"There you go." The hairdresser said with a sweet smile and removed the cape from Adam's neck.
Adam looked into the mirror's reflection.
Before the new haircut, his hair had already reached shoulder-length, and the bangs were hanging nearly over his eyes.
Now, his hair was styled in a trendy, layered cut that frad his face perfectly. It was around ear-length with razor-sharp edges that made him look like a completely different person.
Adam turned his head side to side, checking the haircut from every angle, and then he nodded with a satisfied look.
"Thank you; this is good."
"I am happy that you like it." The hairdresser said.
After leaving the seat, he quickly paid for the new haircut and walked out of the salon with lightness in his steps.
As soon as he inhaled the freshness of the outside air, he saw that there was an even bigger crowd around the two machines.
'Right, I have to play.' Adam shrugged his shoulders, slid his hands inside his pockets, and headed to the crowd.
Then he noticed that Alice was by the machine, already waiting for him to co back.
It looked like she'd been waiting for a while, as the crowd seed to beco anxious as they waited for the next ga to start and for their turn to play.
"Sorry, I guess I am late." Adam walked over to Alice, then caught sight of the gray-haired opponent, who didn't even give him a courtesy to acknowledge his presence.
"Ah!" Alice turned to him with a sweet smile, and after seeing his newly cut hair, her smile grew. "It's your turn to play!"
"Right." Adam nodded and took a seat on the machine, then put so kind of bowl-looking helt over his head that was connected to the machine.
Oath, his opponent, did the sa while his friends laughed and chatted with each other, not really believing that their friend's opponent had any chance of even being a good fight.
"Good luck." Alice said with a nervous look in her eyes.
She had never seen Adam play Arena Online and wasn't even sure whether he had played it, but she doubted it should be that different from Mortal Online.
However, in fact, it was vastly different.
Adam pressed on the start button, and his consciousness slowly transferred into the ga world's avatar.
...
After flapping his eyes open, he found himself standing in the colosseum's armory.
There were racks of weapons and armor lining the walls, glinting in the dim light of the hanging lantern.
He slowly opened and closed his hands, then tried to move his fingers individually, and an annoyed look appeared in his brows.
'It feels so slow and clumsy.'
Those who hadn't experienced Mortal Online thought that this ga was the closest thing that ca to the real thing-it was actually nowhere close.
The difference between two gas was like night and day.
More people played Arena Online as it was easier to get into. There was nothing like a tutorial that cuts down the player base by over 90 percent.
However, those who had played Mortal Online rarely enjoyed Arena Online because it lacked in every aspect compared to the forr.
At that mont, a series of dinging noises echoed throughout the halls of the colosseum, and then a system interface-purple in color-appeared before him.
[One-Versus-One]
[Write Your Na]
Below that, a holographic keyboard appeared in the air, inviting him to input his na.
Adam wrote the na of his alternate persona-Silent.
[Silent vs. Oath]
[Weapons: Randomized]
[Ready?]
Adam pressed on the ready button, and so did his opponent instantly afterward.
At the sa mont, thousands of different-looking weapons appeared in the interface, shuffling around like a lottery wheel.
After a short while, it ca to a stop, and the weapons for the match were chosen.
[Weapon: Dual Swords]
Two identical-looking swords appeared in Adam's hands.
They were sharp-bladed with thin hilts.
After that, light armor clad over Adam's body. It looked like the armor of ancient gladiators that battled in similar-looking colosseums.
Creak!
The tallic, rusty gates swung open, kicking up the sand off the ground, and then the roaring of a virtual crowd filled the arena like a tidal wave.
Adam stepped through the arena and saw the arena filled to the brim with the NPCs, but they looked so fake and lifeless, their eyes glazed over like the eyes of mannequins.
"Hah..." Adam shook his head with a wry smile.
It was why the open-world aspect of Arena Online never succeeded, as it felt like living in a
fake world with dolls keeping you company instead of real people.
Then, the rusty, tallic gates appeared on the other side of the colosseum, and Oath, dressed in similar light armor with two dual swords in hand, stepped out into the arena with a similar look of indifference in his face.
'Does he even enjoy playing this ga?' Adam wondered. 'He looks so bored.'
He didn't know that Navy Town's mayor, who was in charge of the fair, invited Oath to participate as a special guest.
He didn't want to be here, but he got paid a pretty sum to show up and play.
After finishing up with this one ga, he planned to leave, perhaps visit Ivycrest to get completely wasted with his friends.
Ding!
[Countdown Starts!]
Oath stood still, his swords dangling by his side like he was too tired to lift them up into a
proper fighting stance.
Ding!
[Three!]
Adam tapped his foot against the ground.
Ding!
[Two!]
Oath let out a yawn.
[One!]
The crowd in the outside world leaned closer to the screens.
Alice held her breath.
Ding!
[FIGHT!]
With a burst of energy, Oath suddenly sprang into action, and he crossed the distance instantly. It looked like he just planned to end this fight as soon as it began.
As he brought his swords down, Adam suddenly swung his swords up and deflected Oath's
attack like it was nothing.
Oath's eyes widened slightly.
Adam lunged forward and started swinging his swords in a fluid and unstoppable motion,
pushing Oath back further and further.
Their swords clashed with a loud and tallic sound that echoed throughout the arena.
'He knows how to fight.'
Oath thought for a mont, but then he started showing why he was one of the greatest Arena
Online players, as with just a few movents of his swords, he managed to stop the flurry of
Adam's strikes.
It was surprising to him that his opponent knew how to fight because Arena Online's combat was quite complex and annoying.
The amateurs wouldn't even know how to move their limbs properly in this ga, as it was nowhere the sa as moving in the real world.
That's why movent was actually much harder in Arena Online than in Mortal Online.
Everyone who tried Mortal Online already had decades of experience with moving their bodies, so obviously it was going to be easy in Mortal Online.
However, in Arena Online, they were basically moving their bodies like a puppetmaster
controlling marionettes.
It was difficult at first.
"Not bad, I suppose." Oath brought his sword down and pushed Adam a step back, then closed
in and delivered a swift kick to his side.
The kick sent Adam sprawling down on the ground, but he quickly jumped back to his feet.
The pain system in Arena Online was also different.
There was no pain whatsoever.
In the waist, where Adam got kicked in, the lingering sensation of numbness spread across his
"injured" waist.
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