthur cut to the chase.

Gaining an approving nod from the lady mentally, her image of Arthur had increased from this little interaction.

"You are right, I can only speak for myself as I knew nothing of the purpose he wants to see you," the lady shot Rhaegar a knowing look.

Rhaegar returned it with a dead stare of his own, painting a scene that showed off the bad blood between these two.

Arthur couldn't care less about the difference between these two; he remained neutral all the while both figures were engaged in a fierce stare battle.

Bored of waiting as neither of them seemed ready to back down, Arthur gave a light cough that called back their attention.

Rhaegar and the woman turned their attention back to Arthur, who was looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"So, what is it that you want?" he asked, his tone slightly impatient.

The woman smiled, then spoke. "I have a proposition for you, Death God. I represent a powerful guild, and I think you would be a valuable asset to us."

Rhaegar's eyes widened at her words. "You can't be serious," he blurted out impulsively, only to get a weird look from the other two.

"I don't see how my business is any concern of yours, Rhaegar. I'm free to do whatever I please. This isn't like when we were kids."

Rhaegar rolled his eyes at her speech, not ready to engage in a war of words with her.

He knew her character quite well; she wouldn't refrain from looking for a way to humiliate him. However, until now, all of her efforts had been futile. It might even be because of this that she had decided to come after this Razler player guy.

Rhaegar kept his calm, not wanting to lose his temper in front of Arthur. He knew that the woman was trying to provoke him, and he refused to give her the satisfaction.

Seeing her little attempt fail, the lady sighed helplessly before turning back to Arthur, who decided to take the side stand, watching everything play out.

"I'm Katrina from the fey race. We used to be friends before, and I used to be a fanatic follower of his," she gestured at Rhaegar at the side with her chin.

Arthur gave her a questioning look, prompting her to provide more details.

"I outgrew the cold-hearted bastard who doesn't care about anyone's feelings aside from his own pursuit for power."

"Uh," Arthur understood the situation from that little detail. It was a love triangle kind of situation.

She probably had feelings for this blockhead guy who didn't bother with her feelings, thereby hurting her to the point she wished to make him pay, to make him feel her pain.

If his guesses weren't that far off, she still had feelings for him even now.

Rhaegar, on the other hand, wasn't affected by her words in any way; he treated them like trash.

The truth was, he would have loved to say something, but he dared not.

This fanatic had taken her pain and turned it into her strength, increasing her ability in a short time, making her now stronger than him.

She was currently a level fifteen ability user. Ever since then, she had been looking for a way to have a fallout with him.

Luckily for him, the virtual world had challenge rules that prevented higher ability users from challenging lower ability users.

But a lower ability user can challenge a higher ability user if they believe they can win.

This had been the hurdle holding Katrina back, and also the reason she had been taunting, pissing, and pushing him to initiate that challenge.

"Sorry, can't do," Arthur refused her proposal bluntly. He didn't bother explaining his reason for refusal either.

Katrina smiled as if she expected this answer way before now, thereby taking another approach.

"Then why don't we have a little friendly spar? My level is high and all, but I've witnessed you take care of three level 10 ability users. And that is a feat not everyone can undertake, including a certain sword god."

Rhaegar knew that Katrina was trying to goad him into a challenge, but he wasn't about to take the bait. He had no interest in fighting her, and he knew that she was stronger than him. He also knew that she would never give up her quest for revenge. But he couldn't let her manipulate him like this.

"You don't have to place the challenge now, you can do it anytime you are ready," Katrina added before Arthur could refuse her again.

Rhaegar took that opportunity to issue his request for a challenge too. Being a level ten like Arthur, he could initiate a challenge unrestricted but would still require Arthur's approval for it to work.

After a few deliberations, they came to a conclusion.

Arthur would be battling Katrina in three days' time, while battling Rhaegar two days after.

Initially, Rhaegar wanted to go first, but Katrina refused to let him have his way.

After that, the meeting closed, and Arthur immediately logged out, since he had been playing for a long time.

As Arthur logged out of the virtual world, he found himself back in his room, the real world seeming dim and lifeless in comparison to the bright, vibrant colors of the game.

He got off the VR capsule and stretched, feeling a little disoriented after hours of playing.

As he stood up, he noticed a familiar figure standing in the corner of the room.

"I thought you were never going to come out," Elena spoke, rather pissed for waiting around for a long time.

She had considered interrupting the game a few times but gave up on that idea, not wanting to piss Arthur off.

Arthur didn't bother with her annoyed voice. Ladies had always been difficult to deal with.

He could still remember his sister nagging over nothing a few times and other unnecessary shows she would put up just to get his attention or get something from him.

Thinking of these thoughts soured Arthur's mood greatly. Great pain invaded his heart as sorrow broke down his walls.

He couldn't help but wish Alexa was here. No, she is not here now, but she would be. I must grow strong and look for a way to bring her back too.

This became Arthur's resolve, his new goal and purpose. Taking revenge would come along on the side, bringing her back was his first priority now.