Chapitre 5: Beginner Village!

"Yes," Yuuta said out loud.

'So there's something like this now in the game? So if I were to give myself a title of daredevil or dark flame master... wait, let's not think about that. I mean, wouldn't that be a little bit too much?' Yuuta thought to himself.

<Confirmed.>

<You've earned the title [Daredevil] and [Dark Flame Master]>

"Wait... whaaat?!" Yuuta exclaimed. He didn't know that the game would just hand out two titles willy-nilly. Aside from that, the second title was something like an inside joke for him and yet the game even acknowledged it.

'The reason why I wanted the daredevil title was because he's my favorite superhero... as for the dark flame master... Togashi Yuuta, I'm so sorry.' Yuuta said to himself as he inwardly sighed. Who would have thought that the game would mess him up so badly like that. And the game hasn't even started yet.

<Loading...>

<Ti-ring! Welcome to Lucid Dream Server.>

Just like how the heavens open up in the way of the sunlight on an early morning, the blackness that surrounded Yuuta slowly vanished as it was replaced by a different scenery altogether. One by one, color upon colors were registered in Sakurai Yuuta's eyes as the village was shown to him.

The sense of sight— such a simple function that most people take for granted— was now overwhelming Yuuta like a huge wave that crashed upon the shore. Heck, it could even be compared to a tsunami by how immense Yuuta felt as his emotions got jumbled in his brain.

The colors now slowly manifested into a village wherein Yuuta found himself standing in the middle of. The village was a simple one, with wooden and brick houses and stick-fences that marked everyone's territory. It looked like a simple beginner village which is a staple in a lot of video games. Yuuta wasn't really expecting something so cliche to appear but now that he's seen it, he felt a bit underwhelmed that he didn't know how to react.

But then again, this was his first time playing a video game after becoming blind. the fact that he could see well enough to play the game was more than enough for him.

"Yeah yeah, it's randomly generated, right? There's nothing one can do about it, I guess." Yuuta mumbled to himself. Still, he seemed a bit distracted due to the village he was seeing.

"If only I have a— "

Whish~!

Before Yuuta finished his sentence, the game immediately gave something that he wanted. Now he knew why the game has the capabilities of giving someone a skill. It has direct access to the brain after all.

'It's been a year since I saw myself. I wonder how I looked like now.' Yuuta gulped, hoping that he didn't turn into an ugly person while he was blind.

Slowly, he brought the mirror closer to his face until it reached the right angle. The moment he came face-to-face with his face, Yuuta couldn't help but flinch since he wasn't ready to see how he looked after all those times.

Black ruffly hair, deep-dark phoenix-like eyes, a well-chiseled chin, and a pointy nose, and skin that rivaled that of ivory, Yuuta couldn't help but sigh in relief as he just became even more handsome when he grew older. But then again, it was because of his efforts that he managed to maintain his optimal athletic look.

Since his face couldn't look any better, Yuuta decided to check how his body looked like so he immediately removed the brown tattered clothes he was wearing. The moment he did so, multiple village inhabitants glanced towards his general direction.

"Whoa, I look like a bomber!" Yuuta exclaimed, admiring his well-toned muscles and his eight-pack that squirm every time he flexed. As a blind person, he didn't know he could look like this. "Even the NPC's are looking at me as if they saw something heavenly." Yuuta joked.

However, Yuuta failed to realize that the villagers weren't staring at him. In fact, they were looking at the entity behind him, making them tremble in fear as their legs turned to jelly.

"SO, you've arrived, young hero." A voice greeted Yuuta from his rear.

There was something sinister in that voice that Yuuta couldn't help but feel the chills run up and down his spine. Since he didn't know what to do, he decided to procure a weapon by thinking about it. Surely the game system would give him something to fend off the threat behind him, right?

"I need a— "

<Warning: the Test has begun.>

"Seriously?! Are you being serious right now?!" Yuuta exclaimed. He just realized that the mirror he had in his hand had already completely vanished in thin air, further proving the fact that the system had already betrayed him. Well, more like, left him to fend for himself.

Yuuta slowly turned around, not knowing what to do. While proficient in hand-to-hand combat, Yuuta could tell that the enemy was far more formidable than he expected it to be.

The one who spoke up was someone in the shape of a human. However, instead of having human skin, it had black skin with orange streaks running all over it like the veins on the body. Its eyes were glowing bright red like pits of lava, and smoke was being emitted from her body as if she was a volcano that was about to erupt. One look and Yuuta already knew that the entity in front of him is not human.

"I am Lav Kravia! The top-ranked subordinate of the demon lord! Since this is where most heroes spawn, I've been lying in wait for hundreds of years, waiting for the next hero to appear." Lav Kravia introduced herself, holding up her hand as flames manifested on it.

"What do you want?" Yuuta hissed, not knowing what to do. He knew that the scenario was just a test, but as to what he needs to do, he had no idea. He gulped, fully expecting the 'demoness'-like entity to attack him without warning.

"Simple, I want you to submit to me and swear fealty to the demon lord. With your potential, the demon lord can further spread his influence all throughout Lucid!"

"Lucid?" Yuuta asked.

"You really are a hero. You don't even know that this world is called Lucid. Very well, do you swear allegiance to the demon lord?" Lav Kravia extended both her hands as she tried to convince Yuuta.

Chirp, chirp.

The sounds of the chirping birds echoed in the distance as silence befell the two. Yuuta looked around, hoping that a villager would try to convince him not to join the enemy. But for some reason, the villagers were all frozen in fright, they couldn't even utter a single 'eek~' out of their mouth.

It's as if they've seen something so traumatizing. And by the looks of it, such was certainly the case.

Yuuta sighed.

"Very well, I'll join your army. It's not like I have any choice, right?"

"Mwhahahaha!" Lav Kravia laughed hysterically at Yuuta's response. "You've chosen the right side, young hero."

Yuuta heaved yet another sigh.

"Well then, it's a pleasure to be working under the demon lord." Yuuta calmly walked towards Lav Kravia with a confident stride on each step. When he finally arrived in front of Lav Kravia, he extended his hand.

"Are you sure you want to shake my hand? You'll burn, you know." Lav Kravia bashfully asked, but her eyes were hinting that she really wanted to shake Yuuta's hand.

'This girl, she's probably devoid of contact because of her body's high temperature.' Yuuta formed a charming smile on his face— which was the face he wears when he sees that victory is well within his grasp. "I'll be working side-by-side a stunning beauty under the demon lord, am I not worthy enough to shake your hand?"

"Hero! What are you doing?!" One of the villagers finally got the courage to ask, but he was already too late.

Yuuta had already decided.

Lav Kravia acted a bit bashful before extending her hand. Yuuta was right on the money, Lav Kravia was really someone who lacks physical contact in her life because of her physiology. She slowly extended, or rather, reached her hand with a smile on her face. "Well, it's my pleasure that young hero will be wo— "

Morote Seoi Nage! [Two-Arm Shoulder Throw]

Since Lav Kravia's guard was down, and she was feeling rather bashful because of Yuuta's words of woo, she totally didn't expect Yuuta to attack her just like that. Before she knew it, Yuuta grabbed the collar of her robe with his left hand and once he had taken a firm grip, he let go of the handshake and grabbed the other side of the robe with his right hand. With a sidestep of his left leg, Yuuta tightened his core and twisted his body...

... throwing Lav Kravia to the ground.

Yuuta clearly underestimated his power since the throw left a crater where Lav Kravia fell down. A bit of saliva escaped Lav Kravia's mouth before she wheezed in pain.

But before she could physically and mentally recover, Yuuta climbed on top of her, placing his right hand on her chest.

"Y-young hero?! W-w-where are you touching?!" Lav Kravia panicked but there were no signs of retaliation coming from her. This gave Yuuta the confidence boost he needed to further proceed with his masterplan.

"Don't you dare move! I've used all my life points to activate my supreme skill, granted by the System before I came here." Yuuta bluffed.

And it was a rather good bluff.

"This skill is called the palm-explosion technique. Once I've activated it, there is no escape. Try to break free and you'll explode, try to kill me and you'll explode, try to cut off my arm and it will still explode. And this skill is on par with the demon lord's supreme skill. There is no escape. Surrender now and swear fealty to me, Lav Kravia!"

Yuuta tried so hard to hide his embarrassment but his face couldn't help but redden. Their position was rather salacious, after all.

"Hah~ hah~ hah~ "

Yuuta almost screamed out loud at the reaction he got from Lav Kravia. He wasn't expecting anything like it at all. For some reason, she just started breathing heavily as her face wore a satisfied grin.

"Y-yes, on the blood of the Kravia Clan, I swear allegiance to the young hero." Lav Kravia bashfully muttered as she breathed heavily. "I will follow you to the ends of the planet, sweet master."

"What on actual—"

<Congratulations, you've completely subdued Krav Lavia.>