Lyrian soon arrived back in his dorm room. He hadn't seen his roommate for a while now, and this time, he was nowhere to be seen either. As he took off his shoes, he heard the quiet hum of the shower coming from the bathroom.

"Has he been in there this entire time?" Lyrian mumbled under his breath, entering his own BF. "I have about an hour or so before I have to sleep now. I suppose that time is best spent probably beating up some people for training."

As soon as he entered, he went to the game menu and paused. He was going to click the ranked game mode option immediately but had another thought as he saw the [Shop] icon available to him.

Currently, he had a rank of 201. He was on the third rank and only needed to get 49 more points to rank up again. Ever since entering the third rank, this tab was shown as unlocked to him by the game.

He never really bothered checking it, but this time, he decided to take a look. As soon as he chose it, a wide panel with a vast array of items appeared before him.

He was slightly taken aback in surprise. Armor and weapons were the main courses, sold for surprisingly cheap prices. Some, however, were also very expensive.

At first glance, everything looked to be of very high quality and powerful. On closer inspection, however, Lyrian realized that none of the items were actually worth anything.

Reading the description of a few, he saw that they were nothing but skins that went on previously existing items to make them look better. This came as a relief to Lyrian, who thought that this game was pay-to-win.

That would have made no sense anyway, as he hadn't heard about that as of yet, and it wouldn't make sense for a game of training practice anyway. After all, players wouldn't be able to use those items in the real world, so having them benefit them in the game didn't seem plausible. Thankfully, his suspicions were correct.

After a few more seconds of scrolling, he was about to click off the tab when something caught his attention. It was a skin for armor, specifically one for his head. It was a white mask with a simple expression on it. It wasn't very large or over the top, not overdramatic whatsoever.

So far, Lyrian had simply been using his shirt to cover his face. It was so he wouldn't get recognized, but it was an annoying aspect of BF for him. This mask, however, would aid him greatly. Not only would he be able to fight more comfortably, but his identity would also be safer with a real mask.

The price of it was 10 Riftstones, which was surprisingly cheap. He bought it without hesitation, as he didn't see anything else remotely close to it in looks. Everything else was big and bulky. They were helmets and armor pieces, all of which he imagined would impede his ability to fight.

As soon as he spent the Riftstones, the mask appeared in his in-game inventory. He pulled it out before putting it on his face. His vision wasn't impaired at all, and it fit perfectly.

With a satisfied smirk on his face, he left the shop menu and queued for a ranked game. The queues were always mere seconds long. It seemed some people never left the game.

Before long, a fight had initiated. Opponents were stronger now due to his higher rank, but he could still defeat them without much problem. Even if he were to lose, he knew that Garmr could finish off his plate.I think you should take a look at

With the mask on his face, Lyrian faced his opponent, who also had a masked face. The boy standing 50 feet away from Lyrian was fully clothed in red knight armor. The knight lifted the long broadsword in his hand as he positioned himself to fight. Seeing this, Lyrian also unsheathed his blade.

Without warning, the two dashed forward at each other. Their blades met powerfully in the middle of the domain, as they pushed each other back. At that moment, Lyrian deemed that his opponent was strong enough to be at least one rank higher than him.historical

'He must be over 250 points... and he hasn't said a word either. A serious fighter,' Lyrian mused. He liked this. He could finally train hard.

The two backed off slightly, before reengaging their fight with a barrage of attacks. Each slash was dodged by the other, each thrust dodged. Finally, a powerful overhead cleave forced Lyrian to back off. Clearly, his opponent's sword skill was greater than his.

'Sword skill again... I have to get better at it. Simply overpowering someone won't be feasible,' he thought to himself. He wasn't allowed to plan ahead, as the knight dashed toward him and began unleashing several powerful slashes in his direction. Enhancing his body, Lyrian dodged the attacks precisely.

However, the tip of the cleaver managed to slightly scratch him a few times. Clearly, this wasn't a rookie. Without letting up, the knight continued to march forward with his attacks.

Lyrian wanted to use his Shadow Jade Pendant but knew that he was the only one who had such a thing in the academy. It was well known that he had it as well, so exposing himself wouldn't be smart.

With another slash, a shallow cut gashed across Lyrian's chest. At that moment, he realized that this battle was going nowhere.

'Damn,' he mused, disappointed in himself, 'I guess you can't win them all... I need to learn how to use the sword better.' He dashed back for one last time before jumping straight up in the air. This left the knight slightly confused. What confused him even more was when a giant wolf appeared underneath his opponent. Garmr lunged at the knight without hesitation.

The knight tried to sidestep but was caught in the attack. He fell to the floor as Garmr began to swipe away at him with his sharp claws.

*Clang*

*Clang*

The knight blocked the attacks as much as he could with his sword, but eventually, Garmr's paw slammed into his side. The attack sent him flying across the room.