CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: GAMER’S INSTINCT

Jax stared at the glowing blue screens, his brain trying to reboot.

[Quest 1: The Goddess]

[Objective: Fuck Beatrix Steele.]

[Time Limit: 2 Weeks]

[Reward: Legendary Gacha Spin (x1)]

[Quest 2: The Tsundere]

[Objective: Fuck Kiera Rayne.]

[Time Limit: 1 Month]

[Reward: Legendary Gacha Spin (x2)]

[SYSTEM NOTE: Quests will only be considered ’Complete’ if fulfilled in the REAL WORLD.]

’Kiera?!’

His mind stalled on that single name.

’My sister? The system is really, fundamentally broken. What the fuck?’

He shook his head, forcing the perverted thoughts down.

’Two Gacha spins, though. That’s... insane.’

He mentally swiped the system screen away.

’Focus, Jax. Win first. Fuck later.’

He triggered the game’s interface, his eyes scanning Beatrix’s team. His breath hitched.

[Seraphelion – S-Rank / Mythic–Light]

[Title: The Radiant King of Wings]

[Abilities: Solar Dominion (Homing light spears), Wings of Judgement (Radiant afterimages)]

[Amarathe – S-Rank / Spirit–Water]

[Title: The Siren of Still Waters]

[Abilities: Ocean’s Veil (Projectile/Scan blocking), "Kiss of the Depths" (Temporary battle removal)]

[Caelvane – S-Rank / Mythic–Shadow]

[Title: The Crowned Shade]

[Abilities: Umbral Chain (Shadow-freezing), Crown of Silence (Nullifies commands 30m radius)]

Jax swallowed. Gulp.

’A six-winged griffon-dragon. A kinky water serpent with a woman’s face. And a shadow king.’

He looked at the beasts, then at Beatrix, who was watching him with a patient, warm smile.

’Pss. She’s charmed them all. It’s not just me who’s weak to her. Even S-Rank beasts aren’t safe.’

His own HP was still critical. [HP: 33%].

His Tempest Sovereign was an SS-Rank, a true monster. But 1 vs. 3, especially with his own health so low, was a losing battle.

’I can’t win a beast-on-beast fight,’ he analyzed instantly. ’Her team is built for control. Amarathe blocks attacks. Caelvane stops my commands. Seraphelion rains death from above.’

’The beasts are her shield. I have to bypass the shield and hit the player directly.’

Beatrix finally spoke, her voice as gentle and motherly as it had been at the party.

"You fought wonderfully against Morgana, Jax. I was very impressed."

She took a half-step forward, her hands clasped.

"But your health is low. Surrender now, and I will ensure your elimination is painless. There’s no shame in it."

Jax felt a strange pull. Her voice was so... kind.

’She’s nice about it. Really nice. Maybe I should just give up. The quest is for the real world anyway...’

His gamer instinct roared to life, strangling the thought instantly.

’NO! What the hell am I thinking?!’

’This is a match! She is an opponent! Low HP, low odds... that’s when the real game begins!’

A slow, predatory grin spread across Jax’s face.

"Sorry, Ma’am," he said, his voice light. "I don’t actually know the meaning of ’surrender’."

Beatrix sighed, but her smile remained. "So stubborn. Just like Kai."

She raised a perfectly manicured hand.

"Very well. Let’s make this quick. Amarathe, defend. Caelvane, silence him."

The Siren of Still Waters, Amarathe, moved.

It created ’Ocean’s Veil’, a shimmering dome of pressurized water that instantly enveloped Beatrix, shielding her from harm.

The Crowned Shade, Caelvane, stepped forward, its black armor absorbing the light.

It raised its hand. ’Crown of Silence’ activated.

A 30-meter radius of pure, command-nullifying energy pulsed outward from the beast.

Jax, who was standing just outside the radius, felt his connection to his beast flicker.

’She’s playing defensively? She’s trying to trap me. She thinks I’ll attack her beasts.’

"Tempest Sovereign!" Jax yelled. "Skybreaker Wrath! Target Seraphelion!"

His dragon roared, its SS-Rank aura flaring. The sky above turned black.

Lightning rained down, aimed directly at the S-Rank griffon.

Seraphelion screeched, activating ’Wings of Judgement’.

Six pairs of radiant, golden after-images of its wings appeared, deflecting the lightning bolts. Clang! Boom!

The two flying beasts were locked in an aerial stalemate.

’Good,’ Jax thought. ’The air support is busy.’

On the ground, Caelvane, the shadow beast, stepped forward. It entered its own silence radius, protecting itself from Jax’s commands as it prepared to strike.

’This is it.’

Jax knew what was coming. ’Umbral Chain’. A skill that froze him by targeting his shadow.

But Jax wasn’t targeting the beast.

"SOVEREIGN!" Jax roared, changing commands instantly. "ETERNAL GALE! FOCUS ON ME! FULL PROPULSION!"

The Tempest Sovereign stopped its sky attack.

It inhaled, gathering the storm, and then exhaled.

It wasn’t a normal attack. It was a focused, horizontal tornado, a jet stream of pure wind aimed directly at Jax’s back.

’Gotta time this.’

Caelvane’s chains erupted from the ground, lashing out like black snakes, aiming for the shadow Jax cast on the dirt.

Hiss!

At that exact moment, Jax leaped backward, straight into the gale.

WHOOSH!

His body accelerated from zero to terminal velocity in a microsecond.

He became a human bullet.

The ’Umbral Chains’ grasped at empty air, missing his shadow by a centimeter.

Beatrix’s eyes widened in shock. "Seraphelion! Intercept him!"

The light griffon abandoned its fight with the Sovereign and dove, ’Solar Dominion’ activating.

Dozens of sunlight spears rained down from the sky.

But Jax, propelled by the gale, was moving too fast. He was a low-altitude blur, a streak of black and white.

He used his gamer reflexes, making micro-adjustments with his body, weaving between the spears of light.

He was aiming right for the ’Ocean’s Veil’.

’It blocks projectiles,’ Jax’s mind screamed, ’but I’m not a projectile. I’m a player!’

He crashed straight through the water dome.

SPLASH!

The barrier shattered.

Beatrix was right there, her face a mask of pure, beautiful shock.

’Sorry, Ma’am.’

Jax pulled his fist back, using the very last of his wind-propelled momentum.

He punched her square in the face.

BOOM!

The impact was brutal. A shockwave exploded outward, cracking the holographic ground.

Jax himself was thrown back from the force, landing hard and rolling across the dirt.

His own HP bar flashed critical. The physical exertion and recoil damage from the move had been too much.

[HP: 4%]

"Shit," he muttered, clutching his arm. "Didn’t take that recoil and fall damage into account. Just a bit more and my aura would’ve crashed right at my crush’s feet.".

He looked up, wincing.

Beatrix lay on the ground, motionless. Her HP bar flickered...

[HP: 0%]

[Player Beatrix - Eliminated]

Her three S-Rank beasts looked stunned, staring at their fallen mistress. Then, one by one, they dissolved into particles of light.

Beatrix’s body began to shimmer, the game preparing to log her out.

She looked at him. The shock faded, replaced by that same, gentle, impressed smile.

Then she vanished.

Jax slowly got to his feet, his body aching.

He looked at the empty space where she had been and put his hands up, holding his ears in a cute, apologetic pose.

"Sorry, Ma’am. If that hurt."

He held the pose for a second, then dropped his arms, his entire demeanor shifting.

His face turned cold, focused. A predatory grin touched his lips.

’In games, there’s no such thing as love or lust. There’s only winning and losing.’

His eyes glowed, thinking of the quest that now sat waiting in his system log.

’But outside the game? Well, these things are fair, right?’

’And the system gave me a quest... so it’s definitely right.’

He chuckled, a low, excited sound.

’This might be my favorite quest yet. I will accomplish this one. No matter what.’