Chapter 01: Challenger

As my breath caught in the high-hanging rope, I thought I was dead.

When I opened my eyes, all I could see were fragments of chaotic light. Along with a suffocation I couldn't explain with any word. My chest was squeezed by two powerful forces. While my ears were pierced by unfamiliar noise. Drowning.

I sank into a sea of frequencies–or at least, that's how it felt. As every part of my body was torn apart into meaningless waves. Wuthering, vocal yet empty. Until everything went dark in an instant and I fell from the sky.

I lost control of my body after feeling the rush of wind hitting me like I was speeding my bike on the highway. My body shivered in an instant even though the light on the horizon was shining brightly. Yet, I couldn’t feel the warmth.

It's still early in the morning, huh.

However, that wasn't the thing I should have been focusing on right now. Like, real. I was flying, gliding downward like a hawk hunting its prey. Spiraling straight down at high speed. The difference is I HAVE NO WINGS!

I wondered if this is the afterlife when you decided to off yourself. Perhaps this is the punishment for losers who decided to end all forms of suffering in a simple way? If so … THAT IS REALLY DISRESPECTFUL, YOU HEAR ME! F*CK YOU, WHOEVER YOU UP THERE! JUST LET ME DOWN SAFELY!

“AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!” I screamed out, using up all the air in my lungs. Barely care about everything else now except the FREAKING GROUND. I WOULD BE NOTHING BUT NUGGET IF I LANDING WITH THIS SPEED. “SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE!”

“Welcome to Avalon. A world where dueling skills are everything.”

Huh??? Who is that? Whose voice is that?

Before I could find out the voice actor behind it, a loud crash filled my ears. Smoke billowed high, obscuring my vision. And it turned out...

Huh? I'm still alive?

My hands quickly touched my entire body, which was not wearing a single thread. Naked. It was clear that my heart was still beating. My breath was moving. My voice was ringing. And the warmth that I thought was gone was still attached to my skin.

But how?

While confusion filled my mind, my butt landed on a sharp object, piercing my buttocks. I screamed my head off. I thought my second life had ended in the blink of an eye. Until I looked down and saw no blood. My legs were still there and my life was still attached to my chest. Only my buttocks felt numb. The numbness crept up to my stomach until I felt like throwing up.

“Gup–hueeeek!”

The entire contents of my belly came up, smelling sour on the floor. I wiped my mouth right away and found that one, two, no, dozens of spears had surrounded me like flower petals for no freaking reason.

“I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!” I spontaneously raised my hands and couldn't bring myself to look around. I feared the sharp tips would pierce my heart any second.

“GET DOWN NOW!” shouted the man dressed like a roman soldier. “GET DOWN NOW OR YOU'RE DEAD!”

I didn't understand. Get down from what? From where? My feet were already touching the floor. But it felt like my body wasn't touching the floor at all. It was like sitting on something thorny.

Then I looked down, right below my tapered d*ck. There was a face like a pig perched right below my balls.

Huh?

“EEHHHHH?!” I immediately jumped and landed behind the line of soldiers who had wanted to stab me alive. “I'M SORRY!”

I bowed my body 90 degrees. I made sure to keep my back straight and my eyes closed.

I'm definitely dead, I thought. Because the man I landed on must be dead too. Shit! Why did I suddenly become a murderer right away!

I was devastated and scared my life out.

“How dare you... HOW DARE YOU!” The voice wasn't from the soldier. When I peeked out a little, I saw that the angry stuttering voice came from a man whose face looked like a green pig.

He is still alive.

THAT GUY STILL ALIVE!

AM NOT A MURDERER!

YEY!

I almost shed tears. Because I didn't want my second life to become a rotten bastard who took the lives of innocent people.

I straightened up and let out a long breath. “Thank goodness you're still alive, Green Pig!” And giving my thumb up.

“G-Green Pig, you say!?” His face was shocked. Turning red. Apparently, my words were rude.

I heard a small laugh from the ranks of soldiers before the neckless green man silenced the whole room.

“There are limits to impudence! Not only did you land your ass on my crown, you also called me a green pig! Death is not enough! Death is not enough for you! I will roast you and let the pigs eat you alive!”

EH?

“Wait, wait! I didn't mean to! I swear! I don't know how I ended up landing on your head, Pig—no, Green King!” I corrected myself before making an already tense situation worse.

“No waiting.” He raised his hand. A command was given to the archers behind him to draw their bows. And the archers released their arrows. Dozens of arrows shot out and bounced off the ground.

I closed my eyes as the arrows rained down like a cruel shower. When I dared to open my eyes, I realized that my body was completely unharmed.

What happened? I asked myself.

I didn't know what had happened to me. All I knew was that after hanging my body like a rainproof toy, I was in the middle of nowhere, then fell from the sky and landed on the head of this green king with a face as ugly as a goblin's.

Ah, right. I didn't die. I fell from the sky and didn't die. No way. That should be impossible.

Even if you jump from a five-story building, the mortality rate is very high. How could I still be alive and unharmed after falling from the sky? The numbness I felt earlier also disappeared without a trace for some reason. Ah, there's still a little left in my butt crack. Maybe something got stuck there.

Ah, there it is. Damn it. I pulled out the crown spikes and threw them on the floor.

My eyes returned to the green king, and it seemed he had stopped the command to shoot more arrows. Although I was unharmed, I didn't know how long I could maintain the barrier and I myself didn't know where it came from.

“DAMNIT! You must be the CHALLENGER!” he shouted at me.

“...I don't know.”

“Stop pretending! You're definitely a challenger because there's no way you could easily block all those shots!” His face turned red, like a tomato being boiled. “If I can't use violence against you, then the only solution is a one-on-one fight.”

“Wait a minute! I oppose violence in any form!”

“I don't care! You came here and insulted me, which means you're asking for trouble!”

I repeated the same words, asking him to be patient and not rush into things. Because, honestly, I really didn't know anything. I am innocent.

Ah, damn it. My second life was already in trouble with the highest authority before I even started. What kind of life is this?

My sigh was longer than the Nile River. I felt like there was nothing good about this second life. Damn it.

“I challenge you to a duel!”

“...Eh? A duel?”

“Yes. And you have no right to refuse. If you run away, I'll make a poster of your stinky face and turn you into a criminal across the continent. You won't be able to sleep peacefully and you'll definitely die!”

His words still sounded very angry. I couldn't possibly win even if it was a one-on-one fight. I had no martial arts skills or knowledge of how to use combat weapons.

This is bad. This couldn't get any better.

I have to find an excuse.

“I can't fight,” I  begged. “I'm not good with swords! It's not my forte!”

“IDIOT! Who asked you to fight like a barbarian? I'm challenging you to a duel! The Supreme Duel in Avalon: SUPREME DUEL using Cards!”

A duel... using cards?

The thing I thought I would never hear again since the last OCG, Great Monarchy, was dead.

This time... it sounded so clear. Crystal clear to my ears.

“You mean playing card games, right?”

“YEAH! This isn't just a card game! It's a COSMIC BATTLE THAT—EH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

Without realizing it, I ran and shook his hand. Shaking it eagerly.

My face must have looked disgusting at that moment. But the happiness that burst out of my chest was like an uncontrollable volcanic eruption. It brought out a desire that had been dead along my old lives. Now, it's alive and raging.

“YES! I want to duel you! I'd love to!”