The Grand Duelist

Joseph was falling.

He found himself falling for a long time

He couldn't see anything within the darkness and only the roaring sound of the fierce wind flashing past his ears served as the undeniable proof that he was still alive and was still currently falling. 

Ah!

Joseph's eyes widened in shock, he awakened from his trance and he found that Alice was still within his embrace.

How long is this fall going to take?

Joseph inwardly cursed, yet he never loosened his embrace around Alice. 

He made sure that his back was pointed towards the ground so that he could become Alice's cushion that would protect her from impact. But the only problem was that Joseph wasn't so sure if this was enough to prevent Alice from dying. 

Ahhh! Let's just hope and maybe pray to RNGesus...

Joseph screamed and his expression revealed anxiety and fear as to what would happen if his body collided against the ground with such speed like this.

Fuck, fuck, fuck... Will it hurt if I struck the ground like this?

Yes! It will undoubtedly hurt, but please... I hope it won't be that bad. 

I swear if the rewards that I will get after this quest is insufficient, I will surely pay a visit to the headquarters of P.H Works! I'll go and ask those bastards for an explanation!

All sorts of ideas and ridiculous thoughts surfaced in Joseph's mind.

But his concentration towards protecting Alice never wavered.

Ahh... How long am I going to fall?

Seriously, I've been falling for about thirty seconds already and I'm still not done? Where is this ground? Wait, what if there was no ground in the first place? Like, what if this is similar to the planet Jupiter where I will endlessly fall and eventually get stuck in the middle for eternity?

Ahhh! I don't want that! 

But can I even do something about my situation right now? No, I don't think so...

Ahhh! Stop thinking about useless things!

Joseph fiercely shook his head, but then an idea came to his mind.

Wait... Since I am not so sure if I will suffer great pain once my body came to contact with the ground. What if I just disable the Pain Sensory of the System? If I do that. I won't feel any pain, right?

Although it is not generally recommended to do that since it also dulls one's reflexes, in this current situation of mine. There's nothing more fitting than this if I want to avoid being in pain!

Okay, I have decided! Let's do this!

Joseph slowly raised his hand and opened his Main Menu. Navigating through the Main Menu, he opened the Options Panel and turned down his Pain Sensory to the lowest. 

Now, I will feel no pain.

Let's just wait until...

Bang!

A fierce explosion rang out and Joseph's eyes widened in shock from the sudden impact.

[You have suffered immeasurable damage!]

[Your Health has reached the minimum. A shield equal to the damage that you have suffered from the last ten seconds is generated.]

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[The System has detected abnormalities in the user's mental status.]

[Commencing safety protocol!]

[Safety Protocol Activated.]

[Commencing Forced Sleep-Mode.]

Amidst Joseph's blurry and distorted vision. He found several system notifications floating before him, but before he could even recognize the words written within those system notifications. His consciousness vanished.

"Heh... She's still alive... Thank god..."

Thankfully, before he disappeared...

He managed to confirm that Alice was still alive, or else he would be incredibly worried which would inevitably affect his mental condition, making him unable to enter the world of Victory once again.

Every Gaming Capsules regulated by the respective Gaming Agencies within one's countries had dozens of safety features and fail-safe mechanisms. One of them was Forced Sleep-Mode.

This Safety Protocol is commonly activated in the events where the user's mental status exceeded the allowable limits imposed by the government.

Once that happened, the user will be forcefully logged out of the game.

But any user logged out from the game in this manner would not experience True Log-out. In other words, if they were logged out in this manner then their characters within the world of Victory will not disappear.

It would remain standing there like a mannequin.

...

Julie and Hulie stared at the two strangers near them. It was clear on their expressions that they were unsure about what they should do. 

"Julie... I'm scared..." Hulie snuck close to her twin sister. Apprehension was evident on her face as she stared at the two strangers right in front of her. But you really couldn't blame her. After all, how would you react if you saw strange and suspicious?

"Don't worry, Hulie... I think they are sleeping... But where did they come from?"'

Julie consoled her twin sister before she raised her head to stare at the trees above her. 

There wasn't any trace of disturbance in the trees around her.

At least, that was what she saw within the darkness. 

Julie didn't judge the two as dead.

Why?

Well, it was because Julie was a seasoned hunter within the wilderness. She would know if something or someone was dead just from a single glance. Her experience in the wild told her that two weren't dead but merely asleep.

Julie learned this ability since within the wilderness that was filled with darkness, it was necessary to confirm the death of the beast that you were hunting from afar before you approached them.

If you didn't do that then there was a huge chance that the animal you were hunting was merely feigning death, and once you approached them. You would be torn apart.

"Now, what should we do? Do we approach them or not? But if we just let them sleep there then they will eventually be noticed by others. If that happens, then I'm sure that something bad will happen to them!"

Julie whispered, but she unknowingly whispered it in the air causing Hulie to hear what she was saying to herself.

"We must help them, Julie!"

Hulie turned to look at her sister.

A determined look could be seen on her face.

But Julie shook her head and said: "No, we cannot do that, Hulie. We don't know them, and there's a huge chance that they came from the outside world. You know about the All-Encompassing Barrier of Spirituality Separation, right?"

"With that barrier then it's impossible for ordinary people from the outside world to enter this place, but since these two managed to enter. We can say that they are not ordinary..."

"We also don't know their intentions. What if they attack us when they wake up?"

"That is too risky!"

"I can't do something as risky as that when you're here with me."

Hulie revealed an astonished expression, but then tears welled up in her eyes as she said: "Does that mean that I am just a burden for you, Julie? If I wasn't here then you can do more dangerous things?" 

Julie was flabbergasted by what she heard.

But she soon shook from her reverie as she waved her hands in a panicked manner whilst explaining: "No, I am not saying that you're a burden for me Hulie! I am saying that we cannot trust others so easily. And why would I do dangerous things? If I was to die while doing dangerous things, then you' be alone..."

"Do you want to be alone?"

Hulie revealed a shocked expression when she heard her twin sister's voice. She pursed her lips and replied: "No, I don't want to be alone! I don't want you to leave me, but I want to save them! Mama and Papa always said that we must help others in need whenever we can!"

A bitter smile emerged on Julie's face.

The images of her parents appeared in mind.

She suddenly missed and longed for the two of them.

Their kind smiles, the gentle reprimand of her mother, and the cold on the outside and hot in the inside attitude of her father.

She suddenly missed these things.

But now that they were afflicted with the Curse of the Condemned. Everything had changed. It could be said that their time within this world was now limited, so why would Julie still think twice about doing something potentially dangerous such as approaching these two strangers?

That's right! Julie still wanted to live, but she knew that it was just wishful thinking.

From the annals of recorded history, there were no records of anyone from this City perpetually hidden from the sun surviving the Curse of the Condemned...

The only reason why both of them escaped was to struggle.

Yes, to struggle.

To struggle against fate and destiny. 

No matter how futile of a fight it was.

Julie deeply sighed, "All right, let's go and help them. Let's drag them towards that place. So that they will not be found by the others."

Hulie was delighted and she then moved towards the two strangers.

"They are still breathing! But why do they look strange? Their hair is black and..." Hulie curiously stared at the strangers, and she slowly unfurled the cloth that covered the young woman.

"Hieek! She's naked! And he's only wearing underwear! Eh? What is this? Where are their clothes?" A crimson blush appeared on Hulie's cheeks.

Julie couldn't help but chuckle, but her eyes also wandered towards the young man's chiseled body, particularly underneath.

It was unknown what she was thinking, but it wasn't something decent for sure due to the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

Nevertheless, after taking a few deep breaths...

She managed to calm herself down and drag the two strangers towards the place where they would temporarily hide from the eyes of others. 

Eight hours later in real-time or two days later in Victory time.

Joseph slowly awakened from his slumber and the scene that he first saw upon returning to the world of Victory, brought him a great deal of astonishment.

Signifies luck in games, RNG = Random Number Generator/Randomness