I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Looking at Asuna Yuuki before him, Yuu Tenkuji felt a pang of emotion.

“Haru”…

For some reason, the chestnut-haired girl's expression gradually changed as she looked at the name that had logged into her friends list.

Chapter Eight was merely my elder brother's request.

Both of them entered the virtual world using their real appearances and names.

Yuu Tenkuji was too lazy to change it, while the girl in front of him probably just didn't have the concept.

At first, Yuu Tenkuji simply felt that she looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

But then I thought about it, and realized that anyone who could enter this game now must have some connection with Yuki Koichiro, or rather, the company 'RECT'. Then, recalling the time when she was 'saved' by the artificial lake, I couldn't help but make some guesses about her identity.

Upon finally seeing her name, Tenkuji Yuu was completely certain that she was Yuuki Koichiro's poor little sister whom he always wanted to introduce to him.

I never expected her to join the game too.

Logically speaking, Yuuki Asuna, who had only heard his voice but never seen his face—a fact that could even be erased by the system—should not have any impression of him.

But now, the chestnut-haired girl, who had been staring intently at her friends list, lost in thought with an increasingly strange expression, looked up at herself after a long silence and asked:

"Excuse me, is your full name 'Tenkūji Haru'?"

Slightly taken aback, Tenkuji Yu subconsciously replied, "How did you know...?"

“Then that’s it.” Asuna Yuuki sighed, seemingly feeling helpless towards someone, and stood up, supporting herself on her knees.

"I never expected that the first person I would see when I entered the game would be you... You said it would be a week, but it's been almost a month since I finally got into the game. I thought I would never see you again."

"What are you saying...?"

As she asked the question, Yuu Tenkuji looked up in sync with her movements and caught a glimpse of the newbie's short skirt fluttering slightly in the wind, revealing her plump, white legs underneath.

The chestnut-haired girl keenly noticed his slight twitch of the eyebrows and his averting of his gaze.

She immediately pressed down on her skirt, her face flushed red, and gave him a twitching, gleeful smile.

"Great! Now I can act without any psychological burden."

The seemingly sharp rapier was drawn from his waist without hesitation and pointed directly at the astonished boy in front of him.

The next moment, pink light shone from the blade, gleaming brightly in the girl's eyes.

"Although you have helped me a lot, in order to repay the kindness of bringing me into this world—I apologize!"

Grass clippings flew everywhere, and the girl suddenly pushed off the ground the instant they landed.

As if the air itself had no time to react, the Linear Attack transformed into a silent meteor, piercing straight towards Yuu Tenkuji's arm.

Clang——

At the same time, he flipped backward with one hand, nimbly creating distance and letting the blade, gleaming, slice into the air.

"It really wasn't just my imagination..."

As he drew the one-handed sword from his back, Tenkuji Yu observed her resolute figure as she recovered from her stiffness, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"Sword techniques that rely on system guidance are fundamentally different from sword techniques that incorporate their own movement commands."

"It's not just about increased power and speed, but most importantly, the agility and coordination when using 'sword techniques'... I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now, have you actually studied fencing in real life?"

"Yes, I learned a little bit about it in PE class."

With a clear and melodious voice, the girl did not adopt the posture of "linear attack". Instead, she bent her arm, pointed the sword tip straight up, brought the hilt close to her lips, and then stretched out her arm and laid it flat, so that the sword was pointing horizontally at Tenkuji Yu in front of her.

With an expert-level knowledge of various sword techniques in his mind, Tenkuji Yu naturally understood that this was the salute posture before a fencing match.

With her chestnut hair flying and her eyes sharp, the girl stared straight at him, like a young knight arriving on lilies.

"Well, I'm very sorry to say this so suddenly. Please, let me stab you with my sword."

“Young man, you should have said that before you drew your sword.”

"This game probably doesn't have pain, right? Just think of it as being attacked by a monster, it won't hurt."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the kind of guy who gets hit by a girl but doesn't dare to fight back." With a cold smile, Tenkuji Yu raised his one-handed sword straight up, pointing the tip at her like a baseball player preparing to hit a home run.

"At the very least, you should tell me your reasons for doing this, right?"

Confronting him, the girl answered without hesitation: "My brother asked me to teach a boy named Tenkuji Yu, who is about my age, a lesson, whether it's a sneak attack or a head-on confrontation... Although I don't really want to do it, I can only apologize to you since he didn't hold it against me for taking the helmet."

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize. I'll have him apologize to me later."

After learning the reason, Yuu Tenkuji sighed as expected: "Honestly, why not just talk things out? Why be so impulsive and come at me like that?"

"Uh... because I'm going to attack you." The girl froze, her sword blade pointing slightly downwards, tilting her head as she looked at him in confusion.

"Who would explain things to the enemy before launching an attack?"

"What you...does make a good point." Faced with such a straightforward answer, Tenkuji Yuu didn't know whether to laugh or feel helpless.

In short, first pull up the menu, do some operations, and then send a system window over.

"Okay, agree."

"This is... a duel challenge?" Asuna Yuuki lowered her sword, frowning in confusion. "A half-loss mode... Right, I remember there was this option in the menu. Is it a more formal duel mode?"

"That's right, multiplayer online games always need to have PVP functionality. I don't know why your brother didn't tell you this."

Watching her cautiously press the confirm button, a huge window appeared between the two of them, displaying a 60-second countdown. Yuu Tenkuji continued:

"To avoid accidental injury or death during sparring, it's better to use the system's standardized duel mode... Besides, attacking someone without permission will turn you into an orange-named player."

The beginner's guide mentions that once an orange-named player appears in a town, they will be immediately suppressed by NPC guards and imprisoned in the town's jail, where they will need to complete quests to get out.

Although she didn't know if the beta version of the prison was finished, Yuu Tenkuji didn't want to see her scheduled teammate sent to prison—even though she had just attacked her.

If you're going to retaliate, you have to do it properly and without any worries.

"I didn't think of that... Thank you, Tenkuji-kun. I was too impulsive just now."

Having thought of the same thing, Asuna Yuuki patted her chest with a sigh of relief and looked at him apologetically.

Tenkuji Yu shrugged: "You're welcome. This is for my own good too."

With only a dozen seconds left on the countdown, he suddenly lowered his body, pointed his sword at the ground, and stared at her with his whole body tense, like a wolf ready to hunt.

"After all, PVP is one of the fun aspects of online games, and it's rare to come across such a good opportunity... I'm not going to let you poke me."

"Rapier Wielder, how about you teach me a lesson with your own strength?"

Chapter 9 Target Updated: Asuna Yuuki (3/27)

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki was taken aback, realizing that she had misunderstood.

He activated this duel mode not for his own benefit, nor did he have any intention of obediently getting stabbed.

I just wanted to spar with myself... Maybe I also wanted to take this opportunity to teach my rude self a lesson?

After all, his side had the advantage in both "sword skills" and level, so the duel was unfair from the start.

"……I see."

Even so, Asuna Yuuki still chose to accept it.

Even a faint feeling of excitement and anticipation rose in his heart, and his hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the sword hilt, his virtual heartbeat and blood began to accelerate.

Unconsciously, she held her breath and focused her mind, tensing her beautifully shaped body under the clock above her head, aiming at the boy in front of her like an arrow on a bowstring.

Why did I risk being scolded by my mother to enter this imaginary world?

In the tense atmosphere that seemed ready to explode, Asuna Yuuki suddenly realized this.

It wasn't that I wanted to escape my mother's oppression, nor was it that I was too disappointed with reality, nor was it that I wanted to relax by playing games because I was tired of studying.

She believes that she is there to seek "change".

Change yourself from being like a puppet, unable to find your own identity; change yourself from walking on a pre-planned path, with no freedom whatsoever.

Will such an opportunity truly exist in this world?

To be honest, she didn't know either.

But at this moment, in the grove where only the two of them were, this sudden duel began.

She is not Yuuki Asuna, but "Asuna"—a novice rapier user.

When faced with a challenge from a much more experienced one-handed swordsman, whether to abandon the idea of ​​repaying a debt of gratitude and stop the duel, or to step forward and confront him head-on, is entirely up to one's own decision.

A decision that no one can take your place in—a decision never imagined before and now being made for the first time.

Fight with someone of the opposite sex you meet for the first time, and point swords at each other in this virtual world.

Perhaps it was in order to find out the meaning behind it that I secretly brought my brother's helmet back to my room that night?

"The first one to drop to half health loses, right? In that case, I won't just settle it with one stab, will I?"

With three seconds left, Asuna Yukinari shouted this with a strong competitive spirit, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Yuu Tenkuji was surprised by her change in mood, but he smiled gently at the girl who seemed to be getting excited and said:

"Just don't let me beat you to tears, you newbie who can't even beat a pig-headed man."

Yuuki Asuna: "..."

Veins bulged prominently on her forehead. The moment the countdown reached zero, she lowered her body and darted out like a bullet, her expression fierce and clenched.

Even while running, the chestnut-haired girl still completed the sword technique preparation, causing the pink sword light to pierce through the sky and mercilessly stab towards his chest from bottom to top.

A sharp whistling sound rang out.

"Think beautifully!"

His gaze suddenly sharpened, and as Tenkuji Yu kicked off the ground with one foot and charged forward to the side, a light green light shone on his sword.

Sonic Impact!

As if propelled by an invisible hand, he rammed into Yuuki Asuna at an even faster speed. As he dodged the rapier's thrust, the light green sword light, like a sharp claw pouncing on its prey, slashed fiercely toward the girl's chest.

Clang—!

A burst of fire erupted as Yuuki Asuna twisted her waist to hold the rapier upright in front of her, managing to block the attack with some difficulty.