System's POV
chapter-447-1

The GANDAM Duel Master had become the most popular virtual reality fighting game in Pangea ever since its launch three years ago.

The Neuro-Link that allowed people to access the game wasn't that expensive.

However, aside from buying the equipment, they also had to pay a monthly subscription for it.

This made the Noiz earn billions of gold in the span of a few months, and many wanted to dissect how this game was made.

However, no matter how much the engineers tried to reverse engineer the Neuro-Link so that they could make their own version of GANDAM, their attempts ended in failure.

After much difficulty, the materials as well as the chips that were implanted in the Neuro-Link were replicated after a few months.

However, they noticed something bizarre.

Even with nearly perfect replication, only one thing happened when they wore the Neuro-Link that they designed.

All of them heard a laughter.

But it wasn't just ordinary laughter.

It was a laughter filled with ridicule as if mocking the people who tried to clone the Neuro-Link of the GANDAM.

The absolute mockery from the laugh even gave the Engineers trauma.

They didn't know where the laughter was coming from.

But those who heard it no longer had the will to try replicating the Helmet, which people now called, GANDAM MEISTER.

Since it was a very popular item, everyone financially capable of buying the gear and signing up for the monthly subscriptions played the GANDAM DUEL MASTER game.

The members of the Hero Party, as well as the Valkyries, also had their own accounts, with Rianna being in the top 30 of the Heaven Rankings.

While everyone was getting excited about the idea of fighting against each other in the game, Hans finally arrived with the tents, which their group had assembled very quickly.

The Butler also brought the meat and vegetables that they were going to use for the barbecue, which he carried inside the house to store for the time being.

After thanking Hans for his help, the group once again gathered in the training room.

Thirteen then placed Yoga Mats on the floor so that people could lay down after wearing the Neuro-Links that were available in the Leventis Residence.

"Disciple, what you are going to see now is something that you will never expect to see here in our residence," Thirteen said with a smug expression on his face as he clicked the button of his remote control.

Suddenly, the walls of the training room opened up, showing over twenty helmets with various designs.

"Oh my god!" Derek exclaimed after seeing the Neuro-Links that were on display. "Those are limited edition Neuro-Links! Only thirteen of each design is released once a month, and they could only be won through an online lottery. How is this possible?!"

The members of the Hero Party and the Valkyries were also surprised because they, too, were very familiar with these limited edition gears.

The company behind GANDAM, Noiz, would release a different themed head-gear once a month, and only thirteen copies of it would be up grabs through a lottery.

Some lucky ones even went as far as to auction these incredibly rare Neuro-Link Head Gears, which fetched the price of millions in the Auction Houses.

"The majority of them are bought through Auctions," Thirteen replied. "Three of them, I won in the lottery. Now, enough talk. Choose a helmet, so we can start the training. Remi, go pick one as well."

Remi glanced at her brother as if asking him if he was planning to do what she was thinking.

Thirteen nodded. "Teach him a lesson."

Seeing that her brother had approved of it, Remi no longer hesitated and chose the pink helmet that looked like it belonged to a pink Powah Ranger.

"Gandam, launching!" Derek said the activating phrase to start up the Neuro-Link.

"Gandam, launching," Remi stated, activating her own Neuro-Link.

"Okay, Derek, can you hear me?" Thirteen asked the young man, who was lying on the yoga mat.

"Yes, Master," Derek replied.

"Create a room," Thirteen ordered. "You can choose any setting you want and any battlefield you like. However, set the parameters to Mortal Combat Mode. You can also decide if you want the room to be a public one or a private one."

"I want to create a public one, Master."

"Go ahead. It will be your funeral though."

Thirteen said the last words in a low volume, making Derek unable to hear the rest of his words.

"I set the challenger password to 2024," Derek stated. "Will you be my opponent, Master?"

"No," Thirteen answered. "Your opponent will be my sister, Remi. She will assess your fighting skills in Mortal Combat Mode."

The Mortal Combat Mode was a special setting in GANDAM where both fighters would have the strength of normal humans.

This was the mode that Non-Wanderers used when they fought against each other.

It was also the setting that the Monarch Clans, the Prestigious Families, as well as the other families in Pangea, used to train their children who were yet to undergo their First Wandering.

This was to ensure that they would have a higher chance of surviving in Solterra when it was finally their turn to be Spirited Away.

The moment Derek's Room became available, it was immediately seen at the top of the Room listings.

Anyone within the top 20 of the Heaven Rankings, as well as the other Rankings, would have their battles easily seen by other people so that they could watch it unfold.

Just as Derek expected, the Coliseum that he chose as the setting of their combat was slowly being filled with people.

Some of Derek's acquaintances were also there, and they asked him whom he was planning to fight.

Since he had put a password, those who only knew of it could challenge him.

"Hey, Derek. Who are you trying to bully, huh?" a Player, who goes by the name Mighty Deek asked.

"None of your business," Derek replied.

He thought that he was going to fight his Master, Zion.

But after hearing that it was his eight-year-old sister who would come to fight him, Derek suddenly felt as if he was being looked down upon by his new Master.

However, since Zion agreed to train him, he decided to take it easy against Remi so that he would not get angry at him.

The other Spectators were already chatting with each other and guessing whom Derek would fight.

Usually, Derek fought against the other members of his Hero Party, which the spectators loved to watch.

But after seeing that the setting had been changed to Mortal Combat, they believed that the one that he would be fighting against was none other than the Hero, Roland, who had the top 3 spot in the Heaven Rankings.

While everyone was guessing who Derek's opponent was going to be, a flash of light appeared at the center of the Coliseum.

"A Challenger has arrived!"

The announcement of the game reached everyone's ears, making everyone cheer.

However, when they saw who it was, everyone paused for a bit before cheering louder.

"Amazing! She's here!" Mighty Deek shouted. "Derek, how did you manage to get her contact?!"

Derek, who was looking at his opponent with eyes as wide as saucers, also couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Those in the training room, who were watching the scene through the large Flat Screen TV in the training room, also couldn't believe what they were seeing.

A lady warrior with long blonde hair and a white fox mask stood in front of Derek's Avatar. She pressed her palms together before giving him a light bow.

After doing this gesture, one of the most iconic fighters in the Heaven Rankings took a fighting stance.

She was none other than the famous unarmed combat fighter, Little_Sister_13, who held the rank of Second Place, in the Heaven's Ranking.

If earlier, Derek felt disappointed that he was about to fight an eight-year-old girl, now, he was sweating buckets because he was about to fight the second highest ranked player in GANDAM, whom he had lost to many times in the past.

Little_Sister_13 only played in Mortal Combat Mode, and only the Highest Rankers in that Mode could appear in the Heaven's Ranking.

Everyone in the training room looked at the eight-year-old who was laying down on the floor before shifting their gaze to Thirteen.

If Remi was the one who held the Second Rank in the Heaven's Ranking, then it was now obvious who held the number one spot, whom all the GANDAM PLAYERS wished to defeat.