The wind breezed over from the sea. It was finally scaring off the heat that had been oppressing the floor's citizens all day.
Currently, in the terrace, only lit up by the soft glow of the lights, a young man and an older gentleman were silently sitting with a holographic game open.
It looked calm, but in both of their minds, a very serious and deadly game was currently going on, and it was reaching its climax!
"Mom, who is Grandpa sitting with?"
In that moment, a family of four was walking down the sandy beach until they noticed two people sitting on the terrace.
They were just coming over from a party hosted by a family who was their real-life neighbors.
"…I don't know, baby."
Rissa said and gently patted the head of her daughter, and then saw that they were playing General's Game over on the terrace.
'He is playing his favorite game with that young man? Is he again bullying some poor young man? Why is my father like a child sometimes.'
She wryly smiled.
"Want to go for a quick swim while your grandpa is finishing that game of his? He hates when we interrupt him, you see."
Rissa said with a smile.
"Yay, sure!"
Her children ran to the sea and played around in the shallow water.
The battle heated up in General's Game, and neither of them noticed the family of four that had just arrived.
At the bridge, Rock's Tank slipped his sword past Fang Raon's Tank defenses and was about to finish him off, but then.
'Mountain!'
Fang Raon ordered his Tank to use the Mountain skill, and his skin turned into rock, which blocked the sword strike.
'Good move, but now it is also over!'
Rock thought.
His Tank started smashing Fang Raon's Tank with powerful sword swings, and he was completely at the sword's mercy.
The health dropped drastically, and in just five seconds, Fang Raon's Tank finally died and disappeared into thin air.
'Yes!'
Rock smiled.
In that moment, his Tank attacked the Rangers and, with just one sword strike, took down two of them.
'Arrow Rain!'
Fang Raon ordered his Rangers.
His last two remaining Rangers fired another arrow after their cooldown ended and rained the Red Tower with hundreds of arrows.
[-10 HP]
[-5 HP]
[-20 HP]
[Red Tower: 30/1000 HP]
The last of the arrows missed, and it only had a measly thirty health points left.
'So close!'
Fang Raon thought with an ugly expression.
In that moment, Rock's Tank brought his sword down on Ranger and killed him with a bone-crushing strike.
Fang Raon's gaze landed at his only Ranger remaining, and there were still 28 seconds of cooldown remaining before he could use another Arrow Rain.
'Intimidation!'
Rock ordered.
In that moment, Rock's Tank used Intimidation on the Ranger, and he couldn't do anything anymore.
'I can't control him!'
Fang Raon thought with an ugly expression.
Because of the Intimidation skill, the Ranger was just in so much fear that he was refusing to listen to any of Fang Raon's commands!
Rock's Tank swung his sword and cut the Ranger down.
"It looks like the victory is mine!"
Rock said with a smile.
***
[Fang Raon: 4 Soldiers]
[Blue Tower: 1000/1000 HP]
…
[Rock Rose: 10 Soldiers]
[Red Tower: 30/1000 HP]
***
"I am not done just yet."
Fang Raon said coldly.
He ordered his three Tanks and they broke through the enemy lines and started running towards the Red Tower.
'Oh?'
Rock ordered his Warriors to chase after them, and at the same time, his Rangers fired arrows at the incoming Tanks.
Tanks shielded themselves with their large shields, and despite hundreds of arrows, they continued to advance towards the Red Tower.
Warriors had a speed advantage, and they caught up to Tanks and kept slashing at their unprotected backs.
The blood spewed.
"Heal!"
The sole Helper blessed the Tanks with a healing spell.
In that moment, Rock's Tank found the Helper and cut her down without hesitation. It was only the three Tanks remaining!
Rock's Rangers were on cooldown, so they just fired one arrow at a time, which really didn't do anything to the Tanks.
Tanks were heading straight to the Red Tower, but then Rock's Mages cast Earth Wall to block their path.
"Crush through!"
Fang Raon ordered.
His powerful Tanks smashed through the Earth Walls without any issue, but then Rock's Warriors stabbed them in the back.
"Ah…"
Fang Raon exclaimed.
With no Helper helping them, two of his Tanks collapsed to the ground and turned into light particles.
[Fang Raon: 1 Soldier]
With rage burning in his eyes, his lone Tank smashed through the Rangers, and thrust his sword through the air.
The sword pierced through the Red Tower's wall.
At the same time, Rock's Warriors chopped his head off.
[Match Over!]
'Who won?!'
Rock and Fang Raon wondered.
[Winner—Fang Raon!]
"…Hah… Hahahahaha!"
Fang Raon burst into laughter, and he raised his arms in triumph. His heart was literally beating against his chest.
"I lost? Fuck."
Rock plopped down on the bench, then let out a chuckle before bursting into full-blown laughter.
"Oh, damn it. I really thought I had you there, but shit, you really got me good this time."
Rock said with a grin.
"…You lost, Father?"
In that moment, his daughter, Rissa, walked over with her children and looked into the eyes of his happy father.
She couldn't remember the last time when he had laughed so much, and it was a rare sight to see him actually enjoy himself.
He always had a serious demeanor when he was teaching his students, and none of his students ever managed to put a smile on his face.
Except his granddaughter, and now, this young man.
"I did. That was actually exhausting, and I feel like I am about to have a headache. I guess I'll need to go rest."
Rock stood up and shook Fang Raon's hand before heading inside the village to get some rest.
"…Hello, my name is Rissa Rose. I am his daughter. It is nice to meet you."
Rissa put her hands on her stomach and bowed respectfully like a princess would.
"Nice to meet you. I am Fang Raon."
He returned the bow and looked at the three cute children, who looked at him innocently and full of curiosity.
They were shy around strangers, but they clearly were intrigued by this new visitor.
"Are you my father's new student? A recruit of Rose Records?"
Rissa asked.
"…Ah, no. I just happened to meet him at the beach, and… I guess he was bored, so here I am."
Fang Raon said with a chuckle.
'…It looks like you passed my father's test.'
Rissa added to herself in her mind, then smiled, gave her farewells to Fang Raon, and went inside to log off alongside her children.
'…Wait, I forgot. Children? I thought the age restriction to enter Black Online was 18 years old. They are definitely not even ten years old…
'I guess I will ask from Rock tomorrow.'
Fang Raon thought to himself.
He then opened his interface and logged off for the night.